Nobody invented this electropunk thing. No city can claim it (though New York certainly tries). Its simply what happens when you take a generation of bored teens and twentysomethings - raised on hardcore punk, British techno, Nintendo, and Doritos - and place cheap digital recording technology within their grasp. Next thing you know, you've got a million zillion half-rock, half-electronic, cyborg bands thrashing out one MP3s after another of ragged, jagged synthesizer pop and giving it away for nothing on their websites. Nobody asked for some big record labels permission heck, most of them didn't even pay for the software they're using - they're just doing it for the hell of it. Because theres no excuse for boredom when you've got computers and guitars.
If that ain't punk, I don't know what is.
And while I said no city owns the electropunk movement, the kids in the Twin Cities are definitely ahead of the curve. Maybe its because they had Prince to show them the way of the synthesizer, and Hüsker Dü to teach them how to make a big noise in the underground. Or maybe its just because, with the weather being as cold as it is, they spend more days locked inside with their instruments and their PCs, while those of us in sunny L.A. and temperate Chicago are down at the beach. Don't ask me why all I know is that, everywhere you turn in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, theres another band mixing punk attitude and electronic noises in bitchin' new ways.
So here you have it, the Twin Cities Electropunk Compilation Series. Thus far, we're at fifty-five tracks of raging, Technicolor techno-punk from the Great White North. Lap it up, love it, copy it, give it to all your friends, or throw it away. Then go get a computer, a CASIO, and microphone and start your own scene. Hey, if it can happen in Minnesota, it can happen wherever you live, too.
You can download all Twin Cities Electropunk compilations by right clicking the links below and hitting "Save Target As...". Enjoy!
Mondocane MNdustrial Showcase OBCT, Amdeide, Reverend John Wheeler, Mercy Kill April 5th 2008 @ Club Underground 355 Monroe - NE Minneapolis $5.00 - 9:00 p.m. - 21+ www. clubunderground. us
SHOW! My BAND'S having a SHOW! Come to my SHOW! You'll all love my SHOW! You'll all love my BAND! The only thing better than my BAND is my BAND'S SHOW! The only thing better than my BAND'S SHOW is NOTHING! NOTHING is better than my BAND'S SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fargo's First Annual WINTER BLOWS! Show is next Friday at Red Raven Espresso Parlor, located at 14 Roberts Street (Downstairs). This show is ALL AGES. $5. $1 off if you print out a flyer and present it at the door.
2 amazing industrial / electropunk / dance groups from Minneapolis, MN called MACH FOX and THOSQUANTA will be headlining the first annual WINTER BLOWS! show. Check out these sites to hear music from the two headliners, Mach Fox and Thosquanta.
I'm announcing the first.... WINTER BLOWS! 2007 show..... January 12th @ Red Raven. MACH FOX and THOSQUANTA from MINNEAPOLIS, MN are the announced headliners.. More bands TBA. All Ages. $5.