Yesterday I had the privilege of DJing at Defqon 1 Sydney, which is the largest rave event in the Southern Hemisphere - I think there were about 30,000 people there. Of course these were scattered across a large number of stages, and we didn't have too many at our industrial stage (put on by the awesome Shallow Nation crew). But it was still a great day and a lot of fun and I was happy with my set. We had quite a few people who were "outside of the scene" (i.e. general raver / hardstyle people) poking around our stage and having a dance, and it was interesting to see their reactions to industrial music in various forms. Anyway, here is what I played. It was fun playing some really fast tracks (my set finished around 170 BPM) that I don't normally play out at clubs, since most industrial music is around 140 BPM.
Setlist: DJ Dasein - Defqon 1 White Stage
Reaper: Urnensand (SAM remix)
The Azoic: Conflict (Combichrist remix)
Soulless Affection & End: The DJ: MEIAN
Grendel: Dirty
Implant: Violence (MIZUH remix)
Modulate: Electronic Battle Weapon
Hocico: Final Resource (therapy version)
Memmaker: Death Audio Blow Your Brains
Combichrist: Lying sack of shit
Rosewater: NME
Feindflug: B66883
Dulce Liquido: Misanthropy
Converter / Asche / Morgenstern: Monster
Black Lung: Sinister Control Minority
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
In defense of record labels
There have been some seismic shifts in the music industry in the last ten years; the rise of file-sharing networks, e-commerce and digital music services have seen a big move away from physical media for music distribution, the closing down of brick-and-mortar music retailers and a question being asked: is there still a place today for the record label? Or is it a relic of a forgotten age? I would like to write in defense of record labels. I think they serve an important function in music, irregardless of what media it comes on, and I hope they are around for as long as music is around.
For me, the record label represents two things: a commitment and an accreditation. First, the commitment part. Assuming a record label is going to pay for the physical production of a music release (whether on CD, vinyl, DVD, or some other more obscure form), then this represents a financial commitment on the part of the record label. They are essentially gambling part of their funds in the hope that this release does well. No label (assuming it is run as a business, rather than a bedroom label) would do this without a strong belief in the quality of the product, and even bedroom label managers are usually looking to at least recoup their costs. Thus, the fact that a label is prepared to take the financial risk of putting out a release is an indication that it is something they believe in, and therefore it has probably got something going for it. This to me, while certainly not a guarantee of quality (there are a lot of releases out there I don’t like), is still a more reliable sign of quality than the rising phenomenon of “here is sum music I made it on my komputer and put it on the suondclouod LOL!”.
Second, it is an accreditation, and by that I mean something that a person, or group of people, are proud to stand by and be associated with. The guys who run Malignant Records would probably make some very decent coin if they somehow landed the right to release Lady Gaga’s next few albums, but I’m sure they wouldn’t release it, because they wouldn’t want to be associated with something like that (not saying Lada Gaga is crap, just saying it’s not their kinda thing). So for me, if Malignant Records puts out a CD, that’s like having a sticker on it saying “approved by Jason Mantis of Malignant Records!”. Which means a lot to me, and probably to a bunch of other people too. And once you have found record labels that you like and trust, this accreditation can become very useful. Of course there is good music being made out there and not released, or self-released. But if something is put out on Ant-Zen, or Hands, or Hymen, or Tympanik, then there is already a really, really good chance I’ll like it, before I've even heard it. I’ll still probably do some research before I decide to get something new of course, but this accreditation factor counts for a lot, and is often a really good way of finding out what’s going on in your favourite music genre. Go to the wonderful discogs site, look at the release history for the record labels you like, and see what’s new.
My favourite labels are the labels that perform not only those functions, but also put a stamp on the final product: all of the Ant-Zen releases have amazing photography taken by the manager S.alt, with his own distinctive style, and it is some of the best music artwork you’ll find. All of the Hands releases come in a unique and baffling cardboard box contraption, almost resembling a puzzle more than a CD case, causing some to despair at the “Hands Scratchpack”; care must be taken by the novice to extract the CD without marking it. Every Malignant Records release comes with some kind of epic, brooding artwork, and with Phil Easter’s distinctive (and amazing) touch at mastering, giving it a recognisable style.
So for me, a record label performs more than a simple (and important) financial service, i.e. paying for the production of the release; they help shape and give birth to the final form of the artistic product, and represent a commitment by a person or people to whom one can potentially identify with. And that is a very valuable thing indeed.
