SPK
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SPK – Machine Age Voodoo
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Biography
SPK: Myspace
Formed 1978 in Australia, was a 1980s industrial and noise music act once featuring Graeme Revell who later went on to compose soundtracks for film and television, most notably the incidental music for CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Details - Personal;
Operator - synthesisers, rhythms, treatments, vocals
Wilkins - guitars, bass, tapes, vocals
Mr. Clean - technician
Tone Generator - synthesisers, treatments
——-The group was formed when Revell (aka Operator) met up with Neil Hill (aka Ne/H/il). They were both working at a psychiatric hospital when they became inspired by the manifesto of the German radical Marxist group known as the Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv (SPK). The following words, inspired by the SPK manifesto, are used on one of the band’s first recordings, Slogun (1979): “Kill, Kill, Kill for inner peace/ Bomb, Bomb, Bomb for mental health/ Therapy through violence!”. Dominik Guerin (aka Tone Generator) joined in 1980, and was later to concentrate on the band’s notorious visual content. Guerin and Revell recorded the first album, Information Overload Unit (1981), in a Vauxhall squat (during the Brixton riots in London) with the help of Revell’s brother Ash (aka Mr.Clean) and Wilkins (guitar/bass).
Top Tracks
Top Albums
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Leichenschrei
14,399 listeners4 tracks
Released:
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Auto Da Fe
20,167 listeners11 tracks
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Information Overload Unit
8,288 listeners9 tracks
Released:
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Machine Age Voodoo
4,289 listeners12 tracks
Released:
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Razielek
"By the way, why was Contact, Kontakt on Auto-Da-fe?" if you mean the title of the song well, it is common for them to write it like that ('k" instead "c"). They were thinking it looks cool, no deeper meaning ;]
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PiecesOfQuiet
Well Front 242 was always dance music. They really started doing doing prodigy style stuff on pulse. But even before then on Fuck Up Evil and Fuck Off they were moving away from their original 80s EBM.
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LAHardwave
9 out of 10 SPK fans like this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXRmvDx1ZK8
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sewertroll
By the way, why was Contact, Kontakt on Auto-Da-fe?
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gabi15001900
good
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Razielek
For Test Dept it's true (same goes with Clock DVA), but 90s Swans are equally powerful as their beginnings (although in different way), Skinny Puppy went progressively heavier, not sure where you see conversion point in Front 242 career...
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sewertroll
It's true, in this scene the bands start making softer music, besides ones already mentioned here's more, Test Dept started making techno, The Swans became an goth rock band, front 242 switched to dance music even skinny puppy changed their style... However, people hate the metal dance stuff because it's an dramatic change. But the stuff is still very unique and quit unused in music. EBM and Chu Ishikawa/test dept. stuff doesn't count. It'd be awesome if some sort of Industrial/doom metal discovered their kind of metal banging.
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juftjrjkry
Metal Dance <3
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Horse_Deceased
Ah, unfortunately they conformed
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AbyssusCattus
"Machines are breeding, machines are breeding" Another Dark Age <3
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ketamineface
Leichenschrei is Their masterpiece.
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PiecesOfQuiet
Yeah I don't remember them being real great or anything, I just remember it happening.
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Razielek
Yeah, if I remeber there were even some demo tracks, very weak btw.
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PiecesOfQuiet
Wasn't tone generator planning on releasing another SPK record?
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Razielek
We must remember also, that career of SPK wasn't very different from other industrial bands of the time - let me mention Nocturnal Emissions, Cabaret Voltaire, Portion Control, Severed Heads, even Throbbing Gristle to some degree - each one of them had 'shocking', experimental beginnings and each one of them converted to dance pop around mid 80s. Effects were different of course - in case of SPK their "pop album" was at the same time more commercial and more professional (after all Revell was classically trained musician - an sensation in this scene!). It was shame of all industrial music (this conversion). But, at the same time, this conversion allowed to emerge another wave of industrial bands, like Skinny Puppy of Vampire Rodents - equally interesting for me. Just saying.
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Moloch93
Yes, i could agree with you Razielek, but i have said that from mine point of view, obviously i liked them more when they were bringing us morbid and lush landscape of noise.I am not saying that the later work is without quality, just that i am more fond of early spk... and i must say that you're right when you say that Revell had an opportunity to change course and used it.It's his artistic right to do so.
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Razielek
"It's a shame what Graeme Revell had done" he didn't lied anyone. He said that "metal dance" was commercial move (but, from oder side he soon delivered artistic Zamia Lehmanni and equally interesting works in Musique Brut series)... maybe he should change name but is it really that important? Tone Generator wasn't brain behind SPK project - Revell was. If he felt that he has nothing more to say as a "cultural terrorist" it is fine (and fair) to me.
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Moloch93
It's a shame what Graeme Revell had done.For me, even he was the key member in the first years, he has ruined the extreme industrial edge of spk. Tone Generator says in his interview taken from dvd despair that Revell had later on a commercial idea of spk and i absolutely agree with him that it was an unnecessary act in history of this cult band. They should have stayed cultural terrorist, what was the original vision.
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Kristman
pleased to discover that SPK is Australian
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DeathGrippin
SPinny Kuppy lel
All 266 shouts
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