Doll Factory is an American

electronic rock Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...

post-punk revival Post-punk revival (also known as indie rock revival) is a Music genre, subgenre or movement of indie rock that emerged in the early 2000s as a stripped-down and back-to-basics version of Guitar-rock, guitar rock inspired by the original sounds a ...

band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, United States. Founded in 1998 (after working together under various names including "Crown of Thorns", "Guernica", "Micronism", and others) by musicians Garrick Antikajian and Chris Roy, the band primarily works as a studio-based duo with Antikajian and Roy handling all writing, performance, and production duties, with additional musicians added to the lineup for live performances.

History

Antikajian and Roy first met as junior high school students, originally recording 4-track

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette (format) (or ''cassette tape''), a format that contains magnetic tape for audio, video, and data storage and playback * Compact Cassette, a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ...

portastudio Portastudio refers to a series of Multitrack recording, multitrack recorders produced by TASCAM beginning in 1979 with the introduction of the TEAC Corporation, TEAC 144, the first four-track compact cassette-based recorder. A TASCAM trademark, "p ...

demos in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

and

Junction City, Oregon Junction City is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, it has a population of 6,747. The Junction City area is notable for its Nordic and Scandinavian Americans, Scandinavian heritage, with the city's ...

as "Crown of Thorns" and later, "Guernica". Performing regionally at such venues as

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

X-Ray Cafe The X-Ray Cafe was a small music venue in Portland, Oregon, United States from 1990 to 1994. An all-ages and community-oriented club, the X-Ray played a "heavyweight role in shaping Portland's underground culture", fostering such musical acts as ...

and

W.O.W. Hall The W.O.W. Hall, also stylized as WOW Hall, (AKA Community Center for the Performing Arts) is a performing arts venue in Eugene, Oregon, United States. The lot was bought in 1906 by the Woodmen of the World (W.O.W.) lodge, and later in 1932 they ...

throughout their high school and college years, the duo recorded at Antikajian's

16-track Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...

home studio Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narra ...

, releasing several demos and a self-released cassette, "Multichrome Universe", before Antikajian's departure, due to creative differences, in 1992. Roy and the remaining members of "Guernica" moved to

, Washington in 1993, where the band performed a single show before breaking up. Following the breakup of "Guernica", Antikajian and Roy began to correspond, mailing demo tapes of their respective solo material between Roy's home in

, Washington and Antikajian's project studio in

Rancho Cucamonga, California Rancho Cucamonga ( ) is a city located just south of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County, California, United States. About east of Downtown Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga is the List ...

, resulting in Antikajian's eventual move to

to collaborate on new material. Eventually settling on the name "Doll Factory", the duo recorded the self-released "Premonition EP" in 1999, resulting in several

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

and

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

appearances, and attracting the attention of Neue Ästhetik Multimedia, an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

known for releases from

Faith and the Muse Faith and the Muse is an American rock band composed of Monica Richards and William Faith. Their music encompasses many genres, from folk music to dark wave, drawing on many sources and influences, notably Dead Can Dance. Richards is the prima ...

, Jane Jensen (musician), and

Das Ich Das Ich is a German dark wave/ gothic- industrial band formed in 1989. The group, fronted by Stefan Ackermann and Bruno Kramm, were one of the prominent founders of and contributors to " Neue Deutsche Todeskunst" (''New German Death Art'') a mus ...

. Releasing "Weightless" in 2003, Doll Factory parted ways with Neue Ästhetik after the label fell victim to changes in the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

– particularly the

bankruptcy proceedings Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

Tower Records Tower Records is an international retail franchising, franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when ...

and their subsidiary, Bayside Distribution, who held the majority of existing copies of "Weightless" at the time. After a hiatus while Antikajian was living in New York City, the band began work on a new release, tentatively expected to be released in 2010.

Musical style

Called a "mix of

Industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten and Chrom ...

, goth,

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

, and a slight touch of experimentalism" and "industrial rock with creative electronics" with "an

electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a Music genre, genre of popular music that fuses 1980s Electro (music), electro, New wave music, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, re ...

-ish edge" in magazine reviews of "Weightless", the band claims to be moving toward a sound that is "more new wave,

post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

, or indie

and not so specifically goth or industrial", citing "current favorites such as

The Faint The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Graham Ulicny, Dapose and Clark Baechle. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes (band), Brig ...

, Interpol, Editors, Muse, Alpinestars,

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...

Ladytron Ladytron are an electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), and Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals). Reuben Wu (synthesizers) was a ...

Fischerspooner Fischerspooner was an electroclash duo and performance troupe formed in 1998 in New York City after meeting in school. The name is a combination of the founders' last names, Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner. Career Originally a duo formed by ...

orchestral music An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

, and Eastern-influenced artists like

Niyaz Niyaz () is an Iranian Canadian musical duo. The group was created in 2004 by DJ, programmer/producer and remixer Carmen Rizzo, vocalist and hammered dulcimer player Azam Ali, formerly of the group Vas, and Ali's husband, Loga Ramin Torkian, ...

