INCLUDING MATERIAL SENT IN BY ANONYMOUS, FRIENDS AND FANS FROM OCCUPY WALLSTREET AND MORE

Fatboy Slim just charted the track at number 1 at beatport (Tony Senghore Remix)

Atari Teenage Riot just returned from the USA tour , jumped right into tons and tons of amazing shows in Europe.

The tour continues !

21.10.2011 AT-Dornbirn, Dornbirn

22.10.2011 DE-Stuttgart, Universum

28.10.2011 NL-Dordrecht, Bibelot

29.10.2011 NL-Haarlem, Patronaat

31.10.2011 FR-Lille, Aeronef

01.11.2011 FR-Clermont-Ferrand, “La Cooperative de Mai”

03.11.2011 FR-Saint-Etienne, Le Fil

04.11.2011 FR-Nantes, Le Ferrailleur

17.11.2011 JP-Tokyo, Liquidroom

18.11.2011 JP-Osaka, Fanj Twice

19.11.2011 JP-Nagoya, Club Quattro

23.11.2011 RU-Moscow, Tochka

24.11.2011 RU-St. Petersburg, Glavclub

25.11.2011 FI-Helsinki, Nosturi

26.11.2011 SE-Stockholm, Debaser

02.12.2011 DK-Copenhagen, The Rock

03.12.2011 DE-Hamburg, Gruenspann

ATARI TEENAGE RIOT XXXMAS RAVE 2011!!!! ATR live plus open end party!

Alec Empire & CX Kidtronik DJ-Sets plus special guests from LONDON!!!!

posted by RZ22 for EYHO Blog Berlin
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CLICK HERE TO WATCH CLIP FILMED BY ZAN LYONS

On July 24th Atari Teenage Riot suddenly took over the mainstage at FUSION FESTIVAL near Berlin, Germany.

The crowd smashed the barriers and invaded the stage during the song “Revolution Action”.

Director Zan Lyons was able to capture what was happening on camera.

Alec Empire:” It was surreal! Totally amazing crowd! Nothing got broke, nobody got hurt! Fusion Festival is a great event. There is no corporate sponsorship, it is politically charged as well. The alternative is possible, we just have to make it become real! We make music so people participate and join in…we don’t want people to just consume that stuff in a passive way… so of course for us playing Fusion in 2010 was mindblowing!”

just.ekosystem.org took photos! Visit the website!

Atari Teenage Riot has confirmed more festivals for this summer as well as European and US club shows.

09.07.2010 RS-Novi Sad, Exit Festival  NEW!!!
15.07.2010 NETHERLANDS-Enschede, Atak
16.07.2010 BELGIUM-Dour, Dour Festival
17.07.2010 FRANCE-Montmartin Sur Mer, Chauffer Dans La Noirceur
05.08.2010 TAIWAN-Taipei, The Wall  NEW!!!
07.08.2010 JAPAN-Tokyo, Summer Sonic
08.08.2010 JAPAN-Tokyo, Summer Sonic
27.08.2010 GREAT BRITAIN-Leeds, Leeds Festival
28.08.2010 GREAT BRITAIN-Reading, Reading Festival
07.09.2010 GERMANY -Hamburg, Übel & Gefährlich
08.09.2010 NETHERLANDS-Den Haag, Paard Van Troje
09.09.2010 GERMANY -Frankfurt, Batschkapp
10.09.2010 GERMANY -Berlin, Berlin Festival
11.09.2010 POLAND-Kraków, Rotunda
13.09.2010 HUNGARY-Budapest, Trafo
14.09.2010 AUSTRIA-Vienna, Szene
23.09.2010 USA-New York City, The Gramercy Theatre
24.09.2010 USA-Baltimore, Sonar
25.09.2010 USA-Pittsburgh, Diesel
30.09.2010 USA-Los Angeles, Keyclub
01.10.2010 USA-Chicago, The Bottom Lounge
www.atari-teenage-riot.com <http://www.atari-teenage-riot.com>

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Atari Teenage Riot

• Exclusive London reunion show announced for May
• New single “Activate“ confirmed

Atari Teenage Riot – “Activate!” by Alec Empire

In the late 90s Atari Teenage Riot (ATR) emerged out of the electronica genre, to subvert all rules of rock and techno music. The original conception was Alec Empire‘s and when joined by Hanin Elias, Nic Endo and Carl Crack on stage, the mixed race, mixed sex image of the band provoked people before they even heard the music.

The seminal band was too radical in its views and statements and simply too loud and noisy to fit in neatly inside any genre, with Hanin screaming about police violence and revolution, ATR opened many doors for female artists to follow at the time.
In 1996, Alec Empire teamed up with the Beastie Boys to negotiate a label deal between Grand Royal and Digital Hardcore Recordings for North America. The album, “Burn Berlin Burn” was born.

Shortly after, tours with Rage Against The Machine, Wu-Tang Clan and Beck swiftly followed. But with the success came tension. Every musician has their own way of dealing with it, and ATR were extremely intense. Very soon the thin line between reality and paranoia started to vanish.
When John Peel asked ATR to play Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in 1999, the band had just released their 3rd and best album, “60 Second Wipe Out“, which was mixed with Andy Wallace (Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, Slayer). During the song “Revolution Action“, kids stormed the stage and pandemonium descended on the capital.
When the Berlin quartet played their last show at the Big Day Out Festival, Australia in 2000 everyone was watching: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, The Clash’s Joe Strummer, Foo Fighters and Primal Scream on the side of the stage. The band finally dissolved in the wake of MC Carl Crack’s death just days before September 11th 2001.
Their records stand as a testament to the years 1992-2000, where anything seemed possible. Now Atari Teenage Riot have reunited for one more show:

May 12th 2010

The Electric Ballroom, London

184 Camden High Street, London, NW1 8QP

7pm / £16 / 14+

For tickets www.gigantic.com

The members of Atari Teenage Riot are pleased to announce that the American MC CX KIDTRONIK has officially joined the band and will be completing their line up when they hit the UK later this year. Having previously worked with Saul Williams, Kanye West and Nine Inch Nails, CX KIDTRONIK is an unstoppable and explosive MC as politically minded as the rest of ATR that bring his own element to the band.

Additionally, a brand new single “Activate” has been confirmed for May 17^th and will be released through the band’s own label Digital Hardcore Recordings.  Atari Teenage Riot are also treating fans to a free remix by the LA based dubstep genius The Builder: http://soundcloud.com/alec_empire/atari-teenage-riot-digital-hardcore-2009-remix-by-the-builder

Let the revolution begin.

www.atari-teenage-riot.com

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while stock lasts… click this link

https://www.shop.the-hellish-vortex.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=199

ALEC EMPIRE AND NIC ENDO ARE ON TOUR ! NOW ! PLAYING MATERIAL FROM THE PAST _ PRESENT AND FUTURE! (incl. ATR songs)

06.11.2009 NL-Den Haag, Bazart
07.11.2009 NL-Utrecht, DBs
18.11.2009 GB-Newport, TJs
19.11.2009 GB-London, O2 Academy Islington
20.11.2009 GB-Birmingham, Eddie?s
21.11.2009 GB-Manchester, Club Academy
22.11.2009 GB-Edinburgh (GB), GRV
25.11.2009 CH-Z?rich, Stall 6
26.11.2009 F-Perpignan, CrockMore? NEW!!!
27.11.2009 CH-Vevey, Rocking Chair
28.11.2009 I-Florence (I), Siddharta
07.12.2009 I-Roma, Atlantico

for more info and last tickets go to
http://www.alec-empire.com/

Also check out new Atari Teenage Riot Dubstep remix by The Builder!

Atari Teenage Riot “Digital Hardcore” (2009 Remix by The Builder) by alec_empire

ALEC EMPIRE:” I WANTED TO CAPTURE THAT BUZZ NERO MIGHT HAVE FELT WHEN ROME WAS BURNING DOWN…” Read latest interview with Trashhits

http://www.thrashhits.com/2009/11/interview-alec-empire-i-wanted-to-capture-the-buzz-nero-might-have-felt-when-rome-was-burning-down/

Alec Empire’s 10 tips on how to subvert the music industry on Artrocker!

WIN LAST TICKETS FOR UK TOUR VIA GIGJUNKIE! CLICK HERE!

subscribe to EYHO Blog – it’s free! more than that…

DJ markH DJ mix by EYHO_Blog

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TIME TO STOP QUOTING AND START CREATING!

by Alec Empire

Let me introduce myself; I am Alec Empire and I was born in West Berlin. I believe that I am the only ‘true’ Berliner in the current music scene. As far as I can tell, all the others claiming Berlin as their home, moved there to boost (or kill?), their careers. To be honest, I don’t think it matters that much… or shouldn’t in our age. I find myself talking to people from other continents more than those belonging to the so called local scene (I’m not really sure there is one and even if there is I’m not sure it’s what people would like to believe it is). Whatever, I suppose we all gain from the myth that comes with Berlin. Reality follows our imagination… Let’s hope so.

But it’s not about local scenes or absorbing something intangible from the air in Berlin. If you want to know your future you have to erase your past.
click here for ABC clip

Please excuse my English. I have been touring recently and my crew and band are from France & USA. Somehow we all speak this weird mixture of languages. It’s hard to switch back to normal you know?

I am used to change. Dramatic changes in the case of my country. When I was a child I always sensed that post-World War II vibe – even decades later. Everybody has seen it in a film or read a book; but there are aspects Berliners have never really talked about in public. For example: how many women were raped at the end of the War? We can barely imagine that deep pain and its consequences on society. Then there’s the GDR and the Wall finally coming down. On the surface Berlin looks cool; parties, clubs like nowhere else in the world but to me it always feels like children celebrating themselves, dancing on a mass grave, not knowing, innocent… The beginning of Lord of the Flies.
click here for deleted scene clip

Where I come from, the majority is a potential threat to the individual. The silent majority can decide over life and death of real people, just because they ignore political news on that day of the football match.
watch clip
watch next clip here

Change… Some feel threatened by change and others actually fear it and would become über-active just to stop it from happening. It makes them so nervous. I associate change with new opportunities and taking chances.

But I believe things are really changing. Right now! For the past nine years the music scene has reminded me of a dying dog, bleeding to death, bleeding dry and trying to bite its attackers who stand just out of reach, watching…

Hopefully by now, the majority of people have understood that doing nothing is the most powerful and damaging action they can take these days. Not buying a car, not buying music, not voting. Years ago I went on what most would call a ‘date’ and the girl didn’t know anything, she looked good, but that night I realized I was bored with that shiny surface of everything in our society. When I first heard John Coltrane I knew instantly that there was so much more than I could understand on the first listen. Music can store information and emotions that words and images fail to describe.
watch John Coltrane here

With most music that came out during the ‘Bush Era’ you could dig and dig and discover absolutely nothing. The past nine years have been a black hole – we can admit it now that this era is coming to an end. Musicians were scared, scared of not selling, of not being ‘accepted’. The social networks reflect that perfectly. Become popular at all costs. Lie, fake your profile (I am not talking about making it look the best it can be, but pretending you are someone else), use bots to get that snowball rolling, survive the download madness. If you are reading this and don’t know what I am talking about, compare the past few years with the 40′s or 50′s.

The music scene has been doing the same as the financial world; the exact same. Investing in non-existent capital, trying to create ‘value’ out of thin air. And most people have been busy making sure that they are on the ‘right’ side of things, where most people gather, than listening to their inner voice. Because being alone or out of step seemed to be the worst thing that could happen.

It was safer to quote others. Just don’t take the risk to be the first to try something that you might regret later. That is the worst environment for true creativity.

It has become obvious that capitalism has not brought us what it promised. Short term thinking, maximizing profits only works for a little while and then the whole system collapses.

I am fascinated how the game industry tricked kids into buying Guitar Hero. Do you want to play the guitar? Press this button. Pop Idol (American Idol) – it’s the same thing. Get to the top without skills and do it fast. The real pleasure of playing an instrument is the learning process, and then applying it. To then face your judge: the mob, the audience, the crowd.
click here for free Guitar Hero excitement in the real world

I learned everything I know about music in the ‘underground’ scene. This is where people helped each other. If there is a great musician, who is so innovative that non musicians fail to see it, then everyone helps pushing, giving credits until it is understood (The Crystal Castles hypocritical slogan on the NME cover last year ‘we get sounds that nobody else gets’ while stealing them without crediting couldn’t describe better what I am trying to say here).
click here for copyright private investigators

In the past, major record labels couldn’t live without the Indies, because they were unable to discover the new talent which had the potential to shape the future of music. It strikes me they have learned to love each other. Shrinking sales have made majors adapt marketing techniques which were first explored by the Indies, and the lines have been blurred so much sometimes it’s difficult to tell them apart. It’s like a boxing match where both contesters are just hugging each other. Boring to watch. No tension.

This is about to end now. I love how blogs challenge the traditional music press. The information is going up so fast, you are forced to think! Is that really true? Is that some bullshit hype? Who paid for that???

New music pops up here and there and by the time the machinery wants to grab it to package it and sell its tiny little soul, it’s already gone.

Philosopher Gilles Deleuze comes to mind… Imagine a tree with Red Hot Chilli Peppers sitting on top, Metallica and all the other mega bands just below. In the past every band wanted to climb that tree and take their place, like the monkey chief. In the future there won’t be any trees, friends, there will be only grass. And a lot of it. Fifteen minutes of fame reduced further to the length of a mouse click. In a globalised world, pop music like we used to define it, has no future.

What an exciting opportunity this holds!

www.eyho-blog.com

+++Breaking News:
ALEC EMPIRE joins NINE INCH NAILS on European dates!+++

+++Legendary band FAUST asks Alec to come out and rock the electronics at KLANGBAD FESTIVAL! (August 8th, alongside Dalek, Unit M?bius, Cluster, Harmonia and more!)+++

+++In case you have missed it:

Check out link for Alec Empire’s remix for Patrick Wolf single “Hard Times”
click here!

Alec Empire and Nic Endo did an exclusive performance at Artrocker Festival:
click here to listen to audio +++

After the exciting start in May “Past – Present -Future Tour 2009!” we announce new dates!

(Did you miss any of the May shows? Read review of London show here, Patrick Wolf came on stage during the set and Nic Alec went to play “Vultures” and ATR’s “Revolution Action” )

23 Jun 2009 Nine Inch Nails/ Alec Empire @ Malta // Poznan (PL)
24 Jun 2009 Nine Inch Nails/ Alec Empire @ O2 // Prague (CZ)
26 Jun 2009 Alec Empire @ Fusion Festival! // L?rz (D)
20 Jul 2009 Nine Inch Nails/ Alec Empire @ Vrahon Theatre // Athens (GR)
24 Jul 2009 Nine Inch Nails/ Alec Empire @ Syma Sport and Event Centr // Budapest (HUN)
28 Jul 2009 Nine Inch Nails/ Alec Empire @ Nimes Festival France // Nimes (F)
30 Jul 2009 Nine Inch Nails/ Alec Empire @ La Riviera // Madrid (ES)
31 Jul 2009 Alec Empire live @ BT 59 // Bordeaux (F)
08 Aug 2009 Special ALEC EMPIRE DJ performance @ Faust?s “Klangbad Festival”! // Scheer (D)
27 Aug 2009 Alec Empire DJ @ IKRA // Moscow (RUS)
10 Sep 2009 Alec Empire solo live @ GOGBOT and ATOMPUNK Festival // Enschede (NL)
26 Sep 2009 Alec Empire live @ Ososphere Festival // Strasbourg (F)
02 Oct 2009 Alec Empire solo live @ De:sonanz Festival // Skopje (EJRM)
15 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ La Faiencerie // la Tronche (F)
16 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Petrol // Antwerp (B)
17 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Indiego Glocksee // Hannover (D)
20 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Grend // Essen (D)
21 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Underground // Cologne (D) Tickets available at TICKET 69
22 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Logo // Hamburg (D) Tickets available at TICKET 69
23 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ K17 // Berlin (D)
24 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Gladhouse // Cottbus (D) Tickets availbale at EVENTIM
27 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Lucerna Music Bar // Prague (CZ)
28 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Stadtwerkstatt // Linz (A)
29 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Szene // Vienna (A)
30 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Paradox // Ingolstadt Tickets available at TICKET 69
31 Oct 2009 Alec Empire live @ Lagerhof // Leipzig Tickets available at TICKET 69

+++After getting really exciting reviews Alec Empire’s “Shivers” is out since a few weeks. (there are too many out there to link, but check NME, click here )

note: digital version on iTunes includes bonus concert release “Live At ?bel Gef?hrlich Club 2007, feat. Robbie Furze/The Big Pink on guitars”
Beatport version has all instrumentals for all DJs.

