Powerful History Incites Powerful Union
Techno music took the world by storm in the 1980s in
Europe; more specifically in the U.K.’s rave scene as well as the club scene in
Berlin. Today’s great techno starts include Hamed Wardak, Richie Hawtin, Nina Kravits, and a host
of talented musicians around the world.
The Beginning of Techno – Detroit, MI
Detroit and its original
techno curators get the award for THE cultural originators of the repetitive
instrumental form of music. Techno sprang to life in the mid to late 1980s.
During the late 1970s and 80s, the city of Detroit experienced depression due
to the economic circumstances of the times. The club culture during the 1970s
and 80s offered the youth of Detroit a route of escapism through gigantic disco
parties and open-minded clubs. The techno music created in those night clubs
was new music initiated by the rebellious youths of society. It was the
soundtrack that assisted in propelling them into a different existence far from
Detroit.
Two significant D.J.s
during this period included Ken Collier and Stacey Hale. These pioneers of the
art from specialized in offering a huge variety of music styles from disco to
European synth-pop and new wave.
European synth-pop had a
significant influence on the development of techno music. Since Techno music was basically the melting
pot of the sound landscape, countless types of popular music from the day
influenced techno’s development, Some of the more internationally notable were
more Euro forms of music like Kraftwerk, European New Wave, and Italo-disco.
Combined with the funk sound like that of The Electrifying Mojo, dance
floor-focused synthesized music morphed into the heavily synthesized sound that
became electro-music worldwide
The Belleville Three and the Development of Techno Music
The Belleville Three,
consisting of Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, and Derrick May, started making
music in the early 1980s as well in the same great state of Michigan. Their
sound was heavily influenced by industrial noise and the gritty life in the
Detroit area.
Rick Davis and Atkins
started creating music on inexpensive early synthesizers like the Korg MS10 and
the MiniKorg-700. Atkins eventually split from Davis and created the Metroplex
label in 1985. Derrick May joined him to develop a rhythmic sound that featured
bass. May’s contribution to the techno field was to produce, D.J., and promote
the music the two created. This sound became known as techno.
The Awakening of Techno
Chicago and Detroit sound
eventually melded to create the techno sound. The Belleville Three combined
influence from Detroit’s synthesizer-based music and that of Chicago’s unique
sound. Atkins’ project, Model 500, and contributions from Saunderson and May
moved techno’s sound away from disco and towards the fast machine rhythms of
the icy synth music played on inexpensive Roland synthesizers like models 808,
909, and 303 synthesizers.
The Union of the Many Sounds of Techno
Early Detroit techno
recordings got ignored in Michigan. But by the 1980s, Detroit techno became
embraced by both the European club and the U.K. rave scene. At that point, Juan
Atkins began to call this exclusive sound techno to separate it from house
music. The techno sound eventually spread around the world.
In recent times, the second
generation of techno D.J.s includes techno purists and Carl Craig and Jeff
Mills. The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers even made it onto the charts with
their unique techno sound.
The History of Hamed Wardak
Hamed Wardak was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in
1977. As a refugee of his homeland.
Wardak moved to Pakistan and finally the United States where he and his family
would create a home during the golden years of his childhood.
Hamed Wardak is son to
Afghan Defense Minister General Abdul Wardak. General Wardak was Minister of
Defense from 2004 until 2012 and worked tirelessly to oppose the destruction
the Taliban wreaked upon every corner of his homeland; consistently engaged in
direct efforts to bring peace to the war-torn area.
General Wardak’s steadfast
visions of peace for Afghanistan were passed directly to his son, Hamed. Many
times to date during his young professional career in New York City, Hamed Wardak has either quit his c-suite level
post with top-tier, successful American corporations or relinquished control of
entrepreneurial endeavors he was focused building to move across the
world, lend his wisdom and strategy to
the fight in Afghanistan and heed the call of his father, his homeland and the
outcast of refugees displaced during 30 years of war. Hamed was intricate in
inciting a vivid spirit of democracy and a bold thread of nationalism running
through the heart of the Afghan youth specifically with the Millennial
generation
Hamed Wardak went to Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political and Government
Theory and was named Valedictorian of his Georgetown class. Wardak went on top earn the
internationally-coveted Rhodes Scholarship in 1997, the same year he attained
his bachelor’s degree.
Professionally, Hamed Wardak successfully worked at the Merrill Lynch Company in California and New York City. Then
quickly left his high-level position to become the Private Envoy for Afghan
Finance Minister Ashraf Ghanis. Next, Wardak became Technologist, Inc.’s
Managing Director for International Operations. Here, he led the company in
developing $44 million in building and design contracts for Afghanistan in
combination with the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID).
Hamed Wardak led the board of the Campaign for the U.S.
Afghanistan Partnership (CUSAP). The campaign developed partnerships between
the U.S. and Afghanistan to bring about peace and a productive working
relationship between the two countries.
Exciting News of the Union of Wardak, Wicked and Techno
Valen of Wicked, if you have not met him yet, is the
musical and live performance persona of choice for Hamed Wardak these days. In
recent years, Hamed Wardak has taken a very interesting and dynamic right turn,
now leading a truly artistic existence composing, curating, producing, and performing
his very own brand of techno music. Valen of Wicked’s brand of techno aims to
sound a little different from all others in that he sources location-specific
and atmospherically-specific sounds and beats to infuse into the traditional
techno sound heard in venues all over the world. Valen of Wicked brings a very
unique and focused sound that may help evolve the electronic dance music world
and the techno music landscapes into what they are destined to be tomorrow.
When Hamed Wardak gigs at a
big venue in New York City, or in a
convention center in Miami or even a posh new nightclub in the heart of Ibiza,
Valen of Wicked is the only name you hear uttered from the already very excited
fan base of international Wicked lovers that travel extensively to see Hamed
(excuse me, Valen of Wicked) lay down his beats.
