Wikipedia had an interesting comment to make about the origins of Electro:

“It was all about stretching the boundaries that had begun to stifle black music, and its influences lay not only with German Technopop wizards Kraftwerk, the acknowledged forefathers of pure electro, plus British futurist acts like the Human League and Gary Numan, but also with a number of pioneering black musicians. Major artists like Miles Davis, Sly Stone, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, legendary producer Norman Whitfield and, of course, George Clinton and his P-Funk brigade, would all play their part in shaping this new sound via their innovative use of electronic instruments during the 70s (and as early as the late 60s in Miles Davis’s case).”

“Following the decline of disco music in the United States, electro emerged as a fusion of funk and early hip hop with principal influences from New York boogie, and German and Japanese electronic pop music. The genre emerged with musicians Arthur Baker, Afrika Bambaataa, Warp 9, and Hashim. Seminal electro tracks included Planet Rock (1982) and Nunk (1982), both featuring its characteristic TR-808 drum beats.”

The Electro-Phonic Funk Show

Funk music was responsible for stretching the boundaries of dance music. Now, with the addition of electronics into the musical mix, the boundaries of dance music were getting stretching yet again. Tune in to this week’s show as the audio funk adventurers check out those electro-induced tunes by The Bar-Kays, Zapp, Shock, Ronnie Hudson, Funkadelic, Lakeside, Midnight Star and One Way, along with a bunch of funky tunes from James Brown who shows funk hasn’t died, it’s just morphed!

Hope you enjoy the show!