The year was 1992. The artists were techno legends Underground Resistance. But this message from the Europe/Japan release Revolution For Change fits as easily into 2025 as an emancipatory manifesto for music and art.
Thanks to the excellent Drexciya Research Lab for digging this up this week. (Thread; via Flickr image) It resonates with a lot of conversations now – and in particular reflections on the tension between a love for sound and the normative apathy that can overtake the musical scenes around us.
1992’s UR was Mike Banks, Jeff Mills & Robert Hood, a hell of a trio. These three artists of course continue to create powerful music, and Mad Mike is especially active in Detroit and education. But I think it can also be read as a challenge to anyone working in sound to be equally provocative, to smash some walls.
‘UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE IS A LABEL FOR MOVEMENT.
A MOVEMENT THAT WANTS CHANGE BY SONIC REVOLUTION.
WE URGE YOU TO JOIN THE RESISTANCE AND HELP US TO COMBAT THE MEDIOCRE AUDIO AND VISUAL PROGRAMMING THAT IS BEING FED TO THE INHABITANTS OF EARTH.
THIS PROGRAMMING IS STAGNATING THE MINDS OF THE PEOPLE; BUILDING A WALL BETWEEN RACES AND PREVENTING WORLD PEACE.
IT IS THIS WALL WE ARE GOING TO SMASH.
BY USING THE UNTAPPED ENERGY POTENTIAL OF SOUND
WE ARE GOING TO DESTROY THIS WALL MUCH THE SAME AS CERTAIN FREQUENCIES SHATTER GLASS.
TECHNO IS MUSIC BASED ON EXPERIMENTATION;
IT IS SACRED TO NO ONE RACE; IT HAS NO DEFINITIVE SOUND.
IT IS MUSIC FOR THE FUTURE OF THE HUMAN RACE.
WITHOUT THIS MUSIC THERE WILL BE NO PEACE, NO LOVE, NO VISION.
BY SIMPLY COMMUNICATING THROUGH SOUND, TECHNO HAS BROUGHT PEOPLE OF ALL DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES TOGETHER UNDER ONE ROOF TO ENJOY THEMSELVES.
ISN’T IT OBVIOUS THAT MUSIC AND DANCE ARE THE KEYS TO THE UNIVERSE?
SO CALLED PRIMITIVE ANIMALS AND TRIBAL HUMANS HAVE KNOWN THIS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS!
WE URGE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE UNDERGROUND TO CREATE AND TRANSMIT THEIR TONES AND FREQUENCIES NO MATTER HOW SO CALLED PRIMITIVE THEIR EQUIPMENT MAY BE.
TRANSMIT THESE TONES AND WREAK HAVOC ON THE PROGRAMMERS!
LONG LIVE THE UNDERGROUND…’
Also from 1992, the World Power Alliance subabel releases came with a mini-manifesto on their b-sides, as noted on a comment from the above:
W.P.A.
World power AllianceThe World Power Alliance was formed somewhere in Detroit, Michigan U.S.A. on May 22, 1992 at 4:28 PM by various elements of the world underground legions. The alliance is dedicated to the advancement of the human race by way of sonic experimentation.
The World Power Alliance was designed to bring the worlds minds together, to combat the medicore audio and visual programming being fed to the inhabitans of Earth, this programming is stagnating the minds of the people, building a wall between races and world peace. This wall must be destroyed, and it will fall.
By using the untapped energy potential of sound, the W.P.A. will smash this wall much the same as certain frequencies shatter the glass.
Brothers of the underground, transmit your tones and frequencies from all locations of this world and wreak havoc on the programmers.
THIS IS WAR!
LONG LIVE THE UNDERGROUND
That energy lives in releases like the upcoming Liber8 compilation from Black Techno Matters. “But wait,” I hear a voice echoing, “didn’t this text just talk about music not belonging to one race?” Exactly – I mean, obviously, Black liberation, liberation of all the oppressed, is a necessary part of smashing those walls. So BTM is again carrying that mantle. It’s a challenge – to everyone.
Now more than ever.
