Techno Animal is an electronic duo formed in 1990 in London, England by British musicians Justin Broadrick (of the band

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gree ...

) and Kevin Martin (aka the Bug, of the band

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

). The duo released six LPs beginning with their 1991 debut '' Ghosts''. They blended dub production with dark, beat-oriented

ambient music Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It ...

and paranoiac themes.

History

Kevin Martin had already formed the

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine ...

group

in 1987. Justin Broadrick had founded

in 1988, recorded with Napalm Death and would soon join God alongside Martin. The Techno Animal project came to fruition in 1990, arising from the musicians' shared interest in studio exploration. The intent was to restrict the project to the studio and use sampling to develop the music, with no intent to perform the material live. The name refers to the concept of a technological animal and is not a direct reference to the

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

genre. Techno Animal's debut album '' Ghosts'' was released in 1991. In his review of the album, English music critic

Simon Reynolds Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on musi ...

compared the music to that of other sample-based acts such as Einstürzende Neubauten,

Die Krupps Die Krupps () ("The Krupps") is a German industrial metal/ EBM band, formed in 1980 by Jürgen Engler and Bernward Malaka in Düsseldorf. The band has had a diverse range of musical influences over time, including the percussive industrial ' ...

and 23 Skidoo. In 2017, Martin and Broadrick reunited after fifteen years and formed the band Zonal. According to Broadrick, this new project is a spiritual continuation of Techno Animal. Regarding Zonal, he said:

Influence

Notably, Techno Animal's music was an important source of inspiration for

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

musician Kid606, with their debut album '' Ghosts'' being particularly influential to him. "It was one of the first experimental electronic records I had ever heard," he said, "Kevin Martin and Justin Broadrick were humongous influences on me from early on."

Discography

;Albums *'' Ghosts'' (Pathological, 1991) *'' Re-Entry'' ( Virgin, 1995) *''

Radio Hades ''Radio Hades'' is a compilation album by the Illbient band Techno Animal, released on 21 September 1998 through Position Chrome. It comprises tracks from various compilation albums which have been edited and remixed for their release here. ''N ...

'' (Position Chrome, 1998) *'' Techno Animal Versus Reality'' ( City Slang, 1998) *'' Symbiotics'' (with Porter Ricks) (Force Inc. Music Works, 1999) *''

The Brotherhood of the Bomb ''The Brotherhood of the Bomb'' is the fourth album by the Illbient band Techno Animal, released on 11 September 2001 through Matador Records. While earlier Techno Animal recordings had been largely instrumental, ''Brotherhood of the Bomb'' f ...

'' (

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

, 2001) ;Singles & EPs *''Babylon Seeker'' (Blue Angel, 1996) *''Unmanned'' (Position Chrome, 1996) *''Demonoid'' (City Slang, 1997) *''Phobic'' (Position Chrome, 1997) *''Cyclops'' (Position Chrome, 1998) *''Brotherhood of the Bomb/Monolith'' (Force Inc. Music Works, 1999) *''Megaton/Classical Homicide'' (with Dälek) (Matador, 2000) *''Dead Man's Curse'' (Matador, 2001) *''We Can Build You'' (Matador, 2001)

References

{{Authority control 1991 establishments in England Alternative hip hop groups British electronic music groups British experimental musical groups British industrial music groups Electronic music duos Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 2004