electro funk
- Crucial Electro Links - A collection of links devoted to electro artists, labels, and history.
- eBboy Music Productions - Home of 128bit Bboy and VSF. Also, creators of Spanish Rocktronico.
- Electro Empire - Provides information on the past, present and future of the genre. Includes artist profiles, discographies, audio samples, lyrics, articles, photos, list of online record stores, and links.
- exzakt - Home of Monotone U.S.A., Frajile recordings and Excelerations records this site features news, tours, links and lots of sounds on a deeper/techy tip.
- Global Darkness: History of Electro Funk - An article by Tim Haslett on the genre. Includes discographies and sound files (RealAudio format).
- GoodLife - Home to artists The Hacker and Oxyia. This label has been releasing cutting edge electro and techno for years.
- International DeeJay Gigalos - The label that started the electrowave. Home to artists Fischerspooner, DMX Krew, David Carretta, DJ Hell, Japanese Telecom, Miss Kitten, The Hacker, Tuxedomoon, Tiga, and Zombie Nation. Video, audio, news and online shop.
- Jive Electro - A mainstream record label that features the likes of Hardnox, Groove Armada and Detroit Grand Phubas.
- Kosmozo - Official Site - Flash site of Belgium based electro performance project with DJing, live voice and special effects. Innovative futuristic style. Audio and visual available for download.
- Kramig records - Kramig records is one of the most innovative labels around. Home to the killer dj's 'Rackspace'.
- The Vocode Project - The Vocode Project features resident DJs Mad Wax and Lex laying down monthly Electro Showcase Showdown programs, exclusive one off label, artist and producer features, and original electro material.
- Gold Chains Worldwide - Official site for the electro rap artist. Featuring audio, video (.WMV format), tour dates, and news.
- MolarMill - Chattery and playful electro-industrial-synth pop from this Chicago musician.
- Superstars of Love - Eclectic electro porno music with hints of new wave disco techno from this St. Louis group. Releases out on DeeJay Gigalos.
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.
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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