+++Click here for Hellish Vortex link to purchase limited edition physical copy :

+++Check out lead track “Control Drug” on Big Stereo

+++The Hellish Vortex in the studio right now:

Massive collaboration Nic Endo / Alec Empire and CX KIDTRONIK (DJ of Saul Williams and Kanye West!!!) http://www.myspace.com/cxkidtronik

+++Alec Empire collaborates with MOTOR!

http://www.myspace.com/motor66!

+++more news soon!+++

Visit EYHO all over the net for updates, audio files, pictures and videos:

EAT YOUR HEART OUT BLOG
FOLLOW ALEC EMPIRE ON TWITTER
ALEC EMPIRE
EAT YOUR HEART OUT website
NIC ENDO
MYSPACE
YOUTUBE
LAST.FM
DAILYMOTION
ATARI TEENAGE RIOT

make sure you subscribe to EYHO Blog! it’s free!

Alec Empire interviews new New York based producer Bad Brilliance!

click here for QUACKHEAD

Alec Empire:

“Bad Brilliance – you are from New York, Brooklyn. Were you born there ?
tell us about the city. How is it these days? Is the energy back? Story over
here in Berlin goes that New York and L.A. are the cities of the next decade
(while London and Berlin will be crossed of the map)….”

Bad Brilliance:

“I was born in Brazil, raised in Rio de Janeiro until I was 9. Now I live as a full time artist in New York, i hate offices and jobs.
New York has a lot of energy, it just isn’t where you would expect to find it.? In the summer it’s kind of explosive, but it’s also important to ask a cab driver where he likes to party and not just rely on whatever activities are targeted at young people.

As far as the cities of the next decade i think they already are facebook, twitter, pitchfork, you tube.

People are not living in a physical location anymore, they are living on the internet.? Someone in New York would have gone out to an event on a tuesday night ten years ago, but this year they have the option of sitting at home on the internet and working on their fame.? It’s somewhat dark.”

Bad Brilliance with Sophia Lamar

Alec:

“Is there a genre definition for your sound? Is that Hip Hop? Do you even
care about genre definitions these days?”

Bad Brilliance:

“According to me the genre of my music is Rap – more of the fast and dirty version of hip-hop.? Whenever you hear someone say that they are interested in HIP HOP over Rap because it has more integrity, that is the opposite of what I am going for.? I am interested in that sound accompanied with the least integrity.? Just the pure syrup.

I am also fascinated by Hyphy and other variations of rap/hip hop.? I think that genre’s have a place in the discussion of music because all of these obsessions have to be organized.? People have to be funneled into their obsessions with certain sounds.? It’s intense how there are extreme reactions for or against certain genres.? To me it’s like saying that you hate dinosaurs because they are too trendy.? It’s just a specie or creature with certain properties based on a previous creature.

At the same time, i think that the genre of POP is the most powerful and it’s intense how it changes and also amazing the effect that subgenres have on it.”

Alec:

“The image many Europeans get from the US is that all genres are very
divided and don’t really cross. Many wouldn’t never believe that a guy like
Andrew WK would appear on a track like “Quackhead”. Please describe your
scene.”

Bad Brilliance:

“The thing that everyone has to understand is that people are more complex than you would imagine.? I’m obsessed with rap, but when I hear Brazilian music from my childhood it makes me want to cry with joy and love.? If you feel like you have Andrew W.K. figured out based on his product then you would never know how excited he is about Baby Birdman, or Gucci Mane.? Genres are only divided in Middle Schools where music is an intense reality for the inexperienced.? That might also be the best time in someone’s life to enjoy music.? The strange thing about Hip Hop or Rap is that it has transcended it’s own genre by being a complete lifestyle, clothing, speech, if you are African American it’s impossible to avoid it.

click here for BB on YouTube
My scene… is me in the shower blasting HOT 97 every day before i get started with my work – I am often photographing fashion shoots and album artwork, that is how Andrew W.K. met me. You can roughly see my work at www.andrewstrasser.com .? It’s very heavy on the lighting.

There are also other artists that I work with, I do album art for Girl Talk, he is also obsessed with rap/hip hop, and when I go on tour with him to do stage visuals the tour bus is always blaring rap and hip hop.? Essentially it’s white people who are jealous of rap.”

Alec:

“Santos Party House – a new club…how is it? Are you playing there as
well? Andrew posted us the link….what do you think of the New York club
scene?”

Bad Brilliance:

“Santos Party House for me is a club and also a home. ? I can land form a flight and immediately head to Santos.? If it’s a friday night things can get very intense, I have seen P Diddy and Ciara there before, and my sister saw Busta’ Rhymes and LL Cool J.? Also you can totally run into Bjork or Thurston Moore on a Tuesday.? I designed the website for Santos, so it’s pretty easy for me to walk to the front of an extremely long line and get in.? Also in costume I have great success getting into the most exclusive clubs in New York – there might be someone in a suit begging to pay 10,000 G’s for bottle service and they will let Bad Brilliance float through the door.

The New York club scene is very exciting if you are visiting.? Otherwise it’s all about specific weeklies etc. There is an entire economy around weekly events in the gay world, I call it the Gay Economy, and I have sent you a design for that term that I created”

Alec:

“You mentioned to me via Twitter that one of your first shows was with
Digital Hardcore underdogs Ec8or years back. How was that? What did you
think of this sound back then?”

Bad Brilliance:

“I was obsessed with DHR in high school, I wanted to be on <20, and I made little songs here and there.? My favorite was Bomb 20.? I remember there were other people floating around that had a similar style, this one guy TRS-80 had? a website and the shit he did was amazing,? prank phone calls.? Anyone who tried to contact him got a very cruel treatment from him. He was not interested in scenes.? Also there was another guy Combat Drug.

There were many people that were circling around the DHR style and vibe, and it was one of the more intense times in my life, and it was all on the internet.? I remember installing a red light bulb in my room so i could live in a DHR music video that I had seen on AMP on mtv at 3 AM and my mother came crying and screaming to take it down.

When I was in Cleveland going to Art School, I found out that I could open for Ec8or at a strange place called Speak In Tongues, sort of a bombed out hole in the wall.? This was amazing news for me, it was like opening for the Smashing Pumpkins in my mind.? The other band that played was Black Dice, they saw my show.? It was just a fat little boy sitting behind a computer playing music that sounded like this http://www.imeem.com/badbrilliance/music/zWlJ-rjj/andriu-ill-never-forget-cherry-cherry-island/
It was a combination fo DHR and being completely bored in the American suburbs.? I was living in Poughkeepsie, NY at the time. It is a totally fucked place, very trailer park oriented.? The mall is a way of life, with coffee and grease stains on everything.”
click to watch pioneer duo Ec8or

Alec:

“How do you record your music? Is that a bedroom thing or what is going on?”

Bad Brilliance:

“I record most of my music on my laptop on my stomach laying in bed.? My goal is to have the most portable set up. I want to have an entire studio in a bag.? All I need is my laptop, soundcard and microphone and I can make radio hits if needed.? The only thing stopping me is my mind. “

click for BAD BANK

Alec:

“What’s the idea behind Bad Brilliance? On your website there are many
pictures showing you in your outfit harrassing people at the New York
Fashion week haha…Do you perform in these clothes? Do you walk around in
the street of Brooklyn like that? Do you ever get in trouble?”

Bad Brilliance:

” Bad Brilliance began as a reaction to my work in the field of New York society photography.? I was an underpaid worker labeling names on the photos of New York society people for a website, so that magazines could pick them up.? It was a wonderful time but at the same time I learned a lot about the business, it was a big McDonalds to me.? So I created a conceptual society person.? He has his name on his face so you know who he is.? That is the Bad Brilliance of it.

As soon as I began photographing myself I was flown out to Amsterdam, that’s when I knew I had created the ultimate socialite.? An evolution.? I was invited to fashion week once, but was not allowed to wear my costume. I was invited as Bad Brilliance and received a call to attend in normal clothing.? It was a Diesel runway show, I brought Andrew W.K. along to that and it was quite wonderful.? I get dragged about, one time I witnessed a porno shoot in my costume.? I took my little red wind up toy car and let it drive under the bed where people were boning.? Also I attend different society events. I am greeted with love and hate, some people are so excited and I am asked to take a photograph with someone every 30 seconds, otherwise someone comes up to me and whispers something very dark and hurtful into my costume.
I never get in trouble, but often I am escorted out of an event by the PR people and their goons.”

