The 20 Greatest Detroit Techno Tracks Ranked!
20. Eddie Flashin Fowlkes - Time To Talk (1989)
An underrated gem from Detroit's first-wave producer, the sample setlist found on Time to Express serves as a prelude to key influences on the city's techno scene: Kraftwerk, Telex, Yazoo, The Art of Noise. Silo Mix offers some freestyle; It's more difficult with a techno mix.
19. DJ Bone - Cultural Variance (2014)
Probably the best starting point for Detroit stalwart Bone is to see him DJ on the three decks known as Video Attack 41, then delve into his extensive catalog; - Afrikaans songs, jazz keyboards, rhythms are killer things.
18. Blake Baxter - When We Played (1987)
Despite the Prince of Techno moniker, Blake Baxter feels like a completely different figure, slightly overshadowed by his first-wave peers. Co-produced by Kevin Saunderson, When We Used To Play is simply amazing. Despite the relentless hum of long clean beats, it carries a strange and compelling sense of melancholy.
17. Kenny Larkin - Azimuth (1994)
A modest number for the second wave of technology in Detroit. he describes himself as "famous for not being famous", Kenny Larkin's humble demeanor does not reflect his experience. You can really get lost in the tangled and jumbled layers of her debut album's title track; there is a hint of jazz hidden between the layers.
16. The Martian (1992)
The potential fame of the mysterious Red Planet 12 series, attributed to the mysterious Will Thomas, is believed to be the work of an underground resistance. Whoever is doing Star Dancer, it's a blast. a devastating kick drum, a thrilling two-note bass line, huge waves of searing electronics, an incredible climax.
15. Drexciya - Andrean Dunes (1999)
Unraveling the discography of Drexciya, AKA James Stinson and Gerald Donald, and their watered-down take on Afrofuturist mythology is a daunting task; there is no obvious or easy entry point. But Drexciya's strong electronic charge is often sharp, like in the Andrean Sand Dunes.
14. K-Hand - Starz (1995)
The late Kelly Hand was the first lady of Detroit techno, a brilliant female producer in a male-dominated world. His Acacia Classics set showcases a rich back catalog - check out the raw, edgy funk of Come On Now Baby - but Starz is his acknowledged masterpiece: urgent yet lush, driving yet hypnotic.
13. Underground Resistance - The Last Frontier (1992)
An oft-repeated refrain about the music collective Underground Resistance is that they are the public enemy of techno. Detroit's most uncompromising representatives of Afrofuturist electronica. But the manifesto and rhetoric wouldn't matter much if the music wasn't as good as it is; Final Frontier has biting acid stuff, beats based on techno, electro and lush synths.
12. Robert Hood - The Sleep Cycle (1994)
Where the former URovets almost single-handedly created an entire subgenre; Minimal techno made other important contributions, but Hood's Minimal Nation album was the most important text. Sleep Cycle bravely strips their sound down to the bare bones, creating a magical world where small gradual changes in sound become incredibly powerful.
11. DJ Minx - A Walk In The Park (2004)
A Walk in the Park, recorded while Minx's husband was shopping for their daughter, is an irresistible minimal cocktail of punchy bass, tropical drums and jazzy chords. Muddyman's latest remix (nowhere else on this list because he's not a techno producer but more of a genre in his own right) is also fantastic.
10. Floor Plan - Never Get Old (Reissue) (2013)
The work of Robert Hood and his daughter Lyric Never Grow Old is deep, soulful techno music, complemented by samples from Aretha Franklin's legendary gospel album Amazing Grace. The tension between her raw vocals and fast electronic beats is strong.
9. Sibotron - Clear (1983)
Cybotron - Juan Atkins and Richard Davis, the latter a Vietnam vet who changed his name to 3070, were the cornerstones of Detroit technology, and Clear was their finest hour. With an electric Kraftwerk sample steeped in Afrofuturist mythology, it still sounds fantastic 40 years later.
8. Reese - Just Want Another Chance (1988)
Kevin Saunders' hugely influential bass-heavy debut, Reese, which has appeared on countless drum-bass, UK garage and dubstep tracks since the mid-'90s; The 80s felt weird, like the sound had been destroyed by time.
7. Paperclip People - The Throw (1994)
Carl Craig's catalog is so diverse that it's hard to single out one song as the greatest. Les's jazz drums and electronic swing are very similar, but let's take Throw, released under one of his many aliases, which combined techno and house DJs and produced a great cover on LCD Soundsystem, which is a case in point. impeccable ability to impress. dance floor
6. Jeff Mills - Chimes (1996)
Mills calls The Bells "a viable DJ tool", sweetly downplaying the huge potential of his craft, "something I can welcome". It's relentlessly in your face, the heavily distorted beat and the surprisingly subtle intensity of the rise and fall of the acid melody.
5. Model 500 - UFO (1985)
After Kibotron, Juan Atkins perfected his voice on No UFO. The song shares Cybotron's ambiguous view of the future; "They say there's no hope / They say there's no UFOs" but makes the sound harsher, making it blacker with less European electronica influence. The score is so advanced it would be amazing if it was made in 1985.
4. Aztec Mystics - Jaguar (1999)
The Detroit techno song that pushed the boundaries in the organized dance world, Jaguar by Jeff Mills and Paul Oakenfold became popular enough to spawn several fake European covers. The noise is still understandable. it's incredibly exciting, building and building to a complex climax with synth feedback over dramatic disco lines.
3. Galaxy 2 Galaxy – High Tech Jazz (1993)
Underground Resistance's output may be brutal, militant music by militant artists, but Hi-Tech Jazz (by Galaxy 2 Galaxy, produced by the collective's members) is simply beautiful. The song, which is a unique blend of jazz saxophone, electronica, techno and house, exists in its own fascinating and enveloping musical world and gained unexpected but deserved popularity thanks to the soundtrack of the video game Midnight Club.
2. Rhythm is Rhythm - Life Series (1987)
An attempt to rekindle the optimism lost during the assassination of Martin Luther King, "Strings of Life" quickly became a timeless anthem for the world's dance floors. The song is so famous that it's easy to forget how weird and experimental it is;
1. Inner City - The Good Life (1988)
Kevin Sanderson's Big Fun Inner City is another version of the Techno band from 1988. Detroit's new dance sound. lighter, simpler tunes influenced by Chicago House as well as Sanderson's peers in Detroit ("it's all worked out," says the producer). The same goes for The Good Life. His irresistible effort on the dance floor is an attempt to create a modern track that matches Chic's qualities, and it completely succeeds, although the Detroit flavor is still evident everywhere, from the synth notes to the title track. Inner city. Timeless, upbeat - true to the producer's name The Elevator - and definitely the perfect single.
