O.R.D.U.C. started as a project for experimental music. Gradually the music chanced to minimal-pop. In 1980 it got ‘worldfamous’ through the release of “Crazy Computer” on the EP '17 To 7 On 33', by Plurex. April 1981 followed the album 'Pink & Purple'. Later that year 'Fast Forward' and 'New Cubism' were released. 'The Beatear' (1984), 'D-Train' (1988), 'Bonus-Tracks' (1998) and some tracks on compilation-albums were released. In 2009 was the album '107' released. In 2011 O.R.D.U.C. celebrated its 40 year jubilee, with the compilation LP 'Ruby Jubilee'. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
French alternative band Noir Désir formed in the mid-'80s, comprised of vocalist / guitarist Bertrand Cantat, guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay, bassist Frédéric Vidalenc, and drummer Denis Barthe. The group's first EP, 'Ou Veux-Tu Que J'Regarde', was released in 1987. Two years later, Noir Désir released their debut full-length, 'Veuillez Rendre l'Âme (A Qui Elle Appartient)'. By second album 'Du Ciment Sous les Plaines' (1990), the band's harder, more punk-inspired elements began to come to the fore, and the progression remained on 1992's 'Tostaky'. After the live double LP 'Dies Irae', Noir Désir broke out with 1996's '666667 Club'. The band continued throughout the early 2000s, releasing albums every couple years. In 2003, lead singer Bertrand Cantat was charged in the death of his girlfriend, actress Marie Trintignant, who died -on August 1 that year- of head injuries after being punched by Cantat in a domestic dispute. Cantat was convicted of manslaughter and incarcerated for four years. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Maurice Deebank is a classically trained English guitarist. He was the co-founder and lead guitarist of the British indie band Felt from its debut album until 1985, and was responsible for the ornate, atmospheric guitar work found on many of the band's early recordings. During his tenure in Felt he co-wrote most of its material with frontman Lawrence.
Deebank was brought up in Water Orton on the eastern edge of Birmingham, where he attended the local school and knew the other founder members of Felt, without particularly being friends with them. He is considered to be a prodigy, a unique compositional voice and "father of indie guitar". He has also been cited as a major influence by The Smiths' Johnny Marr, as well as many other mainstream and alternative indie acts. Felt had released their first single 'Index' in 1979, which had unexpectedly been made Single of the Week by Sounds magazine. Lawrence -who at this stage still couldn't tune a guitar- invited Deebank to join the band shortly afterwards. Lawrence was later explicit in recognising Deebank's importance to early Felt. He was voted into Guitar Player magazine's Top 40 Underrated Guitar Players of all time in 2007; a celebration of the publication's fortieth anniversary.
Deebank's work as a solo artist combined eclecticism with a musical sophistication derived from his classical training. His solo album, 'Inner Thought Zone', was released on Cherry Red Records in 1984, with four additional tracks recorded in 1992 added to the CD issue. The track "Dance of Deliverance" from 'Inner Thought Zone' later appeared on the Felt compilation 'Absolute Classic Masterpieces'. He also co-wrote and performed on the Saint Etienne song "Paper", which first appeared on their 'Avenue' single.
English post-punk band The Lines first recorded in 1977 and released their last material in 1983, quietly leaving a pair of albums -'Therapy' (October 1981) and 'Ultramarine' (March 1983)- and a handful of singles and EPs in their wake. Fairly indifferent to the press, affiliated with a very small label, and, despite connections to Alternative TV,PragVec, and Fad Gadget, not part of any scene, The Lines gained a small and fervent following, and their releases remained obscure until the Acute label's 2008 reissues. 'Memory Span', released in May, compiled single and EP material. 'Flood Bank', released in November, contained all but one song from the band's two albums. Vocalist and guitarist Rico Conning assisted with the discs; after The Lines broke up, he had remained involved with music, engineering, and mixing for the likes of Swans and Depeche Mode and worked closely with William Orbit. In 2016, Acute released 'Hull Down', an assemblage of previously unreleased and unfinished material that had been recorded after their second album. Exploratory and experimental, the recordings involved the use of sequencers and synthesizers. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Such industrial alt-metal outfits as Nine Inch Nails and Ministry received the lion's share of press and commercial success during the '90s, but a handful of other bands slugged it out for just as long (or much longer), including KMFDM. The band's name has been the subject of countless debates among fans over the years as to what it stands for (their record company even went as far as holding a contest in 1994 for fans to submit possible meanings, resulting in more than 1,000 entries), but the confirmed meaning is "Kein Mitleid für die Mehrheit" which, when translated into English, means "No Pity for the Majority." The German band has included countless members over the years, but through it all, their leader has remained Sascha Konietzko, whose multiple roles have included that of songwriter, producer, mixer, programmer, sampler, vocalist, percussionist, bassist, and electronic gadgeteer.
