Elecktroids

Mysterious electro unit Elecktroids surfaced as a one-time side project issued on Warp, with no confirmed participants ever stepping forward. Speculation has long linked the recordings to Detroit underground stalwarts Drexciya as well as to LFO’s Mark Bell from the Manchester bleep scene. Regardless of authorship, the music merges well-crafted contemporary “listening techno” with vintage Detroit electro traits and Kraftwerk-inflected motifs of technological grandeur, all delivered with a faintly playful edge. In 1995, at the height of the so-called “electro revival” promoted by U.K. imprint Clear, the group issued the Kilohertz EP; its sole album to date, Elektroworld, appeared soon afterward. Though the project seemed destined for quick obscurity, Elecktroids maintained a lasting presence, appearing on two separate Warp “best of” collections and supplying two cuts to the 1997 K7 release X-Mix: Electro Boogie, a mix session assembled by techno producer and DJ Dave Clarke.