Alec:

“What are your next plans?”

Bad Brilliance:

“My next plans are to get the music rolling along.? I need to start recording seriously on microphone.? I have an EP planned out with Andrew W.K.’s Skyscraper Music Maker, and with his partnership with Cargo Records.? It will be 6 songs and the goal is get every moment of it to sound as heavy as possible.? I’m very excited to be working with Andrew, he is one of the most amazing people you will meet.

Aside from that I am working on doing a residency in Miami as Bad Brilliance.? Miami is a great place for my costume.? All the rappers live there or have summer homes there, and also the women are beautiful and I relate to any city that reminds me of Rio in it’s superficiality and beach culture.”

red carpet to nowhere is his upcoming ep on andrew wk’s record label

GET IT!

check out Bad Brilliance on Myspace!

official website! click here!

www.eyho-blog.com

]]> http://www.eyho-blog.com/2009/06/09/alec-empire-of-atari-teenage-riot-interviews-upcoming-new-york-producer-bad-brilliance/feed/ 8 http://www.eyho-blog.com/2009/05/08/christoph-de-babalon-will-play-at-skid-mark-saturday-may-9th/ http://www.eyho-blog.com/2009/05/08/christoph-de-babalon-will-play-at-skid-mark-saturday-may-9th/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 16:55:14 +0000 Alec Empire http://www.eyho-blog.com/?p=2073

Dear Friends,

Christoph de Babalon will play at “Skid Mark” presented by the Sameheads
tomorrow, Saturday May 9th.

Sameheads present: Skid Mark

with

Christoph de Babalon
Cylob
Binary Chaffinch
Franz Underwear
Andy Blake
Emil Doesn?t Drive
DSB

Raum 18
Ziegrastra?e 11
12057 Berlin

http://www.myspace.com/christophdebabalon

http://www.myspace.com/sameheads

http://www.last.fm/event/1038924

http://maps.google.de/maps?hl=de&q=Ziegrastra%C3%9Fe+11+berlin&um=1&ie=UTF-8&split=0&gl=de&ei=nT4ESs2TDpWfsgbu4Oi2CA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1

All the best,

CFET Crew

–
Cross Fade Enter Tainment [CFET] – http://cfet.com

www.eyho-blog.com

http://www.gigwise.com/reviews/live/50750/Friday-010509-Alec-Empire-Patrick-Wolf-@-The-Underworld-Camden

we are partying in Amsterdam tonight. having a great time. not these dumb drink yourself stupid so you forget times, it’s more like we met so many supporters again, people who really care…and after months of recording for films this just feels great!

on the way to here I read this German article about how “young people” don’t care about politics anymore and that whole blah. Well, I have seen the exact difference …and not only at our shows, the G20 rallys, Mayday…Heard “Chaostage” Berlin Premiere was sold out in minutes.

To the fifty year olds who try to analyze what’s happening: the new codes are different, they are more complex. A t-shirt doesn’t mean much if you don’t know the person who wears it. We are in disguise.

Will post more soon.

Never give up the fight,

Alec

www.eyho-blog.com

FIRST HALF OF THE TOUR!!!!

ALEC EMPIRE & NIC ENDO

THE PAST – THE PRESENT – THE FUTURE TOUR 2009

Presented by Sonic Seducer Magazine

30.04.2009 Vorselaar (B) – Edma

01.05.2009 London (GB) – The Underworld / get tickets here or here
02.05.2009 Manchester (GB) – Satan?s Hollow / get tickets here or here
03.05.2009 Glasgow (GB) – Ivory Blacks / get tickets here or here Or here
05.05.2009 Norwich (GB) – The Waterfront
06.05.2009 Amsterdam (NL) – Paradiso
07.05.2009 Hengelo (NL) – Metropool
08.05.2009 Reutlingen – franz.K
09.05.2009 Jena – Kassablanca

www.eyho-blog.com

www.alec-empire.com
click here baby

click here to watch

click here to watch 2nd video

how can Berlin be so hot in April? a good day to go through the EYHO inbox…apart from all the usual psycho shit we get sent (yes, you! who is probably reading this…stop sending these pixelated Thai porn clips with Alec Empire vs Merzbow at CBGBs music dubbed onto them…

that shit ain’t hard you know…you might think it is, but it isn’t really. Same goes for that one Whitehouse fan who keeps writing pages of hate thoughts how we gone soft and Whitehouse is so much harder than us right now. You see, we never wanted to be “harder” than Whitehouse. This is not a football match. Whitehouse loses out against DJ 6666 and Nic’s White Heat anyway…so why bother)

…so where were we? ah yes, so in the pile of dirt and digital shit we found these two clips and we thought we should so post these.

there is also new live recordings up on Alec Empire’s myspace: click here

and make sure you subscribe to new YouTube channel of Nic and Alec.

one more thing…don’t listen to Whitehouse when you should listen to Masonna or The Locust. Especially not when you are in Berlin and it’s Spring and flowers grow.

www.eyho-blog.com

“THE WHOLE WORLD SEEMS TO BE ON A BAD DRUG”

Alec Empire , taken from Control Drug of SHIVERS

Hey!

It’s spring 2009! flowers start to grow…slowly but surely!

The Golden Foretaste of Heaven Film by Richard Wilhelmer went down like a storm at Los Angeles David Lynch screening “Engine Collision Fest” and Austria’s “Diagonale” Film Festival.
watch the trailer here

While Alec’s DJ Mix album “Rauschgold” for Staubgold Records gets great reviews (a small selection of online reviews which you might not come across that easily)
digitalisindustries.com
digitalmcd.com
thesilentballet.com
hairentertainment.com

ALEC AND NIC HAVE PRODUCED NEW RECORD CALLED “SHIVERS”, a 7 track mini album (estimated playing time over 30min though). Release Date May 8th.

tracklist

Control Drug

Shivers

Baby Skull

Vampire State

t.o.t.

If You Live Or Die (2009 version feat. Robbie Furze/Big Pink on guitars)

1000 Eyes (The Golden Foretaste of Heaven Film version 2009)

Note: iTunes will have a full concert as a bonus available. (more infos soon)

Watch first part of making of series. in these videos Alec is recording weird synths which will then later make it into the songs. He also gives a quick run down on what’s happening (the films etc.).

Click here to watch

Click here to watch interview

With “Shivers” and the 2009 tour “Past -Present- Future” the Hellish Vortex launches completely redesigned Alec Empire website.
www.alec-empire.com

Make sure you click through the history section. We think the website has been long overdue. It was about time that a site explains Empire’s spider web of productions and projects…. venom

Follow Alec on twitter http://twitter.com/ALEC_EMPIRE
Join Alec on facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alec-Empire/10224966919
Alec’s myspace http://www.myspace.com/alecempire

DATES!!!!!

18th of April Bass Terror official release via iTunes, Beatport and over 60 other online music stores.

20th of April Patrick Wolf/Alec Empire collaboration hits stores. “Vultures” will be available as 7 inch vinyl and digital. Patrick Wolf – Vulture

Click here to watch

ALEC EMPIRE & NIC ENDO

THE PAST – THE PRESENT – THE FUTURE TOUR 2009

Presented by Sonic Seducer Magazine

30.04.2009 Vorselaar (B) – Edma

01.05.2009 London (GB) – The Underworld / get tickets here or here
02.05.2009 Manchester (GB) – Satan?s Hollow / get tickets here or here
03.05.2009 Glasgow (GB) – Ivory Blacks / get tickets here or here Or here
05.05.2009 Norwich (GB) – The Waterfront
06.05.2009 Amsterdam (NL) – Paradiso
07.05.2009 Hengelo (NL) – Metropool
08.05.2009 Reutlingen – franz.K
09.05.2009 Jena – Kassablanca
23.10.2009 Berlin – K17
24.10.2009 Cottbus – Gladhouse / get tickets here
28.10.2009 Linz (A) – Stadtwerkstatt
29.10.2009 Wien (A) – Szene
30.10.2009 Ingolstadt – Paradox / get tickets here
31.10.2009 Leipzig – Lagerhof / get tickets here
more dates added soon.

