Factory Floor | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Combining post-punk, industrial, and dance in equally hypnotic and abrasive ways, Londons enigmatic Factory Floor garnered comparisons to greats like Joy Division and Throbbing Gristle soon after they formed in 2005. However, when the band added vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Nik Colk Void, Factory Floor truly began crafting its signature style of hard-hitting beats, minimalist synths, and android-like vocals. On 2013s self-titled album and 2016s 25 25, they perfected a pared-down yet subtly shifting repetition that frequently reached transcendent heights. Factory Floors first lineup included drummer/vocalist Gabriel Gurnsey, guitarist/percussionist Mark Harris, and keyboardist/bassist/vocalist Dominic Butler. In 2008, the Factory Floor trio released its limited-edition debut single "Bipolar," and followed it later that year with the Planning Application EP, which featured former KaitO singer Nik Colk Void on guest vocals. Harris left Factory Floor and formed the electronic duo Shift Work, and Void joined the group as a full-time member. In 2009, the Japanese release Talking on Cliffs arrived. After signing to Blast First, the bands busy 2010 included the March release of the "Lying" single, which featured a remix of the song "Wooden Box" by Joy Division/New Order drummer Stephen Morris, and the arrival of their critically acclaimed debut mini-album, Untitled, in May. That September, they contributed a remix to Grindermans second album. In 2011, Void collaborated with Throbbing Gristles Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti as Carter Tutti Void; the trio made their debut at Mute Records Short Circuit Festival (their performance was released as 2012s Transverse). Later that year, Factory Floor made their DFA debut with the single "Two Different Ways," which showcased a more streamlined, overtly danceable take on their hard-hitting repetition; another single, "Real Love," appeared on Optimo. Factory Floor continued work on its full-length debut in 2012 while in residency at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, where the trio collaborated with artists including Dan Tombs and Peter Gordon. During this time, Colk Void released the single Gold E, a limited-edition release made out of polyurethane plastic resin intended to warp and distort over time, thus changing its sound. Early in 2013, the "Fall Back" single preceded the release of Factory Floor in September. Following the albums release, Butler left the group, with Colk Void and Gurnsey continuing Factory Floor as a duo. The following year, the band issued a series of remix EPs for the single "How You Say" that included reworkings by Helena Hauff, Daniel Avery, Bookworms, and Gunnar Haslam. Factory Floor also collaborated with visual artist Mirza on "/o/o/o/o/," a single commemorating his show at the Lisson Gallery. To make Factory Floors second album, Colk Void and Gurnsey experimented with different gear, with the goal of making more flexible and mobile music. In 2016, Factory Floor released the tracks "Dial Me In" and "Ya" before the arrival of their second album, 25 25, that August. A year later, the group released the 25 25+5 EP, which included remixes by Klara Lewis, Charles Manier, and Jlin. Gurnsey and Colk Void then took some time to pursue solo projects. Gurnseys acid house-influenced debut album Physical appeared in August 2018 on Erol Alkans Phantasy label. Meanwhile, NPVR, Colk Voids collaboration with Editions Mego founder Peter Rehberg, released its debut album that January; that July, she issued Recollection Pulse #3, a demo of a piece she performed with the orchestra collective s t a r g a z e earlier in the year. In October 2018, Factory Floor released Soundtrack for a Film, a score for the classic 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis that was commissioned by the London Science Museum, on the duos own Heart of Data label. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 9 Title: Planning Application Released: 2008-10-13 Tracks: 5 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Taxidermist (?) 2 Post Is Here (?) 3 Francis, Francis (?) 4 Felt Suit (?) 5 I Was Always Wrong (?) |
 | Album: 2 of 9 Title: Talking on Cliffs Released: 2009-06-24 Tracks: 7 Duration: 28:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 I Just Left These as Attempts (04:15) 2 Lalalala La La (02:21) 3 Far Away and Gentle Now (04:41) 4 Taxidermist (edit) (03:10) 5 50.000 Particals of Grey Ash (04:24) 6 View Too Much (03:53) 7 TMAOTW (05:30) |
 | Album: 3 of 9 Title: [untitled] Released: 2010-03-22 Tracks: 4 Duration: 34:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Lying (04:57) 2 16-16-9-20-1-14-9-7 (10:02) 3 A Wooden Box (08:24) 4 Solid Sound (10:42) |
 | Album: 4 of 9 Title: J P N Released: 2012-06-20 Tracks: 8 Duration: 1:02:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 A Wooden Box (08:24) 2 Solid Sound (10:42) 3 Lying (04:57) 4 16-16-9-20-1-14-9-7 (10:02) 5 Lying (Chris Carter mix) (05:31) 6 A Wooden Box (Stephen Morris mix) (08:51) 7 (R E A L L O V E) (07:21) 8 (R E A L L O V E) (Optimo remix) (07:10) |
 | Album: 5 of 9 Title: Factory Floor Released: 2013-09-09 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:10:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Turn It Up (06:13) 2 Here Again (08:07) 3 One (00:46) 4 Fall Back (07:22) 5 Two (01:03) 6 How You Say (06:25) 7 Two Different Ways (08:13) 8 Three (01:41) 9 Work Out (06:34) 10 Breathe In (06:36) 1 Green (05:32) 2 Pink (06:32) 3 Blue (05:08) |
