The end of the nineties was a very interesting time in techno for America. While the focus had squarely been on Detroit for some years, people like Damon Wild, Freddy Fresh, Joey Beltram, Steve Stoll, Woody McBride and Frankie Bones were already highlighting other pockets of forward thinking synthetic electronics. Few though factored in San Francisco as a hotbed of techno activity; its name synonymous with tripped out house and the warehouse parties that made use of the cheap space in the Soma area. Two labels went a long way to dispel this generalization of the city though — Organised Noise and Cytrax. The latter was set up by Kit Clayton, Steve Tang and John Mendez. The label was host to a small like-minded group of friends — among them Sutekh, Markus Miller, Twerk and DJ Jasper. Their releases were undeniably influenced by the tracky style of Chicago’s Relief Records but with a nod to electro; they were also infused with a more experimental flavor, which Kit Clayton especially would go on to explore further via his output on Pole’s ~scape imprint among others.