Digital Poodle was an
electro-
industrial/
EBM band, based in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formed in 1986 and remained active until about 1995.
Background
Formed in 1986 by vocalist/programmer Heiki Sillaste (aka Mouth 392), the project was considered Toronto's answer to the established
Vancouver-based industrial acts like
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...
, and
Front Line Assembly. Digital Poodle's sound can be best described as
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
/
techno mixed with European
Electronic body music
Electronic body music (acronymized to EBM) is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of industrial music and synth-punk with elements of disco and dance music. It developed in the early 1980s in Western Europe as an outgrowth of bo ...
(EBM) and occasionally skirting experimental and ambient soundscapes. Sillaste's lyrical themes and choice of
audio sampling typically covered the ending of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, as well as the following political independence struggles in the
Baltic states and Eastern Europe.
Digital Poodle originally released a series of
cassette tape
The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens ...
demos and full release albums on Sillaste's own Shadow
recording label. The first CD release was "Work Terminal" in 1992, which was distributed in North America under the
Death of Vinyl label and in Europe on Germany's
Hyperium Records label. The band's final release was the "Combat!" EP in 1997, which contained mainly remixed material from previous releases.
Other Digital Poodle studio members have included keyboardists
Pupka Frey (of the band
D.I.N.) and
Reduct. Keyboard players
Jean-Claude Cutz
DIN (or D.I.N.) was a music project founded by Ontario-based composer Jean-Claude Cutz of Digital Poodle. Under his moniker Cutz released two albums for DOVe, ''Fantastic Planet'' and ''Decade of the Brain'', and a re-recorded version of his debu ...
and
Dave Rout were also associated with the band. Post Digital Poodle, both joined a later configuration of
Rational Youth. Live shows of Digital Poodle featured the drummer/percussionists
Kristian Helstrom
Kristian is a name in several languages, and is a form of Christian.
Meaning in different languages
The name is used in several languages, among them Albanian, Slovak, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Bosnian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Cr ...
and
Andreas Gregor
Andreas Gregor (born 27 April 1955) is a retired German rowing coxswain who had his best achievements in the coxed fours. In this event he won a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics as well as three world titles in 1977, 1978 and 1982. He won anoth ...
.
In 1995, Sillaste co-founded the
Nice+Smooth Ultramedia label and has gone on to create 45 synthesizer-based albums and 120 compilation appearances. He has worked on other music projects in the genre of
electronic dub,
down beat, and house/techno music such as
Kinder Atom Kinder is the German word for "children"; it may also refer to:
Businesses
*Kinder, a trademark of Ferrero, an Italian confectioner:
** Kinder Surprise
** Kinder Chocolate bars
**Kinder Happy Hippo
**Kinder Bueno
** Kinder Joy
*Kinder Morgan Ene ...
and
Lazer Caps Lazer may refer to:
* An incorrect spelling of laser, an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
* An antiquated term for a person with leprosy.
* Lazer, Hautes-Alpes, a commune in southeastern France
* Panther Lazer, ...
, and is an accomplished
graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...
. He has also worked on music and sound for television shows such as ''
CSI: Miami'' and commercials for
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
.
[Heiki Sillaste's user profile on Nice+Smooth.com]
On July 15th 2022, Digital Poodle reunited for a one-off performance as part of the Bombshelter Records' 35th anniversary event. Original members Heiki Sillaste, Kristian Helstrom, Andreas Gregor, and Dave Rout took part in a 5 song set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4AQv0lsX8Q
Discography
Compilation appearances
* ''Instrumental'' CS - side B, track #5 "Uncivilized World" (Plan Eleven)
* ''Death of Vinyl'' CD - track #15 "Broadkast III" (DOVe, 1991)
* ''"Gárgula Mecânica" World Electrostatic Assembly'' CD - track #12 "Binary" (Simbiose, 1992)
* ''… To Hypersonic - The Hyperium Compilation Part II'' CD - track #8 "Free Men" (Hyperium, 1992)
* ''Hy! From Hypnotic To Hypersonic'' 2xCD - disc 2, track #8 "Free Men (Extended)" (Hyperium, 1992)
* ''Metro Tekno'' CD - track #1 "Work Terminal (U.S. Mix)" and track #2 "Free Men (Extended)" (Silent, 1992)
* ''Love Ta Love Ya Baby: An NMS '93 Dance Compilation'' LP - Side B, track #3 "Work Terminal" (New Music Seminar, 1993)
* ''Death of Vinyl Revolutions Vol. 1'' CD - track #7 "Crack" and track #8 "Output Expander" (DOVe, 1993)
* ''Grid Slinger'' LP - side A, track #4 "Crack" (Re-constriction Records, Cleopatra 1993)
* ''Industrial Revolution - Second Edition'' 2xCD - disc 1, track #11 "Division" (Cleopatra, 1994)
* ''Trance In Your Mind - The Unstoppable Trance Machine'' CD - track #4 "Crack (Free Base Mix)" (Cleopatra, 1994)
* ''Ambient Rituals Exercise One: Music For Soul Braiding'' CD - track #5 "Weapon" (Hyperium, 1995)
* ''Doom & Gloom/Visions of the Apocalypse'' CD - track #6 "Head of Lenin" (Kado, 1995)
* ''Enchantments'' CD - track #1 "Head of Lenin (Remix)" (Cleopatra, 1995)
* ''Industrial Revolution Second Edition'' VHS - "Work Terminal" video (Cleopatra, 1996)
* ''Nekrology'' CD - track #5 "Funkass" (Konsortium Produktions, 1996)
* ''Industrial Madness'' 4xCD - disc 3, track #5 "Red Star" (Cleopatra, 1997)
* ''Industrial Mix Machine'' 2xCD - disc 1, track #11 "Left/Right (Incarnate Mix)" (Cleopatra, 1997)
* ''Gothic Industrial Madness'' DVD - video "Work Terminal" (Cleopatra, 2000)
* ''Goth - The Ultimate Collection'' 2xDVD - disc 1, video "Work Terminal" (Cleopatra 2002)
* ''TDK 016'' 12" - side B, track #2, "Crack" (TdK, 2005)
References
External links
Digital Poodle Discography at Discogs.comHeiki Sillaste's profile at Radio3Nice+Smooth Ultramedia - recording label and visual media company co-founded by Heiki Sillaste
{{Authority control
Canadian industrial music groups
Musical groups established in 1986
Musical groups from Toronto
Musical groups disestablished in 1995
1986 establishments in Ontario
1995 disestablishments in Ontario