Drexciya Speaks
(Last Updated April 2021) I have compiled 14 interviews with James Stinson plus various quotes from other sources and divided these into various topics. If you know of any others, please get in touch and I will add them here in the same manner. The actual words of James Stinson will be central to the work on this site so it is important that we have them all here at the beginning. These interviews are...
Dave Mothersole (Melody Maker 1995)
Dave Mothersole (Muzik 1995)
Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
Tsutomu Noda (Ele-King/Straight No Chaser 1999)
Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999) (Audio)
Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
Tsutomu Noda (Ele-King/Straight No Chaser 1999)
Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999) (Audio)
John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002) (Audio)
Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002) (Audio)
There are also two other interviews, both in German, that I'm not happy with the translations of but that you can still read here (De:Bug 2000 and 2002), a short Q&A from Surreal Sound zine from 1995 and a Q&A from Energy Flash zine in 1996. I think that is everything!
Drexciya Speaks
Origins
"(Interest in music)It started in the 70s, actually, back in the disco era with some of the more underground type disco songs, you know with the really deep heavy bass riffs, and it started picking up in the early 80s when the Cybotron came out. Then there was the whole musical revolution in the 80s, you know, it goes across the whole entire board-from rock to punk to new wave to R & B to funk to techno to hip hop, so the whole music really moulded us. At that point [when we started recording] it was like we had no choice but to do this because we were busting at the seams. Like a big ripe grape and you're getting ready to transform into a raisin. You know what I'm saying? Life goes on. We just kept going to the point where we started tinkering around to see what we could do. We started messing around and we realized 'yeah, this is what we should be doing.'" -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
“I got my first taste of techno around 1980-1981. I was a kid riding my bike with a small radio and Alleys Of Your Mind by Juan Atkins came on. I stopped my bike to get a better listen. It was the sweetest sound I had ever heard at that time. I was hooked and for the next eight years I would be programmed by some of the best electronic music on the planet by the Electrifying Mojo. When it was time I started hooking up with friends trying different styles until one night I could not sleep, cold sweat, tossing and turning and around 3 am September 18, 1989 I stood up and said Drexciya . It felt like a tidal wave rushing across my brain. All kinds of ideas were coming out. I could not stop it and I would not stop it. For the next three years we worked hard to perfect Drexciya before we would release it onto the world. Getting into production was not quick. It took a year of experimenting. -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“In 1991, I tried to release a record that had nothing to do with Drexciya. It's kind of funny, though. The concept came about in 1988 and '89. We were working on the concept for a long time and it took quite a while. I didn't want to come out half-assed. And it wasn't like an instant thing; it took a long time to build. Until me and my partner went to high school, the most we knew about this music was from Afrika Bambaataa back in the day. But what really sparked my interest was what Juan (Atkins) was doing with Cybotron. I was a little kid when "Alleys in your Mind" was on the radio, but I was just blown away. The years progressed on and the Electrifying Mojo was playing all these groups I liked and I realized it was my destiny -- I had to do it. I was going through high school and getting together with people in talent shows, just going through the normal process of figuring out what I wanted to do.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“I first received this thing called electronic music back when I was a little kid, when I heard Cybotron, the work of Juan Atkins, and a lot of the early Detroit people played on the radio, and it blew my mind. This was back in the funk era, when you had just funk and R&B on the radio, a little bit of disco maybe, and that was it. Then I heard techno, I heard bass music. I heard electro, and the music just grabbed me and dug deep inside like a parasite.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
Concept
"Basically they just come from the inside-the way we feel with the vibes of the music. And whichever way it takes us, that's the direction we go in, so far as the titles and the songs themselves when they're being created. Wherever the current takes us, that's where we're going. Any given time a title could pop up or a song could pop up, there's nothing that's really preplanned. We flow with the current." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(On the proliferation of short abrupt tracks on Neptune s Lair) That's right on the money because it's just another view of the world of Drexciya. I guess you could just say it's just where we're at right now-part of the current. You might be going down some rough water this time, next time you might be on some calm, still water, you know. Next time you might hit a whirlpool or something like this, you know, so it depends on which way we're gonna go with it." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"Well, water is the most powerful element on this planet. Water has many different properties. It comes in many different forms and many different shapes and different weights. And that's the way we see our music--we can come in any different size or shape that we want depending on the rhythm of the song, how aggressive the song is, how transparent or how big it is, how clear, how diluted, how fast, how slow, it all depends-the same properties as water. Water runs fasts, water runs slow, and the best way to put a visual picture in your mind of Drexciya and what we're all about is that we [Drexciya and water] go hand in hand. You have to have all the dimensions, you have to have the visual, the sonic side of things, and you have to have a purpose - a concept - to make it real. So once you bring in the world of Drexciya and the people and how they're living their lives in Drexciya, you know, you put the element of water, which is the basic element of life for anyone-period. Once you factor in all your different things, this is how it is with Drexciya and how the basic principles are." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(How water effects music) It's the difference in degree. Sometimes you might be going through some rough rapids, or there's a strong undertow or whatnot. Or, better yet, maybe it's just still, very calm, a very gentle flow. So when you're making music it all depends entirely on which water you're in." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"Water happens to be one of the most powerful elements on this planet. If the Polar caps melt everybody's gonna be underwater. Drexciya live in two different worlds, what Drexciya does and what UR asks it to do on certain missions" -Tsutomu Noda (Ele-King/Straight No Chaser 1999)
Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002) (Audio)
Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002) (Audio)
There are also two other interviews, both in German, that I'm not happy with the translations of but that you can still read here (De:Bug 2000 and 2002), a short Q&A from Surreal Sound zine from 1995 and a Q&A from Energy Flash zine in 1996. I think that is everything!
Drexciya Speaks
Origins
"(Interest in music)It started in the 70s, actually, back in the disco era with some of the more underground type disco songs, you know with the really deep heavy bass riffs, and it started picking up in the early 80s when the Cybotron came out. Then there was the whole musical revolution in the 80s, you know, it goes across the whole entire board-from rock to punk to new wave to R & B to funk to techno to hip hop, so the whole music really moulded us. At that point [when we started recording] it was like we had no choice but to do this because we were busting at the seams. Like a big ripe grape and you're getting ready to transform into a raisin. You know what I'm saying? Life goes on. We just kept going to the point where we started tinkering around to see what we could do. We started messing around and we realized 'yeah, this is what we should be doing.'" -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
“I got my first taste of techno around 1980-1981. I was a kid riding my bike with a small radio and Alleys Of Your Mind by Juan Atkins came on. I stopped my bike to get a better listen. It was the sweetest sound I had ever heard at that time. I was hooked and for the next eight years I would be programmed by some of the best electronic music on the planet by the Electrifying Mojo. When it was time I started hooking up with friends trying different styles until one night I could not sleep, cold sweat, tossing and turning and around 3 am September 18, 1989 I stood up and said Drexciya . It felt like a tidal wave rushing across my brain. All kinds of ideas were coming out. I could not stop it and I would not stop it. For the next three years we worked hard to perfect Drexciya before we would release it onto the world. Getting into production was not quick. It took a year of experimenting. -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“In 1991, I tried to release a record that had nothing to do with Drexciya. It's kind of funny, though. The concept came about in 1988 and '89. We were working on the concept for a long time and it took quite a while. I didn't want to come out half-assed. And it wasn't like an instant thing; it took a long time to build. Until me and my partner went to high school, the most we knew about this music was from Afrika Bambaataa back in the day. But what really sparked my interest was what Juan (Atkins) was doing with Cybotron. I was a little kid when "Alleys in your Mind" was on the radio, but I was just blown away. The years progressed on and the Electrifying Mojo was playing all these groups I liked and I realized it was my destiny -- I had to do it. I was going through high school and getting together with people in talent shows, just going through the normal process of figuring out what I wanted to do.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“I first received this thing called electronic music back when I was a little kid, when I heard Cybotron, the work of Juan Atkins, and a lot of the early Detroit people played on the radio, and it blew my mind. This was back in the funk era, when you had just funk and R&B on the radio, a little bit of disco maybe, and that was it. Then I heard techno, I heard bass music. I heard electro, and the music just grabbed me and dug deep inside like a parasite.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
Concept
"Basically they just come from the inside-the way we feel with the vibes of the music. And whichever way it takes us, that's the direction we go in, so far as the titles and the songs themselves when they're being created. Wherever the current takes us, that's where we're going. Any given time a title could pop up or a song could pop up, there's nothing that's really preplanned. We flow with the current." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(On the proliferation of short abrupt tracks on Neptune s Lair) That's right on the money because it's just another view of the world of Drexciya. I guess you could just say it's just where we're at right now-part of the current. You might be going down some rough water this time, next time you might be on some calm, still water, you know. Next time you might hit a whirlpool or something like this, you know, so it depends on which way we're gonna go with it." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"Well, water is the most powerful element on this planet. Water has many different properties. It comes in many different forms and many different shapes and different weights. And that's the way we see our music--we can come in any different size or shape that we want depending on the rhythm of the song, how aggressive the song is, how transparent or how big it is, how clear, how diluted, how fast, how slow, it all depends-the same properties as water. Water runs fasts, water runs slow, and the best way to put a visual picture in your mind of Drexciya and what we're all about is that we [Drexciya and water] go hand in hand. You have to have all the dimensions, you have to have the visual, the sonic side of things, and you have to have a purpose - a concept - to make it real. So once you bring in the world of Drexciya and the people and how they're living their lives in Drexciya, you know, you put the element of water, which is the basic element of life for anyone-period. Once you factor in all your different things, this is how it is with Drexciya and how the basic principles are." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(How water effects music) It's the difference in degree. Sometimes you might be going through some rough rapids, or there's a strong undertow or whatnot. Or, better yet, maybe it's just still, very calm, a very gentle flow. So when you're making music it all depends entirely on which water you're in." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"Water happens to be one of the most powerful elements on this planet. If the Polar caps melt everybody's gonna be underwater. Drexciya live in two different worlds, what Drexciya does and what UR asks it to do on certain missions" -Tsutomu Noda (Ele-King/Straight No Chaser 1999)
(Asked about Drexciyan mythology) "It’s just an ongoing situation, we’re just trying to bring a new perspective to our music. It’s not radical or political, more of a history lesson, and the whole fantasy goes with it. The intelligent listener will weed out the real meanings though. Our music works on the same principle. We’re trying to give something to all our listeners, that’s why we chose not to put any vocals on the album (Neptune's Lair), to let the music give people the vibes. Think about it, humans don’t even use half their brainpower, let’s see where we can bring them. Who knows, if you keep on knocking on our door you might even develop telepathic powers! We’re all about making people happy through our music, and not painting ourselves into one corner. We want to remain as free as the water and the wind.” - Richard Brophy (Etronik 1999)
"(Can we learn from ancient mystics) Yes! Work together, love each other and slow down. Look at your life deeper. You might not like what you see so change it. We move too fast and cannot see warning signs. We do not mind paying the heavy prices of consequences of our actions until we can't pay no more. Take chances." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“(Water) But you got to think, there’s more than just power there. There's a lot of elegance, creativity and innovation that comes with water. Don't they say we came from out of the ocean, or something like that? There's a lot of things that go on in the ocean now. There's a lot of undiscovered territories, uncharted areas and stuff like that. I adopted the same way that you view the waters, with the depths, creatures, and undiscovered territories, it's the same way I see the music. That’s the way I like to approach it, because I want it to be endless. I want it to be as innovative as it can possibly be. I want it to be the most creative. I want it to be that spark of life for whatever I do, so that's the reason I adopted the whole background and whole theme of water, for it's longevity. Water was here at the beginning before we existed and water will be here when we go away. It's beautiful. Think about this. Do you know of anyone who can create water? What is this stuff? How can you make water, if it doesn’t already exist? Sure you have molecules and all that stuff, but outside this planet, how can you make more water than that's already here? If you have Lake Michigan, how can you produce the equivalent of Lake Michigan water, without taking it from some other place on the planet, how can you create that in a lab? Because if they can do that, don't you think we'd all be drinking fresh water instead of contaminated water? They would have dumped all this water on this planet and made fresh water in areas that are needed? Don't you think if they can actually do that they would do it? What I’m saying is water is a very interesting, very marvellous element that people take for granted. Once it goes, you're done. Air is very important too, but water you're done. Your body, is like 80% composed of water. Without it, you're done.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“(Could we ever see Drexiyan yore happen for real?)Nope. Sorry. This point is going to have to be rearranged. In other words, what I'm trying to say, is there’s going to have to be a great flood again and destroy everything and restart. Somebody has to hit the restart button because, right now, I don’t think so. Somebody’s opened up Pandora s Box and all hell is breaking loose. That's why I’m pushing the gas and I'm putting out more stuff. The kind of images with Drexciya and stuff, I’m taking people away from here. I feel like Noah s Ark, I’m loading up the Drexciyan-Ark and taking your mind on a trip away from here for a little while.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
