Karenn, Surgeon, Truss and Perc discuss the recent return of the diesel-powered sound.

Great read, love the nod to Throbbing Gristle with the type front for the title

such a sick idea

some of the new migrants are great but just because Blawan is good at it doesn't mean everyone is

Thanks for this!

what a fantastic read, nice one Angus !! AnD, Truss / MPIA3, Perc, FSG and Avian are making the kind of techno that makes my heart race !! ... Here's to the harsh industrial metallic sounds of UK techno .. long may it live

Excellent read! This gentlemen are producing the sounds that make me feel like is mid '90's all over again and I am loving it!

working on a doco about industrial music . More info here.

http://www.kisskissbankbank.com/industrial-soundtrack-for-the-urban-decay

working on a doco about industrial music . More info here.

http://www.kisskissbankbank.com/industrial-soundtrack-for-the-urban-decay

I guess they all owe a little to The Quietus and the insistence of its critics to reminisce on their teenage sounds in their reviews/rants/reconsecrations of current and past music.

Whether you like these kind of sounds or not, they sure make techno a lot more interesting and I'm sure there will develop something wonderful again from this style.

This is my entirely subjective opinion, but I can't see how art in the truest sense of the word can fail to reflect the society of which it is a part. If art doesn't reflect or comment upon the environment in which it was birthed in some sense, then it isn't art.

Electronic music of course isn't in any way free of this 'constraint', and I think has always done an exceptional job of commenting on the society of which to which it belongs, (even without words - shock horror); from Chicago house to Detroit techno to UK rave and on to the superclub consumer fuelled era of the very late 1990s.

Again, this is entirely my own subjective opinion & experiences, but from 2000 onwards many of us were out spending money visiting nice bars & clubs; flashing the cash, maxing out our credit cards and the music we were listening too reflected that hedonistic atmosphere. From the likes of Steve Lawler and John Digweed and the progressive house scene, to the 'shiny-happy' house music that channelled Balearic beaches and the wearing of our sunglasses at night; it was all very nice and safe back then, (to my mind the likes of Hot Creations belongs in this era...). I've never been a particular fan of all that Ibiza, fashion orientated 'trendy' dance music, but at root I think it was just another cultural comment on the economic and social atmosphere at the time.

Then grime & dubstep came along and reminded some us that not everyone was experiencing the wealth (debt?) created by capitalism and liberal economics, New Labour and the consumer economy.

Here in 2012 the rise of the new industrial techno (to my mind - again) is a both a creative reaction against the previous ten years of 'trendy house' etc. and smoothly produced minimal techno , (which itself was a very trendy & fashion orientated scene - despite what the proponents of genre seemed to think or say at the time), and the excessive consumer atmosphere witnessed in the UK during 2000-2008.

Now the bubble has burst and everything is fucked. And I do want to go out in just a pair of old jeans and dirty t-shirt and go raving in an old warehouse somewhere. I'm sick of the trendy bar scene, expensive drinks, exclusive clubs and 12 pound door charges.

Here in 2012 many of us have little money and are in fear of our jobs, if we even have a job. Personally I'm fucking furious at the state of the UK; no one has been held responsible for what happened in 2008 and (as usual) its the little guys and gals paying for it/suffering from it. I can't see how this new angrier, faster music cannot be a comment on the times in which we live, even if the artists making it aren't consciously aware of it.

So yeah, rant almost over, but fuck the clubs, fuck the bars, fuck the Police, the City Councils and the government which seems to be saying we just have to suck it up, get paid less for working longer hours whilst a select few get to drive round in their Bentleys. Personally, I don't really want to be part of that society any longer.

Lets just go find an old building, set up a soundsystem, charge no entry price and have a fucking rave to some bollock hard techno. Actions like these are political and they do serve to send a symbolic message that something is clearly wrong with our society, much like they did at the end of the 1980s/early 1990s. Maybe we have to look back a bit to move forward, because those guys & gals hosting raves and making music etc. around 1991 did have balls of steel; and they had the establishment on the run, the government etc. were shit scared for a couple of years - just look at the Criminal Justice Bill and the newspaper headlines of the time.

The tunes of Perc, Surgeon, Blawan etc. even Hessle Audio, are making a clear statement if you choose to hear it. It really is time we (the young) did some thing that made our leaders sit up and listen, (no one else is) we've clearly got the tunes, we just need to engage the attitude and organise some illegal parties and some good old fashioned civil disobedience.

Rant over.

mahatmaCoat. Excellent post. I concur almost entirely.

This article could have been published 2 years ago and it would have been more relevant and made more sense - is industrial techno becoming popular now because all of the 'post-dubstep' fans have decided to start listening to it for the first time?

