''10 Ton Pressure'' is the debut
EP of the
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 ...
band
Chemlab
Chemlab is an American industrial rock band formed in Washington D.C. in 1989 by Dylan Thomas More, Joe Frank, and Jared Louche (then known as Hendrickson). Influenced by the pioneers of the industrial genre, such as Throbbing Gristle, Chemlab ...
, released in 1990 by
Fifth Colvmn Records
Fifth Colvmn Records was a record label based in Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1990 by Zalman Fishman, owner of the nightclub FIFTH
COLVMN, located in Washington D.C.
The label's first release was Chemlab's debut EP Ten Ton Pressure ...
.
The duo of Dylan Thomas Moore and Joe Frank on synthesizers later teamed up with Jared Hendrickson (now known as
Jared Louche
Jared Louche (born Jared Hendrickson; December 11, 1960) is an American musician best recognized as the front-man of industrial rock outfit Chemlab. He also founded the band H3llb3nt and has collaborated with Pigface, Progrex.iv and Vampire R ...
) to create this EP. It was financed by Zalman Fishman, a nightclub owner who founded the now defunct
Fifth Colvmn Records
Fifth Colvmn Records was a record label based in Washington, D.C. The label was founded in 1990 by Zalman Fishman, owner of the nightclub FIFTH
COLVMN, located in Washington D.C.
The label's first release was Chemlab's debut EP Ten Ton Pressure ...
. Zalman became involved when he was introduced to Joe Frank through a mutual friend.
Background
This release was recorded without permission at
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
's studios after hours and mixed in Los Angeles by Hilary Bercovici, a friend of Frank's. Dylan and Jared moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where they continued Chemlab without Frank until the band's implosion in 1997. The EP showcased Moore's burgeoning talents, his aggressive, experimental programming and Jared Hendrickson's apocalyptic vision of the world. It was noisy yet hooky, the sound a mixture of
Ministry,
Front 242
Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they influenced the electronic and industrial music genres.
History Formation
Front 242 were for ...
,
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy was a Canadian electro-industrial band formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group was among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crom ...
and such first-wave
industrial bands as
SPK and
Throbbing Gristle
Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, later joined by Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of in ...
yet distinctly their own. It instantly struck a chord in the nascent American machine rock/industrial music scene and became an instant underground hit on dance floors across the country. Hendrickson's aggressive promotion ensured that the EP was reviewed in most of the music magazines and trade journals of the day and the first 1000 vinyl copies sold out very quickly. On the strength of excellent reviews and a strong buzz the band was asked to support
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
on their "Now I'm Nothing" tour in the winter of 1991. Moore wrote two songs specifically for that tour, 'Gas Mask' and 'X-Flipped' and although they performed them every night and they very much showed the harder and even more experimental direction the band would take on their subsequent albums, neither song was ever recorded. The tour was a smash success of sold-out shows that solidly planted Chemlab before the exploding underground scene.
Reissue
In 1994, the compilation album ''Magnetic Field Remixes'' was released and is essentially a reissue of this EP. The album includes all the songs found on this release, with some from the next album and one previously unreleased track. Some of the tracks found on the compilation have been remixed.
Composition
The first chemlab release showcases a much more industrial sound, with far less guitar used and more unorganized and chaotic noises instrumentally. Small audio parts of this release's audio material can be heard on the next album, which seem to be recycled for usage on the suture instrumentals.
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the ''10 Ton Pressure'' liner notes.
Chemlab
* Joe Frank –
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
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
,
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
* Jared Louche –
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
, production, engineering
* Dylan Thomas Moore – programming, production, engineering
Production and design
* Hilary Bercovici –
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
,
engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
* Aaron Falk –
recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, re ...
* Greg Johnson –
design
A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...
* Newton Moore –
photography
Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...
* Zalman Fishman –
executive-producer
Release history
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1990 debut EPs
Chemlab albums
Fifth Colvmn Records EPs
Albums produced by Jared Louche