Adam X

Adam X earned recognition within the East Coast electronic music lineage through sustained DJ work, production output, and ties to Sonic Groove Records. His engagement with techno originated in the late 1980s and early 1990s alongside older brother Frankie Bones. Bones contributed to the Storm Rave events, which acquainted large segments of New York with unfiltered techno pulses and helped launch the regional techno movement. In 1990 the Brooklyn-rooted siblings joined Heather Heart to launch the Sonic Groove record store in Brooklyn. While rap dominated local listening habits, Adam X championed electronic sounds and at times encountered ostracism or ridicule from prevailing music circles. Five years later the store shifted to Manhattan, where Sonic Groove Records was established. The imprint’s debut release came from Adam X, who simultaneously handled A&R duties. In that capacity he promoted regional artists and introduced European figures such as Dave Clarke and Neil Landstrom to U.S. listeners. After the Manhattan relocation, late-1990s production efforts received wider exposure and Adam X’s influence on East Coast techno received formal notice. The 1998 album Audiobiography appeared on Sonic Groove and brought visibility to both the artist and the label. The following year he delivered the mix Wax Trax! Mastermix, Vol. 2 for TVT. Beginning in 2000, Instinct Records issued On the One and Two, followed by Vandalism in 2001.