Michael Anthony Banks, better known as "Mad" Mike Banks, is an American record producer. He is the co-founder, along with

Jeff Mills Jeff Mills (born June 18, 1963, in Detroit, Michigan) is an American DJ, record producer, and composer. Thanks to his technical abilities as a DJ, Mills became known as ''The Wizard'' in the early to mid 1980s. In the late 1980s Mills founded ...

, of record label

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 ...

and was a key player in the "second generation" of

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 ...

. Banks lives in

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 ...

and is a former

studio musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

(bass/guitar), having played with

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

among others.Night Drive: A Bluffer's Guide to Detroit Techno
''Stylus Magazine'', March 7, 2006. He worked in the second half of the 1980s with the collective

Members of the House Michael Anthony Banks, better known as "Mad" Mike Banks, is an American record producer. He is the co-founder, along with Jeff Mills, of record label Underground Resistance and was a key player in the "second generation" of Detroit techno. Banks l ...

, releasing several 12" singles. Banks and Mills founded the label Underground Resistance in the late 1980s, and the pair, along with

Robert Hood Robert Hood (born 1965 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American electronic music producer and DJ. He is a founding member of the group Underground Resistance as a 'Minister of Information' with Mad Mike Banks and Jeff Mills. He is often conside ...

, produced most of the label's early releases.Sean Cooper, Mad Mike Banksat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

After Hood and Mills's departure from Underground Resistance, Banks headed the label himself, releasing material from acts such as

Drexciya Drexciya was an American electronic music duo from Detroit, Michigan, consisting of James Stinson (1969–2002) and Gerald Donald. Career The majority of Drexciya's releases were in the style of dance-floor oriented electro (music), electro, p ...

and

Sean Deason Sean Deason is an American techno producer from Detroit. His aliases include Project X, Sounds Intangible Nature, Freq, and X-313. Deason got his start doing graphic design for Detroit techno artists while studying at the Center for Creative Stu ...

in addition to his own productions. He is also co-founder and co-owner with Christa Robinson of Submerge Distribution since 1992. Submerge, along with Underground Resistance, is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

which distributes Detroit-based techno worldwide.Chris Handyside
Progressive Heroes: Mike Banks
''

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. History and content Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed f ...

'', November 10, 1999. Among Banks's early influences are Derrick May,

Juan Atkins Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962), also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. '' Mixmag'' has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of The Be ...

and

Marshall Jefferson Marshall Julius Jefferson (born September 19, 1959) is an American musician, working in the house music subgenres of Chicago house and deep house. Biography Sometimes known as the father of house music, Jefferson was originally a record produce ...

; his later work shows his increasing interest in

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

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 ...

. Banks has hewn strictly to an ethic of the

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

and refuses to be

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...

ed in public as part of this ethic. His releases often deal with elements of political and social commentary, which have made him a controversial figure from within the Detroit electronic music scene. Banks quit playing live shows in the late 1990s due to continuing problems with bringing electronic equipment through

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

agencies, but began doing live shows again in the mid-2000s.Mike Banks interview
''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'' #285, November 2007. (Banks discusses live music on page 4 of 5.)

Discography

Productions

Members Of The House Michael Anthony Banks, better known as "Mad" Mike Banks, is an American record producer. He is the co-founder, along with Jeff Mills, of record label Underground Resistance and was a key player in the "second generation" of Detroit techno. Banks l ...

- ''Keep Believin' '' (1987) * Members Of The House - ''Share This House'' (1988) *

- ''Your Time Is Up'', ''Direct Me'' (1990) * X-101 - ''

Sonic Destroyer Michael Anthony Banks, better known as "Mad" Mike Banks, is an American record producer. He is the co-founder, along with Jeff Mills, of record label Underground Resistance and was a key player in the "second generation" of Detroit techno. Banks l ...

'' (1991) * Underground Resistance - ''Waveform EP'' (1991) * Underground Resistance - ''

Nation 2 Nation Galaxy 2 Galaxy is a live electronic and jazz music collective featuring members of Underground Resistance. The name comes from an EP created by Mike Banks in 1993. Fame in the techno community rose from the release of ''A High Tech Jazz Compilat ...

