Luther Blisset on Laibach and NSK!

Despite some of the Blissets having links to Datacide, Neoism and others, it seems that at least one of the Blissets is able to view Laibach and NSK in a non-doctrinnaire way - "Now, hang on. Think about it a little. For me to admit to being a Laibach fan is not just a detail." Even now, mentioning Laibach in some activist/autnomist circles is a real transgression. In a sense, this is as it should be - if Laibach is ever totally normalised it will be a sign that it has lost its capacity for full spectrum provocation. Still, there's no shortage of authoritarian, knee-jerk responses to this subject, so it's interesting to see a writer from this end of the spectrum attempting to work through the issues (and kudos for pointing out the under-discussed political aspects of Iron Sky). It's a lengthy text that open up some new angles on the subject and while we may not agree with all of it it's a very refreshing text. Read it here...

Laibach Gesamtkunstwerk: Dokument 81-86 Box Set

This deluxe box of rare archive audio and video is available now from Vinyl on Demand. Besides the five LPs, DVD and deluxe artwork there is an extensive booklet edited by Alexei Monroe. There are also exclusive texts from Donald Campbell, Igor Vidmar, Michael Goddard and Aleš Leko Gulič, shedding new light on the social, cultural and political conditions that shaped the first phase of Laibach's activity. 

Talk at Schillerndes Dunkel book launch, Leipzig May 23rd

I.C.R.N. founder Alexei Monroe will give a short talk at this event taking place in the courtyard of Absintherie Sixtina, Leipzig from 11.00. The talk will discuss industrial's relationship to other "dark scenes", on the occasion of the launch of this new German publication edited by I.C.R.N. member Alexander Nym:

www.ploettner-verlag.de/shop/Buecher/-Shop/Sachbuch/Schillerndes-Dunkel::126.html

Monroe has two texts in this major collection, one on Gerechtigkeits Liga and one on Laibach, both appearing in German for the first time.

Industrial morality: a contradiction in terms?

How can anyone involved in industrial music criticise its worst excesses and abuses? The genre was in large part based on the expression of ambivalence, disgust, social tension, and the systematic violation of repressive taboos. Industrial music that does not generate some form of unease or ambivalence, even among its core audience, is simply another form of electronic sound. That we should have reservations about it is essential to its effectiveness and in this context Laibach's statement, "In art morality is nonsense; in practice it is immoral; in people it is a sickness.", is particularly relevant.

Once we accept the value or significance of industrial it is already ridiculous to speak in terms of "morality" in the usual banal sense. If we allowed morality to dictate our aesthetic preferences we would not be following or accepting the existence of industrial culture in the first place. Moreover, a society governed by mainstream morality would be as totalitarian as one governed by the agendas of some openly Fascist industrial groups. So in the context of industrial culture morality is certainly a "nonsense", or at least it is faintly ridiculous to invoke it.

Just as we cannot easily speak of morality in the industrial context, neither can we talk credibly about the “corruption” or “perversion” of a genre that departs from an acceptance or diagnosis of corruption. However, some of us now believe that we can speak about the attempted appropriation and political normalisation of industrial culture by forces that are ultimately as conservative and censorious as the liberal mainstream that industrial producers and listeners find to be so oppressive.

With these issues in mind we want to start a debate to explore some of the questions often posed of industrial and its listeners:

How do you reconcile buying music by or attending shows by acts whose politics you despise but whose aesthetics interest you?

How do you explain to those outside the scene that aesthetic identification or appreciation is not always the same as political identification?

Do you still listen to such acts but refuse to buy their music or watch their shows? Which ones?

Are thre any acts you boycott completely on political grounds? Which ones?

At a time when acts from industrial and related genres as well as their fans remain subject to violent hostility we believe that discussing these issues openly will make a valuable contribution to the debate.

Please add your comments here (bear in mind that for obvious reasons comments are moderated, they will appear here as soon as they are processed...)

Alexei Monroe/ICRN.

I.C.R.N. Member Alexander Nym lectures on NSK in Nuremberg

Alexander Nym will give a multimedia presentation on the work of NSK (Neue Slowensiche Kunst) at the Dokumentation Center in Nuremberg on April 28th at 19.00. Entrance is free and the lecture is in German. It will discuss the traumatic legacies of the Partisan struggle against the Nazi occupation of Slovenia and how NSK has worked through these issues artistically. Details of the lecture can be found here.

Recession, Repression, Regression

Photo © Alexei Monroe

Your tyranny
I was part of
Is now cracking
On every side
And your own life
Is in danger
Your empire
Is on fire

Front 242 - Gripped by Fear

For some time now this 1991 track by Front 242 has seemed increasingly relevant, above all because of the opening line: Recession, Repression, Regression. What better description could there be of the current situation in Britain and beyond? Ever since its emergence in crisis-stricken 1970s Britain, industrial music has had an uncanny knack of putting its finger on present and imminent social, political and economic tensions. Inspired by this we decided to compile a list of tracks which seem especially relevant now. Some of these are from first-wave industrial groups and have found their time yet again. Others are from second and third-wave industrial groups but we have cast the net wider to draw in tracks from related industrialised genres: EBM, Digital Hardcore, Speedcore Techno, 'Rhythm n Noise' and Power Electronics. This is an initial collective list compiled by ICRN friends and members, but it will doubtless grow, particularly as the crisis inevitably intensifies and becomes more severe.

A Challenge of Honour - Here We Go Again

Absolute Body Control - Figures, Is there an Exit?

Alec Empire - Nobody Gets Out Alive!, Burn Babylon Burn

Black Leather Jesus – Manipulating the Masses

Bleiburg - Oil in their Eyes

Brandkommando - Economy of violence, Neokolonializm, War War War, U S Aggression, War and Occupation, Storm in Europe, Suicide, The End

Brighter Death Now – No Tomorrow

Cabaret Voltaire – Kneel to the Boss, This is Entertainment,

Consolidated - Friendly Fascism

Contrastate - The End of History?, Extinction

Coph Nia - Holy War

Cyborg Attack - Blutgeld

Death Funk - The New World Order

DJ 6666 feat. The Illegals - Welcome To The Shit Generation

Fad Gadget - State Of the Nation

Front 242 – Gripped by Fear, Welcome to Paradise

Gerechtigkeits Liga - End of the Present, Controlled Europe

The Grey Wolves - Red Terror Black Terror

Laibach – Wirtschaft ist Tot, Das Spiel ist Aus, Das Ende, Now You Will Pay

Low Entropy - Urban Uprising

Materialschlacht – The End of Depression

Ministry - Fear Is Big Business

Sektion B – The World is on Fire

Severed Heads- Petrol

SOL INVICTUS - Media

Sonic Subjunkies - Railton Road Blues
Test Dept. - 51ST State Of America, Pax Americana

Thorofon – Riotdictator, Digital Human Kontrol, You Vote/ We Choose, Humans As Product

Toroidh - Europe Is Dead

Tyske Ludder - Khaled Aker

Winterkälte – Genetic Imperialism