I promise you, from today I never! never! ever! say that again! I feeling like I have to cut my ears off or something like that, for my stupid thoughts about Techno & Berlin.
Sorry, I think it is because of the Love Parade, and associations. But yeah, Frankfurt is even mentioned in the track from DJ Hooligan. DJ Hooligan - B.o.t.t.r.o.p.
But thanks for the museum suggestion, didn’t know that. And I will watch that video for sure.
I do love also the instrumental, without voices. They called something like space Italo. To name one producer: Cyber People (the brother of Ivana Spagna, Giorgio). Or guys like Rygar and Laserdance.
I imagine you’re probably referring to this context.
In 1982, while working at Frankfurt’s City Music record store, DJ Talla 2XLC [de] started to use the term techno to categorize artists such as Depeche Mode, Front 242, Heaven 17, Kraftwerk and New Order, with the word used as shorthand for technologically created dance music.
However, I believe the term “techno” as a music genre was first used much earlier. In Japan, it was already widely used during the 1970s when YMO became a hit.
Early use of the term ‘Techno’
In 1977, Steve Fairnie and Bev Sage formed an electronica band called the Techno Twins in London, England. When Kraftwerk first toured Japan, their music was described as “technopop” by the Japanese press.[148] The Japanese band Yellow Magic Orchestra used the word ‘techno’ in a number of their works such as the song “Technopolis” (1979), the album Technodelic (1981), and a flexi disc EP, “The Spirit of Techno” (1983).[149] When Yellow Magic Orchestra toured the United States in 1980, they described their own music as technopop, and were written up in Rolling Stone Magazine.[150]
It’s always interesting to me how few software-enthusiasts there are out there. A lot of people seem to view making music or artwork in the box as some kind of necessary evil not worth exploring further, and part of me wonders if it’s the systems and menus somehow getting in the way. I know a lot of hardware devices also have plenty of systems and menus to contend with, but the ease of access is more surface-level; you can move knobs, press buttons, see the pretty lights and everything just feels more intuitive to most.
Then there are those of us who are too poor for hardware, so we have to use what we’ve got
Since the two aren’t mutually-exclusive, I give the largest amount of props to people who can afford (and do use) luxury hardware, but who also embrace the digital medium to its fullest (I know a few of those on here who have made some excellent Renoise scripts!). They’re sort of the ones who defy all “hmm, is analog or digital better?” rules and just use whatever they can to make awesome things. I think we can all learn a lesson from them.
According to the linked informations they used it in song titles and they described their style as “Technopop”, but they didn’t categorize music as “Techno”. I’m pretty sure Talla 2XLC quickly started to categorize pure electronic sound (which already existed at that time) as Techno, stuff like Depeche Mode is Synth Pop and Kraftwerk themselves described their music as “Electro Pop”. Anyway, Frankfurt > Berlin when it comes to “capital of Techno”. Did you watch the video above?
Then I have no problem with that. (Though I was surprised Düsseldorf wasn’t included.)
However, after looking into it a bit, it seems that within the overall historical flow of the term “techno music,” the words ‘techno’ and “technopop” refer to different concepts.
In Japan, it’s common to abbreviate compound English words into a single term, so the concepts behind the words “techno” and “technopop” are not separate. That’s why the explanation that the term “techno” first appeared in the 1980s felt off.
The discrepancy likely arose because the same name was used to represent different things.
I watched the video too. I understand that in Frankfurt, there was a movement with active releases of techno music records and events. thanks.
Because of Kraftwerk? Kraftwerk may be the origin of electronic music as we know it today and the main reason why there’s Electro, Hip Hop and synth sound respectively electronic sound in general, but there’s no big relevance when it comes to “Techno” as a music style. Techno as a music style was categorized and developed in Frankfurt first, and Frankfurt is the reason for nowadays Techno (especially its subgenre Trance), even if the style itself was invented in Detroit and the most influential synths were created in Japan.
Do you think? What about Klein & MBO? Or Giorgio Moroder? It’s not only Kraftwerk who influenced Techno. Tracks like Feel the drive (Doctor’s cat),. Guys like Yellow Magic Orchestra. Juan Atkins (Cybotron), Alexander Robotnick, to name some.
Klein & MBO started in the 80s, way later than Kraftwerk who started to create their sound in 1968 and released their first album in 1970. And even Giorgio Moroder himself was influenced by Kraftwerk. As I said, Kraftwerk is the origin of electronic music as we know it today. In the end everyone making electronic music is somehow influenced by Kraftwerk. No wonder Kraftwerk is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Giorgio Moroder isn’t.
Yes. I know, maybe I have misinterpret your early reaction. What I mean is how the later Techno producers were influenced by both: Kraftwerk and Italo disco tracks. So, the producers then were inspired by Kraftwerk, made their tracks, and the generation later where we got more styles and themes were inspired by the names and tracks I mentioned.
And so on, and now we’ve got quadrillions of sub-sub-sub-sub-subgenres that no one can distinguish from each other… Personally I keep the oldschool subdivisions.
They were inspired by 60s bands like The Stooges and MC5 (who got inspired by the industrial noise of Detroit), but not by their music, but by the thoughts behind their music. They were also inspired by the Beach Boys, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Tangerine Dream and the overall togetherness of technology and sound.
Ah, my father was a composition student of Stockhausen’s. I think Stimmung might be one of my favorites of his I’ve heard. Decidedly not electronic, but an interesting piece