"(Inspiration) It came from deep inside my mind. God gave me this vision and I'm building on it bringing it to life for the whole world to see." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2001)
"Water is life. Life started on this planet and other planets due to water. It is the cutting edge of creativity and innovation. You have billions of different species in the seas, oceans, lakes ponds and streams across the world. Millions of species still have not been discovered by man so is that the cutting edge of creativity or what? We approach our music the same way." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“Water is the most powerful force on earth - if the polar caps melt then we’ve all dead and there are places underwater humans will never reach - but all the records we’ve made give you clues, how to tap into your inner selves. We bring you right to that door and give you the key. We’re doing what we’re able to, dropping messages from day one without getting too deep and scaring people off. We can only hope that people will pick up on what we’re doing.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
“We don't make songs based on a concept. We make the songs first and deal with the concept around the songs. The whole thing with the aquatic world was created due to how creative and innovative water is. It's very creative -- there's a lot you can do with it. A lot of things that come through water, all these different molecules. That's the way I see the music we do -- it's so endless, constantly using different water. That's the way I see Drexciya. We spend time creating, take a little bit of time and think about it. Sometimes I have to slow down and think because I'm thinking of multiple things all at the same time -- it's a domino effect. There has to be a purpose and a reason to exist, it has to be a complete thought. After the music is created, we're building a concept around it: moods, emotions and feelings from the music helps build the concept. Basically, what we do is listen to the record and then your mind starts to wander and images come to your mind. Hopefully, people that buy the record feel the same thing. When you listen to the music and read the title, you basically have to run with it. The images have to go also with the themes.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“There are small itty-bitty links between them all -- and that's the fun part. You have to see what the pattern is to figure it out. It might just be one song but there's a lot going on. It's a lot of fun. This is a fun project, something fun and mysterious. It's a mystery, chasing around the world all the different stuff. Some of these might be hard and tricky to figure out. To us, it's fun. We're humans and humans love mystery -- we're very curious creatures. If you don't challenge the intellect of people, they're going to be bored. That's what I've been working on for so long, trying to figure out what works, when and why. But like Dr. Frankenstein, you have to breath life in all these individual body parts to make them work. I'll never reach the point where I can say this is the best I can do. There's never one record that's better than another because that was a moment of time. We can never outdo another song. I'll just keep going on till I can't go on anymore.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“In the artwork and music, there are little messages that may come back five years later. I've had things going on from our very first record. There are so many things you have to go back to understand the whole story. I'm even thinking of doing a dictionary, a Drexciyan dictionary, but I love it. I'm kind of a workaholic, but I don't have a time frame on it. Besides this, I also work full-time. I need an equalizer something to balance the stuff out.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
(water) “Well basically we use the concept with the water, we see it as being one of the most powerful elements on this planet and what is the best way to describe this music that we do and take the personality of what the water represents to this Earth and basically around the galaxy and whatever else is to take on that type of personality in the way we approach our music. That’s pretty much how we see things.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(in disguise)“Well, we’re not really in disguise, it’s just more or less given us our own territory, it’s more about being isolated to where you can go about your own daily business or whatnot and not really be involved, like an isolated community you know and it‘s more peaceful. If you look at some of the other documentaries about undersea life or whatever it just looks so peaceful down there, beautiful, no sunlight, total darkness, but then again how do you really know that, it could be, there’s a lot of area’s we haven’t discovered yet.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
“We’ve always been wide open to extreme levels of ideas and concepts, it’s important to have no limitations.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“If you think about it, water is the most powerful element, the sea is full of uncharted territories.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
“It’s a mental thing, but when the polar cap melts, everybody’s gonna live in Drexciya.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio)
"Man, that was spontaneous! It was back in '88, and we'd just been fooling around with music for a few years. One day, I woke up and it just came to me! I rolled straight out of bed and it all just started flowing. I didn't have the name at first, but the stories started coming naturally, and one day the name 'Drexciya' came to me, it just felt right when I pronounced it. Since then, we've done some heavy meditations on it, and the story has just evolved. But the music always comes first - the concepts always follow the music. We listen to the tracks and decide how they correspond to these principles and to these stories, and then we build the album around it. If a track doesn't fit in the flow, we'll just put it aside. We're perfectionists, and we control the output of our music. If it's not working, we don't force it: We just wait until you're clicking on all four cylinders, and the energy is strong and clear, and that's when music comes out fast and good." -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
Attitude To Making Music
"Well, basically, the main thing that we want to work on is the new lab, Neptune's Lair. Right now we're in the process of doing a lot of experiments and whatnot, so in the forthcoming years you'll be hearing a lot more experiments. That's one thing we want to start doing because it's time now to go back and do some more research on some different kinds of elements and whatnot." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"I guess you could say we do it to do something different, to try something different. Sometimes you might have the physical laws and properties saying that you can't do this, or that this is impossible, but hey, why not give it a try again and see what will happen? For instance, the laws and properties of different music styles, the way things are supposed to be arranged, that they're supposed to be like this or that. Well, technically, we have no rules and no instructions on the way music is supposed to be, so that's how we're able to do anything and make it beautiful. It's all about controlling and harnessing the energy." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(Taking break after The Quest)There's no difference between then and now; the only difference is that I feel we need to start picking up the pace. We might still put out some stuff with Mike [Bank’s UR label], that's a given. We take breaks to get away from everything and come back fresh. Basically, during that time where we took a break, inspiration, with the way things were going around here, it just wasn't right, you know. But it just came to a point where it was like 'we can't give it up'. We couldn't do that because it's in our blood, it's in our veins, we can't just get out of it, we can't stop doing what we do. So we decided 'hey, we've got to go for it, we've got to do it, we've got to pick up the pace and come back and do what we do best." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(Can we learn from ancient mystics) Yes! Work together, love each other and slow down. Look at your life deeper. You might not like what you see so change it. We move too fast and cannot see warning signs. We do not mind paying the heavy prices of consequences of our actions until we can't pay no more. Take chances." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“(Water) But you got to think, there’s more than just power there. There's a lot of elegance, creativity and innovation that comes with water. Don't they say we came from out of the ocean, or something like that? There's a lot of things that go on in the ocean now. There's a lot of undiscovered territories, uncharted areas and stuff like that. I adopted the same way that you view the waters, with the depths, creatures, and undiscovered territories, it's the same way I see the music. That’s the way I like to approach it, because I want it to be endless. I want it to be as innovative as it can possibly be. I want it to be the most creative. I want it to be that spark of life for whatever I do, so that's the reason I adopted the whole background and whole theme of water, for it's longevity. Water was here at the beginning before we existed and water will be here when we go away. It's beautiful. Think about this. Do you know of anyone who can create water? What is this stuff? How can you make water, if it doesn’t already exist? Sure you have molecules and all that stuff, but outside this planet, how can you make more water than that's already here? If you have Lake Michigan, how can you produce the equivalent of Lake Michigan water, without taking it from some other place on the planet, how can you create that in a lab? Because if they can do that, don't you think we'd all be drinking fresh water instead of contaminated water? They would have dumped all this water on this planet and made fresh water in areas that are needed? Don't you think if they can actually do that they would do it? What I’m saying is water is a very interesting, very marvellous element that people take for granted. Once it goes, you're done. Air is very important too, but water you're done. Your body, is like 80% composed of water. Without it, you're done.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“(Could we ever see Drexiyan yore happen for real?)Nope. Sorry. This point is going to have to be rearranged. In other words, what I'm trying to say, is there’s going to have to be a great flood again and destroy everything and restart. Somebody has to hit the restart button because, right now, I don’t think so. Somebody’s opened up Pandora s Box and all hell is breaking loose. That's why I’m pushing the gas and I'm putting out more stuff. The kind of images with Drexciya and stuff, I’m taking people away from here. I feel like Noah s Ark, I’m loading up the Drexciyan-Ark and taking your mind on a trip away from here for a little while.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
"(Inspiration) It came from deep inside my mind. God gave me this vision and I'm building on it bringing it to life for the whole world to see." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2001)
"Water is life. Life started on this planet and other planets due to water. It is the cutting edge of creativity and innovation. You have billions of different species in the seas, oceans, lakes ponds and streams across the world. Millions of species still have not been discovered by man so is that the cutting edge of creativity or what? We approach our music the same way." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“Water is the most powerful force on earth - if the polar caps melt then we’ve all dead and there are places underwater humans will never reach - but all the records we’ve made give you clues, how to tap into your inner selves. We bring you right to that door and give you the key. We’re doing what we’re able to, dropping messages from day one without getting too deep and scaring people off. We can only hope that people will pick up on what we’re doing.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
“We don't make songs based on a concept. We make the songs first and deal with the concept around the songs. The whole thing with the aquatic world was created due to how creative and innovative water is. It's very creative -- there's a lot you can do with it. A lot of things that come through water, all these different molecules. That's the way I see the music we do -- it's so endless, constantly using different water. That's the way I see Drexciya. We spend time creating, take a little bit of time and think about it. Sometimes I have to slow down and think because I'm thinking of multiple things all at the same time -- it's a domino effect. There has to be a purpose and a reason to exist, it has to be a complete thought. After the music is created, we're building a concept around it: moods, emotions and feelings from the music helps build the concept. Basically, what we do is listen to the record and then your mind starts to wander and images come to your mind. Hopefully, people that buy the record feel the same thing. When you listen to the music and read the title, you basically have to run with it. The images have to go also with the themes.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“There are small itty-bitty links between them all -- and that's the fun part. You have to see what the pattern is to figure it out. It might just be one song but there's a lot going on. It's a lot of fun. This is a fun project, something fun and mysterious. It's a mystery, chasing around the world all the different stuff. Some of these might be hard and tricky to figure out. To us, it's fun. We're humans and humans love mystery -- we're very curious creatures. If you don't challenge the intellect of people, they're going to be bored. That's what I've been working on for so long, trying to figure out what works, when and why. But like Dr. Frankenstein, you have to breath life in all these individual body parts to make them work. I'll never reach the point where I can say this is the best I can do. There's never one record that's better than another because that was a moment of time. We can never outdo another song. I'll just keep going on till I can't go on anymore.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“In the artwork and music, there are little messages that may come back five years later. I've had things going on from our very first record. There are so many things you have to go back to understand the whole story. I'm even thinking of doing a dictionary, a Drexciyan dictionary, but I love it. I'm kind of a workaholic, but I don't have a time frame on it. Besides this, I also work full-time. I need an equalizer something to balance the stuff out.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
(water) “Well basically we use the concept with the water, we see it as being one of the most powerful elements on this planet and what is the best way to describe this music that we do and take the personality of what the water represents to this Earth and basically around the galaxy and whatever else is to take on that type of personality in the way we approach our music. That’s pretty much how we see things.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(in disguise)“Well, we’re not really in disguise, it’s just more or less given us our own territory, it’s more about being isolated to where you can go about your own daily business or whatnot and not really be involved, like an isolated community you know and it‘s more peaceful. If you look at some of the other documentaries about undersea life or whatever it just looks so peaceful down there, beautiful, no sunlight, total darkness, but then again how do you really know that, it could be, there’s a lot of area’s we haven’t discovered yet.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
“We’ve always been wide open to extreme levels of ideas and concepts, it’s important to have no limitations.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“If you think about it, water is the most powerful element, the sea is full of uncharted territories.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
“It’s a mental thing, but when the polar cap melts, everybody’s gonna live in Drexciya.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio)
"Man, that was spontaneous! It was back in '88, and we'd just been fooling around with music for a few years. One day, I woke up and it just came to me! I rolled straight out of bed and it all just started flowing. I didn't have the name at first, but the stories started coming naturally, and one day the name 'Drexciya' came to me, it just felt right when I pronounced it. Since then, we've done some heavy meditations on it, and the story has just evolved. But the music always comes first - the concepts always follow the music. We listen to the tracks and decide how they correspond to these principles and to these stories, and then we build the album around it. If a track doesn't fit in the flow, we'll just put it aside. We're perfectionists, and we control the output of our music. If it's not working, we don't force it: We just wait until you're clicking on all four cylinders, and the energy is strong and clear, and that's when music comes out fast and good." -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
Attitude To Making Music
"Well, basically, the main thing that we want to work on is the new lab, Neptune's Lair. Right now we're in the process of doing a lot of experiments and whatnot, so in the forthcoming years you'll be hearing a lot more experiments. That's one thing we want to start doing because it's time now to go back and do some more research on some different kinds of elements and whatnot." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"I guess you could say we do it to do something different, to try something different. Sometimes you might have the physical laws and properties saying that you can't do this, or that this is impossible, but hey, why not give it a try again and see what will happen? For instance, the laws and properties of different music styles, the way things are supposed to be arranged, that they're supposed to be like this or that. Well, technically, we have no rules and no instructions on the way music is supposed to be, so that's how we're able to do anything and make it beautiful. It's all about controlling and harnessing the energy." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(Taking break after The Quest)There's no difference between then and now; the only difference is that I feel we need to start picking up the pace. We might still put out some stuff with Mike [Bank’s UR label], that's a given. We take breaks to get away from everything and come back fresh. Basically, during that time where we took a break, inspiration, with the way things were going around here, it just wasn't right, you know. But it just came to a point where it was like 'we can't give it up'. We couldn't do that because it's in our blood, it's in our veins, we can't just get out of it, we can't stop doing what we do. So we decided 'hey, we've got to go for it, we've got to do it, we've got to pick up the pace and come back and do what we do best." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
“The music scene has started to pick up again. There’s some really good ‘pieces of music’ out there at the moment, stuff we’ve heard in clubs or on the radio that has impressed us and made us go wow! We always hoped people would listen to Drexciya and become influenced to make their own music, and now it’s happening. We try and keep away from everyone else in Detroit, avoid picking up on other people’s energies and do our own thing. At the same time, we’ve come to realise that we’re all into this, we’re one big family. Drexciya are as guilty as anyone of putting people down back in the day. Now we try and encourage people to do what they do best.” - Richard Brophy (Etronik 1999)
"The music we make is electro. Others tried to make it because it was deemed ‘hot’, but electro comes in so many different flavours. Electronic music, whatever you want to call it needs this kind of music to give it variety, instead of just hearing a 4/4 beat, instead of just having potatoes, we’re saying why not have a steak as well?” - Richard Brophy (Etronik 1999)
(Recording Neptune's Lair) "Yeah, it took two years on and off to make it, some of the tracks were old, and there’s a track on the album called ‘Draining Of the Tanks’, which represents Drexciya shedding our old ideas and injecting new sounds and experiments. That’s the whole foundation of what we do: making things people don’t think will work work. We also had some personal stuff we had to deal with, but the album was done at our pace. In the future we’re going to be more steady with our releases instead of taking long breaks. There is a reason why the album took so long which we’ll reveal at a later date. As always, we’re gonna go with the water, whatever way the tide flows. It’s the way we work, but we certainly ain’t gonna be cranking out a record every month.” - Richard Brophy (Etronik 1999)
"(Ego free music)Right. Most definitely. And that's the way it should be. Because if you make music for any other purpose, it's not going to come out right. It's not going to feel free, you're not going to be able to create freely like you're supposed to. You'll be making music to survive, you'll be making music for phoney reasons. But if you make music because you love it and because it's in your blood, I think you're going to make some of the most beautiful things that anybody has ever heard. Look at Quincy Jones, look at Stevie Wonder; those guys are still making beautiful music. They do it because they love it, they're not doing it because they want the money. I mean look at Prince now. He's still making music and putting it out because he loves it. He could have went out there and got fat record deals from Warner Brothers and whoever else screwed him, could have got millions and millions of dollars, but he doesn't care about that. He wanted to do his thing. If you don't love it, leave it alone." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(Too much music being made)I really don't know. When I'm in the process of working in the lab, I tend to stay away from everything and don't keep up on that and monitor that." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
“(What makes Drexciya tick?)Well, the basic idea is just to be spontaneous. Just being spontaneous, whatever comes comes. Go with the flow. Basically just load up the equipment and start working, and whichever way you go that's where we end up and make it happen. There's nothing that's planned, there's no set course. So the mystery of the unknown is really what makes us tick. The curiosity of not knowing where we're going to end up at once this track is done, or when this album is done, and so forth and so on. We never plan our course on where we re going with a particular project. It's mainly the unknown is what makes us tick. It's like living on the edge.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
"(Music for money or from heart)You need a balance. I feel like this because this is a very big world and people are gonna do whatever they wanna do. Just like how electronic music comes out in many forms. I'm not gonna blast or criticize rave music no more or anything else because I finally realized as I became older that this is a big planet and there's enough room for everybody. The thing is, as long as we don't step on each others' toes and try to push each other down, then it shouldn't be a problem, shouldn't be a conflict. The only time I have a problem is when people try to step on my toes or try to do something like that. You're going to have some people that have problems and are on an ego trip and that's fine and dandy-that's them. Whatever they do doesn't affect me because I'm going to be responsible for what I do." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"As far as I'm concerned, there isn’t anybody out there making original Detroit techno - apart from us, and that's not being arrogant. It's a plain and simple fact. A lot of people making so-called techno don't understand where it came from and what it's all about. I know this stuff; I've been doing it for a long time. I've been with the real deal, in the trenches, since this shit was born out of the womb. But so many people have come in and stepped over the name of original techno and toned it down. And that's why were here: it's time to turn up the heat." -Dave Mothersole (Melody Maker/Muzik 1995)
"The reason why we give a lot of our tracks aquatic titles is because waves are constantly changing. It moves in so many different directions, and that's the way we see our music. It doesn’t go straight forward. It takes you on an adventure. We record all our stuff live. You have to capture that moment, that spirit, that energy. We could never recreate one of our records. Every Drexciya record is different. We're dealing with your personality, your emotions. We try to get you to open your mind up and listen to the sounds, and hopefully then you can paint a picture in your mind. That's what it's all about." -Dave Mothersole (Melody Maker/Muzik 1995)
“(Going stale) Yes (laughs) it happens. It really goes back to the beginning. What is your purpose? Why are you making music? Do you love this, or are you here for the perks, which is money, fame, glory, jet-setting around the world, having people tell you you’re the greatest and so on. Or, are you doing this because you love the music? And if you love the music, then you’ll be one of those people who will be a leader and be here a long time and will change things. Nobody says you have to 100% change your style. For example, the 808. I'm pretty sure we'll still use the 808 in the future sometimes. There's nothing wrong with that, but that's what we do. But like you said, I'll throw you a little curveball to keep you in your Ps and Qs, and there's nothing wrong with change-ups, and that's the one thing I really like. I'll give you some stuff, but you'll never see it coming. Just like the seven albums here. You'll be very surprised and shocked with the difference between The Other People Place, Transllusion, Drexciya and the next one that's coming up. There’s going to be quite a few differences in there. You have to have that, it's very, very important.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“(Inspiration) It all comes from within. I shut myself down from all other kinds of music and musicians, everything. I solely rely on internal knowledge. Whatever we come up with, we come up with. That's the way we have to have it. That's why I don t go to parties. That's why I don't listen to the radio when I m producing, that's why I don't listen to mix-tapes, that's why I don't listen to other records. I don't talk to anybody else because I don't want anyone else's ideas or vibes when I'm in production. It has to be 100%, it has to be pure, it has to come straight from us. I love techno, I love electronic music, I love my friends. At certain times I have to take care of business and shut everyone out.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
"Our work has to be the best we can come up with at that time, hard work, long hours. Sometimes, at the start, we would be up for two days going to a job then work on the music and back to the job. We loved every minute of it. The time gaps between releases are time to experiment and perfect our sound. We try not to pile onto whatever is the hot sound at a given time, I really do not like that. We have to cut a new path. If we are going to be leaders on the cutting edge we can not follow someone else s current work. That would make us followers and not leaders." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
"I have a weird way of doing things and one of my ways is not to look at what is going on in the music world. For me this (way of working) is good, for others it might not be. All of the things you just asked me are toxins to my way of producing. If I want Drexciya and all that I do, then I must stay away. That way when I relocate to Atlanta this summer you will not hear a change. The mystery is fun for the Drexiyens. At times I don t have a lot to say so I don t do interviews until I have something to say. Plus, we are working all the time so those two reasons are why we don t do all the time." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
"(inspiration) It comes from within our soul, from tapping into our subconscious during meditation. If that aggressive mode comes out, then that is what it will be." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
"By recording live you capture a moment in time that can never be done again. It's a piece of art, like the Mona Lisa, never meant to be remixed. There is no disadvantage for us making music this way. -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“I've never been into anybody's studio. I'm sorry, I don't care how big of a star you are. I didn't come up to you that way. I don't ask for autographs. I'll treat you like a friend, but basically, I didn't want to be in contact with anybody. I wanted to do it on my own and on the principle I don't listen to anyone else's music while I'm producing. I totally don't go out. I don't want to suck up anyone else's personality because my stuff has to be 100 percent produced in my way. That makes me happy, that I know that I didn't have any outside influences from any techno. I listen to jazz and hip-hop, but of course I have to get away from it when recording because humans pick it up subconsciously. I'm scared of it. I don't want to pick up it. I love electronic music. I really like mental stuff -- I'm fascinated by it. I watch to see what's popular, who buys it, who sells it. But I never was trained professionally. It was straight raw talent, with a lot of hard practice and hard work. We have very good ears. You have to have a natural talent for it, go by what you feel. You know rhythms, you know notes. If it don't sound right, it don't sound right and you do it over.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“Producers get hold of a sound and they milk it, but we’re dedicated to being different and that’s what people like about us. If there’s a style of music that’s popular at the moment you won’t find us anywhere near it.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
“(recording)How we do things is kind of like wine in that we let it age. It's basically the same way when we produce. Before we go back to it, we let it sit for at least a week. Then we'll come back and listen to it. At that point, I'm a very strange individual when it comes to that. My short-term memory is really wacko. I don't remember things I've done when it comes to music or titles. I've programmed myself to instantly dump all that music and knowledge of recent history because I don't want it to recur. Part of my training and process is that you don't dwell on what you did. You have to dump it, in this case, my memory. It's a good thing in one sense because I won't revisit something I just did. The bad thing is when people ask me about something I did, I don't recall or retain much of it.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“I'm a humble person. Whatever a person feels in their heart about what we do, I have to appreciate. I'm not going to say anything negative about that, whatever they feel. I'm the type that's never satisfied with what I do and I have to do more. When people say they appreciate our music, I bow down and give my thanks and my appreciation. I'm not thinking about money, fame or glory. I do this because I love it -- it makes me feel good inside. Music expresses the joy and happiness in my life. I don't want my name or my face to be associated with this. It's not about me, it's about emotions that I put out there through my music and art. I talk to people whenever I get chance. I can run my mouth like a motorboat, but then I also need to be myself at times.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“We’re making music at the moment and when we’re in the studio, we shut ourselves off from everything, from any outside influence. We become like hermits, we don’t go to parties or clubs, we don’t even listen to the radio or mix tapes, hell we don’t even think of or remember the tracks we’ve done in the past. We push away from these things, away from the past and get so deep inside the concept we’re working on we become the concept. Drexciya is about going forward, about striving for perfection and purity. Remember, people are like sponges, they suck up all kinds of influences, but this is what we avoid. We take control of where we’re heading and adopt leadership. It’s amusing that people accuse us of not ‘playing the game’, because we have our own view and play our own
