chassis ground · 13 · a.c. only cat. stp–008

Chapter Five

off to battle

Redefining the Detroit underground, 1990–1995

the record

in the order he names them

31 releases

  1. 01 section 25looking from a hilltopEverything from acid house and S’Express to Section 25’s hazy industrial classic “Looking from a Hilltop” bounced around the Majestic’s cavernous interior. single
  2. 02 states of mindelements of tonePlus 8 released its first record, “Elements of Tone,” later that year. single
  3. 03 cybersoniktechnarchyIronically, the greenhorn mistake that isolated Plus 8 also became one of its biggest successes; when officially released as “Technarchy” later that year (1990), single
  4. 04 808 statecubik“Technarchy” had an aggressive synth line, growling out of an old Pro-One analog keyboard.6 Though there were similar compositions out at the time, such as 808 State’s “Cubik,” single
  5. 05 plus 8from our minds to yours vol. 1By the time Plus 8 released its first compilation, From Our Minds to Yours, Vol. 1, in mid-1991, the label had grown considerably album
  6. 06 kenny larkinazimuthLarkin’s landmark 1994 album Azimuth, released on Warp in the United Kingdom and TVT in the United States, was the first domestically released Detroit techno album (outside of those released by the more pop-oriented Inner City) to feature an artist on its cover. album
  7. 07 cybersonikthrashAs the Plus 8 crew discovered, the Parkzicht crowd often latched onto songs like Cybersonik’s “Thrash,” and even its drums-only instrumental version, “Thrash Beats,” and was using them in ways the group could never have imagined. single
  8. 08 cybersonikjackhammer/machine gunAt around the same time Plus 8’s sub-label Probe was launched,8 in 1991, Cybersonik ceased to exist, with its last release (“Jackhammer/Machine Gun”) featuring Bell and Hawtin on sides A and B, respectively. single
  9. 09 plastikmankriketPlastikman was also one of Plus 8’s bestselling artists, building a loyal base of listeners and party-goers around great music, a simplistic logo, and some extraneous ks in his track titles (“Kriket,” “Helikopter,” and so forth). single
  10. 10 plastikmanhelikopterPlastikman was also one of Plus 8’s bestselling artists, building a loyal base of listeners and party-goers around great music, a simplistic logo, and some extraneous ks in his track titles (“Kriket,” “Helikopter,” and so forth). single
  11. 11 psychecrackdownCraig chose two new pseudonyms to reflect his new sound: BFC and Psyche.11 Keeping with his Transmat roots, Craig used BFC to help kick off the new Transmat sub-label, Fragile, in 1989, while Psyche’s Crackdown EP became Transmat’s twelfth … album
  12. 12 joey beltramenergy flashTransmat latched onto several records that were already or were destined to become hits, like Joey Beltram’s “Energy Flash” in 1990 and 3 Phase’s “Der Klang Der Familie” in 1992. single
  13. 13 3 phaseder klang der familieTransmat latched onto several records that were already or were destined to become hits, like Joey Beltram’s “Energy Flash” in 1990 and 3 Phase’s “Der Klang Der Familie” in 1992. single
  14. 14 inertianowhere to runTo some degree, anticipation for new Transmat records spilled over into Retroactive releases, including Inertia’s “Nowhere to Run” (a disguised side project of [A Guy Called] Gerald Simpson), and the classics “Throw” by the Paperclip … single
  15. 15 paperclip peoplethrowTo some degree, anticipation for new Transmat records spilled over into Retroactive releases, including Inertia’s “Nowhere to Run” (a disguised side project of [A Guy Called] Gerald Simpson), and the classics “Throw” by the Paperclip … single
  16. 16 octave onenever on sundayTo some degree, anticipation for new Transmat records spilled over into Retroactive releases, including Inertia’s “Nowhere to Run” (a disguised side project of [A Guy Called] Gerald Simpson), and the classics “Throw” by the Paperclip … single
  17. 17 front 242front by frontFront 242’s material was as stark and foreboding as dance music could be, but briefly warmed up to a more crossover sound with 1988’s Front by Front and the 1989 EP Never Stop. album
  18. 18 front 242never stopFront 242’s material was as stark and foreboding as dance music could be, but briefly warmed up to a more crossover sound with 1988’s Front by Front and the 1989 EP Never Stop. album
  19. 19 final cutdeep into the cutThis amazing hybrid was best captured on the 1990 release Deep into the Cut on Big Sex/Interfisch Records, a German label best known as home to the sinister sounds of Sheffield’s Clock DVA. album
  20. 20 final cutconsumedCanadian label Nettwerk, which released the Final Cut’s second album, Consumed, in 1991. album
  21. 21 underground resistancewaveformThat release turned out to be 1991’s “Waveform,”21 a record that quickly manifested UR’s identity. single
  22. 22 underground resistancethe punisherAs a testament to this process, UR created the 1991 single “The Punisher,” named after the ruthless vigilante from Marvel Comics. single
  23. 23 galaxy 2 galaxyastral apacheThe latter, a solo production of Banks’s, recorded some of the most spiritual sounds ever committed to vinyl in Detroit, including moving tributes to Geronimo on “Astral Apache” and to Bruce and Brandon Lee on “Journey of the Dragons.”24 single
  24. 24 galaxy 2 galaxyjourney of the dragonsThe latter, a solo production of Banks’s, recorded some of the most spiritual sounds ever committed to vinyl in Detroit, including moving tributes to Geronimo on “Astral Apache” and to Bruce and Brandon Lee on “Journey of the Dragons.”24 single
  25. 25 dj rolandojaguarUR’s DJ Rolando had a runaway hit in the song “Jaguar,” and, unable to license it from them, Sony Records Germany commissioned a “note-for-note” cover version. single
  26. 26 second phasementasmBy 1992, Brooklyn’s small, spur-of-the-moment happenings had snowballed into in extended scene that included seminal New York artists like Joey Beltram and Mundo Muzique (who, together as Second Phase, recorded the rave anthem “Mentasm” in … single
  27. 27 mobymobilityBehind the pseudonyms Voodoo Child, Brainstorm, Barracuda, UHF, and Moby was Connecticut-born Richard Melville Hall.26 While recording for New York’s independent Instinct label, Hall got noticed for his kinetic dance tracks and early … single
  28. 28 inner citypraiseOn their third album, Praise, released in 1992, the two wrote songs like “Let It Reign” and “Hallelujah,” with Grey reaching back to her early days of singing in church. album
  29. 29 inner citylet it reignOn their third album, Praise, released in 1992, the two wrote songs like “Let It Reign” and “Hallelujah,” with Grey reaching back to her early days of singing in church. single
  30. 30 lil’ louisfrench kissRiding the wave of his international success and platinum twelve-inch single “French Kiss” in 1989, Louis landed a record deal with Epic. single
  31. 31 lil’ louis & the worldjourney with the lonelyHis next album, From the Mind of Li’l Louis (released that same year), was followed by Journey with the Lonely in 1992, helping to break ground for African American house and techno artists in dealing with major labels. album

technorebels

An unofficial reader’s listening index to Techno Rebels: The Renegades of Electronic Funk by Dan Sicko (Wayne State University Press, revised edition 2010).

Sicko’s book carries no discography, so every record here was found in the text itself, listed in the order he names it, each with the sentence that introduces it.

Links run YouTube searches, so they resolve in any country. Records belong to their artists and labels. Cover design and jacket artwork remain the property of their rights holders; the drawings here are original work in that idiom.

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