For me, the record label represents two things: a commitment and an accreditation. First, the commitment part. Assuming a record label is going to pay for the physical production of a music release (whether on CD, vinyl, DVD, or some other more obscure form), then this represents a financial commitment on the part of the record label. They are essentially gambling part of their funds in the hope that this release does well. No label (assuming it is run as a business, rather than a bedroom label) would do this without a strong belief in the quality of the product, and even bedroom label managers are usually looking to at least recoup their costs. Thus, the fact that a label is prepared to take the financial risk of putting out a release is an indication that it is something they believe in, and therefore it has probably got something going for it. This to me, while certainly not a guarantee of quality (there are a lot of releases out there I don’t like), is still a more reliable sign of quality than the rising phenomenon of “here is sum music I made it on my komputer and put it on the suondclouod LOL!”.
Second, it is an accreditation, and by that I mean something that a person, or group of people, are proud to stand by and be associated with. The guys who run Malignant Records would probably make some very decent coin if they somehow landed the right to release Lady Gaga’s next few albums, but I’m sure they wouldn’t release it, because they wouldn’t want to be associated with something like that (not saying Lada Gaga is crap, just saying it’s not their kinda thing). So for me, if Malignant Records puts out a CD, that’s like having a sticker on it saying “approved by Jason Mantis of Malignant Records!”. Which means a lot to me, and probably to a bunch of other people too. And once you have found record labels that you like and trust, this accreditation can become very useful. Of course there is good music being made out there and not released, or self-released. But if something is put out on Ant-Zen, or Hands, or Hymen, or Tympanik, then there is already a really, really good chance I’ll like it, before I've even heard it. I’ll still probably do some research before I decide to get something new of course, but this accreditation factor counts for a lot, and is often a really good way of finding out what’s going on in your favourite music genre. Go to the wonderful discogs site, look at the release history for the record labels you like, and see what’s new.
My favourite labels are the labels that perform not only those functions, but also put a stamp on the final product: all of the Ant-Zen releases have amazing photography taken by the manager S.alt, with his own distinctive style, and it is some of the best music artwork you’ll find. All of the Hands releases come in a unique and baffling cardboard box contraption, almost resembling a puzzle more than a CD case, causing some to despair at the “Hands Scratchpack”; care must be taken by the novice to extract the CD without marking it. Every Malignant Records release comes with some kind of epic, brooding artwork, and with Phil Easter’s distinctive (and amazing) touch at mastering, giving it a recognisable style.
So for me, a record label performs more than a simple (and important) financial service, i.e. paying for the production of the release; they help shape and give birth to the final form of the artistic product, and represent a commitment by a person or people to whom one can potentially identify with. And that is a very valuable thing indeed.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Top five industrial bands to watch for in 2011
OK here is my list of exciting bands to watch out for this year... obviously this was a tough list to narrow down to 5.
5. Formalin
I received Formalin’s debut (and still only) release, an album called Bodyminding, as a review copy from Out Of Line recently. I’d never heard of this band and I must say was very impressed. It’s mean, growly, German EBM, heavily incorporating the spirit of some of the more minimal pioneers like Klinik and Dive, but without being too derivative. It’s full of tough attitude and tight beats and I like it! Looking forward to more from Formalin!
4. Tzolk’in
I’ve mentioned before how much I completely love Tribal Industrial, despite the fact that the number of bands in the world making it you can count on one hand. Well Tzolk’in is one of those very few, and they are completely fantastic. Both albums Tonatiuh and Haab rock my socks off with their grim but uplifting Mayan-inspired tribal beats (but if I had to pick one, Haab is slightly better). Note that there is currently no actual evidence that Tzolk'in are working on a new album, so this is largely wishful thinking... But have a listen to their amazing track Kumk'U in the meantime:
3. Hecq
After a couple of early underwhelming releases, Hecq suddenly started putting out some of the best IDM influenced industrial around, taking a couple of leaves out of Kattoo’s books but including a whole bunch of unique creativity. He put out a spurt of amazing releases from 2007 to 2009, but since then has fallen a bit quiet, only releasing a split 12inch with someone called Exillon (??). Hecq’s website simply says “Coming back soon!”. Not soon enough!
