Primary Stylistic Influences:
- House Music, Electro, Synth-Pop, Electronic Music (primarily Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra)
Secondary Stylistic Influences:
- Alternative Dance (in the early days, mostly), Funk, Disco, Italo Disco, Reggae, Chiptune, Game Music
I heard a techno song one time that went like... "Doom doom doom doom..." And then this other part came in, and it was like... "Doodle-um-dum doodle-um-dum..." And then there's always some kinda high pitched noise, y'know? Or like, a siren... And of course they have to put in the obligatory old movie quote from some sci-fi movie. It's like... "The system is down! The system is down!"
Techno is, typically, a form of electronic dance music with a heavy 4/4 beat played by a drum machine. Most of the time it's instrumental, or uses vocals only in a limited manner (samples or a repeated phrase), and has a synthetic, futuristic feel to it, due to the use of synthesizer keyboards and synth bass. However, this doesn't mean that music which has these characteristics is specifically techno, or that techno has to have all these characteristics.
Most techno is in 4/4, with a bass drum on each downbeat, and either a clap or a snare on every 2nd and 4th beat. Most of the time it retains the open-hi-hat-on-every-upbeat feeling of House Music, but there's often a rhythmic accent that marks the upbeats. Techno tunes are typically instrumental, and they rarely have full-on singing, though short vocal samples are commonly used.
It was originally conceived in The '80s, with the Trope Makers being three black middle class Detroit audiophiles (called "The Belleville Three" due to their neighborhood) in the mid-'80s: Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson. They started making music that combined their love of European Synth-Pop (primarily Kraftwerk) and Japanese techno‑pop (primarily Yellow Magic Orchestra) with contemporary American Funk, Electro and House Music. In fact, May described the sound of early techno "like George Clinton and Kraftwerk are stuck in an elevator with only a sequencer to keep them company". It basically ended up sounding like music for robots to breakdance to. Atkins was arguably the first to produce Detroit techno, while May developed many of its distinct features and Saunderson was responsible for pushing it to the charts (with his group Inner City).
The term techno itself originates from Japan, where the term techno-kayō ("techno‑pop") and its abbreviation techno were originally coined to describe Electronic Music more broadly (including synth-pop, electro and house) during the late 1970s to early 1980s. The Trope Namers were Yellow Magic Orchestra (consisting of Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi), also known as YMO and based in Tokyo, with titles such as "Technopolis" (1979), Technodelic (1981), and "The Spirit of Techno"
(1983), along with Testpattern's "Techno Age" (1982). What we now call techno was later, in large part, defined by the distinctive sounds from the Japanese drum machines Roland TR-808 (released 1980) and TR-909 (released 1983), especially their deep, booming bass drums. The YMO trio were the first to produce instrumental techno-kayō tracks using the TR‑808 and TR-909 in the early 1980s, including various Ur‑Examples of what we now call techno, and they had a significant influence on the development of Detroit techno. The Japanese techno-kayō scene also heavily influenced Japanese Game Music composers, some of whom produced Ur-examples of video game techno during the early-to-mid-1980s.
Additional History
Around the same time, house music was starting to become a major player in the Chicago dance scene. When the early techno producers heard some of it, they adapted the the 4/4 beat house is known for to techno's robotic, futuristic sound. While the people in Chicago were partying and having good time, dancing like there's no tomorrow, people in Detroit were putting their own twist to the Windy City producers' music. Many of the Detroit techno fans and musicians were car manufacturing workers, working all day with robots. Some of them crossed hard periods in their life, as most car manufacturers were crossing an economic crisis caused by an oil crisis. Their city was going in ruins, criminality was rampant, and while some other people of roughly the same demographic were busy creating their own brand of Darker and Edgier brand of rap music, the spiritual offspring of the Belleville Three were raving in abandoned warehouses to the sound of hard, mechanic funk known as techno.
