Front 242 is said to have inspired bands including Nine Inch Nails, and is renowned for creating a new genre of music.
The group returns to Moscow on Saturday, more than two years after its first appearance in Russia, to perform what its members call "elevator music from Hell."
The band was founded in Aarschot, Belgium, in 1981 by Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen, who wanted to find a venue to express their interests in graphic design and music. Around the same time, Jean-Luc De Meyer and Patrick Codenys had come together as a duo called Under Viewer, which folded into Front 242 a year later.
After a few lackluster singles, 1984 saw an album that defined a new sound in electronic music. "No Comment" pioneered what the group called electronic body music, a genre which combined the raw energy of punk with the measured beats of electronic music. Hard dance beats were often mixed with distorted vocals and grunts or growls.
Front 242 gained widespread popularity in Belgium, and its fame spread after Wax Trax, an indie label based out of a record store in Denver, released their music in the United States.
By 1991, they were signed by Sony Music, which released their records "06:21:03:11 Up Evil" and "05:22:09:12 Off" in rapid succession in 1993.
The albums featured a harder sound, which was said to have influenced Nine Inch Nails, and some purely instrumental tracks. The latter record also boasted contributions by an array of new musicians, including noted female vocalist Kristin Kowalski.
"Up Evil" and "Off" were commercial flops, however, and Sony dropped the band. In the mid-1990s, the group went on hiatus and its members pursued side projects. They returned in 1998 with a European tour and a live album, though they haven't repeated their earlier success. The band's most recent studio album, "Pulse," is mellower than previous releases, and is notable for its use of electronic beeps and feedback.
Front 242 played in Russia for the first time in April 2005, when they headlined at Mekhanika, a club in a warehouse that doubles as a car tune-up shop. That concert almost didn't go off as planned.
Without explaining why, promoters roped off concertgoers into pens like those used for cattle. The band was late on stage, and fights erupted in the audience.
This time, Front 242 is appearing in a more intimate setting at Apelsin, and the audience will likely not be cordoned into cages.
Front 242 will play Sat. at 8 p.m. at Apelsin, located at 15 Malaya Gruzinskaya Ulitsa. Metro Krasnopresnenskaya. Tel. 253-0253.
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