THE CD: Futurist
PERFORMER: Alec Empire
LABEL: Digital Hardcore Recordings
SUGGESTED TRACKS: Kiss Of Death; Night Of Violence; Vertigo
YOU’LL LIKE IT IF YOU LIKE: Fearless originality, with uncompromising ideals. Oh, yeah: to rock out!

What could the spirit of rock & roll mean in 2006? For Alec Empire, it still means anti-conformity, irrepressible individuality, and that noise inside your head. The former Atari Teenage Riot leader’s latest solo effort, Futurist, is a tribute to “a time when British rock was straight and fearless” and the result is hardcore, backbeat-driven, industrial rock. Fearless is exactly how I would classify this Berlin-bred anti-Nazi.

For fans expecting something along the lines of ATR, and the 240-BPM 808 drum kits and the noise-turned-into-gold sound on Burn, Berlin, Burn! and 60 Second Wipeout, you’ll be disappointed…but not for long.

The 12-song CD is more straight-up rock than anything I’ve heard Empire put onto an entire CD. But never fear: DJ Nic Endo (a late addition to ATR) is back to help with sounds, effects, and yes, even a theremin. Empire (widely regarded as a genius in the electronic music genre) gets back to his roots on this CD: the picture of him holding a guitar on the back sleeve may serve as a reminder that he played guitar before he was an engineer.

“Kiss Of Death” opens Futurist with a sample that states plainly: I’m talking about the death of Rock ‘n Roll. From there, Empire lets the rock, and his poetic (near-apocalyptic) words do the talking. On “Point Of No Return” you can’t help think Empire is talking to us all when he says This horror can only consume you…And your only goal is to survive/someone has to cut their power/and that someone has to be you and me. On “Gotta Get Out” Empire says Their right wing s— is a joke and let me tell you/there’s gonna be a lot of fire and a lot of smoke.

By the time you think that he’s completely abandoned his penchant for the mini-gun speed digital effects, Empire and Endo place them as filler or in bridges, panned to one side…nice. When you hear drum parts that couldn’t possibly be played, that’s Empire at work.

Futurist is a dream come true for fans of real, rebellious, intelligent rockin’. If you wanna hear something original, from someone with something to say, check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

– nick2
P.S. — Thanks for the CD, Jesse!

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