Mike Banks

Biography

Mike Banks, also known as “Mad Mike”, is a Detroit music producer and label operator, considered one of the key figures in Detroit techno since the 1990s. Together with Jeff Mills he founded the music project and label Underground Resistance (UR). Working with Robert Hood he produced a large part of the UR label’s early releases, which brought them international fame and recognition. The projects by UR and Banks were also always socially critical commentaries, which had been previously seen in early hip hop, but not yet in techno. Since Mills and Hood left UR, he has been directing the label alone, releasing his own productions as well as those of many other artists, such as Drexciya, Suburban Knight or Sean Deason. In addition, since 1992 he has been a co-owner of Submerge Distribution, which, much like UR, markets Detroit techno worldwide as an independent record label.