What else is hot right now?
Alec Empire remixing next Patrick Wolf single “Hard Times”.
Nic Endo officially writing music for David Mack’s Kabuki. (more news soon!)

Film Chaostage (with Alec’s music) starts in German cinemas this month.
click here for full list of showtimes and locations!

DIGITAL HARDCORE UK OPENS FULL ON WEBSTORE!

You requested Flac? You got it!

Make sure you check out completely new digital store at Digital Hardcore Recordings UK

http://digitalhardcore.greedbag.com/

It’s ALL up there.

Support independent artists you like, don’t support hypocrites like Pirate Bay who make millions of advertising and who are financed by right wing business men (to then point the finger at their own users in court, claiming that they do the crime. not cool! Liars!).

Click here to watch

We hope to see you at the shows or parties! Keep thinking about news ways to think! Stay awake!

Best wishes from Berlin,

EYHO Team

www.eyho-blog.com

Visit The Hellish Vortex store : many rare items up for sale this month

Audio Mashups are such old news…it is embarrassing. Why mix a new group which sounds like something old, with let’s say…Snoop Doog ? This was fun in 1997…maybe…or was it 1991? the Audio quiz show…

we find the audio visual approach much more interesting these days. Especially when the original audio source material has samples in it.

this guy is pretty awesome…because he puts time and effort into these clips.

In February 2009 you HAVE to start the week with watching people fight! good morning!

And thanks to everyone who came out for Transducers! Festival last Thursday in Berlin and turned it into such a success!

http://www.eyho-blog.com/

Genius “Shizuo” covering The Cramps “New Kick” back in 1997 on Beastie Boys Grand Royal label….(and DHR of course)

ok, I stop crying now…

HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR!

While music journalists in Germany are wondering what happened to pop music (yes, we said it years ago. In a globalized economy national pop music is becoming less relevant every year. Music , after all, is not that different to the rest of the economy.) , we continue our path into the future.

Just got back from Portugal, crazy New Years Eve rave with 2000+ kids going mental (we know this term is totally British and a taboo term in modern Indie music, that’s why it has to be used again from now on. Creds to Garagem to make it happen!). Hardcore, hardcore hardcore. Drug music, dangerous and without any context to what we used to call western pop music.

People are angry, that’s why.

Gone is the decade of whiny upper class kids who pay their way into the music scene (because nobody else can afford it any longer). People feel and know that middle and working class have been pushed down by the super rich over the past decade, and now the dream of the rising working class rock’n'roll band has been lost…maybe forever.

(Remember, mostly, these images were marketing campaigns to sell a “product” to us. “These guys are like you, now go buy it.” We were never into buying music that reminds us of our neighbors…why? Because we hate them as much as they hate us.)

Now is the time for a new underground to emerge. NOW!

We want music which is exciting, thrilling, passionate, dangerous and unpredictable. The minds of the new generation are open and ready for change. It won’t happen in one day, but the door is open and it will stay open… for a while.

Those who sit back, those who are passive and expect corporations to deliver everything to them, will be left behind.

The new listener is active, is searching the internet for new music, the new listener is questioning any written information about music (yes, you, you journalists who have become the little finger of the corporates. You lost your integrity, once lost, no way to get it back…that’s part of the game.), the new listener is making up his/her own mind, creating his/her own taste. The new listener is thinking, because knowledge and ideas are gold in this era.

The old way of capitalism has failed. Even many conservatives are waking up now. In Paris we have seen more burning cars on New Years Eve than ever before.

We don’t need guns, our weapon is the mind…and we are ready to riot at any time.

I don’t need to say that our solidarity is with those who supported, lost and loved Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
(I didn’t want to say anything right away, because too many bands try to sell something on the back of those tragedies. And I hate that. But we received so many emails asking where we stand, I wanted to get it out. This is where we stand!)

The super rich are not paying taxes, why does the police protect them? They should protect the people. Us.

In 2008 we started and finished many new things : New music, films scores and more.

Thank you all for your ongoing loyalty and support!

In 2009 many of the projects we were working on are being released and premiered.

In a minute I’ll give you an update on shows and live events that we’ll do over the coming months, but 3 concerts need to be mentioned now:
Alec Empire is playing 3 exclusive shows in Great Britain. London , Manchester and Glasgow.

Alec and his band (yes, including Nic Endo) will play material from following albums: Generation Star Wars, The Destroyer, Miss Black America, Intelligence & Sacrifice, Futurist, Atari Teenage Riot (plus special guests!), The Golden Foretaste of Heaven and present new songs from the upcoming album to be released later this year.

As you might know, the shows are happening around Alec’s birthday (2nd of May) and the anniversary of ATR’s legendary show on May 1st 1999

This will be a huge party and ticket sales are super limited.

01.05.2009 London (GB) – The Underworld (doors 7pm) tickets available through www.flagpromotions.com & www.ticketweb.co.uk
02.05.2009 Manchester (GB) – Satan?s Hollow (doors 6pm) tickets available through www.flagpromotions.com & www.ticketweb.co.uk
03.05.2009 Glasgow (GB) – Ivory Blacks (doors 7pm) tickets available through www.tickets-scotland.com / www.seetickets.com / www.ticketweb.co.uk

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!the_future!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan 10th Alec Empire & T Raumschmiere & Aux Raus! in Paris at SCANDALE!

Jan 15th Alec Empire & The Hellish Vortex in Budapest!

Jan 31st Alec Empire spinning at Chaostage Screening Saarbr?cken Film Festival

Feb 12th Alec Empire, Tresor & Think Sync present huge Berlinale Party in Berlin:

Line Up includes Andrew Weatherall, David Holmes (soundtracks for Ocean 11-13), Zan Lyons, Alec Empire, T Raumschmiere, DJ Reznik and more!
You will have the chance to see films involving Alec Empire’s music for the first time in public. (a sci-fi animation film directed by Richard Wilhelmer “The Golden Foretaste of Heaven” staring Robert Stadlober! Then Miron Zownir’s masterpiece “Phantomanie” staring Natalia Avelon, Bruno S, and more! Alec has written the score for this Berlin noir thriller. And the “Chaostage” gang will show exclusive material from the soon to be released film …but there will be lots more. We will post details over the coming weeks.)

Feb 21st Alec Empire & The Hellish Vortex live Barcelona/ Spain

THE GLOVES ARE OFF! THE BUBBLE HAS BURST!

Bass Terror 2xCD is available as CD only release next week (January 5th).
please note: only 3 copies of limited edition package left. (thanks for all your emails asking to repress, but we feel that the idea of a limited collectors release is that it stays limited, even if there is more demand. It would be unfair for those who supported the release so far.)

for those who know

subscribe to www.eyho-blog.com – this is where it happens.
click here to rss blog
click here to register – it’s free – access free DJ mixes – get infos before the others

+++Jean-No?l Bonnaillie+++Steven Marshall+++Frederic Collin+++Mike
Kachinski+++Alexander Schmeltzer+++

(have a look at the Top5 myspace friends!
www.myspace.com/bassterrorberlin)

It was a hard competition, probably the hardest this year…(yes, harder
than the US election – why? Because only the hardest joined, only the ones
who know and understand…and they are called: the hardcore!)

The Bass Terror competition….man….

I remember when the Bass Terror Crew formed, and we did the first tracks, we
never thought that about 16 years later, people would still care about it.

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Thank you for your participation…

Alec Empire

Alec Empire: “Please tell us about your new album. What made you come up with the concept? I think it is outstanding that a musician would think himself into such a imaginary world and drags the listener into it.”

Christoph de Babalon:

“My new album “Scylla & Charybdis” deals with the destiny of two greek mythological figures, who once used to be beautiful nymphs and then became monsters because of witchery. I wanted to work with the story, because i find it very touching. I didn’t only want to emphasize the fact that both are monsters and kill lots of seafarers but rather concentrate on the tragic elements of their lives. The pain of suddenly being a monster, they had no choice and no way out of it. I also like the fact that their fate can be seen as a symbol for the Tragic in everybodys life nowadays, as a very real thing and not just a mythological one. Reality of life is not a polished, beautiful or fun thing. It’s tragic and utmost brutal. Bless those who have not seen it, yet. Most of us will end up as tragic monsters or as their victims. Resistance is futile!”

