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D-Town Techno: A Look At Detroit’s Original Dance Music Scene

By Allen Arnold

A pumping bass line emanates from a drum machine as a turntable explodes with rhythmic undulations. A mixer juggles the musical frenzy into an intricate, danceable composition. The DJ calmly rotates his stack of records to express an emotional state. Meanwhile, the crowd responds like plants to the pulsating array of strobe lights.

Techno music has its roots in capturing the mundane, and mastering a simple approach to exploring the boundaries of dance music. Globally, techno has received much acclaim and has long been a staple in dance clubs from England to Japan. However, in the United States, the music has gained more of an underground following than national phenomenon. What often is overlooked is the fact that this brand of dance music was conceived right under the radar of popular culture in our own backyard.

The Detroit music scene has been in the headlines recently with familiar artists such as Eminem, Kid Rock and The White Stripes garnering the spotlight. But it is the city’s rich history in musical experimentation that led to the discovery of the techno genre in the early 1980s. Born out of the ashes, from the bleak landscape of urban Detroit, the music gathers inspiration from the desolate nature of inner city life. Littered with abandoned houses and factories, the city hardly gives a Parisian impression. However, Detroit techno expresses the dark, ambient qualities of the blue-collar atmosphere of the “Motor City.”

The music is best described by techno pioneer Derrick May, in an interview with Jahsonic.com: “Techno is just like Detroit, a complete mistake. It’s like George Clinton and Kraftwerk stuck in an elevator.”

The innovators from Detroit cite influences ranging from the obscure German electronic outfit Tangerine Dream to classic funk artists like Parliament. What truly sets the music apart from other types of dance music is the omission of vocals and its complex, futuristic vision. The basic formula for Detroit techno is to be aesthetically pleasing but never compromise the integrity of being an artist.

In 1981, with the release of Cybotron’s first record Enter, “techno god-father” Juan Atkins developed the rudimentary sound of techno. Although the record initially caught the attention of dance producers and connoisseurs alike, the music was still in its developmental stage. It wasn’t until Atkins’ contemporaries, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, came onto the scene in the mid-1980s that techno was completely spawned.

Collectively known as the “Belleville Three,” Atkins, May and Saunderson produced some of the most influential dance records to date from their studios in Detroit.

Juan Atkins led the initial wave of Detroit-born techno artists with Model 500’s 1985 European club single “No UFOs.” The song’s accentuated bass line coupled with a heart-clenching pace truly set the standard for early Detroit techno. However it wasn’t until Derrick May collaborated with Rhythm is Rhythm on 1987’s Nude Photo and on 1989’s Strings of Life that the music became an international sensation. Kevin Saunderson also helped to push the genre when he produced the benchmark Inner City album Paradise which included the 1989 U.K. top ten hit “Good Life.”

The Belleville Three helped to define a generation who would go to all-night underground parties—raves. In the U.K. and across most of Europe, the summer of 1987 was considered the Second Summer of Love. This was when the rave scene set its claws on a whole generation of club enthusiasts. Dance music was no longer just being played on Top Forty radio and in mega clubs. The most innovative music had moved on to exist only in the underground madness of rave parties. The competitive nature of these events pushed the limits of techno music.

A new generation of techno artists have blossomed because of the innovative styles of Atkins, May and Saunderson. Not only has techno become a staple in clubs internationally, but several other variations of the genre have gained momentum in recent years. The tiny Spanish island of Ibiza now supports an annual event in which techno artists around the world can showcase their talents. In 2000 the global acclaim for techno culminated in the inception of the first annual Detroit Electronic Music Festival. The Festival is held over Memorial Day weekend and is a free event where people from all over the world come to enjoy the musical vision of the Belleville Three.