
Before Portland’s Meat Beat Manifesto show I was able to to hang out with project founder, Jack Dangers. I wanted to pick his head so I figure out how Meat Beat Manifesto managed to do cool shit for 20 years without flashing the pan…
Like Andy Partridge of fellow Swindon band, XTC, Dangers grew up listening to dub and reggae on the radio. With an interest in new sounds, it wasn’t long before he began to hear the music coming out of Chicago in the mid 80’s. “It really was amazing how in one city there were the monumental house and industrial movements occurring at the same time without much overlap.”
The initial idea for the Meat Beat was to bring in elements of distorted bass and beats blend it with elements of hip hop. Sound familiar? Well a few years later, 40 miles away, Trip Hop exploded in Bristol. Soon MBM’s music evolved and began began to show influence of the Chicago House Dangers heard as a kid, and in the early 90’s the band’s recordings were were associated with rave bands like Orbital. - After moving to SF and signing to Nothing Records, the group found themselves in the heart of the electronica scene, making music not far from classic Chicago industrial. Meat Beat Manifesto has always in the right place at the right time.
The new album, Autoimmune, dropped last week on Metropolis Records. And it truly is Meat Beat Manifesto moving full circle back to their early influences by creating a cross of dubstep and their signature distortion. And though Dubstep is not a new genre, it is picking up major steam in the US.
Meat Beat has managed to exist as trendsetters by finding a way to keep the roots and goals of the project true while mixing it with contemporary styles in quality production. It’s this formula that’s kept Meat Beat Manifesto in a state of contact evolution for twenty years allowing them to stay brighter than other groups who are now seen as nothing more than a flash in the pan.
Meat Beat Manifesto - “Return To Bass”
Check them out if they’re in your area!:
Apr 24 - Boston, MA - Middle East
Apr 26 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
Apr 27 - Washington DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
Apr 28 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
Apr 29 - Atlanta, GA - Smith’s Old Bar
Apr 30 - Orlando, FL - The Social
May 02 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
May 03 - Austin, TX - Club Deville
May 04 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
—-Photos from Portland show
Direct Order Autoimmune from Metropolis