Maybe only Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada have also done this so effortlessly, but for me Drexciya’s story seems the most real due to their unshifting commitment to it and the way their music locks in perfectly with their world view. As well as being one of the Drexciya tracks I play the most in my sets it is one that I am most fascinated with when listening to it at home.ĭrexciya are one of the few acts to build an entirely convincing universe and narrative around what they do without it ever feeling contrived. Thanks to the 4/4 kick it has a slightly more techno feel than a lot of Drexciya’s back catalogue and it just seems to build and build around those central arpeggios. “Transmission of Life” is a special track to me. It’s super stripped back and really groovy allowing for it to be super spacious but still dark and intense for the dancefloor. This track is a personal favourite of ours, we love the dark menacing feel in the track but it still has a playful side to it’s character.

He was a master of making complex sonics sound powerful and dynamic but always retaining the simplicity in the groove and a naivety in the melodies.įURTHER LISTENING: Drexciya, “Wave Jumper” There is always the right balance of dark and light in the mix. The drums can be really straight but then when the synths and baselines drop into the mix you always have this wonderful swing and syncopation that is emphasized in the overall groove of the track.

You know that it is his own individual sound it always has his aquatic funk and depth of time and space. When you listen to this music it all has direction every album has a wonderful and detailed concept behind the story and the music. All of his music as a solo artist and alongside Gerald Donald as The Other People’s Place, Drexciya, Transllusion, Shifted Phases, Lab Rats XL have really inspired us over the years. No matter what the project name when it came to James Stinson, the guy was in a class of his own a true innovator with uncompromising focus and determination. The aquatic funk of the drums mixed with the astral melodies give the journey the balance between the tension and the looseness of the dimension you are entering. Searching and looking at every possible sight before your eyes not quite believing what you hear, see or feel, but always feeling the need to go back for more. “Cluben in Guyana” has a certain sense of the excitement of arriving in this new solar system or galaxy and exploring around with the innocence of a child. The groove and rhythm always brought to the forefront, locking you into the intergalactic ride. “Cluben in Guyana” has all the qualities of James Stinson’s mantra when it comes to making music.

You just really get the feeling that you’re drifting in some kind of water world with someone banging on a big fuck of snare drum right next to your head! Fantastic bassline too! There are no peaks and troughs which makes it very hypnotic. The sounds are just there, floating within the track, but constantly changing. I think this is another good example of Drexciya’s use of the machines.

That’s something I’m always interested in I just love switching my machines on, setting them up and listening to them do their work.įURTHER LISTENING: Drexciya, “Aquatacizem” And I love that you just hear the machines running. That’s the thing that does it for me with Drexciya-always managing to turn the nicest melody into something nasty and mean sounding rather than poppy and vacuous. Building a structure and using sounds that can carry chords like that is rather genius. With keys on the verge of being cheesy, but failing in that respect due to the weird and twisted nature of the whole song. Hard hitting drums like some determined Terminator-style robot marching unstoppably through the capitalist city.

Legowelt ufocus