The founding father of provocative German digital hardcore crew Atari Teenage Riot and some of the revered experimental musicians in Europe, Alec Empire has at all times thought of that music has the ability to alter our world, elevate radical consciousness and encourage revolutionary wrestle.
Listed here are 10 data he endorses for soundtracking the battle for a greater tomorrow.
The Final Poets – The Final Poets (1970)
“That is the blueprint for a lot hip-hop, a extremely key file for the style. In the event you hearken to a band like Dying Grips, you’ll nonetheless hear components of the primal, bodily power of this file. The lyrics listed below are so extremely highly effective: it reveals that you simply don’t should be an important songwriter who is aware of all of the chord buildings with a purpose to talk necessary concepts.”
The Impressions – Folks Get Prepared (1965)
“Curtis Mayfield made some unbelievable music. Folks now would possibly hear these songs and surprise why I’m labelling them as songs of revolution, however within the context of the time, this was very radical music and it impressed so many individuals in America.
“Most of the white radio stations in America thought of this Black Panther music, and wouldn’t play it, however now it’s music that Obama utilized in his Presidential marketing campaign. It’s attention-grabbing to me how music can come in several garments. Folks assume revolutionary music have to be loud and aggressive, however that is proof that that’s not the case.”
Meat Beat Manifesto – 99% (1990)
“I don’t assume [MBM mainman] Jack Risks will get sufficient credit score, however his music influenced lots of people on the early rave scene: I do know The Prodigy had been followers. He doesn’t get talked about a lot in articles in regards to the start of rave tradition, however I generally return to this file and marvel at how he was kinda forward of his time. These days, for example, sampling is so accepted and common-place, however should you try the music Meat Beat Manifesto had been making at the moment it’s simply actually attention-grabbing and ground-breaking.”
Merzbow /John Watermann – Brisbane-Tokyo Interlace (1995)
“Merzbow is the godfather of noise. He has made so many albums, like possibly 400 albums, however this is without doubt one of the finest noise data I do know of…and I’ve heard a lot of noise data! [Laughs]. It’s fairly a uncommon file, I believe solely 1000 had been produced, nevertheless it has an actual revolutionary power. Merzbow gave me a replica of this in Japan and I used to be like, Wow! I nonetheless usually embody this in my DJ units.
“Folks generally hear noise data and go, ‘Uh, this feels like my washer performed by a distortion pedal’ however the deeper you get into the noise scene as a musician the more difficult it’s. It’s straightforward to make one noisy, fucked-up file, however to maintain issues evolving and shifting ahead isn’t straightforward.”
Igor Stravinsky – The Ceremony Of Spring (1913)
“This piece of music is so accepted now nevertheless it genuinely impressed a riot when it was first performed, which reveals how highly effective it’s. Confrontation is usually crucial in music and folks shouldn’t shrink back from that: too many musicians now are petrified of shedding followers, however severely guys, generally you simply must push issues. Concern just isn’t a great mindset for musicians – rock n’ roll was not born out of concern. The wonderful dissonant ambiance of this music could make you take a look at the world another way.”

Shizuo – Shizuo vs Shizor (1997)
“This man, David Hammer, has been kinda forgotten about – he died of a heroin overdose in 2011, sadly – so despite the fact that it’s on our label Digital Hardcore, I’m going to say it. This man used to take quite a lot of medicine, however the best way he put samples collectively was actually progressive: I can DJ with it now and folks nonetheless freak out.
“He would usually open up for us in America and after we’d go onstage there would already be riots within the crowd as a result of his music was simply so in-your-face and so fucked up: generally he’d be on LSD and would by chance play two tracks on the identical time, which was much more intense! I do know that the Beastie Boys are big followers of this file.”

Public Enemy – Concern Of A Black Planet (1990)
“Public Enemy are such an necessary group. I do know numerous individuals would nominate the albums earlier than this, however for me, with songs like Combat The Energy and Welcome To The Terrordome, that is the one, that is particular. There’s such rigidity within the music, and such revolutionary spirit. I believe this hasn’t aged: I do know individuals will pay attention now and go, ‘Oh, the beats aren’t like now’, however that’s not what this file is about in my view. It’s a crossover file which drew in quite a lot of rock followers, and if you wish to perceive quite a lot of the racism in America, should you hearken to this file you’ll be able to determine it out. It’ll definitely inform you rather more than a Kanye West file will.”

Underground Resistance – Riot EP (1991)
“This vinyl is fairly uncommon, it’s black guys in Detroit making techno, and so they had been nearly just like the Public Enemy of the techno scene on the time. At this level we had been already doing Atari Teenage Riot in Berlin with super-fast breakbeats and aggressive synths and punk data samples and so they nearly had a really comparable power, however on the opposite aspect of the world. These days the world appears a lot smaller and extra linked, however again then it was kinda a shock to us that somebody in America shared a few of our concepts. I used to see these guys DJ at raves and it at all times felt genuinely harmful, significantly with their militant, offended picture.”

Silver Apples – Silver Apple (1968)
“This is perhaps music for a step earlier than the revolution, sort of a heat up music for individuals! It’s a brilliant necessary album, they had been bringing digital music and rock and psychedelic music at a time when no one actually thought on this method. It nonetheless provokes lots of people after I DJ these items, sure melodies have this dissonance that simply unnerves individuals.”
Winston Edwards & Blackbeard – Dub Convention (Winston Edwards and Blackbeard at 10 Downing Road) (1980)
“Folks usually play reggae at protests nevertheless it’s at all times the ‘Yeaaah, peace!’ stuff, with that laidback, stoner vibe, which really at all times makes me aggressive! However I at all times advocate this file, it’s actually attention-grabbing. It’s a extremely good dub file, with titles like Shake Buckingham Palace Down and Kensington Palace Confusion, however for some purpose it’s tremendous underground: I bear in mind being in Tokyo as soon as and speaking about it to [dub producer and founder of the influential dub label On-U-Sound] Adrian Sherwood and he didn’t find out about it.
“It doesn’t sound like a Jamaican dub file, it was made by Jamaicans in England, and it’s simply actually highly effective. Dub actually brings individuals collectively, and whenever you play music like this at protests it actually connects individuals in a brand new and completely different method.”
