High Tech Soul
with Eiliyas
Detroit. Home of Techno.
Me. I’m from Georgia. I say Atlanta as a point of reference here living in Berlin but truthfully I grew up in the much smaller town of Macon.
Growing up I have to admit that I looked at techno as something that white people did. Plain and simple. I didn’t know about the origins of house or techno. I was never aware or could fathom that its creators might look anything like me. Of course as I grew older and my experience with music expanded I slowly became aware of who was actually making this music as well as simply finding house and techno music that actually resonated with me. In defense of my naivete though, the first “electronic” music I was exposed to was probably something french or german that somehow ended up on Video Jukebox back in the day.
This lack of awareness and support of black artists is prevalent and is a problem (also noted by Kevin Saunderson of the Belleville3 in this Billboard article). Seeing the originators in this documentary is an example of why it is to tell our own stories.
I think this may be one of my favourite electronic music documentaries ever! One where I felt I really got to know the crew personally and celebrate their accomplishments and hometown pride.
Eiliyas is a Macon born, Atlanta bred, Berlin-based artist working with music, sound design, creative writing and conceptual art. He also is host and curator of Mixtape Menage, a platform for becoming familiar with cultural facilitators of the world through sound.
