Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk (Painted Turtle Book) [Paperback]

Dan Sicko (Author), Bill Brewster (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0814334385 | ISBN-13: 978-0814334386 | Edition: 2 Rev Upd

When it was originally published in 1999, Techno Rebels became the definitive text on a hard-to-define but vital genre of music. Author Dan Sicko demystified techno’s characteristics, influences, and origins and argued that although techno enjoyed its most widespread popularity in Europe, its birthplace and most important incubator was Detroit. In this revised and updated edition, Sicko expands on Detroit’s role in the birth of techno and takes readers on an insider’s tour of techno’s past, present, and future in an enjoyable account filled with firsthand anecdotes, interviews, and artist profiles. Techno Rebels begins by examining the underground 1980s party scene in Detroit, where DJs and producers like the Electrifying Mojo, Ken Collier, The Wizard, and Richard Davis were experimenting with music that was a world apart from anything happening in New York or Los Angeles. He details the early days of the “Belleville Three”—Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson—who created the Detroit techno sound and became famous abroad as the sound spread to the UK and Europe. In this revised edition, Sicko delves deeper into the Detroit story, detailing the evolution of the artists and scene into the mid-1990s, and looks to nearby Ann Arbor to consider topics like the Electrifying Mojo’s beginnings, the role of radio station WCBN, and the emergence of record label Ghostly International. Sicko concludes by investigating how Detroit techno functions today after the contrived electronica boom of the late 1990s, through the original artists, new sounds, and Detroit’s annual electronic music festival. Ultimately, Sicko argues that techno is rooted in the “collective dreaming” of the city of Detroit—as if its originators wanted to preserve what was great about the city—its machines and its deep soul roots. Techno Rebels gives a thorough picture of the music itself and the trailblazing musicians behind it and is a must-read for all fans of techno, popular music, and contemporary culture.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“As techno, the music, continues to spread worldwide, and techno, the idea, becomes slipperier with the years, Dan Sicko's thorough, intimate account of the music's origins is more relevant than ever. It confirms Detroit techno's legacy as one of those miraculous cultural accidents—a collision of time, place, technology, and individuals—that catch the world off-guard and keep resonating long after the original signal has faded, at every imaginable frequency.” —Philip Sherburne, columnist for The Wire and Pitchfork “Reading Dan Sicko's Techno Rebels is like having a conversation with a really cool friend who has a great memory and also happens to have been present, hanging around, talking to the right people, at one of the most interesting periods musically in this city's musically crucial history.” —Jerry Herron, dean of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College at Wayne State University and author of AfterCulture: Detroit and the Humiliation of History (Wayne State University Press, 1993) Praise for the first edition of Techno Rebels: “Dan Sicko demonstrates an acute awareness of the racial, cultural, and historical implications of the late twentieth century’s digital soundtrack, exploring it with a depth that few have captured in print.” —Raymond Lee Roker, publisher of Urb “A fast-paced, highly intelligent volume that makes for both a fun read and a killer resource.” —Colin Berry, Wired --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 163 pages
• Publisher: Painted Turtle Book; 2 Rev Upd edition (April 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814334385
• ISBN-13: 978-0814334386
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.4 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #618,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reviewer above misses the point. February 25, 2000

By Monny

Format:Paperback

I think the reviewer above who complains about Sicko's lack of information on hardcore and trance has somewhat missed the point. This book exists, as the author stated above, to show the ignorant American that techno was, in fact, a music indigenous to his/her country. Techno isn't trance and it isn't hardcore. If you want to read about trance there's all too many books. If you want to read about techno there are very few. All credit to Sicko for trying to rectify that.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly encapsulates Techno's evolution! March 28, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Techno Rebels has its facts right, but beyond the content it's incredibly well-written. So the facts come alive -- you come to understand the personalities and philosophies of a youth movement out of Detroit, and it's compelling to see that movement expand throughout the world. This book gives a story and a soul to music so often charactarized as "mechanical" or "artificial." I highly recommend this to fans not only of techno, but anyone interested in any kind of music, movement, or the evolution of a culture.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I expected more October 31, 1999

