Front 242

Overall, Front 242's new work continues to reveal new ideas in music to fellow musicians and fans alike. There was another reunion, of a kind, in 1994, although Cowboy had died in 1989 from the effects of his crack cocaine addiction. Meanwhile their enthusiasm for side projects has continued, as Patrick Codenys started appearing with a new group called Red Sniper, Bresanutti started recording with a new group called Troisseure, and Codenys and Richard 23 formed a quasi-DJ project called Coder23 which is touring in late 2004 and early 2005 as the opening act for VNV Nation. They reformed in 1987 for a charity concert, to release one album and then fall apart again. They have also recently issued another re-release of their first album "Geography" on Alfa-Matrix, this time newly remastered personally by Bresanutti to surprisingly powerful effect, and with extra tracks and a second disc filled with very early material that had never before been released. Flash, Kid Creole and Rahiem signed to Elektra Records while the others continued as "Melle Mel & the Furious Five". They have made occasional appearances in Latin America and Europe, even being rejoined by Dirk Bergen for a reunion concert in Aarschot in 2004 under the original lineup of Bresanutti, Bergen, Codenys and De Meyer (kept secret until two days before the show). Flash sued Sugar Hill in 1983 over the non-payment of royalties, and in 1984 the group split between Flash and Mel before disintegrating entirely.

tour showcasing the new material from "Still and Raw" and "Pulse", originally indicating that it would take place in autumn 2004, though that has been pushed back. The group's most significant hit was "The Message" (1982), which went platinum in less than a month. Front 242 also promised a new U.S. The classic "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel," released in 1981 was the best display of their skills, but it was their least successful single at the time. The new releases also feature a much more emotional style from De Meyer than his previous Front 242 work, but which was presaged in his later recordings with C-Tec and particularly Cobalt 60 on its album "Twelve". Signed to Sugar Hill Records in 1980 by Joe Robinson, they released numerous singles, gaining a gold disc for "Freedom", and also toured. The style of the two new releases tends to be a little more mellow than some of their past work, and makes revelatory use of glitchy and bleepy notes, while it also introduces a whole new level of manipulating De Meyer's vocals to achieve novel effects of the human voice as musical instrument. They performed at Disco Fever in the Bronx beginning in 1978.

These represented another iteration of Front 242's explicitly stated goal of reinventing itself on almost every new album, as it has done through its history. Soon gaining recognition for their skillful raps, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five pioneered MCing, freestyle battles, and invented some of the staple phrases in MCing. "Still and Raw" and the album "Pulse", released on XIIIBis Records in Europe and Metropolis in the U.S. Ness) to create Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. Then, 2002 and 2003 also saw the release of the long-awaited first new material from Front 242 proper in a decade: the E.P. Two other rappers briefly joined, but they were replaced more permanently by Rahiem (Guy Todd Williams, previously in the Funky Four) and Scorpio (Eddie Morris, also used the name Mr. In 2002 and 2003, Morf released an album, an E.P., a double album, and a DVD/CD two-disc combo, on the Belgian record label Alfa-Matrix, and went on tour through the U.S. The initial members were Cowboy (Keith Wiggins), Melle Mel (Melvin Glover) and Kid(d) Creole (Nathaniel Glover) making Grandmaster Flash & the 3 MCs.

Morf, a new guise for Bresanutti and Codenys along with vocalist Elko Blijweert. He formed his own group in the late 1970s, after promptings from Ray Chandler. Within three months of "Speed Tribe" was the first release from Male or Female, a.k.a. Flash played illegal parties and also worked with rappers such as Kurtis Blow and Lovebug Starski. The DVD was a collaboration with experimental documentary filmmakers Rod Chong and Sharon Matarazzo filming the 2001 24 Hour Le Mans, in which the racecars, clouds, rain and spectators are all used as impressionist elements of a visual backdrop for the music. He also invented the technique initially called cutting, which was developed by Grand Wizard Theodore into scratching (AMG). This began in August 2002 with the release of a DVD/CD two-disc set called "Speed Tribe", released by Dance.com. The speed and dexterity needed showed why Saddler was called Flash, although he got the nickname in school due to the fact that he hung around with another guy named Gordon.

Then 2002 saw the beginning of a wave of new material from Bresanutti and Codenys, and then of Front 242 itself. Learning from Pete Jones and Kool Herc, he used duplicate copies of a single record and two turntables but added a dextrous manual edit with a mixer to promote the break (a point of isolated drum rhythm) - the ordinary playing of the record would be interrupted to overlay the break, the break could be repeated by using the mixer to switch channels while the second record was spun back. However, they once again seemed to become only minimally active after 1998, making occasional appearances in Europe and Mexico, while Codenys recorded under the name Gaiden with Steve Stoll in 2001. He became involved in the earliest New York DJ scene, attending parties set up by early luminaries. Front 242 also indicated at this time that they were recording new material. Saddler's family migrated to the United States, and he grew up in the Bronx. with Metropolis Records. DJ Grandmaster Flash (born Joseph Saddler on January 1, 1958 in Barbados) is a hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing.

