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1
Interlock
Glass Domain
01:49
2
Data Transfer
Clarence G
03:17
3
Meltdown
L.A.M.
01:13
4
Sea Snake
Drexciya
04:45
5
Bubble Metropolis
Drexciya
05:54
6
Aqua Worm Hole
Drexciya
05:29
7
Sighting in the Abyss
Drexciya
02:07
8
Mystery World
Elecktroids
05:04
9
Davey Jones Locker
Drexciya
03:14
10
Sterilization
Dopplereffekt
02:34
11
Infophysix
Dopplereffekt
03:56
12
Neon Falls
Drexciya
03:25
13
Die Dämmerung von Nanotech
Der Zyklus
06:15
14
Andreaen Sand Dunes
Drexciya
06:16
15
Running out of Space
Drexciya
01:54
16
Lost Vessel
Drexciya
05:53
17
Abstract Thought Untitled 02
Abstract Thought
08:11
18
Moonlight Rendezvous
The Other People Place
07:07
19
Let Me Be Me
The Other People Place
07:46
20
Sunrays
The Other People Place
08:15
21
Birth of New Life
Drexciya
06:22
22
Digital Tsunami
Drexciya
06:22
23
Dimensional Glide
Transllusion
06:59
24
P2101V
Arpanet
04:01
25
Black Sea
Drexciya
06:21
26
Cascading Celestial Giants
Drexciya
08:41
27
Lab Rat 3
Lab Rat XL
07:50
28
Eigenface (Facial Asymetry)
Der Zyklus
05:04
29
The Exaltics - NGC 253
Heinrich Mueller, The Exaltics
05:20

Drexciya

Uncompromising, forward-thinking and elusive: the mysterious duo fostered an unrivaled creative tidal wave in underground electronic music.

James Stinson and Gerald Donald have been producing fascinating electronic music under a range of pseudonyms since 1991. Their fierce preservation of anonymity and cryptic communications has made it difficult to pinpoint their respective involvement in particular projects. Fortunately, die-hard fans all around the world have been combing the internet and putting together pieces of the puzzle. We can now reasonably credit Stinson or Donald’s contribution to over 15 projects and get a better sense of the brilliance of their work.

Of these, the legendary Drexciya has been the object of the most enduring acclaim and fascination. Comparable to other afro-futurist artists like Sun Ra, Funkadelic or Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry they provided an alternative vision of the African diaspora infused by science fiction and technology. Indeed, Drexciya is the tale of an underwater nation spawned by the surviving children of pregnant slaves thrown overboard during the Middle Passage to the Americas.

The duo used the vinyl record as the main medium to communicate its mythology: label illustrations, album covers, enclosed statements, enigmatic messages etched directly on the records and, of course, sound itself. As Stinson explained ‘you have to have all the dimensions […] the visual […] the sonic […] and a purpose – a concept – to make it real’. Indeed, being confronted to Drexciya’s music is like embarking on an auditory odyssey into their world. Much like the ocean, the music can be anything from menacing and powerful, to eerie and peaceful, melancholic or blissful. Diving through eight EPs and three albums, we encounter a variety of strange beings (sea snakes, wave jumpers, mutant gillmen) unknown phenomena (aqua worm holes, sea quakes) and enigmatic locations (the Aquabahn, the Red Hills of Lardossa and the Bubble Metropolis).

Brought up on the eclectic selections of Detroit public radio, the young boys imbibed everything from new wave and hip-hop to R&B, rock or electro.

Just like Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Kraftwerk, Cybotron and George Clinton – whom they revered – the pair adopted an experimental approach to music production. 

They worked in ascetic isolation, refusing to expose themselves to outside influences, whether that took the form of tuning into the radio, listening to records, going to clubs, or seeing friends, added to which both had jobs to avoid being financially dependent on the success of their music. Indeed, Stinson was a truck driver by day. 

James released complex introspective music under the names Transllusion, The Other People Place, Abstract Thought, and Lab Rat XL until his death due to heart disease in 2002, aged 33. Gerald has since then been pursuing slightly colder scientific explorations under dozens of aliases including Dopplereffekt, Der Zyklus, Arpanet, and Heinrich Mueller.

From their early efforts – Stinson’s abrasive techno as Clarence G and Donald’s sometimes childlike synthpop as Glass Domain – to their more mature works tackling the wider concerns of human development and interaction in an age of technological advances, the pair have left a formidable legacy and honored their motto: ‘experiments must continue... Even till death’.

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