'' (1991) * Members Of The House - ''Reach Out For The Love'', ''These Are My People'' (1991) *

X-102 Michael Anthony Banks, better known as "Mad" Mike Banks, is an American record producer. He is the co-founder, along with Jeff Mills, of record label Underground Resistance and was a key player in the "second generation" of Detroit techno. Banks l ...

- ''Discovers The Rings Of Saturn'' ( Tresor, 1992) * Underground Resistance - Acid Rain II; Belgian Resistance; Kamikaze; Message To The Majors; The Seawolf; Piranha; Death Star; Happy Trax No. 1 (1992) * Underground Resistance - ''

World 2 World Michael Anthony Banks, better known as "Mad" Mike Banks, is an American record producer. He is the co-founder, along with Jeff Mills, of record label Underground Resistance and was a key player in the "second generation" of Detroit techno. Banks l ...

'' (1992) * Underground Resistance - ''

Revolution For Change In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'' (1992) * The Martian - ''Meet The Red Planet'' (1992) * Davina - ''Don't You Want It'' (1992) * Galaxy 2 Galaxy - ''Galaxy 2 Galaxy'' (double-maxi comportant les morceaux ''Hi-Tech Jazz (The Science), Hi-Tech Jazz (The Elements), Journey Of The Dragons, Star Sailing, Astral Apache,Deep Space 9, Rhythm Of Infinity, Metamorphosis'') (1993) * The Martian - ''Cosmic Movement / Star Dancer'' (Red Planet) (1993) * The Martian - ''Journey To The Martian Polar Cap'' (Red Planet) (1993) * The Martian - ''Sex In Zero Gravity'' (Red Planet) (1993) * The Martian - ''The Long Winter Of Mars'' (Red Planet) (1994) * Members Of The House - ''Party Of The Year'' (1994) * The Martian - ''Ghostdancer'' (1995) * L'Homme Van Renn - ''The (Real) Love Thang'' (1995) * The Martian - ''Firekeeper / Vortexual Conceptions'' (1996) * The Martian - ''Particle Shower / The Voice Of Grandmother'' (1996) * L'Homme Van Renn - ''Luv + Affection'' (1996) * UR - ''The Hostile / Ambush'' (1997) * UR - ''Codebreaker'' (1997) * UR - ''Radioactive Rhythms'' (1997) * UR - ''The Turning Point'' (1997) * UR - ''Millennium To Millennium'' (2001) * UR - ''Inspiration / Transition'' (2002) * UR - ''Illuminator'' (2002) * UR - ''The Analog Assassin'' (2002) * UR - ''Actuator'' (2003) * The Martian - ''Pipecarrier'' (2003) * The Martian - ''Tobacco Ties / Spacewalker'' (2003) * Perception & Mad Mike - ''Windchime'' (Underground Resistance, 2004) * UR - ''My Ya Ya'' (2004) * The Martian - ''The Last Stand EP'' (2004) * UR - Presents ''Galaxy 2 Galaxy - A Hi-Tech Jazz Compilation'' (2005) * Mad Mike - ''Scalper'' (Underground Resistance, 2005) * Mad Mike - ''Attack Of The Sonic Samurai'' ( Somewhere In Detroit, 2006) * 040 - ''Never'' (Underground Resistance, 2006) * Mad Mike - ''Hi-Tech Dreams'' / ''Lo-Tech Reality'' (Underground Resistance, 2007) * X-102 - ''Rediscovers The Rings Of Saturn'' (Tresor, 2008)

References

External links

Mike Banks
discography at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

.
1992 Radio Interview
Recorded in September, 1992. Adelaide, South Australia. Interviewed by Georgie Knight on Community radio station 5MMM (now with callsign 5DDD and known as Three D Radio)
"Use Your Ears" - Mad Mike Banks BBC Radio 1 Interview
Recorded in May, 2017. London, United Kingdom. Interviewed by Benji B on BBC Radio 1.
2021 Interview with Mike Banks
b

mmaayyss on Dreaming Live podcast. {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Mike African-American musicians American DJs American techno musicians Living people Musicians from Michigan Electronic dance music DJs Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people