Underground Resistance

Formed in 1989 around Mike Banks, Jeff Mills, and Robert Hood, Underground Resistance turned Detroit techno's second wave into a declared war. The collective cast themselves as soldiers against "the programmers," their name for the commercial entertainment machine they saw eating the underground alive, and they dressed the part: masks, military imagery, no interviews, no compromise. Their 1991 album "Nation 2 Nation" laid out that politics in full, with tracks like "Predator" and "Riot" turning abstract dance music into confrontation. UR's stance made autonomy from major labels and mainstream club culture a point of pride rather than a limitation.

At a glance

Active

1989–present

From

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Records in the issues

1 (1991)

Original label

Underground Resistance

Listening guide track

“Inspiration”

Listen

In the Detroit Techno listening guide: “Inspiration”

In the issues

• 002
  Detroit Techno

  Supporting cast · 1981-1995

  Detroit Techno is a music scene from Detroit/Belleville, Michigan, USA, 1981–1995. Its principal artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. This issue covers 10 essential albums and 14 dated events.

Records

• Nation 2 Nation

  1991 · Go deeper in Detroit Techno

  Original release: Underground Resistance · UR-005 · 12″ Vinyl · US 1991

  Underground Resistance's 1991 album is a manifesto as much as a record, laying out the political stance that defined Detroit techno's second wave: resistance to commercialization, and a fierce claim to underground autonomy. The collective framed themselves as warriors against "the programmers," their term for the mainstream entertainment industry closing in on the scene.

Family tree

Bands that shared members with Underground Resistance, and who.

• Galaxy 2 Galaxy1993–
  Cornelius Harris, Michael Anthony Banks

Places

• Submerge Distribution
  Detroit · 1992-present · Detroit Techno

  Underground Resistance's record store and distribution hub, serving as both retail space and headquarters for Detroit's militant second-wave techno movement.

Terms

Acid house

A style of house music characterized by squelching, resonant basslines produced using the Roland TB-303 synthesizer.