Regis and Surgeon have been making this kind of music for over 15 years, and the BMB comeback sounds more like a harder version of Kalon and not industrial techno...

plus this idea of industrial techno being a byproduct of producers living in darker times is a bit twee and sounds like the basis for a sixth form sociology project - thankfully Perc shot it down in the interview.

keep up at the back there RA!

electronic music is going to be MAD!!

about time!

EDM! ^^

Wondering if and how this sound fits in with some also fairly hard (but not necessarily industrial) techno coming out of LA via Droid Behavior, Detroit via Blank Code, or even more experimental labels like Great Circles out of Philadelphia.

Thoughts? Techno has always been a global movement with local tendencies - I just wanna connect some dots if it's possible.

Awesome read, thank you

Xhin is the sound we're talking about right? http://soundcloud.com/xhin/live-at-lehmann-club-stuttgart

I agree that the emergence of more industrial techno sounds relatively recently (~5 years, let's say) cannot necessarily be attributed to the "darker times" producers are living in, especially if a) it is not so recent, but rather continuous, and/or b) producers themselves refuse that characterization of their work. However, and this may be too "sixth form sociology" or pomo for you, but the "death of the author" certainly applies to musicians as well, and it's worth considering that part of the reason this music is now more listened to or enjoyed is because it has found a wider audience among unemployed, disenchanted, frustrated, or downright angry people. And the reception any creative work (literary or musical) gets is just as constitutive of its cultural symbolism as is the intention of its producer/author/creator.

All of that. I don't "get mad about things and go write music about it" necessarily, but someone needs to understand the concept of "zeitgeist". You also don't shut off your feelings or frustrations in order to write music either, and if you do, then I'm not sure why you're writing anything, to be honest.

Is it okay to write music for dancing? Sure. Do I have more than a little frustration with people who basically claim that techno "isn't about anything"? Fuck yes I do. Because if you don't have fuck all to say with your music, why exactly are you making it?

Also, I just had to say: Pinion.

Check him out.

Hi, thanks for responding. I can't really agree with your point about this music being more listened to now or it has a wider audience. The origins of this music lie in h early to mid 90s of uk techno, labels like magnetic north, acts like the advent, spira, Vogel Dave Clarke, tobias Schmidt etc. while the early 90s was a time of excitement in Germany and the former east bloc, in the uk and Ireland it was characterised by huge unemployment, especially in the age group you refer to, negative equity people losing their homes, the legacies of thatchers reign. Therefore there was a far greater group of disenfranchised people who listened to this music and more crucially bought it, some of these releases sold u to40000 copies. What I'm saying is that this style of music was far more listened to then than now, what this article and the points you make in your post suggest to me is that hard techno has now become a soundtrack for RA and Fact readers. An interesting aside to all of this is that mpia3 plays a lot of drop bass network and magnetic north records in his sets and it is these records that get the best reactors...

Don't believe the media hype!

This Industrial , techno hybrid is not a new thing. It's been going on for ages.

Check out the acts and labels here,

Dive, Sonar, Imminent, Asche, Converter, Orphx, Esplendor Geometrico, Geistform & labels like Ant-Zen, Hymen & Hands have all been making Rythmic Noise which is not much different in sound to what is now the current hype in techno. This has been going on since the early 90's and is still going on now.

I am not one to post on forums but this is a subject that touches my heart. I have been one of the few in techno to push the above sounds for over the last 10 years without following the minimal trend. I am connected into both scenes via labels and artists. Industrial music like techno is not a trend, it is a way of life for the artists involved. It's been around for decades without ever stopping. For some reason in techno every time Industrial music gets a mention it is the same five bands from the late 70's early 80's being spoken about. Their is so much more to this music and scene then just these same acts. Most of whom have stopped making music for many years and whose music has less to do with techno then the aforementioned acts.

If you are interested in learning more about industrial music and the scene I would recommend checking the above acts and labels. Also do a search of Maschinenfest in Germany. They are the premier festival event in Europe for industrial music. There are hundred of video's of live acts that have played there.

If this is not industrial and techno rolled up into one I don't know what is, check these industrial legends.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuHLljLjJuc
Over & Out: X

This is a great post, I fully agree. Too much is being read into whether this will "kill" a/the scene, since nights can be programmed with this kind of stuff as just part of it, and people prefer that. Someone banging out at 3 or 4 in the morning is always welcome. Just listen to the Karenn Boiler Room

Firstly good article, that's not the criticism; it's just that there's nothing hugely new here, and I'm not talking in a throwback sense, ever since the Berghain sound emerged it was always heavily indebted to industrial, all that has happened is that things have got a bit dirtier and less sexy.

