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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, punctuated with elements of retro and 1980s Detroit techno, with occasional excursions into the ambient and industrial genres. They had 3 releases on the highly influential Underground Resistance Detroit record label. Tracks were mostly centered around the Roland TR-808 drum machine, Roland D20 synthesizer, Kawai K1 synthesizer, Korg Monopoly synthesizer, and Roland TR-909 drum machine. 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). Drexciya, which eschewed media attention and its attendant focus on personality, developed around a nautical afrofuturist myth. The group revealed in the sleeve notes to their 1997 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Harnessed The Storm
''Harnessed the Storm'' is the second studio album by American electronic music duo Drexciya. It was released on Tresor in 2002. Designed as the first of seven conceptually linked albums that the duo produced over the course of a single year, it is the only one credited to Drexciya. Different aliases were used for the others. Music The album's instrumentation has been said to incorporate "impossibly deep, depth charge bass and squawking lead synths." Critical reception Philip Downey of ''Exclaim!'' described ''Harnessed the Storm'' as "forward-looking, vocal-less, sci-fi stuff". Andy Battaglia of ''The A.V. Club'' felt that Drexciya "still creates some of the most visionary electro around", but concluded that the album's "Detroit-style formalism" sounds "too old-fashioned to sneak the future into the past". In 2010, ''Resident Advisor'' placed ''Harnessed the Storm'' at number 97 on its list of the "Top 100 Albums of the 2000s". In 2017, ''Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
James Stinson (musician)
James Marcel Stinson (September 14, 1969September 3, 2002) was a Detroit techno producer and artist. With Gerald Donald he formed the afrofuturist techno duo Drexciya. He released music under the aliases Shifted Phases, the Other People Place, Transllusion, Lab Rat XL, Abstract Thought, Elecktroids, L.A.M., Jack Peoples and Clarence G. Discography As Drexciya 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 * ''Drexciya 3: Molecular Enhancement'' (1994), Rephlex, Submerge * ''Drexciya 4: The Unknown Aquazone'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Tresor Records
Tresor (German for safe or vault) is a techno nightclub in Berlin and a record label. History The club was founded in March 1991 in the vaults of the former department store Wertheim at Leipziger Strasse 126-128 in Mitte, the central part of East Berlin, next to the Potsdamer Platz. The history of the club goes back to 1988 when the electronic music label Interfisch opened the ''Ufo Club'' in Berlin. Ufo was the original centre of Berlin house and techno, but due to financial problems that club closed in 1990. After Ufo closed, Interfisch's head, Dimitri Hegemann, and some investors in the club found the new space in East Berlin. This was advantageous timing, as it was only a few months before Germany unified. The vaults under the Wertheim department store proved to be the perfect location for a club, and Tresor quickly became the place to be in Berlin. Tresor continued to be a popular club, having expanded and reconstructed continuously several times to include an outdoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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 various musical projects. In a 2013 interview, when asked about his anonymity and his work with James Stinson and Drexciya, he said, "I will not directly indicate my involvement in any project. I will leave this question open to observer interpretation. The most important thing has always been the music and concept itself. I adhere to this philosophy. People spend way too much time engaging personalities rather than the music that’s accompanying that personality." Frequently referred to as an afrofuturist, he said he "do snot wish to specify any particular ethnicity." With Drexciya, he made techno music on which an afrofuturist mythology was built, involving the Drexciyans, an underwater race, "the descendants of the African women th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, 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 technoculture and speculative fiction, encompassing a range of media and artists with a shared interest in envisioning black futures that stem from Afro-diasporic experiences. While Afrofuturism is most commonly associated with science fiction, it can also encompass other speculative genres such aAfro-fantasy fantasy, alternate history and magic realism, and can also be found in music. The term was coined by American cultural critic Mark Dery in 1993 and explored in the late 1990s through conversations led by Alondra Nelson. Ytasha L. Womack, writer of ''Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture'', defines it as "an intersection of imagination, technology, the future and liberation". She also follows up with a quote by the curator Ing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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 political and anti-corporate ethos. History First formed in 1989 by "Mad" Mike Banks and Jeff Mills, UR related the aesthetics of early Detroit techno to the social, political, and economic circumstances which followed on from Reagan-era inner-city economic recession, producing uncompromising music geared toward promoting awareness and facilitating political change. In contrast to techno that preceded UR, UR tried to appeal to lower class African Americans in Detroit. UR's tracks created a sense of self-exploration, experimentation and the ability to change yourself and circumstances. Additionally, UR wanted to establish a means of identification beyond traditional lines of race and ethnicity. By targeting lower class African Americans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
