Posted by on August 19, 2011 in Best of Detroit - 8 Comments

50 Essential Detroit Techno Tracks

100_1622

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: we believe that over that last three decades Techno, more than any other contemporary genre, has perpetuated Detroit’s continued relevance on music’s world stage. We present here 50 pieces of evidence for your consideration; our list of the most essential Detroit Techno tracks produced in that time.

  1. cybotron-alleys-of-your-mind “Alleys of Your Mind” Cybotron (Juan Atkins and Richard Davis), Deep Space 1981
  2. “Sharevari” A Number of Names (Paul Lesley, Sterling Jones and Roderick Simpson), Capriccio 1981
  3. “The Beat Goes On” Orbit featuring Carol Hall (Don Was, Jack Tann, John Lewis and Sonny Bono), Quality 1982
  4. “Clear” Cybotron (Juan Atkins and Richard Davis), Fantasy 1983
  5. “No UFO’S (D-Mix)” Model 500 (Juan Atkins remixed by Derrick May), Metroplex 1985
  6. “Time, Space, Transmat” Model 500 (Juan Atkins and Richard Davis), Metroplex 1985
  7. rhythim-is-rhythim-nude-photo “Let’s Go” X-Ray (Juan Atkins, Aaron Atkins and Derrick May), Transmat 1986
  8. “Nude Photo” Rhythim Is Rhythim (Thomas Barnett and Derrick May), Transmat 1987
  9. “Strings of Life” Rhythim Is Rhythim (Derrick May and Micheal James), Transmat 1987
  10. “Big Fun” Inner City (Kevin Saunderson, James Pennington and Arthur Forest), KMS 1988
  11. “Good Life” Inner City (Kevin Saunderson, James Pennington and Arthur Forest), Virgin 1988
  12. “Truth Of Self Evidence” Reese & Santonio (Kevin Saunderson and Santonio Echols), KMS 1988
  13. fade-to-black-in-synch “From Beyond” Psyche (Carl Craig), Transmat 1989
  14. “Time to Express (Silo Mix)” Eddie Fowlkes, Spinnin’ (Subsidiary of KMS) 1989
  15. “In Synch” Fade to Black (Jay Denham), Fragile (Subsidiary of Transmat) 1990
  16. “Technarchy” Cybersonik (Richie Hawtin, Dan Bell and John Aquaviva), Plus 8 1990
  17. “Substance Abuse” F.U.S.E. (Richie Hawtin), Plus 8 1991
  18. “The Final Frontier” UR (‘Mad’ Mike Banks), Underground Resistance 1991
  19. teste-the-wipe-5am-synaptic-mix “Changes Of Life” Jeff Mills, Tresor 1992
  20. “Jupiter Jazz” Underground Resistance (Mike Banks, et al.), Underground Resistance 1992
  21. “The Wipe (5am Synaptic Mix)” Teste (Richie Hawtin, Dave Foster and Himadri Ghosh), Probe 1992
  22. “Spastik” Plastikman (Richie Hawtin), Plus 8 1993
  23. “Star Dancer” The Martian (Will Thomas), Red Planet 1993
  24. “Step to Enchantment (Stringent)” Millsart (Jeff Mills), Axis 1993
  25. the-martian-star-dancer “Game One” Infiniti (Juan Atkins and Orlando Voorn), Metroplex 1994
  26. “Losing Control” DBX (Daniel Bell), Accelerate 1994
  27. “Museum” Robert Hood, Axis 1994
  28. “The Extremist (Retro Mix)” Jeff Mills, Tresor 1994
  29. “Dancing Tides” Yennek (Kenny Larkin), Volume 1995
  30. “Infophysix” Dopplereffekt (Kim Karli, Rudolph Klorzeiger and William Scott), Dataphysix Engineering 1995
  31. “Loop (F.U.S.E. Mix)” LFO vs. F.U.S.E. (Richie Hawtin, Mark Bell and Gerard Varley), Plus 8 1995
  32. dbx-losing-control “My A.U.X. Mind” Aux 88 (Keith Tucker, Tommy Hamilton and William Smith), Direct Beat 1995
  33. “Starlight” Model 500 (Juan Atkins), Metroplex 1995
  34. “Come On Baby” Electric Soul (Mike Banks), Direct Beat 1996
  35. “The Bells” Jeff Mills, Purpose Maker (Subsidiary of Axis) 1997
  36. “Alarms” Jeff Mills, Purpose Maker 1997
  37. “A**-N-T***ies” DJ Assault (Craig Adams), Assault Rifle 1997
  38. “Panikattack” Plastikman (Richie Hawtin), Plus 8 1997
  39. plastikman-panikattack “Velocity Funk” E-Dancer (Kevin Saunderson), KMS 1997
  40. “Jaguar” The Aztec Mystic (Rolando Rocha, Mike Banks and Gerald Mitchell), Underground Resistance 1999
  41. “Orange B1″ Richie Hawtin, M_nus 1999
  42. “Shades Of Jae (Parts I & II)” Moodymann (Kenny Dixon Jr.), KDJ 1999
  43. “Velocity Funk (Stacy Pullen Remix)” E-Dancer (Kevin Saunderson), KMS 1999
  44. “Sandwiches” Detroit Grand Pubahs (M. Goudy Jr. and Andy Toth), Jive Electro 2000
  45. adult-hand-to-phone “Black Water” Octave One (Lenny Burden and Lawrence Burden), 430 West 2000
  46. “Hand To Phone” Adult (Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller), Clone 2001
  47. “Hyped-Up Plus Tax” Dabrye (Tadd Mullinix), Ghostly International 2001
  48. “Timeline” Galaxy to Galaxy (Mike Banks, et al.), Underground Resistance 2001
  49. “Kisses” Audion (Matthew Dear), Spectral Sound (Subsidiary of Ghostly International) 2004
  50. “Falling Up (Carl Craig Remix)” Theo Parrish, Third Ear Recordings 2005

