Nettwerk To Reissue Influential Skinny Puppy EPs On Vinyl
September 18, 2017 BY Nettwerk
“They’ve influenced musicians across almost every contemporary genre.” – Metal Hammer
“Skinny Puppy’s early stuff on Remission and Bites is excellent electro-pop. ‘Glass Houses’ is a creepy dark-wave disco track.” – FACT Magazine
Drawing from the pioneering work of artists like Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, and Suicide, seminal electronic/avant-industrial group Skinny Puppy exploded onto the music scene with 1984’s Remission, fusing elements of new wave, techno, film-noir, and innovative sampling. Lead by cEvin Key and Nivek Ogre, the band quickly garnered a loyal international fanbase and followed up their new success with 1985’s Bites, which produced their first underground hit, “Assimilate.” Restored to their original track listing and design, Remission and Bites will be made available on vinyl for the first time in over 25 years via Nettwerk on October 13th. You can pre-order the LPs at your local record stores and online retailers including Rough Trade, Norman Records, and Amazon.
As pioneers of industrial-rock and electro-industrial, over the years the band continue to influence a broad spectrum of artists. From Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Filter, to Grimes, Yannis Philippakis (Foals), Crystal Castles, Youth Code, etc. They all took inspiration from Skinny Puppy’s unique sound and infamous live performances.
Skinny Puppy formed in 1982 from the partnership of cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton) and Nivek Ogre (Kevin Ogilvie) in Vancouver, Canada.
Key was dissatisfied with the pop direction of his then current band Images in Vogue and began Skinny Puppy with the intention of doing something more raw and experimental. The duo recorded their first self-released cassette Back & Forth in 1984, with help from Dave “Rave” Ogilvie. This was the beginning of a long partnership between Skinny Puppy and Rave, who would serve as their producer until 1993, again in 1995, and was occasionally listed as a member of the band in album liner notes. Back & Forth drew the attention of record label Nettwerk, who signed the band later that year.
The dark electro-pop styles of the debut EP, Remission, and first album Bites the following year, earned the band a fervent fan base. This era saw the creation of such now-immortal underground hits as “Assimilate”, “Smothered Hope,” “The Choke,” “Dead Lines,” “Last Call,” and “Far Too Frail”.
Remission and Bites reissues will be available October 13th via Nettwerk.
