The 20 Greatest Detroit Techno Tracks Ranked!
20. Eddie Flashin Fowlkes - It's Time to Express (1989)
An underrated gem from an underrated Detroit first-wave producer, a sample setlist found on Time to Express serves as an introduction to the key influences of the city's burgeoning techno scene: Kraftwerk, Telex, Yazoo, Art of Noise. Silo Mix tips to freestyle; The techno mix is more complex.
19. DJ Bone – Cultural Diversity (2014)
The best place to start with Detroit stalwart Bone is to check out stunning footage from his three-deck DJ set known as Video Attack 41, then delve into his lengthy catalog: the highlights on the list are many and varied, but the cultural diversity is interesting - Afrikaans songs, jazz keyboards, hard rhythms... - Killer.
18. Blake Baxter - When We Played (1987)
Although Blake Baxter has earned the nickname "The Prince of Techno", he feels like just another guy, somewhat overshadowed by his first wave peers. When We Have to Play, co-produced by Kevin Saunderson, is fantastic. Despite the continuous introduction of long passages of pure rhythm, it carries a strange, touching melancholy.
17. Kenny Larkin - Azimuth (1994)
Kenny Larkin, a minor figure in the second wave of Detroit techno - he describes himself as "famous for not being famous" - his low profile status does not reflect his abilities. You can get completely lost in the complex, chatty layers of his debut album's title track – somewhere in between there's an obvious hint of jazz.
16. Martin - Star Dancer (1992)
A B-side that could be the highlight of the mysterious "Red Planet" 12-inch series by the enigmatic "Will Thomas", believed to have been created by the underground resistance. Whoever made Star Dancer is amazing: crazy beat, nasty two-note bass line, big wave of fumbling electronics, big climax.
15. Drexia - Andrean Sand Dunes (1999)
Unraveling the discography of Drexia, aka James Stinson and Gerald Donald, and their controversial approach to Afrofuturist mythology is no easy task: there is no obvious or easy entry point. But Drexier's hugely influential reboot of electronic music often stuns like Andrian Sand Tunes: solid beats with impossibly beautiful synths.
14. Hand K - 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 compilations showcase a rich back catalog - check out the raw, frenetic funk of Come On Now Baby - but Starz is his undeniable masterpiece: persistent yet exhilarating, captivating yet hypnotic.
13. Underground Resistance - The Last Frontier (1992)
The essence of the musical group Underground Resistance is that they are the public enemies of techno: the Afrofuturist electronics of Detroit are its most indomitable representative. But manifestos and rhetoric won't mean much if the music isn't this good: Final Frontier has a biting acid line, a beat rooted - like techno itself - in electronics, and a wonderfully atmospheric synth wave.
12. Robert Hood - The Sleep Cycle (1994)
In which the former UR member almost single-handedly created an entire subgenre: minimal techno has other seminal elements, but Hood's Minimal Nation album is its seminal text. Sleep Cycle boldly strips its sound to the bare minimum, creating a magical world where small, gradual sonic changes energize.
11. DJ Minx - A Walk in the Park (2004)
Recorded while Minx's husband took his daughter shopping, Walk in the Park is an irresistible, minimalist cocktail: punchy bass, tropical percussion, jazzy chords. The recent remix by Moodyman (not on this list as he is not a techno producer outside of that genre) is also fantastic.
10. Floor Plan - Never Get Old (Transplant) (2013)
"Never Grow Old," written by Robert Hood and his daughter, is both techno and deep spiritual soul, complete with a sample from Aretha Franklin's legendary gospel album Amazing Grace. The tension between the gruff voice and the insistence of his rapid electronic pulse is incredibly strong.
9. Cybotron - Erase (1983)
Cybotron — Juan Atkins and Richard Davis, the last Vietnam vet to change his name to 3070 — are cornerstones of Detroit techno, and Clear is their heyday. Combining a Kraftwerk sample with an electronic beat and Afrofuturist mythology, it still sounds great 40 years later.
8. Reese - I Just Want Another Chance (1988)
A hugely influential debut from the roaring bass of Kevin Saunderson, who appeared on countless mid-90s drum and bass, British garage and dubstep tracks: so much so that he sounds amazing on a late-80s track today. , as if the word had fallen into a time tunnel.
7. Paperclip People - Launch (1994)
Carl Craig's catalog is so diverse that it is difficult to single out one song as the best. Less's jazzy drums and choppy electronics round things off, but let's stick with the comeback, released under one of his many aliases, which fuses techno and DJ house into a stunning LCD Soundsystem cover, an example of his hypnotic prowess .
6. Jeff Mills - "The Bells" (1996)
Mills calls The Bells a "handy DJ tool," which really understates the incredible power of their sweet theme song, "Something I Can Use to Say Hello." It's incredibly raw - a track with heavily distorted beats - and surprisingly subtle in the way the acid melodies rise and fall in intensity.
5. Model 500 - No UFO (1985)
After Cybotron, Juan Atkins refined his sound with the album No UFO. He shared an ambiguous vision for Cybotron's future—“They say there's no hope/They say there's no such thing as a UFO”—but he hardened the music to darker, less charming European electronica. The result is so forward-thinking that it's surprising it was created in 1985.
4. Aztec Mystic – Jaguar (1999)
A Detroit techno act that pushed boundaries in the regulated dance world, Jaguar, featuring Jeff Mills and Paul Oakenfold, became popular enough to spawn several European covers. The noise is still clear: it's incredibly addictive, gradually building to a climax with the synthesized response of dramatic disco strings.
3. Galaxy 2 Galaxy – High Tech Jazz (1993)
Underground Resistance's output may be grim - militant music from militant artists - but the high-tech jazz (from the members of Galaxy 2 Galaxy) is no less beautiful. Combining jazz saxophone, electronica, techno and house, it exists in a fascinating and exciting musical universe and received an unexpected but well-deserved rise in popularity thanks to the soundtrack of the video game Midnight Club.
2. Rhythm is rhythm - Strings of Life (1987)
An attempt to restore the optimism lost after the assassination of Martin Luther King, "Strings of Life" quickly became an eternal anthem for the dance floors of the world. It's so well-known that it's easy to forget what a strange and experimental piece it is: fat, bassless, salsa-influenced, and sampled by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
1. Downtown - The Good Life (1988)
Kevin Sanderson's Inner City Big Fun appeared as an exception on the 1988 Techno compilation! Detroit's new dance sound: stronger, more distinctly melodic Chicago house, influenced by Sanderson's Detroit peers ("it was excellent," noted the producer). The same goes for Good Life - from unstoppable anthems to dance floor escapes, an attempt to create a modern track that meets Chick's standards and completely succeeds - although the Detroit flavor was still evident throughout, from the metallic synths on Inner City. name Timeless, exciting (the nickname The Elevator suits the producer) and irresistible, this is the perfect single.