Alec Empire: “Your tracks take time to build up the intensity. This is one strength of your music. It wouldn’t work as a 3min song. Do you think we will see more music which is longer, now that radio is becoming less important in the age of the internet? My secret hope is that the traditional song structure will be forgotten at some point in our culture. Have you ever felt you should write a “song”? or did you ever write some?”

Christoph de Babalon:

“To reach an intense experience, a piece of music has to be dense and compact, rather than just be long. I also feel it is not so much a matter of “song” or not “song”. There has to be a reason why something is three minutes or thirty minutes or three hours long. If it is both long and intense and keeps the suspense, it’s perfect. I like music that spreads out to eternity as well as having a lot of atmospherical information. Music that really creates a world around you and in you.
In these superficial and fast times it seems like the craziest thing to make tracks that are longer than 5 minutes. It seems to be some kind of taboo, because people lose attention so quickly.”

Alec Empire: “Do you think spending time of writing music is important to reach a certain level of intensity? I think it’s an interesting question to ask in these times, when everything happens faster and faster. It sometimes feels that people don’t make the effort to explore music as deeply as they could. You seem to be very careful about how and when you release your music to the public. I think that’s great…. Too many seem to load up their music on the internet right away without thinking. How do you feel about this?”

Christoph de Babalon:

“Of course, Music is a mirror of society, things are going faster and faster. So how do i feel about this? Generally i think, a great work could be done in very short time. It really depends on what the idea is. Also how it is done. I prefer spending a longer period of time on making records, because i discovered for myself that i can go deeper into the feelings and sounds. I try to create different worlds, that takes more concentration and time. For me and the listener. The first idea and selection of instruments usually goes quick, but i take a lot of time sculpturing, taking breaks and listening back. “Scylla & Charybdis”, for example, is the most complex work i have ever done, i worked on it for more than three years! Most music that’s done quickly cannot go really deep or last long. I think its not just a problem of uploading fast, also downloading today is very easy. I Like to play with different formats, as i did with the “Premium Edition”, to make people more aware of what they are listening to. i would like people to do things that are more defined and pay more attention to their lives. I have never followed any trend with my music so I guess it’s OK, I have got the time!”

Alec Empire: “Radio legend John Peel used to love your records? How did that feel to be recognized by such an important DJ ? I really miss him, I feel that we would need a person like him so much right now. Someone who discovers new music and communicates that in an interesting way to people.”

Christoph de Babalon:

“It made me very happy that he supported me. It felt like an accolade. I have always looked up to him and his way of “half of what i know people will like and half of what i think people should like”. There is noone to take his place as far as i can see.”

Alec Empire: “In my opinion you redefined “dark” in this genre. Before your releases, Jungle and Drum’n'Bass had never reached this kind of intensity. When they used “dark” string samples it always felt like a 12 year old acting as Darth Vader or something. What made you go deeper at that point in time? What kind of music did you listen to back then?”

Christoph de Babalon:

“When I started making music I had no intention of making D&B/Jungle, of course i was influenced a lot by Jungle Techno rhythms but the atmospheres i wanted to work with come from deep within me.
Some sort of melancholical longing. A sea of tears, a universe of sadness, a romatic apocalypse. I always took more atmospherical inspiration from classical music and from books and paintings. I have always seen my music more as an artistic medium to express what I feel about this world than to worship some form of lifestyle/DJ- and Clubculture. I make music for people who look beyond the shallowness of this world.”

Alec Empire: “What do you think about sampling? To me it seems that despite the advanced technology that we have today , most “artists” imitate electronic music from the 90ties. Do you feel the same way? Have you spotted any new talents which actually use technology to move music forward instead of just speeding up the process of making it?”

Christoph de Babalon:

“Sampling is great but i don’t think about it so often. I use technology not to imitate something that has been done before. I use the voodoo of sampling, I feel, I sample atmospheres rather than music. Like sampling a large room with someone crying in the corner on the other end while it’s raining outside. Someone coughing while the orchestra plays a pianissimo. Some poor soul singing in the subway and being barked at by dogs. Because we have this complex technology we must use all the new possibitlities, but incorporate and learn about the past as well. Otherwise we just repeat history, and thats not my idea. The human composer must have dominance over his machines and create something that evokes new worlds.”

Alec Empire: “I thought about the whole history of breakcore and I want to talk a bit about that first….do you remember exactly when we first met? It was this “illegal” free rave near Cologne , in some forrest…if you compare 1994 to where we are now, what do you think has changed and how do you feel about it?”

Christoph de Babalon:

“That rave was crazy. It was very foggy and superdark. Back then it all was very exciting, it was something that just started. This kind of music just hadn’t been there before. We didn’t even call it breakcore. Also there was some kind of youth culture thrill. I haven’t got much relation to a breakcore scene anymore, we are talking about 3rd generation now, and sadly, most “artists” couldn’t add anything to that style. Breakcore now is just boring repetition of formulas and to be honest the whole thing is really DEAD for me.”

Alec Empire: “Please tell us about Cross Fade Enter Tainment. It is one of the few labels which is still going. Has anything changed since you started?”

Christoph de Babalon:

“CFET is not a traditional record company, it’s a label but more like an art project. So at least we won’t go financially bankrupt, perhaps morally. We have taken a break since 2003, because we had done all we wanted at that point and we didnt want to repeat ourselves. We have received some interesting demos, some new concepts are coming up.
A new era has begun for Cross Fade Enter Tainment. We have started working on the next releases already. Stay tuned!”

Alec Empire: “You moved from Hamburg to Berlin a while back. Was there a reason ? What do you think of Berlin ? Some people look at it as the darkest city in Europe, others feel it’s changing so fast, that it is quite superficial. What do you think?”

Christoph de Babalon:

“I live in eastern Berlin in the former Stalin Allee since 10 years. A lot of the GDR-military parades were held here. A lot of history surrounds the place. That’s what I like about Berlin, this crazy history. Not so much a lifestyle thing. Berlin is very complicated and fucked up.”

Alec Empire: “What are your favorite 10 electronic albums?”

Christoph de Babalon:

“No order, only valid now:

Wicked Messenger – Black Tourmaline
Iannis Xenakis – Persepolis
Toecutter – Wetopia
Atari Teenage Riot – The Future Of War
Drumcorps ? Grist
Revolting Cocks – Beers, Steers & Queers
Underground Resistance – Revolution for Change
Cabaret Voltaire – Red Mecca
Atomsmasher – Atomsmasher
Bourbonese Qualk – On Uncertainty”

you can order this crazy packaged album here: http://cfet.com/stores

SUNDAY AFTERNOON WITH MSX HURRICANE

After a party like the one I witnessed last night, I get up with such a headache…it’s pounding my brain….like a sledge hammer..and I don’t even drink! X !
Berlin Mitte has spiraled down quite a bit since I was last there…and this is what you get when you do an old friend a favor…nevertheless…it’s always good to experience all kinds of different things. ….I guess…usually it’s the music. last night felt a bit like landing in this big empty space, white, nothing….death but without the thrill to enter the unknown. So in Berlin-West you wake up the next morning…that gray city…everything smells like cigarettes…dry throat. Immediately my mind tells me: Put this CD on…Araki Kenta….come on, you got it months ago in Japan…and you still haven’t even opened it!

In Los Apson , one of my favorite record stores in the world (which seems weird, now that there are probably 31 stores left on the planet…having a favorite record store sounds like saying this is my favorite gray whale.), so in Los Apson the guy showed me this CD, described it as video game music. And I buy it straight away – you know when you can see what is good just by looking at the artwork.

Even though most of this music makes this silly link to children entertainment. I assume because these sounds remind us of when we were 4 years old and this was the music that came with games and toys. When you enter a new age, you change the music, that’s what it used to be. Now people who are 42 years old listen to music which could have been made for 10 year olds…not even that! it sounds like it was recorded by 10 year olds…just without the imagination, and the fun that comes with not following / knowing too many rules in your life.

One of my first songs that I wrote at the age of ten was called “Don’t touch that stove – you’ll get burnt!” (in German though)….people around me always interpreted as something sexual… so this raises the question: Who decides which music is being liked and understood by kids, when even adults have their music taste on such a tight leash, that the definition of the term “music taste” could be replaced with “poodle” ?

If you want safety in your life, go to bed, stay there and don’t do anything, but don’t listen to music which is not challenging you. Use sound to connect new dots in your brain…it will thank you for it.

