Nitzer Ebb
Encyclopedia
Nitzer Ebb is a British EBM
group formed in 1982 by Essex
school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris
(programming, synthesizers, drums, vocals), Douglas McCarthy
(vocals), and David Gooday (drums).
sound; it does not carry any meaning in either English
or German.
and Little Baddow
. Their inspiration were bands such as DAF
, Killing Joke
, and Bauhaus
. In August 1983, the group recorded its first demo tape, Basic Pain Procedure. This rare demo tape included eight songs. (“Faded Smiles,” “Tradition,” “The Home,” “Star,” “The Pass,” “The Book,” “Crane,” “Trust Ran in Colours”) The trio began with shows in small local venues, but its arresting stage presence, military
-like image, and energy garnered a growing base of followers and soon led to appearances in larger clubs and concert venues. Combining the energy of punk with the electronic pulse of DAF, it released its debut single
"Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works" on 7 January 1985 on its own label, Power of Voice Communications, and its music soon became a fixture on the club scene. A double-A-sided single, "Warsaw Ghetto"/"So Bright So Strong," followed in 1985 to similar critical and dance floor acclaim. Two further releases, "Let Your Body Learn"/"Get Clean" and "Murderous" were released on Power of Voice Communications before the group signed with Mute Records
. The group’s recordings were licensed to Geffen Records
in the United States, which kept the band on its roster when that label switched distributors from Warner Bros. Records
to MCA Records
.
on Mute Records
(Geffen/Warner Bros. in the US), That Total Age
, which spawned a hit with the pounding bass
rhythm
s and barked vocals of "Join in the Chant" and "Let Your Body Learn." Both tracks found favour with the Euro club scene and the nascent Balearic Beat
movement.
. Preceded by the classic club track “Control, I'm Here,” that album was released in 1989 and was produced by Flood, who went on to produce its next three albums and remix other tracks. The band was now down to a core duo of Harris and McCarthy, with Julian Beeston
on drumming duty. Two further singles, “Hearts & Minds” and “Shame,” were released in 1989 with remixes from Daniel Miller and William Orbit
.
asked the group for support again, this time on the World Violation Tour in the US. Depeche Mode
was frequently seen sporting Nitzer Ebb T-shirts around this period, most notably in the video of the song “Enjoy the Silence
.”
Jaz Coleman
, Flood, Depeche Mode's
Alan Wilder
, and Barry Adamson
) saw the band adopt a more traditional songwriting approach, and it paved the way for the aforementioned Ebbhead.
Ebbhead was released in September 1991 and showcased a new confidence in the band's songwriting and production (ably assisted by Flood and Alan Wilder
), while the single "I Give to You" was a sweeping orchestral introduction to the band's new grand ideas. Two further singles, “Godhead” and “Ascend” combined sampled guitar riffs, throbbing analogue synths, and anthemic choruses. A world tour followed from Autumn 1991 to Summer 1992, spanning the US, Canada, Europe, and Russia.
The subsequent world tour saw a new live set-up with Harris on bass, McCarthy on guitar, Jason Payne on drums, and John Napier on guitar and percussion. While still an energetic and involving live act, the shows didn't seem to benefit from either real instruments or more musicians on stage, and the arresting visual dynamics of past tours were compromised in favor of a traditional set up. The Nitzer Ebb machine ground to a halt toward the end of the Big Hit tour—final dates were advertised then canceled. Although the group never officially split, McCarthy and Harris both went their separate ways. However, the door was effectively left open for Harris and McCarthy to reactivate the band in the future if their differences could be resolved.
series with three 12-inch single
s between 2001 and 2004—“Shame”/“Join in the Chant,” “Control, I'm Here”/“Let Your Body Learn,” and “Murderous”/Control, I'm Here.” The remix of “Let Your Body Learn” was particularly fruitful as it was given a radical overhaul by French techno
producer Terence Fixmer, which led first to a friendship and then developed into a recording project between Fixmer and Douglas McCarthy, called simply Fixmer/McCarthy
. Live performances (with just a mike and a Macintosh
) around the world followed, which included new versions of Nitzer Ebb songs. This also led to an album released in 2004 as Fixmer/McCarthy, titled Between the Devil..., which captured the raw intensity of early Nitzer Ebb.
In late 2005, it was announced that McCarthy and Harris (now residing in the US, and producing and engineering Marilyn Manson
and Billy Corgan
) had begun to talk about the possibility of a Nitzer Ebb reunion. The group toured during 2006, which enlisted the services of drummer Kourtney Klein and focused on the more electronic phase of its career, with Mute Records
finally releasing the 2 CD set Body of Work, 1984–1997 in June 2006. A companion piece, Body Rework, featuring remixes from cutting edge contemporary techno
artists such as Motor, Black Strobe
, the Hacker, Derrick May, and Robag Wruhme, was also released.
