Area 51

Area 51 is a group from Germany. The name is used by a number of different acts, including several bands and recording aliases in rap, rock, punk and electronic music.

Electronic music

One use of the name is as a continuation of Michiel van der Kuy’s solo work under Rygar. Van der Kuy is associated with Laserdance, KOTO and Proxyon, and is described as a major synthdance composer and producer. In the latter half of the 1980s he sets up his own label, Made Up Records, which mainly releases italo disco music composed and produced by him. Under the Rygar name, instrumental tracks include Space Raiders, Star Tracks, Hexameron and Adagio. Although these tracks gain popularity, a full-length Rygar album does not appear at the time.

Rap

Another Area 51 is a rap trio from the Los Angeles area featuring MC Random, Apakalips and Crow Magnum, representing African American, Hispanic and Caucasian backgrounds respectively. The group releases several projects, including Independent's Day on Raptalk Records.

Rock and punk

The name also belongs to a defunct hardcore punk band from Seattle, Washington, with members drawn from Murder City Devils, Death Wish Kids, Dead Low Tide, Modest Mouse, Big Business and Pretty Girls Make Graves. This group uses dueling male and female vocals, feedback-heavy arrangements and a theme based on the film Over The Edge. Its complete discography appears in a limited pressing on Sound Virus.

Area 51 also refers to a post-Nirvana shoegaze dub group from Richmond, Virginia, active from 1994 to 1997, with Todd Sentz on bass, Jeremy Markowitz on guitar and drum programming, and Tina Boling on vocals.

Other acts

Other groups using the name include a band from Chipping Sodbury in the UK featuring Matt Holloway on rhythm guitar and vocals, Ellis Reed on lead guitar and backing vocals, Ed Allonby on bass, and Luke Holloway on drums; a Japanese neo-classical power metal influenced band; an Atlanta, Georgia rap group led by T-Rock and also including Odd-1, Infra-Red, Reek, Boss Minista and Scrilla Man; a Canadian melodic punk rock and skate punk band that releases the mini-album Crash Course in 1999; and a noisegrind band from Algeria.