Surgeon

One of the pioneers of the Birmingham sound, U.K. techno artist Anthony Child has built a solid and innovative catalog of minimal dancefloor techno under the name Surgeon. Compared favorably with Detroit original Jeff Mills from his earliest Downwards singles on forward, Child’s tracks were a mainstay in the popular Motor City DJ’s sets. A trio of classic late-’90s full-lengths for Tresor (Basictonalvocabulary, Balance, and Force + Form) incorporated industrial and Krautrock influences into hard, driving techno. He continually pushed the limits of analogue equipment with increasingly complex releases on his own Dynamic Tension label, including 2011′s Breaking the Frame and 2018′s Luminosity Device. He returned to Tresor in 2023 with Crash Recoil, a more direct album inspired by his live performances.
Surgeon’s entry into production was also noteworthy; urged on by producer Mick Harris (Child was a fan of Harris’ Scorn project), the former Napalm Death drummer locked Child in his tiny studio, imploring him to “go mad.” The result, the self-titled debut EP, was released on Downwards in 1994, and was instantly hailed as some of the highest quality U.K. techno of its time. Releases for Soma, Blueprint, Ideal Trax, and the ultra-exclusive Tresor label followed, with the debut LP Communications appearing on Downwards in 1996. He then released a trilogy of well-regarded full-lengths on Tresor: Basictonalvocabulary (1997), Balance (1998), and Force + Form (1999). Equally influenced by early electro-pop innovators like Tomita and YMO, experimental groups like Can, Faust, and Suicide, and the tough grit of American electro and techno (Robert Hood, Hashim), Surgeon’s sound was both straightforward and subtly experimental.
Throughout the following decade, Child remained steadily active, issuing one proper full-length (2000′s Body Request) and numerous 12”s. Dynamic Tension and Counterbalance, two labels he established during the late ’90s, became the outlets for much of his solo production work — which was as stripped-down and challenging as ever — as well as his collaborations with Karl O'Connor as British Murder Boys. He remained an in-demand DJ and provided commercial mixes for Warp (2007′s This Is for You Shits) and Fabric (2010′s Fabric 53). His sixth album, Breaking the Frame, appeared on Dynamic Tension in 2011. Surgeon unexpectedly opened for Lady Gaga on her 2014 #ARTRAVE tour, wearing a Coil T-shirt and performing with Gaga’s regular opening act, Lady Starlight.
After two experimental albums under his given name (2013′s The Space Between People & Things and 2015′s Electronic Recordings from Maui Jungle, Vol. 1), and a 2015 box set of the three albums he released on Tresor (Tresor 97-99), Child released his seventh Surgeon full-length, From Farthest Known Objects, in 2016. The following two years saw Child tour using his modular setup, allowing for completely improvisatory sets. By the time he released his 2018 full-length, his sets began to reflect the material from that album; Luminosity Device drew inspiration from Bardo Thödol — better known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead — and was released through Dynamic Tension. Two Raw Trax EPs appeared on Dynamic Tension in 2019. The Drexciya-influenced The Golden Sea was released by Ilian Tape in 2020, with Europa Code appearing on the same label soon after. Scoundrel, a collaboration with Reeko, appeared on Mental Disorder in 2023. The full-length Crash Recoil marked Surgeon’s return to Tresor after nearly 25 years, and contained studio versions of tracks developed for his live performances. ~ Sean Cooper & Paul Simpson