Atari Teenage Riot
Encyclopedia
'Atari Teenage Riot' is a German digital hardcore
group formed in Berlin
in 1992. The name was taken from a Portuguese Joe song 'Teenage Riot
' from the 'Teen-age Riot' album, with the word 'Atari' added as an Atari ST
computer was used to create compositions. Highly political, they fused anarchist, anti-fascist
and anti-Nazi views with punk
vocals and the newly emerging techno sound called digital hardcore
, which is a term band member Alec Empire
used as the name of his record label
.
ers - Alec Empire
, Hanin Elias
and MC
Carl Crack
. ATR's early releases (which included the track 'Hetzjagd Auf Nazis!'/'Hunt Down the Nazis!') were surrounded by controversy in Germany.
After signing to major European label Phonogram Records
in 1993, the band received an unusually large financial advance which they duplicitously used to set up their own record label
: Digital Hardcore Recordings
(DHR). ATR never delivered a commercially viable demo to Phonogram.
In 1996, ATR was joined by Nic Endo
, a Japan
ese-German
-American
noise/soundscape artist, who played her first live show with ATR in the spring of 1997 during the South by South West festival in Austin, Texas.
In 1999, ATR released the album '60 Second Wipe Out', which featured a number of guest artists including New York City rappers, The Arsonists
. According to 'Magnet
', "Empire's guitar-playing values speed-thrash malevolence, and when paired with Endo's painful skronkage, the album is decidedly denser than its predecessor".
Elias left ATR at the Brixton Academy show in the winter of 1999. The plan had been to tour with Nine Inch Nails in the US during the spring of 2000, but ATR decided to cancel the show to recharge. Crack also needed time to recuperate from his psychosis attacks.[4]
In the autumn of 2000, ATR started working on their fourth album. The song ‘Rage’, featuring Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, was chosen as an in-between single until the release of the fourth album. Rage was part of the recording sessions for '60 Second Wipe Out', but Empire didn’t feel it would fit the album.[4]
On 6 September 2001, Crack, who had long struggled with psychiatric issues, died from an overdose of unspecified pills. The media hype surrounding Crack's death is disputed by ATR. According to a friend, he had spoken a few weeks before his death about a doctor’s report which said his psychosis attacks would worsen with age. According to that friend, Crack said he would rather kill himself than become a "zombie" and not be in control of his life. Witnesses have said Crack tried to reach out to his friends because he felt the psychosis starting again. When his body was found by police with large quanitities of medication in his stomach, this suggested suicide. It is still unclear if this happened while he was in a state of psychosis or not (while in a psychotic state, it could be interpreted as an accident rather than suicide).[4]
The other half of the band continue to work together. Endo assisted in the production of Empire's solo recordings, as well as being a key member of his live band. DHR released 'Atari Teenage Riot: 1992-2000
', a collection of the band's best known recordings, on 3 July 2006.
In January 2010, it was announced ATR would reunite for a few live shows in Europe. Later in the year, they announced additional shows in Europe, North America and Asia. In early March 2010, Empire released the new ATR track 'Activate' via SoundCloud
, which is the first song featuring their new MC, CX KiDTRONiK. Activate was recorded on 3 March 2010 in Berlin at the Hellish Vortex Studios. Female vocals were provided by Endo.
The band headlined London's Offset Festival
in September 2010 and, in August 2011, they are scheduled to perform at the M'era Luna Festival
in Hildesheim
Germany
. In between these dates, the band has played most major festivals throughout Europe, including Reading and Leeds, and headlined the Fusion Festival in front of approximately 20,000 people (which led to a massive stage invasion by thousands of fans). ATR headlined a stage at Japan’s big rival to the Fuji Rock Festival, the Summersonic Festival. Another triumph was the band’s headline slot on the electronic stage at the Berlin Festival, which is held at an old military airport in the centre of the city. These live shows were perceived as better and more energetic by critics and fans than shows during the '90s. Enthused, the band decided to add more dates.[4] The current live line-up of ATR, as at June 2011, consists of Empire, Endo and CX KiDTRONiK.
On 12 October 2010, Steve Aoki
and Dim Mak Records
announced the release of Atari Teenage Riot's new single 'Activate', with the full-length album 'Is This Hyperreal?' released in 2011.
Digital hardcore
Digital hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk incorporating influences from electronic music. Digital hardcore fuses elements of hardcore punk with various forms of electronic music...
group formed in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1992. The name was taken from a Portuguese Joe song 'Teenage Riot
Teenage Riot
"Teen Age Riot" was the first single from Sonic Youth's 1988 album, Daydream Nation. It is the band's first largely successful release, receiving heavy airplay in modern rock stations, and considerably expanding their audience ....