Capitalizing on the success of the 2006 world tour, Nitzer Ebb began work on new material in Los Angeles early in 2007, with a retrospective documentary still in the pipeline. During 2007, Nitzer Ebb continued its trend of replacing drummers as Kourtney Klein left the band to be replaced by one-time cohort Jason Payne. A first track, "Once You Say," with Depeche Mode songwriter Martin L. Gore on backing vocals, was played in June 2007 by Dave Clarke in his White Noise show on VPRO's 3 Voor 12. This track, along with "Payroll," were debuted live as Nitzer Ebb played a handful of shows and festivals during 2007, but it remains to be seen whether the group can recapture the innovation and aggression of its early days and take on board the advances in production made by contemporary techno acts influenced by Nitzer Ebb. These tracks will be featured on Nitzer Ebb's newest album, Industrial Complex
. Note that there will be a special Belgian edition including various bonus tracks.
McCarthy and Harris reunited up with Jason Payne and producer Flood to finish up the first new Nitzer Ebb record in over a decade. In the meantime, Fixmer/McCarthy
released its second album in June 2008, Into the Night.
The band announced a US tour for fall–winter 2009 and were selected as the opening act of the January and February European and Russian dates of Depeche Mode's Tour of the Universe in 2010.
and Bauhaus
to create a new aesthetic. As the group grew in confidence and ability, it began to develop the Nitzer Ebb sound—a blend of unusual analogue trickery, minimal song structure, heavy drum beats and percussion, and Douglas McCarthy's soulful vocals—either shouted, sung, or spoken. Its sound was captured perfectly in one of the band’s publicity slogans from 1987—"International Funk Aggression"—despite being hard and heavy, its tracks were always very danceable.
Nitzer Ebb's musical weapons of choice included the Roland SH-101
, a WASP synth, the Roland System 100, the Sequential Pro-One, the classic Oberheim Xpander
, and the Yamaha TX81Z
, and with this arsenal of analogue, digital FM, and extremely large modular synthesizers, created a sound that still stands up today. Along with a phalanx of Akai
samplers, Nitzer Ebb was able to create a minimal yet expansive and accessible electronic sound, that saw it develop from the sparse electronic basslines and beats of That Total Age to the widescreen technicolor funk of Showtime and Ebbhead.
Nitzer Ebb was seen as a totality, comprising music, art and culture, manifesting itself as a Nitzer Ebb Produkt (an homage to the band Kraftwerk
), which saw all advertisements, fliers, record sleeves, letterheads, T-shirts, and other objects all sharing a collective identity that was heavily influenced by Russian Constructivist
art, Italian Futurism
, totalitarian imagery, and Expressionism
. Long-time collaborator Simon Grainger was an unofficial member of Nitzer Ebb and responsible for the austere look and feel of this visual aspect of the band, which aimed to provoke reaction, to critique, and even to poke fun at such stern stark powerful imagery. It also perfectly reflected the uncompromising style of the group's music.
Nitzer Ebb was a large influence on Detroit Techno
: Derrick May publicly acknowledged this fact before the group opened 2007’s Detroit annual electronic music festival. A diverse range of DJs and producers, from Richie Hawtin
(featured on Richie Hawtin’s Decks FX & 909 mix CD, on which “Let Your Body Learn” was mixed with Hawtin’s own hit “Minus Orange”) to Tiga
, have also acknowledged the influence that Nitzer Ebb has had on their careers. Indeed, the group’s tracks (usually in their original form) are still heard across the world's more discerning dance floors, and have been consistently listed in a wide range of DJs’ Top-10s in the dance-music magazine Mixmag
. Another influence can be heard in the first self-titled album of a German band Oomph!
, who are considered to be one of the founders of the music style Neue Deutsche Härte
represented most famously by another German band Rammstein
.
The single "Murderous" has been sampled by other electronic music acts, such as Information Society
(on "Now That I Have You") and Kode IV (on "Success").
on an updating of its classic “Wahre Arbeit Wahrer Lohn” single on the Machineries of Joy EP. Having worked with Alan Wilder
on 1991's Ebbhead, Douglas McCarthy returned the favor, appearing on Recoil's 1992 album Bloodline, on the electronic reworking of “Faith Healer,” the Alex Harvey
classic. McCarthy also appeared on Recoil's Unsound Methods album in 1997, providing vocals for the tracks "Incubus" and "Stalker."
McCarthy appeared with Empirion
at 1997's Tribal Gathering
(a performance that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1
) before embarking on a new career in video production. Since working with Terence Fixmer, he has lent his unique vocals to collaborations with Motor, Kloq, Warren Suicide, a duet with Sarah Blackwood
on Client
's "Suicide Sister", and Die Krupps
on another reworking of “Wahre Arbeit Wahrer Lohn.” Homotronic's ironic "U Look Like a Gay" also features an uncredited performance from McCarthy.