Despite their differences, techno and house have nevertheless had a pretty symbiotic relationship, sharing many similar attributes, such as a 4/4 beat and looped samples. The main difference is in the sound: the more synthetic and robotic a tune sounds, the more likely it's techno. The more organic and disco-y sounding it is, the more likely it's house. The two genres have often overlapped, the subgenre of "tech house" being one result of merging the two.
After the 1980s techno has moved far beyond the borders of Detroit and has a sizeable fan base around the world. Germany in particular has taken a liking to the genre, and Berlin has become techno's second city, more or less. German techno has two major strands: the maximalist techno meant for mainstream clubs and raves, and the minimalist subgenre that's more fitting for home listening, though it's played in clubs as well.
The minimal techno movement has engineered some of the most incredibly fervent defenders of this genre. Here is the story: in the mid-1990s, after the passage of the acid house/techno movement, followed by the raves and free parties in Europe, as well as the rise to fame of trance and extreme hardcore, techno was going through a crisis. The music that was once dance-oriented, funky and soulful had become too ravey, fast, and hard to the taste of some of the older figures in techno. One of them, Richie Hawtin, reacted with sonic minimalism. Under the moniker Plastikman, he produced some of the most smooth, fluid, and funky techno ever, using almost the same tools than those who created the genre: Roland drum machines and bassline generators.
Another man, Robert Hood, came with another approach: structural minimalism. It consisted of keeping the music structure very clear, simple and repetitive, but also in making sure that the sonic quality of the production was the best possible. Hawtin and Hood were not the only ones being tired of ravey and fast techno, and by the early 2000s the minimal sound had gained a considerable fanbase. Today, some of the most famous techno producers create very minimalistic techno.
Classic techno also continued to evolve, and at some point it sort of merged recently with the minimal movement, brigning tempos back to more danceable 125-128, and retaining a lot of the power and precision of the minimal basslines. The 2000s have produced a generation of techno lovers that are extremely purist about the music they love.
Despite their differences, techno and house have nevertheless had a pretty symbiotic relationship, sharing many similar attributes, such as a 4/4 beat and looped samples. The main difference is in the sound: the more synthetic and robotic a tune sounds, the more likely it's techno. The more organic and disco-y sounding it is, the more likely it's house. The two genres have often overlapped, the subgenre of "tech house" being one result of merging the two.
After the 1980s techno has moved far beyond the borders of Detroit and has a sizeable fan base around the world. Germany in particular has taken a liking to the genre, and Berlin has become techno's second city, more or less. German techno has two major strands: the maximalist techno meant for mainstream clubs and raves, and the minimalist subgenre that's more fitting for home listening, though it's played in clubs as well.
The minimal techno movement has engineered some of the most incredibly fervent defenders of this genre. Here is the story: in the mid-1990s, after the passage of the acid house/techno movement, followed by the raves and free parties in Europe, as well as the rise to fame of trance and extreme hardcore, techno was going through a crisis. The music that was once dance-oriented, funky and soulful had become too ravey, fast, and hard to the taste of some of the older figures in techno. One of them, Richie Hawtin, reacted with sonic minimalism. Under the moniker Plastikman, he produced some of the most smooth, fluid, and funky techno ever, using almost the same tools than those who created the genre: Roland drum machines and bassline generators.
Another man, Robert Hood, came with another approach: structural minimalism. It consisted of keeping the music structure very clear, simple and repetitive, but also in making sure that the sonic quality of the production was the best possible. Hawtin and Hood were not the only ones being tired of ravey and fast techno, and by the early 2000s the minimal sound had gained a considerable fanbase. Today, some of the most famous techno producers create very minimalistic techno.
Classic techno also continued to evolve, and at some point it sort of merged recently with the minimal movement, brigning tempos back to more danceable 125-128, and retaining a lot of the power and precision of the minimal basslines. The 2000s have produced a generation of techno lovers that are extremely purist about the music they love.
The term "techno" has often been misused as a catch-all term for electronic dance music. Techno tends to have a rather specific sound, and in fact a decent amount of what some people call "techno" is usually either trance, house, or Eurodance. Some fans find it very frustrating when people misunderstand what techno is about. Calling this techno is as accurate as calling Avril Lavigne hardcore punknote .
