Electro

What it tastes like

Electro is the original electronic dance music. It started in early-80s NYC and Detroit: Afrika Bambaataa’s Planet Rock (1982) imported Kraftwerk’s robotic European futurism into hip-hop’s broken-beat sensibility, and Cybotron (Juan Atkins) extended it in Detroit. Drexciya, Anthony Rother, and the Detroit electro scene of the 90s kept it alive. Every techno, house, drum-and-bass, and dubstep producer owes electro a debt — it’s the first genre where a TR-808 was the whole song.

A bar in and you’ve got it: a TR-808 kick on a syncopated pattern (NOT four-on-the-floor — electro is broken), an 808 cowbell or rim marking the offbeats, and vocoded vocals or robotic stabs on top. The bassline is often a TB-303 or a synth squelch following an arpeggiated minor pattern. The whole thing feels like it was made by a robot that had just discovered funk.

The chord moves

Electro keeps it minimal and minor. The classic move is i–iv–i–V in natural minor, voiced as short stabs. Sometimes the song just vamps on i for the whole track with bassline variation carrying the energy. The harmony is minimal because the rhythm IS the song.

Use --chord minor7 --pattern stab and lean on the bassline to create melodic interest.

The groove

Syncopated 808 kick at 124–135 BPM — NOT four-on-the-floor. Classic electro pattern: kick on 1, 1.75, 2.5, 3, 4, with snare on 3. The hi-hat is closed and steady on 16ths, the cowbell or rim hits the offbeats. It’s funky in a way other electronic genres aren’t — the syncopation comes from hip-hop’s broken beats, not from house’s swung shuffle.

The bass is a TB-303 squelch or a synth bass following an arpeggio that spells the chord across each bar. Highly resonant, cutoff modulated.

The sounds

• Bass: TB-303 or wavetable bass with high resonance. Plays an arpeggiated bassline (not just root quarters). Saturated.
• Kick: TR-808 kick (the deep sub-tuned one). Tight, syncopated.
• Snare/clap: TR-808 snare or clap on 3.
• Cowbell/rim: TR-808 cowbell on offbeats. Iconic.
• Hi-hat: closed 808 hat on 16ths.
• Vocals: vocoded (Roland VP-330 or modern equivalent). Robotic, processed, often lyrically dystopian or sci-fi.
• Chord stabs: short Juno or Prophet stabs on the offbeats.

Production tells

Want it modern? Tighter low end, cleaner mix, modern saturation. The 2020s Detroit electro revival (DMX Krew, DJ Stingray) is sharper than the 80s sources.

Want it 1982-Planet-Rock-vintage? Use real 808 samples (or Battery’s 808 kit). Pre-EQ for vinyl: scoop 100Hz, boost 6kHz. Master at -14 LUFS for the original wide-dynamic feel. Vocoder MUST be present.

python jamburgr.py --key "C minor" --style electro --progression i,iv,i,V --pattern stab --output-mode pack --out ./jams/electro