Techno is a type of electronic music that is usually played during long DJ performances. The music has a tempo between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The main rhythm is often in 4/4 time, which means there are four beats in each measure, and it is usually repeated in a steady pattern called a "four on the floor" beat. Artists use electronic tools like drum machines, sequencers, synthesizers, and digital audio workstations to create the music. Drum machines from the 1980s, such as the Roland TR-808 and TR-909, are especially valued, and modern software that copies their sounds is commonly used in techno music.
In techno, rhythm is the most important part of the music, and other elements like vocals or melodies are rarely used. Instead, sound synthesis is often used to create unique and unusual sounds. Unlike other types of music, techno often avoids using traditional harmonic structures and instead uses repeated patterns of notes. The creation of techno music heavily depends on technology used in music production.
In the early 1980s, the word "techno" was used to describe a type of electronic music in Germany and Japan. In 1988, after a music collection called Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit was released in the United Kingdom, the term became linked to a style of electronic dance music (EDM) created in Detroit. Detroit techno developed by combining music styles like synth-pop from artists such as Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder, and Yellow Magic Orchestra with African American musical styles like house, electro, and funk. It also includes influences from futuristic and science-fiction themes, with Alvin Toffler's book The Third Wave being an important reference. In the mid-to-late 1980s, musicians like Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson (known as The Belleville Three), Eddie Fowlkes, Blake Baxter, and James Pennington created the first wave of Detroit techno.
German sources describe techno as a style that began in 1990, influenced by Chicago house music, Detroit techno, Belgian new beat, and electronic body music. This version of techno became popular in Europe and the United States in the early 1990s. In Germany, it was initially called "Techno House" during the late 1980s.
After house music became popular in Europe, techno music gained more attention in the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Different versions of techno music developed in these regions, and by the early 1990s, subgenres like acid, hardcore, bleep, ambient, and dub techno had formed. People who write about techno and its fans usually use the term carefully, making clear differences between related but distinct styles, such as tech house and trance.
Detroit techno
Detroit techno music began with the influence of European artists like Kraftwerk. Writer Kodwo Eshun said Kraftwerk is to techno what Muddy Waters is to the Rolling Stones: the real beginning of the music. Juan Atkins, a key figure in Detroit techno, said he was very interested in Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder, especially Moroder's work with Donna Summer and his album E=MC². In the early 1980s, Atkins had a tape with music from Kraftwerk, Telex, Devo, Giorgio Moroder, and Gary Numan. He would play this tape in his car. Atkins described Kraftwerk as "clean and precise," different from the "weird UFO sounds" in his earlier music, which he called "psychedelic."
Derrick May said Kraftwerk and other European synthesizer music inspired him. He found their sound "classy and clean," like "outer space." He said Detroit had little beauty, so this music "ignited our imagination." May considered his music a direct continuation of the European synthesizer tradition. He also named Yellow Magic Orchestra, especially Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Ultravox as influences. YMO's song Technopolis (1979), which celebrated Tokyo as an electronic city, is seen as an early example of ideas later used by Atkins and others.
Kevin Saunderson said European music influenced him, but he was more inspired by the idea of making music with electronic equipment. He said, "I was more infatuated with the idea that I can do this all myself."
These early Detroit techno artists used science fiction imagery to describe their vision of a future society.
Before becoming famous, Atkins, Saunderson, May, and Fowlkes shared interests in music, trading mix tapes and wanting to become DJs. They found inspiration from a radio show called The Midnight Funk Association, hosted by DJ Charles "The Electrifying Mojo" Johnson. Mojo played electronic music by artists like Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Tangerine Dream, along with funk and new wave music.
Although Detroit’s disco scene was short-lived, it helped people like Juan Atkins learn how to mix music. Atkins taught Derrick May how to mix records, and in 1981, they started a group called Deep Space Soundworks with Eddie "Flashin" Fowlkes and others. They later provided mixes for Mojo’s radio show.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, high school clubs like Brats, Charivari, and Snobs helped young people develop a local dance music scene. As the scene grew, DJs worked together to share their skills with clubs. Early performances happened in church centers, warehouses, offices, and YMCA auditoriums.
