Drexciya: 1992 - 1993

DREXCIYA - Deep Sea Dweller (1992) [Shockwave Records]

An incredibly consummate debut EP from the mysterious and much mythologised Drexciya. However the Detroit duo of James Stinson and Gerald Donald had released an EP on Hardwax Balance Of Terror in 1992 under the alias L.A.M. 

The four tracks here are..... is it futile to talk about Drexciya? I mean a lot of previously written words..., what's the point? Top tunes: Yep: Innovation: Yep: Nerdy prog-rock mythos type vibes: Yep: Absurdly influential for 30 years now: Yep. Deep Sea Dweller is an All killer/No filler EP of the highest regard: An auspicious beginning: Yep. Start of a ten year reign as master maestros of Detroit electro-techno of the sublime and idiosyncratic variety: Yep. Still tops: Yep.

DREXCIYA - Bubble Metropolis (1993) [Underground Resistance]

It's funny how much Mouse On Mars were influenced by Drexciya. I didn't realise it at the time. You think it's all contemporaneous whilst you are in the moment but when you look back you can hear the truth plus Drexciya were releasing records a couple of years prior to their existence. Throughout the Drexciya catalogue you can hear future blueprints for the likes of Boards Of Canada, Rustie etc. as well helping shape future sound of genres like electroclash, maybe some dubstep and even hauntology.

Sometimes talking about what a musical entity influenced is dumb and quite lazy. It definitely isn't necessarily a compliment but it wasn't Drexciya's fault a bunch of electroclash knob heads ripped them off in a superficial manner. Nobody could recreate their strange mystic aura though. I assume they influenced a whole lot more of the 21st century's club music and its adjacent scenes but hey I'm blissfully unaware of most of that music. It's also easy to forget there was a hell of a lot of techno in their music too. 

DREXCIYA - MOLECULAR ENCHANTMENT (1993) [Rephlex] 

They continued their odyssey with their twisted variant on electro and tekno Detroit stylee on Drexciya III - Molecular Enchantment. This seems a bit harder than previous releases and was released on the Aphex Twin owned Rephlex imprint no-less. I mean this has got the terrific Hydro Cubes on it, that is a landmark 90s electro tune innit. You gotta love intense noise couched in exquisite lovely-ness.