We are excited to announce that Atari Teenage Riot will be headlining Alt-Fest! It's time to unite and spread the virus!
Of all the bands that sold a million records in the 90s Atari Teenage Riot's reformation in 2010 beckoned the critic's cutting condemnation. A triumphant sellout concert in front of nigh on a thousand rabid fans stopped them in their tracks and instead the blogs were covered with reports of an electrifying return.
Asked how they managed such a startling reinvention Alec Empire described it as a 'software' update, a dramatic change of view drawing from the core of ATR's anger in the 90s but zeroing in on the festering mess that had sprouted from the mouldering problems of the past. Two world tours and a US record deal with Steve Aoki's Dim Mak label brought back old fans and drew new ones into the fold.
Their album Is This Hyperreal? was celebrated as "the ultimate protest album of the google age," dealing with WikiLeaks, Anonymous, Hackers, the freedom the internet brought to the suppressed, censorship, the surveillance state, cyber terrorism and digital decay, a term which describes the disaffected masses abandoning the internet when they realized that it wasn't free but infested with government controls...
So what's next?
Atari Teenage Riot doesn't stand still and has announced ATR 3.0 which features Rowdy Superstar from the UK as a new MC and vocalist.
Alec Empire: "It always annoyed me when journalists described ATR as a 'German techno band' which was never correct. I was always the only 'German' in the group. Nic Endo is from Texas in the US, CX Kidtronik from Brooklyn. Back in the 90s members represented different countries and races each with their own history of repression. Recently we have toured with Rowdy and collaborated on a bunch of tracks - he's perfect for ATR. You can't listen to his solo records and try to foresee how it will fit with ATR. It's interesting that he's the first English member. Britain always played an important role in Atari Teenage Riot's history. We had our first record deal there and the support from John Peel gave us our first major break. We started our label DHR there as Germany was dead to new music then. We need a true voice from Great Britain! The London riots last year, the politics, etc etc ... it is more important than ever to hear a musician who is so close to all that while the musical mainstream doesn't reflect the reality anymore."