Originally formed in Paris, France, KMFDM were founded by Konietzko and German painter / multimedia performer Udo Sturm. The duo made their in-concert debut on February 29, 1984, when they performed at an opening for an exhibition of European artists at the Grand Palais in Paris (with the show consisting of Sturm playing a synthesizer that would play feedback, and Konietzko playing a five-string bass). The same year, KMFDM issued their debut release, 'Opium', but Sturm exited the group shortly thereafter (around the same time, Konietzko was joined by drummer En Esch, who would remain with the group until 1999). With Sturm out of the picture, Konietzko and Esch put KMFDM on hold at first and joined up with New York industrialist Peter Missing to form the outfit Missing Foundation. But before the new outfit could issue any recordings, both Konietzko and Esch had dropped out and returned to KMFDM (Missing Foundation would carry on with replacement members and go on to issue albums on their own from the late '80s through the early '90s).
KMFDM's sophomore effort, 'What Do You Know Deutschland?', came in 1986 and was the group's first of many for Chicago's famed industrial label Wax Trax! But instead of if being an album of all new tracks, it was comprised of selections spanning from 1983 through 1986 (in fact, several were prior to Esch's joining). Around this time, KMFDM struck up a relationship with artist Aidan Hughes (aka Brute!), who would steadily supply cover artwork for the group; the images would become synonymous with KMFDM's hard-hitting music. Konietzko and company pushed forward with such further '80s releases as 1988's 'Don't Blow Your Top' and 1989's 'UAIOE', during which KMFDM found themselves in the middle of an underground industrial movement (it didn't hurt matters that Wax Trax! quickly became one of the leading industrial labels in the world, as they were the home to such other similarly styled acts as Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Front 242, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, etc.).
But KMFDM had yet to tour America by 1989 (having heavily toured Europe with the likes of Einstürzende Neubauten, Young Gods, and Borghesia, among others), something they sought to correct when they were offered a slot opening a U.S. tour for labelmates Ministry, who at the time were readying their classic 'The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste' release. With the tour lined up for a summer launch, it was pushed back several times (due to Ministry leader Al Jourgensen falling ill) and the tour finally got underway in December 1989. The tour successfully established KMFDM as a band to watch in the industrial underground, as they returned to Europe after the tour's completion to work on their fifth full-length release overall, 1990's 'Naïve'. Realizing that industrial's future lay in the U.S., Konietzko relocated KMFDM's home base from Hamburg to Chicago during 1991. The same year, KMFDM's side project Excessive Force was formed, issuing a debut release, 'Conquer Your World', in 1991, the same year that KMFDM issued a new release as well, 'Money'.
But just as it appeared as though KMFDM were about to break through to a wider audience, Wax Trax! suddenly found itself on hard times, resulting in the label being bought out by TVT Records. What followed for KMFDM were some of its best-known and strongest releases: 1993's 'Angst' (which earned the group its first real exposure on MTV via the video clip for the track "Drug Against War"), 1995's 'Nihil', and 1996's 'XTORT'. During the same time, Excessive Force issued a second release, 1993's 'Gentle Death', while Konietzko relocated once more, this time to Seattle. Further releases followed in the late '90s (1997's 'Symbols', 1998's 'Agogo', and 1999's 'Adios'), before KMFDM disbanded on January 22, 1999.
In the wake of the group's split, Konietzko assembled a new outfit, MDFMK (yep, KMFDM spelled backward) and issued a lone self-titled release in 2000 before KMFDM reunited in 2002 for an all-new album, 'Attak', and the live album 'Sturm & Drang Tour 2002'. The year 2003 saw the release of 'WWIII', followed by 'WWIII Live 2003' a year later. Released on KMFDM Records, 2005's 'Hau Ruck' was classic KMFDM in all its aggressive industrial power. The 'Ruck Zuck' EP followed in 2006, with the full-length 'Tohuvabohu' landing in 2007. Remix album 'Brimborium' and rarities collection 'Extra, Vol. 1' were both released in 2008. 'Blitz' followed in 2009, with the greatest-hits compilation 'Würst' arriving a year later.
New material arrived in 2011 with the loud and heavy 'WTF?!' 'Kunst' followed in 2013, with a song dedicated to the jailed Russian anarchist group Pussy Riot along with a collaboration featuring the Swedish group Morlocks. In 2014, the group celebrated "Over Two and a Half Decades of Conceptual Continuity" with a live album, 'We Are KMFDM', and their 19th studio effort, 'Our Time Will Come'. KMFDM signed a new contract with Ear Music in 2016. Their first release for the label was 'ROCKS: Milestones Reloaded', which featured remixed and updated versions of their hits. The following year saw the band issue a new EP, 'Yeah!', as well as a full-length outing, 'Hell Yeah', later that August.
