The 20 Greatest Detroit Techno Tracks Ranked!
20. Eddie Flasin Folks – It's Time to Reveal Yourself (1989)
The sample list on Time to Express is an unexplored gem from an underrated Detroit first wave producer and serves as a prelude to the key influences of the city's emerging techno scene: Kraftwerk, Telex, Yazo, Noise Art. The Silo Mix offers some of that free style; The techno mix is more difficult.
19. DJ Bone – Cultural Difference (2014)
A good starting point for Detroit Bones supporters is probably to watch the incredible footage of him DJing on three floors known as Video Attack 41, then delve into his extensive catalogue: the highlights are too numerous and varied to be listed, apart from the limited cultural aspects. . Difference. – African songs, jazz keyboards, punchy rhythms: it's incredible material.
18. Blake Baxter – When We Play (1987)
Despite being nicknamed Prince Techno, Blake Baxter feels a bit overshadowed by his first wave colleagues. It was co-produced by Kevin Sanderson and it's just incredible when we play it. Despite the relentless dynamics of its long and pure melodies, it conveys a strange and painful sensation of oblivion.
17. Kenny Larkin – Azimut (1994)
Kenny Larkin is a humble figure in Detroit's second-wave tech (he describes himself as "famous for not being famous"), but his humble demeanor doesn't reflect his talent. You can really get lost in the complex and passionate layers of the debut album's title track – there's a touch of jazz hidden between the layers.
16. The Martian – Star Dancer (1992)
The enigmatic Red Planet 12, narrated by the enigmatic “Will Thomas,” crowns the series and can be considered the work of underground resistance. Made by Man Star Dancer, it's a marvel: devastating kick, haunting two-note bassline, huge waves of contained electronics, incredible climax.
15. Drexia – Adrian Dunes (1999)
Navigating the discography of Drexsia, aka James Stinson and Gerald Donald, and the Afrofuturist diving legend is a difficult task: there is no easy or popular entry point. But Drexcia's most influential electronic reissues, like Andrean's Sand Dunes: Hard-hitting, are peppered with hauntingly beautiful synths.
14. Hand K – Starz (1995)
The late Kelly Hand was the first lady of Detroit techno, a talented producer in a male-dominated world. His collection of Akaka classics boasts a rich catalog (see Now Baby's Raw and Jack Funk), but Starz is his acknowledged masterpiece: haunting yet lush, soulful yet hypnotic.
13. Secret Resistance – The Last Frontier (1992)
Music's collective underground resistance often clashes with techno's public enemies: Detroit's tireless representatives of Afrofuturist electronics. But the manifesto and the lyrics would have meant little if the music hadn't been good: the acidic, snarling lines of Last Front, which - like techno itself - veer towards electronic atmospheres and lush synths.
12. Robert Hood – The Sleep Cycle (1994)
The former UR member single-handedly created an entire subgenre: minimal techno had other seminal contributions, but Hood's Minimal Nation album was his masterpiece. Sleep Cycle boldly encapsulates their sound, creating a magical world where increasingly slow changes in sound become incredibly powerful.
11. DJ Minx – A Walk in the Park (2004)
Recorded while Minx's husband was shopping for their daughter, "A Walk in the Park" is an irresistible minimalist cocktail: powerful bass, tropical drums and jazzy chords. The latest remix from Muddyman (not on this list because he's not a techno producer but more in his genre) is also fantastic.
10. Floor Plan: Never Grow Old (Replant) (2013)
Robert Hood and his son's opera "Never Grow Old" is soulful, spiritually inspired techno music, complete with samples from Aretha Franklin's legendary gospel album "Amazing Grace." The tension between the rawness of the voice and the rush of the fast electronic rhythms is intense.
9.Seaboro-Claro (1983)
Cyboron (Juan Atkins and Richard Davis, the latter a Vietnam veteran who changed his name to 3070) were the cornerstone of Detroit techno, and Clear was their finest hour. With a Kraftwerk sample over an electronic beat, featuring an Afrofuturist legend that still sounds amazing 40 years later.
8. Reese - They Just Want One More Chance (1988)
From the mid-90s, Kevin Sanderson's booming bass sound, heard on countless drum tracks, British garage and dubstep, was the first effect: too many to be heard today in songs from the last few years. The 80s seemed strange, as if the sound had fallen through a time tunnel.
7. Clip People – Back to the Past (1994)
Carl Craig's catalog is so diverse that it's difficult to single out one song as the best. With Les, jazz drums and dynamic electronics are more or less the same thing, but let's take a look back at the release under one of their many monikers, a mix of techno and house DJs, and start with a funky version of LCD Soundsystem, a example but his impeccable wah skills. Dance floor.
6. Jeff Mills – Bells (1996)
Calling The Bells "an essential tool for DJs", Mills downplays the track's impressive potential, saying it's "something I can say goodbye to". It's constantly in your face - a very distorted rhythm track - and surprisingly subtle in the way the acidic melody rises and falls.
5. Model 500 – No UFOs (1985)
After Cyborg, Juan Atkins perfected his voice in No UFOs. The song shares Cyborg's bleak vision of the future – "They say there's no hope/They say there's no UFOs" – but expands the sound, making it darker and less influenced by European electronica. The result is so fantastic that it would be surprising if it worked in 1985.
4. Aztec Mystics – Jaguar (1999)
Jaguar, a Detroit techno song that pushed the boundaries of the organized dance world, was performed by Jeff Mills and Paul Oakenfold and became so popular that it spawned several pseudo-European versions. The noise is still understandable: it's incredibly funky, reaching a climax and synth response with dramatic disco strings.
3. Galaxy 2 Galaxy – High-tech Jazz (1993)
Underground Resistance's production may be tough - music by militant artists - but the hi-tech jazz (composed by members of the Galaxy 2 Galaxy collective) is simply beautiful. The song uniquely combines jazz saxophone, electronic, techno and house, exists in a fascinating and engaging musical world and achieved unexpected but deserved popularity with a late-night video game soundtrack.
2. Rhythm Is Rhythm - Life Series (1987)
Strings of Life was an attempt to revive the optimism lost after the assassination of Martin Luther King and quickly became a timeless anthem on international dance floors. The song is so familiar that it's easy to forget how strange and experimental it is: bold, bass-free, salsa-influenced, covered in Detroit Symphony Orchestra samples.
1. City Center – The Good Life (1988)
Kevin Sanderson's "Big Fun Inner City" sounds different from the groundbreaking techno of 1988! Detroit's new dance sound: more pop and essential melodies, influenced by Chicago house and Sanderson's fellow Detroiters ("crossover", says the producer). The same goes for "Good Life": it's an attempt to create a contemporary must-have on the dance floor, which satisfies the hallmarks of chic and nails it, even if the Detroit flair is felt everywhere, from the metallic notes to the name . Center. It's timeless, cheerful (true to the manufacturer's Lift moniker) and undeniably downright simple.
