The Edge Interview

From InSocPedia

A basic background of the group with a synopsis of the albums, sprinkled with a few good quotes by Kurt, Jim and Paul.

[edit] INFORMATION SOCIETY GETS BACK TO ITS ROOTS

THE EDGE, MORGAN DARK ACADEMY, CHICAGO

by Shannon Silverman

With "Peace and Love, Inc.", the inventive new release from Information Society, one of the sharpest band on the cutting edge (and one of my favorite groups) return totheir techno roots... with electrifying results.

"The sound this time around is more streamlined" remarked Kurt Harland, lead singer oft the trio, along with Jim Cassidy and Paul Robb. "We stayed away from the pop, experimental side, and went for the harder, dance-driven feel... which is what we were doing originally."

"We wrote a lot of material", continued Jim Cassidy. "We tried alot of different directions. We kept refining our approach, taking the energy of our earlier sound and putting a new spin on it. We realised very quickly that there was a real oneness of vision between us."

"Techno Music was what drew us all together", added Paul Robb, "and what attracted our fans. For us, techno has always been our attitude. It's street level, do-it-yourself sound with real underground credentials, like punk or hip- hop. We're just picking up where we left off."

Where this New York-based group left off was with "Hack", their acclaimed 1990 release. Following the over-the-top success of the band's 1988 debut album, "Information Society" (featuring the smash hits "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)" and "Walking Away"), "Hack" found InSoc exploring new avenues, taking chances and generally pusing the extremems. The result was anothe hit, "Think" and a successful international tour, including several stadium shows in Brazil, an area where InSoc has had phenominal success.

"Hack was the record we had to do to keep growing." explains Harland. "We had all sorts of ideas we wanted to try and we needed to give ourselves the room to try them."

"Hack" is truly a grat album, with the music setting a complete atmosphere of what good music should sound like. The songs are varied in musical direction, but each carry a distinct InSoc sound. On of the best songs on it, "Now That I Have You" was never released as a single, but it is a beautiful melting of hip- hop, techno and house into one magnificient dance song. Anotherstandout track is "Slipping Away", one of the most touching "slow" songs that I've heard, and Harland's vocals are amazing.

"It was a great experience" added Robb, "and by the end of itwe were ready to get down to the fundamentals with a whole new attitude."

The fundamentals of Information Society's extraordinary music was forged on the thriving Twin Cities scene in the early 80s, when High School frineds Harland, Cassidy and Robb first joined forces. In 1983, the put together an EP of original material, which contained an early example of the group's high-powered machine-driven sound, "Running". The InSoc originaleventually became a major dance hit on the East Coast and attracted the attention of the folks at Tommy Boy Records (home of Naughty by Nature, Queen Latifa, and Digital Undergroud, among others). The trio's first album for the label was the above mentioned "Information Society", which sent them on their first round of global touring.

"Hack" took Infiormation Society off to a whole new tangent, with it's quasi- conceptual story line and multi-textured sound. By the time the group returned to the studio in late last year to begin writing and recording a new album, they were an enriched and experienced group that followed their instincts back to their source.

The result is "Peace and Love, Inc.", a driving, dynamic and danceable collection of new InSoc originals. Highlighting the title track (which has received major airplay from not only WMPA but stations all around the country), "Peace and Love, Inc." spotlights such standouts as the red-hot 1,000,000 Watts of Love and techno masterpieces "Made to Be Broken" and "Still Here".

With "Peace and Love, Inc." Information Society is back to doing what they do best: fashioning memorable music that mixes man, machine and magic.

Information Society will be playing live here in Chicago at the China Club, Saturday, November 14 with Cause and Effect opening. However, the show is 21-over only.