Mike Banks

Active in Detroit since the late 1980s, Mike Banks is part of the city's second generation of techno. Initially a studio bassist and guitarist, he notably played with Parliament/Funkadelic before joining the house collective Members Of The House, with whom he released several maxi singles in the late 1980s. Under the name Mad Mike, he went on to co‑found the label Underground Resistance with Jeff Mills, soon joined by Robert Hood; the trio is responsible for much of the label's early catalogue in the early 1990s. Detroit techno, house, acid and industrial influences intersect in his projects X‑101, X‑102, The Martian and Galaxy 2 Galaxy, with landmark releases such as X‑102 Discovers The Rings Of Saturn (1992) and Galaxy 2 Galaxy (1993), which include jazz elements often described as hi‑tech jazz. After Mills and Hood departed, Mike Banks continued to lead Underground Resistance artistically, supported the dissemination of projects like Drexciya and Sean Deason, and in 1992 set up the distribution outfit Submerge with Christa Robinson to circulate Detroit techno internationally. Banks's records often carry social and political commentary, consistent with his commitment to an underground ethic that also manifests as a long‑standing refusal of media exposure and photography. Having stopped performing live in the late 1990s due to logistical difficulties tied to international touring, he gradually resumed live performances in the mid‑2000s while continuing to develop his various musical identities within Detroit's electronic scene.