As synthesizers, drum machines, and other new forms of music technology proliferated at the start of the ’80s, the sweet science of making killer beats and grooves became a whole new thing. While the robotic sounds forged by artists and producers like Afrika Bambaataa and Arthur Baker had deep roots in the sounds of the ‘70s, electro-funk soon became a sonic laboratory making innovations that shaped the direction of both hip-hop and electronic music. That spirit of invention lives on in the music of Daft Punk, Chromeo, and many others whose songs may be unabashedly machine-made but feel human after all.