2. The Panic Lift
I recently described Panic Lift as one of the very few bands who can rescue aggrotech from the pit of mediocrity into which it is rapidly sliding. This thoroughly inspiring band has recently put a new track on their Myspace, and left some pretty clear indications in their blog of a forthcoming release. The big question is however, which label will pick them up? Tympanik Audio have largely filled the void left by Hive Records, but it remains to be seen if something like Panic Lift, with feet planted more in the “club” side of industrial than most Tympanik releases, can find a home there. If not, maybe the bigger labels like Out of Line can wake up and see how much talent this group has?
1. Totakeke
OK I’ll be straight up: Totakeke is the single most creative and brilliant artist producing electronic music in the world right now. I like this band more and more every day and all the albums I have of his are completely inspiring. To anyone who claims that industrial music is dead or boring, bash a Totakeke CD over their head until they shut it. So what if the band name sucks, the music is simply jawdropping in its intelligence, emotion and production. If you don't believe me, have a listen to Permanent Note:
And with three studio albums released in the last three years, the man is showing no signs of slowing down. Go Totakeke!
5. Formalin
I received Formalin’s debut (and still only) release, an album called Bodyminding, as a review copy from Out Of Line recently. I’d never heard of this band and I must say was very impressed. It’s mean, growly, German EBM, heavily incorporating the spirit of some of the more minimal pioneers like Klinik and Dive, but without being too derivative. It’s full of tough attitude and tight beats and I like it! Looking forward to more from Formalin!
4. Tzolk’in
I’ve mentioned before how much I completely love Tribal Industrial, despite the fact that the number of bands in the world making it you can count on one hand. Well Tzolk’in is one of those very few, and they are completely fantastic. Both albums Tonatiuh and Haab rock my socks off with their grim but uplifting Mayan-inspired tribal beats (but if I had to pick one, Haab is slightly better). Note that there is currently no actual evidence that Tzolk'in are working on a new album, so this is largely wishful thinking... But have a listen to their amazing track Kumk'U in the meantime:
3. Hecq
After a couple of early underwhelming releases, Hecq suddenly started putting out some of the best IDM influenced industrial around, taking a couple of leaves out of Kattoo’s books but including a whole bunch of unique creativity. He put out a spurt of amazing releases from 2007 to 2009, but since then has fallen a bit quiet, only releasing a split 12inch with someone called Exillon (??). Hecq’s website simply says “Coming back soon!”. Not soon enough!
2. The Panic Lift
I recently described Panic Lift as one of the very few bands who can rescue aggrotech from the pit of mediocrity into which it is rapidly sliding. This thoroughly inspiring band has recently put a new track on their Myspace, and left some pretty clear indications in their blog of a forthcoming release. The big question is however, which label will pick them up? Tympanik Audio have largely filled the void left by Hive Records, but it remains to be seen if something like Panic Lift, with feet planted more in the “club” side of industrial than most Tympanik releases, can find a home there. If not, maybe the bigger labels like Out of Line can wake up and see how much talent this group has?
1. Totakeke
OK I’ll be straight up: Totakeke is the single most creative and brilliant artist producing electronic music in the world right now. I like this band more and more every day and all the albums I have of his are completely inspiring. To anyone who claims that industrial music is dead or boring, bash a Totakeke CD over their head until they shut it. So what if the band name sucks, the music is simply jawdropping in its intelligence, emotion and production. If you don't believe me, have a listen to Permanent Note:
And with three studio albums released in the last three years, the man is showing no signs of slowing down. Go Totakeke!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Why all the hate?
OK so in an earlier post, I described what I believed to be the most overrated artifacts of industrial music, albums or artists which have received love and adoration that I feel they do not at all deserve. Now I’m going to take the opposite tack: defend those that have been unfairly attacked. Those unfortunate souls who have unwittingly invoked the wrath of enough industrial scenesters to bring down torrents of unjustified abuse.
Front Line Assembly: Implode
This album came out in 1999, and underwhelmed a lot of people. The miserable hacks on rec.music.industrial were particularly savaging in their appraisal of it. I’m not entirely sure why; its’ certainly not one of FLA’s best works, but it’s far from the worst (Civilization takes that prize in my books), and has a couple of great tracks, such as Synthetic Forms. I think the reason this album put people offside was that it signalled the shift of FLA’s sound away from their guitar-heavy days of Millenium and Hardwired (which they of course received lots of criticism for), towards their highly-produced electronic sound that dominated their next few albums (which they also received criticism for, from the same people who criticised leaving their earlier electronic sound for guitars). I guess sometimes you just can’t win, huh.
