Drexciya: Journey Of The Deep Sea Dweller. Part 3
Ten years ago, on 3 September 2002, James Stinson died. He was the man behind Drexciya, the mysterious electro/techno project from Detroit. Three programmes are dedicated to Drexciya and several other projects of Stinson to commemorate him.
Part 1 was broadcasted on 5 September [ link ],
the second part was broadcasted on 19 September [ link ]
In this third part a choice from other projects of Stinson in rough chronological order: Clarence, Elecktroids, The Other People Place, Shifted Phases, Transllusion, Abstract Thought and Lab Rat XL.
In 1991, a year before the first release of Drexciya, James Stinson released a solo EP under the name of ‘Clarence’. On this EP are two numbers in which he actually raps over a bare dark electro beat. Also two tracks which already head in the direction of his later work. At the time, this record hardly got any attention but after Drexciya made a name for himself this record turned out to be very rare and much sought after with a price ticket to match.
Given that Stinson and Gerald Donald never put their real names in the credits of their material it is still not exactly clear who was behind what. When in 1995 the album and the EP of Elecktroids were released, nobody doubted that one of them or both were also hidden behind this project. With hindsight most of the numbers sound more like Dopplereffekt, the project of Gerald Donald that was released at the same time. Lighter, more playful, more in the direction of the electro pop of Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Still it is certain that Stinson was involved with (some) tracks of this project.
In 2001 Stinson started a very productive period. The Drexciya album ‘Harnessed The Storm’ marked the beginning of the ‘Drexciya Storms Series’, a series of 7 projects under different names. Each project has its own character although the similarities are also clear. ‘The Other People Place’ was the more human and amiable side of Stinson. ‘Transllusion’ was the most experimental project of which even 2 albums and 2 EPs were released. For ‘Shifted Phases’ the inspiration came from the extra-terrestrial world. ‘Abstract Thought’ was understood to be a cooperation, again with Gerald Donald. The album of Lab Rat XL was the last work of Stinson that was released over a year after his death.
Fans discussed extensively about the correct order and philosophy behind the ‘Storms’ series on the Internet. Fact is that Stinson had a lot of different material and wanted it to release quickly and that’s why he chose several record companies. Did he know he had not long to live? The message on the Transllusion album ‘L.I.F.E.’ cannot be just a coincidence: "Message To The World: "Life Is Fast Ending – So Live!"
01. Elecktroids – Time Tunnel
02. Clarence – Cause I Said It Right
03. Clarence – Turbine
04. Elecktroids – Algorithm
05. The Other People Place – Eye Contact
06. Shifted Phases – Lonely Journey Of The Comet Bopp
07. Shifted Phases – White Dwarf
08. Transllusion – You’re Holding Me Up (vocal)
09. Transllusion – Disrupted Neural Gateway
10. Transllusion – Cerebral Cortex Malfunction
11. Transllusion – Rolling With The Punches Of L.I.F.E.
12. Abstract Thought – Bermuda Triangle
13. Lab Rat XL – Lab Rat 2
14. Lab Rat XL – Lab Rat 6
from:
- Clarence – Hyperspace Sound Lab 12" (Flourescent Forest Rec. 1991) [2,3]
- Elecktroids – Elektroworld (Warp 1995) [1]
- Elecktroids – KiloHertz EP (Warp 1995) [4]
- The Other People Place – Lifestyles Of The Laptop Café (Warp 2001) [5]
- Shifted Phases – The Cosmic Memoirs Of The Late Great Rupert J. Rosinthrope (Trespor 2002) [6,7]
- Transllusion – Third Eye EP (Rephlex 2002) [8]
- Transllusion – Mind Over Positive And Negative Dimensional Matter EP (Supremat 2001) [9]
- Transllusion – The Opening Of The Cerebral Gate (Supremat 2001) [10]
- Transllusion – L.I.F.E. (Rephlex 2002) [11]
- Abstract Thought – Hypothetical Situations (Kombination Research 2003) [12]
- Lab Rat XL – Mice Or Cyborg (Clone 2003) [13,14]
Read more about James Stinson, Drexciya and other projects:
