backandtotheleft

Releases:
"Obsolete" (2004 - 23db Records - #23db-2301) - out of print (currently available on Metropolis Records)
"Campaign for Lowered Expectations EP" - Free release via their MySpace site

Website: http://www.myspace.com/battl

23db's first release was the debut album from Seattle's backandtotheleft. backandtotheleft was formed of ex-members of another Seattle band, Noxious Emotion. Darren Miller, Robert Wilhem, and Fritter had provided musical backing for Noxious Emotion frontman Mike Wimer for many years, touring throughout the country and even treking to Japan. However, Noxious Emotion was soley Wimer's creation musically, and the bandmates got the itch to create something of their own. As they began writing material together, they enlisted the aid of Tom Shear to produce the resulting album, "Obsolete" - a ten track album mixing elements of trance, synth-pop, and EBM. Shear was so impressed by the band's mix of memorable melodies and introspective lyrics, that he offered to release it himself. The album came out in 2004 and proved to be an extremely successful debut for both the band and the label - so much so that it caught the attention of Metropolis Records, who reissued the album in 2005 with Shear's blessing. The band went on to support Assemblage 23 on the US "Storm" tour in 2005. Miller decided to leave the band not long thereafter, and the band began to record a follow-up album with new vocalist Brandon Jerwa of SD6 (also on 23db). Only four tracks were completed before the band decided to call it quits. These tracks were then given away to fans for free on the band's MySpace site as the "Campaign for Lowered Expectations EP"

Sounds Like: Covenant, VNV Nation, Assemblage 23

Current Activites: This project is no longer active.

Nerve Filter

Releases:
"Linear" (2005 - 23db Records - #23db-2302)

Website: None.

Nerve Filter is a side-project of Assemblage 23's Tom Shear. Originally formed in 1995 to break a bout with writer's block, the project actually got tracks released on compilations many years before Assemblage 23, even though A23 had existed for many years prior to that. After tracks on the now-defunct San Francisco label 21st Circuitry Records and some remix work for Scar Tissue and Converter, the popularity of Assemblage 23 took off, and Shear found himself with little time to devote to the project. The only full-length release Nerve Filter had put out to this point was a handful of cassette copies of an album called 'Evasion of Primacy' in 1995. However, following the release of Assemblage 23's "Storm", Shear felt like taking a break from A23, and decided to revive Nerve Filter. In 2005, ten years after the project officially came into being, Nerve Filter finally released "Linear", a ten track collection of brooding electronic instrumentals combining elements of IDM, drum & bass, trance, ambient, and virtually every other electronic sub-genre under the sun . The album was released to almost universal critical acclaim and surprised critics and fans alike who didn't expect Shear to have produced something so different from his main project.

Sounds Like: Architect, Aphex Twin, your mama

Current Activites: This project is no longer active.

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Lost Signal

Releases:
Command Demo (2000 - self-released)
Catharsis (2001 - Inception Records - Out-of-print)
Eviscerate (2006 - 23db Records - #23db-2303)
Catharsis Redux (2008 - 23db Records #23db-D01)

Website: http://www.lost-signal.com

Lost Signal is the one-man project of Philadelphia's Charles Rehill. Formed in the late 90's, Rehill had been working on music for a short time when he put together the 5-track demo entitled "Command". The promise in the demo attracted the attention of the Canadian label Inception Records, who expressed interest in signing the band. However, both Rehill and the label felt an outside producer would be necessary to bring the production level of the band up a bit. Rehill had recently been introduced to A23's Tom Shear by fellow Philadelphian Isaac Glendening of the band Cesium-137, whom Shear had assisted with the recording of a demo. Shear was impressed with the demo, and agreed to produce Lost Signal's debut. The result was 'Catharsis', a 12-track collection of powerful, emotionally driven EBM fueled by soaring melodies, pounding dance beats, and Rehill's world-weary lyrics. Despite a series of mastering and manufacturing delays, the album was released to wide critical acclaim and many were eager to hear what Rehill would do next. Unfortunately, they would have to wait 5 years to find the answer to that question. After a series of personal misfortunes, Rehill sold his equipment and was forced to walk away from the project. Fortunately for us, however, the itch to create music eventually returned to Rehill and he gradually began rebuilding his studio and working on new material. Before he knew it, he had enough material for a full album and got back in touch with Shear to ask him to listen to what he had done for some production advice. Shear was blown away by the new tracks and almost immediately offered to release the new album on 23db Records. In the fall of 2006, "Eviscerate" was released to wide critical acclaim and rapid sales. It was as if the project had never gone away.

The success of "Eviscerate" lead many new fans to ask if the band's long out of print debut would ever be re-issued. Before too long, Shear and Rehill discussed putting the album out again, but with an entirely new mix and mastering job. The result was "Catharsis Redux" a digital-only rerelease of the album with a much cleaner and more current sound.

Sounds Like: Covenant, VNV Nation, Assemblage 23

Current activities: Lost Signal is currently working on the follow-up to "Eviscerate".