' from the 'Teen-age Riot' album, with the word 'Atari' added as an Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
computer was used to create compositions. Highly political, they fused anarchist, anti-fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
and anti-Nazi views with punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
vocals and the newly emerging techno sound called digital hardcore
Digital hardcore
Digital hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk incorporating influences from electronic music. Digital hardcore fuses elements of hardcore punk with various forms of electronic music...
, which is a term band member Alec Empire
Alec Empire
Alec Empire is a German musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot. Also a prolific and distinguished solo artist, producer and DJ, he has released well over a hundred albums, EPs and singles and remixed over seventy tracks for various artists including Björk...
used as the name of his record label
Digital Hardcore Recordings
Digital Hardcore Recordings is a record label set up in 1994 by Alec Empire, Joel Amaretto and Pete Lawton. Most of the music is recorded in Berlin, though the label is based in London where the records are mastered and manufactured...
.
History
The group was founded as an attack on the Neo-Nazi subculture by fusing hardcore punk views with german techno; it consisted of three BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
ers - Alec Empire
Alec Empire
Alec Empire is a German musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot. Also a prolific and distinguished solo artist, producer and DJ, he has released well over a hundred albums, EPs and singles and remixed over seventy tracks for various artists including Björk...
, Hanin Elias
Hanin Elias
Hanin Elias is a German industrial/techno artist. She was a member of Atari Teenage Riot and is now a solo artist....
and MC
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
Carl Crack
Carl Crack
Carl Crack was a Berlin-based techno artist best known for his membership in the digital hardcore band Atari Teenage Riot from 1992 to 2000....
. ATR's early releases (which included the track 'Hetzjagd Auf Nazis!'/'Hunt Down the Nazis!') were surrounded by controversy in Germany.
After signing to major European label Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records
Phonogram Records was started in 1962 as a joint venture between Philips Records and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1972, Phonogram was merged with Polydor Records into PolyGram....
in 1993, the band received an unusually large financial advance which they duplicitously used to set up their own record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
: Digital Hardcore Recordings
Digital Hardcore Recordings
Digital Hardcore Recordings is a record label set up in 1994 by Alec Empire, Joel Amaretto and Pete Lawton. Most of the music is recorded in Berlin, though the label is based in London where the records are mastered and manufactured...
(DHR). ATR never delivered a commercially viable demo to Phonogram.
In 1996, ATR was joined by Nic Endo
Nic Endo
Nic Endo is a Japanese-German-American noise musician who plays with the German digital hardcore group Atari Teenage Riot...
, a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
noise/soundscape artist, who played her first live show with ATR in the spring of 1997 during the South by South West festival in Austin, Texas.
In 1999, ATR released the album '60 Second Wipe Out', which featured a number of guest artists including New York City rappers, The Arsonists
Arsonists (rap group)
The Arsonists are an underground hip hop group. Their album, As the World Burns , reached #78 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and yielded the single "Pyromaniax", which went to #43 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart.-History:...
. According to 'Magnet
Magnet (magazine)
Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.-History:The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option,...
', "Empire's guitar-playing values speed-thrash malevolence, and when paired with Endo's painful skronkage, the album is decidedly denser than its predecessor".
Elias left ATR at the Brixton Academy show in the winter of 1999. The plan had been to tour with Nine Inch Nails in the US during the spring of 2000, but ATR decided to cancel the show to recharge. Crack also needed time to recuperate from his psychosis attacks.[4]
In the autumn of 2000, ATR started working on their fourth album. The song ‘Rage’, featuring Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine, was chosen as an in-between single until the release of the fourth album. Rage was part of the recording sessions for '60 Second Wipe Out', but Empire didn’t feel it would fit the album.[4]
On 6 September 2001, Crack, who had long struggled with psychiatric issues, died from an overdose of unspecified pills. The media hype surrounding Crack's death is disputed by ATR. According to a friend, he had spoken a few weeks before his death about a doctor’s report which said his psychosis attacks would worsen with age. According to that friend, Crack said he would rather kill himself than become a "zombie" and not be in control of his life. Witnesses have said Crack tried to reach out to his friends because he felt the psychosis starting again. When his body was found by police with large quanitities of medication in his stomach, this suggested suicide. It is still unclear if this happened while he was in a state of psychosis or not (while in a psychotic state, it could be interpreted as an accident rather than suicide).[4]
The other half of the band continue to work together. Endo assisted in the production of Empire's solo recordings, as well as being a key member of his live band. DHR released 'Atari Teenage Riot: 1992-2000
Atari Teenage Riot: 1992-2000
Atari Teenage Riot: 1992–2000 is a greatest hits compilation by the seminal digital hardcore band Atari Teenage Riot. The album was released on band member Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore Recordings on July 3, 2006 and features 18 tracks from the band's back catalogue.-Track listing:# "Speed" #...
