DAN SICKO TECHNO REBELS: THE RENEGADES OF ELECTRONIC FUNK (Billboard Books/US) While writers like Simon Reynolds, Tim Barr, and Kodwo Eshun have all recently published books on electronic music, we've been waiting for someone to take a closer look at that particular form of electronics that has gone on to shape the sound of today-Techno. With the publication of Techno Rebels: The Renegades Of Electronic Funk, Dan Sicko hits a home run and drives in a run as well. Not only is Sicko a damn fine writer, but he lives in and works from Detroit-techno ground zero. Though his original career intention was not to be a writer, his skills as a wordsmith have changed all that. Sicko started writing for mags like Wired in 1990 and has written about electronic music for numerous magazines since then. Started in 1993, his reverbmag.com was one of the first websites dedicated to techno. Sicko originally wrote an article in 1996 called "Techno Rebels" and it was then that he started thinking seriously about writing a longer work exploring techno past, present, and future. He begins with the period 1978-1982 (what he terms "the prehistory of techno"), moves through to the British welcome of the sound ('88-'90) and the growth of rave culture, then forward to Detroit circa '90-'92 for the subsequent response from artists like Jeff Mills, Robert Hood, Dan Bell, Richie Hawtin and others who sought to reclaim techno through their focus on minimalism. Despite the name, this is most certainly not a narrow look at the title's namesake; new forms of electronics like drum n bass and the post rock of acts like Tortoise and Stereolab are also examined. Considering the text clocks in at just over 200 pages, Sicko has done a remarkable job of encapsulating so much information so fluidly. Full of quotes from the major and lesser known players, plenty of choice anecdotes and insider tales, label stories and thorough research, plus a handy buyer's guide to track down the titles you're missing, Techno Rebels is easy to read, but hard to put down once you've started. Whether you're a beginner to the genre or consider yourself a know-it-all, you owe it to yourself to purchase Dan Sicko's Techno Rebels. Andrew Duke Back to album/book reviews index