Interested in projects working on the outskirts of what could be considered PE, or those that could only broadly be defined as such. Tradition has its place, but who is bringing something truly unique and individual to the table, but still relevant to the focus of this forum? A historical example could maybe be White Hospital- often discussed and even defined as PE or industrial yet sounds nothing like anything else. This question could be applied to sonic or thematic content. Thank you.
Pretty much anything can be considered fair game thematically in power electronics, so there's no real "fringe" to speak of. There are releases dealing with everything from the sexual reproductive cycle of plants, to parental expectancy (Streetmeat), to gay rights (Straight Panic), male modeling (Live Sex Show), the world of high fashion (Mass Marriage), to taxes (a couple of Jim Haras-related projects)...you name it. The idea that power electronics generally has to follow some "extreme" political/social concept or sexual content in order to be defined as such is pretty silly, and although I'm a big fan of many projects that wallow in that particular trough, I'd hate to think of PE as limited to generally offensive or controversial topics.
Sound-wise, you could argue there's no real "fringe" to PE, either, since these types of boundaries are asking to be broken anyway. I've been actively searching for things that push the boundaries past the tried-and-true formulas for a couple of years, as well; here's what I've found:
Sick Seed - Finnish project running since around 2008ish. Takes a more "experimental" approach and the sonic structure is somewhere between actual songwriting and the simple layering formula of PE. Actual instruments play as big a role as obscure electronics devices and effects with junk percussion and feedback, and the more recent material pushes the musicality further while older material is more identifiable as PE, but still has a composed, rehearsed quality like any rock etc. Owes as much to no wave, very early industrial, and krautrock as it does the big-name PE greats (which as far as I know, Pekka isn't a big fan of, which speaks volumes). Lots of variation in subject matter; emphasis on speculation about future and the modern world, assessment of psychological and scientific matters, historical subjects, plus the perverse themes you know and love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WCmqtaXPq4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGuY-VBSrT4
Ultra - Long-gone "legendary" industrial/PE/krautrock/unclassifiable "band format" project of international collaborators. Sound incorporated a more psychedelic and less harsh use of electronics alongside instrumental pieces, tape manipulation/sound collages/sampling, and lots of absolutely deranged vocals that give William Bennett a run for his money. Went through two lineups and sound changed significantly between the late '90s and early '00s. Generally sleazy sexual subject matter, along with a healthy dose of satire, surrealism, and abstract nonsense. Absolutely everyone needs a copy of their "Delirious Elaborations" 4xCD box set from Dom America, which only costs a mere $20, and grants you access to really rare recordings of one of the best bands/projects of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7YQhi8JwSU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xssAQuNqQLs
Haus Arafna - Long-running German PE/industrial with a softer, more sensual edge to their sound and less overt presentation of various subject matter. Unfortunately I've just begun to familiarize myself, but they seem to be catching on with a lot of folks who aren't as comfortable with some of the "extremity" in other power electronics, to say the least. The duo are also a married couple, as far as I know, which reflects some of the "romantic" sensibilities of the project. I've also never really heard anything negative said about this project, which is rare in industrial etc., when you think about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKFqhIULLdo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cd56P8I8_Y
Pogrom - Relatively "extreme" PE from Lithuania that tends to challenge the boundaries of what PE is considered to be, alongside subject matter one might already expect from PE in general, mixing harsh noise, direct and straightforward power electronics, more experimental sounds, and sometimes even metal elements. Newer releases and more recent live performances feature a style of "singing" as well as more typical PE vocal delivery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y7nufucf5Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq9pA335ZHU
Sutcliffe Jugend - Everyone already knows that this project began as some of the first UK teenage power electronics, but what they're doing today is arguably much more important. Tomkins and Taylor take a very advanced and musical approach to PE that is at once aggressive, cinematic, and emotional; with a sound that incorporates rock, industrial, PE, musique concrete, and what often feels like incidental film music. Their music also doesn't reference many external things, instead focusing on personal matters and a more intimate relationship with "typical" PE subject matter. These guys helped start power electronics, and now helped it to become something beyond what it's generally considered to be. If I had to compare them to any other band in the world, it'd be Swans, because they're just so much more than even the most accurate assessments of their sound and style can convey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-BQdvUtmZo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL18PloXMmI
Consumer Electronics - People are incredibly incensed (read: pissy) that the more recent CE lineup deviates from what they expect to be power electronics, and although I'm not always on board sonically, I like that Best, Froelich & Haswell don't care for that kind of opinion. There was actually a recent interview with Best where he mentions "sexist and misogynist" comments from people on this forum regarding his partner Sarah's membership in the project. If it can bother people that much that someone's vocals don't sound exactly like what you might expect, and others that that vocalist is female, that says more about folks' limited perceptions of what PE can and can't be than it does about Consumer Electronics, which I think people should take the time to judge for themselves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsF5R2HWhC4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I69F8aWhatQ
Prurient - This project is pretty much ubiquitous with those into mainstream music that know about this kind of stuff nowadays. Translation is that hipsters find Purient especially accessible, for some reason, but would shit their pants if they knew about what was really behind some of this music. Prurient is considered "power electronics" but doesn't play by any conceivable rules, releases range from harsh noise, to power electronics, to more musique concrete territory, to lush cinematic techno like you hear on video game soundtracks. Not really my thing, but I can see why a lot of people really appreciate this kind of thing. The album "Cocaine Death" is pretty much essential.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMJ7i9d74RE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5geog-nrXig
There are others, but I'm underexposed and too lazy to go looking. Hope that is along the lines of what you were asking. As you can see, more sensitive types and the tough-guy crowd alike tend to box PE into a formula of echoed vocals, flanged feedback, and synthesizer noise, but there's so much more to it than that.
nice thread. cannot elaborate much at the moment, but I am sure there are many projects can make the difference.
I think about IRM/Martin Bladh. One of the most talented specimen in PE that has a feet in thze genre but cover much more.
Very complex concepts with ever changing sounds.
Peterson, thanks for the thoughtful response. Am very familiar with a couple of the names mentioned, while most fall into those who have been on my list to explore. Will be looking into Sick Seed, Ultra, and more recent Pogrom material. Haus Arafna is also a recent discovery for me, am really starting to get into their work. Will have to investigate SJ recent output as well, last I heard from them I was not so impressed but that was years ago now. I do enjoy most of the current CE stuff.
Prurient was on my mind when posing this question, and I agree that Cocaine Death is an essential work. He has done much to explore and expand the limits of these genres, sometimes very successfully, tho his work can be so varied and prolific that sometimes this gets lost.
tiny_tove - agreed about IRM.
RE: Ultra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2pGVElBJfU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzVaeuYES1E (the synth lines remind me of John Carpenter)
Club Moral, perhaps? The Dadarotator? De Fabriek? Irikarah? Eric Lunde? EDIT - Cicciolina Holocaust?
I tend to think some of the earliest Industrial projects, in the times when there wasn't much of a distinction between Harsh Noise/PE/etc., would almost touch what we consider to be PE without actually being it.
Have not checked into Ultra yet (I do remember when Roman Holiday was reissued and remember hearing at least one track at that time), currently listening to and loving Sick Seed, has been on my list for far too long. Great stuff.
Club Moral - had forgotten about that scene. At one time their entire catalogue was available for download, remember finding some great stuff there. Eric Lunde deserves a look, only familiar with him as a member of IOS (some of their stuff could fit this topic, maybe).
Re: CE, I really enjoy PBs ranting and slobbering, tho idk if I think of it as PE... more like a particularly spirited poetry reading.
Quote from: NIT on February 26, 2017, 08:04:15 PM
Interested in projects working on the outskirts of what could be considered PE, or those that could only broadly be defined as such. Tradition has its place, but who is bringing something truly unique and individual to the table, but still relevant to the focus of this forum?
Fools be quiet about it, but Terror Cell Unit applies to this heavily. Check out The Lions of Jihad on youtube for proof.
Also, Koufar has been moving towards the fringes but not entirely. You see some of it on "Minority Report" on Finders and The "Phoenicianism" cassette (out soon on Nil By Mouth) will feature some material like that.
HONOR_IS_KING! - Thanks for the reply. Look forward to checking out Minority Report and Phoenicianism, been playing Lebanon for Lebanese and the split with Deterge to death lately. Will check the TCU YouTube this eve.
mr nit, given the 30 year+ hx of pe, what do you mean
yrs sincerely,
mr anal
I always considered the under rated and now deceased UK band BARACLOUGH to be very much on the fringes of PE, but I don't think they'd agree.
