#alec empire

[possible-streetwear]

Hanin Elias - Atari Teenage Riot

[swdefcult]

[zef-zef]

Alec Empire

source: electronicbeats 📸: ???

[iamdangerace]

Atari Teenage Riot

[ourladyofomega]

I was getting deeper and deeper into everything electronic and industrial, all during my one-year break in-between the Brentwood era and community college. The UK electronics invasion, MTV's Amp, and Wipeout XL were the major influences that led me to that point. I was starting to have an endless appetite for music, and one thing I learned about myself that I could be interested in anything and everything. I already had an affinity to golden-era hip-hop / rap and alternative. The seeds of hardcore started to grow, so there would be no stopping me at this point. There were so many genres, artists, and sounds I was getting into, and I wanted to keep up. I had a position at a department store in the shopping mall, then later at a movie rental store, so I could afford to buy titles for whatever cash I had in hand.

I didn't have a desktop with internet to find independent stores. I had yellow pages instead: thick phone-books listing hundreds upon hundreds of pages of local businesses, their addresses, and their phone numbers all in minuscule print. That's how I discovered them back then. It was a year after visiting my first-ever independent record store, Commack's Mr. Cheapo's. Then came West Babylon's Looney Tunes before the holidays. Still enthusiastic in discovering the vast unknown, I wanted to find more. Port Jefferson's Music Den would be the next destination.

I already felt like an outsider when I arrived on campus. It was a different type of demographic I was used to. I looked around and I'd still see cliques, circles, and other "exclusive" groups of students that I felt I wouldn't be included in. I'd meet newfound friends who'd introduce me to their friends, but it felt forced, and they didn't seem to care. I was crazy for Atari Teenage Riot because they showed me exactly what techno always should've been: deafening loud, criminally high-speed, and maniacally all over the place. I tried looking for people who were in them, and observed what types of music the majority were into. Simplistic, manufactured, predictable dance hits. Boring weekend club-mashers. Formulaic radio chart-toppers. I wasn't impressed. The people who were into that were shallow, superficial, judgmental, needlessly competitive, and at times just unnecessarily mean. Drama artists and attitude jockeys all over the place. That's why they called community college "13th Grade". Now you'd see the disgusting distaste of the late-Nineties music scene I had. But, I did have a couple of good cards given to me. I joined the campus newspaper which I'd write music reviews for. An attractive brunette, Sandra, randomly stopped me to strike up a conversation, and wanted to get to know me better. She was also a Jesus freak. I also made another friend I met on campus who decided to set me up with an Irish blonde acquaintance of his, and we hit it off right away. Even then, I'd deal with constant games, rudeness, and random acts of ego during my time there.

The newspaper meeting ended one late October Thursday night. I finally had the opportunity to drive out eight miles from campus to the Port Jefferson Music Den for some shopping. I walked right in, and started digging. I'm not even there for two minutes and I already find gold: the import version of Alec Empire’s The Destroyer for only $9.00 used ($22.00 brand new otherwise). That was a huge deal for me because (once again) I was an Atari Teenage Riot / DHR fanatic. Right after that? Another label release, this time from EC8OR. I'd finally discover all those artists I heard about on the internet; thirty-minute download times of grainy 480P-resolution video and all. I was really starting to like this place. I start scouring the used CD bins, and I’d stumble upon KMFDM’s banned version of Naive for $8.00 - back when used copies on eBay were selling for…$80.00 each! Then came Pigface’s Washingmachinemouth and Ministry’s The Land Of Rape And Honey for a few dollars used. I copped Fluke’s Risotto because of Wipeout XL, and I’d snatch Skinny Puppy’s Back & Forth Volume 2 and Cleopatra’s Industrial Revolution: Third Edition, all for regular price. Finally, Coldcut’s "Atomic Moog 2000" / "Reboot The System": the first-ever multimedia CD I'd ever own.

Minute-by-minute, I'd slowly discover all sorts of wild and unusual sounds and artists they had on the racks. The Port Jeff- Music Den carried all the rare, unusual, and obscure stuff no other store on the island did. Sure, there were plenty of used CDs and vinyl bins in pop, metal, alternative, shoegaze, indie, hip-hop, and jazz. It was their industrial, noise, electronic, and experimental selections, however, that would be the all-important tie-breaker. They had all what I was looking for. I remembered seeing titles like Gescom’s Minidisc on the racks, Coil’s “Autumn Equinox: Amethyst Deceivers” 7", tons of Clock DVA, Controlled Bleeding, plus some Oval and Microstoria albums. It was wild. I felt stimulated because I found plenty of abnormalities that I never knew existed, instead of the expected, typical, calculated fare that did absolutely nothing for me.