SD6

Releases:
Between Noise & Transmission (2007 - 23db Records - #23db-2304)

Website: http://www.sd6online.com

SD6 is the brainchild of Seattle's Brandon Jerwa. Previously a resident of Portland, Oregon, Jerwa fronted a project called Omnibox. The band received attention for their almost house-oriented cover of Eurythmics' "Here Comes the Rain Again" on San Francisco label 21st Circuitry's "Newer Wave Volume 2" compilation, an album that also featured a cover of Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way" from an up and coming band from Pennsylvania called Assemblage 23. Following this, Omnibox released a 7 song EP entitled "Alpha" on the Seattle ADSR label owned by Noxious Emotion frontman Mike Wimer. Omnibox became a fixture in the Pacific Northwest industrial scene and performed live whenever possible. Coincedentally enough, one of these shows happened to be an opening slot for Assemblage 23 when that band was doing a 4-date mini-tour of the west coast after the release of "Failure". Not long afterwards, A23's Tom Shear relocated to Seattle. It was at this time that Jerwa contacted Shear about the possibility of producing the follow-up to "Alpha", which Shear agreed to do. So, in 2002, production began on the follow-up and a handful of tracks were completed. At this time, however, differing preferences for the musical direction for the project had begun to form within the band and the members went their separate ways. Determined to continue, however, Jerwa renamed the project SD6 and, joined by keyboardists Jessica Blackshear & Nicole Edmonds, along with drummer Fritter, he decided to use the completed tracks as part of it. Fate has a funny way of interfering sometimes, however, and Jerwa again had to put the project on hold when he landed his dream gig of writing comic books for the well-known G.I. Joe series. During this time, Jerwa balanced writing the comics with writing more tracks for SD6, and several years after the original tracks had been completed, he brought more tracks to Shear to produce. As had happened in the past, Shear was very impressed by the band's mixture of danceable beats and melodies, emotional lyrics, and especially by Jerwa's extremely professional vocals. As production of the album continued, he approached the band about releasing their debut on 23db Records. The band accepted, and in January of 2007, "Between Noise & Transmission" was released. The album's mixture of synth-pop, industrial, and strong techno elements proved to be yet another success for 23db and the band's fan base is growing by the day.

Sounds Like: Depeche Mode meets Underworld

Current activities: In addition to being nominated for Evening Magazine's "Best of the Northwest" in 2008 , SD6's Brandon Jerwa is concentrating on his comic writing career .

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Burikusu!!!

Releases:
2080 (2008 - 23db Records - #23db-2306)

Website: http://burikusu.net/

Burikusu!!! is the brainchild of Claes Johanson (creator of the critically acclaimed Vember Audio Surge softsynth and former DSP programmer for Ableton Live) and vocalist/lyricist Timothy Nilsson. Musically, the band is a highly technical mix of stuttering rhythms, haunting melodies, and severely manipulated vocals, all the while fearlessly melding elements of IDM, synthpop, hip-hop, experimental, and even straight up pop. The result is an astonishing melange of futuristic beats and forward-thinking programming that gracefully leaps over the cutting edge and bravely forges ahead into previously uncharted terrirtories. Few debuts in recent memory have displayed such staggering originality and technological wizardry while maintaining a sense of melody and accessibility, and dare we say it... fun.

Sounds Like : Modeselektor, Prefuse 73, Kid606, Haujobb, Headscan, Krazy Baldhead, Lassigue Bendthaus/Atom™, Beefcake, Gridlock, and other punishers of CPU’s everywhere!

Current activities: Burikusu!!! has already begun work on new material. They also recently completed a remix for Alter Der Ruin.

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Assemblage 23

Releases:
(Assemblage 23's main releases are available through Metropolis Records in the US and Accession Records everywhere else.)

Early, Rare, and Unreleased: 1988-1998 - Limited Edition of 1,000 (2007 - 23db Records - #23db-2305) - Out of Print - Still available digitally
Early, Rare, and Unreleased: Volume Two - Limited Edition of 1,000 (2009 - 23db Records - #23db-2307)

Website: http://www.assemblage23.com
http://www.myspace.com/officialassemblage23

Assemblage 23 released its debut album, "Contempt" is the fall of 1999, but what many didn't know is that the project had existed many years prior to that. A23's sole member Tom Shear had been making electronic music since the mid-eighties, although this was mainly as a hobby, with the exception of some scattered compilation tracks. Over the years, fans inquired about this early material and asked if it would ever be released. Their answer came when, during the band's 2007 US tour, the first volume of "Early, Rare, and Unreleased" came out. The response was overwhelming, so in February 2009, a second volume of these seldom-heard tracks was released. Both volumes are strictly limited to 1,000 copies, making them an appealing item for collectors. The first volume of rarities is no longer available on CD, but can still be purchased digitally. There are still copies left of the second rarities CD available at the Assemblage 23 Online Store.

Current activities: Assemblage 23 recently completed a new album to be released later in 2009.

T.H.D.

Releases:
Subconscious Drip EP (2009 - 23db Records - #23db-2308)
The Evolution of Our Decay (2009 - 23db Records - #23db-2309)

Website: http://www.myspace.com/totalharmonicdistortionthd

THD made their mark on the scene in the mid to late 90's via a number of very highly regarded album and EP releases through Cleopatra, Pendragon, and Hard Records. They mixed a highly technical sound with a gritty, lo-fi aesthetic dominated by crusty drum loops and layer upon layer of vintage analog synths. The duo disbanded when work forced singer/programmer Shawn Rudiman to move across state. It was at this time that he began to take interest in the Detroit techno scene and ended up releasing several techno-oriented releases under his own name.

Many years later, Rudiman and old friend Tom Shear met up during an Assemblage 23 tour. Rudiman gave Shear a CD full of material he'd been working on in various styles - including new THD tracks. Shear liked what he heard and offered to release it on 23db. The result was Subconscious Drip, a free 10-track EP (download it here) and the full-length The Evolution of Our Decay.

The new material picked up where THD left off, but with a much more developed and assured sound. The grimey urban element was still there in droves, but the sense of melody and song structure was many times more mature. Rudiman has also never sounded so confident as a singer. All together, the elements combine to create a feel perfectly matched to the dystopian themes throughout.

Sounds like: Cabaret Voltaire, Lassigue Bendthaus, Haujobb

Current activities: Rudiman continues to work on his techno-oriented work (and hopefully some more THD!)