Best techno tracks: nine records that built the sound

Detroit and Chicago, 1985 to 1987.

No UFO's by Model 500 (1985)

Juan Atkins released No UFO's on his own Metroplex label in 1985, after his time in Cybotron. Attack Magazine says it helped push dance music on from electro and Italo disco into something starkly new. It got airplay in Detroit and took off in Chicago. Unlike later techno, it has a clear verse and chorus structure, which suits a record made for radio. The player is the vocal version.

Strings of Life by Rhythim Is Rhythim (1987)

Derrick May released Strings of Life on his Transmat label in 1987. Roland describes stabbing keys and space-age synth strings running for seven and a half minutes with no bassline at all. Frankie Knuckles suggested the name. May has said his first ambition was to get Ron Hardy and Knuckles to play his records in Chicago. In a Red Bull Music Academy interview he says the music sold mainly in Europe, and that this made him angry.

Rave pressure and acid minimalism, 1990 to 1996.

Energy Flash by Joey Beltram (1990)

Joey Beltram made Energy Flash in 1989, when he was 19, and R&S Records released it in 1990. Derrick May's Transmat licensed it in the United States. Attack Magazine describes it as dark, moody and heavy, a pushback against the feel-good melodies of Italo piano house and New York garage. Two of the three lists name it. The player below is R&S's own remaster.

Spastik by Plastikman (1993)

Richie Hawtin released Spastik as Plastikman on Plus 8 in 1993. Insomniac lists an 808, a 909, a 707 and a 303 on it, and quotes Hawtin calling the recording just him jamming. The track runs a taut eight minutes. It never had radio play, yet the producer Todd Osborn told Insomniac the record was everywhere. The player below is the version on the Recycled Plastik album, so it may differ from the original single.

The Bells by Jeff Mills (1996)

Jeff Mills made The Bells in 1994 and released it on Purpose Maker in the spring of 1996. XLR8R quotes him saying he has played it every time he has DJed since, and that it is something he can use to say hello to the people. That habit is why I would put it first if you only play one.

Berlin and dub techno.

Phylyps Trak by Basic Channel (1993)

Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus released Phylyps Trak as Basic Channel in 1993, catalogue number BC02. Resident Advisor's review describes a fast tempo driving a 909 and a conga rhythm track, busy and relentless, and says the earliest Basic Channel records still sound like Detroit techno meeting Kingston by way of Berlin. The player is a streaming copy, so it may differ from the 1993 vinyl.

Subzero by Ben Klock (2009)

Ben Klock released Subzero on Ostgut Ton on 12 January 2009, on the Before One EP. Music Industry How To dates it to 2015, which conflicts with Klock's own Bandcamp page, so I use 2009.

A track of mine belongs beside this section because of where it was made, not what it is. I produced Berlin Race 1909 while living in Berlin, and it is not on this list.

Underground Resistance and Doppler.

Jaguar by The Aztec Mystic (1999)

DJ Rolando released Jaguar as The Aztec Mystic on Underground Resistance in 1999, on the Knights of the Jaguar single. Insomniac describes his sound as techno with Latin percussive styles, and quotes him saying his father was a musician in a Mexican band. I could not confirm the month or catalogue number from a primary source, so I give the year only.

Doppler by Charlotte de Witte (2021)

Charlotte de Witte released Doppler on KNTXT on 30 April 2021, as the first track on the Formula EP alongside RPM and Formula. Her Bandcamp page describes shuffling drums with urgent, alarm-like synths. It is the newest record on this page.

Which techno track should you play first?

If you want good techno songs for a first listen, start with The Bells, then Strings of Life, then Energy Flash: a record Mills uses to say hello, one built on keys and strings, and one that is dark and heavy.

For Berlin, go to Phylyps Trak and Subzero. For the newest record here, go straight to Doppler.

A break from the list.

One more of my own tracks. No Genre No Problem is my first finished track, and it is not on any list on this page.