Decoded Feedback
This band has been a perennial favourite for bashing on rec.music.industrial and other forums. And I’ll admit they’re not the greatest or most original band in the world; they play fairly bog-standard 90s EBM, with the occasional splash of guitars or trance-influenced beats. But they’ve got some perfectly decent songs, and their album Combustion from a few years ago actually had some real smashers. They won’t go down in the annals of all-time industrial greats, but they really don’t deserve all the hate they’ve received.
Velvet Acid Christ
Ahh good old Velvet Acid Christ. Probably no band in the history of industrial music has attracted more criticism. The man behind the project, Bryan Erickson, certainly hasn’t helped his cause any. Bryan has jumped into every shitfight and flamewar concerning VAC, bit at every morsel of trollbait dangled before him, and argued himself into more corners than I can care to remember. He’s put huge numbers of people offside with his aggressive rants about animal rights, politics, or whatever crusade he’s currently obsessed with. And like all good internet villains, every year or so he declares he’s 'finished with all you losers' and deletes his blog or newsgroup account or whatever his most recent method of getting flamed was, and then a few months later he emerges from the swamps and the whole process begins again. But what about the music?
Velvet Acid Christ is actually really kickarse stuff. I know saying this will instantly reduce my 'industrial scene cred' to zero, or negative, or whatever, but I don’t care, I like it. OK so he had some crap releases like Hex Angel, and Church of Acid has some of the worst overuses of sampling in industrial music, but there is some real classic stuff there. I recently dusted off my copy of Calling ov the Dead, and it still stands as an absolute cracker of an album, and made a huge impact on me when I first heard it. Twisted Thought Generator also goes in that basket, and was one of my favourite EBM albums for a while. Neuralblastoma had some genuinely creepy and powerful tracks on it, even if the second half is mainly filler. But the recent album Lust for Blood is the best thing he’s ever done; almost every track on it is fantastic, from the Pornography-era Cure influenced Crushed to the amazing retro-futuristic synths of Ghost in the Circuit and Ghost Regen.
Velvet Acid Christ is one of the classic examples of why you should always separate the music from the person; Bryan is a deranged, judgemental dick, but writes some really good music, which should b e judged on its own merit, and with some rare exceptions, it rocks.
Front Line Assembly: Implode
This album came out in 1999, and underwhelmed a lot of people. The miserable hacks on rec.music.industrial were particularly savaging in their appraisal of it. I’m not entirely sure why; its’ certainly not one of FLA’s best works, but it’s far from the worst (Civilization takes that prize in my books), and has a couple of great tracks, such as Synthetic Forms. I think the reason this album put people offside was that it signalled the shift of FLA’s sound away from their guitar-heavy days of Millenium and Hardwired (which they of course received lots of criticism for), towards their highly-produced electronic sound that dominated their next few albums (which they also received criticism for, from the same people who criticised leaving their earlier electronic sound for guitars). I guess sometimes you just can’t win, huh.
Decoded Feedback
This band has been a perennial favourite for bashing on rec.music.industrial and other forums. And I’ll admit they’re not the greatest or most original band in the world; they play fairly bog-standard 90s EBM, with the occasional splash of guitars or trance-influenced beats. But they’ve got some perfectly decent songs, and their album Combustion from a few years ago actually had some real smashers. They won’t go down in the annals of all-time industrial greats, but they really don’t deserve all the hate they’ve received.
Velvet Acid Christ
Ahh good old Velvet Acid Christ. Probably no band in the history of industrial music has attracted more criticism. The man behind the project, Bryan Erickson, certainly hasn’t helped his cause any. Bryan has jumped into every shitfight and flamewar concerning VAC, bit at every morsel of trollbait dangled before him, and argued himself into more corners than I can care to remember. He’s put huge numbers of people offside with his aggressive rants about animal rights, politics, or whatever crusade he’s currently obsessed with. And like all good internet villains, every year or so he declares he’s 'finished with all you losers' and deletes his blog or newsgroup account or whatever his most recent method of getting flamed was, and then a few months later he emerges from the swamps and the whole process begins again. But what about the music?