Bon Harris began the Maven project in 2001 in Los Angeles, California, and has worked with Marilyn Manson
, Smashing Pumpkins/Billy Corgan
, Bush
, and Depeche Mode
. In 2006, Maven released "Mary" as a 3-song digital bundle including the songs "Candidate" and "Silverbirds." Three additional songs were released via its MySpace player: "In Still Love," "Hard on for Love" (a cover version of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
featuring Marilyn Manson
), and "Jesus, Mary, and Jennifer Louise." The current status of the Maven project is unknown.
Former
Touring
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
group formed in 1982 by Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
school friends Vaughan "Bon" Harris
Bon Harris
Bon Harris is an English composer, producer, singer/song writer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is a founding member of the quintessential British EBM group Nitzer Ebb, programming Nitzer Ebb's signature sound...
(programming, synthesizers, drums, vocals), Douglas McCarthy
Douglas McCarthy
Douglas John McCarthy is the vocalist of Chelmsford, Essex-based EBM band Nitzer Ebb.Apart from writing and performing with Nitzer Ebb, McCarthy has also appeared on recordings by Recoil and has released material in collaboration with DJ Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy...
(vocals), and David Gooday (drums).
Band name
The name of the band was chosen for its harsh, supposedly GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
sound; it does not carry any meaning in either English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or German.
Beginnings—Basic Pain Procedure (1983)
Nitzer Ebb began when Bon Harris and David Gooday asked Douglas McCarthy to sing in their band. They shared an interest in witchcraft, talking to trees, and collecting runestones in ChelmsfordChelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
and Little Baddow
Little Baddow
Little Baddow is a large thriving village to the east of Chelmsford, Essex. The name Baddow comes from an Old English word meaning 'bad water', although this probably refers to the meadow area in Great Baddow as opposed to any water mass in Little Baddow...
. Their inspiration were bands such as DAF
Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft
Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft or D.A.F. is an influential German electropunk/NDW band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López , Robert Görl , Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke , Michael Kemner and Wolfgang Spelmans...
, Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
, and Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
. In August 1983, the group recorded its first demo tape, Basic Pain Procedure. This rare demo tape included eight songs. (“Faded Smiles,” “Tradition,” “The Home,” “Star,” “The Pass,” “The Book,” “Crane,” “Trust Ran in Colours”) The trio began with shows in small local venues, but its arresting stage presence, military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
-like image, and energy garnered a growing base of followers and soon led to appearances in larger clubs and concert venues. Combining the energy of punk with the electronic pulse of DAF, it released its debut single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works" on 7 January 1985 on its own label, Power of Voice Communications, and its music soon became a fixture on the club scene. A double-A-sided single, "Warsaw Ghetto"/"So Bright So Strong," followed in 1985 to similar critical and dance floor acclaim. Two further releases, "Let Your Body Learn"/"Get Clean" and "Murderous" were released on Power of Voice Communications before the group signed with Mute Records
Mute Records
Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
. The group’s recordings were licensed to Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
in the United States, which kept the band on its roster when that label switched distributors from Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
to MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
.
That Total Age (1987)
In May 1987, the group released its debut albumAlbum
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
on Mute Records
Mute Records
Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
(Geffen/Warner Bros. in the US), That Total Age
That Total Age
That Total Age is the debut album of the British EBM group Nitzer Ebb. After its release, it spawned the hit single "Join in the Chant," which hit #9 on the US dance chart in 1987.-LP: Mute / Stumm 45 :# "Fitness to Purpose" – 5:03...
, which spawned a hit with the pounding bass
Bassline
A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
s and barked vocals of "Join in the Chant" and "Let Your Body Learn." Both tracks found favour with the Euro club scene and the nascent Balearic Beat
Balearic Beat
Balearic Beat or either Balearic House and Balearic Trance is an eclectic blend of DJed dance music that originally emerged in the mid-1980s. It later became the name of a more specific style of electronic dance music that was popular into the mid-1990s...
movement.
Belief (1989)
In 1988, Doug and Bon set out to record the perfect electronic album, resulting in the group’s second album, BeliefBelief (album)
Belief is the second album of the British EBM group Nitzer Ebb. It was the first album recorded with drummer Julian Beeston , and Flood took over as producer from Phil Harding...
. Preceded by the classic club track “Control, I'm Here,” that album was released in 1989 and was produced by Flood, who went on to produce its next three albums and remix other tracks. The band was now down to a core duo of Harris and McCarthy, with Julian Beeston
Julian Beeston
Julian Beeston is an English musician, mainly noted for his time in the electronic groups Nitzer Ebb and Cubanate. He has spent time as a remixing engineer working on artists such as Bob Marley...
on drumming duty. Two further singles, “Hearts & Minds” and “Shame,” were released in 1989 with remixes from Daniel Miller and William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
.