galaxy-to-galaxy-timeline (Editors’ Note: I Love Detroit Michigan makes no guarantees as to the longevity of links included in this post. All record label and sleeve images are copyrighted by their respective copyright owners.)

About the author

archiveAuthor Archive



Dale Carlson grew up along the northeastern shores of Lake Michigan, where at a young age Detroit called out to him in his dreams. In 2008, after extended stays in ten different Michigan cities, the author settled permanently in southeast Oakland County where he currently lives and works in various capacities within the local real estate industry.

  • http://webinationstation.com Jason

    This does not have a link? You should add one. If you don’t have one, run a contest to have your readers find it! “Time to Express (Silo Mix)” Eddie Fowlkes, Spinnin’ (Subsidiary of KMS) 1989

  • Philip Lieffers

    Thanks for the awesome techno lesson! Total must hears for any music fan!

  • http://ilovedetroitmichigan.com Dale Carlson

    I’d have a contest if I wasn’t certain that it would result in a hundred entries informing me of the incorrectly labeled video already available on youtube. I’ve researched it thoroughly and it’s not available online.

  • http://ilovedetroitmichigan.com Dale Carlson

    I’m positive my readers would be much more likely to leave a comment on this post if it were accompanied by their facebook avatars. Hint, hint.

    • http://www.facebook.com/gabereal Gabrial Szakal

      I couldn’t agree with you more, Dale. The additional login options are 80% of the value of using Disqus and they should be displayed at the top of the commenting section so that your readers know that its even an option. It will increase the number of comments you get. I will admit its not the most attractive look, having all those logos cluttering the comment area, but the pros far outweigh the cons. Most people don’t realize that when they click ‘post as’ that it will offer them the option unless they are already Disqus users.

  • Carolin

    A great article combined with awesome music.

  • Japhy

    Great list. But where’s Aril Brikha’s ‘Groove La Chord’?

    • Dale Carlson

      Thanks for the comment Japhy. All of the artists on our list have at least a loose geographical connection to the city of Detroit. Our research tells us Brikha is originally from Iran and immigrated to Sweden. Though “Groove La Chord” is undoubtedly an all-time techno classic and great example of the Detroit sound, it’s not included because of where he’s from.

© 2013 I Love Detroit Michigan. Design by Webination Station