B12 (band)
Encyclopedia
B12 are a British
electronic
music duo consisting of Mike Golding and Steve Rutter. First appearing in the early 1990s under a variety of monikers, including Musicology, Redcell and Cmetric, the duo were often mistaken as hailing from Detroit, their sound being comparable to the so-called second wave of Detroit Techno
. This was compounded by the signature style of their initial releases on their own imprint B12 Records, limited edition coloured 12" vinyls with cryptic messages etched into the run-out grooves, and the fact that Golding and Rutter tended to shy away from the press, and rarely gave interviews, which added to the mystery of their identities.
Now generally regarded as one of the most important and influential UK electronic
acts of the 1990s, their sound is usually categorized as techno
, ambient techno, and IDM
. Recurring themes of science fiction and futurism can be found in nearly all B12 releases and track names.
sound coming out from Detroit
from artists such as Juan Atkins
and Derrick May. Upon seeing the success of Plus 8 Records
in early 1990, they were inspired to do the same, and in 1991 founded B12 Records as an outlet for the music they and their friends Kirk Degiorgio
(aka As One), and Steve Pickton
(aka Stasis), were producing. Writing under various monikers they released a series of 12" vinyl records, each with a limited run of coloured vinyl, and messages hand-etched into the run-out grooves.
In 1992, B12 appeared on the Rephlex CD The Philosophy of Sound and Machine
, and the seminal Warp Records
Artificial Intelligence Volume I compilation, alongside Aphex Twin
, Autechre
, The Black Dog
, and Richie Hawtin
. A full-length album Electro-Soma
followed in 1993, a compilation of tracks from early B12 Records releases, as part of Warp's continuing Artificial Intelligence
series.
B12 continued to release records on their own imprint, and also released a pair of split releases in conjunction with 'A.R.T. (Applied Rhythmic Technologies)', a label run by their friend Kirk Degiorgio
.
In 1996 their second full length Time Tourist
was released on Warp, with artwork by The Designers Republic
, featuring a painting by Trevor Webb of a futuristic London
. The album contained mostly new material, although the track "Scriptures" had been previously released in 1994 on the Artificial Intelligence II
compilation.
Both Electro-Soma and Time Tourist were re-released in the United States
on the Wax Trax!
/TVT
label.
Also in 1996 B1215 (the unlucky 13th release on B12 - cat. numbers 12 and 13 were never used) was pressed, but only a handful of white label promo copies were ever released. This was to be the last release on B12 Records for over a decade. Due to the limited numbers pressed of each release, original B12 vinyl is highly sought after by collecters and can change hands for very large amounts of money.
In 1998, 3EP was released on Warp Records, a tribute to Jazz musicians Dave Brubeck
, Joe Morello
, and Ron Carter
(each track was named after them). The EP was not released in the United States. After 3EP's release, B12 retracted from public space without explanation, and were not heard of or seen again until 2005.
A number of poor-quality illegal bootlegs of old B12 material began circulating in late 2004, claiming to be represses. Obviously not cut from the original plates (they were missing the etched messages in the run-out grooves), it is thought they were probably taken from recordings of the old vinyls, or ripped from CD. Whether or not this was the reason B12 reappeared is not known.
In 2005, Golding & Rutter announced they were re-starting B12 Records, and would be making available the complete back catalogue, remastered, on a 12 disc CD box set (thought by many to be the missing B12-12 cat. number). They began playing live shows again, and a new Redcell track, fittingly titled Back From The Edge appeared on a highly limited CD series on Seed Records
.
In June 2007, the full release of 1996's B1215 and new material B1216 was announced, staying with the limited edition coloured vinyl format with etched messages in the run out grooves.
In May 2008, B12 released their 3rd album (their first album in 12 years) called Last Days Of Silence.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
electronic
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
music duo consisting of Mike Golding and Steve Rutter. First appearing in the early 1990s under a variety of monikers, including Musicology, Redcell and Cmetric, the duo were often mistaken as hailing from Detroit, their sound being comparable to the so-called second wave of Detroit Techno
Detroit techno
Detroit techno is an early style of electronic music beginning in the 1980s. Detroit, Michigan has been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson...
. This was compounded by the signature style of their initial releases on their own imprint B12 Records, limited edition coloured 12" vinyls with cryptic messages etched into the run-out grooves, and the fact that Golding and Rutter tended to shy away from the press, and rarely gave interviews, which added to the mystery of their identities.
Now generally regarded as one of the most important and influential UK electronic
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
acts of the 1990s, their sound is usually categorized as techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, ambient techno, and IDM
Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...
. Recurring themes of science fiction and futurism can be found in nearly all B12 releases and track names.
