Detroit Techno — Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson and the 'Belleville Three'

The Origin of the Word “Techno”

The music genre name “Techno” was established by the 1988 compilation album “Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit,” edited by the UK’s Neil Rushton.

But even before that, Juan Atkins had been calling his own music “techno”:

• 1985, the 12-inch “Techno City” by Cybotron, the unit of Juan Atkins & Rick Davis
• 1985, “No UFO’s” by Juan Atkins’s solo project Model 500

Behind Juan Atkins’s naming of “techno” was the influence of Alvin Toffler’s The Third Wave (1980). In the book, Toffler used the phrase “techno-rebels” and discussed “technological rebellion beyond industrial society.” From this, Atkins created the concept of “futuristic Black music = techno.”

The Belleville Three

The three giants of Detroit techno:

Member	Born	Main names	Representative works
Juan Atkins	1962	Cybotron / Model 500	“Techno City” (1984), “No UFO’s” (1985)
Derrick May	1963	Rhythim Is Rhythim / Mayday	“Strings of Life” (1987), “Nude Photo” (1987)
Kevin Saunderson	1964	Inner City / Reese Project	“Big Fun” (1988), “Good Life” (1988)

The three attended Belleville High School in Belleville, Michigan (a Detroit suburb) together. From high school days (1979-1982), they experimented together with electronic music.

The Three’s Self-Described Roles

• Juan Atkins = the Originator (first to define the genre)
• Derrick May = the Innovator (musical innovator)
• Kevin Saunderson = the Elevator (brought commercial success)

This is a phrase Derrick May later used, symbolizing the three’s roles in the techno world.

The Uniqueness of the City of Detroit

To understand Detroit techno, the city’s background matters:

The Glory and Decay of the Industrial City

• 1900-1970s: Home of Ford, GM, and Chrysler — the world’s capital of the auto industry
• 1967 Detroit riot (12th Street riot) — racial-conflict uprising, the city burned
• 1970s-1980s: decline of the auto industry, white flight to the suburbs, hollowing of the city core
• 1980s Detroit landscape: empty factories, ruined houses, streets without cars, majority-Black population

The Existence of a Black Middle Class

• A Black middle class existed among the auto industry’s mid-managers and skilled workers
• Belleville was a well-off suburb of Detroit; the Belleville Three came from auto-industry middle-class families
• Economic power to buy musical equipment (Roland TR-909, synthesizers)

Reception of European Music

• Detroit’s Black radio DJ The Electrifying Mojo (Charles Johnson) heavily aired Kraftwerk and YMO
• Juan, Derrick, and Kevin listened to Mojo’s program every night
• Kraftwerk’s “Numbers” (1981) shocked the Black youth of Detroit

“White German electronic music + Detroit’s Black identity + industrial city futurism” is the background of Detroit techno.

Juan Atkins — the Originator

Cybotron (1980-1985)

• Two-person unit of Juan Atkins and Vietnam vet Rick Davis
• 1981 “Alleys of Your Mind” — the seed of Detroit techno
• 1983 “Clear” — a masterpiece that also became the origin of Miami bass / electro
• 1984 “Techno City” — the track that raised the name “techno”

Model 500 (1985-)

• Juan’s solo project
• 1985 “No UFO’s” — one completed form of techno
• Began exporting Detroit’s 12-inch singles to the UK and Germany
• Label: his own Metroplex Records (founded 1985)

Juan Atkins made the name “techno,” created the label, and decided the musical direction — the founder.

Derrick May — the Innovator

Rhythim Is Rhythim (1986-)

• Derrick May’s main project
• 1987 “Strings of Life” — combination of string-like synth pad and 909 drum
• The “emotional side” of techno — not just industrial coldness, but techno with feeling
• A worldwide masterpiece of Detroit techno

Transmat Records (1986-)

• Derrick May’s own label
• Kevin Saunderson, Carl Craig, Stacey Pullen and other Detroit second-generation artists were part of it
• Still exists, one of the core labels of techno

Musical Innovation

• Use of strings (synth strings) — made techno emotionally rich
• Fusion with breakbeat — connects Detroit techno with the hip-hop generation
• The technical origin of modern techno (played at Berghain, fabric, etc.)

Kevin Saunderson — the Elevator

Inner City (1988-)

• Kevin and vocalist Paris Grey’s unit
• 1988 “Big Fun” and “Good Life” — a rare case of techno becoming chart pop
• Top 10 on the UK charts
• Proved that techno could also succeed commercially

KMS Records (1987-)

• Kevin’s own label
• Still releasing producers from outside Michigan

Kevin is the person who bridged techno from club music to chart music. The most commercially successful of the three, still touring the world as a DJ.

The “Techno!” Compilation Album (1988)

In May 1988, UK A&R Neil Rushton (Ten Records) edited the compilation “Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit,” released from Virgin:

• Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Blake Baxter, Anthony Shakir, and Eddie “Flashin’” Fowlkes — six people
• 10 tracks
• The word “techno” was established in the UK and Europe
• Promoted Detroit’s sound as “techno” to the world

With this album, the perception of techno = dance music originating in Detroit was established. From then on, techno grew into a global genre.