Jacno (3 July 1957 in Paris – 6 November 2009) was a French musician. Born as Denis Quilliard, he was a founding member of the first French punk band The Stinky Toys. In the early 1980s, after the group disbanded, he teamed up with former Stinky Toys singer Elli Medeiros to form the pop duo Elli et Jacno. Jacno had also released a number of solo albums since 1979. He took his professional name from the name of the graphic artist who drew the Gallic helmet logo of French Gauloises cigarettes brand.
In 1999, the Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino used the track "Rectangle" for his song "La Passion". The song was a hit in Austria and Belgium where it became a number-one single, and was very popular in other European countries. Jacno died overnight between 5 and 6 November 2009 from cancer, aged 52. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Informatics were a post-punk electronic band from Melbourne, Australia formed in 1981. Michael Trudgeon, Valek Sadovchikoff, Steve Adam and Ramesh Ayyar met in the experimental sound studio while attending the same art school. Philip McKellar later joined the band in 1983. Between 1981 and 1985, Informatics recorded numerous tracks, mainly in a garage, using a four-track tape machine and any electronic gear they could get their hands on. The band held a fascination for contemporary visual art and moving images and videos would accompany their live performances. The production elements in the videos reflected Informatics’ philosophy on sound composition: the footage was entirely pirated from television ads, manipulated and then collaged to create new narratives that reinforced the music.
Informatics came to work together through a shared fascination in electronic music and the capabilities of analogue synthesizers. In early performances, long before the advent of samplers, the Informatics used a collection of synthesizers and other analogue and hand built equipment. These were patched together to create a unique battery of sounds. Between January and November 1981 Informatics recorded their debut 4 song 'Dezinformatzia' EP but it was not released until 1983. The track “Proximity Switch”, later renamed “Accidents in Paradise” became popular in parts of Europe and was re-released in 1985. Informatics early songs have a brittle, cold, disconnected feel made by a Roland SH-101, Korg MS-20 and a lot of processed guitar. The later songs utilize newer technology and ambient, synthesized melodies closer to their country mates Severed Heads. True synthpunk pioneers a world away from their contemporaries in America. [SOURCE: DARK ENTRIES RECORDS]
Stefan Winczencz gets this band ca. 1980. He played in this time in a second band with name Fröhliche Eiszeit. Hoffnung & Psyche is some of the greatest minimal-synth sound, recorded in the years 1981-82. "Sie Bleibt Kalt" is an absolutly fantastic sound with girl vocals (this girl came to visit him, and so they recorderd in his living-room 4 tracks, afterwhich he never saw her). The instrumental track "Das Auto" sounds like Der Plan. Both tracks came out in 1981/82 on cassette in a quantity of 50 pieces. [SOURCE: FUSETRON]
GRAF+ZYX are the duo of Inge Graf and Walter Zyx. They formed in Vienna, Austria in 1977. Committing themselves to the “aestheticisation of everyday life” in all fields of art, their works with video, photography, graphic design, and music are visually influenced by Pop Art, Constructivism, Futurism, Dadaism, Beat culture, and the electronic rock of the 60s and 70s. They are considered pioneers of multimedia art worldwide, and continue to remain active to this day.
‘Trust No Woman’ is the debut album from GRAF+ZYX, and was released in 1981 on the label RCA Music. It was recorded, mixed and mastered from March to August 1981 at their own Sun Moon & Stars Studio Vienna. They designed short, punchy songs around a barrage of analogue synths, rock-solid electro beats and tempered, low-key vocals. Cold and claustrophobic atmospheres collide with mechanical rhythms The songs are sung in English with a heavy German accent, and lyrics channel obscure existentialist dialogues. Despite the sombre tone, there lingers a touch of the enthusiasm that accompanied the influx of affordable technologies and new media of the era. It is a album that advances on the ideas set forth by The Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Tuxedomoon and Yello. Faced with the increasingly blurry line between human and machine, they approach their art with a still-potent blend of ambivalence, optimism, and melancholy. [SOURCE: DARK ENTRIES RECORDS]
Five or Six was a UK post-punk band, originally signed to Cherry Red Records by A&R head Mike Alway, who deemed them to be the act with the most potential from the scene he had helped create around the Snoopies club in south-west London. The line-up was fluid, and apart from their key contribution to the best-selling compilation album 'Pillows & Prayers', they are perhaps most notable for the various activities of most former members.
John Yorke became a senior executive for both Channel Four and the BBC and is currently head of independent drama. Dave Harper is involved in the management of bands including Goldfrapp. His brother, Simon Harper, became head of international at 4AD. Dave Knight and Ashley Wales joined Karl Blake as members of the Shock Headed Peters, with Wales then proceeding to dance / jazz duo Spring Heel Jack. Knight later worked with Lydia Lunch and Danielle Dax, records solo under the name Arkkon, and with Stephen Thrower (Coil, Cyclobe) in UnicaZürn. Julia Gilbert writes scripts for "EastEnders". In 2008, Cherry Red released a retrospective anthology, entitled 'Acting On Impulse'. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
