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The link between early electronic, post-punk, noise and the modern brand of industrial-strength techno has become clearer and clearer over the past few years, thanks in no small part to entities like Sandwell District. That collective features LA's Juan Mendez, a vocal post-punk fan (and Tropic of Cancer founding member) whose previous work as Silent Servant has plunged surging Germanic techno into the sludgy atmospherics and gothic timbres of the most obscure post-punk seven-inches.
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The link between early electronic, post-punk, noise and the modern brand of industrial-strength techno has become clearer and clearer over the past few years, thanks in no small part to entities like Sandwell District. That collective features LA's Juan Mendez, a vocal post-punk fan (and Tropic of Cancer founding member) whose previous work as Silent Servant has plunged surging Germanic techno into the sludgy atmospherics and gothic timbres of the most obscure post-punk seven-inches.
The California native first made his name in techno circles in the 90s with his production work under the name Jasper, and with his co-founding of the highly respected Cytrax label. It was during this time that Mendez befriended Karl O’Connor, aka Regis, beginning a creative alliance that has lasted to this day and led to all kinds of interesting outcomes.
The two artists, along with Dave ‘Function’ Sumner and Peter ‘Female’ Sutton, turned Sandwell District from a functional 12″ series into highly influential artistic collective and record label, encouraged in no small part by Mendez’s design and visual nous, and culminating in the release of a widely praised album, Feed-Forward (2010), before they decided to call it a day earlier this year. Mendez also became intimately involved with the running of O’Connor’s long-running Downwards label, bringing young American bands like Pink Playground, Dva Damas and Deathday into the fold (check the recently released So Click Heels compilation for a fine snapshot). One such act was Tropic of Cancer, the brainchild of Mendez’s wife, Camella Lobo, to whose first three releases (‘The Dull Age’ and ‘Be Brave’ on Downwards, The Sorrow Of Two Blooms EP on Blackest Ever Black) he contributed significantly.
Of course, it’s as a techno producer and DJ that Mendez remains best known. His 12″ productions as Silent Servant elegantly combine the industrial force of classic Downwards with the the dub-wise spaciousness of Basic Channel/Chain Reaction and the skippy minimalism of Cytrax. « hide |
Similar Bands: Rrose, Vatican Shadow, Shifted, Regis, Function Contributors: Typhoner,
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