game.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
“We cut our own groove, we are the total package. I wouldn’t be saying all this stuff to you right now if I didn’t believe it. We’re full of energy and that’s why we’re blowing up at the moment with our music. We ain’t forcing ourselves, we’re just riding the wave.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
(next step)“Continue doing what I’ve been doing, just lock myself away, don’t listen to other people’s records, don’t listen to the radio, stay away from my friends, don’t pick up none of their energies or vibes, I don’t want to suck it up like a sponge or whatever. Basically just take it to whatever the next page is. I don’t think it’s the next level, I mean I don’t see it as taking it to a higher level, over a mountain or something like that, just turn the page and keep on to the next phase or whatever is gonna be there. You know nothing is planned as far as what we do, just like life, we never know what’s gonna happen, it’s very spontaneous so you should just live your life like that. To the best of your abilities you can plan something’s but you shouldn't just plan it, just do it." -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(you see it as a sacrifice you make)"Yes, I make a very big sacrifice because one of the things Detroit artists, not just Detroit artists but any electronic music artist, you have a lot of problems when it comes to the social status with your family and everything else because people don't really believe in what you do and because if your really dedicated your giving up a lot, cause people don't believe in you. No one even thought that this stuff would even get to the point where it's at now, thanks to Juan and the others from day one and then the other guys who backed them up, there's myself and Mike and the whole crew and everyone else, there's just too many to name and a lot of people here in Detroit and family members don't even know what's going on. And still they have that big festival that's coming up in a couple of weeks and in a way I’d like to say I'm thankful that happened to where it's like some kind of recognition to where they grew to that point but that situation with this music festival is a thing that’s losing control and more power to Carl (Craig) that’s all I can say, I’m a full supporter and if he don’t have anything to do with it, to hell with the festival. That’s the way I feel about it.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(taking breaks) "Sometimes in those shutdown periods, you have to shut down in order to try and get a new direction because things change all the time and you have to change with them. You can't keep with the same thing, you have to grow. The same way that you thought five years ago is not the same way you think today. So you have to change things that you might have done in the past, whether it was a mistake or whatever else. Today you might not really feel that way, you realise 'I made a big mistake' or whatever you know. That's basically what that was about." -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(On taking break before The Quest) "I guess I let the pressure get to me. I was very dissatisfied with how the techno scene was. I thought okay I call it quits, I'm tired - then I got to thinking there's too much work I didn't do, too many final frontiers, too many unlimited possibilities. I just want to continue taking people on adventures, take them away from the stench, the cesspool of this world...continue with the experiments. We will take whoever, the world, to another criteria." -Tsutomu Noda (Ele-King/Straight No Chaser 1999)
"We make sure to hold on to what we've got - it tried to get away from us some time back but we identified the problem and tightened the screws." -Tsutomu Noda (Ele-King/Straight No Chaser 1999)
(have you plans of stopping?)"No, not till I die. That's been a motto, 'Experiments must continue even till death'. Well even if I die next week or whatever there’ll still be a lot of music left. I have a nice stock pile left.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(electronic music) "It’s got to such a level where you have many different forms and really I’m not too concerned because what they do on a commercial level or what anyone else do that’s not what I do, that‘s not my category. I can only be concerned about what I do. Say for instance, Moby is making 300 million copies or whatever-else, well, that’s what (electronic music). Moby does that and you have to respect it cause that’s his area. I don’t do what Moby do, there’s nothing I can really say about it but just give people the respect. But if someone happened to come into my area, into the kind of music I’m doing, happened to come in and make a little bit of noise and all the rest of it then I can feel the competition and all the rest of that and I’ll be looking for the challenge for it. But even then it’s still not necessary, there’s enough room for everyone. If you put in the hard work and the dedication into what you're doing and your concepts and everything else and do it your gonna be successful no matter what. What you gotta remember, whatever you do your gonna have to give something and compromise when it comes to the business side of things. You might have to do some things you don’t want to do in order to get that type of money or exposure. Now if you don’t want to do those things then don’t expect the money, don’t expect that kind of fame." -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(what needs to happen next for the music) “People just need to respect a little more of themselves and dig more into themselves to pull it out and be more of who they are and believe in what they do and don‘t worry about what other people are doing, don‘t worry about the other major companies or whatever else or who has what and who‘s doing what, you know, it doesn’t matter. Forget about it, put in the hard work with the music, the perks will be there, the money, travelling and all the other things, it’s gonna be there. That’s basically what needs to happen.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
"The way it is is the way it is - freestyle on a vibe. People have forgotten about the original form of techno. People like Kraftwerk didn't realise what an impact they would have. DJs used to work their duffs off. They would (and a few still do) mix up on four decks, scratching and flipping all sorts of good music. Then it never had a name - now it's broken into rap-techno- hiphop. Too many DJs are fader flippers. Anyone can be a fader flipper with a 4/4 rhythm making it all sound like one long record. We try and bring a little more emotion to our music. We program as little as possible and the little we do program, we manipulate as much as possible. We aim to be unique - this is our style and we just do it.” -from Warp Press Release 1995
“Sometimes we like to get away from people for a while, just to gather our thoughts and find a best way forward. It’s a kind of purification right which has occurred throughout their careers, a way of excluding the outside world and focusing on new ideas. We don’t want to pick up anybody else’s vibe, so we cut off all communications.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“There are people out there who change what they’re doing to chase trends, those people don’t follow their own path. But we don’t like stepping in other people’s footsteps. We wanted to follow our own instincts. We believe in searching for our own truth. We hate following what’s supposed to be conventional of fashionable. There’s so much unexplored territory out there. Experimentation is important. You have to constantly put ideas together; you have to constantly reinforce what’s different from the norm. And love doing it. That’s where the real excitement comes from.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“Just because you can push a few buttons and make a few noises doesn’t make you Stevie Wonder or something. You’ve got to think, be patient, take your time. You have to have a reason to exist. You’ve got to find your identity and be true to yourself. There was a long thought process behind this group, a lot of different ideas and principles. It’s a very complex machine. We’re not making music just to be making music, we went to bring some kind of freshness into it. Before we even started putting stuff together, we used to spend night after night talking about all kinds of outrageous situations and deep concepts. We’ve still got a lot of material from that time which we haven’t even used. But that kind of dialogue is where the energy comes from.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“People try to put our music into categories, but it’s always different, every track is way off into its own place. We go over hundreds and hundreds of different angles to put together once piece. That’s what the world needs. You’ve got to work very, very hard, you throw a whole lot of ideas together and throw a whole lot away. You don’t settle for less. You have to open up the floodgates of the imagination. A lot of electronic music is straightforward, it doesn’t take you on an adventure. Too many records just go from point A to point A. Our material zig-zags. We want to take you from point A to infinity. The music is there to implant in your imagination and let your psyche take over and run wild.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“There are too many of those fools, what’s needed is a little bit of weedkiller. If you love this music and love the people who listen to it, you have to take your time and make sure what you’re doing is good. We’re not taking prisoners of coming out short, we’re gonna go all out and do the best we can. People have to put some pressure on and stop giving into the garbage.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
"Drexciya is a very pure world, no drugs, no alcohol, no casualties or easy money. It’s about making life a whole lot more enjoyable and making some kind of sense of it all. For Drexciya , dance music is about the people who listen to it. A lot of artists have overlooked that. It’s not about how we’re feeling, it’s about how you’re feeling. The thing is about you, the way you feel. What do you get out of it? A lot of times in the studio, we’ve been out there on the vibe of the music, but it’s not essential. Where does the music take you? How does it stimulate you? That’s what’s important.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“We’re trying to get some soul back in the music.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“Yeah, discipline was a big thing for us. We didn’t want to just get some equipment so we can release some records and then we can have this jet-setting, party lifestyle. When we sat down to do Drexciya, we worked out our principles by putting together extensive protocols for how we were going to operate, like the idea of R.E.S.T. We weren’t in it to sound like the new hippest thing; we didn’t listen to the newest hit record and say, ‘How can we sound like that, how can we get their sound?’ We loved electronic music, and we wanted to contribute to it to have a lasting influence.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
“We stick to our style, cause that’s our style. A while back, people said we sounded old, but we do what we do: We use 808s cause we love the sound of 808s! Of course, the earth turns, and you gotta update programs, like you update your AOL browser or whatever. You have to update your theories and stay current. But I’m not in the process of just making records; I’m in the process of developing my style.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
“There’s nothing wrong with computers, but it’s just not our style. For me, playing live is the key: That’s how the energy becomes transformed into something unique, and the music becomes part of you. When you’re doing it live, it’s all about the rhythm pattern you’re on, evolving to the energy you’re creating on that moment. Every time you switch something, every time you twist a knob, you can make something on the spot – it could be something glitchy or whatever, but it’s part of the feeling of the moment, and it’s something you can’t reproduce.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
"Techno was supposed to be about the future, but its been going backwards not forwards over the last couple of years. It's too easy now. People read about what equipment to buy and, because it's so advanced, all they have to do is push a few buttons and they've made a record. There's no focus, no direction, no understanding. It's meant to be an intelligent music form, but the only intelligent thing about it now is the equipment. I wish more artists would cut out the sampling and the loops, go back to scratch and programme the shit themselves. I've heard some good ideas, but there are just too many samples. We need sounds we haven't heard before, we need different rhythms and patterns. That's what electro is about. I mean, do you want a fine home cooked meal or do you want to go to some fast food joint and eat a bunch of chemicals and shit? Too many people focus on what label a record comes out on, rather than what the track actually sounds like. To me, that means there's something wrong. I remember the days when nobody cared if you were on Warner Brothers or Booty Up, just so long as what you were doing was good. When you throw a party, what are you spinning? Are you spinning the middle of a record where all the writing is or are you spinning the wax? You know what I'm saying. When a group comes to perform, who's up on the stage? Is it the business people punching their little computers or is it the artists themselves?" -Dave Mothersole (Muzik 1995)
"Drexciya won't be putting records out for a while now. We'll still be making music, but not records. We won't allow this form of music to just stop where it's at, but we're not even satisfied with the quality that we are producing. And I have to say that I really wish people wouldn't follow us. Be inspired, sure, but please don't follow. The minute we hear footsteps following us, we switch our style. We'll totally abandon what we're doing. We won't release any records or perform anywhere until things change." -Dave Mothersole (Muzik 1995)
Storms
"Harnessed The Storm is an ongoing process that consists of seven storms (albums) released around the world. So far three of the seven storms have hit earth (Drexciya, Transllusion, The Other People Place). The next four storms are in a holding pattern." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“Basically, we make all the records differently. "Harnessed The Storm" is one in a series of seven individual storms, which are LPs. The albums are sent to different labels. "Harnessed the Storm" is one, Transllusion is two and The Other People's Place is three. Much like storms or tornadoes, you don't know where or when they're going to show up, but there's four more. They were all made within one year. Each captures different emotions, abstract thoughts and has a different emotional ride and different experience.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“(on Storms) We're really pushing the gas pedal now. I'm working at my own pace now. In the past, I would intentionally slow down to see what other people were going to do, but I'm tired of playing games. Now, I'm happy. This is my pace. Get on the gas, get off the gas and end up in a traffic jam.
