Detroit/U.S. Techno
The early 1980s saw the eruption of Detroit Techno -- led by visionaries Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins and Derrick May -- as the Michigan city turned from industrial boomtown to urban wasteland. The general mood is a mixture of simultaneous euphoria and anxiety. Still alive in its Third Wave of popularity with artists like Jeff Mills, Stacey Pullen and Drexciya, Detroit Techno maintains minimalist, driving beats, smooth grooves and breakbeat excursions. The distinctive Detroit sound blends sonic themes of fear and poverty with a dim, but pervasive, light of hope and anticipation.