Electro (music)

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(Redirected from Electro funk)

Electro, also known as robot hip hop and electro funk, is an electronic style of hip hop directly influenced by Kraftwerk and funk records (unlike earlier rap records which were closer to disco). Records in the genre are unabashed about their use of electronic and artificial sounds, taking this technological fetish almost into science fiction with many records about space travel and futuristic dystopias.

1 History
2 Artists
3 See also
4 Links

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History

Bronx, NY based artist Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock (1982) is one of the first electro records, using elements of Kraftwerk's Trans-Europe Express and Numbers. Bambaataa and artists like Juan Atkins' group Cybotron, Planet Patrol, Jonzun Crew, and Newcleus went on to influence the genres of detroit techno, ghettotech, drum and bass and electroclash. Los Angeles artists Egyptian Lover and Arabian Prince gave birth to electro hop, a less funky, more bass-heavy West Coast sound, similar to 2 Live Crew and the Miami Bass scene. Detroit also has a unique style sometimes called "techno bass" which is a fusion of Detroit Techno and Miami Bass. On the East Coast and especially in Miami, electro spawned freestyle, a soulful, Latin-centric variant.

Common equipment in electro production includes drum machines, sequencers, synthesizers, vocoders, and more recently laptop computers. A legendary drum machine, still used today, is the Roland TR-808.

Although the early 1980s were electro's heyday in the mainstream, there are a number of artists still making music in this style including several who have embraced the pseudonyms of Detroit techno pioneers. The renewed interest in electro, though influenced to a great degree by Detroit and New York music, is primarily taking hold elsewhere with a variety of cities featuring electro club nights.

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