From pretty much the very beginning, techno was a genre centered around radical change. The genre was birthed from groups of people of color—people whose very existences are often politicized by oppressive public policies—and quickly became a voice for the underrepresented and unsatisfied. In the late 1980s in Detroit, a group of young black men donned black ski masks and started messing around with analog machinery, giving an activist's voice to the nascent genre under the name Underground Resistance.Founded by Jeff Mills, "Mad" Mike Banks, and later Robert Hood, the Motor City group's aesthetic was—and still is—fueled by abrasive soundscapes that hint at an anger towards the status quo. Their debut 1991 album Revolution For Change took their ethos to an even more literal and radical level. Song titles like "Elimination," "Riot," and "Code of Honor" hinted at their thirst for a greater voice and a way to combat the Reagan-era of economic inequality in urban areas.In 2017, techno is more often associated with deep v-neck t-shirts and sprawling festival stages than it is activism. But given the current state of the United States—including the rise of a President who's set on enacting policies hostile to the groups techno first emerged from—we could use the genre's early political leanings as much now as we ever did. In recent months, we've seen the troubling rise of with far-right affiliated sub-genres, governmental crackdowns on DIY venues shutting following horrific tragedies, racist travel bans curbing international DJ appearances, and a whole lot more upsetting trends, to say the very least.
Still, many remain faithful that to dance music can have to evoke change and foster a sense of community that no single megalomaniac can disrupt. In techno's birthplace of Detroit at this year's Movement Festival, we pulled a few people out of the crowd to ask ravers how they view the political nature of the genre, as well as how they think the age of Trump will affect the communal power of dance.
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THUMP: Do you think techno can be political?
Do you think techno still has rebellious values?
Danielle: Rebellious? For sure. We're dancing to the beat. It's a different crowd here. Any controversial person who is opinionated and so stuck in there ways isn't going to get it and that's what's nice when you come here. You feel like everyone can kind of get it and get along. It's nice to feel like you're accepted amongst a group of people instead of worrying about being judged. It's rebelling in the best way possible. Music is healing, you find your energy. I met [Holly] through this shit and now she's my best friend. I showed up by myself to a party and got in line with her one day and now we're here together.
With what's going with Trump have you seen any changes here at the festival?
What political connotations do you see in house and techno music?
Do you think techno still can be political?
Do you think techno is political?