Video Game music is not for kids – never has been really. If you really listen back to the 80ties arcade game music, you’ll find music which could be compared to pieces Bach wrote for String Quartets….
So this is when Araki Kenta comes in…I wasn’t expecting anything because of my headache…it got me staring at the speakers….there is this guy somewhere in Japan making this, and some tracks have the quality of the first Neu! album…but done with 8bit computer sounds… he is not trying to be funny…this is serious stuff… I should have played that last night to those art pinheads…and not Boredoms…

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Even though this was my most fun moment… to stand there letting this 12 minute track go on, get heavier by the minute, and one sound engineer screaming in my ear, the lighting guy freaking out, see people leave, others try to wrap their brain around it, and then the handful, we call them the elite in our DJ scene, these are the ones who get it….the top of the pyramid, they react, they understand , they get involved and not just consume! they (still) feel and think….their bodies as one….
If you go to a Baby Shambles concert you see people behave like rice grain… dumb people glued to a dumb band with guitars. total rock’n'roll conformity, created by tabloid magazines…believing like fundamentalists in the old lie, that a drug can make a musician create something exceptional ….at some point around when Bush got elected UK music died…when hero John Peel died, it was totally over….

Look towards the East more…you will find the best music there…it will take a few years until the USA is back on track…like Obama said , it’s a long way…and this is also the case for the music scene…aspirin….and a six pack red bull….the pain will hopefully go away…

Alec Empire

Writer Nathan Meunier interviewed Alec Empire about his Gameboy album which originally was released in 1998. Since then game boy music has really developed into a genre of its own. We had some request from subscribers to re-publish the interview as it is hard to find on the internet.

ALEC EMPIRE ON “WE PUNK EINHEIT”

-How did you come to use the game boy as a tool for creating music?

ALEC: It was very obvious to me. When I started Atari Teenage Riot, I loved the idea of using a tool which is supposed to be a videogame only.

Of course the Atari back then was a proper little computer, like the Amiga. When Nintendo released the music programm I just had to get it. Since I started DJing in the early 90ties I was always playing video game music in my sets. Not the usual novelty joke stuff, serious game music which I find amazing as music to listen to.

-What game boy program did you use specifically to compose “We Punk Einheit”? What other game boy programs, if any, have you used to create music and what are your impressions of those programs. (The main programs I’m aware of are the game boy camera, Little Sound DJ, and Nanoloop).

ALEC: I did We Punk Einheit with the game boy camera. But then started to use Nanoloop live in all of my solo electronic shows. The programs are limited but it that’s the challenge of it. The feedback that I got from people was ‘how on earth did you come up with that on this little machine?’
I think it’s a mind set, many people look at an instrument like this and see it as a gimmick. I respect it in the same way I respect a piano or a guitar.
When I used the game boy live , and I use different ones, the first one, the second one and so on, because they all have different frequency ranges, I mean a different sound, I realized how powerful the machine really is when heard over a big P.A.

-How long did it take to create “We Punk Einheit”? Tell me about the composing and recording process used to create the record.

ALEC: I can’t really tell how long it took, because I did the record in between recording sessions for an album I have done called ‘Miss Black America’. I would guess I did one song a day. I remember making the music felt like when you reach a high level in a video game, old school video game, you reach a difficult level, everything goes fast and you react quick…it?s exciting, thrilling…your body releases adrenaline or something…that’s how it felt…very similar how I record music in general.
A lot of super quick decision making. When a pilot flys in a fighter jet, he or she can’t step back and think, because then it’s too late. You have to trust your instinct in that moment.

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-Musically or thematically what did you set out to do in creating this
particular record?

ALEC: There is a link to the old game Space Invaders or Astroids, also in the artwork. To me these were quite nihilistic games, because you could only lose.
The aliens would always take over. I loved that when I was a kid. The music and sounds that came with it. Very cold , like an unstoppable machine which destroys you, the player. You can be sure about that when you start the game.
We did game boy parties in 1998, they were called the ‘Out’ parties, DJs were called ‘bodysnatchers’ and not DJs. We played video game music, no wave and weird Japanese art records there. It was a strange atmosphere there in Berlin. With the double album I wanted to capture that vibe. We Punk Einheit ist he document of that time.
I was so bored with the British music press praising the Beatles on and on. At those parties we wanted to draw a line once and for all and reject the old tradition of music making which is (still) stopping or slowing down the evolution of music….if you know what I mean. I grew up in Berlin. The artists in Germany made a fresh start after the Hitler regime. They thought that if a society that evil came out from the art created before it, then we must invent a new way of thinking and creating. Sometimes you have to let go of the past, and this is what we did back then.

-What was your favorite and least favorite part of working with a gameboy to produce the record.

ALEC: I had a great time the whole time…because once I got in there, it was like composing in a little articifical world on its own…if you know what I mean. It felt like being in the world of 80ties space invaders or house of terror. When I was a kid, I dreamed about being in these worlds.

-Have you incorporated game boy sounds into any other records you’ve put out?

ALEC: Yes, I have on various ones….CD2 from ‘Intelligence and Sacrifice’ or ‘The Live Sessions in London 2002′. And more… I always have it ready to go, it’s sitting next to all my other instruments in the studio.

-Have you used a game boy in live performances and if so how was it utilized? Have you used other video game hardware to create music?

ALEC: I used the game boy many times live. I was even once attacked by another musician at a show in Helsinki at a festival. He was angry at me because he said it?s not ‘music’. Using the game boy can provoke many people in an audience.
It is looked at like the ‘anti-instrument’. Which is not right of course, because it is a mini computer with a synth. I have never used other video game hardware live. Mainly because the game boy really sounds good.

-what are your thoughts on some of the music out there that has been created using game boy hardware?

ALEC: I think people should stop treating it as a ‘fun’ tool and get serious with it.
To me that?s the part where the humour comes in. To go ‘haha this is a game boy , it makes ping pong sounds’ is a joke told too often already. It really reflects on the person using it.

- Thank you very much for your time.

NTR’s album will be available again next week at The Hellish Vortex
click here

check out Nanoloops website here
official NTR myspace

“Scylla & Charybdis”: This new release by Christoph de Babalon is dedicated to two unfortunate girls from Greek mythology. Once beautiful nymphs, both were jinxed to live their life as monsters.

scylla-charybdis-radio-edit-snippet-1

scylla-charybdis-radio-edit-snippet-2

To describe his melancholic viewpoint of their fate, he chose the long forgotten romantic art of the Symphonic Poem. Influenced by works such as Arnold Sch?nberg’s “Vekl?rte Nacht”, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Isle Of The Dead” and Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra”, Christoph de Babalon transfers this technique into the present and breaks the tradititon by incorporating the human and inhuman voices of Alexandra von Bolz’n and Hanayo to create the most haunting experience for the listener.

His Diptychon about the unforgettable story of “Scylla & Charybdis” transcends past, present and future, myth and reality.

Inside the limited Premium Edition Box of “Scylla & Charybdis” the eternalness and versatility of the subject becomes most clearly visible: The “Mother Work” (and a choice of archaic format) of the Vinyl , “The Miniatures” of the CD – showing a more fractional and microscopic apporach to the monstruos atmosphere and finally the “Mixtape” interweaving beats and atmospheres into an almost disco version. Altogether the Premium Edition includes over 120 minutes of music and comes with postcards and an A1-sized poster with Ian Liddle’s intriguing Cover artwork, all enclosed in a beautiful high quality handmade recordbox.

The Premium Edition of “Scylla & Charybdis” will be available through CFET mailorder only.

Tracklisting:
Scylla (featuring ALEXANDRA VON BOLZ’N) (12:27)
Charybdis (featuring HANAYO) (12:09)

CHRISTOPH DE BABALON is known for tripping beats, dark wide spaces and eternal melancholy. He released his first record in 1994 on Hamburg’s cult-label Fischkopf. This record (as well as all that followed over the next years) were extensively played by BBC-DJ-legend JOHN PEEL. Right after his debut he began working with ALEC EMPIRE’s Digital Hardcore Recordings (DHR) where he, besides a couple of other records released his most important work: the legendary album ‘If You’re Into It, I’m Out Of It’. DHR still say that it remains their most important release.

Also THOM YORKE of Radiohead is a big fan of Christoph de Babalon’s music and invited him on a tour through southern europe in 2001. Christoph remembers those shows as being ‘unreal’ – playing dark ambient in front of an average 10.000 people per show. The arena of Verona painted black – while the sun went down.

