Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Best of 2016 #2: Factory Floor - 25 25 (DFA Records)

It came down to the wire for my #1 and #2 albums of the year. I remember picking them both up in Red Cat Records in late 2016, then listening to both repeatedly. I loved both albums, but Factory Floor ended up losing out. But it's still my second favourite album of 2016.

London's Factory Floor formed in 2005. 25 25 is only their second full length album, and the band has sported numerous remixes and 12 inch singles since they formed. Their style is a mishmash of electronic styles, most of which just aren't featured in modern electronica. First, it draws pretty heavily on hedonistic rhythms of 70s disco, and on their polar opposite, the artistic and dadaist styles of 70s krautrock. Furthermore, the late 80s house and early 90s Detroit dance styles also influence this band quite heavily. Both driving and repetitive, artistic and empty, Factory Floor defy easy categorization.

Some have called the band "post-industrial" and I can get my head around that style. It's nihilistic and hedonistic, it's fun and destructive the same way The Prodigy were. If they were a pure industrial band, they'd be close to Chris and Cosey, a goth-tinged rave-up style of dark electronica.

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