Band biography
Golding & Rutter met in the late 1980s through a mutual appreciation of the technoTechno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
sound coming out from Detroit
Detroit techno
Detroit techno is an early style of electronic music beginning in the 1980s. Detroit, Michigan has been cited as the birthplace of techno music. Prominent Detroit Techno artists include Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson...
from artists such as Juan Atkins
Juan Atkins
Juan Atkins is an American musician. He is widely credited as the originator of techno music, specifically Detroit techno along with Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson...
and Derrick May. Upon seeing the success of Plus 8 Records
Plus 8
Plus 8 is a Canadian techno record label, based in Windsor, Ontario and founded in 1990 by DJs Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva. Initial releases were by the pair themselves and their friends using aliases such as States of Mind and Cybersonik, along with other Detroit-based musicians such as...
in early 1990, they were inspired to do the same, and in 1991 founded B12 Records as an outlet for the music they and their friends Kirk Degiorgio
Kirk Degiorgio
Kirk Degiorgio, better known as As One, is a British techno producer and DJ. Born in the late 60s in Stepney, east London, and raised in Suffolk, he started producing music in the early 90s. He founded the labels A.R.T. Records and Op-Art Records and releases on them as well as B12 Records, R&S...
(aka As One), and Steve Pickton
Steve Pickton
Steve Pickton a.k.a. Stasis is a UK based electronic-techno musician, producer and sound engineer. He started with a release on B12 Records under his Stasis moniker. After that, he released quite a number of 12”es and albums on several labels as Stasis, Paul W. Teebrooke, Phenomyna and The...
(aka Stasis), were producing. Writing under various monikers they released a series of 12" vinyl records, each with a limited run of coloured vinyl, and messages hand-etched into the run-out grooves.
In 1992, B12 appeared on the Rephlex CD The Philosophy of Sound and Machine
The Philosophy of Sound and Machine
The Philosophy Of Sound And Machine was a compilation CD released on the record label Applied Rhythmic Technology in cooperation with Rephlex. The album is unique due to the Aphex Twin tracks, which were produced under various aliases...
, and the seminal Warp Records
Warp Records
Warp, commonly referred to as Warp Records, is a pioneering independent British record label, founded in Sheffield in 1989, notable for discovering some of the more enduring artists in electronic music....
Artificial Intelligence Volume I compilation, alongside Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
, Autechre
Autechre
Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums...
, The Black Dog
Black Dog Productions
The Black Dog was founded by Ken Downie along with Ed Handley and Andy Turner. Widely regarded as legends, the group are pioneers who, along with acts like Autechre, Aphex Twin, µ-ziq and LFO, came to define the techno movement known as intelligent dance music in the early 1990s.-Early career:In...
, and Richie Hawtin
Richie Hawtin
Richard Hawtin is an English-Canadian electronic musician and DJ who was an influential part of Detroit techno's second wave of artists in the early 1990s and a leading exponent of Minimal techno since the mid 1990s...
. A full-length album Electro-Soma
Electro-Soma
Electro-Soma is an album released by B12 in 1993. It was originally part of Warp's Artificial Intelligence series. The album features some tracks which had previously been released under different aliases, including Musicology, Redcell, and Cmetric...
followed in 1993, a compilation of tracks from early B12 Records releases, as part of Warp's continuing Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (series)
Artificial Intelligence is a series of albums by Warp Records released from 1992–1994 to exhibit the capabilities and sounds of electronic music. Warp described the new music as "electronic listening music" to clarify that it was meant more for the mind than the body...
series.
B12 continued to release records on their own imprint, and also released a pair of split releases in conjunction with 'A.R.T. (Applied Rhythmic Technologies)', a label run by their friend Kirk Degiorgio
Kirk Degiorgio
Kirk Degiorgio, better known as As One, is a British techno producer and DJ. Born in the late 60s in Stepney, east London, and raised in Suffolk, he started producing music in the early 90s. He founded the labels A.R.T. Records and Op-Art Records and releases on them as well as B12 Records, R&S...
.
In 1996 their second full length Time Tourist
Time Tourist
Time Tourist, or TimeTourist, is an album released by B12 in 1996 on Warp. The inventive packaging for the album makes it appear as if TimeTourist is an educational computer game written in a dystopian year 2166 and which looks back on the late 20th century as a primitive and quaint time in the...
was released on Warp, with artwork by The Designers Republic
The Designers Republic
The Designers Republic was a graphic design studio, founded on 14 July 1986 by Ian Anderson, and based in Sheffield, England. It was known for its anti-establishment aesthetics, while simultaneously embracing brash consumerism and the uniform style of corporate brands, such as Orange and Coca-Cola...
, featuring a painting by Trevor Webb of a futuristic London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The album contained mostly new material, although the track "Scriptures" had been previously released in 1994 on the Artificial Intelligence II
Artificial Intelligence II
Artificial Intelligence II was a compilation album released on Warp Records on 30 May 1994. The album is the eighth and final release in Warp's Artificial Intelligence series.-2xLP and cassette version:2xLP and cassette...
compilation.
Both Electro-Soma and Time Tourist were re-released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on the Wax Trax!
Wax Trax! Records
Wax Trax! Records was an independent record label in the United States. Wax Trax! began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado opened by Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher. They sold the store in 1978 and, in November of that year, opened a new one under the same name at 2449 North Lincoln Avenue in...
/TVT
TVT Records
TVT Records was an independent US record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 25 year history the label released some 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, Underworld, The KLF, Sevendust, Brian Jonestown Massacre and...
label.
