This entry is about my observation of Techno Music in the year 2007. I talk about why I’m writing this, how techno music has changed and I compare it to other genres.
I’m writing this because producing techno music is one of my passions. I create techno albums and make them available for digital download. I like this because I get to choose what I think is hot. The other reason I’m writing this is because I began to wonder what happened to the creativity and innovation in Techno Music.
I grew up in Detroit when Techno music started. A DJ named electrifying Mojo used to play hot new music on the radio late at night on the Midnight Funk Association. He didn’t play the regular repetitive radio format that the other DJ’s did. He would play hours of what he knew was hot from the B-52’s to George Clinton to every single song Prince every wrote. Detroiters loved it. Mojo started playing a new sound from Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May records. This was the beginning of Techno Music. The thing I remember loving about Techno music then was that it didn’t sound like anything I had heard before. It was brand new and exciting. Because I’m a bass player, I loved the crazy bass lines on songs like ‘Alleys of your Mind’ and ‘No UFO’s’ or the keyboard vamps on ‘Good Life.’ There were other songs Mojo played that I didn’t know who the artist was or how they created that sound, but it sounded great.
Fast forward to today. Its very rare that I hear any new techno on the radio in the birthplace of techno. Sometimes I hear samples of old techno hits in new hip hop records like Missy, Mob Deep and others. But nothing really new on the radio. Where did our music go? Why did they stop?
Today, I have to search the internet to find new techno music and its just not the same. In my opinion, Techno has lost its funkiness and creativity. Growing up in Detroit, Juan, Kevin and Derrick were influenced by Motown and George Clinton’s P-Funk. You could hear it in their tracks. Mix that with the cutting-edge of Kraftwerk and you have the sound. This is the techno sound I remember and miss.
But why hasn’t Techo Music evolved like other genres like hip hop?
I’m going to briefly touch on some similarities and differences to other genres.
Techno music is similar to Blues in that both genres gave birth to new genres. Blues gave birth to Jazz and Rock. Techno music gave birth to rave, ambient, minimal, trance, DnB, hardcore and IDM.
Techno music is similar to hip hop in that both started from the urban underground from independent labels.
Techno differ from the blues in that new techno artist are not staying true to the important fundamental roots of techno music: creativity and the funk. New Blues artist are forever true to the roots of the blues because they love its art and origin.
Techno differs from hip hop in that the hip hop culture has grown exponentially compared to Techno. Hip hop is being written about in hip hop magazines owned by hip hop labels and artist. Hip hop has created fashion that is owned and influenced my hip hop moguls like Jay Z’s Rocawear and Puffy’s Sean Jean, but not techno. Techno is more about the music and the future and hip hop is about the rapper and his present situation. The big labels have found a way to exploit hip hop for profits. Smaller labels control Techno music.
I feel Techno has not reached its full potential because of these differences. If it ever does turn these differences to similarites, it will be recognized with its own categories at the Grammy’s or American Music Awards just like any other type of music.
In the future, I hope to see Techno Music grow and evolve like all other styles of music, instead of die like Disco.
