| Industrial techno | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1980s to early 1990s, UK, US, Japan |
| Other topics | |
Industrial techno is a subgenre oftechno andindustrial dance music that originated in the 1990s.[1] Characteristically, it incorporates influences from the bleak, noisy sound and aesthetics of earlyindustrial music acts, particularlyCabaret Voltaire andThrobbing Gristle.[2][1] American industrial music labelWax Trax! also had a profound influence over the genre's development.[3]
The origins of industrial techno date back to the early 1980s with the work of Japanese musicianRyuichi Sakamoto, then a member ofYellow Magic Orchestra. According toFact andLouder Than War, Sakamoto's solo albumB-2 Unit (1980) anticipated the sounds of industrial techno.[4][5]
Some of the earliest musical projects in the genre include the bandFinal Cut, formed byJeff Mills and Anthony Srock in Detroit during the late 1980s.[6][7] Their 1989 debut industrial-techno album[8]Deep into the Cut was described byThe Wire as "a significant moment in the convergence of the classic industrial aesthetic and the emerging sound ofDetroit techno".[6]
The genre has seen a resurgence in the 2010s,[1][2] spearheaded by acts such as Adam X, Orphx, and Ancient Methods, and others later likeBlawan and Karenn. Other artists associated with industrial techno includeCut Hands,[1]Helena Hauff,[9] Forward Strategy Group,[1]Surgeon,[2] Michael Forshaw,[10]Jeff Mills,Regis,Dominick Fernow andMike Banks.[11] Perc Trax record label has been credited with the revival of the genre in the UK, with artists such as Perc, Truss, Happa and Ansome.[1] Some revival artists have subsequently been criticized for making the new music in the genre that "sounds old, that it's overly indebted to a sound invented and thoroughly exhausted in the '90s",[2] but despite this, innovation derived from thepost-dubstep andgarage scene have been highlighted.[2] As a result, it has gained a significant fanbase from the post-dubstep audience.[2]