Electro
Most seasoned electronic music aficionados, especially those in their late 20s and early 30s, will remember early '80s electro as a time when "everything was just fine." It was a time of dragging out a square of lino (or cardboard if you were a scummer) for a quick windmill, running back indoors to catch Fame's Leroy (and his legendary legwarmers), trying (unsuccessfully) to master graffiti, trying (unsuccessfully) to master scratching, and practicing your tag for hours on end until your mum shouted at you for desecrating the phone book. This ultra-synthetic hip hop-influenced music, pioneered by artists such as Newcleus, Man Parrish, Hashim, Egyptian Lover, Cybotron (Juan Atkins), Arthur Baker, Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force, Kraftwerk, and Grandmaster Flash, was readily available in all its neon glory on labels such as Street Sounds and Tuff City Records. Nowadays, like most electronic music, electro has been divvied into a million different genres, such as Miami bass, ghetto-tech, and electro-funk, but the original machine-like sound is still propagated by the likes of Anthony Rother, DMX Krew, Bass Junkie, Dave Clarke, Dopplereffekt, Aux 88, and Mandroid. So go on, lace up your Hi-Tek Teks, zip up your Sergio Tacchini tracksuit top, pop a copy of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" in your boombox, and drift wistfully back into the era when fluorescent socks were still acceptable.
