"Dance music's rebirth in the '80s, culminating in the electronic intensity of house music, turned a decisive corner from the older, man-made grooves inherited from funk, R&B, and disco toward techno's intense vision of electronic dance music. What began as a cult of hard-beat fanatics entranced by funk samples and seminal rock-synthesizer architects first broke free from its underground status in England, and it has already generated distinct variants including hardcore, jungle, and drum & bass. Still designed and shaped for the dance floor by DJs, techno's assault on the mainstream is being championed under the newer electronica rubric - but, by any name, it's quite a ride."

Techno music is music which is denoted by its slavish devotion to the beat, the use of rhythm as a hypnotic tool. It is also distinguished by being primarily, and in most cases entirely, created by electronic means. It is also noted for its lack of vocals in most cases. Techno also usually falls in the realm of 115-160BPM.

The main techno music categories are:

• Techno (proto-techno, detroit, hardcore, techno-rave...)
• House (chicago house, acid house, deep house...)
• Breakbeat
• Ambient
• Trance
• Tribal
• Progressive

References

Techno Top 200

200 Techno Music Essentials, compiled by Sam Inkinen and Bello Romano.

Ravers

Ravers, the party animals.

Links

Hyperreal

Rave/Techno music culture archives.

alt.rave FAQ

Frequently asked questions for alt.rave newsgroup.