Underground resistance
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Underground Resistance (commonly abbreviated to UR) are a musical collective from Detroit, Michigan, in the United States of America. They are probably the most militantly political outcropping of modern urban American Techno. Combining a grubby, four-track aesthetic, an almost strictly "do-it-yourself" business philosophy, and an oppositional, militaristic ethos similar to Public Enemy without the drama (or the familiarity; for a long time, the members would refuse to be photographed without bandanas obscuring their identities), UR have redirected their portion of Detroit Techno's cultural influence towards social activism, trading mainstream popularity and financial success for independence and self-determination.
Begun in the early 1990s by Jeff Mills and "Mad" Mike Banks, UR adapted the flavor and kick of early Detroit Techno to the complex social, political, and economic circumstances which followed on from Reagan-era accelerated inner-city decline, producing uncompromising music geared toward promoting awareness and facilitating political change. Later Robert "Noise" Hood joined the label and later the band itself.
The early UR catalog is defined by a typically Detroit combination of Motown and Chicago soul, and ruthless, at times caustic lo-fi Techno, Acid, and Electro (Mills' background is in, among other things, Chicago Industrial and EBM-style Electro-Techno, with Banks and Hood both coming from a solid House and Techno background). Much of Underground Resistance's eponymous record label's early releases were the product of various experiments by Banks, Mills, and Hood, both solo and in collaboration, before Mills and Hood left the collective in 1992 to pursue (and achieve) international success as solo artists and DJs. Mike Banks continued to operate UR in the wake of the split, releasing EPs such as "Return of Acid Rain," "Message to the Majors," and "Galaxy to Galaxy" under the UR name, as well as 12-inches by increasingly renowned artists such as Drexciya.
Although UR remains largely aloof of the more high-profile American and European scenes, UR releases have occasionally leaked into various, relatively more mainstream contexts (usually in what UR describe as the "role" of "reconnaissance" or "infiltration"), with the prominent German Techno label Tresor reissuing 12-inches from the early UR catalog and the React label compilation featuring exclusive tracks from Banks and other UR artists.
The first full-length album credited to Underground Resistance was 1998's "Interstellar Fugitives", which saw Mike Banks redefining the collective's sound as "High-Tech Funk", reflecting a shift in emphasis from hard, minimal club Techno to breakbeats, Electro and even occasionally Drum and Bass and down-tempo Hip-Hop. Following this, newcomer DJ Rolando released UR's most commercially successful EP, "The Knights of The Jaguar".
In 2002, Kraftwerk released a remix EP of their soundtrack to the Hannover Expo 2000, featuring contributions from Rolando and Banks, making them two of only a handful of producers ever to be given the privilege of remixing Kraftwerk. From 2002 Kraftwerk's live shows featured the group performing UR's remixes compiled in the song now called "Planet of Visions".
Underground Resistance's original members are Mike Banks, Robert Hood and Jeff Mills. Other artists which have recorded within the UR collective or have been published by the UR label include Drexciya, Marc Floyd, DJ Rolando, James Pennington, Blake Baxter, Chuck Gibson (Perception/Hi-techfunk) and Gerald Mitchell.
2005 Update: DJ Rolando is no longer a member of Underground Resistance. Newcomers are DJ Dex, DJ S2, DJ Di'jital and DJ Skurge.
- Your Time Is Up
- Sonic
- The Final Frontier
- Waveform
- Nation 2 Nation
- The Prince Of Techno
- Living For The Night
- Gyroscopic
- Elimination
- Riot EP
- Nocturbulous Behavior
- Fuel For The Fire / Attend The Riot
- Sonic Destroyer
- G-Force
- Living For The Night
- The Punisher
- The Fury
- M.I.A
- BX-A
- UR019.5 X-102 - Groundzero
- World 2 World
- Pirahna
- Crime Report
- Death Star
- Message To The Majors
- The Return of Acid Rain - The Storm Continues
- Galaxy 2 Galaxy
- Bubble Metropolis
- Black Moon Rising
- Acid Rain III
- Dark Energy
- Aquatic Attack
- Undetectable
- City Of Fear
- Electronic Warfare
- UR034 UR - Electronic Warfare the mixes
- The Aztec Mystic
- By Night
- The Return Of Drexciya
- Code Breaker
- I'm In
- Ambush
- Turning Point
- Condition Red EP
- Hardlife
- Interstellar Fugitives
- Antimatter Premium Unleaded / Frequency Snowstorm
- Speeding Like the Killer Bees
- Knights Of The Jaguar
- The Aztec Mystic Mix
- Hidden In Plainsight
- Don't You Want It
- Hi-Tech Jazz
- Revenge Of The Jaguar
- Millennium To Millennium
- Inspiration / Transition
References
- [Amazing Discographies.]. Retrieved January 29, 2005. (Searchable database of discographies.)
External links
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