Brian Williams, head behind Lustmord - British electronic musician invented the dark ambient genre with albums such as Heresy.
He started recording as Lustmord in 1980 before joining SPK in 1982. Lustmord has extracted field recordings made in crypts, caves, and slaughterhouses, and combined it with occasional ritualistic incantations and Tibetan horns. His treatments of acoustic phenomena encased in digitally expanded bass rumbles and have a dark ambient quality. Some of Lustmord's most notable collaborations include Robert Rich on the critically acclaimed "Stalker", Tool, Puscifer, John Balance of Coil, Monte Cazazza, Clock DVA, Chris & Cosey, Paul Haslinger and experimental sludge group The Melvins on "Pigs Of The Roman Empire" on Ipecac Recordings.
Lustmord released the album "Heresy", considered a milestone of the genre of dark ambient in 1990. Williams also has contributed to more than 40 Hollywood film soundtracks as Music Sound designer and occasionally as Additional Composer, most notably on The Crow and Underworld.
Merzbow is Masami Akita, the noise god from Tokyo, Japan. Starting 1979, he has released numerous albums and formed two record labels. The name "Merzbow" comes from German artist Kurt Schwitter's artwork, Merzbau. This was decided upon to reflect Akita's dada influence and junk-art aesthetic. In addition to this, Akita has cited a wide range of influences from various progressive rock musicians such as Frank Zappa and King Crimson over to Japanese bondage. In 2000, Extreme Records released the 50 CD boxset known as the Merzbox.
Since 2004 he has been a supporter of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) which has influenced a number of animal-themed releases as well as Akita becoming vegan. As well as being a profilic artist, he has also written a number of books and has been the editor of several magazines in Japan. He has written about a variety of subjects, mostly about art, avant-garde and post-modern culture.
So far Masami Akita produced over 200 releases since 1980, and Merzbow has to be regarded as one of the "most important artist in noise".
On the Dezember 2009 tour he will be accompanied by Balazs Pandi, hungarian drummer on various projects. His activities reach from live drummer with "Otto von Schirach" and "To live and shave in LA" to studio works on Venetian Snares album Pink+Green. Forthcoming drum parts for The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, aswell as a project with Justin Broadrick, Bill Laswell and Enduser - Blood of Heroes..
Piers Morgan writes:
Jackson & His Computer Band is the musical alias of Jackson Fourgeaud, the acclaimed French producer and DJ. A Parisian to the core, Jackson currently resides in Berlin where he is working on his second album and preparing an eye-opening live show. Like his adventurous music, Jackson is a bundle of energy and ideas whose thirst for provocation and stimulation has led to him being hailed as one of the wildest talents of his generation.
Now 28, he has spent more than a decade at dance music's cutting edge. A rough diamond in the Warp label's glittering crown, Jackson made serious waves when he released his debut album, 'Smash', in 2005 and toured the world with his first live show. Described by its composer as "a style orgy, a psychedelic celebration of conflict", 'Smash' soon became a word-of-mouth classic. Its follow-up is shaping up handsomely, too. Many know Jackson as the producer behind 'Utopia', the shimmering six-minute après-rave odyssey that was used to great effect in an O2 commercial in the UK.
Jackson is also in great demand as a DJ. His rugged, romantic approach to crowd-pleasing guarantees surprises. A techno tease and a new-wave futurist, anything goes in Jackson's sets – and frequently does. As a remixer, Jackson receives many requests from acts keen to hear his unique take on their sound. Most recently, Justice personally asked Jackson for a remix. He delivered the astonishing 'Do The JAHCB', a 12-minute megamix of Justice's debut album which set the blogs ablaze and rather flattered his Parisian playmates. A few years earlier, Jackson's breathtaking rework of M83's 'Run Into Flowers', later the stand-out tune on Michael Mayer's 'Fabric 13' DJ mix, introduced him to a whole new audience. Jackson has also remixed Femi Kuti, Air, Vanessa Paradis, Freeform Five and Jean Jacques Perrey & Luke Vibert's Moog Acid project.
His restlessly inventive style of Dada disco has been cited as an influence by the likes of Justice, Simian Mobile Disco and Sebastian. But Jackson's music is constantly evolving. By the time others have caught up with him, he's way ahead, designing the future somewhere else entirely.
Jackson began making music aged 15, intrigued by the musicians and equipment surrounding his mother, Paula Moore, a folk and blues singer. After his acid house debut on Pumpking records in 1996, Sound Of Barclay released the 'Sense Juice' and 'Gourmet' EPs under the name Jackson & His Computer Band. Even then, these thumping filtered house cuts sounded weirdly different to the prevailing "French Touch" style of Daft Punk and Cassius, leading to articles in NME, I-D, Jockey Slut and the like.
Warp picked up on these early records, released on French imprint Sound Of Barclay. Instantly recognising Jackson as a genuine innovator with his own distinctive sound and personality – rare qualities in modern electronics – they signed him.
Since then, Jackson has been declared "the great hope of dance music" by The Wire magazine and has dazzled ravers in Tokyo, Montreal, New York and across Europe with his extraordinary freestyle show. In his hands, the future sounds deliciously unpredictable, which is just the way it should be.
Praise for 'Smash':
"'Smash' explodes like a symphony for the devil" DJ
"Tremendous debut from French magpie electronicist" The Observer
"A beautiful, soulful, fucked up masterpiece" Vice