It really all depends on the mood. I really feel good. It was just something that had to come out. The way we produce is based on emotions and that time period, what's going in and out of our minds. What's going on in personally in my life, my health, anything like that. Some of the songs came very quickly.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“I feel great. For me and my partner, there was a lot of pressure and lot of personal things in my world being turned upside down (while making "Harnessed"). But we were just clicking on all cylinders, we were just in that groove. With this different project, we had to make sure this one was totally different from the next one that comes out. We never intend to copy ourselves. Whatever comes out next, comes out next. "Harnessed" has a lot of personal memories. It's melancholy and very well-rounded. There's a lot of different emotions: laid-back, mad, frustrated, happy . . . it has it all.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“We’re changing gears and we thought it was time for something new, in the past Drexciya was for the real hardcore DJs, but we got to a stage where we were questioning the need to be hard all the time. It was time for something new so we went with it. At the same time, it wasn’t a planned move, we got into other, deeper concepts and created a musical storm. The works that we’re releasing this year will control this storm and they’ll be launched from various positions” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
“I suppose we’re trying to say ‘enjoy life’ with these albums (Storms). The world has become a dark place and it's our job to entertain, make people happy and put the fun back in the music. That’s what Drexciya is about in the first instance and that’s why our concepts have become deeper lately. Sure, we’re political and deal with reality, but we also leave the door open so people can create, explore and go into their own world.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
“Those two particular records (Transllusion, The Other People Place), those two groups, are a part of the storms of "Harnessed the Storm" Drexciya LP. All together there are seven LPs, which I call storms. So far you have The Other People Place, Transllusion, and you have Drexciya's "Harnessed The Storm", which is the first one. There’s no particular order that they’re going to be released in. The records are already done. Right now, storm number four is due up next to blow up off the coast of Portugal, which means that’s another record label I’m dealing with. There are certain reasons why I deal with certain record labels, because I want to see what’s going to happen, or whatever. In other words, all the record labels that I dealt with had different strengths and there’s a particular reason why I deal with them. After that, there’s going to be three more storms. They're already ready and they're just waiting to come down the line.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“We’re going all over the place, we’re hitting everything. You know Drexciya, we give you a 360 degree angle of everything and that's the reason why we did this. Each (LP) one is totally different. There's a lot of different angles to this. We want you to feel each and every one of these angles. It's a variety show in other words. They're all linked, but there are very small, little links that you have to really listen to and even look at the titles or artwork that's going to lead you to the next one and so forth and so on and you will see the cycle and the connection. Basically what this is, getting back to the record label thing, is that our production company, Dimensional Waves, which we go out and license our material to different record labels and different places. That's the way we want to do things, instead of being signed to just one. That's what fits our business needs. Being signed to someone would not be suitable for us, so we designed something here that’s kind of unique and not everyone can follow this logic, or not agree with what we do, and so on and so forth. They'll say that we take music and give it to everyone else around the world. That doesn’t matter. As long as the people who listen to these records are satisfied, that’s all that matters. I don't care who’s getting rich off of this money, because that's not what I’m all about. If I’m not making myself rich, why should I make somebody else rich? I’m spreading the wealth around the world, and as long as the people keep getting the quality music that they're receiving, that's all that matters to me. And so far, it's working and I'm happy. Extremely happy, because the people are happy. If the people are not happy, I'm not happy, something has to be done.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“(Title ‘Harnessed the Storm’) It relates to this whole situation directly with the seven storms that are brewing. It took a whole year to put together these seven albums. It was very, very violent and very chaotic in a lot of different ways. Ups and downs. If you're in the middle of a storm, you have your ups and downs. You have all the elements that there are on this planet that exist in a storm, from water to air, fire, electricity. You might have a cow or a truck mixed up in there too. Those are the images that we perceived when we made the music and that's how the concepts come about. To answer your question, it had a lot to do with the album and everything going on around us was very turbulent.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“Yes, within the course of the full year they will be released. The next one that's coming out is called Abstract Thoughts, which should be out in the next month or two. The last three, I’ll keep those as a mystery. I'm pretty sure you'll catch up on that though with the little hints and such.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“Well, basically what happened was that over the course of a year me and my partner created one hell of a storm as far as how many tracks we were making and how fast we were doing them and under different pressures and different things that was going on and that’s basically where the concept came from. It was just like total chaos, we basically controlled the storm, and basically within the storm was produced like seven different albums, which was the first one, Harnessed The Storm, then there was the Transllusion, then there was The Other People Place and there are four albums on their way out now, their just in a holding pattern. Well basically in each one of the albums it’s a different feel. Something for everyone, some of the music you might like, some you might not like. But by the time you get finished with all seven it will be like a complete feeling that you will have, once you listen to all seven of them together.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(meaning of Storm Series) “Actually that’s not for me to say, it’s up for the listener. It’s the same way it’s been from day one with all the Drexciya music. I could come out and say, okay this is what it is, this is my intent, okay well what if that person listening to the record and that’s not what they feel, that’s not what they see. So basically, what I do like I have from day one, I don’t say anything about it. You listen to it, you tell me what you feel, because that’s the way I made it. You know, it came out of me and out of my partner from our soul, we dug it out of there, the one take, in the way it is, it’s a masterpiece, it’s a work of art and the energy that’s captured and whatever energy that’s projected, capture it, see what you feel. Cause everyone’s gonna interpret it differently like a picture has a million and one stories or whatever, that’s basically what it is.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(on the many different aliases of the Storm Series)“And that’s basically one of the reasons why we put them under different names, we couldn’t just put it under the Drexciya name. We had to basically break it up and give it its own identity so it can live and exist in it’s own world you know cause if it was under the Drexciya name I don’t think it would do so well, because Drexciya has a different kind of feel and vibe, it’s still Drexciya but it’s in a different state of incubation.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(upcoming Storm Series release and other related projects) “One of the groups I’m just gonna mention is called Abstract Thoughts, that’s basically the only one I’m gonna speak on. Then of course my partner, he has a host of different solo projects or whatever and I’m not gonna really mention them. I’m pretty sure people know but I’m not gonna mention them all on his behalf. But there’s quite a few.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(why so many releases now, it seems urgent) "It's not really a sense of urgency, it's like a run off, we were just filled up with energy which had to be released. Just an explosion, just let it go. So why should you stop the flow, if it's coming out let it go. It's not like it's gonna happen all the time, so go with it, see what happens.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
"There are some principles we have that we can't share with the world. At the moment we're working on unleashing the seven storms onto the world, which are seven albums that Drexciya is involved with that we're releasing into the world under a whole host of names, from a whole host of countries. It started with the first storm, which was the new Drexciya release. Then the second storm was Transllusion, which came out of Germany, then you had The Other People Place LP coming out of England. And now we've got four more storms in the works, coming from places like Portugal. They're just in a holding pattern, just waiting to be unleashed." -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
"It's like a whirl storm, all of the music was done within one year. It was one helluva storm brewing when all of this music got made. That's the best way to describe it. So we decided to release our music in different spots around the world and whatnot. The last three (albums), I'm not going to say when and what they are. I'm leaving it as a sudden storm that brews up on you! It's on a need to know basis. But it's also like the release of one of our recent records, 'Wavejumper'. The definition of 'Wavejumper' is what we're doing with Dimensional Waves. We're going from record label to record label around the world and jumping to different portals. There is a mystery to a lot of the things you can follow in each project, looking for little things, reading the track titles for clues. Linkage." - Thomas Kelley (Lotus 2002)
World of Drexciya
"Lardossa is just another city that's on the other side of Drexciya. There's many different cities around there, and as time goes on we'll bring them forth or whatnot. It's a place on the other side of the Red Hills, it's a very calm tranquil place where things are very easy-going, there's not really that hustle and bustle and it's more or less carefree and mellow, like you're in a trance." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"One of the things is Polymono Plexusgel; that's the gel that is alive but not alive. The energy that makes it live is from the energy that lives in Drexciya--the magic--and it comes from the Earth. The Polymono Plexusgel and the strands tap themselves right down into the planet. The planet actually gives itself life, can you catch me? If you look at the album [Neptune's Lair], there's a lot of different titles--the different elements that's on there--that go along with these concepts. We're developing a little mystery and the people kind of go along with that and follow it." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"Basically, we want people to tap into their minds and their creativity. It's like 'I'll put this out here for you and I need your help' to where it's like 'damn!' But there's a little more to it, so once you really look at it, and really listen to it, there's more going on inside the music than what you think you're really hearing. It's like going to the record store and dropping the needle [on a record from Drexciya] and listening to it for two seconds. (laughs) You haven't heard all of a Drexciya record until you listen to the whole entire track because there are a lot of things that are going on in there. So basically, you know, we kind of do that intentionally to stimulate their minds and take them deeper into the world of Drexciya. Instead of just laying it out there and making it dull and boring; once you have something that is a mystery, people enjoy that more. For example, picture what you think when you look at a couch and how you might look at things differently, feel things differently, you know. So it's like instead of 'hmmm, that's very simple, it's just a couch sitting over there in the corner', what if things were changed? What if you have some weird transparent liquid chair over there that's moving, then you're gonna want to take a closer look at it and go like 'what the hell is that? Damn! What's over there, a couch?' Then you go and sit down on it and it wraps itself around you and caresses you and it makes you go 'ooooh' and puts little chills down your back, makes the hair raise up on the back of your neck. That's the kind of effect that we're putting into the music, to where it's a 50/50 thing with a little bit of a mystery to it." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(You want people to think about music) Right. Oh yeah, action and reaction. I'd rather have something to where it's gonna stimulate you and where it's gonna move you in different ways than have something that is just there and is hum-drum, kind of boring, the same typical thing that you hear every single day." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
