[Micron]

With the sad passing of James Stinson of Drexciya some years ago, the dark aquatic electro sound of Detroit looked to be in decline, though in reality that has hardly been the case. Gerald Donald, the other half of Drexciya has kept busy with Dopplereffekt, Der Zyklus, and recording most recently under the name Heinrich Mueller. Sherard Ingram, aka DJ Stingray, sometime DJ for the mysterious outfit and member of Detroit techno supergroup Urban Tribe, has maintained the deep sea dwellers’ legacy through his own productions and now via his new Micron Audio label, which showcases a global community of like minded electro resistance fighters. The First Wave sampler throws up only one familiar name (apart from Stingray himself who features under the moniker DJS 313) in the shape of Aaron Atkins, nephew of Juan, who appears here under the name DJ XRAY. Other contributors include protégés from Greece, Italy, Belgium and Spain, all heavily reared on transmissions from the 313 area, which is surprising and heartening in equal parts given that some are barely out of their teens.

The familiar thread running through the sampler is the brooding, sinister cloud of post apocalyptic dread that has been a staple of much of Detroit electro, particularly the UR branch. That said, occasionally respite is offered through a more hopeful glimmer of ascendant synth lines, particularly by the Belgian contingent Mariska, whose “The Lumas” is almost ethereal. Spaniard Annie Hall offers up one of the most realized and well rounded tracks with “Redes”; its Hawkins style computer generated vocals ponder the future of the human race amid etched out scraps of percussion and unnerving, disoriented sci-fi pads. Of indeterminate origin (somewhere around the Sahara if his Myspace account is to be believed), Aliensextoy gives us “Watery Claws,” an homage of sorts to the lineage of electro he is descended from. Heavy on the snare and hi-hats with a booming 808 kick underpinning the flange-laden synth stabs, the short track is undertaken in the best Drexciyan tradition. Alongside Italian cohort X-Beat who provides the baleful conclusion to the compilation with “Midiraisi,” the two also uphold the bandanna clad image of the faceless techno militant.

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Unsurprisingly, Stingray’s “Random” shows up all of his incipient talent, the heart stopping thud of his production displaying his years of experience, his 313 machine-funk executed with an iron fist. Others though, like Kon from Greece with the cerebral “Evolution II” and perhaps the youngest addition to the ranks, Mariska, show a natural affinity for capturing the essence of Detroit electro and both exhibit a natural production talent. While some of the artists on The First Wave could use a little more tutelage and time honing their skills, it is exciting to see some new blood injecting life into one of the Motor City’s finest exports.