Black Heritage Month

 

Warning - Long, long-new-and-improved remixed rant...

In celebration of Black History Month, I’m revisiting a piece I wrote about Techno a few years back. And yes—Techno is Black History. Since originally publishing the piece through Charivari Detroit and TV Lounge, alongside the Techno Original and Community series, I’ve been honored to work with some of Detroit’s greats: Juan Atkins, Alan Oldham, Unkwn.IO, DriveTrain, Santonio Echols, Tom Linder, Brian Bonds, Keith Tucker, Bill Stacy, DJ Psycho, DJ Krazy and the young guns carrying the torch, including Dantiez Saunderson, DJ I.V., AMX, DJ Sphinx, Henry Brooks, and so many more. I’ve expanded the piece just a bit and added a few more voices to the narrative.

 “My father is an icon and influencer of African American culture in Detroit, so I’d love to keep his legacy alive by educating the following generations while promoting the highest standard of Techno music through the business that he started, Metroplex Records.”  Milan Ariel Atkins

“Techno is more than just music to me—it’s a spiritual movement rooted in Black innovation, an underground language of resistance, futurism, and freedom. It’s in my blood!” Dantiez Saunderson

“Techno…the art form that moves humanity through an exchange of thoughts and emotions by the creative implementation of rhythm, melody and machinery.” DriveTrain

“Techno is using an electric current to convey an emotion or capture a moment in time to share with others. If it lacks soul, it's dishonest.” Brian Bonds

“Techno being a part of black history doesn’t mean it should be left in the past. The goal has always been futurism, and I’m thankful to play a role in paving it forward.” DJ I.V.

Techno is Detroit. Techno is part of Black history. Techno is culture and with all that being said it takes more than staking your claim or dropping your internet opinion to maintain. Artist and artistry need support. Culture isn’t preserved by comments, likes, or algorithm-friendly takes—it survives through participation. Buying the records. Paying the cover. Booking the artists. Giving them room to fail, evolve, and grow. Drop a Techno artist name here that you want to shout out that has not been mentioned. Come check out what the new gen is putting down out here. Stand in the room where the sound is moving air, not just data. The scene is still evolving and thriving. Come hear for yourself…

1. “Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM), which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). Use of the term "techno" to refer to a type of electronic music originated in Germany in the early 1980s. In 1988, following the UK release of the compilation Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit, the term came to be associated with a form of EDM produced in Detroit.” 

2. “Detroit techno is a type of techno music generally including the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mills, Kevin Saunderson, Blake Baxter, Drexciya, Mike Banks, and Robert Hood. Detroit Techno resulted from the melding of synth-pop by artists such as Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder and Yellow Magic Orchestra with African American styles such as house, electro, and funk.”

The top two paragraphs were taken from Wikipedia, and both entries came up as my first options googling Techno or Detroit Techno. With its popularity came debate, and you can read online ad nauseam what is gospel. Techno history is difficult to define because stories and memories differ from artists, journalists, and fans depending on whether you trace it back to Detroit, Berlin, or the UK.  And that tension—between lived experience and written history—is where culture often gets flattened into soundbites. However, most credit Disco, Chicago House, German electro-pop, Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and George Clinton as Techno’s forbearers.

The necessity to add “Detroit” to Techno also appeared to be an afterthought along with worldwide success. Could a multi-million-dollar music genre be the creative output of some young Black dudes in the Motor City?  That question alone tells you how radical the answer was—and still is. And despite location, access to key technology such as the Roland TB-303 and TR-808 made it feasible and inexpensive to perform the sounds necessary for this music.  But tools don’t make culture—people do. And people make culture in community.

The building blocks of a sound. Writer Sammy Lee in an article for Red Bull Magazine “The city's youth craved escape – and club culture provided just that. Run by party-approving Mayor Coleman Young, late ’70s and early ’80s Detroit was awash with huge disco parties and after-hours clubs with open-minded music policies that encouraged DJs such as Ken Collier – “the Frankie Knuckles of Detroit” to play everything from disco edits and European synth-pop to new wave and the early sounds of Chicago house. The key influences on Techno, was music played by DJ Ken Collier and Detroit's iconic late-night radio personality the Electrifying Mojo.” The influences on these pioneer Techno artists in most articles are the two key figures above and the popular notion of Detroit as a failed Industrial complex with delapitated housing, widespread unemployment and crime.

This notion of urban decay and financial collapse had nothing to do with spawning the Detroit electronic music scene, nor was it indicative of the living conditions of most participants.  The reduction of Detroit Techno to “music born from ruin” is lazy storytelling—it ignores joy, ambition, curiosity, and teenage obsession with sound systems, fashion, and dance floors. What is rarely spoken about is the huge party scene of teenage African Americans, with an audience concentrated in a half dozen public high schools that spawned a full culture and appetite for the music known here as Progressive.  This wasn’t escapism—it was world-building. These dance tunes landing after Disco but before House and Techno were the sonic signature of an ongoing love letter being written to this culture. This was the first influence of many pioneers of both House and Techno. Yet those chapters are often footnotes, if they’re mentioned at all. Articles and opinions of those not there have become the basis of pseudo-facts, while direct quotes and history from actual architects of Techno don’t always make the cut. When history is told without proximity, it tends to favor neat narratives over messy truth.

