Forward Strategy Group, the Leeds/Edinburgh-based techno duo of Al Matthews and Patrick Walker, are set to release their debut album Labour Division through Perc Trax on 28th May. It follows on from a series of previous releases through the label, as well as through their own label Forward Strategy Group.
The duo’s take on techno isn’t too far from Perc Trax boss Perc’s approach: there’s something definitely British in its genetic make-up, in its rain-soaked, dirt-encrusted minimalism and slightly mechanistic feel. Like many of Forward Strategy Group’s contemporaries, the duo are among a number of British artists picking up the mantle from early industrial music, and creating sounds that are at once structured and very exploratory – a compelling combination. Listen to some of their music at their Soundcloud page.
The album will be released on CD and download, with two 12"s featuring album tracks released before and after the album proper. The first 12" will also feature remixes from Factory Floor, whose own synth-driven, motorik industrial sound is very closely aligned with FSG’s own music and Perc Trax on the whole.
Labour Division will be this year’s only full-length release through Perc Trax, one of our favourite labels of the last year or so, who have recently been responsible for a heap of brilliant techno and dark electronic music. Last year’s full-length was Perc’s own Wicker & Steel, one of our albums of 2011.
