Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. During their most active period (effectively ending in 1993 with the albums 06:21:03:11 UP EVIL and 05:22:09:12 OFF) they were influential to many industrial and electronic artists, coining the term electronic body music (EBM) to describe their music.

History

---

The origin of Front 242 should be understood within the rise of industrial music, which originated in England in 1975 with the first performances of Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle. These revolutionary groups introduced elements of style later taken up by Front 242 such as electronic instrumentation, overwhelming percussion often with found objects, and looped samples of found soundbites. Going back earlier, these innovations can be seen as an extension of the work of William S. Burroughs and of Edgard Varèse, the first significant composer to adopt electronic sources of sound as musical instruments, and who also used overwhelming percussion including with found objects. It is perhaps no coincidence that Varese's great mark on the music world took place at the 1958 World Fair in Brussels, where Front 242 would work a few decades later.

Front 242 was created in 1981 in Aarschot, Belgium by Daniel Bresanutti and Dirk Bergen, who originally went by the name Prothese. They were interested in creating both music and graphic design using emerging electronic tools, and reportedly decided on changing their name to Front 242 because the name had greater potential as a subject of graphic design. The first single to be released was Principles, late in that year. Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc De Meyer had separately formed a group called Under Viewer at about the same time. Codenys said his father received a lottery winning and shared enough of it with him so that he could buy a car, but he bought his first synthesizer instead. Contact between Bresanutti and Codenys led the two duos to join together in 1982. Bresanutti, Codenys and De Meyer all took turns on vocals at first, until they settled on De Meyer as the lead vocalist; only recently have early recordings with Bresanutti on vocals been widely released. De Meyer also came to write almost all of the lyrics. They also decided during this formative period never to use the regular waveform settings on their synthesizers, saying instead that creating the waveform itself for each note was part of the creative process.

More on [ Front 242 ]

Front 242 - Twitter Search

Alguém sabe aonde eu consigo a discografia do Front 242?
jualencar (Ju Alencar) Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:29:11 -0000
Alguém sabe aonde eu consigo a discografia do Front 242?
R @botchagalupe What was the industrial revolution? I think it was when Nine Inch Nails and Front 242 showed up.
Beaker (Christofer Hoff) Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:07:08 -0000
R @botchagalupe What was the industrial revolution? I think it was when Nine Inch Nails and Front 242 showed up.
Front 242 !!!
AmMaLaya (Amalea Raynis) Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:04:57 -0000
Front 242 !!!
@romyilano I lump DAF in with Front 242 & Nitzer Ebb. Hmm... Wikipedia calls it EBM now. Where's my cane & hearing aid? : /
john_weeks (John Weeks) Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:39:01 -0000
@romyilano I lump DAF in with Front 242 & Nitzer Ebb. Hmm... Wikipedia calls it EBM now. Where's my cane & hearing aid? : /
@listensto Front 242 - In Rhythmus Bleiben
RojoyNegroRadio (Radio Free Morituri) Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:34:56 -0000
@listensto Front 242 - In Rhythmus Bleiben
Now playing: Front 242 - Welcome to Paradise (REQ by leisle Hinterland)
WeaselRadio (Weasel Radio) Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:38:24 -0000
Now playing: Front 242 - Welcome to Paradise (REQ by leisle Hinterland)

Subscribe to Front_242 RSS feed