Showtime (1990)
Showtime, released in 1990, showed the band moving away from 4/4, 130-bpm stomping dance tracks and explored other musical forms—jazz, rock, blues—while still sounding like itself. The first single, "Lightning Man," became a dance floor anthem with its jazzy clarinet figure and Doug's menacing vocals. The song is generally recognized as experimental and pushed the boundaries of industrial music at the time. Depeche ModeDepeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
asked the group for support again, this time on the World Violation Tour in the US. Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
was frequently seen sporting Nitzer Ebb T-shirts around this period, most notably in the video of the song “Enjoy the Silence
Enjoy the Silence
"Enjoy the Silence" is Depeche Mode's twenty-fourth UK single, released on 16 January 1990, and the second single from the then upcoming album Violator....
.”
“As is”/Ebbhead (1991)
Exposure to large stadium crowds and the intensity of the whole rock-and-roll business provided a stimulus for the group to start to develop a more rock-oriented sound to its razor-sharp electronic dance music, and 1991's As Is EP (produced by Killing Joke'sKilling Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
Jaz Coleman
Jaz Coleman
Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman is a musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is notable for his vocal contributions to rock band Killing Joke...
, Flood, Depeche Mode's
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
Alan Wilder
Alan Wilder
Alan Charles Wilder is a British musician, formerly of Depeche Mode. His current musical project is called Recoil, started as a side project to Depeche Mode. When he left the latter in 1995, it became Wilder's primary project...
, and Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson is a British rock musician who has worked with rock bands such as Magazine, Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electronic musicians Pan sonic and Depeche Mode. Adamson created the seven-minute opus "Useless " remix for the latter band in 1997...
) saw the band adopt a more traditional songwriting approach, and it paved the way for the aforementioned Ebbhead.
Ebbhead was released in September 1991 and showcased a new confidence in the band's songwriting and production (ably assisted by Flood and Alan Wilder
Alan Wilder
Alan Charles Wilder is a British musician, formerly of Depeche Mode. His current musical project is called Recoil, started as a side project to Depeche Mode. When he left the latter in 1995, it became Wilder's primary project...
), while the single "I Give to You" was a sweeping orchestral introduction to the band's new grand ideas. Two further singles, “Godhead” and “Ascend” combined sampled guitar riffs, throbbing analogue synths, and anthemic choruses. A world tour followed from Autumn 1991 to Summer 1992, spanning the US, Canada, Europe, and Russia.
Big Hit (1995)
The momentum, progress, and optimism built up around Ebbhead was slowly eroded by the group's (very expensive) three years recording the follow-up album,Big Hit. Drummers were sacked, producers changed, and more. During this period, a schism between Harris and McCarthy began to develop. The group took far too long, and then failed to deliver the album required to elevate them to the level that was promised.The subsequent world tour saw a new live set-up with Harris on bass, McCarthy on guitar, Jason Payne on drums, and John Napier on guitar and percussion. While still an energetic and involving live act, the shows didn't seem to benefit from either real instruments or more musicians on stage, and the arresting visual dynamics of past tours were compromised in favor of a traditional set up. The Nitzer Ebb machine ground to a halt toward the end of the Big Hit tour—final dates were advertised then canceled. Although the group never officially split, McCarthy and Harris both went their separate ways. However, the door was effectively left open for Harris and McCarthy to reactivate the band in the future if their differences could be resolved.
Recent years/Reunion
Having quietly split, the band's back catalogue began to appear in DJ sets and mix compilations, and its name would appear in interviews with house and techno producers (which only served to highlight their enduring influence). In recognition of this development, NovaMute released a remixRemix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
series with three 12-inch single
12-inch single
The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...
s between 2001 and 2004—“Shame”/“Join in the Chant,” “Control, I'm Here”/“Let Your Body Learn,” and “Murderous”/Control, I'm Here.” The remix of “Let Your Body Learn” was particularly fruitful as it was given a radical overhaul by French techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
producer Terence Fixmer, which led first to a friendship and then developed into a recording project between Fixmer and Douglas McCarthy, called simply Fixmer/McCarthy
Fixmer/McCarthy
Fixmer/McCarthy is an electronic music collaboration between the French techno producer Terence Fixmer, and British EBM vocalist Douglas McCarthy ....
. Live performances (with just a mike and a Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
) around the world followed, which included new versions of Nitzer Ebb songs. This also led to an album released in 2004 as Fixmer/McCarthy, titled Between the Devil..., which captured the raw intensity of early Nitzer Ebb.