Juan Atkins is often called "The Originator" of techno. In 1995, a music magazine named him one of 12 important people in keyboard music history.
In the early 1980s, Atkins began making music with Richard Davis and later Jon-5 as Cybotron. Their songs, like Clear (1983) and Techno City (1984), were influenced by rock and electronic music. Atkins used the word "techno" for Cybotron’s music, inspired by writer Alvin Toffler. He called Kraftwerk’s music techno, though some people see it as "electro." He later thought Afrika Bambaataa’s Planet Rock (1982) was a better example of the sound he wanted.
Atkins later made music under the name Model 500 and started the Metroplex record label in 1985. His song No UFO’s (1985) is considered the first techno production.
Producers like May and Saunderson were influenced by the Chicago house music scene. May’s 1987 song Strings of Life (released as Rhythim Is Rhythim) is a classic in both house and techno.
Juan Atkins said the first acid house producers tried to make house music different from disco by copying techno. He also said Frankie Knuckles used a drum machine he bought from Derrick May, which helped shape the Chicago house sound.
In the UK, house music became popular in the late 1980s, with DJs like Mike Pickering, Mark Moore, Colin Faver, and Graeme Park playing a key role.
Early techno producers combined European synth-pop sounds with soul, funk, disco, and electro music. They avoided the Motown style and focused on technology.
Derrick May described techno as "like Detroit…a complete mistake. It's like George Clinton and Kraftwerk are stuck in an elevator with only a sequencer to keep them company." Juan Atkins said techno is "music that sounds like technology, and not technology that sounds like music."
Derrick May’s Strings of Life (1987) helped techno gain attention in Europe, especially in the UK and Germany, during the 1987–1988 house music boom. Frankie Knuckles said the song "just exploded" with power and energy. Some people found it hard to believe a song without a bassline could be so popular.
By 1988, house music and acid house were very popular in the UK.
German techno
In 1982, while working at Frankfurt's City Music record store, DJ Talla 2XLC began using the word "techno" to group artists such as Depeche Mode, Front 242, Heaven 17, Kraftwerk, and New Order. The term was a short way to describe music made with technology for dancing. Talla's use of the word became a reference for other DJs, including Sven Väth. In 1984, Talla helped start a club called Technoclub in Frankfurt's No Name Club. The club later moved to Dorian Gray in 1987. Technoclub became a main place for electronic music and EBM in the region. According to Jürgen Laarmann of Frontpage magazine, it was the first club in Germany to play mostly electronic dance music (EDM).
Radio host François Mürner from Swiss National Radio DRS 3, now SRF 3, used the word "techno" as early as 1983 in his daily radio show Sounds! to group the same artists.
Inspired by Talla's music choices, young artists in Frankfurt began experimenting with electronic music on cassette tapes in the early 1980s. They mixed music from City Music with new sounds and adjusted the beat speed. This became known as the Frankfurt tape scene.
The Frankfurt tape scene grew around early work by artists like Tobias Freund, Uwe Schmidt, Lars Müller, and Martin Schopf. Later, artists such as Andreas Tomalla, Markus Nikolai, and Thomas Franzmann worked together as the Bigod 20 collective. Their early music combined experimental electronic sounds with influences from EBM, krautrock, synth-pop, and technopop. By the mid-1980s, their work shifted toward a clear techno sound.
By 1987, a German party scene based on the Chicago sound was well known. In the late 1980s, acid house became popular in West Germany. In 1988, the Ufo club opened in West Berlin as an illegal venue for acid house parties. It stayed open until 1990. In Munich, the Negerhalle (1983–1989) and ETA-Halle became the first acid house clubs in temporary, old industrial buildings. This marked the start of Germany's "hall culture."
