That Electro article on Wikipedia

You are on to something. The true History and meaning behind the word Electro when it comes to music should be explained on Wiki. I would love to see the arguments erupt over what was the first song ever to use the term electro when describing Electronic music. Kind of like "Rap" or "Heavy Metal" when was it first said in a song? Answer... "Heavy Metal" 1968 Born to be wild by Steppenn Wolf. "Rap" 1954 Twas The Night Before Christmas by Art Carney. Just stirrin' it up.

1939:
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Quote from lj;58034

- I don't know if Planet Rock is "widely regarded as a turning point in the electro genre". Starting point would be the better description imo.

Depends on what exactly we're talking about...
The term "Electro" or the music style we call "Electro" here?

I heard people saying the term "Electro" was already used in context of
Krautrock and synth music in the late 70s. But I don't know if theres any proof.
Within the Hiphop/Rap context it was probably Bambaataa who brought up the term.

If we're talking about the music style I would rather agree with the "turning point" bit
as I never limited "Electro" to only Hiphop. I think inspirations coming from the sound of
Kraftwerk were the motor for many versions of "Electro" in different contexts and times.
And their music never stopped influencing new generations directly...

Apart from the conservative never dying retro Electro-Hiphop section of our scene,
I'd say most of the truely new "Electro" of the 90s till today is definitly more a child of Kraftwerk
than of any 80s Electro-Hiphop. So from this point of view "Planet Rock" was probably
neither a starting nor a turning point.

Blah... always good to open a can of worms this topic...

If this article is meant to be about only "Electrofunk" / Hiphop-context "Electro",
then i think it should be called "Electrofunk". Calling it "Electro (music)" is just ignorant
towards everything that went on besides the Hiphop world in the following 3 decades.

Maybe in the 80s the short term "Electro" was only/mostly used for this one style...
but looking at it in 2011, it should be clear that there was/is a lot more. I don't mean
electronic music and its zillions of subgenres in general but the different forms of
broken beat "New School Electro" ...for which "Electro" was/is used as short name as well.

The "Contemporary" part in this article also doesn't match up too well i think, as it's
making all the new Electro styles look like direct relatives of the Hiphop-context
"Electro" / "Electrofunk" music style.

In an article focusing on "Electrofunk" / Hiphop-context "Electro", "Planet Rock" i guess,
could indeed be seen as a "starting point", in terms of ...for the first time reaching a
wide audience and giving it its name.

In short i'd say... Kraftwerk basicly invented the sound, Hiphop invented the name that
went on to be used for other Kraftwerk inspired styles of electronic music...
resulting in major never-ending confusion. Or something like that...

Electro - direction of music created by a group Kraftwerk. Electro-boogie, Electro-funk - a subgenre of electro music, which emerged in the United States at the turn of the hip-hop, funk, electro[nic] pop/synth pop (Gary Newman etc) and the music style of German electronic group Kraftwerk. Not to be confused electro-funk with electronic funk (synth funk, boogie), ie funk played on electronic instruments. Electro heyday was 1982-85. Electro facilitated the release of hip-hop rhythms depending on the disco. Directly from the electro genre has developed techno music (see Cybotron, Mantronix, Model 500).

A characteristic feature of this style is the use of drum machines to create a foundation rhythm tracks - the most recognizable sound electro makes drum machines Roland TR-808.

Electro is when the drum patterns tend to be electronic emulations of breakbeats, with kick drums, and usually a snare or clap accenting the downbeat. Its average tempo is between 120 and 140 BPM, its syncopated rhythm is fundamentally built on the base model "kick-snare-kick-kick-snare-kick" whose typical example is the piece of Kraftwerk's "Numbers'. Sound is characterized by the use of analog sound synthesis for writing tracks and abundant inclusions of the effects of echo, delay, reverb, vocoder-treated vocals and lyrics on the sci-fi and futuristic theme. Modern Electro carries a legacy of hip-hop, as occurring recitatives, but in 1990 this trend has become less popular.