Also in 1996 B1215 (the unlucky 13th release on B12 - cat. numbers 12 and 13 were never used) was pressed, but only a handful of white label promo copies were ever released. This was to be the last release on B12 Records for over a decade. Due to the limited numbers pressed of each release, original B12 vinyl is highly sought after by collecters and can change hands for very large amounts of money.
In 1998, 3EP was released on Warp Records, a tribute to Jazz musicians Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck
David Warren "Dave" Brubeck is an American jazz pianist. He has written a number of jazz standards, including "In Your Own Sweet Way" and "The Duke". Brubeck's style ranges from refined to bombastic, reflecting his mother's attempts at classical training and his improvisational skills...
, Joe Morello
Joe Morello
Joseph Albert Morello was a jazz drummer best known for his 12½-year stint with The Dave Brubeck Quartet. He was frequently noted for playing in the unusual time signatures employed by that group in such pieces as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo à la Turk"...
, and Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
(each track was named after them). The EP was not released in the United States. After 3EP's release, B12 retracted from public space without explanation, and were not heard of or seen again until 2005.
A number of poor-quality illegal bootlegs of old B12 material began circulating in late 2004, claiming to be represses. Obviously not cut from the original plates (they were missing the etched messages in the run-out grooves), it is thought they were probably taken from recordings of the old vinyls, or ripped from CD. Whether or not this was the reason B12 reappeared is not known.
In 2005, Golding & Rutter announced they were re-starting B12 Records, and would be making available the complete back catalogue, remastered, on a 12 disc CD box set (thought by many to be the missing B12-12 cat. number). They began playing live shows again, and a new Redcell track, fittingly titled Back From The Edge appeared on a highly limited CD series on Seed Records
Seed Records
- Seed Records 1972-1981 :Seed Records was a record label started by Paul Clark in 1972. The label ran until circa 1981, when he started Minstrel's Voyage Music...
.
In June 2007, the full release of 1996's B1215 and new material B1216 was announced, staying with the limited edition coloured vinyl format with etched messages in the run out grooves.
In May 2008, B12 released their 3rd album (their first album in 12 years) called Last Days Of Silence.
Discography
| Title | Format | Label | Catalog number | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musicology (recorded as Musicology) | EP | B12 Records | B1201 | 1991 | Ltd. run of 650 black vinyl, 300 clear vinyl |
| Space Age EP (recorded as 2001) | EP | B12 Records | B1202 | 1991 | Ltd. run of 700 black vinyl, 300 orange vinyl |
| Outlook (recorded as Musicology) | EP | B12 Records | B1204 | 1992 | Ltd. run of 500 black vinyl, 500 green vinyl |
| Redcell (recorded as Redcell) | EP | B12 Records | B1205 | 1992 | Ltd. run of 700 black vinyl, 300 purple vinyl |
| Hall of Mirrors (recorded as Musicology) | EP | B12 Records | B1206 | 1992 | Ltd. run of 700 black vinyl, 300 yellow vinyl |
| Retreat From Unpleasant Realities (recorded as Redcell) | EP | B12 Records | B1207 | 1992 | Ltd. run of 200 black vinyl, 150 red vinyl, 150 blue vinyl |
| Interim Outerim (recorded as Redcell) | EP | B12 Records | B1208 | 1993 | Ltd. run of 700 black vinyl, 300 white vinyl |
| Electro-Soma Electro-Soma Electro-Soma is an album released by B12 in 1993. It was originally part of Warp's Artificial Intelligence series. The album features some tracks which had previously been released under different aliases, including Musicology, Redcell, and Cmetric... |
Album | Warp Records | WARPCD09 | 1993 | part of the Artificial Intelligence series |
| Prelude | Compilation | B12 Records | B1209 | 1993 | Ltd. 500 copies CD, 500 copies cassette. |
| Cmetric (recorded as Cmetric) | EP | B12 Records | B1210 | 1994 | Ltd. run of 900 black vinyl, 100 pink vinyl |
| untitled (recorded as Redcell) | EP | B12 Records / ART Records | B1214.1 | 1995 | Split release with A.R.T Records |
| untitled (recorded as Redcell) | EP | B12 Records / ART Records | B1214.2 | 1995 | Split release with A.R.T Records |
| Time Tourist Time Tourist Time Tourist, or TimeTourist, is an album released by B12 in 1996 on Warp. The inventive packaging for the album makes it appear as if TimeTourist is an educational computer game written in a dystopian year 2166 and which looks back on the late 20th century as a primitive and quaint time in the... |
Album | Warp Records | WARPCD37 | 1996 | |
| 3EP | EP | Warp Records | WAP102 | 1998 | |
| Practopia EP (recorded as Redcell) | EP | B12 Records | B1215 | 2007 | 1st edition ltd. run of 700 black vinyl, 300 red vinyl 2nd edition ltd. run of 500 black vinyl |
| Slope EP | EP | B12 Records | B1216 | 2007 | 1st edition ltd. run of 700 black vinyl, 300 blue vinyl 2nd edition ltd. run of 500 black vinyl |
External links
- b12records.com - official B12 Records website
- obsolete.com/b12 - old B12 Records website