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Drexciya was an American electronic music duo from Detroit, Michigan, consisting of James Stinson (1969–2002[1][2]) and Gerald Donald.[3]
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2013) |
Drexciya | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1992–2002 |
| Labels | |
| Past members | James Stinson Gerald Donald |
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, Casio CZ 5000 synthesizer, Korg Mono/Poly synthesizer, Roland D20 synthesizer, Kawai K1 synthesizer, and sometimes a Roland TR-909 drum machine.[4]
In 1997, Drexciya released a compilation album, titled The Quest.[5] The duo released three studio albums: Neptune's Lair (1999), Harnessed the Storm (2002), and Grava 4 (2002).[6]
Drexciya, which eschewed media attention and its attendant focus on personality,[7] developed around a nautical afrofuturist myth.[8] The group revealed in the sleeve notes to their 1997 album The Quest that "Drexciya" was an underwater country populated by the unborn children of pregnant African women who were thrown off of slave ships; the babies had adapted to breathe underwater in their mothers' wombs.[9] The myth was built partly on Paul Gilroy's The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness (1993), according to Kodwo Eshun.[10]
Stinson died suddenly on 3 September 2002 of a heart condition.[11] Gerald Donald continues to produce music under other names such as Dopplereffekt with To Nhan Le Thi and Japanese Telecom.[1]
In 2019, with support from Gerald Donald and Helen Stinson, the mother of James Stinson, visual artist Abu Qadim Haqq created The Book of Drexciya, Volume I (and later The Book of Drexciya, Volume II in 2021), which was inspired by the mythos of Drexciya’s work.[12] The books chronicle the origins of Drexciya and the rise of their first ruler, Drexaha.[13]
In 2023, "From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya", a multimedia exhibition by American photographer and contemporary artist Ayana V. Jackson opened at the National Museum of African Art. The exhibit took inspiration from the founding myth of Drexciya and directly featured music by the group.[14][15]
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 (1994), Submerge
- Aquatic Invasion (1994), Underground Resistance
- The Journey Home (1995), Warp Records
- The Return of Drexciya (1996), Underground Resistance
- Uncharted (1997), Somewhere in Detroit
- Hydro Doorways (2000), Tresor
Singles
- "Fusion Flats" (2000), Tresor
- "Digital Tsunami" (2001), Tresor
- "Drexciyan R.E.S.T. Principle" (2002), Clone
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