Detroit Techno 13 Items

Another heater from Detroit's finest Upstairs Asylum. Norm Talley in full effect bringing together all the good souls of Motor City.

A staggering collection Detroit techno-soul music, beamed directly into your consciousness from 1994. Kenny Larkin should need no introduction to those whose ears are trained in the ways of the motor city and her musical sons and daughters. He is one of a handful of artists from the city whose original and unique sonic output has helped shape and advance techno as an art form and as a serious musical movement across the world and it's galaxies beyond, a formidable DJ and producer whose music continues to push the envelope today. 'Azimuth' gives us what would be Larkin's first full length offering, and across 11 tracks of blistering hi-tech machine funk, ambient, soul drenched rhythms and futurist club music he deftly crafted a classic. This is the album you hold in your hands now, here in 2021. Originally released on Warp Records, 'Azimuth' is back here in it's expanded form of a 2 x LP and bonus 10" reissue. A record that effortlessly sounds like it came to earth yesterday while being 25 years old, a true Detroit classic that still makes waves across the planet today. File under - 'Essential'. 'Azimuth' has been legitimately reissued for 2021 on Kenny’s own Art Of Dance imprint. Remastered from DAT tapes and original sources by Curve Pusher. Designed by Atelier Superplus.

Part 2! Another heater from Detroit's finest Upstairs Asylum. Norm Talley in full effect bringing together all the good souls of Motor City.

Wowww. heavy compilation, puttogether by Delano Smith (Mixmode) and Rick Wilhite (Vibes New & Rare Music) featuring a fine selection on who's who in Detroit music - spread out over 3 vinyl discs !

Buildings was born out of a creative merger between Detroit’s 313 Acid Queen (Rebecca Goldberg) and Italian maestro Sickboy (Stefano Piseddu), their 4th and 2nd releases on Detroit Underground respectively. The duo have thoughtfully arranged a half dozen tracks inspired figuratively and literally by the landscape of Detroit. Working 7,000km and multiple time zones apart, having never met in person, their individual expressions intertwine in soundscapes reminiscent of techno’s origin and exist in a way only capable in our present time. Devoted as ever to the roots of Detroit techno, Goldberg and Piseddu have built a magnificent album around the Detroit Map Series theme conceptualized by DU label founder Kero and designed by Neubau Berlin.

Polyverse is the new debut album of the very exciting and fresh sounding Kosmogonik. Nine driving and atmospheric tracks that vibrate all the way from heavyweight techno to cosmic ambient.

Eddie 'Flashin' Fowlkes, the godfather of techno-soul is back on his own Cityboy label.

Seven years after the classic ‘Theater of a Confused Mind’ (as Population One), Detroit techno phenomenon Terrence Dixon is back on Rush Hour with a new album, this time under his own name. ‘Reporting from Detroit’ is another prime example of the distinctly unique sound language Dixon has developed over the last three decades - defiant, forward-thinking afrofuturist techno that could only have been made in the Motor City. The first pressing is limited and holds an extra record with 2 extra tracks called "Electronic Travellers" & "Growth And Development".

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A year after their impressive last album Burn It Down, Detroit techno legends Octave One are back with a nine track double EP that again shows they are masters of big hypnotic grooves.
Entitled Love by Machine, the album's name is a nod to the fact that the Burden brothers are such revered masters of their hardware. Both in the studio, where they cook up atmospheric house and techno with soaring synths and vocals and also in the live arena, where they are celebrated as one of the most accomplished and forward thinking performers in the game today. That is all the more impressive when you bear in mind they have been active since the ‘80s, most often releasing on their own 430 West label, which is where they appear again here.

Say Lenny: "We've been exploring the theme of connection with this project. How technology gives us the illusion that we are closer to each other more than ever. At some point humanity crossed a line where the devices that we created to bring us together are the same devices that are blocking us from organic experiences.”

"Technology is only a tool, which we also had in mind during the recording process.” Adds Lawrence. "We decided to go back to how we used to make our records, when we didn't have so many ‘sophisticated' audio devices. Back to when we interacted in the studio together as musicians.”

Things open up with the loose metallic percussive line that is In Mono, which sets the machine made tone and is filled with promise. Locator then immediately gets to action with a gallivanting techno kick and various synth lines wrapping round each other as you get sucked into the groove. Just Don't Speak (Midnight Sun Redub) is a more deep and house leaning track with big feel good piano keys and slithering synths that will get hands in the air. Proving they have real range, 7 B4 Dawn is a moody and reserved cut with subtle acid pricks, hip swinging claps and a spaced out dead of night feel.

The second half of the album offers peak time business in the form of the spectacular Bad Love II, the whirring and cosmic Sounds of Jericho and the big loops and fluid grooves of [Where] Time Collides. Pain Pressure is a wonky number with big bassline and a focus on percussive patterns as well as some vocals with real attitude and last cut 8 B4 Dawn ends things in a downbeat and sombre way with sad chords and emotive strings. It is pure Detroit, much like the whole album, and rounds out another fine release from these most revered veterans.

The third release of the in Hannover / Germany based label PTTP comes with 2 original tracks by Alexander Harre and a remix to each track by Jeroen Search. A release that covers as well open air moods, as also basement vibes, from linearity to experimental breakbeats and sound tunnels. Clean, visible, hypnotic.