Detroit and San Francisco are two very different musical capitals, even when it comes to techno. Detroit techno, austere and futuristic, grew out of Black/queer culture, sci-fi escapism, and the repetitive language of automobile factories. San Francisco’s techno, on the other hand, fused an outdoor hippie aesthetic with ecstatic, UK-derived beats that had crowds mass-hallucinating UFOs on Ocean Beach at dawn. Both shared a deep funkiness, however—remember when people of all shapes and colors once danced wildly?—and, in the 1990s at least, embraced an underground vibe.
And the two scenes have remained surprisingly connected, not least by a wave of ’90s Midwest refugees (ahem) fleeing to San Francisco for more temperate weather, better artistic and employment opportunities, and a break from then-rampant Rust Belt racism and homophobia. (When SF got uptight and too pricey in the 2010s, a mini reverse wave of migration to Detroit fueled satirical screeds against artisanal hipster invasion and wheat fields in the city’s neighborhoods.)