90 minutes later, I took my short stack of CDs, placed them on the counter to be rung up, cashed out, and wrapped up what would be my first visit to The -Den. $82.00 later, I leave fucking satisfied.

With each visit after, I’d continue to score big victories where I’d find them. They were Phil Western’s debut album The Escapist, Muslimgauze’s Hamas Arc, Mike & Rich’s Expert Knob Twiddlers, Aphex Twin’s Analogue Bubblebath 3, Merzbow’s Pulse Demon, and Sam & Valley. I’d nab more DHR albums from 16-17, Shizuo on vinyl, Fuck Step '98, Give Up on 12", and Alec Empire’s Squeeze The Trigger. The best? Autechre / Gescom’s “Keynell” 12" that I found under the vinyl bins and hidden inside the cabinet underneath. It was stickered for $17.00 - another record where second-hand copies sold on eBay for $125.00. I also managed to pick up a few of their 12" EPs, mainly Chiclisuite and Envane.

All these finds made The -Music Den the most unforgettable store I had the privilege to visit. They were like nothing else on the island. Sadly, they closed down after the turn of the millennium, and no store that came after was half-as-good enough to fill the hole they left behind. Believe me, if any of you reading this would’ve shopped there, you’d feel amazed and blown away like I was. I’d still have a tough time dealing with all the constant, petty drama on campus over the next couple of years. At the Port Jefferson Music Den, however, I knew that was a place where I felt like I’d belong.

[omegaremix]

Autumn 1998 Mixtape.

Autechre: Amber

Gearwhore: Drive

Front Line Assembly: "Surface Patterns"

Howie B: "Angels Go Bald, Too"

*various artists: America Is Dying Slowly

Tilt: 'Til It Kills

Dead Voices On Air: Piss Frond

Murder Inc.: self-titled

Doubting Thomas: Father Don't Cry

Howie B: Turn The Dark Off

Alec Empire: "Destruction"

Front 242: Re:Boot

[303machina]

She was so real for this

[maquina-semiotica]

Alec Empire, "Addicted to You" #NowPlaying

[forgotn1]

Atari Teenage Riot are a vastly underrated band. A blend of hardcore punk and german techno with a message of anti-fascism, anarchism, and revolution. Truly ahead of their time.

[boricuacherry-blog]

Stated: 'Boredom seems to be eternal...but death takes place like lightning and afterwards nothing is ever the same again. Yes, we are in the middle of the nineties - the only excitement on the radio is the advertising. That's not a coincidence. Music is a weapon. In the 2nd world War the German pilots were fired on to suicide for Nazi Germany by hearing Wagner before their takeoff, and the hard-core hiphop bundled the legitimate aggression of the African-Americans, in L.A., as the riots started. For this reason, a DJ has more responsibility than just a matter of taste. He is in the position to re-produce radical frequencies and noises, anytime and anywhere, which is more difficult for a live band, for example...and that's what it's all about.'

20 years ago Alec Empire published a statement (January 1st 1995) because he felt DJing in techno scene stagnated : The Capital Noise Manifest. It was passed around amongst many DJs in the underground scene in Europe, US and Asia at the time via fax. Here is the original scan.

[possible-streetwear]

Hanin Elias - Atari Teenage Riot

[swdefcult]

[zef-zef]

Alec Empire - Bass Terror From Alec Empire - Bass Terror EP (Force Inc., 1993)

[thedarkblockagency]

Bathory Skin - Crashout//O.D.(Prod. By: DARKBLOCK)

[omegaremix]

Omega Radio for March 11, 2017; #134.

Blanck Mass “Please”

Modern Witch “Cinema”

Bary Center “Dead Savant”

Gainstage “Light Change”

White Pee “God’s Snow Isn’t Dirty”

Hanin Elias “Kraken (Syria)”

Alec Empire “Victims Of Authority”

Red Fetish “The Immortals”

Horrorist “Programmed” (Silent Servant RMX)

Exploded View “No More Parties In The Attic”

Christoph De Babalon “Surreal Mirrors”

Vatican Shadow “Church Of All Images” (Regis RMX)

The Bug & Earth “Don’t Walk These Streets”

unknown artist “ΑΝΑΣΤΕΝΑΡΙΑ” (Vatican Shadow RMX)

Black Spider Clan “Far Behind”

Appetite “Kiss Of Judas”

Gloga “Indra”

Orphan Swords “Dantalion”

Late (Spring) deluxe industrial, electronics, and darkness set. First broadcast to ever air an unknown artist.