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Technophobia (Photo courtesy the band)
DC dark electronic duo Technophobia were set to perform at Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Germany this year before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world. Undaunted, Technophobia performs a livestream show at the exact time they were to play WGT — on Sunday, May 31, via Twitch.
Hélène De Thoury of Hante performs at Tiny Cat Music Festival on Aug. 3, 2018. (All photos by Paivi Salonen. Words by Mickey McCarter)
Working Order Records, home to DC’s own synthpop duo Technophobia, held its first Tiny Cat Dark Music Festival to celebrate “dark electronic music” over the weekend at Black Cat. By any measure, the first edition of Tiny Cat was a wild success, drawing 10 bands of remarkably different soundscapes together over two nights of immersive music.
Jonathan Davis (Photo courtesy Press Here)
Jonathan Davis, frontman of Korn, will release his debut solo album, Black Labyrinth, on May 25 via Sumerian Records. Prior to that, he will perform at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Thursday, May 17.
Boy Harsher (Photo by Adriana Iris Boatwright)
Hailing from Northampton, Massachusetts, dark electronic duo Boy Harsher released Country Girl, a new EP, on Oct. 13. Augustus Miller and Jae Matthews then picked up some tour dates, and they perform at DC9 on Sunday, Oct. 29 with DC’s own dark electronic duo Technophobia.
Katherine Petix of Technophobia performs at Black Cat on Aug. 19, 2017. (Photo by Paivi)
Working Order Records, the record label of DC synthpop duo Technophobia, threw a benefit show for House of Ruth at Black Cat on Saturday, Aug. 19, and Paivi got some pix!
Xeno Oaklander (Photo courtesy the artist)
Xeno and Oaklander, the minimal electronic duo from Brooklyn, are teaming up with DC’s own dark pop outfit Technophobia in a benefit for House of Ruth at Black Cat on Saturday, Aug. 19, to help survivors of domestic abuse and homelessness.
The Body performs at Black Cat on Monday, Feb. 27, 2017 (Photo by Paivi).
In a sold-out benefit for Planned Parenthood Monday, Portland metal duo The Body dropped by the Black Cat backstage to entertain alongside a few experimental DC bands.
The Body (Photo courtesy the artist)
Portland experimental metal duo The Body have been pretty active lately, publishing No One Deserves Happiness, their fifth studio album, in 2016 via Thrill Jockey. The Body are visiting Black Cat on Monday, Feb. 27 to perform a benefit show for Planned Parenthood.
Technophobia perform at the Black Cat on Sunday, July 17. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Dark electronic duo Technophobia swept up a bustling crowd and then scattered them in a swirling synth smackdown on Sunday night during a record release party at the Black Cat.
Now available, the Technophobia debut LP, Flicker Out, is a 10-song album that covers quite a lot of ground. My personal favorites on the album are songs like “The Principle” with its soaring vocals and crashing synths. (I keep anticipating the song to break out in Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love” but that’s because it has that sort of catchy interplay between vocals and instruments.)
Steve and Katie Petix of the DC synth duo Technophobia last week launched Working Order Records (WOR), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization “intended to bridge the gap between musician ideology and social impact through limited-release vinyl,” according to the label.
Also based in DC, WOR described its philosophy in a press release Friday, saying, “WOR’s operating model promotes the belief that music is inextricably linked with the potential for positive change. Partnering with artists and bands, WOR leverages their recorded music to help raise awareness and funding for the community-based charities they designate. Each WOR release is a uniquely personal fundraising campaign enabled through limited-run vinyl, with 100 percent of the proceeds from each release given directly to charity.”
In its first campaign, Technophobia itself is stepping up for a release to benefit the nonprofit Life Pieces to Masterpieces (LTMP). The LTMP mission: “Life Pieces to Masterpieces uses artistic expression to develop character and leadership, unlock potential, and prepare African American boys and young men to transform their lives and communities.”
On June 14, WOR will release “Negative Space,” a 12-inch single by Technophobia with remixes by hERETICS iN tHE lAB, Void Vision, and Alter Der Ruine.
Listen to “Negative Space” by Technophobia on YouTube:
WOR will follow up that release with a Technophobia LP, “Flicker Out,” on July 19.
To find out more and to preorder the albums, visit WOR online at http://www.workingorderrecords.org.
For more information on LPTM, visit http://www.lifepieces.org.