The Quietus have done a good job keeping the pure industrial flame going and they are very upfront about the fact that they are fans first; it's why I've been reticent to get into Blackest Ever Black, they seem far too cool for school and weren't entirely upfront initially with their relationship with FACT.

Also, Sandwell District.

I like the music, but it's merely an evolution from a scene that was already pretty fucking strong. Last few times I saw Function in Belfast over the last 3 years he wrecked the place and it was packed.

Also, good discussion, enjoy reading the effort you've put in to your comments, makes this a cool place.

nice article, great artists - respect to them, but this sound bubble has bursted. i find it boring with a void for bass lines and swing. decent for what it is, hope it morphs into something fresh sooner then later. like anything in music, people run w hype/trends, in this case the berghain buzz for the last few years and ran it straight into the ground.

perc has been on the tip for ages, nothing but love for him and his label. same for sandwell district, nothing remotely new to them. industrial techno has been around longer then most of the billions of genres and micro genres that are present today.

BROPHY-
This article could have been published 2 years ago and it would have been more relevant and made more sense - is industrial techno becoming popular now because all of the 'post-dubstep' fans have decided to start listening to it for the first time?

Regis and Surgeon have been making this kind of music for over 15 years, and the BMB comeback sounds more like a harder version of Kalon and not industrial techno...

plus this idea of industrial techno being a byproduct of producers living in darker times is a bit twee and sounds like the basis for a sixth form sociology project - thankfully Perc shot it down in the interview.

keep up at the back there RA!


Couldn't of said it any better!!!!!!

industrial is as much of a trendy scene as the handbag house stuff is

you know all those weird gothy/BSDM types

I suspect the majority of this apparent "Wider" audience no nothing of the early 90's or early techno scene! the early 90's was not any better than it is now for the youth of england, for all the factors richard said. And considering these days labels only run a print of 400 vinyls(maybe a repress if lucky) and digital sales don't reach far beyond, i'd totally disagree with any conception that todays industrial music hits more people, and that there is this disillusioned unemployed movement all playing playstation listening to perc and truss!!!

" It's just that there's nothing hugely new here, and I'm not talking in a throwback sense, ever since the Berghain sound emerged it was always heavily indebted to industrial, all that has happened is that things have got a bit dirtier and less sexy. " => I fully agree to this, ever since Aphex Twin ( but I find this kind of sounds are pretty sexy
I'm not really into sociological theories with techno music. I do think that labels like Avian, Mote-Evolver, Our Circula Sound, Black Sun, Sandwell District, etc..., came out the noise/concrete music, and experiment around noise-based materials, and ... that's all ( Nevertheless great experimentations ). I smell the noise, the industrial, even some kind of stoner rock in Shifted's work for example. From my point of view Dominick Fernow ( aka Prurient, aka Vatican Shadow, aka the man who runs Hospital Productions label ) and Richard D. James really did a lot for that kind of sounds. Very nice article. (Please do not mind my english, I'm a french motherfucker )

Check Terence Fixmer's Muscle Machine album from 1998

A fair amount of reasonable comment and criticism in this whole thread for sure (and I enjoyed the article as well).

Ultimately, regardless of whether or not these styles of music (or similar) have existed in a similar form for time immemorial, the fact that you've got people like Regis, Surgeon et al appearing on the Boiler Room, and Perc & co attracting much more attention from listeners/record buyers/dancers now than they were a short while ago, makes this subject worth covering in this kind of depth on RA. That's true regardless of whether anyone individually sees the whole trend as a positive or negative thing; as far as I can tell - for both the old guard and the new - if it's turning more ears onto what they're doing, then what's the problem?

The industrial aspect here is a knotty old thing to unpick, admittedly - the idea that 'industrial' was an ethic and an approach to art, more than it was about a specific sound. But I think between Angus and the quotes from the people interviewed, the article does a reasonably good job of touching on the fact that industrial music was always about more than the sounds of construction site equipment clanging together. (Bringing up that question of what does and doesn't count as 'industrial techno' out of the new guard of people here, but whatever)

Massively in agreement re. issues with venues though. I'd like nothing more to be able to go out raving to spaces that aren't atmosphereless/soulless/overpriced, in London at least the kind of nights that leave an impression feel few and far between at the moment. (Perhaps I'm not looking in the right places, mind)

Interesting article and comments. Personally I am struggling to enjoy this hard industrial techno for long periods of time. They are all catchy and grab my attention but there is no lasting impression, the tracks all seem to blend into one big noise.

Good read, including this thread, thanks to everyone!

