Orphx is a Canadian music duo made up of Rich Oddie and Christina Sealey who perform techno,
industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
and
experimental music.
They have performed worldwide and have numerous releases on CD, vinyl and cassette through
independent music labels such as Sonic Groove, Hands Productions, Hymen Records, and
Hospital Productions Hospital Productions is an American record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages ...
.
History
Orphx was created in late 1993 in the Canadian city of
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
by Rich Oddie, Christina Sealey and Aron West.
["Orphx Insurgent Flows"]
''Exclaim!'', By Marinko Jareb Sep 01, 2006 Their early output was a development of early industrial music and power electronics but they soon began introducing elements of techno, electro and dub. Oddie and West created the Xcreteria cassette label to release and distribute recordings from Orphx and related projects. West left in 1995 to focus on the noise project Tropism. By 1997, Oddie and Sealey were working closely with Germany's Hands label and performing regularly in Europe as part of the "rhythmic noise" scene. Most studio recordings between 1997 and 2008 are credited to Oddie, while more recent recordings are often attributed to both Oddie and Sealey.
Since 2009, Orphx has been working primarily with the Sonic Groove label and has become more prominent within the worldwide techno scene. They have appeared at international festivals and celebrated venues around the world, including Berghain, Berlin Atonal, Katharsis, Khidi, Labyrinth, Movement, Mutek, Rural Festival, Unsound, and Tresor. In 2008, Sealey began experimenting with modular synthesizers, which quickly became a key feature of their live performances and recordings. Orphx was featured in ''I Dream of Wires'', a 2014 documentary on the resurgence of modular synthesizers, and ''Industrial Soundtrack For The Urban Decay'', a 2015 documentary on the history of industrial music.
Orphx have released sixteen albums and numerous singles on cassette, CD, and vinyl, as well as video releases. In recent years, they have created many remixes for other artists including Conrad Schnitzler, Front Line Assembly, Oscar Mulero, Nomeansno, Perc, and Svreca. Existing side projects include Eschaton (Orphx + Ancient Methods), O/H (Rich Oddie + Dave Foster), Oureboros (Rich Oddie + Aron West), and collaborative live performances and releases with
JK Flesh
JK Flesh is a moniker of English musician Justin Broadrick employed for his solo work within electronic music. Broadrick's usage of the title spans back to his work in the 1990s with Kevin Martin in Techno Animal, but he first released a solo s ...
(Justin Broadrick).
Orphx releases are often based around social, political or psychological / spiritual themes. ''Circuitbreaking'' (Hymen, 2004) was a political commentary on economic globalization, ''Insurgent Flows'' (Hands, 2005) was a response to US imperialism in Iraq, and ''Pitch Black Mirror'' (Sonic Groove / Hands, 2016) explored themes of depression and redemption.
The ''Pitch Black Mirror'' album and other recent releases combine industrial techno rhythms with post-punk influences and a more prominent use of vocals
"Pitch Black Mirror"
/ref>
Releases
References
External links
Official website
Discography at Discogs.com
Tropism website
{{Authority control
Canadian electronic musicians
Musical groups from Hamilton, Ontario
Musical groups established in 1994
1994 establishments in Ontario