Eddie Fowlkes stated, “I was influenced and first started wanting to be a DJ at a Charivari party hearing the DJ play seamless music” (Darryl Shannon). Derrick May stated, “There is no Derrick without Delano” (Delano Smith). Jeff Mills stated, “Delano Smith influenced most if not all the early pioneers of Techno.” Juan Atkins stated, “his nemesis was Direct Drive” while trying to get his Deep Space DJ collective up and running (Darryl Shannon). Mike Banks before UR attended many of the parties with either Darryl Shannon or Delano Smith on the decks. Both DJs Alton Miller and DWynn of Music Institute fame were first exposed to Delano Smith and Darryl Shannon. Santonio Echols went to Mumford High School and one of his earliest influences to be a DJ (Darryl Shannon).  This may be an unpopular opinion, as so many have written and pontificated otherwise, but DJs Delano Smith and Darryl Shannon are two of the most important early influences in the electronic music community that spawned Techno. Detroit’s contributions from the early ’80s forward played a major role in the worldwide expansion of this music and its associated culture. Lofty concept? Maybe. But culture doesn’t ask permission to be accurate—it just keeps showing up.

We are prone to seek out origin stories and creation mythos, but over the years the supporting cast and time-and-chance nuances can be forgotten.  Writer Dan Sicko’ “Techno Rebels” book took a shot and Kristian Hill’ “God Gave Them Drum Machines” brought his vision to the big screen. The electronic music culture in Detroit is a grand story with many voices. And culture, like Techno itself, was never meant to be a solo performance. There will be more films, books, articles, lectures, and conversations—and it will take all of them. Not to crown a single truth, but to protect the plurality of voices that built this thing. But for now, just to make it a bakers dozen more Detroit influences, I’ll add to the conversation these next eleven to both Delano and Darryl above. Alan Oldham and the Fast Forward Radio program on WDET. Cliff Thomas and Buy Rite Records. Michael Higgins (RIP) and the Park Avenue Club and Leland Hotel. Stirling Silver and the Liedernacht. George Baker and the Music Institute. Norman Archer (RIP) and Archer Records. Nat Morris and The Scene. Carol Marvin and the DEMF. Joy Santiago and the Moshi Company. Morris Mitchell (RIP) and True Disco. Rik Davis and Cybotron.

Delano Smith notes that today it’s a numbers and popularity beauty contest.  That shift matters—not because success is bad, but because metrics don’t equal meaning. The industry has been financialized. Techno and House have been whitewashed. And yet, paradoxically, that global embrace is what allowed the music to survive at scale. It’s a double-edged sword, and Detroit artists have learned to walk that edge with intention.

Many Detroit artists continue to find success as the Detroit pedigree carries weight worldwide.  But pedigree alone doesn’t feed artists, fund studios, or sustain scenes. Detroit veteran DJ/Producers like Jeff Mills, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Carl Craig, and others stay in high demand with the Techno purists and the ever-growing legions of worldwide Techno lovers. Veteran performers and Brands (Underground Resistance, Scan 7, Aux88, Detroit Techno Militia) are legends in their hometown and abroad. While many of the early pioneers have also transitioned into other sounds, there is no lost in drive - only refinement.

Santonio Echols notes that freedom from financial pressure has allowed him to return to passion.  That statement alone should make us question what we ask of artists - and what kind of ecosystems we build around them.

Track Master Lou speaks of bridging the gap between OGs and the new generation.  “I have been around in the very DNA of this thing. Me, Terrence Parker (TP) and Marc Kitchen (MK) were Separate Minds. The thought was all the different minds together to create separate tracks. I hope this music continues to go on. I want the Detroit OG’s and newgen little g’s to bridge the gap and come together. “ That bridge doesn’t build itself. It requires intention, humility, and spaces where respect moves both directions.

The years have spawned legions who continue to represent. Dru Ruiz reminds us this is Black music. “all of me that I am is because of black men and women. This is black music and I’m proud to scream it from the roof. I would be nothing if it wasn’t for Mike Huckaby, K-Hand, Claude Young and Tim Baker believing in me.” Luke Hess reminds us authenticity is the Detroit standard. “I think to truly rep the Detroit reputation it’s important to truly express who you are and stay true to your roots. True Detroit artists don’t waver from their inspiration and they don’t bend or cater to whatever is popular or trending. Repping Detroit means to stay genuine and true, to work hard, to contribute to your community in a positive way, and to keep pushing the boundaries of creativity into the future.” Together, they point to a truth: Detroit isn’t a sound—it’s a code of conduct.

Techno is Detroit culture. It is still inspiring to see newcomers pick up the craft. Every new artist is proof that the culture wasn’t archived—it’s alive. From Black Moonchild, “Techno is the soundtrack of my life. I was drawn to it because of its avant-garde and experimental nature. Techno in Detroit is Afrofuturistic and rich with raw artistic expression. Created by and for my people. It’s the sound of the community I love. When I hear it, I think dancing, laughing, joy, and good times.” to Henry Brooks, “ being considered one of the next generation Techno artists in Detroit is not something I take lightly. To hold this torch, to me, means to carry the legacy and ethos of Techno – which is to experiment, explore, and push sonic boundaries. As each day passes, I continually strive to become a better artist and am always pushing myself out of my comfort zone.”, the next generation isn’t just inheriting history; they’re interrogating it, expanding it, and pushing it forward.

Now for the sake of argument, I have no dogs in the fight of who created what first or who is the best. There are pioneers and forgotten heroes. There are fabrications among fabulous facts and hidden truths among loud myths. But Detroit has been at the center of the conversation for decades. And the real work now isn’t arguing ownership—it’s practicing stewardship. Most importantly, there is a new creative generation repping the Detroit name and flying the Techno flag on the battlefield of originality and relevance.  And that flag doesn’t stay raised by discourse alone -it stays up because people show up. Detroit intends to always have someone on the field.

So, from this limited point of view, I will refer to this entire list as Detroit Techno Originals. 42 Detroit Techno Artists (just a small sample) you should get to know and SUPPORT while celebrating Detroit’ contribution to Techno from its beginning to the future.