Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force's Planet Rock is the landmark electro track, combining funk, hip hop break beats and a drum box. In 1983, in clubs like the Roxy in NYC where one could bump into electro producers like Arthur Baker, the Roland TR-808 and their Karaoke bass sequencer TB-303 were used by electro DJs to glue their selections together and to boost the bass appeal - and those sounds seem to be have been locked in with the (historical) Electro sound.
Cybotronic have been claimed as proto-techno, due to the people involved with it, but their sound reminds of electro (without the hip hop attitude) and, erm, UK pop dude Gary Numan. The techno we got to know as techno (since the late 80s) has more in common with house music than with electro. Anyway, arguments about 'proper' electro and 'proper' techno aside, *Mantronix* are the ones to look out for - with them, electro acquired a sense of production sophistication without losing the dance floor edge. If you crave for that mid 80s sound, try out anything by them - production work, remixes, their own releases - not only are their tracks great, their vocal recording work is definitely worth checking out. Hillegonda Rietveld --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
