INTRO
"In the gap caused by the failure of punk rock's apocalyptic rhetoric, [the term] 'industrial' seemed like a good idea."--Jon Savage, London 1983
Experimental. Aggro. Techno. Cutups. Alternative. Noise. Ambient. Musique Concrete. Sound Collages. Avant Garde. Performance Art. Difficult. Improv. Industrial?
So many names and so many labels. It gets confusing when from all around us, publications continue to spew out more complex and different names in an attempt to pinpoint a source, while at the same time converging on one obvious thought: industrial. To demonstrate this idea, we could even trace these origins of industrial back to dadaism if we wanted to. This FAQ file is less an attempt to force people into their place and more to widen the flow of information. Sharing the precious information allows us to experience more in our learning than by strange militaristic actions.
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HISTORY
It is generally accepted that the term "industrial music" was coined in 1976 when members of Throbbing Gristle formed Industrial Records. It was to be a vehicle to explore a new form of expression through analysis, presentation and aural stimulation. All of the individuals involved used different means to achieve their goals, but the ideas they shared were on common ground. Examples of early people on the industrial label include Monte Cazzazza, Clock DVA, Cabaret Voltaire , Throbbing Gristle, Leather Nun, and William S. Burroughs. Although critics felt they were too deviant, their brand of confrontation signaled a desire for a change in the political and social system currently in place. However bleak and distressing, their music was merely a reflection of the society that surrounded them. But what's really important is that they cultivated ideas on topics ranging from serial killing to sex and censorship as well as countless others which are not encouraged in genteel discussions. This was the first strike against the information war launched by the propaganda leaders and it positioned them as more than just a musical movement, but an alternative culture. To paraphrase, these essential ideas are the makeup for the movement:
Organizational Autonomy. A conscious choice to record independently. To preserve the intention of music and to take it away from the tainted and greedy major record companies who enjoyed success at others expense.
Access to Information. With the perception of control techniques leaving any physical boundaries and moving into the realm of the mind and the mouth, it was of vital importance to discuss and be aware at all times.
Use of Synthesizers and Anti-Music. Using found materials and unconventional means of composition industrial music was more antagonistic to its intended audience, than being music true itself. It was "sounds without content".
Extra-Musical Elementrs. Because television has become a more powerful agent of control than any pop music song, the use of films and video arrangements often accompanied these aural counter attacks.
Shock Tactics. The final blow in the scheme for control has to be the use of hitting home what you have to say, making sure that it gets noticed. By far, this last technique is what is most often used by modern day "industrialists" and most probably the connecting puzzle piece that gave them such a distinction at all. Unfortunately, we've all witnessed death and war so often in this day and age, that we're far too jaded to care, rendering such an attempt almost useless.
Does this mean that industrial is now dead? Perhaps. But it cannot prevent the presence of their past actions from being muted or lost. In the early to late 80's a number of other groups began to interpret some of the audio ideas to formulate their own territorial grounding. Mixing the use of new technology, imaginative found (or homemade) materials, and the incorporation of percussion and rhythm helped guide it into the new decade. Examples of some of these bands would include: Non, SPK, Einstuerzende Neubauten, Test Department, Laibach, Rhythm and Noise, Ono, and Trial.
By the end of the 80's, "industrial music" had more than just changed, it had more or less, continued to progress and evolve alongside its society. These days, it has often come to be known as electronic instrumentation used to create a form of dance beats blended with harsh noises and sound bites such as Skinny Puppy , Revolting Cocks, Ministry, Front 242 and Front Line Assembly. Today, there are musicians who create industrial music from both sides of the fence; and the list is ever growing.
The fascination with noise and machinery which is so much a part of what one tends to think of as "classic" Industrial music had historic precedents. In the late 1800's ideophones (noises, concrete sounds) were used in orchestral music, Luii Russolo performed using his "intonarumore" (noise machines) (1913) and around 1920 Erik Satie used pistols and typewriters in the music for his surrealist play Parade. The twenties also brought the "Futurist" and "Machine Music" schools in both Italy and France. Other important historical figures include Edgard Varese, whose "Ionisation" (1930) was the first piece of Western music for percussion instruments alone and who produced an important tape piece called "Poeme Electronique" in 1958; the "Musique Concrete" works of Pierre Schaeffer and others (tape pieces made exclusively from electronically altering recordings of natural sounds like water drops, glass breaking, etc. He was also responsible for probably the earliest 'loop' which used groves cut into vinyl records); and John Cage, whose "First Construction in Metal" (for metallic percussion) and "Imaginary Landscape No. 4" \ (for 12 radios) were landmarks in American music.