See also: Speedy Techno Remake and Orchestra Hit Techno Battle. Other Wikis have more in-depth articles on techno, including Electronic Music Wiki and The Other Wiki.
Examples of techno music
- Detroit techno
- Ur-Examples in the early 1980s:
- "Shari Vari" (1981) by A Number of Names
- Cybotron's "Alleys Of Your Mind" (1981) and "Cosmic Cars" (1982) by Juan Atkins and Richard Davis
- Cybotron's "Clear" and "El Salvador" (1983) produced by Juan Atkins and Richard Davis
- "Shari Vari"
- Trope Makers in the mid-1980s:
- Cybotron's "Techno City" (1984) produced by Juan Atkins and Richard Davis
- Model 500's "No UFO's" (1985) produced by Juan Atkins
- X-Ray's "Let's Go" (1986) produced by Derrick May and Juan Atkins
- Model 500's "Play It" (1986) produced by Juan Atkins
- Kreem's "Triangle Of Love" (1986) produced by Kevin Saunderson, Derrick May and Juan Atkins
- Cybotron's "Techno City"
- Trope Codifiers in the late 1980s:
- Rhythim Is Rhythim's "Nude Photo" (1987) produced by Derrick May and Juan Atkins
- Model 500's "Sound Of Stereo" (1987) produced by Juan Atkins
- Juan's "Techno Music" (1988)
- Rhythim Is Rhythim's "Daymares, It Is What It Is" (1988) produced by Derrick May
- Kevin Saunderson's "Just Want Another Chance" and "Rhythm Track 1" (1988)
- Rhythim Is Rhythim's "Nude Photo"
- Genre Popularizers in the late 1980s:
- Rhythim Is Rhythim's "Strings of Life" (1987) produced by Derrick May
- Inner City's "Big Fun" (1988) produced by Kevin Saunderson
- Inner City's "Good Life" (1988) produced by Kevin Saunderson
- Rhythim Is Rhythim's "Strings of Life"
- Ur-Examples in the early 1980s:
- Tokyo techno-kayō Ur-examples
- Late 1970s:
- Far East Family Band's "Fūjin" (1975) and Haruomi Hosono's "Madras Sōryōji Fujin" (1978)
- Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Plastic Bamboo" and Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Mad Pierrot" (1978)
- Rajie's "Moonlight", Apache's "Uchujin Wana Wana", YMO's "Absolute Ego Dance" (1979)
- Far East Family Band's "Fūjin"
- Early 1980s:
- Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Riot in Lagos" and Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Riot in Lagos" (1980)
- The Targets' "Interlude I" and "Visage", Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Pure Jam" (1981)
- Colored Music's "Heartbeat" and Logic System's "Automatic Collect, Automatic Correct" (1981)
- Pegmo's "SOS Pen Pen Computer" and Hiroyuki Namba's "Kūchū no Ongaku" (1982)
- Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Bamboo Houses" and Haruomi Hosono's "Living Dining Kitchen" (1982)
- Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Riot in Lagos"
- Mid-1980s:
- Testpattern's "Ryugu", Ryo Kawasaki's "Lucky Lady" and "Long Time Before You Were Born" (1983)
- Masumi Hara's "Kimi no Yume" and Mishio Ogawa's "Hikari no Ito Kin no Ito" (1984)
- Haruomi Hosono's "Body Snatchers" and Apogee & Perigee's "Sakasakenjin Egas" (1984)
- Haruomi Hosono's "Sayokoskatti" and Yasuno Tomoco's "Mysterieux" (1985)
- Jun Fukamachi's "Treasure Hunter" and Miharu Koshi's "Mademoiselle Juju" (1985)
- Testpattern's "Ryugu"
- Late 1970s:
- Japanese techno-kayō Chiptune and Game Music Ur-examples
- Early 1980s:
