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The Apple of their Creative Eyes: Front 242 on Macs

By Joshua Rotter
October 2005

Amid plenty of smoke and red, criss-crossed lights that grew increasingly darker to match the shift from Who Da Funk's electro anthem "Shiny Disco Balls" to Front 242's industrial track "Headhunter" - the chorus of which was recently used by Apple.com to promote the Mac mini - DJ duo Coder 23 tinkered with their Power Mac G3 & G4 laptops on stage before a packed Fillmore crowd in San Francisco last January.

Once the smoke cleared, it became clear that the two men were Richard 23 and Patrick Codenys of the legendary industrial Goth band Front 242, who now spend off-seasons spinning a live DJ set based on decades of electronic music experience, including a wide spectrum of electronic tracks, unique remixes and live sampling.

"It's based on fun," Codenys said. "I've enjoyed after parties for years, so I was already out there having fun. So we decided to put tracks together and find a common ground with different genres. And we don't need motivation to come up with a DJ set."

To perform their sets, Coder 23 started utilizing Power Macs as their storage capabilities increased. "They've been very reliable," the programmer said. "And a one-and-a-half hour show relies on reliability and flexibility."
Describing their music as fat and heavy electronica, 23 and Codenys - currently touring Europe as Front 242 with band members Daniel B and Jean-Luc de Meyer - will soon head stateside for a fall club tour to promote their new 13-track live DVD: "Catch The Men," which showcases their Aug. 2004 Lokeren, Belgium show.
Famous for their electronic body music, Front 242 formed as a quartet in Brussels, Belgium in 1982 with programmers Patrick Codenys, Dirk Bergen, Daniel B. and lead vocalist Jean-Luc de Meyer. That year they debuted with the single "U-Men" and album "Geography" (1982).

After adding Richard 23 (born Richard Jonckheere) on percussions, and losing Dirk Bergen, the band embarked on their first round of touring. The group's sound began to grow more aggressive with the harder-hitting, even menacing "No Comment" (1984) EP.

"In the 1980s, it was difficult to be an electronic music band," Codenys said of the band's change in musical direction. "On record, as in life, we always want balance. And I always liked movies like ‘Bladerunner' and ‘Apocalypse Now' - and I'm also a man of the world and politically conscious. I can't just be happy and crazy. But I also don't want to be pessimistic, because power and energy are important."

By 1987, Front 242 had gained a U.S. contract through Chicago's Wax Trax and released "Official Version" (1987), which contained dark-wave club hits "Masterhit" and "Quite Unusual."

But it was their third LP "Front by Front" (1988) that was the group's most structured and consistent, landing them alternative club hits "Headhunter" and "Never Stop."

Epic Records picked up the band's contract, issuing "Tyranny (For You)" (1991), featuring "Tragedy (For You)," another alternative club hit that picked up rotation on MTV, cementing the band's eminence in industrial music.

"You don't realize you're successful. You just go through it," Codenys explained. "It was annoying. There was too much press. And as a band, you need to create. You need to do what you want. And we had to cope with a big label. It's just business. But the most important thing for us was integrity."

The band next played Lollapalooza before releasing two contrasting LPs, the pop-friendly "06:21:03:11 Up Evil" (1993) and more abrasive "05:22:09:12 Off" (1993).

"At the time, we were caught between doing something disturbing and a pure electronic side," the programmer said. "One side was more guitar-sy and the other was more electronic, and we didn't want to mix them."
Ironically though, as newer industrial bands like Nine Inch Nails finally achieved mainstream success with angst and frenzied guitars, Front 242, the innovators of the genre, reaped none of the benefits with their more subdued sound, so the dual albums flopped.

Still, according to Codenys, Front 242's offerings were equally substantial, even if they were not in your face. "Our albums may have been different, and some caught on and some didn't," he said. "A lot of industrial bands have this point they're trying to make. But there is no need to bash with noise and sounds. Even if you want to be tough, you need to seduce audiences first."

Front 242 remained quiet through their 1997 tour and live album "Re-Boot" (1998). Their next studio album, "Pulse" (2003), was released in CD and DVD formats.

According to Codenys, Front 242 used Mac technology to produce these releases. "We've used Apple computers since the beginning, even before it was common," he said. For recording, the band runs Ableton Live, Cubase, Nuendo and Final Cut Pro software off two G4s and a G5.

"The pros of using Macs are the extreme reliability - they've never crashed - and the good taste design because creative artists call for creative machines," Codenys said. "The cons are some audio software is privileged, like Logic Audio (which handicaps other software users), sound outputs are generally poor because they always need a soundcard, whereas the original graphic cards are great. However, the new machine's audio outputs and audio engines are much better."

Since the pros outweigh the cons for the creative programmer, expect to see even more Mac products on future albums and at shows. "On this tour, we noticed the reliability in running Final Cut Pro with some audio," he said. "As we play live on stage with electronic drums and synthesizers and singers, we need a musical base track from the mixing board. So I believe we will continue to use Final Cut Pro. On stage, the keys will trig two Power Macs with virtual synth/samplers."

And as Front 242 prepare to head out to the U.S., Codenys promised that these ahead-of-their-time hunters will be as innovative musically as they are with their Mac computers.

"We are always looking ahead, because if you only look back, you just sit on your past glories," he said. "We looked for an artistic career, not fame. We innovated in certain fields. And innovators are never celebrated, only followers, because people take time to accept new things. It's like being in a jungle with a machete. You get hurt and wounded, but others can follow very easily."

www.front242.com