Techno history
The beginnings of electronic music
The history of electronic music begins with the possibility of recording, editing and creating music. There were two technological prerequisites for this: on the one hand, the production of the electron tube and, on the other hand, the magnetic sound recording. The electron tube was developed in the years 1903 to 1913, while magnetic sound recording was only developed later (1927 to 1939). The electron tube made it possible to create or amplify vibrations in songs. With magnetic sound recording, tapes of songs could be recorded and thus changed. An example of this are noises that could now be inserted into songs. This type of composition is known as bruitism, ie noises are included as musical material. As a result, the so-called musique concrète emerged in the 1940s. This term was introduced by Pierre Schaeffer. All kinds of sounds were processed in musique concrète. These sounds come, for example, from musical instruments, noises from nature or everyday life. These sounds were recorded, edited and alienated. Musique concrète had a decisive influence on the emergence of electronic music and also on the first studio productions. Another crucial factor in the emergence of electronic music was the medium of broadcasting. In broadcasting, there was both interest in new musical innovations and the potential for financing expensive so-called studio equipment. The composer Karl-Heinz Stockhausen began his first experiments in the 1950s in the NDR studios. Another significant factor in the development of electronic music was Robert Moog's first mass-produced synthesizer. This synthesizer was the first to combine all the important devices in the recording studio.
Karlheinz Stockhausen: Telemusic (1966)
50th Anniversary of the Moog Modular Synthesizer
Young People's Concert: "Bach Transmogrified" / Bernstein · New York Philharmonic
Old titles such as those by Johann Sebastian Bach could be recorded and modified with a Moog synthesizer. These new products made the synthesizer known worldwide. Consequently, it also led to new experiments with electronic music. Especially many musicians or from the genre of the so-called krautrock worked with these synthesizers. The term Krautrock was coined by the English press. This type of rock music was particularly characterized by the instrumental and also the improvisation. The formation "Kraftwerk" has had a decisive influence on electronic music. In 1974, Kraftwerk released their hit "Autobahn". "Kraftwerk" almost completely dispensed with instrumentally recorded songs. Instead, "Kraftwerk" achieved "through the combination of synthesizer, sequencer and rhythm machines the possibility of changing the course of the musical presentation as a whole". The singing of the members was often alienated. Furthermore, the formation "Kraftwerk" was known for the aesthetic design of their performances. At their concerts, all members were dressed uniformly and moved little. Puppets modeled after them often also performed. This manner of presentation at concerts reflects "the futuristic expectation of a fusion of man and machine".
Power Plant - Trans Europe Express
First Techno (Power Plant 1970)
In the further development, punk differentiated itself from the orchestral direction of composition. Musicians like Jean-Michel Jarre focused again on the conventional instruments of rock music. The genre “industrial music” developed. The songs of this genre have both electronic and punk elements. Furthermore, the content orientation of this genre was that social taboos were addressed in the songs.
At the same time, in still-divided Berlin, the industrial music group Einsturzende Neubauten was one of the most steadfast artists in the wild West Berlin anarcho art scene. Using their physical strength to the full, they performed an experimental metallic sound clash. They rampaged with hammer blows on sheet metal and anvils, venting their anger at the establishment through metal screaming under flex.
Improvements in synthesizers and the fact that they became more affordable led to the development of so-called synth-pop in Great Britain. Well-known bands were "Depeche Mode" or "Duran Duran". In the Federal Republic, the genre developed the "New German Wave (NDW)". At first, the titles seem trivial to the listener.
Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene II
Gray Zone - Polar Bear (NDW)
Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough (Live Swap Shop 1981)
Depeche Mode - Everything Counts
Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygen IV
Joachim Witt - Golden Rider 1981 (NDW)
Depeche Mode - People Are People
Depeche Mode - Pipeline
As early as 1977, at the height of the disco era, Giorgio Moroder produced the track "I Feel Love" with Donna Summer, a milestone in the vita of electronic dance music. There are countless remixes by “I Feel Love” – DJ Sneak from Chicago has produced one of the best, judging by my taste. At the same time, a young band from Sheffield attracted attention. The Human League – parallel to the booming punk revolt, they produced the single Being Boiled as early as 1978. This profoundly poignant track ushered in the new wave era and is a marker in the bio of electronic music.
THE HUMAN LEAGUE from Sheffield - Being Boiled - Electronic new wave sound from 1978
Giorgio Moroder & Donna Summer - I Feel Love [Studio Version]
The beginning of Dj culture in the mid 70s
In the early 1980s, dance and disco music evolved into the house genre in New York and Chicago. US house music represents a strong point of reference to the techno developed in Detroit. The New York DJs and music producers Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan are among the early protagonists of the US house scene. Since the early 1970s, both began to continuously develop their skills as DJs.
They went their separate ways around 1975 and Knuckles moved to Chicago to DJ at the legendary Warehouse, where he later founded the Power Plant club. Larry Levan, on the other hand, packed all his experiences with the West End Records label owners into the prototype of a discotheque as we know it today, the Paradise Garage. Dancing was the absolute focus and the DJ was allowed to express himself freely. In particular the sound concept of Richard Long gave the ever-evolving beats the right sound architecture. Parallel to the house scene, artists from New York also justified their preference for musical experiments and produced electro funk. george clinton , Africa Bambaataa , Herbie Hancock and Grand Master Flash also cite Kraftwerk as a source of inspiration to provide the burgeoning New York scene of rap music and breakdance with the soundtrack of its time.
The hard precursor to European techno were bands like Front 242 from Belgium, Nitzer Ebb from England and Laibach from Slovenia, to name just a few representatives of this genre, which developed from the roots of post-punk, post-industrial and new wave. In 1983, Talla 2XLC, DJ and employee of the record store City Music, was already working on a name for his electronic favorites in Frankfurt am Main. So he had the idea of classifying all the music in a record compartment under the heading TECHNO, which represented the technological advances in the creation of electronic music.
The story will be continued soon.
Text source:
University of Paderborn, Wikipedia, Matthew Collin and Christian Arndt