Sunday, September 02, 2007
Underwater Love
Few names in techno / electro history are as highly revered as that of Drexciya and as tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of James Stinson's untimely death, it seemed only fitting to finally get round to doing a post dedicated to them. As with the UR collective with which they were associated, Drexciya were always shrouded in mystery and for many years their true identifies were a closely guarded secret; hidden within the sub-aquatic fairytale that they portrayed to the world. Using a combination of simple electro percussion, hypnotic basslines and luscious melodies, Drexciyan productions were both emotive and cerebral and as equally suited to home listening as for the dancefloor. Using a clever mix of anti-marketing and erratic release schedules, each new Drexciyan offering was cherished by the underground cognoscenti as much for the fact that it might be the last new production ever to be heard from the duo as for the quality sounds that were contained within.As most of you are no-doubt aware, both Stinson and fellow Drexciyan , Gerald Donald were, and in the latter's case, still are, involved in a large number of side projects as both solo artists and as part of collaborations. Such releases are also surrounded in mystery and probably only the true uber geeks out there are able to pinpoint exactly who contributed where.
Ironically, the year or so preceding Stinson's death saw the most proficient period of Drexciyan-related work with the release of seven different albums, aka the seven storms. Whilst certainly interesting, many of the tracks contained within these albums were actually quite far from some of the more danceable productions of previous releases and in my opinion it's really a case of cherry picking through the material. Of the seven, my favourites are the superb Abstract Thought and The Other People Place albums, both of which are true electro classics. If you're looking for a place to start with exploring all these side works these would definitely be my recommendations.
I'm not going to try and unravel the whole Drexciyan myth as it is neither within my time constraints or capabilities to do so. Numerous other people have written far more extensively and informatively about this whole subject than myself and if you're interested in learning more then an extremely good place to start is the Drexciya Research Lab.
I'm just going to leave you with some of my favourite Stinson-related productions and suggest that those of you not already well versed in the wealth of quality Drexciyan-related material out there do some digging and invest in some releases for your collection. However, be warned though as some of the original releases come with a hefty price tag; not least Stinson's extremely rare Clarence G 12" which allegedly sold on e-bay after Stinson's death for over £6,000 making it the second most expensive record of all time!
Drexciya - You Don't Know // The Return of Drexciya - UR 12"
Elecktroids - Perpetual Motion // Elektroworld - Warp LP
Clarence G - Data Transfer // Hyperspace Sound Lab - Flourescent Forest Rec. 12"
Lab Rat XL - Lab Rat 3 // Mice or Cyborg - Clone LP
The Other People Place - Let Me Be Me // Lifestyles of the Laptop Cafe - Warp LP
Abstract Thought - Bermuda Triangle // Hypothetical Situations - Kombination Research LP
I also obtained this interview a while back too.
Drexciya Interview
Labels: Abstract Thought, Clarence G, Drexciya, Elecktroids, Lab rat XL, The Other People Place