Chicago House vs. Detroit Techno

A comparison of two genres born in the same period:

Element	Chicago House	Detroit Techno
Sound center	Vocal + piano	Synth + machine
Venue	Gay club (The Warehouse)	Suburban club (Music Institute)
BPM	120-125	125-135
Emotion	Warm, soul-based	Cold, futuristic
Audience	Black gay	Black youth in general (mixed)
Producer occupation	Music industry people	Independent
City landscape	A living city	A hollowed-out industrial city

Chicago house is “the future form of soul,” Detroit techno is “industrial futurism.” Different directions both musically and culturally. But basic elements such as the 909 drum machine and the 4-on-the-floor beat are shared.

Detroit Techno’s Music Institute

Detroit’s legendary club Music Institute (1988-1989):

• Short-lived (only 14 months of operation)
• Location: Downtown Detroit, between Broadway and Woodward Avenue
• Derrick May as resident DJ
• Chicago’s Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles also as guests
• The ideological prototype of modern Berghain (Berlin)

Music Institute was designed as a space with no alcohol inside the club, concentrating on music and dance only. This stoic space design is inherited by modern European techno clubs (Berghain, Tresor, Basement).

Detroit Techno’s Second Generation (1990s)

After the Belleville Three, Detroit techno passed to the second generation:

Carl Craig (1969-)

• Disciple of Derrick May
• Runs Planet E Communications label
• Representative of deep techno / jazz-tinted techno
• Still touring the world as a DJ

Jeff Mills (1963-)

• From The Wizard (Detroit radio DJ)
• Former member of Underground Resistance (UR)
• Representative of 1990s minimal techno, with high BPM (140-150) and minimal sound
• Global status as a giant of modern techno

Underground Resistance (UR, 1989-)

• Anonymous unit of Mike Banks, Jeff Mills, and Robert Hood
• “Techno collective that hides its face and carries political messages”
• Symbolizes the politics of “techno as music for the future”
• Still active today, centered on Mike Banks

Robert Hood

• From UR, perfecter of minimal techno
• Bridge between 1990s Chicago and Detroit

Theo Parrish (1971-)

• Second-generation Detroit deep house / techno
• Runs Sound Signature label

Inheritance to Berlin Techno (1990s)

Detroit techno found its second home in 1990s Berlin:

The Fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9, 1989)

• Reunification of East and West Berlin
• Countless empty factories and basements in former East Germany
• Young people began opening clubs without permits

Tresor (1991-)

• Legendary club remodeled from a former East German bank vault
• Detroit’s Jeff Mills, Blake Baxter, and others made it a base for European tours
• The venue that built the bridge between Detroit and Berlin

Love Parade (1989-2010)

• Techno parade on Berlin’s streets
• Grew from 150 people in 1989 to 1.5 million in 1999
• Symbolizing that techno became a global culture

Berlin’s techno clubs Berghain (2004-) and Tresor (1991-) have Detroit techno as their technical and cultural ancestor.

Japan and Detroit Techno

Japan’s techno scene from the 1990s:

• Denki Groove’s Takkyu Ishino — devoted to Detroit techno from the 1990s
• DJ Krush, Fantastic Plastic Machine (Tomoyuki Tanaka) — Tokyo techno / dance scene
• Ken Ishii (1970-) — international success as a Japanese producer of Detroit techno, released from Belgium’s R & S Records

Ken Ishii released works from R & S Records (Belgium) in the first half of the 1990s, the first big success of a Japanese techno producer worldwide. A pioneer of today’s Japanese techno / house-based producers (Wata Igarashi, Ryogo Yamamori, DJ Nobu, etc.).

Detroit Techno’s Legacy

What the Belleville Three established in 1985-1990:

1. The Genre Name “Techno”

• Still exists as a major genre name in club music
• Derived genres: minimal techno, acid techno, industrial techno, hard techno, endless

2. The Basic Form of 4-on-the-Floor + 909

• Technical basis of modern techno / house
• Adopted in techno clubs worldwide — Berlin Berghain, NY Nowadays, Tokyo Contact, etc.

3. The Thought of “Futuristic Black Music”

• Techno is originally Black futurism
• The Detroit Black community is still the root of techno

4. The Fusion Model of Producer / DJ

• Detroit techno’s producers are simultaneously DJs
• Model of modern techno DJs (Jeff Mills, Ricardo Villalobos, Marcel Dettmann)

From This Article to the Next

Chicago house (from 1985) and Detroit techno (from 1988) crossed the Atlantic in the summer of 1988 and landed in the UK. British DJs discovered house in Ibiza, Spain, and brought it back to London. And in the 1988 “Second Summer of Love,” the UK was engulfed in acid house frenzy. The next article traces UK acid house and rave 1988-1989.