Drexciya was an American

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo from

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, consisting of James Stinson (1969–2002) and

Gerald Donald Gerald Donald is a Detroit techno producer and artist. With James Stinson he formed the afrofuturist techno duo Drexciya, and he is the main member of Dopplereffekt. Biography Donald is notoriously silent on himself and even his involvement with v ...

Career

The majority of Drexciya's releases were in the style of dance-floor oriented electro, punctuated with elements of retro and 1980s

Detroit techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mil ...

, with occasional excursions into the ambient and

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

genres. They had 3 releases on the highly influential Underground Resistance Detroit record label. Tracks were mostly centered around the

Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patte ...

drum machine. Drexciya, which eschewed media attention and its attendant focus on personality, developed a

nautical Seamanship is the art, knowledge and competence of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, or practice of handling a ship or boat at sea." It involves topics a ...

afrofuturist Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocultur ...

myth. The group revealed in the sleeve notes to their 1997 album ''The Quest'' that "Drexciya" was an underwater country populated by the unborn children of pregnant African women who were thrown off of slave ships; the babies had adapted to breathe underwater in their mothers' wombs. The myth was built partly on

Paul Gilroy Paul Gilroy (born 16 February 1956) is an English sociologist and cultural studies scholar who is the founding Director of the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Race and Racism at University College, London (UCL). Gilroy is the 2019 ...

's '' The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness'' (1993), according to

Kodwo Eshun Kodwo Eshun (born 1967) is a British -Ghanaian writer, theorist and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his 1998 book ''More Brilliant than the Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction'' and his association with the art collective The Otolith Grou ...

. In 1997, Drexciya released a compilation album, titled ''The Quest''. The duo released three studio albums: ''Neptune's Lair'' (1999), '' Harnessed the Storm'' (2002), and ''Grava 4'' (2002). Stinson died suddenly on 3 September 2002 of a heart condition. Gerald Donald continues to produce music under other names such as Dopplereffekt with To Nhan Le Thi and Japanese Telecom.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Neptune's Lair'' (1999), Tresor * '' Harnessed the Storm'' (2002), Tresor * ''Grava 4'' (2002), Clone

Compilation albums

* ''The Quest'' (1997), Submerge * ''Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller I'' (2011), Clone * ''Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller II'' (2012), Clone * ''Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller III'' (2013), Clone * ''Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller IV'' (2013), Clone

EPs

* ''Deep Sea Dweller'' (1992), Shockwave Records * ''Drexciya 2: Bubble Metropolis'' (1993),

Underground Resistance Underground Resistance (commonly abbreviated to UR) are an American musical collective from Detroit, Michigan. Producing primarily Detroit techno since 1990 with a grungy four-track musical aesthetic, they are also renowned for their militant p ...

* ''Drexciya 3: Molecular Enhancement'' (1994), Rephlex, Submerge * ''Drexciya 4: The Unknown Aquazone'' (1994), Submerge * ''Aquatic Invasion'' (1994), Underground Resistance * ''The Journey Home'' (1995),

Warp Records Warp Records (or simply Warp) is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon.Southern, Richard (2003) "Label of Love: WARP", X-RAY, A ...

* ''The Return of Drexciya'' (1996), Underground Resistance * ''Uncharted'' (1997), Somewhere in Detroit * ''Hydro Doorways'' (2000), Tresor

Singles

* "Fusion Flats" (2000), Tresor * "Digital Tsunami" (2001), Tresor * "Drexciyan R.E.S.T. Principle" (2002), Clone

References

External links

* *
Artist page with extensive discography
at Global Darkness
The Drexciya Research Lab blog
{{Authority control American techno music groups American dance musicians American electro musicians Musical groups from Detroit American musical duos Electronic music duos Musical groups established in 1992 Afrofuturism 1992 establishments in Michigan