Velvet Acid Christ is actually really kickarse stuff. I know saying this will instantly reduce my 'industrial scene cred' to zero, or negative, or whatever, but I don’t care, I like it. OK so he had some crap releases like Hex Angel, and Church of Acid has some of the worst overuses of sampling in industrial music, but there is some real classic stuff there. I recently dusted off my copy of Calling ov the Dead, and it still stands as an absolute cracker of an album, and made a huge impact on me when I first heard it. Twisted Thought Generator also goes in that basket, and was one of my favourite EBM albums for a while. Neuralblastoma had some genuinely creepy and powerful tracks on it, even if the second half is mainly filler. But the recent album Lust for Blood is the best thing he’s ever done; almost every track on it is fantastic, from the Pornography-era Cure influenced Crushed to the amazing retro-futuristic synths of Ghost in the Circuit and Ghost Regen.
Velvet Acid Christ is one of the classic examples of why you should always separate the music from the person; Bryan is a deranged, judgemental dick, but writes some really good music, which should b e judged on its own merit, and with some rare exceptions, it rocks.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Is there a future for aggrotech?
I’ve been wondering lately if there is a future for the sub-genre of industrial music known as aggrotech, or if it will gradually fade away to near-invisibility, like power noise almost has. For those who aren’t familiar with it, aggrotech (also known by some even sillier names, such as "Butcher EBM" or "Hellektro", urgh) is a split-off of EBM that begun really with Suicide Commando’s 2000 album Mindstrip. It’s a form of EBM that keeps the traditional EBM synth sounds but adds distinctly aggressive overtones through heavy distortions of vocals and often drums. I believe Suicide Commando's "Hellraiser" probably exhibits aggrotech in its most pure and traditional form:
I will admit, I really have a soft spot for this stuff. It tickles my fancy and puts me in a good mood. Why? Who on earth can say. But I really feel that the genre is stagnating.
About five years ago, it had become arguably the most popular and dominant form of industrial music worldwide; Mexico’s Hocico were putting out stunning albums, Suicide Commando was packing out festivals in Europe and releasing live DVDs and commemorative CD releases all over the place, and a legion of “clone” bands were infecting compilations and DJ playlists around the world. Tactical Sekt in 2006 released one of the definitive classics of the genre, Syncope, which thoroughly kicked my arse and the arse of anyone who listened to it (it even eclipsed their strong Burn Process EP).
However, nothing much of interest is happening in the genre. Suicide Commando is regularly putting out albums that are slightly worse than the one before; let’s hope he stops before he paints himself into a corner of irrelevance. Hocico are still putting out solid releases which are very listenable, but almost identical to the last couple. The innumerable clone bands are rapidly becoming tiresome and pointless. Tactical Sekt have sadly become completely inactive.
So who are the potential saviours who can resurrect this flagging style, like Mind.in.a.box did for EBM in 2005 and SKET did for power noise in 2006? I see two possibilities, two young bands that have recently produced genuinely interesting aggrotech music (especially the latter).
Distorted Memory: This one-man project has only put out one release, a debut album on Noitekk in 2006. While the album as a whole is inconsistent in quality, when it hits its stride and delivers (God’s Wrath, Burning Heaven), it is some of the best music this genre has ever produced.
Things unfortunately seem very quiet on the Distorted Memory front; let’s hope Jeremy Pillipow is working away under the covers and will have something new to show us soon.
The Panic Lift: This New Jersey act released a truly outstanding album (Witness to our Collapse) on the excellent Hive Records in 2008, just before they sadly departed this world (RIP Hive). It is an uncompromising, intelligent and intensely emotional work that pushed the boundaries of aggrotech as far as they probably can go… or can they possibly raise the bar higher? A new album is due this year and this could be the one that places them at the top of this genre (or perhaps in a genre of their own).
Essential aggrotech albums: Suicide Commando’s Mindstripor Axis of Evil, Hocico’s Sangre Hirviente or Tempos de Furia (or basically anything except Wrack and Ruin), Tactical Sekt’s Syncope, Distorted Memory’s Burning Heaven, Panic Lift’s Witness to our Collapse.
I will admit, I really have a soft spot for this stuff. It tickles my fancy and puts me in a good mood. Why? Who on earth can say. But I really feel that the genre is stagnating.
About five years ago, it had become arguably the most popular and dominant form of industrial music worldwide; Mexico’s Hocico were putting out stunning albums, Suicide Commando was packing out festivals in Europe and releasing live DVDs and commemorative CD releases all over the place, and a legion of “clone” bands were infecting compilations and DJ playlists around the world. Tactical Sekt in 2006 released one of the definitive classics of the genre, Syncope, which thoroughly kicked my arse and the arse of anyone who listened to it (it even eclipsed their strong Burn Process EP).
