Techno is a form of electronic dance music (EDM)[1] that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988.[2][3] Many styles of techno now exist, but Detroit techno is seen as the foundation upon which a number of subgenres have been built.[4]

The initial take on techno arose from the melding of popular electronic music by artists such as Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder and Yellow Magic Orchestra with African American music including funk, electro, Chicago house and electric jazz.[5] Added to this is the influence of futuristic and fictional themes[6] that are relevant to life in American late capitalist society—particularly the book The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler.[7][8] Pioneering producer Juan Atkins cites Toffler's phrase "techno rebels" as inspiring him to use the word techno to describe the musical style he helped to create. This unique blend of influences aligns techno with the aesthetic referred to as afrofuturism. To producers such as Derrick May, the transference of spirit from the body to the machine is often a central preoccupation; essentially an expression of technological spirituality.[9][10] In this manner: "techno dance music defeats what Adorno saw as the alienating effect of mechanisation on the modern consciousness".[11]

Music journalists and fans of techno are generally selective in their use of the term; so a clear distinction can be made between sometimes related but often qualitatively different styles, such as tech house and trance. "Techno" is also commonly confused with generalized descriptors, such as electronic music and dance music.[12][13][14]

In exploring techno's origins writer Kodwo Eshun maintains that "Kraftwerk are to Techno what Muddy Waters is to the Rolling Stones: the authentic, the origin, the real."[22] Juan Atkins has acknowledged that he had an early enthusiasm for Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder, particularly Moroder's work with Donna Summer and the producer's own album E=MC². Atkins also mentions that "around 1980 I had a tape of nothing but Kraftwerk, Telex, Devo, Giorgio Moroder and Gary Numan, and I'd ride around in my car playing it."[23] Atkins has also claimed he was unaware of Kraftwerk's music prior to his collaboration with Rick Davis, which was two years after he had first started experimenting with electronic instruments.[24] Regarding his initial impression of Kraftwerk, Atkins notes that they were "clean and precise" relative to the "weird UFO sounds" featured in his seemingly "psychedelic" music.[25]

Derrick May identified the influence of Kraftwerk and other European synthesizer music in commenting that "it was just classy and clean, and to us it was beautiful, like outer space. Living around Detroit, there was so little beauty... everything is an ugly mess in Detroit, and so we were attracted to this music. It, like, ignited our imagination!".[26] May has commented that he considered his music a direct continuation of the European synthesizer tradition.[27] Kevin Saunderson has also acknowledged the influence of Europe but he claims to have been more inspired by the idea of making music with electronic equipment: "I was more infatuated with the idea that I can do this all myself."[27] Beyond Europe, another influence was Japan's Yellow Magic Orchestra (1978–83),[5][28] whose music has been described as "proto-techno"[29][30] and who had used the term "techno" for several songs, particularly "Technopolis" (1979), which is considered an "interesting contribution" to the development of Detroit techno, was a tribute to Tokyo as an electronic mecca, and foreshadowed concepts that Atkins and Davis would later have with Cybotron.[31]