B12 (band)
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B12 are a British electronic music duo consisting of Mike Golding and Steve Rutter. First appearing in the early 1990s under a variety of monikers, including Musicology, Redcell and Cmetric, their sound is associated with the early 1990s
ambient techno Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The ...
and IDM scene. They released their debut album '' Electro-Soma'' (1993) on
Warp Records Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...
, and also founded the independent label B12 Records. Recurring themes of
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
and
futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...
can be found in nearly all B12 releases.


Career

Golding and Rutter met in the late 1980s through a mutual appreciation of the
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
sound coming out from
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
from artists such as
Juan Atkins Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962), also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. ''Mixmag'' has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of the Belle ...
and Derrick May. Upon seeing the success of Plus 8 Records in early 1990, they were inspired to do the same, and in 1991 founded B12 Records as an outlet for the music they and their friends Kirk Degiorgio (a.k.a. As One), and Steve Pickton (a.k.a. Stasis), were producing. Writing under various monikers they released a series of 12" vinyl records, each with a limited run of coloured vinyl, and messages hand-etched into the run-out grooves. The duo were often mistaken as hailing from Detroit, their sound being comparable to the so-called second wave of Detroit techno. This was compounded by the signature style of their initial releases on their own imprint B12 Records, limited editions on coloured 12" vinyl with cryptic messages etched into the run-out grooves, and the fact that Golding and Rutter tended to shy away from the press, and rarely gave interviews, which added to the mystery of their identities. In 1992, B12 appeared on the Rephlex compilation ''The Philosophy of Sound and Machine'', and the seminal
Warp Records Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...
'' Artificial Intelligence Volume I'' compilation, alongside
Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), known professionally as Aphex Twin, is a British musician, composer and DJ active in electronic music since 1988. His idiosyncratic work has drawn on many styles, including techno, ambient music, ambi ...
,
Autechre Autechre ( ) are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all o ...
, The Black Dog, and
Richie Hawtin Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He becam ...
. A full-length album '' Electro-Soma'' followed in 1993, a compilation of tracks from early B12 Records releases, as part of Warp's continuing
Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
series. B12 continued to release records on their own imprint, and also released a pair of split releases in conjunction with 'A.R.T. (Applied Rhythmic Technology)', a label run by their friend Kirk Degiorgio. In 1996 their second full length ''
Time Tourist ''Time Tourist'', or ''TimeTourist'', is an album released by B12 in 1996 on Warp. The inventive packaging for the album makes it appear as if TimeTourist is an educational computer game written in a dystopian year 2166 and which looks back o ...
'' was released on Warp, with artwork by
The Designers Republic The Designers Republic is a British graphic design studio based in Sheffield, England, founded in 1986 by Ian Anderson and Nick Phillips (graphic designer), Nick Phillips. They are best known for electronic music logos, album artwork, and an ...
, featuring a painting by Trevor Webb of a futuristic London. The album contained mostly new material, although the track "Scriptures" had been previously released in 1994 on the ''
Artificial Intelligence II ''Artificial Intelligence II'' is a compilation album released via Warp (record label), Warp on 30 May 1994. It is the eighth and final release in Warp's ''Artificial Intelligence (series), Artificial Intelligence'' series. It peaked at number 16 o ...
'' compilation. Both ''Electro-Soma'' and ''Time Tourist'' were re-released in the United States on the
Wax Trax! Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that y ...
/ TVT label. Also in 1996, ''B1215'' (the unlucky 13th release on B12 – cat. numbers 12 and 13 were never used) was pressed, but only a handful of white label promo copies were ever released. This was to be the last release on B12 Records for over a decade. Due to the limited numbers pressed of each release, original B12 vinyl is sought after by collectors and can change hands for large amounts of money. In 1998, ''3EP'' was released on Warp Records, a tribute to Jazz musicians
Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...
,
Joe Morello Joseph Albert Morello (July 17, 1928 – March 12, 2011) was an American jazz drummer best known for serving as the drummer for pianist Dave Brubeck, as part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, from 1957 to 1972, including during the quartet's "clas ...
, and
Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a Cello, cellist who has reco ...
(each track was named after them). The EP was not released in the United States. After 3EP's release, B12 retracted from public space without explanation, and were not heard of or seen again until 2005. A number of poor-quality illegal bootlegs of old B12 material began circulating in late 2004, claiming to be represses. Obviously not cut from the original plates (they were missing the etched messages in the run-out grooves), it is thought they were probably taken from recordings of the old vinyl, or ripped from CD. Whether or not this was the reason B12 reappeared is not known. In 2005, Golding and Rutter announced they were restarting B12 Records, and would be making available the complete back catalogue, remastered, on a 12 disc CD box set. They began playing live shows again, and a new Redcell track, titled "Back From The Edge" appeared on a limited CD series on Seed Records. In June 2007, the full release of 1996's ''B1215'' and new material ''B1216'' was announced, staying with the limited edition coloured vinyl format with etched messages in the run out grooves. In May 2008, B12 released their third album (their first album in 12 years) called ''Last Days of Silence''.


Discography


References


External links


b12records.com
– official B12 Records website
obsolete.com/b12
– old B12 Records website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:B12 Intelligent dance musicians British techno musicians British electronic music duos British electronic musicians Musical groups established in 1990