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Galaxy 2 Galaxy - Journey of the Dragons (Galaxy 2 Galaxy, UR, 1993)
“OK, so I’m a sucker for the stargazing, hope-filled, melodic, simultaneously-eulogizing-and-celebrating side of techno. I’m not apologizing—and I’m pretty sure Mike Banks wouldn’t either. This is epic techno—not your giant crowd epic, but just the sort of elevating, heroic epic Detroit needs. When I think of the music and its relation to the city, or even the beauty of human beings creating music during their blip on time’s radar, I go back to Galaxy 2 Galaxy, and everything makes sense.” — Dan Sicko
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Friday Mixtape: Underground Resistance on WDET (2004)
Recorded in 2004 as part of a monthly segment called ‘Electronic Focus,’ WDET’s Liz Copeland and guest presenter Clark Warner broadcast a UR special, complete with a lengthy interview with Mike Banks. The Red Planet revealed.
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Sofie Loizou, Dawid Szczęsny ft. Natalia Grosiak - Millions (Bvdub’s Sempiternal Sirens Mix) (Millions, Radical Nature Records, 2010)
Off of the first release on Radical Nature Records, an offshoot of the now-defunct Australian electro/techno label Southern Outpost. Loizou, Szczęsny and Grosiak are all alumni of the Red Bull Music Academy (Cape Town and Melbourne).
Southern Outpost’s name was suggested by Mike Banks when one of the founders met their future distributor in Detroit:
Whilst Patrick [Wacher] was visiting the old Submerge building at 2030 Grand River Ave, he signed the wall (as all visitors were asked to do) with a personal message to the Submerge crew. It was signed “much respect from the southern outpost”. On seeing this, “Mad” Mike Banks said, “That would be a great name for your record label”. That’s where it started. [1]
Preview only. More about SO in a future post.
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Underground Resistance - Panic (Riot EP, Underground Resistance, 1991)
Can techno be subversive? UR’s “Mad” Mike Banks explains in this interview in Jockey Slut (1994):
My techno is. I can’t speak for anybody else’s, but mine is designed to be subversive and mind awakening. There are definite messages there through tonal communication and you can’t assess it — that’s why techno is deadlier than rap. With rap you have to vocally communicate your point but with techno you don’t.
I’m a big fan of Public Enemy — to me “Prophets of Rage” and “Burn Hollywood” were all warning signs of what was going to happen. And the “Riot EP” was too. “Riot” is a warning sign of what can happen when people try to dominate other people. The more you oppress someone the harder you make them — it’s like making a diamond. When they put the shit on the Vietnamese and they tried to force them into cheap labour and all that shit they became so hard that they couldn’t beat them. They couldn’t beat the motherfuckers because they’re so hard. They go to any lengths to win.
That’s what the governments are going to create out of the poor, the mismanaged and all that other part of society that they don’t like to deal with — they’ll create hardcore killers. I see it every day in the street, because people out here don’t give a fuck about nothing. You can’t control them.
You’ll wake up in a cold sweat, panic!
(cover art: Riot EP, Interstellar Fugitives 2)