In late 2005, it was announced that McCarthy and Harris (now residing in the US, and producing and engineering Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
and Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
) had begun to talk about the possibility of a Nitzer Ebb reunion. The group toured during 2006, which enlisted the services of drummer Kourtney Klein and focused on the more electronic phase of its career, with Mute Records
Mute Records
Mute is an independent record label based in the UK. It was founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller and featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Goldfrapp, Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure and Fad Gadget.-Beginnings:...
finally releasing the 2 CD set Body of Work, 1984–1997 in June 2006. A companion piece, Body Rework, featuring remixes from cutting edge contemporary techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
artists such as Motor, Black Strobe
Black Strobe
Black Strobe were formed in Paris in 1997 by producer Arnaud Rebotini and DJ Ivan Smagghe, and were instrumental in the rise of the electroclash movement in the UK with their breakthrough single Me And Madonna...
, the Hacker, Derrick May, and Robag Wruhme, was also released.
Capitalizing on the success of the 2006 world tour, Nitzer Ebb began work on new material in Los Angeles early in 2007, with a retrospective documentary still in the pipeline. During 2007, Nitzer Ebb continued its trend of replacing drummers as Kourtney Klein left the band to be replaced by one-time cohort Jason Payne. A first track, "Once You Say," with Depeche Mode songwriter Martin L. Gore on backing vocals, was played in June 2007 by Dave Clarke in his White Noise show on VPRO's 3 Voor 12. This track, along with "Payroll," were debuted live as Nitzer Ebb played a handful of shows and festivals during 2007, but it remains to be seen whether the group can recapture the innovation and aggression of its early days and take on board the advances in production made by contemporary techno acts influenced by Nitzer Ebb. These tracks will be featured on Nitzer Ebb's newest album, Industrial Complex
Industrial Complex (album)
Industrial Complex is the sixth studio album from British EBM group Nitzer Ebb. It was released by Major Records on in Europe, fifteen years after the band's last studio album. This is the band's first release after parting company with Mute Records following its 2006 retrospective, Body of Work...
. Note that there will be a special Belgian edition including various bonus tracks.
McCarthy and Harris reunited up with Jason Payne and producer Flood to finish up the first new Nitzer Ebb record in over a decade. In the meantime, Fixmer/McCarthy
Fixmer/McCarthy
Fixmer/McCarthy is an electronic music collaboration between the French techno producer Terence Fixmer, and British EBM vocalist Douglas McCarthy ....
released its second album in June 2008, Into the Night.
The band announced a US tour for fall–winter 2009 and were selected as the opening act of the January and February European and Russian dates of Depeche Mode's Tour of the Universe in 2010.
Influences and legacy
Sonically, Nitzer Ebb evoked the sequenced teutonic basslines and barked commands of Virgin-era DAF in its early days, and took the energy of post-punk bands like Killing JokeKilling Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
and Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
to create a new aesthetic. As the group grew in confidence and ability, it began to develop the Nitzer Ebb sound—a blend of unusual analogue trickery, minimal song structure, heavy drum beats and percussion, and Douglas McCarthy's soulful vocals—either shouted, sung, or spoken. Its sound was captured perfectly in one of the band’s publicity slogans from 1987—"International Funk Aggression"—despite being hard and heavy, its tracks were always very danceable.
Nitzer Ebb's musical weapons of choice included the Roland SH-101
Roland SH-101
Roland SH-101 is a synthesizer from the early 1980s, manufactured by Roland. It is a small, 32 key, monophonic analog synthesizer. It features one oscillator with 3 simultaneous waveforms, an 'octave-divided' square sub-oscillator, triangle and square/pwm waveform. It has a low-pass filter/VCF...
, a WASP synth, the Roland System 100, the Sequential Pro-One, the classic Oberheim Xpander
Oberheim Xpander
The Oberheim Xpander was an analog synthesizer launched by Oberheim in 1984 and discontinued in 1988. It is essentially a keyboardless, six-voice version of the Matrix-12...
, and the Yamaha TX81Z
Yamaha TX81Z
The Yamaha TX81Z is a rack-mounted frequency modulation music synthesizer, which was released in 1987. Unlike previous FM synthesizers of the era, the TX81Z was the first to employ a range of oscillator waveforms other than just sine waves, giving it its unique, grating timbre...
, and with this arsenal of analogue, digital FM, and extremely large modular synthesizers, created a sound that still stands up today. Along with a phalanx of Akai
Akai
Akai is a consumer electronics brand, founded by Saburo Akai as , a Japanese manufacturer in 1929. It is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate, which also owns the formerly Japanese brands Nakamichi and Sansui. The Akai brand is now used...
samplers, Nitzer Ebb was able to create a minimal yet expansive and accessible electronic sound, that saw it develop from the sparse electronic basslines and beats of That Total Age to the widescreen technicolor funk of Showtime and Ebbhead.
