Front 242

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Aarschot, Belgium (1981 – present)

“Front 242” is a pioneering Belgian group that came into prominence during the 1980s. For years to come they took the lead in electronic music composition. During their most active period (they decided to quit in 1993 with the albums “06:21:03:11 UP EVIL” and “05:22:09:12 Off”) they were influential to many and artists.


History

The origin of “Front 242” should be understood within the rise of industrial music, which originated in England in 1975 with the first performances of “Cabaret Voltaire” and “Throbbing Gristle”. These revolutionary groups introduced elements of style later taken up by “Front 242” such as electronic instrumentation, overwhelming percussion often with found objects, and looped samples of found soundbites. Going back earlier, these innovations can be seen as an extension of the work of William S. Burroughs and of Edgard Varèse, the first significant composer to adopt electronic sources of sound as musical instruments, and who also used overwhelming percussion including with found objects. It is perhaps no coincidence that Varese’s great mark on the music world took place at the “1958 World Fair” in Brussels, where Front 242 would work a few decades later.
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Popular tags: ebm, industrial, electronic, electro, electronica  See more

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  • RU1Z

    Happy EBM Day!

    yesterday afternoon

  • dlouhebidlo

    internation EBM day today!

    yesterday morning

  • czar04

    Re:Boot definitely has some gems on it. Though, if you listen to full length recordings of their live performances of that era, most of them are the same caliber as Re:Boot... including my personal favorite Arvika 2003

    16 days ago

  • Babayoga88

    Re:Boot is an awesome live one.

    22 days ago

  • cyber10

    http://www.last.fm/music/Guerreiros+Paulistas

    last month

  • versionfiv

    front by front was the only album i ever bought, but i always preferred re:boot more than anything else.

    last month

  • camiloalv

    perfect music to work like a robot :)

    last month

  • skalberg242

    Official Version will always remain their best. Closely followed by Tyranny.

    last month

  • Roland-Korg

    Kampfbereit!

    last month

  • iamjustkidding

    yeah ok, so where's 'live code'' 'cause that's THE live album for me, recorded in holland i believe.

    last month

  • turnoftides

    sexy

    last month

  • Ashei

    I don't think it matters, bro

    last month

  • DJ_Tyrant

    No flowers...for you!

    December 2011

  • DJ_Tyrant

    Tyranny is a great album, but Front By Front was their breakout album, the one that put them on the map and cemented EBM as genre.

    December 2011

  • gothic_hobbit

    Here on the north pole !

    December 2011

  • BoomImDead

    Hooray for EBM. :>

    November 2011

  • chrisxanthus

    Quite Unusual

    November 2011

  • chrisxanthus

    No sex until marriage!

    November 2011

  • tekknoveteran

    techno

    November 2011

  • Auland

    @Babayoga88 I know, I'm quite the heathen, aren't I

    November 2011
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Video: Front 242 Live in Munich plus interview

18 May 2010 | from blog.myspace.com/front242

Two interesting Front 242 videos have just been released by the German site Nitrox.TV. The first one contains the first four tracks from the show in Munich on April 15th, 2010, filmed in a …

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