However, nothing much of interest is happening in the genre. Suicide Commando is regularly putting out albums that are slightly worse than the one before; let’s hope he stops before he paints himself into a corner of irrelevance. Hocico are still putting out solid releases which are very listenable, but almost identical to the last couple. The innumerable clone bands are rapidly becoming tiresome and pointless. Tactical Sekt have sadly become completely inactive.
So who are the potential saviours who can resurrect this flagging style, like Mind.in.a.box did for EBM in 2005 and SKET did for power noise in 2006? I see two possibilities, two young bands that have recently produced genuinely interesting aggrotech music (especially the latter).
Distorted Memory: This one-man project has only put out one release, a debut album on Noitekk in 2006. While the album as a whole is inconsistent in quality, when it hits its stride and delivers (God’s Wrath, Burning Heaven), it is some of the best music this genre has ever produced.
Things unfortunately seem very quiet on the Distorted Memory front; let’s hope Jeremy Pillipow is working away under the covers and will have something new to show us soon.
The Panic Lift: This New Jersey act released a truly outstanding album (Witness to our Collapse) on the excellent Hive Records in 2008, just before they sadly departed this world (RIP Hive). It is an uncompromising, intelligent and intensely emotional work that pushed the boundaries of aggrotech as far as they probably can go… or can they possibly raise the bar higher? A new album is due this year and this could be the one that places them at the top of this genre (or perhaps in a genre of their own).
Essential aggrotech albums: Suicide Commando’s Mindstripor Axis of Evil, Hocico’s Sangre Hirviente or Tempos de Furia (or basically anything except Wrack and Ruin), Tactical Sekt’s Syncope, Distorted Memory’s Burning Heaven, Panic Lift’s Witness to our Collapse.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Top 10 Power Noise albums of all time
This list was very difficult to choose; more so than my top 10 EBM albums of all time, which is odd since there is 10 times more EBM than there is power noise. The challenge was the top 5, which are all incredibly close. I could put them in a different order on a different day. Power noise has a lot of bad and boring artists, but those at the top are truly at the top and there is very little separating them.
10. Tarmvred: Subfusc
This oddly-named album by an oddly-named act from Sweden caught people by surprise when it emerged on French label Ad Noiseam in 2001. Tarmvred gradually builds up big layers of noise, occasionally inter-mixing them with retro video-game bleebs or crashing drum and bass inspired percussion. He uses genuinely original and interesting sounds and techniques to produce his music, and sadly doesn’t seem to be doing much of anything anymore. Bring back Tarmvred I say!
9. Xenonics K-30: Automated
This was a one-off collaboration between the best power noise artist in the world (Converter) and the best power electronics artist in the world (Navicon Torture Technologies). Was it any surprise it was brutally heavy and completely awesome? This album is a relentless, seething slab of industrial mayhem that crushes your spine, fries your brain, and dismembers your corpse. Jason Mantis of Malignant Records reckons track 3 of this album is one of the most perfect pieces of industrial noise ever made, and I think he’s right.
8. 5F-X: 5F_55 is Reflected to 5F-X
This is definitely the strangest album on the list. An odd band called 5F_55 put out two odd albums of glitch noisy music on Hands, with tracknames composed of ASCII computer code. Then they renamed themselves 5F-X and put out this great album. It’s not only cool because it never takes itself too seriously, but it is also extremely good music, from beginning to end. With some nods to German techno and Hymen-style IDM / electronica, this is also probably the most fun and accessible album on this list.
7. Converter: Shock Front
This album, the first by legendary Scott Sturgis aka Converter, hit the power noise scene like a bombshell when Ant-Zen released it in 1999. It was menacing, dirty, heavy as a tank and pulverised listeners. While it doesn’t have the diversity and production quality of the follow-up Blast Furnace, I actually rate Shock Front higher. It’s a much more focused and effective album, and stands up extremely strong today as one of the classics of the genre.
6. Synapscape: So What
This album for me summarises a time; the glory days of German label Ant-Zen, and the peak of power noise (late 90s / early noughties). While Synapscape are still going strong and putting out good albums, this album for me is what defined their sound. It’s not complex, it’s not subtle, it’s just big, thundering, crunchy, smashing power noise. It’s a sledgehammer of an album that knocks down walls and kicks your arse and the arse of anyone else in the way. The fact that it comes with a second cd of more downtempo / experimental music is gravy. They don’t quite make ‘em like this anymore.