Nitzer Ebb was seen as a totality, comprising music, art and culture, manifesting itself as a Nitzer Ebb Produkt (an homage to the band Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
), which saw all advertisements, fliers, record sleeves, letterheads, T-shirts, and other objects all sharing a collective identity that was heavily influenced by Russian Constructivist
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
art, Italian Futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
, totalitarian imagery, and Expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
. Long-time collaborator Simon Grainger was an unofficial member of Nitzer Ebb and responsible for the austere look and feel of this visual aspect of the band, which aimed to provoke reaction, to critique, and even to poke fun at such stern stark powerful imagery. It also perfectly reflected the uncompromising style of the group's music.
Nitzer Ebb was a large influence on Detroit Techno
Detroit techno
Detroit techno is an early style of electronic music beginning in the 1980s. Detroit, Michigan has been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson...
: Derrick May publicly acknowledged this fact before the group opened 2007’s Detroit annual electronic music festival. A diverse range of DJs and producers, from Richie Hawtin
Richie Hawtin
Richard Hawtin is an English-Canadian electronic musician and DJ who was an influential part of Detroit techno's second wave of artists in the early 1990s and a leading exponent of Minimal techno since the mid 1990s...
(featured on Richie Hawtin’s Decks FX & 909 mix CD, on which “Let Your Body Learn” was mixed with Hawtin’s own hit “Minus Orange”) to Tiga
Tiga (musician)
Tiga is the stage name of Montreal-born DJ/producer Tiga James Sontag . His album Sexor won the 2007 Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year.-Career:He graduated from Selwyn House School, a prestigious school in Westmount...
, have also acknowledged the influence that Nitzer Ebb has had on their careers. Indeed, the group’s tracks (usually in their original form) are still heard across the world's more discerning dance floors, and have been consistently listed in a wide range of DJs’ Top-10s in the dance-music magazine Mixmag
Mixmag
Mixmag is a British dance music and clubbing magazine. It styles itself as "the world's biggest selling dance music magazine", with an Audit Bureau of Circulations audited circulation of approximately 21,250...
. Another influence can be heard in the first self-titled album of a German band Oomph!
Oomph!
Oomph! is a German rock band that was formed in Wolfsburg, Germany in 1989. The band is considered to be the original Neue Deutsche Härte musical group. In the 22-year history of the band, there have been no line-up changes.-Early years :...
, who are considered to be one of the founders of the music style Neue Deutsche Härte
Neue Deutsche Härte
Neue Deutsche Härte is a genre of industrial metal. The term was invented by the German music press after the release of the debut album Herzeleid by Rammstein....
represented most famously by another German band Rammstein
Rammstein
Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
.
The single "Murderous" has been sampled by other electronic music acts, such as Information Society
Information Society (band)
Information Society is an American band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, primarily consisting of Kurt Larson , Paul Robb, and James Cassidy; the latter two reconvened the band in 2006, initially with Christopher Anton as lead vocalist, then with Harland rejoining them as lead vocalist by...
(on "Now That I Have You") and Kode IV (on "Success").
Other projects
In 1989, Nitzer Ebb collaborated with Die KruppsDie Krupps
Die Krupps is a German industrial rock/EBM band, formed in 1980 by Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka in Düsseldorf.-History:Their initial sound throughout the 1980s combined synthesizers with metallic percussion...
on an updating of its classic “Wahre Arbeit Wahrer Lohn” single on the Machineries of Joy EP. Having worked with Alan Wilder
Alan Wilder
Alan Charles Wilder is a British musician, formerly of Depeche Mode. His current musical project is called Recoil, started as a side project to Depeche Mode. When he left the latter in 1995, it became Wilder's primary project...
on 1991's Ebbhead, Douglas McCarthy returned the favor, appearing on Recoil's 1992 album Bloodline, on the electronic reworking of “Faith Healer,” the Alex Harvey
Alex Harvey (musician)
Alex Harvey was a Scottish rock musician. With The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, he built a reputation as an exciting live performer during the 1970s glam rock era.-Biography:...
classic. McCarthy also appeared on Recoil's Unsound Methods album in 1997, providing vocals for the tracks "Incubus" and "Stalker."
McCarthy appeared with Empirion
Empirion
Empirion are a British industrial techno band, from Essex, England. They were formed in 1993, and the original line up consisted of Austin Morsely, Bob Glennie and Jamie Smart.-Beginnings:...
at 1997's Tribal Gathering
Tribal Gathering
Tribal Gathering was a dance music festival that catered for different types of dance music cultures such as drum and bass, techno, rave and house. -History:...
(a performance that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
) before embarking on a new career in video production. Since working with Terence Fixmer, he has lent his unique vocals to collaborations with Motor, Kloq, Warren Suicide, a duet with Sarah Blackwood
Sarah Blackwood (British musician)
Sarah Blackwood is an English recording artist. She came to prominence as the lead singer of Dubstar, and then as a singer-songwriter in Client...
on Client
Client (band)
Client are an English electronic musical group from London. They are most popular in Germany where they have had limited commercial success...
