Front 242
| Front 242 | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Aarschot, Belgium |
| Genres | EBM, industrial, electronic, techno |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Another Side, Red Rhino Europe, Animalized, Wax Trax!, Epic, XIII Bis Records, Alfa Matrix |
| Associated acts | Cobalt 60, C-Tec, Revolting Cocks |
| Website | www |
| Members |
Jean-Luc De Meyer Daniel Bressanutti Patrick Codenys Richard Jonckheere Tim Kroker |
| Past members | Dirk Bergen Jean-Marc Pauly Pierre Pauly Kristin Kowalski Eran Westwood John Dubs Jean-Marc Lederman |
Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they were a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.
Front 242 were formed in 1981 in Aarschot, near Leuven, Belgium, by Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen, who wanted to create music and graphic design using emerging electronic tools. The first single, "Principles", was released in 1981. The front part of the name comes from the idea of an organized popular uprising; the number "242" was chosen because it's "just sort of a design work". Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc De Meyer had separately formed a group called Under Viewer at around the same time, and the two duos joined together in 1982. Bressanutti, Codenys and De Meyer took turns on vocals at first, until they settled on De Meyer as the lead vocalist (early recordings with Bressanutti on vocals were subsequently released in 2004). De Meyer came to write most of the lyrics and Valerie Jane Steele also wrote several tracks including "Don't Crash".
Their next single, "U-Men", was released in 1982, followed by the band's first album Geography that same year. In 1983, Dirk Bergen left the band to pursue graphic design, and Richard Jonckheere, referred to as Richard 23, joined as vocalist.
Front 242 became a popular musical group in Belgium. Their next album, No Comment, released in 1984, was the first to introduce the term electronic body music in association with their sound. Front 242 signed with the Wax Trax! label in 1984, and started their first tour in the United States with Ministry. This tour led to the creation of Revolting Cocks by Richard 23, Luc Van Acker, Alain Jourgensen of Ministry and others.
In 1987, Front 242 signed with Wax Trax! Records in the U.S. and Red Rhino in Europe, and released Backcatalogue and Official Version.
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