Bigod 20 was a German EBM-

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 ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

which was formed in 1988 by

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

s Andreas Tomalla (a.k.a. Talla 2XLC and formerly of the band Moskwa TV) and Markus Nikolai (a.k.a. Jallokin). Nikolai, together with Thomas Franzmann, run the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

based Perlon record label.

History

In the late 1980s, Tomalla and Nikolai formed the band Pluuto under Tomalla's own Technodrome Records (TDI Records) label. At the time, Tomalla was also involved in the production of several other projects such as Tribantura and his other collaborations Axodry, Robotiko Rejekto, Moskwa TV, and Microchip League. In 1988, the duo released their first single as Bigod 20, "America," on the ZYX Records label with a b-side cover of

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's "Photographic." That year they also released the single "Body to Body" as part of Tomalla's newly founded Music Research label, which eventually evolved into

Zoth Ommog Records Zoth Ommog Records was a German record label that focused on Industrial music and was owned by parent label Music Research. The company was established by German music producer Andreas Tomalla (aka Talla 2XLC) in 1989 and later handed over to pro ...

. In 1989, Tomalla and Nikolai formed a new project under the name Umo Detic whose second single, "Carpe Diem", would later be re-envisioned as a Bigod 20 single. In 1990, Bigod 20 released the single, "The Bog," which became a club hit and resulted in a record deal with

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

. The single featured a strong

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influence, due in no small part to having the guest vocal work of

lead man Jean-Luc De Meyer. Sire Records had originally expressed interest in "Carpe Diem" as a b-side to "The Bog," but later reconsidered and released it as its own single. After "The Bog," Tomalla and Nikolai sought to add a singer as a full member of the band. They considered

Dirk Ivens Dirk Ivens is a Belgian musician and performer in the industrial music genre. Career In 1978 he started as singer and guitar player in the punk band Slaughterhouse but left the group after one year to form the new band The Few. In 1980 he form ...

of industrial band The Klinik but decided that his vocal style was too "hard" for their purposes. On the advice of a friend they contacted and hired musician Thomas Franzmann (a.k.a. Zip Campisi). The group's first full-length album, ''Steel Works!'' was released by

in 1992. The album included new music such as the single "On the Run," and a version of "America," but did not include many of the band's previously released songs because the rights had been retained by ZYX Records. While working on the album, the band was inspired to do a cover song to appeal more to an American audience. After some deliberation, Franzmann suggested covering

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, which resulted in the

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

-influenced cover of " Like a Prayer." A second album single, "It's Up To You," followed soon afterward. In 1994, the second full-length album, ''Supercute'', was released along with the single "One". The album took a distinctively different approach to the band's sound, integrating more conventional instrumentation (guitar, jazz organ) and having less emphasis on their previous industrial dance style.

Perlon

In 1997, Nikolai and Thomas Franzmann (aka Zip) launched Perlon Records. It is a

minimal techno Minimal techno is a subgenre of techno music. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition and understated development. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detro ...

and

microhouse Microhouse, buftech or sometimes just minimal, is a subgenre of house music strongly influenced by minimalism and 1990s techno. History Microhouse has its roots in the minimal techno, bitpop (both developed in the early 1990s), and house (dev ...

label whose sound features vocals and peppery sounds. It is a vinyl only label, apart from a few compilations and mixes released on CD. No released have been made available online in any digital format. Perlon has run a monthly party at Berlin's Panorama Bar, 'Get Perlonized' since its opening in 2005, featuring only DJs who have also released on the label. The record label is known for its distinctive graphic design, done for every release by Chris Rehberger of the graphic design studio ''Double Standards''.

Discography

Albums

* ''Steel Works!'' (LP/CD Zoth Ommog - Sire/Warner Bros., 1992) * ''Supercute'' (CD Zoth Ommog - Sire/Warner Bros., 1994)

Singles

* Body & Energize (12"/MCD TDI/ZYX Records 1988) * America (12"/MCD TDI/ZYX Records 1988) * Acid to Body (as "20") (12"/CDS TDI/ZYX Records 1988) * The Bog (12"/CDS Zoth Ommog - Sire/Warner Bros. 1990) * Carpe Diem (12"/MCD Sire/Warner Bros. 1991) * On the Run (12"/CDS Zoth Ommog Records - Sire/Warner Bros. 1992) * It's Up To You (CDS Zoth Ommog/Semaphore 1993) * Like a Prayer (CDS Zoth Ommog/Semaphore 1993) * One (MCD Zoth Ommog - Sire/Warner Bros. 1994)

References

External links

* * *
Official Perlon website

Discogs: Perlon

Resident Advisor: Perlon
{{Authority control German electronic music groups German techno music groups Electronic body music groups Musical groups established in 1988 German industrial music groups German alternative rock groups Sire Records artists Zoth Ommog Records artists