What is the night? In my limited view of the world as a white kid from West Michigan, I think it means playing with friends and then being in a room that's too small and too hot with a sweaty crowd listening. They listened to the songs yesterday and the day before yesterday.
Before writing this piece, I never waited more than one night, especially when it came to music. Songs from artists like Drake, Lil Baby, Dua Lipa are washed and repeated every time. Sometimes a remix of a song is added for freshness, but that's it. I never thought about music. He was never the center of my night, he was always the periphery.
Oh, I was wrong. Techno showed me the error of my previous thinking.
I am neither a historian nor an expert in anything, especially techno. To delve deeper into the history of techno, I recommend going to Exhibit 3000 at Submerge, the world's first techno museum, and opening Dan Cheek's Techno Rebels.
I personally had the honor of speaking with John Collins, international DJ, producer, member of the techno music collective Underground Resistance and curator of Detroit's Exhibit 3000. Techno was born in Detroit, just 45 minutes from Ann Arbor. Its founders are four black men: Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Eddie Folks and Kevin Saunderson. These artists were making music by and for black people in Detroit in the early 1980s.
Collins explained to me how techno music was inspired by Motown legends, artists like Donna Summer, electronic music group Kraftwerk, funk groups like Parliament-Funkadelic, and many other music creators. Other sources of inspiration were science fiction art such as Star Trek, Star Wars and Afrofuturism. Produced using drum machines such as the 808 and 909, among other electronic equipment, Juan Atkins called this genre of machine music "Techno".
“Techno was born in Detroit because of the influence that producers found there,” Collins explains. “What is jazz, what is gospel, what is Motown, what is Parlament Funkadelic, what is German Kraftwerk?” All of these elements are included in techno music.
Atkins, May, Foulkes and Saunderson did not draw inspiration solely from music and popular culture. His thriving music production style is inspired by the city itself.
In the 1980s, Detroit was described as a city without hope. In 1990, a New York Times article titled "The Tragedy of Detroit" noted that white flight and the decline of the auto industry had caused a severe economic crisis in the city. As Dan Chico wrote in Techno Rebels, Detroit has become a symbol of what is wrong with America, as evidenced by its empty buildings and lifeless downtown. Collins noted that the media completely ignores the positive things about the Motor City.
“I think for many years the media has focused primarily on the negative aspects of Detroit and not highlighted the good things that were still happening,” Collins said. “We still had stable areas: black businesses and homeownership. We have a great Wayne State University, the University of Detroit (as schools) and we have DIA. “They (the media) only focus on the negative, so that’s what a lot of people saw.”
This excessive focus on the negative aspects of Detroit, such as economic woes and high crime rates, has overshadowed the city's vibrant culture. As this fragmented view of Detroit spread through the media, black teenagers and clubbers gathered at parties and club events. Detroit nightlife in the '80s included everything from European disco to burgeoning house music from black and queer Chicago artists.
At the same time, May, Atkins, Saunderson and Fowlkes began creating techno. The techno speed of the machine is at least 130 beats per minute and can sometimes reach over 150 beats per minute. The music is raw and subversive, full of emotion despite the few words.
“It’s futuristic,” Collins said. "He's black. He's an Afrofuturist. He's political. He's spiritual. And it's music that brings people together."
In Detroit clubs and parties, techno became a more popular genre when it took off in the 1980s . He gained increasing recognition with The Electrifying Mojo, The Wizard and other Detroit DJ mix shows. With their help, techno began to develop a community of dedicated listeners and dancers.
Clubs in Ann Arbor also began playing techno, notably the Nectarine Ballroom, now known as Nekto, where Jeff Mills had a residency in the mid- 1980s . As techno grew, it attracted a diverse audience: black, white, straight, and queer. The genre quickly grew in popularity and popularity. Detroit artists and record labels, many of whom still produce music today, began distributing their music internationally.
“Techno has become an international phenomenon,” Collins said. “All over the world, people were dancing to this music... People loved the music that was coming out of Detroit.”
The genre spread to English cities like Birmingham and Sheffield while the rave scene spread across the UK. The raves were mostly held in abandoned buildings and took place entirely underground, but they gradually evolved into large outdoor parties with lights and loud music. It was an experience to say the least, and usually involved drugs.
This is why the techno rave scene has a lot to do with drugs. Drug use is common in techno sessions, but the music was not created with that in mind. Techno is about making people dance and lose themselves in the music without any chemical additives. Detroit and the world's first techno club, The Music Institute, did not serve alcohol. These types of associations exist and, of course, many people consume illegal substances while listening to techno, but there are also many who don't.
Back in Detroit, the techno scene continued to grow throughout the city in the early '90s as independent labels acquired new artists. Additionally, big names from the early techno wave, like Saunderson, May, Folks, Atkins and others from Detroit, played clubs around the world, including major US states like Miami, California, Chicago and New York. . . Collins said that while the genre had a large following in the United States, it was even bigger abroad, in part because he believed Americans were conservative in their perception of new music.
“America is still a very conservative country, a puritanical country,” Collins said. “And in America, even though a lot of people in Detroit like house and techno, overseas it was so much more.”
At the end of the 80s, techno began to take hold in the fabric of Berlin. Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the city's nightlife boomed. Berliners found a new way to dance and interact with Detroit techno. In 1991, Dimitri Hegeman invited members of the “Clandestine Resistance” to Berlin to his club Tresor, located near the Berlin Wall.
