Transllusion,
The Other People Place,
Urban Tribe,
Lab Rat XL
Formed: 1993, Detroit, MI
Genres: Electronica
Representative Albums: "The Quest," "Neptune's Lair," "Harnessed the Storm"
Biography
Although they released only five EPs in their first ten years recording together, controversial Detroit techno duo Drexciya became one of the most celebrated and influential names in American experimental techno. One of the few groups to use techno as a political tool in effecting criticism of racial inequity and inner-city recovery, Drexciya brought a wider social and aesthetic agenda to a style in which allegiance to the beat is typically the only prerequisite. Closely associated with the "Mad" Mike Banks label group Underground Resistance and operating in the classically covert tradition of "faceless" techno (the pair's identities remain a mystery), the group's reputation at the bleeding edge of Detroit-school experimentation is pretty much universal, with everyone from Jeff Mills to Mike Paradinas getting in namechecks. Despite their steadfastly underground attitude, Drex's records have found release through such internationally renowned labels as Warp and Rephlex. Offering an often relentless fusion of early electro and techno with elements of acid and industrial music, Drexciya's fast-beat backbone and tough-as-nails rhythmic bite are among the most austere and uncompromised in contemporary techno. Reportedly, the group record their material live, which gives much of their music (particularly their Shockwave and Underground Resistance releases) a vital, immediate feel. Much of their UR output was collected on 1997's The Quest, and a full-length (Neptune's Lair) followed on Tresor in 1999. Continuing with their underwater gimmick, the heavy-handed concept album Harnessed the Storm became the first in a series of "storm" records to come from the group. Releasing three more under different names (Transllusion's Opening of the Cerebral Gate, Shifted Phases' The Cosmic Memoirs of the Late Great Rupert J. Rosinthorpe, and the Other People Place's Lifestyles of the Laptop Cafe), the group left a massive collection of music for their fans by the end of 2002. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide
Abstract Thought, Arpanet, Clarence G, Der Zyklus, Dopplereffekt, Elecktroids, Glass Domain, Intellitronic, Japanese Telecom, Lab Rat XL, L.A.M., Shifted Phases, The Other People Place, Transllusion
The majority of Drexciya's releases were in the style of harsh, dancefloor oriented Electro, punctuated with elements of retro, 1980s Detroit Techno, with occasional excursions into the Ambient and Industrial genres. Tracks are mostly centered around the TR-808 drum machine, with bass, melodies, and synth textures ebbing and flowing in time. Anecdotes suggest that Stinson and Donald recorded tracks while playing the instruments live, making use of analog equipment and sequencing methods.
Drexciya combined a faceless, underground, anti-mainstream media stance with mythological, sci-fi narratives, to help heighten the dramatic effect of their music. In this respect they were similar to artists within and close to the Detroit collective Underground Resistance.
Their name referred to a myth comparable to Plato's myth of Atlantis, which the group revealed in the sleeve notes to their 1997 album The Quest. “Drexciya” was an underwater country populated by the unborn children of pregnant African women thrown off of slave ships that had adapted to breathe underwater in their mother's wombs.
Reports of Drexciya's disbanding in 1997 were contradicted two years later when a new Drexciya track appeared on the Underground Resistance compilation Interstellar Fugitives, followed by three more Drexciya albums. It appears that these were the solo work of Stinson.[citation needed] Both he and Gerald Donald continued to be prolific in their respective side projects.
Although both members of Drexciya remained completely anonymous throughout their active recording career, James Stinson, was identified posthumously in 2002. The members of Drexciya have never been photographed, although they have given interviews, throughout one of which they wore Star Trek masks to conceal their identity.[citation needed]
