Urban Tribe

Detroit's Sherard Ingram was one of the few Americans (along with DJ Shadow and Money Mark) to record for Britain's noted trip-hop label Mo' Wax. Initially a vehicle for earthy downtempo productions, Urban Tribe debuted on Carl Craig's Retroactive and Planet E labels by contributing to the Equinox: Chapter One (1990) and Elements of and Experiments with Sound (1992) compilations. After signing on to Mo' Wax, he released the EP Eastward in late 1996. Ingram's debut album, 1998's The Collapse of Modern Culture, expanded the lineup to include engineers Craig and Anthony "Shake" Shakir, plus Kenny Dixon, Jr. (aka Moodymann). Four years later, Ingram resumed production work, first by recording as Mystic Tribe for the Netherlands' Clone label and then by aligning with Rephlex. This association birthed two full-lengths: 2006's Authorized Clinical Trials and 2007's Acceptable Side Effects, both of which were closer to Drexciya's hard-edged, electro-inspired early releases than early Urban Tribe. It's no mere coincidence that Ingram has also operated as "Drexciyan DJ Stingray." ~ John Bush & Andy Kellman, Rovi