The new tour material was the subject of Front 242's new recording contract in the U.S. 2002: The Official Adventures of Grandmaster Flash. They acknowledged the influence of Prodigy and their "Fat of the Land" album in crafting the new, more techno style of Re:Boot. 1998: Flash is Back. The four core members of Front 242 regrouped in 1998 to compose radically reworked versions of many of their songs, which they then performed on their first tour in five years, appropriately called the Re:Boot tour. 1988: On The Strength (reunion album). Meanwhile, Richard 23 recorded with the groups Holy Gang and later LeTschak. 1987: Ba-dop-boom-bang.

This was the start of a number of releases from Cobalt 60. 1986: The Source. Dominique Lallement and Frederic Sebastien of Reims, France. 1985: Stepping Off. 1996 also saw the debut album "Elemental" from Cobalt 60, which De Meyer formed with the members of Kriegbereit, i.e. 1985: They Said It Couldn't Be Done. De Meyer also took over as vocalist for Birmingham 6 for their 1996 album "Error of Judgment". 1983: Greatest Messages.

After the departure of Sharp and the demise of the Cyber-Tec label, the remaining group continued working under the name C-Tec. 1982: The Message. In 1995, De Meyer met Marc Heal of Cubanate at a Front Line Assembly concert, and the two of them collaborated along with Ged Denton and Jonathan Sharp, to record as Cyber-Tec Project for the new (and short-lived) Cyber-Tec record label. Earlier, Richard 23 had a side project as a member of Revolting Cocks, and De Meyer had a side project doing vocals for Bigod 20 for their debut single, "The Bog" in 1990. However, this period also saw a proliferation of side projects, an inordinate number of which involved De Meyer.

To the disappointment of many, the years following 06:21:03:11 Up Evil and 05:22:09:12 Off would be bereft of new material from Front 242 under any lineup, filled instead with a stream of live recordings and remixes. commercials for the film "K2" were set to the Front 242 song "Moldavia", also from the album "Tyranny >For You<", although there was no Front 242 in the film itself. Also in 1992, the T.V. is playing the Front 242 video for "Tragedy >For You<" from the album "Tyranny >For You<".

to drown out the sound of Fonda calling for help; the T.V. A broader segment of the non-industrial-music-loving public was exposed to Front 242 in 1992 in the film "Single White Female" starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, when evil roommate Leigh ties up good roommate Fonda to a chair, and then turns the volume way up on the T.V. 99 Kowalski is the assumed name of Kristin Kowalski, making a tradition out of Richard 23's idea of number-as-name. On the other hand, a variety of new contributors were listed as members of Front 242 on these albums: Jean-Marc Pauly and Pierre Pauly on Up Evil, and 99 Kowalski and Eran Westwood on Off.

Neither of these albums had significant input from Richard 23, and 05:22:09:12 OFF only intermittently included their lead vocalist, Jean-Luc De Meyer. (The numbers correspond to letters, spelling "FUCK UP EVIL" and "EVIL OFF".) However at this point there were strains emerging, with the band members apparently having different artistic views about how to progress. 06:21:03:11 UP EVIL and 05:22:09:12 OFF were brilliant releases musically and once again showed that Front 242 did not need to follow existing trends to stay fresh and original, even using a female vocalist. Front 242's style shifted abruptly with each of their next two albums, released in rapid succession in 1993 (originally planned as a double-CD).

This is the only known solo work from any of Front 242's members. Bresanutti also composed a solo half-hour atmospheric recording called Art and Strategy (or The Art Corporation) to play during viewings of the lithographs, and released this in a limited edition of 1,000 CD's. 1992 saw Bresanutti return his focus on combining graphic arts with music, with a tour of his lithographs to three U.S. galleries. Sony/Epic also issued re-released versions of Front 242's five earlier albums, with several E.P.'s and singles consolidated as extra tracks on the albums.

Tyranny was also the first album they released under contract with a major corporate label, Sony/Epic, after the widespread popularity of "Front by Front". This album, like Front By Front was a huge success and it seemed as if the Frontmen could just go from strength to strength. Tyranny >For You<, released in 1991, brought the world a much denser, multi-layered sound which would push them straight into the 1990s. With the turn of the decade the band went through many changes.

They're too stupid!". In fact the complete opposite is true, with them famously saying that "Neo-nazis couldn't make the music we do. Possibly due to this rather in-your-face approach, they have often been falsely accused of being neo-nazis or extreme right-wing. As they put it, they were merely presenting the world around them as it was.

They would use militaristic samples, preachers and the TV as a source for inspiration, but refused to admit to having any message. During these releases Front 242 also presented a style and imagery which was political in a decidedly apolitical style. "Headhunter" is possibly one of the most popularly played and remixed songs of the entire genre. By this point, Front 242 had developed a style of strong backbeats, slices, samples, and ominous vocals.

Their popularity would reach even higher with the 1988 "Headhunter" single and video by Anton Corbijn, and its accompanying album Front By Front. The 1985 album BackCatalogue collected material from the group's earlier years, but their international breakthrough didn't occur until the release of Official Version in 1987, on the Red Rhino Europe label, followed by their "Official Warfare" tour in support of the album. This tour led to the creation of Revolting Cocks by Richard 23, Alain Jourgensen of Ministry and others. Front 242 signed with the legendary Wax Trax label in 1984, and started their first tour in the United States with Ministry.

Front 242 was becoming the most popular musical group in Belgium; their next album, No Comment would cement the group's place in electronic music, and was the first to introduce the term "Electronic Body Music" in association with their sound. Jonkheere was usually referred to by the name Richard 23. In 1983, Dirk Bergen left the band to pursue graphic design full time, and Richard Jonckheere was admitted to the group as a loosely backing vocalist and charismatic stage presence. These first releases, while cited as influential by a number of other artists in the genre, were not as characteristically strong and hard-hitting as the group's later efforts.

Their next single, U-Men, would be released in 1982, followed by the band's first album Geography in 1983. They also decided during this formative period never to use the regular waveform settings on their synthesizers, saying instead that creating the waveform itself for each note was part of the creative process. De Meyer also came to write almost all of the lyrics. Bresanutti, Codenys and De Meyer all took turns on vocals at first, until they settled on De Meyer as the lead vocalist; only recently have early recordings with Bresanutti on vocals been widely released.

Contact between Bresanutti and Codenys led the two duos to join together in 1982. Codenys said his father received a lottery winning and shared enough of it with him so that he could buy a car, but he bought his first synthesizer instead. Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc De Meyer had separately formed a group called Under Viewer at about the same time. The first single to be released was Principles, late in that year.

They were interested in creating both music and graphic design using emerging electronic tools, and reportedly decided on changing their name to Front 242 because the name had greater potential as a subject of graphic design. Front 242 was created in 1981 in Aarschot, Belgium by Daniel Bresanutti and Dirk Bergen, who originally went by the name Prothese. 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. Going back earlier, these innovations can be seen as an extension of the work of Edgard Varese, the first significant composer to adopt electronic sources of sound as musical instruments, and who also used overwhelming percussion including with found objects.

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 soundbytes. Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. During their most active period (effectively ending in 1993 with the albums 06:21:03:11 UP EVIL and 05:22:09:12 OFF) they were influential to a number of other industrial and electronic artists, coining the term electronic body music (EBM) to describe their music. Coder 23 - Patrick Codenys, Richard 23. Troissoeur - Daniel Bressanutti.

Red Sniper - Patrick Codenys. Male or Female - Daniel Bressanutti, Patrick Codenys. Gaiden - Patrick Codenys. LaTchak - Richard 23.

Grisha Zeme - Daniel Bressanutti, Patrick Codenys. Cobalt 60 - Jean-Luc De Meyer. C-Tec - Jean-Luc De Meyer. Cyber-Tec Project - Jean-Luc De Meyer.

Holy Gang - Richard 23. The Art Corporation - Daniel Bressanutti. Birmingham 6 - Jean-Luc De Meyer. Bigod 20 - Jean-Luc De Meyer.

Revolting Cocks - Richard 23. Under Viewer - Patrick Codenys, Jean-Luc De Meyer. Prothese - Daniel Bressanutti, Dirk Bergen. Still and Raw (e.p., 2003).

Religion (e.p., 1993). Angels Versus Animals (e.p., 1993). Animal (single, 1993). Mixed By Fear (e.p., 1991).

Rhythm of Time (single, 1991). Tragedy (For You) (single, 1990). Never Stop! (e.p., 1989). Headhunter (single, 1988).

Masterhit (single, 1987). Interception (single, 1986). Politics of Pressure (e.p., 1985). No Shuffle (single, 1985).

Live in Chicago (e.p., included free with early copies of No Comment, 1984). Two In One (e.p., 1983). Endless Riddance (e.p., 1983). U-Men (single, 1981).

Principles (single, 1981). Singles and EPs: