from the 12” EP Inteference, Metroplex Records, 1988Darker, more nuanced, and often slightly faster than it’s cousin down in Chicago, early Detroit techno producers were still primarily concerned with their tracks being danceable at this stage, something which went out the door a long time ago in the world of techno; quite frankly, these early cuts have much more in common with house music than with the last 15 or so years of “techno”. Remember, before raves became common place in the US and the demographic of listeners changed (mostly to white), techno music was primarily a black, heterosexual, inner-city nightclub scene, so the music still needed to be groovy enough that the whole crowd could get down to it. One thing which great techno records have never lost is their ability to put subtle effects and sounds in the front of the track without compromising the bottom end, a trick which Juan Atkins (aka Model 500, with Kevin Saunderson & Derrick May) might do better than any other producer on the planet, and as this song skillfully illustrates, an aptitude he’s had since the very beginning. A venue where one would have been likely to hear this record played, back in the day, was on a cable access dance program in the Detroit area called the New Dance Show, and I encourage all of you to follow this link and get a clear idea of just how much techno has changed in the interim: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOlKS1VX6yU&feature=related
