delta machine music

January 14, 2008 8:39 AM

Is there such a thing as industrial-blues?

I'm looking for blues-based music with metal/industrial sounds, sort of what Al Jourgensen and Robert Johnson jamming would sound like, with KMFDMuddyWaters as a warm-up act.
Does such a beast exist? Slide guitars a definite plus.

posted by signal to media & arts (16 answers total)

You might like R. L Burnside as produced by Fat Possum records. Some YouTube stuff. These don't sound like the Fat Possum versions, though. - maybe someone else has a link where you can hear the sound they achieved. Also, have you checked out North Mississippi AllStars?
posted by Miko at 8:49 AM on January 14, 2008 [1 favorite]

Not exactly what you're after, but when I saw the term 'industrial blues' Petit Vodo immediately sprang to mind, though I guess he's more 'rough, loud, dirty and distorted blues'. (Well worth seeing live - he's a one man band who plays guitar, mouth organ, drums, synths and samplers simultaneously, without it seeming like a novelty).
posted by jack_mo at 8:51 AM on January 14, 2008

Actually, after refreshing my memory by listening to the snippets streamed from this page, Petit Vodo probably is exactly what you're after...
posted by jack_mo at 8:54 AM on January 14, 2008

Some Foetus sounds like this.
posted by kpmcguire at 9:14 AM on January 14, 2008

2nding the Burnside stuff, especially stuff which features DJ Swamp. Occasional Ministry tracks (I'm thinking of their version of 'Friend of the Devil,' but there are others) approach this territory. And, further afield, this kind of thing is in kind of a similar area as what some No Wave artists were going for--Lydia Lunch (including collaborations w/Mr. Foetus, whose name escapes me right now), James Chance, etc. Even further afield, you might enjoy Jon Spencer's various projects, and Michael Gira/Swans stuff.
posted by box at 9:23 AM on January 14, 2008

hm. maybe little axe might fit this bill?
posted by lester's sock puppet at 10:32 AM on January 14, 2008

Howsabout very early Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, with Blixa Bargeld from E. Neubauten on board?
posted by hackly_fracture at 10:39 AM on January 14, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO9My5_H6dg
16 Horsepower
posted by andrewzipp at 11:00 AM on January 14, 2008

Since you mention Jourgensen, you probably already know about Reverend Horton Heat. Is that too much rockabilly and not enough blues?
posted by salvia at 12:04 PM on January 14, 2008

Yea, if you like North Mississippi Allstars, you might want to check out Spencer Dickinson (the first track is available to hear there, bottom of the menu on the left.
posted by opsin at 2:00 PM on January 14, 2008

You might check out Buddy Guy's "Sweet Tea" too, especially if the Burnside stuff floats your boat. It's heavy, drone-y, repetitive, with gritty production and a surprising amount of drum treatment. So you wouldn't mistake it for industrial, exactly — if nothing else, the surface details are different: warmer, more organic sound; unmistakeably bluesy solos — but they've got some traits in common.
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:01 PM on January 14, 2008

There's also a lot of the more recent Tom Waits stuff you could describe as Industrial Blues, I'm talking about the albums Real Gone, Mule Variations, Bone Machine, etc. Lots of interesting stuff going on with the percussion.
posted by kpmcguire at 2:13 PM on January 14, 2008

In a completely different vein, you might be interested in Arto Lindsay's guitar work, which has this special sort of ugliness that's midway between electric blues and avant-garde noise rock. Marc Ribot would be another guy to look out for in that department.

(I was going to mention Tom Waits, but on preview, kpmcguire's covered it. Anyway, yes, those three albums are all good suggestions. FWIW, Ribot's guitar sound is a big part of Mule Variations, so checking that album out might be a two-birds, one-stone kind of thing.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:18 PM on January 14, 2008

Even more far afield, and not really what you're looking for but something you might like, there are quite a few '60s experiments that might be up your alley. I'm thinking of Muddy Waters' Electric Mud and Albert Ayler's New Grass, but there are others along these lines.
posted by box at 3:21 PM on January 14, 2008

More randomly, I saw a gent called Hat Fitz a blues festival in Ireland. He's Australian, gritty, and plays some serious, driving, manic slide blues. Definately worth a look on the Myspace.
posted by Joe Rocket at 3:58 PM on January 14, 2008

Also google for Psychobilly.
posted by softlord at 4:58 AM on January 15, 2008