You too can join in the fun of tearing down the only true myth present in any of the posts: the idea that Detroit is not the birthplace of techno. Read the mnml ssgs guys’ posts here and here, and then my part here. This is exactly the kind of weird revisionism that is perpetrated in dance media in order to justify ignoring not only the classic Detroit musicians (many of whom are still very important) but the newer guys as well, usually in favor of some European producers. These guys never look at the culture, which I feel is the most important part of the equation. Read these and comment on them, let us all know what you think!
12 Comments
man, these are too good, but too long :(. i need to print them all out and read them on the train tonight or something.
For me Lerosa summed up it up perfectly …
“All in all very interesting debate. I tend to lean towards Pipey argument, especially when he says that “you’ll know it when you hear it”, something that I find very true. While I agree that it is important to hightlight the undeniable fact that Techno was developed in Detroit I don’t find it superior to any other similar genre like chicago house or uk jungle or UK electronica…they are all developements of electronic experimental music to me…they all are equally valid as long as they are genuine and not commercial, as pipey said, you’ll know it when you hear it.”
Man, i can’t be bothered to talk to those stupid motherfuckers. I’ve never seen such misguided trash being spouted. Your piece was interesting and quite obviously, you understand. There’s no other way of putting it really. Either you understand or you don’t, and with the sheer tripe comin out these clowns mouths it’s bery obvous that they aint got a clue
ahahah i almost spit out my herbal tea when i read the post above. great post as usual there pipey. can always count on you to set the rec straight.
They are misguided because there are so many people trying to say they are putting out “detroit” music even though its garbage. If they are listening to half the stuff coming out recently on labels like Teknotika or Soiree, or go see any recent dj sets by Juan, Kevin etc ….well then I may feel inclined to slightly agree with what they have to say. BUT if they listen to artists who are still way ahead of the pack and putting out forward thinking quality releases like Terrence Dixon, Omar S, Theo Parrish, Robert Hood etc. and feel like there still isnt something special coming out of the city then they are missing the point.
I think they at least deserve credit for allowing their ideas to be challenged so openly on their own blog, both with Tom’s article and now Cliff Thomas too.
Hey tom. I like your response post a lot.
Detroit’s sound is specific to its environment and its people – just like any other musical style. Many people have heard the sounds and appropriated them with varied results depending on their own cultural viewpoints, just as Detroit artists appropriated various other styles into their own environment. You can hear the people of Detroit through this music in the same way you can hear it in a Parliament record, a Tribe record or a Temptations record.
Sadly, it seems to me that most people don’t get music in the slightest. They should try listening to it more and arguing over silly genre nuances a lot less.
if it’s funky, deep, soulful, got a little swing on that shit, and comes from the heart, that is detroit techno. most the shit these mnml fucks are making these days are anything but that – throw some weak fuckin beats together, put some blips and bleeeps on top, viola – you got a fucking mnml joint that will make the hipster girls all fuckin wet.
detroit tech is defined by the overwhelming presence of HUMANITY and SOUL in the music, not some geek sitting at his computer mouse clicking his way thru a fucking track.
I’m with Pipecock. It came from all over, but Detroit put it all together that way first and has influenced everyone downstream.
Most of the Detroit nay-sayers arguments seem to amount to bitterness at the ongoing reverence for Detroit because “it could have happened anywhere”. That’d be a relevant argument if it hadn’t happened in Detroit – but it did. Get over it!
I have heard a subgenre of House made in London by young people. It’s bass heavy like Dubstep and has percussive beats kind of like early MAW stuff. Do you know what they call it?
Funky.
Music is music and can never be fully or properly described in a word or words. Anyone into music should know that genre names are meaningless. Techno is just a name and people should be free to use it in what ever way they want. Personally I use Techno as a broad term and I could mean anything from Herbie to Kenny Larkin to Timbaland. Its semantics and it has to do with your own personal and cultural outlook.
Was existentialism invented in France? If so should we call it French existentialism? IMHO no, that’s just silly.
These outstanding blogarticles remind me how much time has passed and the controversy remains. In 91 i had the same type of discussion with some friends of mine who thought rave came from the acidic Ibiza and that Detroit was just a phase, even an accident…I never went to Detroit, but from what i know from the city’s history and social environment, the innovative music that was born there (techno) became one of the most revolutionary things in the history of modern music.
As far as i remember, listening to my first Derrick May 12″ back in 87, really changed my mind from the usual indy-pop, macho-metal,hip-hop et al. and whatever was saturating my brain musical wavelenghts at that time. Mind blowing stuff indeed at that time. And that is enough for me to back pipecock’s opinion as the correct view. Even if my favorite techno album of all time is from an european artist…
Pipe, you’re like that friend that i avoid cus’ I know I won’t make it to work the next day if we hang out. Cheers.