5. Winterkaelte: Drum and Noise
I’ll never forget the first time I heard this album (and this band); I popped the new cd into my player on a seedy hungover Saturday morning, and was immediately swept up in a barrage of noise, a lightning storm of deep fried bits and zeroes, swept away amongst sparking power cables and malfunctioning power generators. Winterkaelte are undeniably the most noisy and “pure” band in this genre. There really is no melody or harmony to be found here folks, it’s just layers of intricately constructed harshness. And it’s absolutely fantastic. The predecessor Structures of Destruction is very strong also; recent works not so much.
4. Iszoloscope: Au Seuil du Neant
It’s surprising that not everybody rates this album as young Canadian talent Iszoloscope’s best. For me there’s not much competition; this album really helped revive the flagging power noise genre in 2003, when it was under threat from lack of innovation and untalented clones. This album is a staggering work of cold bleak noise from an artist at the top of his game, that drifts effortlessly from broken noisy beats (Skotophobique) to crushing chilling distorted techno (-28c And Falling) to monstrously brooding dark ambient (Iszoloscope Tomes Deux). A classic in every sense of the word. If you don’t believe me, listen for yourself.
3. Imminent Starvation: Nord
Not putting this album at #1, or even #2, was very hard for me. Imminent Starvation’s 1999 album Nord defined this genre, and the set the bar for every other act in the world. It is a perfectly constructed album, from the scraping and jarring intro, to the relentless battle-machine that is Tentack (still crushing industrial dancefloors to this very day), through to the baffling glitchy constructs around the middle of the album, to the long moody masterpiece that is Ire, to the last track, a crackly voice pleading over and over, “Please contact us, we are your friends”. This album changed my life.
2. SKET: Baikonur
I must admit that by 2006 I had basically given up on power noise. Converter was finished, Imminent and smashed up his mixing desk and had lost his way, and the only things coming out on Ant-Zen were either ambient (i.e. Ab Ovo) or terrible (anything by Hypnoskull and his ilk). Then along came SKET. This German act produces some of the most intelligent and interesting music in the world today. Perhaps it isn’t even power noise; they may have pushed the genre so far that they’ve broken its boundaries. Whatever it is, it’s absolutely brilliant, and yes, even better than Nord.
1. Converter: Exit Ritual
Exit Ritual? Not Shock Front or Blast Furnace? No, this is the best thing Converter has ever produced, Ant-Zen has ever released, and power noise has ever given birth to. It’s a very dark album, occasionally creeping up to the precipice of dark ambient or death industrial, but never slipping over the edge. It plays with your emotions, starting off atmospheric and meditative (DroneRitual), becoming fairly aggressive (Nightmare Machine), moving into a relaxing, tribal space (Gateway Rite), then grabs you and drags you into a pit of madness (Night Swallows Day). Sturgis was apparently taking a LOT of drugs when he made this, and it shows. Not in a pretentious psychedelic way, but in a more schizophrenic and chilling way. I first listened to this album while suffering heavy sleep deprivation on a train through crumbling East German towns, and it seriously wrecked my head, which few albums can do. This is as good as it gets.
10. Tarmvred: Subfusc
This oddly-named album by an oddly-named act from Sweden caught people by surprise when it emerged on French label Ad Noiseam in 2001. Tarmvred gradually builds up big layers of noise, occasionally inter-mixing them with retro video-game bleebs or crashing drum and bass inspired percussion. He uses genuinely original and interesting sounds and techniques to produce his music, and sadly doesn’t seem to be doing much of anything anymore. Bring back Tarmvred I say!
9. Xenonics K-30: Automated
This was a one-off collaboration between the best power noise artist in the world (Converter) and the best power electronics artist in the world (Navicon Torture Technologies). Was it any surprise it was brutally heavy and completely awesome? This album is a relentless, seething slab of industrial mayhem that crushes your spine, fries your brain, and dismembers your corpse. Jason Mantis of Malignant Records reckons track 3 of this album is one of the most perfect pieces of industrial noise ever made, and I think he’s right.
