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Music

Detroit Techno Selected for the New York Times Magazine’s “Letter of Recommendation”

Their ode to the foundational genre is actually pretty sweet.

In a true show of the genre's crossover to the mainstream, the New York Times Magazine selected "Detroit techno" as this week's "Letter of Recommendation."

"Letter of Recommendation" is a weekly magazine column where "writers pen love letters to overlooked or under appreciated literature, film, music, art, food, drink, activities, and more."

"People often forget that the most visionary musical styles to come from America in the late 20th century — house and techno — are not from the coastal capitals of modern culture but the perennially neglected Rust Belt," said writer Shuja Haider.

Haider goes on to wax poetic about the Roland TR-808 and tells the story of Detroit techno's rise through the story of Juan Atkins and his peers. "The refusal to allow machinery to dictate human activity unites the shop floor and the dance floor," wrote Haider. "When I listen to techno, I don't just hear the electronics; I hear the hands operating them."

In addition to the column, the magazine also included a "Detroit Techno Playlist" featuring tracks by Derrick May, Carl Craig, and Moodymann, among others.

Read the entire "Letters of Recommendation" column here.