In July 1989, Dr. Motte and Danielle de Picciotto organized the first Love Parade in West Berlin, just months before the Berlin Wall fell.
After the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 and Germany reunited in October 1990, free underground techno parties grew rapidly in East Berlin. East German DJ Paul van Dyk said techno helped connect East and West Germany during reunification. In the newly unified Berlin, clubs like Tresor (opened 1991), Planet (1991–1993), Bunker (1992–1996), and E-Werk (1993–1997) opened near the Berlin Wall's old location. At Tresor, a trend of paramilitary clothing began among techno fans, possibly to show support for the music's underground style or influenced by UR's style. During this time, German DJs made techno faster and more intense, leading to a sound called "acid-infused techno" that evolved into "hardcore." DJ Tanith said, "Berlin was always hardcore, hardcore hippie, hardcore punk, and now we have a very hardcore house sound." This sound was influenced by Dutch gabber and Belgian hardcore, which honored Underground Resistance and Richie Hawtin's Plus 8 Records. Other influences included EBM groups like DAF, Front 242, and Nitzer Ebb from the mid-1980s.
In Frankfurt, changes also happened during this time, but the scene was more focused on clubs and existing club owner agreements. In 1988, after the Omen club opened, it reportedly controlled the Frankfurt dance music scene, making it hard for other promoters to start. By the early 1990s, Sven Väth became one of the first DJs in Germany to be admired like a rock star. He performed center stage with fans facing him and co-owned Omen, possibly being the first techno DJ to run his own club. A few alternatives included The Bruckenkopf in Mainz, under a Rhine bridge, which offered a non-commercial option. Other underground parties were run by Force Inc. Music Works and Ata & Heiko from Playhouse Records (Ongaku Musik). By 1992, DJ Dag & Torsten Fenslau held a Sunday morning session at Dorian Gray, a luxury club near Frankfurt airport. They played a mix of styles, including Belgian new beat, Deep House, Chicago House, and synth-pop like Kraftwerk and Yello. This mix is believed to have led to the Frankfurt trance scene.
In 1990, the Babalu Club opened in Munich as Germany's first afterhours techno club. It became a center for the southern German techno scene, where artists like DJ Hell, Monika Kruse, Tom Novy, and Woody gathered.
In 1993–94, rave music became popular in Germany. This brought back "melody, New Age elements, kitsch harmonies, and timbres." This shift weakened the underground sound and led to the rise of a German "rave establishment," led by the party group Mayday and its record labels Low Spirit, WestBam, Marusha, and music channel VIVA. At this time, German charts had hits like Low Spirit's "pop-Tekno" versions of songs such as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "Tears Don't Lie." Meanwhile, in Frankfurt, Simon Reynolds described the music as "moribund, middlebrow Electro-Trance," represented by Sven Väth and his Harthouse label. Illegal raves regained importance in the mid-1990s as a reaction to commercial raves.
In Germany, fans began calling the harder techno sound from the early 1990s "Tekkno" (or "Brett"). This spelling, with different numbers of "k"s, started as a humorous way to show the music's intensity. By the mid-1990s, it was linked to the idea that techno in Germany was separate from Detroit's techno, instead coming from the 1980s EBM scene in Frankfurt, partly shaped by DJ Talla 2XLC.
At some point, tensions arose between Frankfurt and Berlin over "who defines techno." DJ Tanith said the term "techno" existed in Germany but was undefined, with two different ideas: one from Frankfurt (linked to Front 242 and others) and another from Berlin. Dimitri Hegemann said Frankfurt's techno, connected to Talla's Technoclub, was different from Berlin's version. Frankfurt's Armin Johnert saw techno's roots in acts like DAF
Developments
As techno music changed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it became very different, leading to many styles of techno being created. Some of these styles were more pop-like, such as music by Moby, while others, like those by Underground Resistance, avoided commercial success. Derrick May, a musician, created works like Beyond the Dance (1989) and The Beginning (1990), which helped techno develop in many new ways. A record label from Birmingham called Network Records played a key role in sharing Detroit techno with people in Britain. By the early 1990s, the original techno sound had gained a large following in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. The popularity of techno in Europe between 1988 and 1992 grew because of the rise of the rave scene and strong club culture.
