Ultraviolence
Encyclopedia
Ultraviolence is an industrial/techno band formed in London in 1991 and headed by 'the Quentin Tarantino
of techno' Johnny Violent (b. Jonathan Casey). To date, they have released five studio albums, including a ten-year retrospective, and six EPs/singles. The group have produced a number of club classics which include the tracks Hardcore Motherfucker and Psycho Drama and have been recognised as being at the 'forefront of the UK Industrial-Cyber scene'. The Ultraviolence sound incorporates elements from various styles including hardcore techno
/gabber
, breakbeat
hardcore
, industrial techno, power noise, metal and rap
.
A substantial body of the Ultraviolence releases received positive critical reception since the first album Life of Destructor gaining '5Ks' from Kerrang magazine. In 2004 Ultraviolence released a retrospective
two CD album titled Blown Away 1994-2004.'
Johnny Violent has worked with several female vocal artists on different releases, but as of 2005, singer and angle grinding stage performer Mel Allezbleu has become a permanent member of the band.
in his teens. After attending Goldsmiths College
in London
for a diploma in sound engineering and working in a record shop, he tried his hand at gigging locally with a college friend.
Johnny got into production
in a serious way in late 1990 and adopted the name Johnny Violent (aka Ultraviolence) in reference to the film A Clockwork Orange
. He saved up money for some studio time and recorded and handful of tracks including "You'll Never Sleep Tonight" which was played by John Peel
on BBC Radio 1
and gained the attention of London label Food Records
, who signed Johnny in 1992.
The relationship between Ultraviolence and the trendy, indie-orientated Food Records
was never likely to be a happy one and soon dissolved. In fact it was 1994 before the debut album Life of Destructor was released on Nottingham's Earache Records
label. Earache had been previously known for releasing extreme heavy metal
acts such as Carcass
and Napalm Death
. Nevertheless, the relationship between Johnny and Earache's label owner Digby Pearson
proved a fruitful and durable one over the next decade.
It was the second Ultraviolence album, Psycho Drama (1996), that made critics start to believe there was more to the act than pure noise terror. Highly ambitious in concept and execution, Psycho Drama was a full-length gabber
"opera", telling the tortured love story of the "Hitman" and "Jessica" characters.
In 1995, Ultraviolence toured the US with fellow UK industrialists Cubanate
. However, the limitations of Johnny’s one-man stage shows were becoming apparent and American audiences never quite took to Ultraviolence like Techno
-aware European crowds. From this point on, Johnny usually appeared on-stage backed by various singers, dancers and showers of sparks from male or female angle-grinders.
The third album, 1998's Killing God marked a new transition to a new, more commercial Ultraviolence sound, dubbed "happy hardcore" by some, although the lyrical themes remained as bleak as ever. The album contained a cover of the Black Sabbath
classic song "Paranoid
".
In 2001, the fourth Ultraviolence album, Superpower was released, again groping for a wider market.
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
of techno' Johnny Violent (b. Jonathan Casey). To date, they have released five studio albums, including a ten-year retrospective, and six EPs/singles. The group have produced a number of club classics which include the tracks Hardcore Motherfucker and Psycho Drama and have been recognised as being at the 'forefront of the UK Industrial-Cyber scene'. The Ultraviolence sound incorporates elements from various styles including hardcore 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...
/gabber
Gabber
Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....
, breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
hardcore
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
, industrial techno, power noise, metal and rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
.
A substantial body of the Ultraviolence releases received positive critical reception since the first album Life of Destructor gaining '5Ks' from Kerrang magazine. In 2004 Ultraviolence released a retrospective
Retrospective
Retrospective generally means to take a look back at events that already have taken place. For example, the term is used in medicine, describing a look back at a patient's medical history or lifestyle.-Music:...
two CD album titled Blown Away 1994-2004.'
Johnny Violent has worked with several female vocal artists on different releases, but as of 2005, singer and angle grinding stage performer Mel Allezbleu has become a permanent member of the band.
History
Johnny Casey first experimented in making electronic musicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
in his teens. After attending Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom which specialises in the arts, humanities and social sciences, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1891 as Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for a diploma in sound engineering and working in a record shop, he tried his hand at gigging locally with a college friend.
Johnny got into production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
in a serious way in late 1990 and adopted the name Johnny Violent (aka Ultraviolence) in reference to the film A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange (film)
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
. He saved up money for some studio time and recorded and handful of tracks including "You'll Never Sleep Tonight" which was played by John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
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...
and gained the attention of London label Food Records
Food Records
Food Records was a record label set up in 1984 by David Balfe, who later took on Andy Ross as his partner. Originally formed as an independent record label with distribution going through Rough Trade Distribution, Food licenced acts to the Polygram offshoot London and Warner's WEA Records, before...
, who signed Johnny in 1992.
The relationship between Ultraviolence and the trendy, indie-orientated Food Records
Food Records
Food Records was a record label set up in 1984 by David Balfe, who later took on Andy Ross as his partner. Originally formed as an independent record label with distribution going through Rough Trade Distribution, Food licenced acts to the Polygram offshoot London and Warner's WEA Records, before...
was never likely to be a happy one and soon dissolved. In fact it was 1994 before the debut album Life of Destructor was released on Nottingham's Earache Records
Earache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
label. Earache had been previously known for releasing extreme heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
acts such as Carcass
Carcass (band)
Carcass are an extreme metal band from England, who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons....
and Napalm Death
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are a death metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band's ...
. Nevertheless, the relationship between Johnny and Earache's label owner Digby Pearson
Digby Pearson
Digby Pearson, also known as "Dig," is a British musician who founded Earache Records, which signed some of the most infamous heavy metal acts worldwide in the 1980s and early 1990s....
proved a fruitful and durable one over the next decade.
It was the second Ultraviolence album, Psycho Drama (1996), that made critics start to believe there was more to the act than pure noise terror. Highly ambitious in concept and execution, Psycho Drama was a full-length gabber
Gabber
Gabber , is a style of electronic music and a subgenre of hardcore techno. "Gabber" is a slang word of Yiddish origin that means "mate", "buddy" or "friend"....
"opera", telling the tortured love story of the "Hitman" and "Jessica" characters.
In 1995, Ultraviolence toured the US with fellow UK industrialists Cubanate
Cubanate
Cubanate is a crossover band from London, founded in 1992 by Marc Heal and Graham Rayner with Phil Barry and Steve Etheridge. The group became well-known known for its early fusion of distorted metal guitars, and techno percussion .-History:Cubanate played their first UK tour in November 1992...
. However, the limitations of Johnny’s one-man stage shows were becoming apparent and American audiences never quite took to Ultraviolence like 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...
-aware European crowds. From this point on, Johnny usually appeared on-stage backed by various singers, dancers and showers of sparks from male or female angle-grinders.
The third album, 1998's Killing God marked a new transition to a new, more commercial Ultraviolence sound, dubbed "happy hardcore" by some, although the lyrical themes remained as bleak as ever. The album contained a cover of the Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
classic song "Paranoid
Paranoid (song)
"Paranoid" is a song by the British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, featured on their second album Paranoid . It is the first single from the album, while the B-side is the song "The Wizard". It reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart and number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100...
".
In 2001, the fourth Ultraviolence album, Superpower was released, again groping for a wider market.
Discography
- Life of Destructor (1994)
- Psycho Drama (1996)
- Killing God (1998)
- Superpower (2001)
- Blown Away 1994-2004 (2004)