Techno Rebels

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This books paints a good picture of the story of Techno - Rated
Some critisicm has been levered at this book for not covering many of the european elements of 'techno' ie. gabba, trance - but that would be the musical equivalent of expecting a critique of rock to include a discussion on the merits of steps, boyzone or abba. This book keeps to the key elements of the music and pays the due homage to Detroit that this city deserves as the spiritual home of techno (not forgetting the outstanding contribution of kraftwerk). It covers all the key aspects of techno that will influence its evolution in to the 21st century. Intelligent, interesting - excellent!

Good but sorry techno started in Germany not America - Rated
A good book that is sadly too focused on America. forgetting that London and Germany is where the true roots (Stockhausen) and invovation (trance/acid tekno)are in this genre.

Great on Detroit Techno, so-so on everything else - Rated
Dan Sicko deserves credit here for being the first person to attempt to put together a definitive history of techno as a musical genre. Being from Detroit, his strength is his encyclopedic knowledge of the evolution of the techno scene in the Motor City. Although the ultimate relevance of some of the early material about dance parties and such is never adequately explained, Sicko reveals the early development of Detroit techno skillfully and thoroughly.

For some other aspects of the history of techno, perhaps a second book by someone else will be necessary. For one thing, once Sicko reaches the point in his narrative where techno becomes a "world-wide" phenomenon, his survey of its proliferation and evolution is sketchy at best, and misleading and partial at worst. With the exception of some acknowledgment of the seventies techno-pop act Kraftwork, he shortchanges throughout the significant contributions by Germans (e.g., no mention of Sven Vath, Paul van Dyk, or Oliver Lieb, and in his discussion of current and future directions in techno, including offshoots into new musical genres, some unknown artists (undoubtedly of Sicko's acquaintance) are featured prominently, whereas important styles such as trance and progressive house are ignored completely.

He also has difficulty conveying what the music is actually like. I realize that expressing the essence of one artistic medium in terms of another is difficult, but someone who has never heard techno would finish the book with no clearer idea of what "techno" actually is than when he or she started. Exactly what techno fans "listen for" in this music and the role that techno plays within their lives/subculture are also important, but never discussed adequately.

Still, Sicko is a pioneer here, and deserves credit for what he accomplished in this first attempt at a "history of techno."

Good techno backgrounder and reference guide - Rated
I ordered this book the moment I got a notification from the Betalounge.com. Techno Rebels gives a historical overview of the origins of techno including detailed descriptions of the major players. Interesting details like pictures of "Techno Boulevard", Inner City's Saunderson (someone's music I always have admired) organizational talent to bring the right people (writers/singers) together to bring techno to the masses (allways thought Kevin did all the writing by himself). Even if you're not much of a reader, the last part of the books gives a reference of influential techno records together with availability info. As these records get re-released it will be fun to dig these songs up again. It's nice to see that someone took up the job to write this book and succeeded very well.

A true guide to techno! - Rated
This book has been written for someone like myself who thought I knew everything about techno and I have to keep re-reading pages the facts are just so incerdible! It has also been written by someone who has not excluded the people who know nothing about music. There is no snobbery involved with the compiling of this essential info.