Silk Road Ensemble Silkroad, formerly the Silk Road Project, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization, initiated by the cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions, promoting multicultural artistic exchange, and studying the ebb and ...

Talvin Singh Talvin Singh OBE (born 1970) is a British musician, producer, and composer. A tabla player, he is known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music with drum and bass. Singh is generally considered involved with an electronica ...

Natacha Atlas Natacha Atlas (, , ; born 20 March 1964) is an Egyptian-Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western music, particularly hip-hop. She once termed her music "'' cha'abi moderne''" (modern folk music). Her music has been influenced by ...

, and

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

film soundtracks".

Band members

* Garrick Antikajian – vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion, songwriting,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

, production * Chris Roy – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards,

electric violin An electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument intentionally made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body. It can also refer to a violin fi ...

, percussion, songwriting,

, production

Additional musicians

Jason Bazinet SMP (also known as Synthesia Murder Program) are an American industrial music group formed in Seattle, Washington. The original incarnation consisted of Jason Bazinet and Sean Ivy before Ivy left to join Christ Analogue in 1998, allowing SMP to ...

– live drums, vocals (2001–present) : Bazinet performed live drums on "Weightless"-era concert appearances, as well as contributing acoustic drums to several tracks on "Weightless", "Artifacts", and guest vocals on the song "We Are The Hollow Men". : Bazinet is the founding member of Sounds of Mass Production, and a collaborator with Antikajian in the side project, "The Loyal Opposition". * Mars Saxman – live keyboards, synthesizers,

electronic instruments An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into ...

, vocals (2003–present) : Saxman performed live keyboards and electronics on "Weightless"-era concert appearances, as well as contributing guest vocals on the song "We Are The Hollow Men". * Matt Frickelton – live bass guitar, vocals (1998–1999) * Marc Alex Ryan – live electric guitar, vocals (1998–1999) * V. Scott "Scotty" Parker – live drums,

electronic percussion Electronic drums are a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sound ...

(1998–1999)

Other information

* Both Roy and Antikajian on keyboards, guitar and percussion have performed – at separate times – as members of the live lineup of Sounds of Mass Production, with Roy appearing as session guitarist and Antikajian as producer on later SMP recordings. Bazinet has appeared as a live musician and on various Doll Factory recordings. * Both Antikajian and Roy are sons of visual artists; Antikajian's father is the painter Sarkis Antikajian, and Roy is the son of a

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

art professor and a textile artist. * The band embraces an "

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...

" or " DIY" aesthetic, handling everything from audio and video production and graphic design to repairing and modifying their own equipment, both out of a desire for

artistic control Artistic control or creative control is a term commonly used in media production, such as movies, television, music production, or some other cultural product. A person, or the studio or production company, with artistic control has the authority ...

and out of economic necessity. * The band makes use of novel instrumentation in their recordings, often extensively processed with hardware and software audio effects, such as

toy piano The toy piano, also known as the ( in German), is a small piano-like musical instrument. Most modern toy pianos use round metal rods, as opposed to strings in a regular piano, to produce sound. The U.S. Library of Congress recognizes the toy pia ...

erhu The (; ) is a Chinese two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, that is sometimes known in the Western world as the ''Chinese violin'' or a ''Chinese two-stringed fiddle''. It is used as a solo instrument as ...

duduk The duduk ( ; ) or tsiranapogh (, meaning "apricot-made wind instrument"), is a double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood originating from Armenia. Variations of the Armenian duduk appear throughout the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the ...

kalimba Mbira ( ; ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and ...

found object A found object (a calque from the French ''objet trouvé''), or found art, is art created from undisguised, but often modified, items or products that are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already hav ...

percussion such as bags of frozen vegetables, washing machines, and scrap metal,

educational toys Educational toys (sometimes also called "instructive toys") are objects of play, generally designed for children. Educational Toys help with motivation, helping kids use their imagination while still pulling in the real world. These toys are imp ...

such as the Talking Computron and Baby LeapFrog, various

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

apps,

speech synthesis Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware products. A text-to-speech (TTS) system converts normal langua ...

software, and the Bleep Labs Thingamagoop, a variant on the 'optical theremin'.

Discography

Albums

* ''Premonition EP'' (1999) * ''Weightless'' (2003) * 'Artifacts' (Working title) (c. 2010)

Compilation appearances

* Various Artists: Syncromesh 001 * Various Artists: Syncromesh 002 * Various Artists: Unquiet Grave III * Various Artists: Tribute to Marilyn Manson * Various Artists: The Nature of Gothic * Various Artists: Teen Feeding Frenzy * Various Artists: Eighteen

Remixes

* Sounds of Mass Production: Megaton * Sounds of Mass Production: Chemicals * Idiot Stare: Ghost
/ref>

References

External links

Official website

Official MySpace page

Official YouTube channel
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from Washington (state) American dance music groups American industrial music groups American dance-punk musical groups American electronic rock musical groups Indie rock musical groups from Washington (state) Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups from Seattle American post-punk revival music groups