- Bega's Battle (1983), LaserDisc Arcade Game developed by Data East
- Haruomi Hosono's "Xevious" and "Super Xevious" (1984)
- Bega's Battle
- Mid-1980s:
- Magical Power Mako's "From Number Six to Ten" and "My Land" (1985) produced by Makoto Kurita
- "Stage 3 and 4 Halfway" in Scooter Shooter and "Fantastic Power" in TwinBee (1985) by Konami
- Rolling Blaster (1985), MSX laserdisc game developed by Techno Quest
- Magical Power Mako's "From Number Six to Ten"
- Late 1980s:
- "Skyscraper" and "Gallus" in Dangar UFO Robo (1986) composed by Kenji Yoshida (Nichibutsu)
- "Makai Sen" in Ninja Emaki (1986) and "Gorgon Head" in Soldier Girl Amazon (1986) by Kenji Yoshida
- "Creature From Outer Space" in Super Contra (1987) by Kazuki Muraoka and Motoaki Furukawa (Konami)
- "Skyscraper"
- Early 1980s:
- Trope Namers
- Tokyo trope namers:
- Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Technopolis" from Solid State Survivor (1979) produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Pure Jam" from Technodelic (1981) and "Technopolis" from Winter Live 1981
- Testpattern's "Techno Age" (1982) produced by Haruomi Hosono
- Interior's "Technobose" (1982) produced by Haruomi Hosono
- Yellow Magic Orchestra's "The Spirit of Techno" (1983)
- Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Technopolis"
- Detroit trope namers:
- Cybotron's "Techno City" (1984) produced by Juan Atkins and Richard Davis
- Juan's "Techno Music" (1988)
- Cybotron's "Techno City"
- Tokyo trope namers:
- Euro techno (evolved from Detroit techno)
- UK techno genre popularizers in the late 1980s:
- The KLF's "What Time Is Love?" (1988)
- Bally Sagoo's "Hey Jamalo" (1989)
- 808 State's "Pacific" (1989)
- The KLF's "What Time Is Love?"
- Yorkshire bleep techno during the late 1980s to early 1990s:
- "Only The Beginning" and "The Theme" (1988) by Unique 3
- "Testone" (1989) by Sweet Exorcist
- "LFO" (1990) by LFO
- "Only The Beginning"
- UK techno in the early 1990s:
- Orbital's "Halcyon" (1992) and "Halcyon + On + On" (1993)
- Traci Lord's "Control" (1994) produced by Juno Reactor
- Traci Lord's "Control (Juno Reactor Instrumental)" produced by Juno Reactor (1994)
- Orbital's "Halcyon"
- Mainland Euro techno in the early 1990s:
- German techno: Interactive's "The Techno Wave" (1990)
- Italian techno: Atahualpa's "Ultimo Imperio" (1990)
- Dutch hardcore techno: D-Shake's "Anasthasia" (1991)
- Spanish techno: Berlin's "The Voice" (1991)
- Belgian techno: "Techno Syndrome (Mortal Kombat)" by The Immortals (1993)
- German techno: Interactive's "The Techno Wave"
- UK techno genre popularizers in the late 1980s:
- Ambient techno
- Tokyo Ur-examples in the early 1980s:
- Colored Music's "Heartbeat" and "Sanctuary", The Targets' "Visage" (1981)
- Testpattern's "Ring Dance" (1982), "Ryugu" (1983), "Hope", Miharu Koshi's "Parallelisme" (1984)
- Masumi Hara's "Kimi no Yume" and Mishio Ogawa's "Hikari no Ito Kin no Ito" (1984)
- Colored Music's "Heartbeat"
- Tokyo trope makers in the mid-to-late 1980s:
- Haruomi Hosono's "Sayokoskatti" (1985), "Pleocine" and "Orgone Box" (1989)
- Tomoko Aran's "Lucifer" (1986), The Peaters' "Happy Time" and Nina Atsuko's "Tonkachi" (1987)
- Miharu Koshi's "L'acqua Sonora" (1987) and Kazuo Ohtani's "Last Battle" (1988)