', a collection of the band's best known recordings, on 3 July 2006.
Reunion
In October 2009, Elias contacted Empire to play some concerts together, but had to refrain because of her voice. When it became clear that Elias wouldn’t show up to the first show, the band published this statement 30 minutes before show time.In January 2010, it was announced ATR would reunite for a few live shows in Europe. Later in the year, they announced additional shows in Europe, North America and Asia. In early March 2010, Empire released the new ATR track 'Activate' via SoundCloud
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform which allows collaboration, promotion and distribution of audio recordings.-History:SoundCloud was originally started in Stockholm, Sweden, but was established in Berlin, Germany in August, 2007 by sound designer Alex Ljung and artist Eric Wahlforss...
, which is the first song featuring their new MC, CX KiDTRONiK. Activate was recorded on 3 March 2010 in Berlin at the Hellish Vortex Studios. Female vocals were provided by Endo.
The band headlined London's Offset Festival
Offset Festival
Offset Festival was formed in 2008 as a reaction against overpriced festivals with less than creative lineups. The event is held at Hainault Forest Country Park, just outside London, accessible via the Central Line.-2008:...
in September 2010 and, in August 2011, they are scheduled to perform at the M'era Luna Festival
M'era Luna Festival
The M'era Luna is a festival of goth, metal and industrial music. It is held annually on the second weekend of every August, in Hildesheim, Germanyat Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt, a former British Army airbase....
in Hildesheim
Hildesheim
Hildesheim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste river, which is a small tributary of the Leine river...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In between these dates, the band has played most major festivals throughout Europe, including Reading and Leeds, and headlined the Fusion Festival in front of approximately 20,000 people (which led to a massive stage invasion by thousands of fans). ATR headlined a stage at Japan’s big rival to the Fuji Rock Festival, the Summersonic Festival. Another triumph was the band’s headline slot on the electronic stage at the Berlin Festival, which is held at an old military airport in the centre of the city. These live shows were perceived as better and more energetic by critics and fans than shows during the '90s. Enthused, the band decided to add more dates.[4] The current live line-up of ATR, as at June 2011, consists of Empire, Endo and CX KiDTRONiK.
On 12 October 2010, Steve Aoki
Steve Aoki
Steve Aoki is an American electro house musician, record producer and the founder of Dim Mak Records.-Early life:...
and Dim Mak Records
Dim Mak Records
Dim Mak Records is a record label founded in 1996 by Steve Aoki and based in Los Angeles, CA. Dim Mak's first release was a 7" by a little known hardcore band from southern California, Stickfigurecarousel.-Roster:Active* Steve Aoki* All Leather...
announced the release of Atari Teenage Riot's new single 'Activate', with the full-length album 'Is This Hyperreal?' released in 2011.
Studio albums
- Delete Yourself!Delete Yourself!Delete Yourself! is the debut album by German digital hardcore outfit Atari Teenage Riot. The album exhibits a variety of musical styles, most notably rave, jungle and punk...
(originally titled 1995) (DHR 1995) - The Future of WarThe Future of WarThe Future of War is the follow-up album to Delete Yourself by Atari Teenage Riot. Faster and harder than their previous effort, the album sees ATR's only female member at the time Hanin Elias providing vocals for a larger share of the songs....
(DHR 1997) - 60 Second Wipe Out (DHR 1999)
- Is This Hyperreal?Is This Hyperreal?Is This Hyperreal? is the fourth studio album from Atari Teenage Riot, and their first album since they effectively disbanded in 2000.-Track listing:-Reception:...
(DHR 2011)
Compilation albums
- Burn, Berlin, Burn!Burn, Berlin, Burn!Burn, Berlin, Burn! is a compilation album released by Atari Teenage Riot in 1997. Initially released in the United States by the Beastie Boys' record label Grand Royal , the album is a collection of tracks from their first two albums Delete Yourself! and The Future of War...
(Grand Royal 1997) - Redefine the Enemy - Rarities and B-Side Compilation 1992-1999Redefine the Enemy - Rarities and B-Side Compilation 1992-1999Redefine the Enemy! Rarities and B-Sides Compilation 1992-1999 is a B-side compilation of rare and live recordings by the seminal digital hardcore band Atari Teenage Riot.-Track listing:...
(DHR 2002) - Atari Teenage Riot: 1992–2000 (DHR 2006)
- Unreleased Tracks 1991-1994
Live albums
- Live in Stuttgart (One-Off Shit Let's Go!)Live in Stuttgart (One-Off Shit Let's Go!)Live In Stuttgart is a rare live album by Atari Teenage Riot. Initially released on cassette, the album predates the infamous Live at Brixton Academy noise-fest, and features a bizarre blend of live instrumentation and spoken word pieces from various songs.Aside from ATR members Alec Empire, Carl...
