Underground Resistance

Emerging in the late ’80s in the wake of Reaganomics and a wave of social and economic crises, Detroit techno collective/record label Underground Resistance put forth a vision of militant electro-funk as part of a Public Enemy-style mission to rally neglected Black communities and raise ravers’ consciousness. Appearing at DJ sets with their faces covered in black bandannas, members of the group embraced stark minimalism and mechanised soul, helping set the standards for Detroit techno as a genre. Underground Resistance was founded in 1989 by electronic producers “Mad” Mike Banks, Jeff Mills and Robert Hood. Building on the original techno innovations that had emerged from the city in the ’80s, they stripped dance grooves down to a lo-fi core on early 12-inch releases like “Your Time Is Up” and “Eye of the Storm”; subsequent releases pushed the needle with aggressive beats while also honing nuanced concepts of “hi-tech jazz”. Mills and Hood left UR in 1992 to pursue soon-to-be-huge solo careers, but Banks continued recruiting new talent, and the coming decade saw the release of multiple albums alongside pivotal singles and EPs by artists like Suburban Knight, DJ Rolando and Drexciya. The collective has continued fighting into the 2010s and 2020s, with Banks occasionally expanding UR’s sonic palette with elements of electro and hip-hop while younger members spread the word through DJ sets and other public events.