- Haruomi Hosono's "Sayokoskatti"
- Detroit trope codifiers during the late 1980s to early 1990s:
- Rhythim Is Rhythim's "Daymares, It Is What It Is" (1988) produced by Derrick May
- Psyche's "Elements" (1989) produced by Carl Craig
- Psyche's "Crackdown" (1990) produced by Carl Craig
- Rhythim Is Rhythim's "Daymares, It Is What It Is"
- UK trope codifiers during the late 1980s to early 1990s:
- 808 State's "Pacific" (1989) and "Light In Darkness" (Yellow Magic Orchestra) Remix (1992)
- Aphex Twin's "Analogue Bubblebath" (1991), "Xtal" and "Tha" (1992)
- Orbital's "Halcyon" (1992) and "Halcyon + On + On" (1993)
- 808 State's "Pacific"
- Tokyo trope codifiers in the early 1990s:
- "K&V" and "Prayers" in PC-88 game Mirrors (1990) composed by Haruhiko Sōno and Masaharu Takeda
- Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Rap The World" and "Borom Gal" (1991)
- Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Be A Superman" and "Hi-Tech Hippies" from Technodon (1993)
- "K&V"
- Tokyo Ur-examples in the early 1980s:
- Industrial techno
- Tokyo Ur-examples in the early 1980s:
- Ryuichi Sakamoto's "E-3A", Sandii's "Hey Rock-A La La" (1980), Colored Music's "Sanctuary" (1981)
- The Targets' "Party Party" (1981) and Hiroyuki Namba's "Kūchū no Ongaku" (1982)
- Miharu Koshi's "Parallelisme" (1984)
- Ryuichi Sakamoto's "E-3A"
- Tokyo trope makers in the mid-to-late 1980s:
- Haruomi Hosono's "Mazinger 'H'", Hajime Tachibana's "Taiyo Sun" and "XP-41" (1985)
- Ryuichi Sakamoto's "Robot" (1985) and "Daikōkai Verso Lo Schermo" (1986)
- Kyoko Koizumi's "Shūchū Dekinai" (1989)
- Haruomi Hosono's "Mazinger 'H'
- Japanese chiptune trope makers in the mid-1980s:
- Haruomi Hosono's "Super Xevious" (1984) and Magical Power Mako's "From Number Six to Ten" (1985)
- "Stage A" in Cosmo Police Galivan (1985) and "Gallus" in Dangar UFO Robo (1986) by Kenji Yoshida
- "Creature From Outer Space" in Super Contra (1987) by Kazuki Muraoka and Motoaki Furukawa (Konami)
- Haruomi Hosono's "Super Xevious"
- Detroit trope makers in the late 1980s:
- Final Cut's "She Destroys" (1989) produced by Jeff Mills
- Final Cut's "I Told You Not To Stop" (1989) produced by Jeff Mills
- Final Cut's "She Destroys"
- Tokyo trope codifiers in the early 1990s:
- "Beatnik On The Ship" (1991), "Back to the Industry" and "Expander" (1992) in Streets of Rage (Sega)
- Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Chance" (1993) produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto
- "Palmtree Panic 'B' Mix", "Collision Chaos" and "Tidal Tempest 'B' mix" (1993) in Sonic CD (Sega)
- "Beatnik On The Ship"
- UK trope codifiers in the early 1990s:
- Traci Lord's "Control" (1994) produced by Juno Reactor
- Traci Lord's "Control (Juno Reactor Instrumental)" produced by Juno Reactor (1994)
- Traci Lord's "Control"
- Tokyo Ur-examples in the early 1980s:
- Minimal techno
- Tokyo trope makers during the mid-1980s to mid-1990s:
- Haruomi Hosono's "Alternative 3" (1984) and "Laugh-Gas" (1989)
- Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Dolphinicity" (1993) produced by Haruomi Hosono
- Mind Design's "Ground" (1994) and Ken Ishii's "Extra" (1995)
- Haruomi Hosono's "Alternative 3"
- Detroit trope codifiers during the early-to-mid-1990s:
- "Phase 4" (1992) by Jeff Mills
- "Chase" and "One Touch" (1994) by Robert Hood
- "The Bells" (1996) by Jeff Mills
- "Phase 4"
- Berlin minimal techno during the mid-1990s to 2000s:
- "Phylyps Trak II" (1994) by Basic Channel
- "Easy Lee" (2003) by Ricardo Villalobos
- "Bim" (2008) by Ellen Allien
- "Phylyps Trak II"
- Tokyo trope makers during the mid-1980s to mid-1990s:
List of techno musicians
- 808 State (Trope Codifier for Euro techno)
- μ-Ziq note
- Aphex Twin
- 1992 - Selected Ambient Works 85–92
- Juan Atkins (Trope Maker; used alias Model 500; part of Cybotron, X-Ray and The Belleville Three)
- Autechre
- Basic Channel
- Blake Baxter
- Boys Noize (the most popular example of the genre in recent years)
- The Chemical Brothers
- Dave Clarke
- Colored Music (Atsuo Fujimoto and Ichiko Hashimoto)
- Carl Cox (mixed with some elements of House Music)
- Carl Craig
- Deli Girls
- Denki Groove
- Dimrain47
- Drexciya
- Ellen Allien
- F-777
- Faithless
- Fluke
- The Future Sound of London
- Laurent Garnier
- A Guy Called Gerald
- Gesaffelstein (mixed with Industrial in Aleph and with R&B in Hyperion)
- Oliver Heldens (As HI-LO)
- Robert Hood
- Haruomi Hosono (Ur-Example; part of YMO, Testpattern, Interior and Apogee & Perigee)
- 1982 - Philharmony
- 1984 - Video Game Music
- 1984 - Making Of Non-Standard Music
- 1984 - S-F-X
- 1985 - Coincidental Music
- 1989 - Omni Sight Seeing
- Hideki Matsutake (Ur-Example; used alias Logic System; occasionally part of YMO)
- 1981 - Logic
- 1981 - Venus
- Hirokazu Tanaka (Ur-Example; used alias Hip Tanaka; Game Music composer for Nintendo)
- Ken Ishii
- K Hand
- Yuzo Koshiro (Trope Codifier and Genre Popularizer of video game techno; worked for Nihon Falcom and Sega)
- Kyary Pamyu Pamyu
- LFO (the British band, not the American one)
- Lords of Acid
- Makoto Kurita (Ur-Example; used alias Magical Power Mako)
- Masao Hiruma (Ur-Example; part of Testpattern and Apogee & Perigee)
- Derrick May (Trope Maker; used alias Rhythim Is Rhythim; part of X-Ray and The Belleville Three)
- Moby (on his early 1990s records)
- Monolake
- Mouse on Mars (on their 1990s albums)
- Grant Nelson's first work under Wishdokta was this and techno
- The Orb
- Orbital
- Richard Davis (Trope Maker; part of Cybotron)
- Ryuichi Sakamoto (Ur-Example; YMO member)
- 1980 - B-2 Unit
- 1984 - Ongaku Zukan
- 1986 - Futurista
- 1989 - Beauty
- Kevin Saunderson (Trope Maker; one of The Belleville Three)
- Simone Bocchino
- Sweet Exorcist
- Sweet Trip
- The Targets (Ryo Kawano and Atsuko Arashi)
- Tetsu Inoue
- Underground Resistance
- Underworld (one of the most commercially successful examples)
- 1994 - dubnobasswithmyheadman
- 1996 - Second Toughest in the Infants
- Ricardo Villalobos
- Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO; Ur-Examples and Trope Namers; a massive influence on techno)
- 1981 - BGM
- 1981 - Technodelic
- 1993 - Technodon (experiments with the genre whole-hog; primarily ambient techno, with elements of minimal techno, House Music, Trance and World Music)
- Kenji Yoshida (Ur-Example; Game Music composer for Nichibutsu)
- Yukihiro Takahashi (Ur-Example; part of YMO and The Beatniks)
- 1981 - Exitentialism
- 1982 - What, Me Worry?
- 1984 - Wild & Moody
