It can be awe-inspiring to investigate the very roots of a culture and even more-so to realize how fast an evolution has spawned. The Moog synthesizer was developed in 1964 and was the first subtractive synthesizer to use a keyboard as a controller. Since it's conception we have seen electronic music develop for over 4 decades.
Kraftwerk's album "Autobahn" from 1971 is often considered the first electronic music pressed to disc and marketed. During this time other electronic groups such as Tangerine Dream were also pressing discs. Such music had inspired Juan Atkins from Detroit who soon began a duo called Cybotron. Under this name Juan Atkins and his partner James Davis released several songs including the first pressing labeled as techno which was titled "Alleys of Your Mind" in 1981. They coined the term techno to describe any electronic sounding band such as Kraftwerk. Many people often argue that music produced by Cybotron should be considered "electro."
Looking back again at the 70's there was another notable revolution. A style of music was being produced on the Salsoul record label that featured latin drums, funk guitar and strings. The label was releasing uptempo music geared for dancing. This sound became known as disco and the movement sprang forward very quickly after the release of the hit movie Saturday Night Fever. The Salsoul label was also the first to release a 12" inch single which featured extended remixes that were geared specifically for dj's. These 12" inch records were also known as the disco maxi-single.
Disco had hit it big and dj's Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan had already become established nightclub dj's from playing the gay music circuit. The two were soon invited to play records at The Paradise Garage on 84 King Street in New York City in 1977. "The Garage" became Larry Levan's dj residency while Frankie Knuckles packed up and moved to Chicago to take his place at The Warehouse nightclub. In New York Larry Levan played eclectic dance music, mixing out of disco and into Van Halen records or obscure avant garde fare like Tangerine Dream. In Chicago, Knuckles was pushing continuous mixes of disco at The Warehouse. Knuckles was very fond of vocal tracks with inspirational messages.
By the turn of the eighties, few people were recording vocal disco music. Rock radio DJ Steve Dahl organized the 1979 Disco Demolition Derby at Cominskey Park in Chicago where one hundred thousand disco records were dynamited and broke out into a riot. Immediately after, the record industry had proclaimed that disco was dead. Many labels dropped their dance departments but Frankie Knuckles continued to push on by playing the songs he revered.
A record store in Chicago named "Imports Etc" was eventually the only record store that continued to carry classic Philly/Salsoul-style records. With Frankie Knuckles being at the forefront of this style, other dj's were associating the Salsoul flavor with The Warehouse nightclub. The record store labeled the crates holding these releases as "House Music" or "As Played At The Warehouse" to market them. This is where the term "house music" is said to have come from.
Starting in 1981 DJ's soon began running drum machines and using EQ cuts to reshape and remix the music live, taking mixing to the next level. This club-style mixing inspired by The Warehouse made it's way to Chicago airwaves with a WBMX disc jockey crew called The Hot Mix 5. The Hot Mix 5 included notable talents such as Farley "Jackmaster" Funk and Ralphi Rosari. Suddenly more dj's were coming out of the woodwork as The Warehouse flavor of music continued to inspire the black gay community in Chicago.
In 1983 The Music Box opened in Chicago with resident DJ Ron Hardy. Ron Hardy was addicted to heroine during the times of his residency so he was usually high while he was dj'ing. As a result of the drugs, he often felt as if music needed to be faster. This is likely where his nickname "Heart Attack Hardy" came from.
As Derrick May recalls, Ron Hardy played some of the most sensational sets of his time. Hardy always opened his sets with Welcome to The Pleasuredome by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. One of his trademarks was playing records backwards. Many do not realize this but Ron Hardy was also the first dj to drop the groundbreaking "Acid Tracks" by Phuture on a club system. It was a track that would change the history of dance music forever. However oddly enough the first time this record was dropped, the crowd cleared the dancefloor.
No longer the only dj in town, Frankie Knuckles felt that it was time to step up his game. Other dj's soon caught on and it was a constant competition to one-up each other. These dj's began using two copies of the same record to extend breakbeats or cut out parts of a song that they did not wish to use. They added drum machines to their setups as well and their styles involved using more EQ cuts and faster mixing.
The competition got to be so intense that dj's soon started working on their mixes in the studio, using the facilities to add more originality to the music. Clubbers began to realize how easy it was to make tracks using samplers and drum machines. This led to many non-dj's taking a step into the studio themselves, releasing their music on reel-to-reel tapes. Many of these productions consisted of nothing more than a bassline and a drum pattenr. In a matter of months the producers of these tapes began adding samples, effects, and melodies.
This podcast illustrates the sounds of early electronica as well as the Salsoul disco sound. All of these tracks were playlisted by Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles & Ron Hardy. There are some mixing styles blending in to illustrate how dj's would extend a breakbeat by backspinning as well as sampled drums beneath disco tracks.
Kraftwerk - Numbers
Kraftwerk - The Robots
Cybotron - Alleys Of Your Mind
Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome To The Pleasuredome
The Salsoul Orchestra - Ooh I Love It (Love Break)
The Salsoul Orchestra - Ooh I Love It (Original 12")
Skyy - First Time Around
Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up
First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder
