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DETROIT ELECTRO
the drexciyan sideElectro can be defined as syncopated rhythms programmed on the Roland TR-808 , often resembling breaks, along with simple basslines.
However, in France, the term electro is used to define all, and any, kind of electronic music.
Using the correct labels when referring to things can help prevent historical erasure, a phenomena I have had first-hand experience with, living here.
DREXCIYA
Drexciya is an electronic duo from Detroit consiting of the late James Stinson and Gerald Donald, they were close affiliates to Underground Resistance and went against the grain of Four to the Floor Techno (4x4) by instead picking up inspiration from genres such as Miami Bass, and the first wave of Hip-Hop in New York, playing out breakbeats with a drum machine.
They combined this production technique with Detroit Techno synthesis, using the same equipment as UR, to come up with their own aquatic sound.
Not only did they seperate themselves from the rest through their drums, but equally through their lore. Drexciya put as much emphasis in their music as they did in their story, detailing afrofuturistic lore through their music.
Please refer to the following video, along with the article, for more information on their lore.
Inside the stunning Black mythos of Drexciya and its Afrofuturist ’90s techno | Ars Technica
DREXCIYAN DJ STINGRAY
DJ Stingray is the modern torch-bearer of Drexciya and the Electro scene. Hailing out of Detroit, he was taught how to DJ by Moodymann and began touring with Drexciya in the 90s. He was given the name DJ Stingray by Stinson and kept it ever since.
His fast-style of mixing can be compared to that of Jeff Mills but, he bears more versatility, switching between electro and different forms of techno throughout his mixes.
It is also important to note that Stingray doesn’t differenciate electro from 4x4 techno, saying “to me it's techno... where did this division between techno and electro come from?”