Following the one-two punch of ‘Man With Potential’ and ‘Pro Style’ for Type Records, Pete Swanson returns to his deformed warehouse techno sound with ‘Punk Authority’. After leaving cornerstone US noise duo Yellow Swans, Swanson made it his mission to pull apart the techno genre by the seams. This four-track stomper for Software Recording Co. is by far his most damaged solo offering to date.
With a sly nod to Police Academy, ‘Punk Authority’ launches into a barrage of debauched, regressive noise punctuated by the kind of beats you’d more readily expect to find on an Underground Resistance 12”. Using a deceptively simple synthesiser/tape setup, Swanson siphons his club constructions through a hoarse mix of saturation and overdrive, resulting in something aggressive yet foot pushing. The track might have the kind of surface grit you’d expect to come across on a hand-painted cassette tape, but at its heart is a vomited pulse half-heard through a Stuttgart toilet stall. Swanson has possibly re-tooled a genre to fit his needs, and this ‘Punk Authority’ is probably his chance to really crack his bare knuckles. It’s out March 11.
Swanson is currently on an extensive European tour, landing on bills with Raime, Lee Gamble and Mark Fell. Check the remaining dates below:
15th January - Portland Arms - Cambridge, UK
17th January - Ateliers Claus - Brussels, BE
18th January - Le Bourg - Lausanne, CH
20th January - Ecurie De L'ilot 13 - Geneva, CH
21st January - Spazio Concept - Milan, IT
22nd January - Sonic - Lyon, FR
24th January - Kulturzentrum K4 - Nuremberg, GE
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