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What
Techno is electronic dance music. It's created with samplers, synthesizers and computers. However, everything electronica isn't necessarily techno. Techno is an umbrella genre for the genres that it spawned, and also has its own (more or less) distinct sound, based in Detroit house music and 1970s German synth pop.
When
In the early '80s, Detroit house music DJs took elements from the futuristic synth pop of the '70s German band Kraftwerk and combined them with funk and disco, while early hip-hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa sampled Kraftwerk to form electro, a sort of proto-techno. In 1983, Detroit house DJs Juan Atkins and Richard Davies released "Techno City," coining the phrase and jump-starting a genre. In the early '90s, techno took off in Europe as illegal, underground dance parties called raves thrived.
Who
There are techno superstars like Moby, DJ Spooky and the Prodigy. There's happy hardcore (Slipmatt, DJ Eruption), a simple, mindless-dance-all-night style. There's the rapid-fire and rhythmically complex jungle/drum 'n' bass (Roni Size). Then there's experimental techno, which ranges from highbrow minimalist (Oval, Mouse on Mars) to the sophisticated, ambient techno of Mu-ziq and Aphex Twin. There's also punkish hardcore techno (Alec Empire), whose super-speeds are designed to alienate dancers, and much more.
Etc...
For a more in-depth survey of the history of techno, check out Gridface's A Brief History of Techno. And for women in electronica, see www.pinknoises.com and Sister.