8. 5F-X: 5F_55 is Reflected to 5F-X
This is definitely the strangest album on the list. An odd band called 5F_55 put out two odd albums of glitch noisy music on Hands, with tracknames composed of ASCII computer code. Then they renamed themselves 5F-X and put out this great album. It’s not only cool because it never takes itself too seriously, but it is also extremely good music, from beginning to end. With some nods to German techno and Hymen-style IDM / electronica, this is also probably the most fun and accessible album on this list.
7. Converter: Shock Front
This album, the first by legendary Scott Sturgis aka Converter, hit the power noise scene like a bombshell when Ant-Zen released it in 1999. It was menacing, dirty, heavy as a tank and pulverised listeners. While it doesn’t have the diversity and production quality of the follow-up Blast Furnace, I actually rate Shock Front higher. It’s a much more focused and effective album, and stands up extremely strong today as one of the classics of the genre.
6. Synapscape: So What
This album for me summarises a time; the glory days of German label Ant-Zen, and the peak of power noise (late 90s / early noughties). While Synapscape are still going strong and putting out good albums, this album for me is what defined their sound. It’s not complex, it’s not subtle, it’s just big, thundering, crunchy, smashing power noise. It’s a sledgehammer of an album that knocks down walls and kicks your arse and the arse of anyone else in the way. The fact that it comes with a second cd of more downtempo / experimental music is gravy. They don’t quite make ‘em like this anymore.
5. Winterkaelte: Drum and Noise
I’ll never forget the first time I heard this album (and this band); I popped the new cd into my player on a seedy hungover Saturday morning, and was immediately swept up in a barrage of noise, a lightning storm of deep fried bits and zeroes, swept away amongst sparking power cables and malfunctioning power generators. Winterkaelte are undeniably the most noisy and “pure” band in this genre. There really is no melody or harmony to be found here folks, it’s just layers of intricately constructed harshness. And it’s absolutely fantastic. The predecessor Structures of Destruction is very strong also; recent works not so much.
4. Iszoloscope: Au Seuil du Neant
It’s surprising that not everybody rates this album as young Canadian talent Iszoloscope’s best. For me there’s not much competition; this album really helped revive the flagging power noise genre in 2003, when it was under threat from lack of innovation and untalented clones. This album is a staggering work of cold bleak noise from an artist at the top of his game, that drifts effortlessly from broken noisy beats (Skotophobique) to crushing chilling distorted techno (-28c And Falling) to monstrously brooding dark ambient (Iszoloscope Tomes Deux). A classic in every sense of the word. If you don’t believe me, listen for yourself.
3. Imminent Starvation: Nord
Not putting this album at #1, or even #2, was very hard for me. Imminent Starvation’s 1999 album Nord defined this genre, and the set the bar for every other act in the world. It is a perfectly constructed album, from the scraping and jarring intro, to the relentless battle-machine that is Tentack (still crushing industrial dancefloors to this very day), through to the baffling glitchy constructs around the middle of the album, to the long moody masterpiece that is Ire, to the last track, a crackly voice pleading over and over, “Please contact us, we are your friends”. This album changed my life.
2. SKET: Baikonur
I must admit that by 2006 I had basically given up on power noise. Converter was finished, Imminent and smashed up his mixing desk and had lost his way, and the only things coming out on Ant-Zen were either ambient (i.e. Ab Ovo) or terrible (anything by Hypnoskull and his ilk). Then along came SKET. This German act produces some of the most intelligent and interesting music in the world today. Perhaps it isn’t even power noise; they may have pushed the genre so far that they’ve broken its boundaries. Whatever it is, it’s absolutely brilliant, and yes, even better than Nord.
1. Converter: Exit Ritual
Exit Ritual? Not Shock Front or Blast Furnace? No, this is the best thing Converter has ever produced, Ant-Zen has ever released, and power noise has ever given birth to. It’s a very dark album, occasionally creeping up to the precipice of dark ambient or death industrial, but never slipping over the edge. It plays with your emotions, starting off atmospheric and meditative (DroneRitual), becoming fairly aggressive (Nightmare Machine), moving into a relaxing, tribal space (Gateway Rite), then grabs you and drags you into a pit of madness (Night Swallows Day). Sturgis was apparently taking a LOT of drugs when he made this, and it shows. Not in a pretentious psychedelic way, but in a more schizophrenic and chilling way. I first listened to this album while suffering heavy sleep deprivation on a train through crumbling East German towns, and it seriously wrecked my head, which few albums can do. This is as good as it gets.
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