Meat Beat Manifesto

Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers (the only permanent member), has proven versatile over the years, experimenting with techno, breakbeat, industrial, dub and jazz fusion while touring the world and influencing major acts such as Nine Inch Nails, the Chemical Brothers and the Prodigy. Some of the band's earlier work has been credited with influencing the rise of the trip hop, big beat, and drum and bass genres.

History

Early years

Dangers and Stephens had formed the English pop group Perennial Divide in 1986 with Paul Freeguard and released the first few Meat Beat Manifesto singles as a side project. The first release under the Meat Beat name was 1987's ''Suck Hard'' EP on Sweat Box Records. They left Perennial Divide in 1988 to record a full Meat Beat album. The tapes of what would have been the debut MBM album were claimed to have been destroyed in a studio fire before it could be released (detailed in a publicity statement). The former founder of Sweat Box Records (Rob Deacon) said that the fire never happened. Jack Dangers confirmed the story of the fire in a 2010 interview. The pair then recorded the LP '' Storm The Studio'', which got them pigeonholed as an industrial act because Sweat Box Records sold the rights to the LP to Wax Trax Records for release in the United States. In response, they released '' 99%'' in May 1990, which was more techno-influenced and characterized by heavy beats and ubiquitous samples. In August they released ''Armed Audio Warfare'', which was an effort to re-create the lost tracks of the would-be début album.

The band's live show was conceived as an intense audio-visual experience, with dancers, led by choreographer Marcus Adams, in costumes and sets designed by artist Craig Morrisoncraig morrison
> and video clips accompanying live instruments, sequenced electronic instruments, and live DJing. In the United States, they opened for Nine Inch Nails on their debut national tour in 1990. In 1991, they performed at The Limelight in Manhattan and toured North America with Consolidated. Despite his contributions being nonmusical in nature, Adams was credited as a full band member and appeared in many of the band's record sleeves and promo photos until the release of ''Satyricon'' in 1992. Adams also appeared in several of MBM's early videos, such as "Strapdown" and "Psyche-Out".

1992's ''Satyricon'' continued to show Meat Beat adopting a more mainstream electronic sound, crediting influences of such newly popular dance bands as Orbital, The Shamen, and The Orb, all of whom had either remixed or been remixed by MBM. The album produced the hits "Mindstream" and "Circles". "Original Control (Version 2)", renamed "I Am Electro" in later compilations, is the best-known track from the album, featuring samples of recordings from the 1939 World's Fair exhibit Elektro The Robot, and was the opening song in MBM's 2005–2006 tour.

Nothing Records years, 1994–1998

In 1993, Dangers relocated from England to San Francisco, resulting in Stephens' departure from the band. At this time, Nothing Records was founded as an imprint of Interscope with the purpose of signing industrial and electronic bands to capitalize on the recent success of Nine Inch Nails. Nothing, helmed by Trent Reznor, signed Meat Beat Manifesto and in 1996 the double album '' Subliminal Sandwich'' was released. While this album represented MBM's major-label debut, it failed to achieve the critical and commercial successes of previous releases. The album is notable for the last appearance of Jonny Stephens who contributed guitar on the track Asbestos Lead Asbestos. After ''Subliminal Sandwich'', Dangers put together an album called ''Original Fire'' that collected various studio rarities, B-sides, and fan favorites from the early years of MBM, in addition to some new remixes of the material. Also in 1996, the group contributed to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip produced by the Red Hot Organization.

In 1997, Dangers recruited drummer Lynn Farmer and multi-instrumentalist John Wilson (MBM member 1995–1998, former Supreme Love Gods) to record and release ''Actual Sounds + Voices