Richard Davis (techno artist)

Last updated

Richard Davis (born 1952) is an American composer and producer of techno music from Detroit.

A veteran of the Vietnam War, [1] he and Juan Atkins met while students at Washtenaw Community College. Following this, they formed the group known as Cybotron in the early 1980s. Davis also released music of his own under the alias 3070. As Cybotron and 3070, Davis had a heavy hand [2] in the foundation of Detroit's nascent techno music scene in the 1980s. [3]

Related Research Articles

House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture in the late 1970s, as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat.

Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mills, Kevin Saunderson, Blake Baxter, Drexciya, Mike Banks, and Robert Hood.

Juan Atkins American musician

Juan Atkins, also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. Mixmag has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of The Belleville Three, Cybotron, and Borderland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow Magic Orchestra</span> Japanese electronic music band

Yellow Magic Orchestra is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The group is considered influential and innovative in the field of popular electronic music. They were pioneers in their use of synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, computers, and digital recording technology, and effectively anticipated the "electropop boom" of the 1980s. They are credited with playing a key role in the development of several electronic genres, including synthpop, J-pop, electro, and techno, while exploring subversive sociopolitical themes throughout their career.

Electro is a genre of electronic music and early hip hop directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines, and funk. Records in the genre typically feature drum machines and heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals, although if vocals are present they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. This is the main distinction between electro and previously prominent genres such as disco, in which the electronic sound was only part of the instrumentation. It also palpably deviates from its predecessor boogie for being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derrick May (musician)</span> Musical artist

Derrick May, also known as Mayday and Rhythim Is Rhythim, is an American electronic musician from Belleville, Michigan, United States. May is credited with pioneering techno music in the 1980s along with collaborators Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson, commonly known as The Belleville Three.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Craig</span> American electronic music producer and DJ

Carl Craig is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. He is known as a leading figure and pioneer in the second wave of Detroit techno artists during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He has recorded under his given name in addition to a variety of aliases, including Psyche, BFC, and Innerzone Orchestra.

Cybotron was an American electro music group formed in 1980 by Juan Atkins and Richard "3070" Davis in Detroit. Guitarist John "Jon 5" Housely joined soon afterward. Cybotron had a number of singles now considered classics of the electro genre, particularly "Clear" and the group's debut, "Alleys of Your Mind," as well as "Cosmic Cars" and "R-9".

Kevin Maurice Saunderson is an American electronic dance music Dj and record producer. He is famous for being a member of a trio, along with Juan Atkins and Derrick May, who came to be known as The Belleville Three, who is often credited to being among the pioneers and originators of techno: in particular this act helped define Detroit techno, the earliest style of this music genre. Born in New York, at the age of nine he moved to Belleville, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, where he befriended at Belleville High School the other members of the trio.

<i>Solid State Survivor</i> 1979 studio album by Yellow Magic Orchestra

Solid State Survivor is the second album by Japanese electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, released in 1979. Later, Solid State Survivor was released in 1982 in the UK on LP and cassette, also in 1992 in the United States on CD, but many of the songs from this album were compiled for release in the US as the US pressing of ×∞Multiplies (1980), including the tracks "Behind the Mask", "Rydeen", "Day Tripper", and "Technopolis". Solid State Survivor is only one of a handful of YMO albums in which the track titles do not have a Japanese equivalent.

Keith Tucker is a DJ and producer of Detroit techno and electro music from Detroit, Michigan.

"Clear" is a 1983 electro song performed by the American group Cybotron, and composed by Cybotron members Juan Atkins and Richard Davis.

The Belleville Three Three musicians from Detroit

The Belleville Three are three American musicians, Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson, who are credited with inventing the Detroit techno genre.

Eddie Fowlkes is an American techno DJ. He was influential to the early Detroit techno scene.

Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often characterized by a repetitive four on the floor beat. Artists may use electronic instruments such as drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers, as well as digital audio workstations. Drum machines from the 1980s such as Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 are highly prized, and software emulations of such retro instruments are popular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Detroit</span> Music traditions in Detroit, Michigan, US

Detroit, Michigan, is a major center in the United States for the creation and performance of music, and is best known for three developments: Motown, early punk rock, and techno.

<i>Enter</i> (Cybotron album) 1983 studio album by Cybotron

Enter is the debut studio album by American techno group Cybotron, released in 1983. In 1990, it was reissued under the new title Clear. In 2013, it was reissued under the original title, Enter, with additional bonus tracks.

<i>Classics</i> (Model 500 album) 1993 compilation album by Model 500

Classics is a compilation album by Juan Atkins under the alias of Model 500. It was released in 1993 by R&S Records.

<i>Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit</i> Compilation album by various artists

Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit is a 1988 compilation of early Detroit techno tracks released on the Virgin Records UK imprint 10 Records. The compilation's title helped establish the term "techno" as the name for electronic dance music emerging out of Detroit in the 1980s.

No UFOs 1985 single by Model 500

"No UFO's" is a 1985 techno song by Juan Atkins under the alias of Model 500. It was released on Atkins own label Metroplex. The song was the first track released after the split of Atkins' previous group Cybotron. The music followed similar themes of the previous group with science fiction and alienation but featured less of a song structure than Cybotron's music leading the track to be often identified as one of the earliest techno songs.

References

  1. Juan Atkins interview at bleep43
  2. Richie Unterberger, Samb Hicks, Jennifer Dempsey, Music USA: the rough guide. Rough Guides, 1999, p.312
  3. Derrick May interview (video)
    "He's got his name on a lot of songs that've been sampled.... Almost every song on the Cybotron album has been sampled by almost every major artist in the industry."