(lack of interviews) “Really, we simply didn't have the time. This band is all about work and that's why -- we're too busy working. We've always said we'll do interviews when we have something to say. But with the new millennium there's a new direction now. Drexciyans like to keep the focus on concept -- not us. The calling hasn't come yet, but it's coming soon. I'm starting to get that feeling. When I first started getting into music, it took three years before I felt comfortable to release something. I strive for perfection so much, it doesn't leave here unless it's right. So much work goes into this and I don't believe in failure. Really, we operate on a need-to-know basis and we really had nothing to say. Yes, people want to know what's going on. Everyone needs a little information. The problem comes when you give unnecessary information. For many, every release they have, there's this mass interview burst that's unnecessary. They talk about their record and talk about success, and it doesn't make sense. We have no room for that. We say let the concepts and music do the talking for you. After this, there's nothing else to say. We're going back to work. People have misunderstood our secrecy because it's on a need-to-know basis.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“(Creating mystery) That’s exactly what it is. We basically want to put all the energy into the music and concepts, and that's more fun that just focusing on the artist or record label. We have concepts that you can actually think about and there might be a mystery there, or it might not be a mystery. It just might be fun to get into the concept and it makes you think a little deeper about things in your own life. To me, it makes the music exciting. Without it, it would be very dull. It would be faceless and nameless, and its here today and gone tomorrow. We try and make it a little more interesting so if it's going to be around a long time and if you come back twenty-years down the line and play it for somebody else, you can tell a story behind the music. It has a reason to exist, a purpose. It lives, it breathes, you can smell it, and you can taste it. It's not like fast-food, this is a home cooked meal, a full-course. This is very, very important to us. And that’s why sometimes we back away from things and take time, and we might be away for a year or so.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
"We never were hostile (to the music press), though my aggressive nature probably made it seem otherwise. Before, we decided that for our purposes we didn’t have time to do interviews, because we were in R.E.S.T. mode – Research, Experimentation, Science, Technology. We didn’t listen to the work of our peers, listen to techno radio programs or do interviews. Because it would upset the balance of our R.E.S.T. mode and upset the balance of our work. Now the time just seems right.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
“It’s not mystique it's just the fact that we’re just busy. If we have something really to talk about, like we’re talking now about the seven albums and there’s a lot of things going on. When there’s something to talk about, if there’s nothing really to talk about just sit back and enjoy and listen to what’s happening, keep your eye on the record stores, keep your eyes on your friends or whatever else, ‘Hey have you heard what’s going on?’ or whatever else, information will pop up, but you know, anything beyond that there is nothing to talk about, just let the music do the talking.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(will there be a time when you come out from behind the mystery)"Well, I don't think so. I think it will be just in the music you know and if someone happens to really really appreciate it and take it to that level then we'll talk about it and discuss that but I'm not gonna say anything because I always let the people do their voting and they tell me what they want and if they like it they like it, if people don't then someone else will. I'm not gonna push it on anyone." -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(describe Drexciya theme) “An infinite journey to inner space, within and find out the beauty that’s inside and bring it out.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(why secret identities)“It’s unnecessary, Drexciya is a statement." -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
Labels
“It's not hard because we can bring a complete project. In the past we let up some and gave others the opportunity to help, but never again. Now we have Dimensional Waves as our production company. We will be giving 97% complete projects to whoever we wave jump to in the future. Wave jumping is not good for everyone, but due to the way we set things up it is good for us. One of the things we look for is: can we meet halfway and if things start going wrong can we work together as a team to get through it. We are very flexible as long as you are straight with me, not doing things around my back. Your word means more to me than a contract, your word tells me if you are a real man or woman. A false word can hurt me more than a contract. And yes, I am looking for more wave jumps for the other groups on Dimensional Waves and for doing remixes our way.” -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“Tresor is one of those labels I was speaking of. They are easy to work with, they will work with you, meet you half way and their word is good. They won't smile in your face and say yes to everything and then do the opposite. If something is not good they will say so, but they still will try to make it work.” -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“(multiple labels) For the last five or six years, we've definitely been wave jumpers. We jump around the world to different ports around the world through our production company. Not too many people can do what we do and survive. A lot of people stay in one port and rely on their back catalogue. For us, our lives are so abstract and the way we do things is so spontaneous, we need room to breathe. We need to fly, we need to spread ourselves around the world. Now is the time for us to flex. That's "Harnessed The Storm." -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“These tracks are my babies, my art. The record labels need to back off and leave the music making to the artist. If you work for a record label, then my advice is to stick to what you do, you are a vehicle to put out other peoples music and give them exposure. Our work is freestyle, there is no pre-planning, so why are you asking me to do remixes? How many ’remixed’ Mona Lisa’s and Picasso's do you see? That’s the way we feel about people fucking with our music.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
“(Working with small labels) The way you do it is believe in what you do. You really have to have big kahunas, and you got to understand and weigh out the pros and cons. A lot of things you're going to lose, you re going to lose a lot of perks and a lot of things by doing it like this. It's up to you if you're willing to sacrifice these things or not. If you’re not willing to sacrifice it, then you're not going to be able to do these things that we do and how we’re not signed to a label and we basically jump to wherever we want to go. Even if we deal with a major or whatever, conditions still have to be right on our terms on when we want to do things, because if they're not then it's not going to come out right. I’ll be damned if I do that. So, that's basically the way it goes.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“(Selling out to major) I don't really call it selling out. It's a personal choice, because different people have different ways of producing music, doing business, the way they have their visions and concepts, if they have a concept. Some people need to be taken under somebody’s wing to where they need a record company to give them a team of people to help them with their concepts, to show them where to go, and what to do and so forth and so on. They're just a worker and they do it. Then you have those who are leaders. It's kind of hard for leaders to deal with record companies because record companies want to do everything for you. They tell you how to dress, how to walk, how to talk and they take you to different places and you just work. But if you're a leader, you can't work under those kind of conditions, unless you find a label that's going to work with you. As far selling out, I don't think it's selling out. It's just their personal choice, and if this is something that they can deal with, then fine. Like I said, even with that, you're going to give up something. You just might lose the creative edge of the music, if you came out a certain way, you just might lose it because they might want you to change it. It's up to you if you're going to say yes or no. Now, as far as dealing with a lot of different companies, that is a good way of saying that you don't need the majors to do this. It's getting back to the point that I said from day one. It's not about the me, it's not about the record companies, it's about the music. The music is the reason why so many people in the underground have latched onto Drexciya, because it's the music and what it says. And that’s the thing about a major, if they want a piece of this and they really want the true underground, then they're going to have to back off and deal with the ones who are the leaders and let them do their thing. Just put the money behind them and get it there, but you can't change the idea. You can’t change the focus of it. So there’s no problem with having 2 to 3 million people into your music. Just don't change it. Don't change what you're all about, and so forth and so on. There are certain principles. The one thing, you have to cut out, is you can't be on TV. That’s one thing as far as I'm concerned. Doing interviews and so forth and so on, there’s nothing wrong with it, because you have to have some kind of information for people to understand and keep them abreast of what's going on. That’s the reason why I'm doing interviews at this particular time, because there’s a lot of information that people need to know, and after this, there will be nothing else to say.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“You basically have to analyse who you are and what your about, what your gonna give up, what your willing to do and not do. If you're on an underground level and that’s where you want to stay at then stay there. Then you have no complaints whatsoever if you don’t make X amount of dollars or whatever, your only making underground money, and if you're happy with it, be happy, cause then it’s all about the music, there’s no complaints. As far as if you want to be on a major label then you have to do the things that it takes to be on a major label, that’s the bottom line." -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
Drexciya Live
"Well, that's yet to be seen, but if we were to do a show, it would be a hell of a show and much more than just an appearance with a couple of keyboards. Once we get ready to come out and make our appearance on stage, it's really gonna be a hell of a show, that's the way we want to do it-a full-fledged concert, not just at a party, like at half-time or something like that. When we do our show it's gonna be a concert where you come to see us and you see other people, then afterwards, there might be an after-party or something, but our concert will be done like it's supposed to be." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
"(Would they play underwater)Yeah-anywhere. In a sewer, underwater, in a swimming pool, in the middle of a swamp, in a back alley somewhere, it doesn't make a difference, we'll appear anywhere, it all depends." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
“(Playing live) Yes, you will. As soon as we line up with the stars, we will stay tuned. We are going to send out a Drexciyan DJ first to secure the land.” -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
“We’ll be there but it won’t be known in advance. Trust me though, if you’ve been following what we do you’ll know when it's going to happen. Your intuition will tell you that something is going to go down at a certain venue on a certain night and you’ll follow your feelings. It’ll be beautiful.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
"I’m getting to the point to where the calls are starting to come to me to do the performances, but it’s not there yet. One of the main things that makes me tick is how I feel, I go on vibes. I listen to that inner voice that tells me what to do and I do it. One of the things that my inner voice told me a long time ago was to stay home. Don’t go anywhere; you have lots of work to do here. Focus on what you’re doing, master what you do. Don't half-ass do this. And I'm pretty sure you see this in the music and the concepts that I work very hard and focus solely on this. That calling is starting to come around, so I think I might get geared up for that and do little spots here and there. I will never do a major tour with twenty shows and go around the world on a full-blown world tour. I will never do that. The way I will do it is like I do with these record labels and my business, which is wave jumping. If you go back to the record "Wave Jumper", what that really was is how we do business with Dimensional Waves, which is we pop up in different spots in around the world and do releases. That’s the true definition of what a wave jumper is. We just pop up somewhere and there it is. We’re here for a second and then we're gone. Basically the same thing will apply to a tour. We’ll pop up somewhere, unannounced, you will never see it coming and then we're gone. You know sometimes how they do underground parties, where they tell you like a day before or only a couple of hours before the party goes on they’ll tell you where it's at? We'll probably do that. It'll be like 20 minutes before a show. Drexciya live, in Japan somewhere, down in a sea-port or submarine park downtown that's how it would be.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“There will be live performances but not right now, still a lot of work to be done. There will be concerts but it just hasn’t been the right time. As far as even leaving the country and so forth and so on, its just been too many things that I had to do here to really make sure things were right before I leave here but it's coming soon.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
Misc
“(After The Quest) I had health problems, and, to be honest I became seriously ill. It meant we had to shut things down for a while, but the positive aspect to it all is it made me look at things in a totally different light. We used to be very angry and release frustration through our music. I think we’ve replaced it with positive feelings. It made me realise our music had a lot of feeling and spirituality: we hope it can ease people’s pain and suffering, give them some soul cleansing and suck the bad feelings from them. These are hard times, but we believe electronic music has a healing power.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
"(Riding Manta Ray)(laughs) It's fun, it's pretty fun. You're dashing through the water, you know, it's almost like a dolphin, but a little bit slower at times." -Andrew Duke (Cognition Audioworks 1999)
(interviews, why not previously?)”...because there was nothing to talk about at that time. I’ve done some for the recent release of these albums and whatnot to let people know what’s going on and so forth and so on but after this, this is basically the last interview for I don’t know how long, might be years from now, cause basically I’m going back to work, got to go back to the cave and lock myself away like I usually do.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
"Some of the things of slavery will tell more when the time comes. Stay tuned! I can only tell you a little bit now. After the storm is over I will tell the story. What I can tell you is that in Africa we have a dimensional jump hole. Tell you more later." -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
"(Other people's music) It's just a phase passing through. Over time producers will slow back down and put in some work. The foundation of techno will never go away as long as the troopers stay dedicated to what they do and love. " -John Osselaer (Techno Tourist 2002)
"(Techno scene) Ever since the blues and early jazz, black music has been stolen and exploited. It pisses me off that we let it happen. It's a political thing; everybody talks about it under their breath, but they don't come out and say anything about it. As far as I'm concerned, Richie Hawtin, Moby, and all the rest of 'em can do what they want, but don't step into my house if you don t respect it. Don't even call what you do techno! I don't want to hear anybody saying Richie started any damned thing, cos he ain't started shit. All he did was step in with his money and his Caucasian persuasion and put himself on the market, and now he's got all these kids riding his jock. We never had rich backgrounds; we were working jobs for $4.25 an hour. Our mamas never gave us money to buy keyboards and put records out. We work for our stuff. That's why there's a big difference in the music. Why do Richie and his Plus 8 family come down here and throw parties in downtown Detroit? He brings in all these kids from the suburbs and from Canada, and that shows a lack of respect. I’ve been to every one of those parties and I’ve never heard an Underground Resistance record, a Cybotron record, a Model 500 record or an Eddie Fowlkes record. It's a total lack of respect, and it's got to stop." -Dave Mothersole (Melody Maker/Muzik 1995)
“Only guys like Leon and Jeff Mills know how to spin. Serious, man, you have DJs whose mix sound like a galloping horse. Give ‘em a record that doesn't have a 4/4 beat and they can't handle it; their fingers get all tied up and they get all confused. C’mon, you gotta know those records. You got to have quick reflexes and make that record talk. Make those turntables work; you got to see smoke coming off those suckers. These guys fly around the world and people call 'em geniuses, and they don't even warm those decks up - they're still cold after a whole night. They’re just fader-flippers. -Dave Mothersole (Melody Maker/Muzik 1995)
“(DEMF) I'm sorry, but we're not being represented like we should be. There were big companies that wanted a piece of this after Carl got this started. They want to bring in a lot of people, when there are people who were here from the beginning, from Juan to us. And now we're all getting pushed aside. If it wasn't for us in the first place, from the hard work and sacrifices that we make, it wouldn't be happening. It's just not fair. Look, let them do what they want to do and let the original guys be part of it. All the guys from the real Detroit underground. The big companies are going to see concepts and snag ideas to entertain these people. Make it fair. This is totally unfair. The way I feel to counter that, Fine, go ahead. Let me show you what the real deal is. But that's going to take a lot of work. Basically, they're going to have to do that amongst themselves . . . . But I still think the DEMF, it's a good thing, I'm proud to be associated with Detroit techno. I didn't get a chance to join it last year, but to have so many, these millions of people coming in one place, it's better than having 50 or 100 people showing up at a bar gig.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“(Detroit) I was born and raised in Detroit, but I'm moving to Atlanta for health reasons. The music will be the same. I never received my energy from outside my four walls. I never received my energy from the city itself. I shut down everybody. Everything that goes on outside my door doesn't matter. It's not an external thing, it's an internal thing. Whatever goes on in Atlanta outside my door won't matter. If I wouldn't have told you I've been living and moving to Atlanta, nobody would have known, so it doesn't matter. Detroit is a good place. I love it, I was born and raised here.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“(Detroit) Yeah, it looks like the D is coming around, but we’ve never looked at Drexciya as a Detroit act. We exist in our own separate world and this city never had an effect on what we do. I mean we could have come from New Jersey and we would have sounded exactly the same. I’m moving to Atlanta soon, so does that mean Drexciya will have an Atlanta sound? We go into deep mode in the studio and our surroundings don’t really have an influence on us. At the same time, Detroit is where we’re from and back in the day things were bad, economically and politically. In fact, it never really recovered from the race riots and it’s still feeling the repercussions.” -Richard Brophy (Clubbing.Com 2002)
“(Influence of Detroit) I don’t know. I haven’t been around anyone, so I don’t know. Technically, I never based Drexciya off of Detroit. I just happen to live here. What if I lived in Alaska for the past 5 or 10 years? My music would still be produced the same way that I am doing here. People would still be thinking it's a Detroit sound, but if I’ve been living in Alaska for 10 years how can one say that? I'm sad to say, but I have'nt based the foundation and concept of Drexciya around Detroit and the things that go on in Detroit. I shelter myself away from the stuff that goes on in Detroit. Like I said earlier, I shut myself down and stay away from everybody because I don't want any outside elements creeping itself into the music. Back in the day when I did some of those records with some of the guys, yeah, that was done for a specific reason. But that was then. But the overall beginning and the whole nine-yards of what we're all about has nothing to do with Detroit, it has to do with Drexciya. Drexciya is a whole different plane of reality and I don't like to inter-tangle it, because within the next month or so we're relocating offices down to Atlanta. Are people going to still be calling it Detroit techno? I'm not going to tell anybody I'm in Atlanta, but are they still going to be calling it that? Probably nine times out of ten, yes. If that's the stigma that's on it, I'm not going to change it. I was born and raised here in Detroit. Whatever people want to think, I let them think that. I believe in a free thought, a free mind. If you want to call it electro, techno or space music, that's up to you. I'm not going to correct you. I'll point you in the right direction and say we're going this way, and I’ll let you take it from there. That's the fun of it.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
(people will always recognise you with Detroit) "That's fine but I try not to take on those characteristics because I just don't want to ride the image of a place or attitude or personality. I wanted to do something that involved a total concept, to where it was something different and take people somewhere else, instead of giving them the same thing that they see every single day when they step outside their door. Yes I was here and was born here and all the rest of that but still I want the music to have a different feel. That's the reason I want to isolate myself away from everyone. From even the music, I don't enjoy myself, I don't go out to clubs or anything because I'm dedicated to what I do. I'm not enjoying myself. I don't get a chance to get out, I don't do anything. I guess you could say it's almost like a phobia, if I go out I'm gonna pick up something and I don't want to pick it up. I don't want to pick up other people's ways of doing things and the music and so forth because I don't want it to come into my world, into my music and make it un-pure." -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
"We're proud of Detroit, there's a lot of pride and honour and a lot of blood, sweat and tears to the real Detroit Techno. That's the thing we really need people to focus on too. Understand where we're coming from, understand where we're going but also understand that no matter whatever, through all the adversity, pain or struggle you still take care of the business. After this we all go back to our daily tasks and responsibilities." -Tsutomu Noda (Ele-King/Straight No Chaser 1999)
"Its never been about the money. We could have signed a deal with Sony no problem, but that’s not the foundation or priority with us. Sure, you need funds to keep operations going, but even if you have money you still have to stay on ground level. If you believe that the money makes you, then you’re in big trouble. There are things we do that make us money, our jobs, but that helps us stay ahead, remaining at the cutting edge. We have very high standards, and are never satisfied with our music. We’re always trying to come up with something new, we’re never content with what we do. The day that happens is the day we all die.” - Richard Brophy (Etronik 1999)
(would you complain if you got success?) “No because of the simple fact I’m still on an underground level and the success would come from our hard work that I put into it and if a million people happened to like it they like it because it’s good music and what I did wasn’t fabricated to the point where I’m flashy or whatever else and I didn’t do certain things that you have to do to become that way such as do a million and one shows back to back and all the rest of that. I’m still doing things the way I normally do, make my music, do the concepts, give to the people the way it is you know and I think that’s what people really like. It should be ‘just give me the music and forget all the rest of the stuff'" -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
“(Regrets?) The only regret I have is not working harder at the beginning. Instead of pulling the trigger, I hesitated and I wasted a lot of time. I'm not going to dwell on that, though, because I can't change it. I'll get it balanced out somewhere.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“(Define techno) Techno is just basically all electronic music in general. That’s the way I see it. But the thing is, like we were saying with major record labels, with them trying to get into electronic dance music or "techno", they wouldn’t do it their [the artist's] way. They take out what they want, put the rest of it in the garbage, and then they put out garbage because it's half done. As far as techno goes, you have to put it next to the word electronic music, because right now there are so many different categories and so many different people doing it and people calling it this or that, it kind of lost its original element. Back in the day there were maybe two or three different styles, that doesn’t exist anymore. Now it's just a generic name and generic title. Everybody has to just go under the title "techno" and "electronic music". It really has no definition to me any more, and that's the reason why we do what we do and just make music. It's sad to say, but that s just the reality of it.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“(Important to evolve?) Oh man, you definitely have to go forward. Just like time goes forward, and just like the Earth turns and the landscape changes, you have to change as the people change. If you stay with the same thing, you will become dated. And if you become dated, then you are in trouble. You're going to be behind. If you're going to be staying at the forefront of the cutting edge and be a leader, you have to lead and cut a path. Sometimes you might hit a brick wall, but you're going to have to find a way to go around the brick wall, over it, or go through it. You have to have a lot of heart, a lot of guts and be willing to make a lot of sacrifices.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“(Job) Drive trucks. I love being out on road by myself. In fact, I really don't think I'm going to quit because I need that time. Driving 100 to 150 miles, you can do a lot of thinking. Right now, I've been thinking that we're in the middle of the storm and the project we're doing now, this is the middle, number four is coming up, which is the eye of the storm. As soon as we do this, the move is going on. It involves relocating and rebuilding our studios, relaunching the businesses and then that's going to be about it. Driving a truck, that's my equaliser, that's my balance, that's my weight. Without it, I would lose my mind. Once our company gets going, I'm going to cut my hours back and eventually I'll get my own truck.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“You know, just recently I discovered the new land of Atlantis, hot Atlanta, down in Georgia. (what's goin on there?) There's a lot going on there, the weathers better than up here I tell you that much, it's cold up here. It's a whole lot better. (any unexplored territory down there) Not yet, I've basically just put the flag up so now I have to go out and look a little bit more.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(would you complain if you got success?) “No because of the simple fact I’m still on an underground level and the success would come from our hard work that I put into it and if a million people happened to like it they like it because it’s good music and what I did wasn’t fabricated to the point where I’m flashy or whatever else and I didn’t do certain things that you have to do to become that way such as do a million and one shows back to back and all the rest of that. I’m still doing things the way I normally do, make my music, do the concepts, give to the people the way it is you know and I think that’s what people really like. It should be ‘just give me the music and forget all the rest of the stuff'" -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
“(Regrets?) The only regret I have is not working harder at the beginning. Instead of pulling the trigger, I hesitated and I wasted a lot of time. I'm not going to dwell on that, though, because I can't change it. I'll get it balanced out somewhere.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“(Define techno) Techno is just basically all electronic music in general. That’s the way I see it. But the thing is, like we were saying with major record labels, with them trying to get into electronic dance music or "techno", they wouldn’t do it their [the artist's] way. They take out what they want, put the rest of it in the garbage, and then they put out garbage because it's half done. As far as techno goes, you have to put it next to the word electronic music, because right now there are so many different categories and so many different people doing it and people calling it this or that, it kind of lost its original element. Back in the day there were maybe two or three different styles, that doesn’t exist anymore. Now it's just a generic name and generic title. Everybody has to just go under the title "techno" and "electronic music". It really has no definition to me any more, and that's the reason why we do what we do and just make music. It's sad to say, but that s just the reality of it.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“(Important to evolve?) Oh man, you definitely have to go forward. Just like time goes forward, and just like the Earth turns and the landscape changes, you have to change as the people change. If you stay with the same thing, you will become dated. And if you become dated, then you are in trouble. You're going to be behind. If you're going to be staying at the forefront of the cutting edge and be a leader, you have to lead and cut a path. Sometimes you might hit a brick wall, but you're going to have to find a way to go around the brick wall, over it, or go through it. You have to have a lot of heart, a lot of guts and be willing to make a lot of sacrifices.” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
“(Job) Drive trucks. I love being out on road by myself. In fact, I really don't think I'm going to quit because I need that time. Driving 100 to 150 miles, you can do a lot of thinking. Right now, I've been thinking that we're in the middle of the storm and the project we're doing now, this is the middle, number four is coming up, which is the eye of the storm. As soon as we do this, the move is going on. It involves relocating and rebuilding our studios, relaunching the businesses and then that's going to be about it. Driving a truck, that's my equaliser, that's my balance, that's my weight. Without it, I would lose my mind. Once our company gets going, I'm going to cut my hours back and eventually I'll get my own truck.” -Tim Pratt (Detroit Free Press 2002)
“You know, just recently I discovered the new land of Atlantis, hot Atlanta, down in Georgia. (what's goin on there?) There's a lot going on there, the weathers better than up here I tell you that much, it's cold up here. It's a whole lot better. (any unexplored territory down there) Not yet, I've basically just put the flag up so now I have to go out and look a little bit more.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(On moving from Detroit) "It's the weather. The weather up here in Michigan is really getting to me. I have to get to a warmer climate, but I really don't want to move to Florida because I don't want to deal with no damn hurricanes." - Thomas Kelley (Lotus 2002)
(how can people find out what happens next, Submerge?)"No, record stores, friends, people. cause I'm all over the place, I'm wave jumping all over the place in different places. As soon as our production companies up, Dimensional Waves. (tell us about that) Well, Dimensional Waves is just the production company we're putting together and it's basically just set up to do a lot of wave jumping to different companies and what not. Just putting out good music period, that's what it's all about, just putting out good music.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(last comments) "Just believe in what you do, keep your confidence no matter how much people get down on you and don't want to support you. You just gotta keep going and stay strong. Everyone has different issues, different problems in their life but you gotta keep strong. Like I really have some real inspiration from a friend of mine I just saw yesterday. Everyone know him as Mr. Shake and I have a lot of inspiration with him because he, that guy can talk, he can go, he has a lot of life in him you know what I mean. So I get a lot from that guy and I haven’t seen him in a long time and really talked to him but it really felt good to really talk with that guy the past couple of times, just before I left here but I plan on staying in touch with him though.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(last comments) “Well basically just love each other, love the music and go for it, whatever your heart desires.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
“(Last thoughts) Yeah just stay deep. Keep drinking from the pond. Look in the mirror, do you see you or do you see me?” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
"(On Underground Resistance) What's so interesting is that each one of us is such a force in his own way. When you combine that energy together it makes it that much stronger." -Tsutomu Noda (Ele-King/Straight No Chaser 1999)
“Hendrix was very experimental, he was doing tracks back in the day which sound like the music being made now, only he was using an electric guitar. And George Clinton was just a master at making music. He put things in a different perspective. He took life and reality and made them a little more colourful, a little more enjoyable. He didn’t follow trends, he cut his own pathways.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“Detroit is very important to our music, it’s full of the emotions which come out of this city. There’s a certain kind of lifestyle you have to have to life here and certain experiences which go to make the music what it is. Not all of them are sad. This is not a dark, gloomy place, it never had been. There’s a lot of sunshine and a lot of happiness. The people have this thing about making something out of nothing, especially when times are hard, and they know how to have fun. Right now, there’s nowhere else in the world we can experience what we experience here.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“Back in the day, things were really limited. You had minimal techno, hard techno, house, and that was it. What energised us to return was that techno went supernova, creating many new electronic music formats. Now, hell, there are so many different music groups, so many categories, so many styles. You’re always hearing something new, like somebody off doing something extremely abstract and out there. I may not get into their style, but that’s the evolution of electronic music, and that’s what’s important – people coming from the beginning and cutting their own path from it.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
(Influence of Drexciya on Adult. and Peaches and in general) “I feel overjoyed about these people, because that was one of the many goals that was set from day one, to influence others and bring some excitement into electronic music. That’s my duty in music. We were building from Juan (Atkins) and Kevin (Saunderson), and the Underground Resistance, so we’re giving our contribution, and we want people to take from that and do their own thing with it.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
“It’s time to prepare for the year 2000, It’s time to move up to the next level.” -from Submerge Press Release 1997
('The Quest')“We couldn’t find a better way to give Drexciya’s last statement, this album gives the best description possible of what it was all about. An action-packed vibe. If we gave just one person in the whole world a new outlook or perspective, then we did our job. The music we made came from the heart. Every record was a moment in time. None of them can be reproduced. There are no programs left, none of the sounds are left. After we used them, we dumped them. That was our belief. You have to go out on a limb and make the extra effort. Drexciya was an experience. An experiment. You’ve just got to keep changing things in order to progress.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
(how can people find out what happens next, Submerge?)"No, record stores, friends, people. cause I'm all over the place, I'm wave jumping all over the place in different places. As soon as our production companies up, Dimensional Waves. (tell us about that) Well, Dimensional Waves is just the production company we're putting together and it's basically just set up to do a lot of wave jumping to different companies and what not. Just putting out good music period, that's what it's all about, just putting out good music.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(last comments) "Just believe in what you do, keep your confidence no matter how much people get down on you and don't want to support you. You just gotta keep going and stay strong. Everyone has different issues, different problems in their life but you gotta keep strong. Like I really have some real inspiration from a friend of mine I just saw yesterday. Everyone know him as Mr. Shake and I have a lot of inspiration with him because he, that guy can talk, he can go, he has a lot of life in him you know what I mean. So I get a lot from that guy and I haven’t seen him in a long time and really talked to him but it really felt good to really talk with that guy the past couple of times, just before I left here but I plan on staying in touch with him though.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
(last comments) “Well basically just love each other, love the music and go for it, whatever your heart desires.” -Liz Copeland (Detroit Public Radio 2002)
“(Last thoughts) Yeah just stay deep. Keep drinking from the pond. Look in the mirror, do you see you or do you see me?” -Derek Beere (Future BPM 2002)
"(On Underground Resistance) What's so interesting is that each one of us is such a force in his own way. When you combine that energy together it makes it that much stronger." -Tsutomu Noda (Ele-King/Straight No Chaser 1999)
“Hendrix was very experimental, he was doing tracks back in the day which sound like the music being made now, only he was using an electric guitar. And George Clinton was just a master at making music. He put things in a different perspective. He took life and reality and made them a little more colourful, a little more enjoyable. He didn’t follow trends, he cut his own pathways.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“Detroit is very important to our music, it’s full of the emotions which come out of this city. There’s a certain kind of lifestyle you have to have to life here and certain experiences which go to make the music what it is. Not all of them are sad. This is not a dark, gloomy place, it never had been. There’s a lot of sunshine and a lot of happiness. The people have this thing about making something out of nothing, especially when times are hard, and they know how to have fun. Right now, there’s nowhere else in the world we can experience what we experience here.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
“Back in the day, things were really limited. You had minimal techno, hard techno, house, and that was it. What energised us to return was that techno went supernova, creating many new electronic music formats. Now, hell, there are so many different music groups, so many categories, so many styles. You’re always hearing something new, like somebody off doing something extremely abstract and out there. I may not get into their style, but that’s the evolution of electronic music, and that’s what’s important – people coming from the beginning and cutting their own path from it.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
(Influence of Drexciya on Adult. and Peaches and in general) “I feel overjoyed about these people, because that was one of the many goals that was set from day one, to influence others and bring some excitement into electronic music. That’s my duty in music. We were building from Juan (Atkins) and Kevin (Saunderson), and the Underground Resistance, so we’re giving our contribution, and we want people to take from that and do their own thing with it.” -Nick Phillips (Groovesmag 2001)
“It’s time to prepare for the year 2000, It’s time to move up to the next level.” -from Submerge Press Release 1997
('The Quest')“We couldn’t find a better way to give Drexciya’s last statement, this album gives the best description possible of what it was all about. An action-packed vibe. If we gave just one person in the whole world a new outlook or perspective, then we did our job. The music we made came from the heart. Every record was a moment in time. None of them can be reproduced. There are no programs left, none of the sounds are left. After we used them, we dumped them. That was our belief. You have to go out on a limb and make the extra effort. Drexciya was an experience. An experiment. You’ve just got to keep changing things in order to progress.” -Tim Barr (Muzik 1997)
posted by Stephen at
8:47 PM
3 Comments:
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This article made me tears. As always with you - and James, it's a beautiful work.
2002- 2022 R I P James Stinson .
douzirec .
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