When pin-pointing their beginnings, Detroit punk-to-techno duo Ataxia say that "producing" is a subjective term.
"It’s in the eye of the beholder," they say. "Was it finding out where the boombox sounded best when placing it somewhere in the middle of the instruments? Was it the Tascam 4-track mixdowns? Was it the first time jamming on preset loops on the Boss DR-202 Dr. Groove? Perhaps it was fiddling with Winamp. Maybe it was the seminal jams on Fruity Loops 1.0 or Reason. Was it the first time tracking and mixing down an album on an API console into a Studer A24? Ah, the early days…"
"It’s hard to pinpoint if and when it got serious—we just doin’ it for decoration," they continue. "If anything, getting tapped to be recording artists for Planet E was a pivotal moment in the journey through studio magic. It started with a couple of signings of our music licensed to mix albums by Carl Craig and Stacey Pullen. Then in 2020 we dropped our full Planet E Communications debut with a solo 12”, The Oblivion EP. From there, we released a pair of albums on Life and Death, including our 2022 debut double LP 'Out of Step.' That was followed by an invitation to remix the legendary cut “From Beyond” by Carl Craig under his Psyche alias. Fast forward to 2026 and we have our sixth appearance in the Planet E catalogue with our new record, The Whistles. At a recent gig together in Detroit, C2 autographed our record as Uncle Carl, so I guess you could say things are gettin’ pretty serious."
The pair describe their sound as, "TV Bar Detroit alleyway techno funk meets two-chord punk."
As they mentioned, Ataxia's latest release is The Whistles.
"Some neighbors are saying it’s way too loud," they say. "And it’s driving you nuts. It’s driving me nuts. That’s only in the moment. We supposed to be up cookin’ breakfast or something. That’s like an alarm clock. The whistle go woooo. It’s an homage to street racing, tailpipes and shutting down the freeway. Equal parts Detroit nostalgia and bangin’ low-end pressure."
As for gear: "Some of the key pieces of kit that made this record happen from inception to the masters that we deployed:
Roland TR-909, Roland TR-707, Roland TR-727, Roland SH-101, MFB Dominion, UDO Super 8, Sequential Prophet-6, Ensoniq DP/4, Red Panda Raster, Allen & Heath GL4890, Antelope Orion, Ableton Live 12, Crane Song HEDD 192, Dangerous Master, Dangerous Liaison, Elysia Nvelope, HCL Thermos, SPL De-Esser Mk2, Foote P3S ME, SPL Passeq, Neve MBP, Crane Song STC-8M, Dangerous BAX EQ, Burl B2 ADC, WaveLab and a few tricks in the box.
We probably could’ve made it with less, but then we wouldn’t be twiddling the knobs as much. It would’ve been a bit more accessible if Vintage King had just sponsored us."
Looking ahead, Ataxia has plenty planned for the second half of 2026.
"Still trying to figure out if our publisher said 'reality check' or 'royalty check'—they’re British, so it’s practically the same word," they say. "Past that, we’re back in the studio working on new music, getting a nice run of open-to-close gigs in the mix with our Silverdome Boyz crew, and trying to stay out of trouble long enough to finish another record. All that said, we'll see you around the pool!"
