AUX 88

Since forming in 1993, Detroit-based electro-techno group Aux 88 have spearheaded a '90s-style rewrite of the breakbeat electro-funk of the early Motor City sound. Often referred to as techno bass, the style integrates elements of early Detroit and New York electro, Miami-born bass music, and the dark, gritty analog edge of Detroit techno, Aux's releases (mostly through the similarly styled Direct Beat label) are typically uptempo, bass-heavy party rockers in line with Detroit classics such as "Cosmic Cars," "Party Race," and "Play It Cool," but with a dark edge similar to "Clear" and "Technicolor." Responding to the wholesale export of the music following its popularity in Europe in the mid- to late-'80s, Aux see themselves filling the cultural gap left by the mainstream absorption of the first few generations of Detroit techno. Rather than simply carry a hometown techno torch, however, Aux have returned to the roots of the music in the electronic breakbeat, and -- along with artists like Will Web, Mike Banks, and Drexciya -- have found themselves on the front lines of a full-on electro revival.

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