Electro (music)

Electro (also known as electro funk) is an electronic style of hip hop directly influenced by Kraftwerk and funk records (unlike earlier rap records that were closer to disco). Records in the genre are unabashed about their use of electronic and artificial sounds, taking this technological fetish almost into science fiction with many records about space travel and futuristic dystopias.

Related Topics:
Electronic - Hip hop - Kraftwerk - Funk - Rap - Disco - Science fiction - Dystopias

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Bronx, NY based artist Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock (1982) is one of the first electro records, using elements of Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express and Numbers. Indeed, the drum rhythm of Planet Rock is a defining feature of the genre. Bambaataa and artists like Juan Atkins' group Cybotron, Planet Patrol, Jonzun Crew, and Newcleus went on to influence the genres of techno, ghettotech and drum and bass. Los Angeles artists Egyptian Lover and Arabian Prince gave birth to electro hop, a less funky, more bass-heavy West Coast sound, similar to 2 Live Crew and the Miami Bass scene. Detroit also has a unique style sometimes called "electro" which is more similar to modern house-like techno.

Related Topics:
Bronx - Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock - 1982 - Trans-Europe Express - Juan Atkins - Cybotron - Newcleus - Techno - Ghettotech - Drum and bass - Los Angeles - Egyptian Lover - Arabian Prince - Electro hop - Bass - West Coast - 2 Live Crew - Miami Bass - House-like

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Common equipment in electro production includes drum machines, sequencers, synthesizers, and more recently laptop computers. A legendary drum machine, still used today, was the Roland TR-808.

Related Topics:
Drum machine - Sequencers - Synthesizer - Laptop computers - Roland TR-808

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Although the early 1980s were electro's heyday, there are a number of artists still making music in this style. Several of the artists embrace the psuedonyms of detroit techno pioneers and its a mystery who really produced the music sometimes.

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The renewed interest in electro, though influenced to a great degree by Detroit and New York music, is primarily taking hold elsewhere. Each city seems to have at least one DJ championing the electro sound; someone fortunate enough to have obtained the electro classics on first release and worked them into new school electro sets.

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With the rise of interest in this overlooked period of hip hop, the history of electro's development and its indisputable power to move the body will resurface again and again. As hip hop moves farther away from its origins as a DJ-centered art form, the revival of electro among techno enthusiasts will bring the DJ back to the center of the action.

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