Motor City Machine Music: An Exploration Of Cybotron Cybotron

£11.70

Genre:
Mod/Club
Label:
BGP
Format:
CD
Catalogue Id:
CDBGPD 167

By CHRIS MENIST

Techno wasn't the first music to utilise electronics. Drum machines and synths had been used by artists such as Sly Stone, Giorgio Moroder, Sun Ra and Miles Davis, as well as this emerging music's most obvious antecedents, Kraftwerk. But as technology shrunk and became more affordable, thus allowing home studios to flourish on a wider scale, the machines started to generate more music than ever before.

At the end of the 70s, high school graduate Juan Atkins attended Washtenaw County Community College to study music. A fan of Parliament/Funkadelic, as well as the electronic music emerging out of Europe, he had already started to fuse these key influences in early experimental recordings. The course would bring him into contact with his first musical partner Rick Davis and between them they would start to lay the roots of techno.

The first release from the duo, calling themselves Cybotron, was Alleys Of Your Mind, a kind of electronic tribute to paranoia, voiced by Atkins and written by Davis, which they put out themselves on the Deep Space label. Alleys... proved to be a local hit and ended up being picked up by the Fantasy label. The duo went on to record an album for the label, Enter, before separating, as well as a handful of singles which saw the music crossing over from stark song structures to extended grooves more focussed on the dance floor: Cosmic Cars, Techno City and, perhaps their best known track, Clear, also cited as one of the first 'electro' records. Despite similar music tastes, Davis, a huge fan of Hendrix, wanted to lace the tracks with long guitar solos (check Industrial Lies) and generally take the group in a more rock'n'roll direction. Atkins, however, wished to continue exploring the pure electronic route. "I used to read a lot of sci-fi, Alvin Toffler's Future Shock, The Third Way and uh music's just a natural progression for me, man."

After branching off on his own, Atkins pursued the imprint of Clear, taking the basic 4/4 drum pattern, layering it with intricate rhythmic programming and washes of synth. He was taking his concept of 'electronic funk' a stage further. No UFOs came next, and was released on Atkins' own label Metroplex.

Whilst still with Cybotron, Atkins had become friends, via his brother Aaron, with two people who would go on to be key figures in the Detroit techno scene: Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. The track Let's Go, (the remixes of which are included on this compilation), was the former's first appearance on wax. He would go on to make seminal tunes such as Strings Of Life, Nude Photo and The Dance.

Twenty-five years later, parts of Cybotron's vision have aged better than others. That it laid the foundation for the many strands of techno the world over today is not in doubt

Share

Track listing

Show

Delivery & Returns

Show

We offer free P&P to UK addresses. For all other territories packaging is free and postage is charged on a weight basis.

We use Royal Mail First Class for UK deliveries and standard Air Mail for all other territories, very large orders will usually be sent via parcelforce. You may cancel your order at any time prior to your order being dispatched by emailing us at orders@acerecords.com ensuring that you quote your name, address and order reference number or by telephoning +44 (0) 208 453 1311 between 9am and 5pm GMT/BST, Monday to Friday. Please note: As music downloads are dispatched immediately after purchase, there is no possibility of cancelling these orders.

In the event that any products supplied to you by us are damaged or defective, we agree to replace or repair the damaged or defective products or refund the amount you paid for such goods (including postage & packaging) providing you notify us (either via post at or e-mail: orders@acerecords.com ) and return the goods within 28 days of purchase. Physical goods should be sent back to us in the same condition you received them to: “Returns” Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the e-mail address above including a copy of your notification.

You have the right to cancel your order within seven days of purchase, or seven days of receipt of the goods (whichever is the longer). If you choose to cancel your order, full payment will be returned to you. Returned items should be sent to: “Returns” c/o Ace Records, Such Close, Letchworth Garden City SG6 1JF, United Kingdom. Music downloads should be returned to us via the email address: orders@acerecords.com including a copy of your notice of cancellation and order number.

Customer reviews

Show

Customers who bought this item also bought