's "Suicide Sister", and Die Krupps
Die Krupps
Die Krupps is a German industrial rock/EBM band, formed in 1980 by Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka in Düsseldorf.-History:Their initial sound throughout the 1980s combined synthesizers with metallic percussion...
on another reworking of “Wahre Arbeit Wahrer Lohn.” Homotronic's ironic "U Look Like a Gay" also features an uncredited performance from McCarthy.
Bon Harris began the Maven project in 2001 in Los Angeles, California, and has worked with Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
, Smashing Pumpkins/Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
, Bush
Bush (band)
Bush are an alternative rock band formed in London in 1992 shortly after vocalist/guitarist Gavin Rossdale and guitarist Nigel Pulsford met in a London nightclub. Realising they shared a love for such diverse artists as the Pixies, Bob Marley, The Jesus Lizard, MC5, Nirvana, Hüsker Dü, and Big...
, and Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
. In 2006, Maven released "Mary" as a 3-song digital bundle including the songs "Candidate" and "Silverbirds." Three additional songs were released via its MySpace player: "In Still Love," "Hard on for Love" (a cover version of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1983. The band is fronted by Nick Cave and has featured international personnel throughout their career.-Formation and early releases :...
featuring Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
), and "Jesus, Mary, and Jennifer Louise." The current status of the Maven project is unknown.
Band Members
Current- Douglas McCarthyDouglas McCarthyDouglas John McCarthy is the vocalist of Chelmsford, Essex-based EBM band Nitzer Ebb.Apart from writing and performing with Nitzer Ebb, McCarthy has also appeared on recordings by Recoil and has released material in collaboration with DJ Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy...
- vocals, guitar (1982-present) - Bon HarrisBon HarrisBon Harris is an English composer, producer, singer/song writer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is a founding member of the quintessential British EBM group Nitzer Ebb, programming Nitzer Ebb's signature sound...
- programming, synthesizers, drums, vocals, bass guitar (1982-present) - Jason Payne - drums, percussion (1992-95, 2007-present)
Former
- David Gooday - vocals, drums, percussion (1982-87)
- Duc Nhan Nguyen - drums, percussion (1987-88)
- Julian BeestonJulian BeestonJulian Beeston is an English musician, mainly noted for his time in the electronic groups Nitzer Ebb and Cubanate. He has spent time as a remixing engineer working on artists such as Bob Marley...
- drums, percussion (1989-92)
Touring
- Kourtney Klein - drums (2006-07)
- David Lovering - drums
Albums
- Basic Pain Procedure (1983)
- That Total AgeThat Total AgeThat Total Age is the debut album of the British EBM group Nitzer Ebb. After its release, it spawned the hit single "Join in the Chant," which hit #9 on the US dance chart in 1987.-LP: Mute / Stumm 45 :# "Fitness to Purpose" – 5:03...
(1987) - So Bright So Strong (1988)
- BeliefBelief (album)Belief is the second album of the British EBM group Nitzer Ebb. It was the first album recorded with drummer Julian Beeston , and Flood took over as producer from Phil Harding...
(1989) - Showtime (1990)
- As Is [EP](1991)
- EbbheadEbbheadEbbhead is the fourth album of the British EBM group Nitzer Ebb. Co-produced by Depeche Mode's Alan Wilder in collaboration with Flood, it was released by Mute Records on .-Track listing:# "Reasons" – 4:17# "Lakeside Drive" – 3:59...
(1991) - Big HitBig Hit (Nitzer Ebb album)Big Hit is the fifth album from British EBM group Nitzer Ebb released by Mute Records on , almost four years since its last release. The album included two singles, "Kick It" and "I Thought." Big Hit was the band's final release for Mute until its 2006 retrospective, Body of Work.-Track listing:#...
(1995) - Body of WorkBody of WorkBody of Work is a hits collection by UK EBM band Nitzer Ebb. It was released by Mute Records as a double album on . The first disc is the band's single output from 1986-1995...
(2006) - Body ReworkBody ReworkBody Rework is a remix collection by UK EBM band Nitzer Ebb. It was released by Mute Records Limited/Novamute on . This compilation was released as a single CD and also 2 x LP, with differing track lists...
(2006) - Industrial ComplexIndustrial Complex (album)Industrial Complex is the sixth studio album from British EBM group Nitzer Ebb. It was released by Major Records on in Europe, fifteen years after the band's last studio album. This is the band's first release after parting company with Mute Records following its 2006 retrospective, Body of Work...
(2010) - In Order (Digital Box Set) (2010)
- Catalogue (Box Set) (2010)
- Compilation (Box Set) (2010)
Soundtracks
- Saw IVSaw IVSaw IV is a 2007 Canadian-American horror film and midquel to 2006's Saw III. It was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by newcomers Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton. The film was released in North America on October 26, 2007...
