Techno as a distinct genre began in Detroit in the mid to late 1980s and soon spread around the world. Many of us did not become fully aware of this form of "dance" music until the early 90s or even later because it was something different from what we were used to and not initially played on mainstream radio. Techno-Electronica certainly had its progenitors such as Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, and Mike Oldfield, just to name a few. In the late 70s and early 80s, both Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" and "Mammagamma" by The Alan Parsons Project showcased well this emerging vibe. Also, there was Todd Rundgren's 1973 album, "A Wizard, A True Star," which broke lots of new "electronic" ground even though it was understood to be a Rock album. I love that record to this day. Even back in 1968 Wendy Carlos masterminded and released "Switched-On Bach," a musical, electronic landmark that is still discussed and lauded.

My first serious interest in Techno as a stand-alone genre was with the very successful UK duo called Orbital. In the 1990s I lived in San Antonio, Texas. In those pre-streaming and pre-download days, one could go to CD Exchange and leisurely listen to music on the store's in-house CD players and headphones. My daughter and I lived in Alamo Heights near Incarnate Word University and Trinity University (about 20 minutes from the Alamo), so there were many college students in that especially cosmopolitan part of the city. Because of that condition, there were also lots of Techno-Electronica kinds of CDs in circulation at the store in our neighborhood. Callie and I would go in on a weekend and often leave one or two hours later with a lot of music. I think it is generally fair to say that from Techno-Electronica there emerged the specific House and Trance genres, and from there came EDM (Electronic Dance Music), Chillwave, Dream Pop, Trance, Nu Disco, Trip-Hop, and others, including Dubstep and Downtempo. Of course, it did not happen neatly and in that order, but you get the idea. Those genres exploded into full, commercial existence in the mid to late 1990s.

The overall Electronica Vibe, which is typically computer software and keyboard-based, in my opinion has become a powerful paradigm in much of our current music, meshing frequently with R&B and Funk, creating songs such as "Round & Round" by Mischa Daniels or M83's "Claudia Lewis." As mentioned, it has also spawned Chillwave (or Vaporwave) and a good deal of Psychedelic and/or Alternative Dream Pop that is expressed beautifully through bands such as Tame Impala, Electric Youth, and Empire of the Sun.  I have decided for purposes of effective presentation to place the aforementioned artists along with Beck, Gum, Pnau, and Pond in the Alternative Rock section of MusicQuest, as it can be unclear when a song has moved from 21st Century Alternative Rock 'n' Roll and/or Pop into the realms of Electronica. In this area, though, I am going to include artists such as William Orbit, Orbital, Propellerheads, Ice Choir, Sounds from the Ground, Ulrich Schnauss, and many others from the realms of Techno, House, EDM, and Chillwave.

If you are not familiar with the below artists, I think you will enjoy their work. Electronica is one my favorite genres of music because It generates exploratory melodies, grooves, and beats -- from the edgy to the beautiful and from the funky to the mystically uplifting and sublime -- and frequently does so with extended playtimes. I do a lot of webmastering and photo-editing and especially appreciate this kind of music on headphones while working. Also, you will notice in the individual songs below that several of them have some kind of (Mix) indicated in parenthesis. That represents a change in musical releases that began to happen in the late 80s and early 90s and became standard practice with Techno, House, Trance, and EDM. Can we imagine Marvin Gaye's 1971 Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) accompanied by five or more variations or what we would now call additional mixes? When my brother Mark told me that the soundtrack "Love" for Cirque du Soleil's tribute to The Beatles was going to be essentially a hybrid remix (orchestrated by George Martin and his son Giles), I was not sure what to think . . . until I listened to it. I liked it so much that Kim and I went to Las Vegas and saw the show. It was truly spectacular and a highlight of my life!

One of the best, most coherent examples of Electronica is the 1999 Art of Noise release called "The Seduction of Claude Debussy." It is a musical masterpiece -- original and captivating! Please check-out their special feature area just below these first three mixes.

Charles Calvin Best