For me, aged 26, it's the first time I can see this kind of music popping out in realtime, right now, not in a delay of 15-18 years. that's exciting! a few years ago "contemporary hard techno" (at least here in germany) was not interesting at all, it was just hard for hardness' sake with boring loopy arrangements etc...

actually i can hear some differences in the "industrial techno" sound from yesterday and today. i for myself have the feeling of something fresh happening out there, not compulsory "new" in every track and aspect, and of course it's rooted in much older music and blah - but there are new individual approaches on the sound (e.g. blawan/karenn ...) - and that's stunning to me.

also it makes me wanna dig (and I do!) more in the 90ies, not only old regis- and surgeon-records, but also stuff like cristian vogel or jamie lidell or neil landstrumm ... and it's fun to combine (as a dj and listener) the old with the new tracks and also with not-so-techno-records from the "bass music"-universe or even more far-out genres... makes it spicy!

Love it!!! Meanwhile back in the UK. We are going through the... The Industrial Techno Revolution. About time too, had enough of the same people in the same clubs, playing the same boring house pap for the last 15 years. It just does not fit in with modern decaying Britain. Harsh industrial pounding rhythms & Joy Division type melancholia ladled out in huge spoonfuls of atmospheric synths & FX is the future & for some of us it was the past too, remember Throbbing Gristle & the first Industrial Records, then Test Dept. and even Lenny Dee's take on Industrialism.

Yes I also agree with the above post too from clogsmusic. Thats because a lot of djs and producers don't look beyond the 90s Birmingham technos lot's take on it, to earlier times where it was OK to stop the beat for a while.

And my suggestion is to mix it up a bit with atmospheric 'noisey ambient' tracks like the excellent A Greyed Out Life By Forward Strategy Group.

True Industrial for me will always be... getting the bus 15 miles to Sheffield (subsidised to 5p by the local labour party council). Listening to the sound of Sheffield steel mills working throughout the night. Going to the Leadmill venue (yes a real Leadmill) And hearing Cabaret Voltaire play live for the first time back in the early 80s.

check some my mixes here to learn more about the past and future.
www.mixcloud.com/bionisamp9/

@THEORIGINALADAMX ,liked your comment a lot...many artist not mentioned in here ,with all the due respect to the ones that this article highlights.
...but hell yes long life to techno !!!not only industrial...the good honest music and artists all over.Christian Vogel,Pacou,Neil Landstrum,Scan 7,Adam X,The Young Hunting...and so many others not on the cover of the magazine...

))))

thanks for these... i find a lot of more recent industrial and EBM pretty cheesy but never really looked into rhythm and noise/power noise before. the new sonar album is dope.

respect btw!

I don't know much about 90s UK techno

I have an okay job and don't feel politically repressed

I fuckin love all these tunes coming out because for whatever reason, they resonate

Maybe it just cos they pounding

No problem, I hope you find some nice music to your liking on my list.

Agreed on modern EBM. I have never been a fan of most EBM from the mid 90's and onwards. Most of it is cheesey sounding synth pop trance sounding nothing at all like the great EBM music of the 80's.

No problem, I hope you find some nice music to your liking on my list.

Agreed on modern EBM. I have never been a fan of most EBM from the mid 90's and onwards. Most of it is cheesey sounding synth pop trance sounding nothing at all like the great EBM music of the 80's.

As someone who only recently started listening to and enjoying techno, I'd have to say that I'm glad to have gotten into it at a time like this. Great article!

Didn't take long for Blawan to hop over to another genre.

Really good points here. I don't think anyone really thinks that "industrial techno," (however you might define it) is new, or that the scene has been resurrected from death. Its simply that there are noticeably a lot more people making it and making it interesting now than there were in the past decade. Or at least theres more attention being paid, worldwide, to those that do. As someone from the US, I can say that these sounds are really starting to gain footage with the youth. As cheesy "EDM," gets bigger and bigger, so do these sorts of sounds in reaction. Thank god for that at least.

Good thread with a bunch of interesting divergent viewpoints. Don't have much to add because RichardBrophy and THEORIGINALADAMX have already done a much better job of saying what I wanted to say.

Listen to Adam X, he knows the scene inside out.

Really digging so much of this at the moment. Bar the one's already mentioned, AnD, Orphx, Container, Ugandan Methods all spring to mind. We have something really rather special planned at Plex Basement Session #2 on May 3rd - those that like all of this kinda gear and are in London that day should diary it

apologies for the shameless plug but it is pretty relevant to the topic in hand..

mahatmacoat - thank you! Your comments are a breath of fresh air... i will go to a party with you any day of the week