| Factory Floor : Allmusic album Review : During the three years between their critically acclaimed Untitled EP and their self-titled debut album, Factory Floor did a lot of changing and growing. The band drew plenty of comparisons to post-punk and industrial greats in their early years, and collaborations with luminaries such as Chris Carter, Stephen Morris, and Peter Gordon didnt do much to dissuade them. A shift away from the grimy, pulsating sound the band forged on "A Wooden Box" and "Lying" was inevitable, but the leap they make on Factory Floor is as startling as it is exciting. While the blank rawness of their early work -- something their like-minded contemporaries never quite captured as well as they did -- is missed, the way they replace that bleakness with an even more challenging kind of sleekness is something of a triumph. Though Factory Floor is self-produced, its easy to hear why DFA Records released it: songs like "Two Different Ways" -- which was also the groups first single for the label -- harness the machine-like repetition that is the heart of their sound to a percussion-heavy, more overtly danceable feel that suggests Factory Records as well as the bands literal industrial roots (their home base is in one of North Londons sweatshop districts). The albums harshly lit sound makes the most of Factory Floors key elements: stark, seemingly endless beats, a few atmospheric synths, and the equally wild and robotic vocals of Nik Colk Void. All of these dazzle on "Fall Back," another single the band released before this album and the one that suggested just how drastic their evolution was. A viciously sleek showcase for Voids taunting vocals and the almighty beat, it sets the tone for even more brutally spare workouts like the album opener "Turn It Up," which takes the trios fondness for expansion and repetition to a trance-inducing extreme. Indeed, even with the brief palate cleansers "One," "Two," and "Three," Factory Floors lengthy, droning grooves are so mantra-like that its almost disorienting when "Breathe In" comes to a close. Worth the three years it took to materialize, this is a strong, assured debut that shows Factory Floor can build on their influences in a way that feels fresh. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 9 Title: How You Say Released: 2014-04-15 Tracks: 3 Duration: 23:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 How You Say (Gunnar Haslam remix) (07:57) 2 How You Say (Invisible Conga People remix) (06:47) 3 How You Say (Daniel Avery remix) (08:27) |
 | Album: 7 of 9 Title: 25 25 Released: 2016-08-19 Tracks: 8 Duration: 55:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Meet Me at the End (08:26) 2 Relay (05:26) 3 Slow Listen (07:45) 4 25 25 (05:04) 5 Dial Me In (06:30) 6 Wave (08:57) 7 Ya (07:05) 8 Upper Left (06:04) |
| 25 25 : Allmusic album Review : With each of their releases, Factory Floors evolution has come through subtraction; removing sounds -- and sometimes, members -- has allowed them to change and grow at a rapid rate. The groups second album, 25 25, is its first as a duo, with Gabriel Gurnsey and Nik Colk Void using the pared-down equipment of their live shows to create minimalist tracks that are more agile and seamless than ever. At times, 25 25 makes Factory Floor seem downright lush. Even the fuller-sounding tracks such as "Dial Me In," which resembles a svelter version of "Fall Back," are much sparser than what came before. As Factory Floors music has gotten starker, its also gotten harder to place: Theyve fused their disco, house, industrial, and techno influences into an ultra-stylized approach, while the post-punk that dominated their early work has been sublimated into an edgy willingness to play with dance traditions. Gurnsey and Void do so seamlessly and organically, thanks to 25 25s tightly restricted palette of taut beats topped with witty percussion, slurred, processed vocals and the occasional flash of a synth. Theres nothing to get in the way of the groove -- the one area where Void and Gurnsey havent cut back. The title track rides on the beat for almost two minutes before the whiff of a melody appears, while "Wave" defines the albums relentless momentum. The duo makes every sound and mood count, imbuing the music with nuances that reveal themselves with lengthy repetition. The gritty, percolating "Slow Listen" seems to arrive in full swing, immersing listeners in detailed interplay that gives the track a live feel even if Factory Floor have jettisoned the guitars and drum kit. Meanwhile, "Upper Left"s bassline and vocals wobble like its the end of the night and the beats cant prop them up any longer. Despite, or perhaps because of, the ruthlessness with which Factory Floor have hacked away at their music, the main emotion on display on 25 25 is a dry sense of humor. Voids arch vocals are one of the main conduits for this wryness, whether theyre dueling with a tart synth motif on the aptly named "Relay," admonishing listeners to "work work work" with ultimate detachment on "Meet Me at the End," or evoking a jaded German robot on "Ya," one of the albums most engaging and amusing highlights. In its own claustrophobic, expansive, debauched, and sardonic way, 25 25 proves that less truly is more for Factory Floor. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 9 Title: 2525+5 Released: 2017-08-03 Tracks: 5 Duration: 37:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Dial Me In (club mix) (07:14) 2 Work It Out (10:19) 3 Ya (Klara Lewis remix) (09:30) 4 Relay (Charles Manier remix) (05:57) 5 Wave (Jlin remix) (04:08) |
 | Album: 9 of 9 Title: A Soundtrack for a Film Released: 2018-10-12 Tracks: 17 Duration: 2:29:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Metropolis (10:51) 2 Beneath (03:50) 3 Run (01:44) 4 Father (09:52) 5 Identity Switch (09:11) 6 Circuit Senses (11:33) 7 Babel (12:40) 8 Cave (03:44) 9 Wonder (05:15) 10 Suspicious (06:49) 1 Transform (11:04) 2 Heart of Data (07:16) 3 Find (03:21) 4 Up Rise (19:44) 5 Flood (09:38) 6 Become (12:43) 7 End (09:38) |