# The Waxonia Desk on Detroit Techno

Where to go once Strings of Life has done its work. Four records that show the city arguing with itself about what the future was supposed to sound like.

- **Picks:** 4
- **Genre:** Detroit Techno
- **Years:** 1985–1997
- **Curator:** The Waxonia Desk
- **Updated:** 2026-08-28
- **Curator's page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/the-desk/
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-detroit-techno/

## The picks

Selected, not ranked — the order is the curator’s, and carries no claim about which is best.

### [Model 500](https://waxonia.com/artist/model-500/) — [No UFO's](https://waxonia.com/track/model-500--no-ufos/)

*1985 · Metroplex*

The map, drawn before anyone had agreed there was territory. Cold electro chassis and science-fiction distance, and the first record that is unambiguously techno rather than something approaching it.

Also on: [Detroit Techno](https://waxonia.com/genre/detroit-techno/), [The Eighties](https://waxonia.com/theme/the-eighties/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Model%20500%20No%20UFO's) · [Search YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/search?q=Model%20500%20No%20UFO's)

### [Jeff Mills](https://waxonia.com/artist/jeff-mills/) — [The Bells](https://waxonia.com/track/jeff-mills--the-bells/)

*1996 · Purpose Maker*

The other pole from Strings of Life entirely. No melody to speak of, no release, just a riff that tightens for six minutes. Techno as pure pressure, and still the most reliable weapon in the format.

Also on: [Detroit Techno](https://waxonia.com/genre/detroit-techno/), [The Waxonia Desk — Detroit, Heard in Europe](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-detroit-in-europe/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Jeff%20Mills%20The%20Bells) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=S-BlgAQ7uRQ)

### [Drexciya](https://waxonia.com/artist/drexciya/) — [Bubble Metropolis](https://waxonia.com/track/drexciya--bubble-metropolis/)

*1993 · Underground Resistance*

Detroit techno as mythology, made by people who refused to be photographed and built an underwater civilisation instead. Play it after the Model 500 and hear the same city imagining a very different exit.

Also on: [Detroit Techno](https://waxonia.com/genre/detroit-techno/), [The Waxonia Desk — A Way In](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-a-way-in/), [The Waxonia Desk — Detroit, Heard in Europe](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-detroit-in-europe/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Drexciya%20Bubble%20Metropolis) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=wdbf7-tlDV8)

### [Carl Craig](https://waxonia.com/artist/carl-craig/) — [At Les](https://waxonia.com/track/carl-craig--at-les/)

*1997 · Planet E*

The argument's resolution, if it has one. Craig lets the melody breathe for nine minutes and proves the machine funk was always capable of tenderness when nobody was trying to prove anything.

Also on: [Detroit Techno](https://waxonia.com/genre/detroit-techno/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Carl%20Craig%20At%20Les) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=1lzLxbifln0)

## About the curator

The people who write the rankings on this site. We keep the lists honest, we argue about the order, and we get asked the same question more than any other: where should someone actually start. These are our answers.

Elsewhere: https://waxonia.com/

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.