By Christian Molstrom

Format:Paperback

As a book on the artists behind techno, Sicko's work is quite good. It is packed with names, dates, albums, tunes, clubs, and so forth, as one would expect from a music journalist. But as a work on techno, the art, I found the book to have some glaring holes. He does not discuss the technology of techno, he does not discuss the techniques developed by techno artists, and he does not really explore the question of what really aesthetically distinguishes techno from other music forms (I would expect a chapter devoted to each subject). But this book did not set out to answer these questions, I don't think -- an indication perhaps that the critical thinking on techno is still in its infancy.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great on Detroit Techno, so-so on everything else August 5, 1999

By Douglas A. Greenberg VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dan Sicko deserves credit here for being the first person to attempt to put together a definitive history of techno as a musical genre. Being from Detroit, his strength is his encyclopedic knowledge of the evolution of the techno scene in the Motor City. Although the ultimate relevance of some of the early material about dance parties and such is never adequately explained, Sicko reveals the early development of Detroit techno skillfully and thoroughly.

For some other aspects of the history of techno, perhaps a second book by someone else will be necessary. For one thing, once Sicko reaches the point in his narrative where techno becomes a "world-wide" phenomenon, his survey of its proliferation and evolution is sketchy at best, and misleading and partial at worst. With the exception of some acknowledgment of the seventies techno-pop act Kraftwork, he shortchanges throughout the significant contributions by Germans (e.g., no mention of Sven Vath, Paul van Dyk, or Oliver Lieb, and in his discussion of current and future directions in techno, including offshoots into new musical genres, some unknown artists (undoubtedly of Sicko's acquaintance) are featured prominently, whereas important styles such as trance and progressive house are ignored completely.

He also has difficulty conveying what the music is actually like. I realize that expressing the essence of one artistic medium in terms of another is difficult, but someone who has never heard techno would finish the book with no clearer idea of what "techno" actually is than when he or she started. Exactly what techno fans "listen for" in this music and the role that techno plays within their lives/subculture are also important, but never discussed adequately....

Still, Sicko is a pioneer here, and deserves credit for what he accomplished in this first attempt at a "history of techno." Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars a thorough book about AMERICAN techno. October 15, 2001

By "joseph_ruszel"

Format:Paperback

This book is very decent. It definitely tracks the growth of the techno scene and genre in America very well, especially for the techno enthusiast.
This book is NOT, however necessarily appropriate for the person who thinks "techno" means everything electronic. Techno is a specific genre of electronic music that does NOT include trance, hardcore, jungle/d'n'b, or whichever other genres people have been complaining about the lack of in this book. If you note the author's review, he clearly states that the book is first and foremost a chronicle of American techno music.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mowtown gets it's Props January 31, 2002

By rocco depietro

Format:Paperback

Sicko's coverage of Early techno and it's developments
is both thorough and entertaining. The subject matter is extremely ambitious, and yet he pulls it off.
A good painting of 80's subculture in terms of its social and musical aspects. Perhaps the best part of the book is the "Discography" at the end in which he lists scores of techno records with the artist, date, label, and availability.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars a thorough book about AMERICAN techno. October 15, 2001

By "joseph_ruszel"

Format:Paperback

This book is very decent. It definitely tracks the growth of the techno scene and genre in America very well, especially for the techno enthusiast.
This book is NOT, however necessarily appropriate for the person who thinks "techno" means everything electronic. Techno is a specific genre of electronic music that does NOT include trance, hardcore, jungle/d'n'b, or whichever other genres people have been complaining about the lack of in this book. If you note the author's review, he clearly states that the book is first and foremost a chronicle of American techno music.
Good Job Mr. Sicko!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Discusses Detroit's role in the foundation of techno and electronica May 18, 2010

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Paperback

Techno has revised what can be defined as music to much of the country. "Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk" is an updated second edition of the book that discusses Detroit's role in the foundation of techno and electronica, expanding on the history and the major figures who took this genre and made it their own, pioneering their own brand of music. "Techno Rebels" is a must for anyone interested in music history and for community library music collections.