"Payroll (John O Mix)" (2007)
- Grand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IVGrand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
"Let Your Body Learn" (2008)
- NCISNCIS (TV series)NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
"Promises" (2009)
- Saw VISaw VISaw VI is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sixth installment of the seven–part Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, and Shawnee Smith...
"Never Known" (2009)
- Saw VII "Promises" (2010)
- Castle (TV series)Castle (TV series)Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season...
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (2010)
Singles
| Year | Song | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
US Dance | US Modern Rock Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works" | - | - | - |
| 1985 | "Warsaw Ghetto" | - | - | - |
| 1985 | "So Bright, So Strong" | - | - | - |
| 1986 | "Get Clean" | - | - | - |
| 1986 | "Murderous" | - | - | - |
| 1987 | "Let Your Body Learn" | - | - | - |
| 1987 | "Join In The Chant" | - | 9 | - |
| 1988 | "Control I'm Here" | - | 14 | 25 |
| 1989 | "Hearts And Minds" | - | 16 | - |
| 1989 | "Shame" | - | - | - |
| 1989 | "The Machineries Of Joy" (Die Krupps Die Krupps Die Krupps is a German industrial rock/EBM band, formed in 1980 by Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka in Düsseldorf.-History:Their initial sound throughout the 1980s combined synthesizers with metallic percussion... with Nitzer Ebb) |
- | 25 | - |
| 1990 | "Lightning Man" | - | 14 | 28 |
| 1990 | "Fun To Be Had" | - | 5 | - |
| 1990 | "Getting Closer" | - | - | - |
| 1991 | "Family Man" | - | - | - |
| 1991 | "I Give To You" | - | - | - |
| 1991 | "Godhead" | 56 | - | - |
| 1992 | "Ascend" | 52 | - | - |
| 1995 | "Kick It" | 75 | - | - |
| 1995 | "I Thought" | - | - | - |
| 1995 | "Cherry Blossom" | - | - | - |
B-sides and non-album tracks
| Song | A-side | Year Year A year is the orbital period of the Earth moving around the Sun. For an observer on Earth, this corresponds to the period it takes the Sun to complete one course throughout the zodiac along the ecliptic.... |
|---|---|---|
| "The Way You Live" | "Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works" | 1985 |
| "Crane" | "Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works" | 1985 |
| "Cold War" | "Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works" | 1985 |
| "So Bright, So Strong" | "Warsaw Ghetto" | 1985 |
| "Get Clean" | "Let Your Body Learn" | 1986 |
| "K.I.A." | "Control I'm Here" | 1988 |
| "Time Slips By" | "Hearts and Minds" | 1989 |
| "Backlash" | "Shame" | 1989 |
| "Who We Are" | "Lightning Man" | 1990 |
| "Out of Mind" | "Fun to Be Had" | 1990 |
| "Taken From Me (Servant Mix)" | "Fun to Be Had" | 1990 |
| "Lovesick" | 'As Is' EP | 1991 |
| "Come Alive" | 'As Is' EP | 1991 |
| "Higher" | 'As Is' EP | 1991 |
| "Stray Cat Blues" | "I Give to You" | 1991 |
| "Skintight" | "Kick It" | 1995 |
| "Dead & Gone" | "Kick It" | 1995 |
| "Friend (Brittle Mix)" | "I Thought" | 1995 |
| "Beats Me" | "I Thought" | 1995 |
| "Payroll (John O Mix)" | 'Saw IV' Soundtrack | 2007 |
| "Promises" | NCIS (The Official TV Series Soundtrack) | 2009 |
| "Never Known" | Saw VI Soundtrack Saw IV (soundtrack) Saw IV: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack for the film Saw IV. It was released on October 23, 2007 by Artists' Addition Records. The song "I.V." by X Japan, which plays over the closing credits, was not included on the soundtrack album.-Track listing:# Nitzer Ebb - "Payroll "#... |
2009 |
Music videos
- Murderous (1987)
- Let Your Body Learn (1987)
- Control I'm Here (1988)
- Hearts and Minds (1989)
- Shame (1989)
- The Machineries Of Joy (1989)
- Lightning Man (1990)
- Fun To Be Had (1990)
- Family Man (1991)
- I Give To You (1991)
- Godhead (1992)
- Ascend (1992)
- Kick It (1995)
- I Thought (1995)
External links
- Official Nitzer Ebb Website
- Mute's old Nitzer Ebb page
- Nitzer Ebb at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Superb collectors site
- New Album and 2006 Concert Dates
- "EBM back to NEP"-Party, Interviews and many more...
- SHOUT! Online interview with Nitzer Ebb (July 2006)
- SHOUT! Online interview with Bon Harris / Nitzer Ebb (May 2006)
- Interview with David Gooday (in Swedish)