Some early examples of techno (in the German style) came from:
USA: – Nu Groove, a record label from New York, with producers like Joey Beltram, Ralphie Dee, Lenny Dee, Victor Simonelli, Musto & Bones (Tommy Musto, Frankie Bones), and Underground Resistance (Jeff Mills, Mike Banks).
Canada: – Plus 8, a label with producers Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva.
Belgium: – R&S Records, which released music by Joey Beltram, CJ Bolland, David Morley, Per Martinsen, and Marcos Salon. Music Man Records, which released music by Frank de Wulf.
England: – Warp Records, which released music by Sweet Exorcist, LFO, and Tricky Disco. Kickin Records, which released music by The Scientist and Kicksquad. Vinyl Solution, which released music by Bizarre Inc.
In the United States during the early 1990s, techno was popular in cities like Detroit, New York City, Chicago, and Orlando, but not as much elsewhere. Many Detroit-based musicians, frustrated by limited opportunities in the U.S., moved to Europe. This first group of Detroit musicians was later joined by a second group, including Carl Craig, Octave One, Jay Denham, Kenny Larkin, Stacey Pullen, and members of Underground Resistance like Jeff Mills, Mike Banks, and Robert Hood. In the same time period, Richie Hawtin, with partner John Acquaviva, started a record label called Plus 8 Records in Windsor, Ontario, near Detroit. Some New York producers, like Frankie Bones, Lenny Dee, and Joey Beltram, also gained attention in Europe.
These developments in American techno between 1990 and 1992 helped techno in Europe grow and change. In Germany, the club Tresor, which opened in 1991, became a major place for techno. It hosted many Detroit musicians, some of whom moved to Berlin. The club helped artists like Santonio Echols, Eddie Fowlkes, and Blake Baxter gain new opportunities, along with Berlin DJs like Dr. Motte and Tanith. According to Dan Sicko, Germany’s growing techno scene in the early 1990s marked the start of techno becoming more widespread, with Berlin becoming a second major center for techno. At the same time, Berlin, now reunited, was becoming a key music city in Germany.
Although Germany was the main focus, Belgium also had a strong techno scene. The label R&S Records in Ghent released music by young musicians like Joey Beltram and C.J. Bolland, who created hard-edged, energetic techno with sharp, unusual sounds.
In the United Kingdom, the Sub Club in Glasgow, which opened in 1987, and the Trade club in London, which opened in 1990, helped bring techno to the country. Trade was known as the "original all-night bender."
In 1993, the German techno label Tresor Records released an album called Tresor II: Berlin & Detroit – A Techno Alliance, showing how Detroit’s music influenced Germany and celebrating the close relationship between the two cities. By the mid-1990s, Berlin became a place where Detroit musicians could live and work. For example, Jeff Mills and Blake Baxter lived in Berlin for a time. During this period, Underground Resistance released a series of albums with Tresor, and Detroit producer Juan Atkins worked with European musicians like Thomas Fehlmann and Moritz Von Oswald. A German label called Basic Channel had its music mastered by Detroit’s National Sound Corporation, a key studio in Detroit. In a way, electronic music returned to Germany, where it had first influenced the music of the 1980s, like the group Kraftwerk from Düsseldorf. The sounds of Chicago and Detroit also had a connection to Germany, as the first electronic dance music called Eurodisco, like the song I Feel Love, was created in Munich by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte.
As techno changed, some Detroit musicians began to question where the music was going. One response was the creation of minimal techno, a style that focused on simple, stripped-down sounds. Robert Hood, a Detroit musician and former member of Underground Resistance, is often credited with starting this style. Hood said that by the early 1990s, techno had become too fast-paced and too influenced by other trends, moving away from the thoughtful and soulful style of original Detroit techno. To respond, Hood and others focused on creating music with only the most important elements: drums, basslines, and grooves. Hood explained:
Some techno music was also influenced by jazz, leading to more complex use of rhythm and harmony. A British group called 808 State helped this development with songs like Pacific State and Cobra Bora in 1989. Detroit musician Mike Banks was deeply influenced by jazz, as shown in his work with Underground Resistance on Nation 2 Nation (1991). By 1993, Detroit groups like Model 500 and Underground Resistance included direct references to jazz in their music, such as Jazz Is The Teacher (1993) and Hi-Tech Jazz (1993), which were part of a larger project called Galaxy 2 Galaxy. This idea was later used by other musicians in the UK, like Dave Angel with his Seas of Tranquility EP (1994). Other artists who expanded on classic techno styles include Dan Curtin, Morgan Geist, Titonton Duvante, and Ian O'Brien.
In 1991, a UK music writer named Matthew Collin wrote that "Europe may have the
Antecedents
In 1977, Steve Fairnie and Bev Sage created an electronic music group called the Techno Twins in London, England. When the German band Kraftwerk toured Japan, Japanese reporters called their music "technopop." A Japanese group named Yellow Magic Orchestra used the word "techno" in their work, including the song "Technopolis" (1979), the album Technodelic (1981), and a short EP called The Spirit of Techno (1983). In 1980, when Yellow Magic Orchestra toured the United States, they described their music as technopop, and their performances were written about in Rolling Stone Magazine. Around 1980, members of Yellow Magic Orchestra added electronic instrument sounds to songs performed by pop singers, such as Ikue Sakakibara’s "Robot." These songs were called "techno kayou" or "bubblegum techno." In 1981, a Swiss newspaper named Nidwaldner Tagblatt classified the band Yello and Grauzone as Techno-Rock. In 1985, Billboard Magazine described the Canadian group Skinny Puppy’s music as "techno dance." Juan Atkins, a musician, said that many electronic musicians in the 1980s used the word "techno" to describe their music, but the public did not widely accept it until about 1985 or 1986. He noted that Detroit became a key place where people began to embrace techno music.
The popularity of Eurodisco and Italo disco—called "progressive" in Detroit—and new romantic synth-pop music in Detroit high school parties helped shape the development of techno. This led some experts to look back at earlier music styles that influenced techno. These experts examine music from before the term "techno" was officially used in 1988. They consider artists popular in Detroit’s music scene, such as Giorgio Moroder, Alexander Robotnick, Claudio Simonetti, Visage, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Human League, and Heaven 17. They also point to examples like the song "Sharevari" (1981) by A Number of Names, early music by Kraftwerk (1977–1983), the earliest work by Cybotron (1981), Giorgio Moroder’s song "From Here to Eternity" (1977), and Manuel Göttsching’s album E2-E4 (1981), which is called a "proto-techno masterpiece." The Eurodisco song I Feel Love, produced by Giorgio Moroder for Donna Summer in 1976, is considered a key moment in electronic music history because it combined repeating synthesizer sounds with a steady drumbeat and a hi-hat rhythm, features later used in techno and house music. Another example is the 1976 album Love in C Minor by French producer Jean-Marc Cerrone, which is called the first "conceptual disco" record and a starting point for house, techno, and other dance music styles. Yellow Magic Orchestra’s music has also been described as "proto-techno."
In 1983, the Sheffield band Cabaret Voltaire began blending funk and electronic dance music into their sound, and later, they were described as techno. The Essex band Nitzer Ebb, formed in 1982, also used funk and electronic music elements in their work. The Danish group Laid Back released the song "White Horse" in 1983, which had a similar funky electronic style.
