Although it may seem that Detroit techno and the Goth scene have little to do with each other, a recent reading and a conversation have convinced me otherwise. The book is Pedro Peñas Robles’ biography of Nitzer Ebb, in which he theorises that early Detroit artists were inspired by the English EBM band for their early work. On the other hand, a conversation with the classic DJ Waje revealed to me the existence of Final Cut, one of the Detroit bands in which Jeff Mills was a member that recorded albums of pure EBM and industrial music. Seeing also that this Detroit Legacy, released by HC Records, includes some familiar names, we’re going to tell you a bit more about it.
Detroit Legacy is, without a doubt, a declaration of love for the music of a city that has been extraordinarily influential in the evolution of electronic music. Opening A-side, we find Paul Hammock, an Irish producer, better known as Cignol, who brings us a dreamy track inspired by Deep Techno. We already knew the artist from one of the label’s previous releases, the Binary Choices EP. The Spanish DJ and producer Barce reminds us of the most danceable and classic part of the Detroit sound. If you don’t know him, remember that he recorded for Micron Records, another great national electro label. Closing the A-side we have a legend of national electronica, the great Álex Martín, who delivers us a gliding composition of infinite arpeggios with a nod to Transmat classic productions. Mariska Neerman is one of the best current producers of the genre and even recorded a split with DJ Stingray, one of the greatest artists from Detroit. We also recommend the EP she recorded for HC Records. This time, she delivers another dreamy and amazing composition. Dark Vektor, who we’ve told you quite a lot about when he released his EPs on HC Records and Industrias Mekanikas, includes one of his catchy and recognisable tracks where we can find some Aux88 and Cybotron influences. The EP comes to an end with Croatian producer N-ter, who bring us the most powerful, combative and acid side of the genre.