One of the earliest and most influential songs of the electro funk was the single Africa Bambaataa «Planet Rock», released in June 1982, quoted directly tune «Trans-Europe Express» and rhythm «Numbers» Kraftwerk and parts of Gary Numan's "Cars". The success of the single went next record Bambaataa «Looking for the Perfect Beat» (1983). Then came one of the masterpieces of electro - the single «Al-Naafiysh (The Soul)» Hashim. Musicians from Los Angeles - Egyptian Lover and Arabian Prince - became the founders of electro-hop, which differs less funky, more bass sound. Miami is developing a new kind of rollicking electro - Miami bass, has a higher rate, an emphasis on multitonal bass and obscene lyrics, with such defenition as: Miami bass Hiphop (2 Live Crew, Poison Clan, 95 South), Electro/Techno Bass ( Maggotron, Dynamix II), Car audio bass (Bass 305, Bass Mekanik etc), Latin bass (DJ Laz). In Detroit has developed its own sound - electro-techno/techno bass, with more technoid sound (see A Number of Names, Cybotron, Aux 88, Drexciya), based on Kraftwerk's "TEE''. On the east coast, in New York and especially in Miami, electro-music spawned Freestyle (Freestyle) - Latin American variant of electro, with a more soulful, pop sound.

Quote from elektroakust.;58052

In short i'd say... Kraftwerk basicly invented the sound, Hiphop invented the name that went on to be used for other Kraftwerk inspired styles of electronic music... resulting in major never-ending confusion. Or something like that...

haha, I never thought I'd agree with you about anything (musically) but here I do...

Quote from lj;58089

or any other syncopation, for that matter.

add more words :), I do not quite understand, be more specific.

Quote from lj;58089

no. there's no gary numan in "planet rock".

May be i mistaken, I not shure in it. what about parts of this song?

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Quote from lj;58091

it doesn't have to be the "numbers" pattern

of course not the only, but...

https://forum.electroempire.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6749

Quote from lj;58091

Electro is based on any kind of syncopated beat. it can be any broken/funky/syncopated beat.

it's breakbeat (all the styles, from funk etc) based on any kind of syncopated beat, not electro, or you think that breakbeat hardcore, jungle, dnb, big beat, hard hop are also electro?

I have always understood Electro to mean Electronic Music. I Love Keyboard Synths & Drum Machines in music. The Alan Parsons Project, Cybotron (Both Australia and Detroit bands), Pink Floyd all the way to Twilight 22 and everything in between! Remember in the 90s all of a sudden Techno was being called Electronica? Remember when 80s Club and Freestyle was starting to be called Dance music? Whatever you want to call all of the sub genres... All of them basically fit under the giant unbrella called ELECTRO. Anyway... thats how I see it.

Quote from FrogLegs;58152

Electro = Electronic Music?

Absolutely not! Here, at Electro Empire, we talking about one style of Electronic Dance Music called Electro, and it's breakbeat music.

Quote from lj;58142

I'm not sure I understand where you're getting at. I was simply saying that electro is based on syncopated beats. And that is because most early electro consists of funk beats recreated with a drum machine. The other strain of electronic music at that time would be: disco beats recreated with a drum machine, meaning house or techno.

Yep, misunderstanding may be.

Each style of EDM has its own formula and its limits, at electro it's: "Electro is when the drum patterns tend to be electronic emulations of breakbeats, with kick drums, and usually a snare or clap accenting the downbeat. Its average tempo is between 120 and 140 BPM, its syncopated rhythm is fundamentally built on the base model "kick-snare-kick-kick-snare-kick" whose typical example is the piece of Kraftwerk's "Numbers'."

Quote from lj;58034

i didn't even want to go there ...

- Did YMO / really have such an influence on electro? I don't see it.

Well they were using the word to describe their music in the 70s, and people that later made electro/hiphop were sampling them and influenced by them, then its a yes

Top right of this photo
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Quote from daro;58158

Top right of this photo
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Interesting!

(I've re-uploaded the cover because discogs.com is blocking their images from being
linked/embedded externally. More on this in the 'EE Info' section.)