Techno continued to grow and evolve throughout the 90s , 2000s, and 2010s. Bands like Underground Resistance and every other Detroit label championed techno's true identity as black Detroit music. Underground Resistance is absolutely political in that their music reflects social issues like the Flint water crisis to educate listeners about riots and discrimination.
Collins compared Underground Resistance to the rap group Public Enemy in that their music draws attention to social and political issues in the United States.
“His raps were about social issues in the United States. discrimination, how marginalized people are treated,” Collins said. "Political and radical music. I knew the rhythm of dance. So we can dance, but (that means) also the elimination of knowledge."
Today, Berlin's nightlife has generated an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue and attracts tourists who come just for the clubs and music. The popularity of techno in Berlin has also led to some misconceptions that the genre originated in its clubs and not in Detroit. A Frankfurt museum recently sparked controversy by falsely claiming to be the world's first technology museum. People see this claim as an attempt to culturally appropriate and whitewash the 3,000 exhibits, even though the Detroit museum is 22 years older than the Frankfurt museum.
Despite these controversies, the techno scene has an incredibly large audience and attracts people from all over the world to its famous clubs. They are unlike anything else and are impossible to describe until you feel them. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to speak with a frequent visitor.
Midwest to Europe native Enzo De Michele is originally from Milwaukee, St. Lucia. He studied at university in Louis and now lives in Austria. DeMichele is a big fan of electronic music, especially techno; covers every techno record you can find. He described the uniqueness he discovered in techno during his visits to Berlin clubs.
“I felt like...DJ was a godly figure,” DeMichele said. “They controlled the sound and their expressions...I think it's a decentralized, non-hierarchical space. When we talk about techno, it's not just about music, but also about the space and sensations that surround it.
DeMichele noted that in Berlin's techno clubs, everyone was there to listen to music, no matter who they were before entering the club.
“It’s very dark,” DeMichele said. “There are people wearing sunglasses everywhere.” The atmosphere seems conducive to incognito, devoid of ego satisfaction.
Speaking to people in Austria and Berlin, De Michele believes that few people in the world know that techno is the black music of Detroit. Detroit and its black artists deserve more attention and respect. "I think it has to be said that techno is first and foremost black music. We have to respect the people who make it (the music), and they were all black artists from Detroit," he told me .
While on the other side of the world in Austria, DeMichele continues to listen to Detroit techno, which he says is the best techno out there.
“I think Detroit should get the recognition it deserves, and it deserves it,” DeMichele said. “And I think the music speaks too. I've never heard anything better. I listen to Detroit techno here; I'm here to find albums by Detroit artists. And I think even really good DJs know that. »
Techno exists not only in Berlin and the European night scene in general, but also in major American cities like New York, Las Vegas or Los Angeles. It's also here in Ann Arbor. Techno lives and lives thanks to the people of the Michigan Electronic Music Collective.
Taubman Jr. Bianca Trichenea, vice president of the Michigan Electronic Music Collective, says her organization's goal is to support techno in the local scene and among University of Michigan students.
“We primarily target college students, but because the original Ann Arbor scene was local, the music tends to bridge the gap between them and they can connect and inspire each other,” Tricheneau said. “We are planning production, DJing and event management workshops where aspiring DJs can showcase their skills and practice in a legitimate environment.”
Trihenea loves techno for its temporality. forces the audience to stay in the moment, guided by the DJ through sensational choreography. “The sentimental value of DJ (she) choreographs the theme and is a guide for your experience,” Trichenea said. "And it's a temporal art form. You create the moment, you have to be there and experience it, and then it's over. You can try to recreate it later, but being there, surrounded by people... . temporality is a form of art".
That's the beauty of techno. It doesn't last forever and is a momentary experience that can have lasting effects. According to Trichenea, her listeners are surrounded by emotions. Although Trichenia may consider his statements insignificant, I believe them to be true. The impact of techno on the listener is a real and tangible phenomenon that is almost impossible to express in words.
“It’s interesting how we ultimately came together around this feeling,” Trichena said. "It's difficult to label and describe precisely. We know how to push back this limit of bodily sensations to learn to know ourselves, to free ourselves. The brain can be this space, outside of physical reality. I stumble a lot, but it It's real."
For Trichena, techno is personal. It's about sharing my art and music with others and helping them and me better understand the human experience. It's completely unspoken, but compatible.
“You share art, music, what’s more personal?” -Trichena asked. “These are just notes on how sensitive your body is. Helps deal with difficult issues (such as trauma). “It’s the glue that unites people.”
Experience is the key to techno and a good night. Everyone wants to create experiences that will be remembered forever (and sometimes not).
Techno is a form of music that cannot be put into just one category. It is not only used for nighttime rest. It's not just for listening alone. His rhythms embody everything that music can be. Encourage uniqueness. Techno is an inherently black style of music that everyone can learn something from. It's a type of music that is constantly changing and growing, but its history should never be forgotten. The roots of techno have spread internationally, but they are still centered in Detroit, beyond our campus, thanks to the talents of black musicians Atkins, May, Saunderson and Fowlkes.
So now, as a newcomer to techno, I encourage you to go out and listen to something new. Try to learn something about music, but also try to learn something about music. Remember that art does not exist in a vacuum, the artists who created it had meaning and intention for the audience. Art should be appreciated, everyone can participate in it. May, Atkins, Saunderson and Folks created techno for Detroit's black audiences, but everyone can and should enjoy it. Especially students from Ann Arbor, so close to where it all began.
Commentary columnist Miles Anderson can be reached at milesand@umich.edu .
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