Wax Trax! Mastermix, Vol. 1

by John Bush Who else but the techno godfather could sum up the music's history efficiently in less than an hour? Beginning with two Detroit classics (his own "No UFOs" and Derrick May's "Nude Photo"), Juan Atkins plays connect-the-dots through garage and early house (Blaze, Martin Circus), minimalist techno (Rob Hood, Walt J) and the music's growing experimentalism during the mid-'90s (courtesy of Maurizio and his own Infiniti project). The mixing is much more raw than on a live Atkins date, perhaps a reaction to the dozens of seamless (read: overdubbed) mix albums already on the market. In any case, Wax Trax! Mastermix, Vol. 1 is an excellent trip through the annals of Detroit techno.