Referred to here and there as 'the gay Whitehouse', you can expect brilliant stream of conscious lyrics about all kinds of mundane observations, stories and thought processes committed to a pretty clean, slick musical bed of digital noise and pulses. For me, without consciously trying, they totally represented the kind of things that could get done with the common components of PE and industrial but so rarely do. Noisy as fuck, confrontational, always threatening to become genuinely violent.... but done by these cool looking London (mostly) queer boys with a completely singular and arty flare without being some bullshit 'theme' band intended to be a simple homage to some kind of culture or aesthetic. Nope, this was proper experimental music being made by people with a serious artistic vision and lots to say within it. While my descriptions alone will probably have already turned some stomachs they remain a totally fascinating and rewarding project whose small discography (much of which still available, cheaply) contains many years of great listening.
Quote from: Duncan on March 01, 2017, 10:22:16 PM
I always considered the under rated and now deceased UK band BARACLOUGH to be very much on the fringes of PE, but I don't think they'd agree.
Referred to here and there as 'the gay Whitehouse', you can expect brilliant stream of conscious lyrics about all kinds of mundane observations, stories and thought processes committed to a pretty clean, slick musical bed of digital noise and pulses. For me, without consciously trying, they totally represented the kind of things that could get done with the common components of PE and industrial but so rarely do. Noisy as fuck, confrontational, always threatening to become genuinely violent.... but done by these cool looking London (mostly) queer boys with a completely singular and arty flare without being some bullshit 'theme' band intended to be a simple homage to some kind of culture or aesthetic. Nope, this was proper experimental music being made by people with a serious artistic vision and lots to say within it. While my descriptions alone will probably have already turned some stomachs they remain a totally fascinating and rewarding project whose small discography (much of which still available, cheaply) contains many years of great listening
this sounds too good to be true.foryears a mr Barraclough was consultant re my deafness. seeing him as a gay Whitehouse is mind blowing on a vague non real level....
Oh wow, will need to check Baraclough out, this thread has been very fruitful, thank you.
Quote from: david lloyd jones on March 01, 2017, 09:12:36 PM
mr nit, given the 30 year+ hx of pe, what do you mean
yrs sincerely,
mr anal
Huh? Not following your point. What does the length of history have to do with my question?
Quote from: NIT on March 01, 2017, 11:21:19 PM
Oh wow, will need to check Baraclough out, this thread has been very fruitful, thank you. Quote from: david lloyd jones on March 01, 2017, 09:12:36 PM
mr nit, given the 30 year+ hx of pe, what do you mean
yrs sincerely,
mr anal
Huh? Not following your point. What does the length of history have to do with my question?
what I mean is, that pe has a long hx that encompasses lots of varieties.
whatever you may see at the borders with other genres will have changed over time, and at times be meaningless.
Quote from: david lloyd jones on March 02, 2017, 01:01:43 AM
Quote from: NIT on March 01, 2017, 11:21:19 PM
Oh wow, will need to check Baraclough out, this thread has been very fruitful, thank you. Quote from: david lloyd jones on March 01, 2017, 09:12:36 PM
mr nit, given the 30 year+ hx of pe, what do you mean
yrs sincerely,
mr anal
Huh? Not following your point. What does the length of history have to do with my question?
what I mean is, that pe has a long hx that encompasses lots of varieties.
whatever you may see at the borders with other genres will have changed over time, and at times be meaningless.
Ahh. I see your point. I do see the variety, but there are obviously tropes, styles, etc that tend to dominate. I don't think this has to be a bad thing but it can come off as conservative and repetitive. I think there is a lot of room for new sounds and approaches without even crossing over into other genres. Forge new ground. Only meaning is great music/art.
Quote from: HONOR_IS_KING! on February 28, 2017, 09:52:47 PM
Fools be quiet about it, but Terror Cell Unit applies to this heavily. Check out The Lions of Jihad on youtube for proof.
Also, Koufar has been moving towards the fringes but not entirely. You see some of it on "Minority Report" on Finders and The "Phoenicianism" cassette (out soon on Nil By Mouth) will feature some material like that.
Minority Report is fucking fantastic.
Quote from: david lloyd jones on March 02, 2017, 01:01:43 AM
whatever you may see at the borders with other genres will have changed over time, and at times be meaningless.
My assumption is that vast majority of stuff what is now called PE, wouldn't have been in past.
And especially it seems to be true depending on which country you happen to live.
Little indication also comes from looking old catalogues of distributors, for example Tesco 1998 catalogue is full of "power electronics" term in use, but Artware catalogue it is much more rare. But this seems to apply as much to use of "noise" as genre. Whether noise is reserved to
pure harsh noise, or is it used as wider description of a lot of nois
y stuff.
