This was fun to do for noise, so why not take a stab at electro?

As a genre, I find electro to be particularly slippery and porous. I understand that there’s a direct lineage from Ryuichi Sakamoto to DJ Stingray, with a clear technological invariant in the TR-808, but there feels to be a spiritual chasm between the two that is particularly wide for a dance substyle. In this post I begin somewhere in the middle of the chasm, after electro made it to Detroit and grafted onto that city’s anticommercial futurist DNA. As a consequence, these tracks are much more techno than they are hip hop. I will more fully explore the sister branch in the near future!

Drexciya - Positron Island (Bubble Metropolis, 1993)

Drexciya is an artist any student of dance music needs to know — because they’re wildly influential, yes, but moreover because the music kicks ass. Every EP from 1992 to 1996 is essential!

Perception - Mirage (Interstellar Fugitives, 1998)

Total classic, sonically and lyrically. Perfectly encapsulates the UR vision of paranoid retrofuture inflected with uncertain optimism.

Future/Past - Nebula Variation (The Philosophy of Sound and Machine, 1992)

Standout track from an impossible-to-find compilation wildly ahead of its time.

Chaos - Afrogermanic (Crime Report, 1996)

Another UR classic. Gold standard for economy. Ich schwarz deutsch!

Kuldaboli - Milljón ára (Milljón ára en held mér ungum, 2020)

This record was engineered in a lab to get me to burn 25 bucks, and it worked!

Dopplereffekt - Speak & Spell (Infophysix, 1996)

Dopplereffekt is, for my money, the most consistently great project in the genre, so you might as well just throw a dart at their Discogs page. But I have a soft spot for this hair-raiser, which is sure to charge up any dance floor.

Aleksi Perälä - UKMH51900045 (Resonance, 2019)

Electro is a crass attempt at categorizing this man’s beautifully strange music, but sometimes it kinda fits. I recommend taking a dive into the Colundi universe if you have not.

Anthony Rother - Sex With the Machines (Sex With the Machines, 1997)

Twisting tunneling groovy madness. One of many heavy tracks on this LP.

Dexter - Intruder (Intruder, 2001)

Ruthlessly economical with just 3 or 4 elements. Love Dexter’s tight-lipped sense of whimsy.

C-System - The Twilight of the Idols (World of Vanity, 2009)

Not sure what the Nietzschean title is about, but this is some industrial-strength doom electro.

Rude 66 - Out in Style (De wraak der wegpiraten, 2002)

Straight up Hague electro from a founder of the legendary Bunker label.

OCB - Aquaquest (Casa Sports Vol. 1, 2017)

Tasty contemplative stuff from Casablanca’s trendy Casa Voyager label.

Simulant - Optimal Flow (SX 12004, 2000)

Sick evil slithery destroyer off a UK label shrouded in mystery. Accessible thanks to a wonderful Tresor reissue.

Los Hermanos - Quetzal (Quetzal / Tescat, 2002)

One of the most rejuvenating tracks I know in any style, and a great conclusion to just about any chapter. This one is never leaving my rotation.