At the Wall of Transgression: A Whitehouse Retrospective (W/ Xylon Otterburn)

System of Systems

Adam has been re-reading David Keenan's historical biography on the rise of Industrial Music, England's Hidden Riverse, after it was re-published with extended material over the summer. That book primarily looks at the rise and legacies of Coil, Nurse with Wound, and Current 93 (and suspiciously, only passingly mentions Douglas Pearce and Death in June.) There is also, however, a plethora of material dedicated to William Bennett and what led the British artist to create the pioneering power electronics project Whitehouse. Formed by Bennett in 1980 and joined by Philip Best in the '80s and Peter Sotos in the '90s, Whitehouse developed both the sound (throbbing bass, ear searing and abused synths, washed out white noise, brutal and screamed vocals) and content (power, abuse, serial murder, war crimes) of the style that we now call power electronics. Though PE has since given us several iconic artists and acts — Con-Dom, Grey Wolves, Genocide Organ, and Ramleh among them — there is still something about the conceptual rigor, thematic depth, and historical mythos of Whitehouse that makes the group an enduringly fascinating area of study. To discuss the legacy of Whitehouse as well as the philosophy and history of industrial music, Adam and Will converse with friend and noise musician Xylon Genesis Otterburn, back for the second time on the show.

PATREON LINK

SOUNDTRACK Whitehouse "Mindphaser" Whitehouse "Rapeday" Coil "Panic" Whitehouse "I'm Comin Up Your Ass" Nurse with Wound "Two Mock Projections" Whitehouse "Philosophy of a Wife Beater" Current 93 "No Hiding from the Blackbird" Whitehouse "A Cunt like You" Waylon Jennings "Freedom to Stay"

LINKS Whitehouse Bandcamp Susan Lawly Xylon on Instagram: @null_disclosure A Conversation Between William Bennett and Dominick Fernow Buy England Hidden's Reverse