Though his life was tragically cut short in 2002 at the age of just 32, the work of Detroit-based techno producer James Stinson continues to exert a distinct influence upon much of today’s techno scene. Alongside rumoured production partner Gerald Donald, Stinson’s albums as Drexciya saw him building up a complex Afrofuturist narrative incorporating elements of the Atlantis myth that continued to build the layers of intrigue, coupled with the duo’s determinedly secretive stance (indeed, Stinson’s involvement in Drexciya was only confirmed posthumously). Originally released back in 2001 on Tresor’s shortlived Supremat sublabel, this debut album under his Transllusion alias ‘The Opening Of The Cerebral Gate’ formed part of the ambitious ‘Drexciyan Storms’, a series of seven albums released by the duo under various aliases over the course of a single year.
Rather than inhabiting the overarching storyline established by the Drexciya albums though, the eleven tracks collected here see Stinson working primarily with analogue equipment and drum machines to create a conceptual suite centering around the inner psyche. ‘Transmission Of Life’ kicks things off with a streamlined glide out into bright whirring synth arpeggios and hard-edged techno kickdrums that sees glittering video-game synths winding themselves against the furiously pounding rhythmic pulse, before ‘Negative Flash’ drops the pace down into shadowy electro, sending dark bass swells looming amidst a forest of clicking breakdance shuffles and playful sonar-like synth riffs, in an offering that’s sinister and groovy at the same time.
Elsewhere, ‘Cerebral Cortex Malfunction’ offers up the sort of bendy near-acid techno that conjures associations with Polygon Window as squelching tones bulge and squeal against flexing electro rhythms and flitting melodic synth touches, before ‘Crossing Into The Mental Astroplane’ ushers in an urgent electro stomp that pits pressurised industrial snares against nervous jittery synth arpeggios and looming bass swells. An excellent and timely reissue that’s made even stronger with the addition of three previously unreleased tracks on 12”.