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 Mills, Kevin Saunderson, Blake Baxter, Drexciya, Mike Banks, James Pennington and Robert Hood. Artists like Terrence Parker and his lead vocalist, Nicole Gregory, set the tone for Detroit's piano techno house sound. The Belleville Three The three individuals most closely associated with the birth of Detroit techno as a genre are Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May, also known as the " Belleville Three".Hanf, Mathias Kilian. ''Detroit Techno: Transfer of the Soul through the Machine'' VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, 2010. The three, who were high school friends from Belleville, Michigan, created electronic music tracks in their basement(s). Derrick May once described Detroit techno music as being a "complete mistake ... like Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Electro (music)
Electro (also known as electro-funk, and sometimes referred to as electro-pop) Globaldarkness.com. Retrieved on July 18, 2011. is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. It is defined by the prominent use of the Roland TR-808 drum machine, and draws direct influence from early hip hop and funk music. Electro music is typically characterized by synthetic beats, robotic textures, and minimal or electronically processed vocals—often delivered through vocoders or talkboxes. Unlike its boogie predecessor, which emphasized vocal elements, electro focused more on rhythm and machine-generated sound. The genre arose as the popularity of disco waned in the U.S., blending funk and early hip hop elements with influences from New York's boogie scene and electronic pop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Rephlex Records
Rephlex Records was a record label launched in 1991 in Cornwall by Electronic music, electronic musician Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) and Grant Wilson-Claridge. The label coined the term ''braindance'' to describe the output of Aphex Twin and fellow artists. History In 1989, Grant Wilson-Claridge met Richard D. James (a.k.a. Aphex Twin) DJing at The Bowgie, a club located just along the coast from Newquay, Cornwall. According to Wilson-Claridge, back in 1989, "the Bowgie was the best club ever...this was before Newquay turned into the Cornish Ibiza" and it was very difficult to hear new and interesting music. Wilson-Claridge and James used to DJ on alternate weeks. When he noticed that James was playing his own tapes rather than records, Wilson-Claridge suggested that they press up some records. In the beginning, committing Aphex Twin recordings to vinyl was a way of making music the duo's friends wanted to hear. Due to their geographical dis-location they did not have acce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Abdul Qadim Haqq
Abdul Qadim Haqq (born December 24, 1968), also known as Haqq and The Ancient, is an American visual artist who was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Haqq's artwork has been featured on records by Detroit techno artists Juan Atkins, Metroplex, Derrick May, Transmat, Underground Resistance, Kevin Saunderson, and Carl Craig. Abdul Qadim Haqq has been serving the techno music community through Techno Visual Art since 1989. His artwork continues to inspire fans all over the world. Haqq, founder of Third Earth Visual Arts, bases his futuristic concepts on time travel. His love for fantasy art was inspired by childhood pastimes such as watching sci-fi and Japanese animation. "Japanese cartoons were all I watched when I was a kid, like ''Speed Racer'', ''Battle of the Planets'' and ''Robotech''," says Haqq. "I watched them constantly; I never missed an episode." As a youth growing up in Detroit, Haqq was often sick from asthma and had to stay in the house, which caused him to s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Dopplereffekt
is an electronic music act from Detroit which has been active since 1995, and whose main member is producer/artist Gerald Donald (also one half of the band Drexciya with James Stinson). Another member is To Nhan Le Thi. The group released a compilation album, , in 1999, and were inactive until 2003; since then numerous albums have been released. While the musical style and the act's image changed radically during a non-release period from 1999 to 2003, two steady characteristics are the display of a thematic affiliation with science and the obvious use of pseudonyms and the hence rumored but unconfirmed identities of the members. The group also has political influences, with the cover of featuring a white hammer and sickle on a black background. In an interview, Gerald Donald stated that the album cover was intended to pay homage to socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social sy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Kawai K1
The Kawai K1 is a 61 key synthesizer manufactured in 1988 by Kawai. It is an entry-level and low fidelity synthesizer and not as feature rich as the Kawai K4 and was released to compete with the Roland D50 and Korg M1 synthesizers. The patch memory can be doubled with a DC-8 memory card which was available separately. Features The K1 features 256 8-bit PCM waveforms (204 additive waveforms and 52 acoustic samples), AM (Ring modulation), and a 16×2 character LCD. Modes The four modes of operation are: * Mono * Polyphonic * Split * Unison Percussion The K1 includes drum kits and sounds (acoustic and electronic kits, cymbals as well as some tuned percussion), so can be used to create full rhythm backing when sequenced. The K1II model has 32 percussion sounds. Mostly known for Percussive sounds, organs, haunting pads, strings and FM bass sounds and acoustic bass. Notable users * Bile * Cirrus * Drexciya * EMF * LFO * Lab 4 * Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble The Pochonbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
