Elecktroids

"Based in Flint, Michigan, USA, the four young sons of an electrician, known simply as the elecktroids, have welded together their debut album." (discogs.com) These "four sons" are shrouded in mystery, but most guesses tend to point towards members of Drexciya (James Stinson and Gerald Donald) and Ultradyne (Alex Lugo and Dennis Richardson). The key member was probably James Marcel Stinson (September 14th 1969 - September 3rd 2002), better known as Detroit techno artist Drexciya.

These "four sons" are shrouded in mystery, but most guesses tend to point towards members of Drexciya (James Stinson and Gerald Donald) and Ultradyne (Alex Lugo and Dennis Richardson).

The key member was probably James Marcel Stinson (September 14th 1969 - September 3rd 2002), better known as Detroit techno artist Drexciya.

"Born in 1969, James Stinson grew up on Detroit's east side and graduated from Kettering in 1989. His name may not share the familiarity of his Detroit techno peers, yet James Marcel Stinson anonymously produced some of the city's most celebrated recordings during the '90s as the primary member of Drexciya. For nearly a decade, he quietly produced numerous recordings as a loose affiliate of the Underground Resistance collective and also as part of the Tresor roster before succumbing to a heart complication in late 2002 and passing away on September 3. Stinson never sought personal fame or glory despite the international recognition of his music, instead emphasizing the music itself and shrouding his identity in fantastic and subtle ideology that further accentuated the wondrous nature of his work and earned him incredible respect among those who knew him personally."

Elecktroids had two releases on Warp records in 1995, which are both still available to download at bleep.com. These are Kilohertz (WAP65) and Electroworld (WARP35), which are both no longer in circulation and generally quite sought after.

The EP and album make nods towards Kraftwerk, but the band has links and influences extending far beyond techno.

The album cover for Elektroworld shows four figures with their faces hidden, wearing boiler suits, perched on a hill against a bright yellow background. This image and the level of anonymity maintained by the band, seems to draw parallels with The Residents.

There is a fantastic amount of research, reading, history and more by Stephen Rennicks at drexciyaresearchlab and his related blog.

Amazingly enough, you can find an incredible 3 hour mix mp3 by Stinson and Donald at bleep43recordings.com.

There are also a number of YouTube videos relating to Drexciya.