Detroit techno.

[DannyBlack]

Right, im gonna start by saying- im not having a go at this genre of techno, we all like what we like.

But Detroit Techno, try as i may, i just cannot get my head around it or get into it. I just dont seem to feel what people feel from it. Am i the only one?

Can someone thats into please enlighten me? what do you love about it?

[stjohn]

i used to say the same thing.....about electro too... but i suppose you when hear banging techno for so long, ur tastes kind veer a little and u start to realise how nice some of those melodies and hooks are. so u kinda latch onto those in a club situation ...

still love my bangin stuff tho!! but i just appreciate the deeper melodic a good bit more now!

[MARK ANXIOUS]

i can't really explain it.

if you've come up through the harder and loopier forms of techno, you're really gonna have a job getting your head around it, but to me Detroit techno means that original ethos of techno that first made the genre back in the 80's.

best way to start to understand it, i think, is to try to get hold of 'the detroit sound of techno' comp or some of the earlier techno comps. quite a few of the early 'jack trax' comps had some nice detroit sounding bits on.

ok so back to what the music is all about. well it's that feeling of futurism, that feeling of metropolis, star trek, sci-fi, i dunno. a typical thing that makes detroit sounding techno so good are those mechanical sounding hi-hats and dark, scary futuristic bass. strings have featured in alot of detorit tracks and they make then sound beautiful, but still incredibly futuristic.

you know, if you can't figure it out, lock yourself in a dark room in a basement and tell yourself the aliens are outside. then play model 500 'no ufo's'.

good luck anyway, music is so incredibly personal and there's no wrong or right way to listen, but i'm sure lots of ppl can pipe up here and help you out.

[DannyBlack]

The main reason for starting this topic apart from feeling like a weirdo :laughing: is because im in discovery mode at the moment, im trying to get into music that i once upon a time would have said "nah, its bollocks".

I have the RWX (still on a mission to find out who that is) remix of no UFO's, but i must try and find the original. I have shari vari and Knights of the jaguar, but i really need more!!

I mean, i never really liked electronic music in general and then one day listened to clarkes WS1 and it was like a kick in the face- scarey, intreguing and completely new to me and i guess thats kinda what i want to happen with DT. As my journey goes on im sure that it will become more apparent to me.

anyone else got some views?

[The Overfiend]

Listen to Dj Bone, you will develop an appreciation trust me.

[DannyBlack]

Did he do "Bang the f*cking walls"?

[massplanck]

Too bad if you cant grasp the fact that techno didn't just jump out of nowhere going 'bang bang bang bang' at 148 bpm.

[eyeswithoutaface]

i think the more you try to understand it, you probably wont. There are numerous ways to approach detroit techno, most notably the overstated nostalgic "it's where techno started" approach. I personally just love really well written, construted and sequenced melodies and music, and detroit techno for me tends to veer towards just that rather than the bang bang. For me there is a special sense of effort and actual belief in what the producer was trying to achieve with detroit techno records on the whole, certainly in alot of the more new school detroit as opposed to the original stuff i.e No Ufo's, Cybotron etc etc which as much as i love i do find that people tend to think that detroit starts and ends with the belleville three, transmat, metroplex etc etc when these days detroit techno as an ethos and style spreads alot more far and wide, with labels like Delsin doing the business

[dirty_bass]

Like anything, you either like it or you don`t.
some stuff requires repeated listening to grow on you, but don`t worry if you don`t appreciate it, you don`t have to like it.
I love it personally, but then I can`t stand schranze, or scouse house.
Does it matter?

for me, I love the depth of the sound, the space in the mix, the richness of the chordal sounds, the harmonic content, the nice simple shuffling grooves, and sometimes the sheer alien-ness of it.

[davethedrummer]

go listen to it in club
sod listening at home , do the club first
then the house

[dirty_bass]

I thought detroit was one of the few techno`s (is that a word) that works at home too

[dan the acid man]

it's got melody, funk and darkness all rolled into one, what more do you need?

[massplanck]

Some of it is as heavy as **** though. The detroit techno artists had a pretty wide range covering everything from house , electro to acid techno.

You might be best off listening to Drexciya first (more electro than anything) and use as some kind of reference as they are seen as one of the pioneers of the detroit sound. I have yet to find a person who doesnt appreciate Drexciya. The beauty lies is the mysticism as much as the music.

[echodek]

if your into hard techno you should like Robert Hood... bastard hard, heavy as hell but with plenty of detroit funk too.

[davethedrummer]

I thought detroit was one of the few techno`s (is that a word) that works at home too

yeah it is , but the club experience really brings out all the groove of it.
at home sometimes it seems like you're just getting 70% of it
theres all the sub that comes out on a good system in a club
and then just the sheer volume, the music almost becomes something else entirely

[eyeswithoutaface]

for me that many applies to certain types of detroit, sometimes the deeply intricate electro and housier end of the detroit spectrum is pretty much a home listening experience, nice chilled out bedroom, some lovely green, melodies, happy days, but by far THE best gig ive ever seen was Galaxy To Galaxy Live @ Voodoo a couple of years ago now i think, the whole UR crew out, some UR dj sets too before, Los Hermanos live, absolutely stunning performance wise

hearing tracks like "Jupiter Jazz", "High Tech Jazz (with quality live saxaphones)", "Amazon" etc etc was just brilliant

[rhythmtech]

you know, if you can't figure it out, lock yourself in a dark room in a basement and tell yourself the aliens are outside. then play model 500 'no ufo's'.

.


:dance: :laughing: :clap: :Yes:

[RDR]

:dance: :laughing: :clap: :Yes:

Dear lord... :lol: :Yes: