Underground Resistance
Underground Resistance is the most militantly political outcropping of modern urban American techno. Combining a grubby, four-track aesthetic,
an almost strictly DIY business philosophy, and an oppositional, militaristic ethos similar to Public Enemy without the drama (or the familiarity;
the members refuse to be photographed without bandanas obscuring their identities), UR have redirected their portion of the Detroit techno
legacy to social activist ends, trading mainstream popularity and financial success for independence and self-determination.
Begun in the early ’90s by second- ...read more
Underground Resistance is the most militantly political outcropping of modern urban American techno. Combining a grubby, four-track aesthetic,
an almost strictly DIY business philosophy, and an oppositional, militaristic ethos similar to Public Enemy without the drama (or the familiarity;
the members refuse to be photographed without bandanas obscuring their identities), UR have redirected their portion of the Detroit techno
legacy to social activist ends, trading mainstream popularity and financial success for independence and self-determination.
Begun in the early ’90s by second-wave trinity Jeff Mills, “Mad” Mike Banks, and Robert “Noise” Hood, UR adapted the flavor and kick of early
Detroit techno to the complex social, political, and economic circumstances in the wake of Reagan-era accelerated inner-city decline, and was
formed as an outlet for uncompromising music geared toward awareness and change.
The early UR catalog is defined by a typically Detroit combination of Motown and Chicago soul, and ruthless, at times caustic lo-fi techno, acid,
and electro (Mills’ background is in, among other things, Chicago industrial and EBM-style electro-techno, with Banks and Hood both coming
from a solid house and techno base).
Much of the label’s early output was the product of various permutations of Banks, Mills, and Hood, both solo and in combination, before Mills
and Hood left UR in 1992 to pursue (and achieve) international success. « hide |