Some electro-disco and European synth-pop songs share similarities with techno, such as using machine-made rhythms. However, these comparisons are debated. Looking even further back, some experts suggest that the rhythmic electronic music of Raymond Scott, including works like The Rhythm Modulator, The Bass-Line Generator, and IBM Probe, influenced techno. A review of Scott’s music in The Independent newspaper noted that his work laid the foundation for electronic music styles from disco to techno. In 2008, a recording from the mid-1960s by Delia Derbyshire, the original composer of the Doctor Who theme, was discovered. The recording contained music that sounded similar to modern electronic dance music. Paul Hartnoll, a member of the dance group Orbital, said the recording was "quite amazing" and sounded like it could have been released recently by a record label called Warp Records.
Music production practice
Techno music is often created for DJs to play in continuous sets. Most techno tracks are instrumental, except for some commercial versions. These tracks are designed to be mixed together smoothly, with DJs using techniques to transition from one song to the next. The rhythm in techno is very important, and the sounds used are often made with electronic tools. These tools help create unique musical effects and are a key part of how techno is made.
Unlike some other types of electronic music, techno does not always follow the same musical rules as Western music. Instead, it focuses more on how sounds are created and changed. Some commercial techno styles, like euro-trance, do use traditional musical structures, such as the AABA pattern.
The main drumbeat in techno is usually in 4/4 time, meaning there are four beats per measure. In its simplest form, the beat includes a bass drum on every beat, a snare or clap on the second and fourth beats, and a hi-hat sound every eighth note. This pattern was popularized in disco and is also used in house and trance music. The tempo of techno music usually ranges from 120 to 150 beats per minute.
Early Detroit techno used drum patterns that included syncopation (uneven rhythms) and polyrhythms (multiple overlapping rhythms). However, many producers still used the basic disco-style beat as a foundation. This syncopated feel helps make Detroit techno different from other styles. Derrick May, a techno producer, described the sound as "Hi-tech Tribalism," meaning it is spiritual, focused on bass and drums, and has a strong, percussive feel.
Techno music is often made using loop-based step sequencing, where short musical phrases are repeated and built upon. Producers may use electronic studios like instruments, combining sounds from different devices. These devices are controlled using MIDI sequencers, which allow producers to layer sounds and create complex arrangements. Once a basic loop is created, producers may add or remove layers to shape the final structure of the song. Some use mixers and effects manually, while others use software automation. Techno can be made with rhythmic patterns and sound processing, such as filtering. Artists like Twerk and Autechre use more unique methods, including algorithmic composition.
Early techno producers in Detroit used classic drum machines like the Roland TR-808 and TR-909, the Roland TB-303, and synthesizers like the Roland SH-101 and Yamaha DX7. These devices were often connected using MIDI or DIN sync. By the 1990s, the TR-808 and TR-909 became highly valued, with the TR-909 becoming popular in techno and house music.
In the late 1990s, software companies created digital versions of these drum machines. One example is ReBirth RB-338, which included emulations of the TR-808 and TR-909. This software was widely used and praised for its ability to create techno music. In 2001, Propellerhead released Reason, a software studio that combined multiple tools for making electronic music.
Notable techno venues
In Germany, well-known techno clubs from the 1990s include Tresor and E-Werk in Berlin, Omen and Dorian Gray in Frankfurt, Ultraschall and KW – Das Heizkraftwerk in Munich, and Stammheim in Kassel. In 2007, Berghain was described as "possibly the current world capital of techno, much as E-Werk or Tresor were in their most popular times." During the 2010s, Germany continued to have an active techno scene outside of Berlin, with clubs such as Gewölbe in Cologne, Institut für Zukunft in Leipzig, MMA Club and Blitz Club in Munich, Die Rakete in Nuremberg, and Robert Johnson in Offenbach am Main.
In the United Kingdom, Glasgow's Sub Club has been linked to techno music since the early 1990s. Clubs like London's Fabric and Egg London have become famous for supporting techno music. In the 2010s, a techno scene also began in Georgia, with the most notable venue being Bassiani in Tbilisi.