Electro-Funk

Electro-funk, usually shortened to electro, is the branch of 1980s funk rebuilt on drum machines, synthesisers and vocoders. Pioneered by *Afrika Bambaataa* with "Planet Rock", by *Zapp*'s talk-box funk and by producers such as *Egyptian Lover*, *Jonzun Crew* and *Newcleus*, it replaced live rhythm sections with the Roland TR-808, sequenced basslines and robotic voices while keeping funk's party imperative. Emerging simultaneously in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, it fed directly into early hip hop, Miami bass and Detroit techno. A 2000s revival led by *Dâm-Funk* and *Chromeo* restored its analogue machinery to modern funk practice.