(DHR 1996) - Live in Philadelphia Dec. 1997Live in Philadelphia Dec. 1997Live in Philadelphia Dec. 1997 is a live album by Atari Teenage Riot. The CD version was distributed with certain pressings of 60 Second Wipeout...
(DHR 1998) - Live at Brixton AcademyLive at Brixton Academy (Atari Teenage Riot album)Live at Brixton Academy is a live album from German digital hardcore group Atari Teenage Riot, recorded and released in 1999. The album was recorded while they supported Nine Inch Nails on tour, and contains no songs from any of the past albums, just harsh, white noise...
(DHR 1999)
Singles/EPs
- "ATRATR (Atari Teenage Riot song)"ATR" is a song by Atari Teenage Riot, released as their first single in 1993. It was later included on their debut album Delete Yourself!.-Track listings:CD version#"ATR"#"ATR" #"Midi Junkies"...
" ("Atari Teenage Riot") (Phonogram 1993) - "Kids Are United E.P.Kids Are United E.P.Kids Are United E.P. is an EP by Atari Teenage Riot. The title track is based upon the Sham 69 song "If the Kids Are United".-CD:#"Kids Are United" - 3:38#*Written by J...
" (Phonogram 1993) - "Raver Bashing" (split with "Together for Never" by Alec Empire) (Riot Beats 1994)
- "Speed/MidijunkiesSpeed/Midijunkies"Speed/Midijunkies" or Midijunkies/Speed is a single by Atari Teenage Riot...
" (DHR 1996) - "Deutschland Has Gotta Die!" (Grand Royal 1996)
- "Not Your Business E.P.Not Your Business E.P.Not Your Business E.P. is a release by Atari Teenage Riot featuring the song "Not Your Business".-Song:The song was also released on Kids Are United E.P., The Future of War and Burn, Berlin, Burn!. In addition, the radio version was released on Redefine the Enemy - Rarities and B-Side Compilation...
" (Grand Royal 1996) - "Destroy 2000 Years of CultureDestroy 2000 Years of Culture-CD version:Limited to a pressing of 500 copies. There is an unlisted bonus track on this CD version which sounds like an instrumental version of "Paranoid".Pressings:* Digital Hardcore Recordings, catalog number: DHR MCD 15...
" (Interdord 1997) - "Paranoid" (split with "Free Satpal Ram" by Asian Dub FoundationAsian Dub FoundationAsian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...
) (Damaged GoodsDamaged Goods (record label)Damaged Goods is a British independent record label and online shop.- History :Damaged Goods started in 1988 from a living room in east London.Ian Damaged called it DamagedGoods. The first release was a re-issue of the 1977 single by Slaughter and the Dogs, "Where Have All the Bootboys Gone?"...
1997) - "Sick to Death" (DHR 1997)
- "Atari Teenage Riot IIAtari Teenage Riot II"Atari Teenage Riot II" is the title of a song by the band Atari Teenage Riot from their album, 60 Second Wipeout, and released as a single in 1999.-Track listing:Side A#"Atari Teenage Riot II" - 6:08#"Ghostchase" - 4:35Side B...
" (DHR 1999) - "Revolution Action E.P.Revolution Action E.P.Revolution Action E.P. is a release by Atari Teenage Riot. "Revolution Action" was also the name of a tour and live various artist release titled Revolution Action Japan Tour 1999 EP.-Other releases:...
" (DHR 1999) - "Too Dead for Me EPToo Dead for Me EPToo Dead For Me EP is an EP by Atari Teenage Riot released in 1999 on CD and as a 12" vinyl record. "Revolution Action /[Noise#3]" and "No Remorse [Live In New York 1999]/[Noise #1]" were both re-released on Redefine the Enemy - Rarities and B-Side Compilation 1992-1999, in their entirety but the...
" (DHR 1999) - "Rage E.P.Rage E.P.Rage E.P. is a release by Atari Teenage Riot. Although the title of the release is "Rage E.P.", it only contains versions of the song "Rage", so it is similar to a single except the release did not coincide with a full length album release...
" (DHR 2000) - "Activate" (DHR 2010)
- "Blood in My Eyes" (DHR 2011)
- "Black Flags" (DHR 2011)
Other recordings
- "No Remorse (I Wanna Die)" (SlayerSlayerSlayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
vs. Atari Teenage Riot) on Spawn: The Album (Sony 1997) - "Sex Law Penetration" on OrgazmoOrgazmoOrgazmo is a 1997 comedy film written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the animated series South Park, and directed by Parker.-Plot:...
(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Nickelbag 1998)
External links
- Atari Teenage Riot official site
- Official Digital Hardcore Recordings site
- Atari Teenage Riot biography at DigitalHardcore.com
- Atari Teenage Riot at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- ATR's John Peel Session 1999 at BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...