I would say that these days, to find "pure" power electronics, is rare case. Pretty much everything exists somewhere in wide post-industrial / noise category than what could be seen as the "old PE sound".
You could say for example all the noisier electronic stuff on Posh Isolation, except Forza Albino and Caucasian Colony fits this topic. It may be noisy and electronic etc, but hardly "PE". It goes to different type of aesthetic and composition and themes, but still have connection.
I think it has been discussed in some topics before (was there post-power electronics topic, heh?!). If you put two groups next to eachother, like early Whitehouse or CONTROL (usa), then latter one would most likely feel entirely different musical genre? Multilayered and precise rhythms (although not beats) with heavy and "full produced" sound. More often dark and dense atmosphere than violently ripping lo-fi carnage and disturbing frequencies like heard in many old releases.
However, if Control is seen as "fringe", then question would be who and what exactly is the non-fringe PE? At least looking to Finland, there really ain't many bands who could be without doubt categorized as PE. Most fall under wider umbrella of some sort of industrial-noise.
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on March 08, 2017, 09:15:19 AM
Quote from: david lloyd jones on March 02, 2017, 01:01:43 AM
whatever you may see at the borders with other genres will have changed over time, and at times be meaningless.
You could say for example all the noisier electronic stuff on Posh Isolation, except Forza Albino and Caucasian Colony fits this topic. It may be noisy and electronic etc, but hardly "PE". It goes to different type of aesthetic and composition and themes, but still have connection.
This is where I was going with the original question. I am familiar with PI, looking for other material that has similar relationship to PE as described above. After reading responses I think about the topic a bit differently now. Some great suggestions in this thread have lead to new discoveries.
Setting aside the notion of "power dynamics" for second, I have been procrastinating about becoming more familiar with the times that label ANT ZEN embraced power electronics... and if you are careful, you can see elements of it stylistically. I wonder if they have snuck in any more adventurous electronic material lately. The recent material by Michael Idehall is good.
People mentioning Haus Arafna.... I'm not sure how much SUBLIMINAL is on the fringes or in the middle of power electronics, but I haven't really heard anyone as good as that in terms of rhythmic horrorscapes.....
But more to the point, if anyone knows some artists that took Sodality into more avant garde areas, as I have always liked The Sodality's sense of movement, and of course would love to hear someone screaming about serial killers over a Stockhausen sensibility, for a variety of reasons....
My general impression is, P.E. has become more musical?! Guilty as charged though
Quote from: Human Larvae on March 10, 2017, 11:27:19 PM
My general impression is, P.E. has become more musical?! Guilty as charged though
I guess your are quite right with that.
Or is it that more musical things get labeled as PE? Things that formerly were just some sort of industrial were called that.
I would say the 80's scene if full of quite rough industrial bands, what still have very musical qualities.
From bands, occasionally almost pe, but often something else, could use this opportunity to mention industrial project Maybe Mental!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uflnnHtFn_E
Would be great if there would be possibility for reissues, but diversity of material makes it quite challenging. Perhaps now time is more accepting of blending in industrial, almost pe type of stuff... and suddenly odd electro-pop tracks!
Yes, it does seems that PE has became more "musical". On one hand I think it shows some form of evolution for the genre (for better or for worse) as in "not stuck in the same simple synth noise + shouted vocals formula". On the other hand, stuff like Damien Dubrovnik - The Light Of God Shines Eternal, for example, you could simply say it's just Industrial, if the definition of PE is strictly the aforementioned formula, and call it a day.
As for examples of "fringe" PE, I gave a number of them in the melancholic PE thread, if I remeber correctly. All nice, more "musical", examples.
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on March 08, 2017, 09:15:19 AM
My assumption is that vast majority of stuff what is now called PE, wouldn't have been in past...there really ain't many bands who could be without doubt categorized as PE. Most fall under wider umbrella of some sort of industrial-noise.
That about covers it for me. It's more a loosening, or even simply re-branding, of the terminology than a change in the music. How many skateboard tricks have been renamed? Same trick. New name. I also think of "crust" in hardcore. It was something relatively specific in the 80s, but then by the late-90s and 2000s, it covered just about everything that involved a black uniform. Didn't matter much what the music was like. Rendering it a pretty much useless, unhelpful term. Without giving it a lot of consideration, I wonder how much it is related to retro everything. Getting caught in the past with nostalgia. Rather than creating something new, simply redefine the terms and "modernize" the lexicon. I would guess this is normal in linguistics.