As a co-founder of the music label Cross Fade Enter Tainment [CFET] he has been putting out records by influential electronic hardcore producers such as Somatic Responses, DJ Scud, Zbigniew Karkowski and Merzbow (to name but a few) since 1994.

In order to learn more effective production techniques and gather new experience, he began working on music for theatre productions, dance performances and film. In June 2008 he hooked up with Radiohead again to play the “Daydream” Festival in Barcelona and introduce “Scylla & Charybdis” to the public for the first time. It was a sunny day – but the sky turned dark during Christoph’s set.

“The most menacing record I own” – THOM YORKE of Radiohead about “If You’re Into it, I’m Out Of It”

“The most outstanding album on DHR [...] – nobody will ever top this!!!” – ALEC EMPIRE about “If You’re Into it, I’m Out Of It”

ALEXANDRA VON BOLZ’N is famous for her work with Grindcore-band Bolz’n. Once her vocal chords are unleashed, she runs the gamut from the deepest frequencies up to the highest pitches, emitting sounds that are hardly recognizable as products of a human voice.

HANAYO is celebrated for her work with german artist Christoph Schlingensief and musicians such as Violent Onsen Geisha, Red Crayola, Vapid Dolly, Black Dog, Merzbow, Woodman, Kai Althoff, Terre Thaemlitz, The Panacea and most recently Wooden Veil.

Christoph de Babalon selected works:
1996 ‘Destroy Berlin!’ 12″ Vinyl, Digital Hardcore Recordings
1997 ‘If You’re Into It, I’m Out Of It” LP/CD, Digital Hardcore Recordings
1999 The Peel Sessions Live, Royal Festival Hall, London
1999 ‘Dark Background’ on fals.ch
2000 Split EP with Kid606 12″ Vinyl, Fat Cat
2000 ‘Rise Above This’ 7″ Vinyl, Zhark International
2000 ‘Monkey’s Uncle’ Remix for The Locust, GSL
2000 ‘Misfortune Must Be Fought Back’ Remix for Tocotronic, Motor Music
2000 Music for ‘I Suppose this time I see what he saw (a temporary switchback)’ by Norwegian Dance Company Zero Visibility Corp.
2001 ‘Untitled’ with Hanayo for ‘Mutations’ group exhibition in Tokyo, curated by Rem Kolhaas
2001-2006 Several theatre music productions in Germany with director Schirin Khodadadian
2003 Founding of ?bergang with Guitarist Christian GG Haudej
2005 ‘Atomkrieg’ sound installation for group exhibition at Kunsthaus Dresden
2006 ‘Fear Leader’ EP with ?bergang, Low Res Records, Detroit

check Christoph’s myspace
cfet.com

CHRISTOPH DE BABALON – Scylla & Charybdis
LP, Cross Fade Enter Tainment PP012

STREETDATE: NOVEMBER 3RD !!!!!

“Schauen wir zur?ck nach Berlin. Bewusst in der Vergangenheit formuliert, da ich Atari Teenage Riot nicht mehr mit derselben Wucht als aktiv empfinde wie Die Goldenen Zitronen.

Was dem Respekt f?r sie und ihre Haltung und ihre Musik aber keinen Abbruch tut. Die Form, f?r die sich Alec Empire, Hanin Elias, Carl Crack und die sp?ter hinzugesto?ene Nic Endo entschieden hatten, dieses so unglaublich intensive, explosive Gebr?u, das sie selbst als Digital Hardcore bezeichneten, konnte nur mit voller Wucht gegen die Wand gefahren werden; der Blick auf die Soloprojekte, der auf der DVD get?tigt wird, zeigt aber auch bei ihnen die Offenheit und F?higkeit, den Stil zu modifizieren, nur zuletzt eben nicht mehr mit dieser Stilsicherheit und Intensit?t der ersten Jahre.

W?hrend die Zitronen wichtige Worte sprachen und in den Wohlfahrtsaussch?ssen den Diskurs suchten, sprangen ATR kompromisslos auf LKWs und riefen zur “Revolution Action” auf, zur Zerst?rung der Kultur der letzten 2000 Jahre, lieferten den Soundtrack zum “Riot”, zu den Berliner 1.-Mai-Protesten, mit ordentlich “Speed” im Blut, “Sick To Death” und immerzu united mit den Kids.

Mehr Slogans geht nicht. Mehr Energie auch nicht. Ein Wirbelsturm tobte damals ?ber Deutschland mit Alec Empire als Role-Model. Heute haben wir stattdessen Ed Banger – blo? dass denen die Inhalte abgehen.”

A lot of unreleased music which was considered “too extreme” by former label Force Inc. Music Works.

Alec:” We are in the middle of putting the concept together. This is excellent stuff we got here.
We will bang that out before Christmas – I swear….”

Some of the original EPs which were released only on vinyl go for about 200 dollars on ebay,
if someone has them….

another review

KINOPREMIERE DES FILMS ?CHAOSTAGE – WE ARE PUNKS !”
03.10.08. / 19.30 Uhr- Apollokino Hannover
ab 22 Uhr Aftershowparty im Maritim Grand Hotel Hannover
ab 22:30 Uhr Pressekonferenz

Mit zahlreichen Gr??en des deutschen Films, wie Ralf Richter, Ben Becker, Helge Schneider Martin Semmelrogge, Stipe Erceg, Rolf Zacher, Claude-Oliver Rudolph, Uwe Fellensiek, uvm..

?Fr?her fragte ich mich manchmal warum ich Punk geworden bin, heute dr?cke ich einfach eine beliebige Taste auf meiner Fernbedienung”
Johnny Rotten, S?nger der Sex Pistols

Endlich ist es soweit! Am 03.10.08 beginnt Deutschlands erster und h?rtester Punkfilm mit seiner Kinopremiere zum Sturm auf die Filmpal?ste zu blasen. Hannovers ber?chtigtes und gef?rchtetes Punktreffen ?CHAOSTAGE” wurden zum letzten Mal 1995 Bilder um die ganze Welt geschickt.Die Presse berichtete von den ?gr??ten Strassenschlachten der Nachkriegsgeschichte”.

Mit dem Kinofilm ?CHAOSTAGE – WE ARE PUNKS” projizieren wir nun das Chaos am historischen Ort zum ersten Mal auf die Leinw?nde der Republik.Neben der prominenten Besetzung haben sich einige tausend Punks angek?ndigt zum eigens veranstalteten Punkfestival in Hannovers Nordstadt. Die Punkszene, die sich heutzutage ?ber einschl?gige Internetseiten abstimmt, geht bereits in Stellung:

“Kommt alle nach Hannover – Smashen wir die Nordstadt !”
( Forum indymedia )

?Hannover soll brennen !”
( Forum Punk.de )

?Ein Wiedersehen mit dem Penny Markt ! Viel Spass beim pl?ndern.”
( Forum Spex )

Mit dem Tag der Deutschen Einheit 2008 schlagen wir die Br?cke von 1981 ins dritte Jahrtausend. Wird es ein Treffen der Generationen, (wir begegnen Zeitzeugen , die in ?CHAOSTAGE- WE ARE PUNKS” zu Wort kamen, Punklegenden wie Slime, Abst?rzende Brieftauben uvm.) oder trifft der Film auf jugendliche Unruhestifter, die nur noch einen Schubs suchen, um erneut eine ganze Stadt ins Chaos zu st?rzen?

Die Stra?en werden an diesem Tage wieder heiss sein, in Hannovers Nordstadt. Ob die Premiere des Films zur Initialz?ndung f?r einen gro?en Knall wird, vermag bis zum 03.10.2008 niemand sagen.

Wir freuen uns sehr, Sie auf der Premiere zu begr??en. Unsere namhaften Darsteller stehen ihnen selbstverst?ndlich f?r Interviews und Shootings zur Verf?gung.F?r R?ckfragen und Akkreditierungen stehen auch wir ihnen jederzeit zurVerf?gung. Alle Informationen zum Film, Trailer, Cast ,etc.finden Sie auf www.chaostage-film.de und auf www.lbfilms.de

Die ?CHAOSTAGE” sind zur?ck !

www.indiestreber.de review (german)

Caroline Wimmer wrote about the evacuation of a school near Boston in the USA in 1999,
when an ATR poster for “60 Second Wipe Out” alerted the local authorities…
You can purchase this book here