Detroit’s punk-to-techno power duo Ataxia returns to Carl Craig’s longstanding label Planet E Communications with a brand new EP, The Whistles, out now.
Across two club-built cuts, Ted Krisko and Eric Ricker channel the city’s raw dancefloor DNA through unruly samples, rubbery basslines, analog FX, and rolling pressure that sits somewhere between Detroit house, techno, and the duo’s punk roots.
Following their 2020 Oblivion EP and 2023 remix of Carl Craig’s Psyche alias, The Whistles finds Ataxia reconnecting with Planet E at full club pressure. The title track spirals through hypnotic grooves and chaotic vocal fragments pulled from the street and the club alike, while “Hocus on Pocus” twists analog effects and elastic basslines into a strange, psychedelic peak-time cut.
Long before Ataxia emerged on Planet E, the pair came up through Michigan’s punk and hardcore scene, eventually stepping away from traditional bands after becoming immersed in Detroit techno and Richie Hawtin’s late-90s and early-00s orbit.
That background still shapes the project’s identity: tactile, hardware-driven club music built with the spirit of a live band and rooted in Detroit’s industrial history, warehouse culture, and DIY ethos.
The Whistles is out now via Planet E Communications.
Ataxia: Instagram | Spotify | SoundCloud
Planet E Communications: Website | SoundCloud | Bandcamp