Atari Teenage Riot provided a refreshing blast of Teutonic noise and black-leather punk to the hideously urbane techno scene in the mid- to late-’90s; it was all wide-legged pants and chin-stroking twiddlers like Aphex Twin and the Orb. ATR was abrasive, German and loud, given to using lots of exclamation points in song titles and led by über-handsome anarchist Alec Empire. Empire was aided and abetted by Japanese/German noise artist Nic Endo (think proto-Lisbeth Salander) and certifiable nutjob MC Carl Crack (who died in 2001 of a drug overdose; nothing to say about that), comprising a trio that would have never been allowed to enter the U.S. post-9/11. The group also happened to be about a decade ahead of the times, so it’s only fitting that ATR is back, recently signed to Dim Mak and now featuring Kanye West/Nine Inch Nails collaborator MC CX Kidtronik. The group just embarked on a North American tour; check out new single “Activate!” below.
“Activate!” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/Activate.mp3
