Pitchshifter

British band Pitchshifter started out in the late-’80s industrial underground as aggressive social confronters harking back to the early days of British punk and American hardcore (à la the Minutemen and Dead Kennedys). Pitchshifter signed to Earache in 1992, and their first couple releases — the mini-album Submit (1992) and the full-length Desensitized (1993) — firmly entrenched them in the industrial underground and brought their music to the attention of American listeners. Pitchshifter’s shows used live programming and slides, and further spread their music in the States, though their confrontational attitude almost ensured a lack of commercial airplay. Released in 1996, Infotainment saw Pitchshifter starting to outgrow their industrial roots and explore computer technology in an effort to bring their brand of aggressive social and political awareness to a more mainstream audience. The album is filled with exciting aggression and high-speed techno breaks that were unusual in commercial music. In addition, the band included free samples at the end of the CD, and encouraged listeners to “steal” them for their own use. Pitchshifter toured relentlessly and successfully for the next couple years, playing with the likes of Korn, Tool, Ministry, and even Girls Against Boys, bringing them to the attention of American major label DGC, which signed them in 1997. During this period the band also took a musical leap as evidenced by its 1998 release www.pitchshifter.com, the group’s first on DGC. Filled with an enlightening combination of hard, punky breakbeats veering toward a unique sort of sweaty drum’n’bass, the album is built both on samples and live playing. During the 2000s, recording was sporadic. Early on, the band released Deviant (MCA, 2000) and PSI (Sanctuary, 2002). They reconvened in 2009 to make a new album. ~ Stanton Swihart