Test Dept, sometimes credited as Test Department is a British
industrial music
Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...
group from
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, that was one of the most important and influential early industrial music acts.
Their approach was marked by the use of "found" material, re-constructed to better serve their purpose, of making "more" with "less".
History
The group formed in the London suburb of
New Cross
New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, ...
in 1981. The core members of the group were Graham Cunnington, Paul Jamrozy, Jonathan Toby Burdon, Paul Hines and Angus Farquhar.
Other members who played with the group at various times included Alistair Adams, Neil Starr, John Eacott, Andy Cowton, Tony Cudlip, David Coulter,
Liz Ranken, Gus Ferguson, Martin King, Simon Hyde, Russell MacDonald and
KatieJane Garside
Katrina Jane Garside (born 8 July 1968) is an English singer, songwriter, visual artist, and poet. She is known for her dynamic musical projects, which have ranged in style from noise rock to acoustic folk music, folk-influenced, and featured vo ...
. Comedian
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir (born 24 January 1959), better known by his stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, artist, surrealist, musician, actor and television presenter, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer as Reeves & Mortimer. ...
played bass in an early incarnation of the band. The band signed to Some Bizzare Records, a label connected to acts like Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The The, Cabaret Voltaire, PTV, Foetus, and
Swans
Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...
. The slides and film for Test Dept multi-media events were made by visual director Brett Turnbull.
Their discography spans a wide variety of influences and styles, including a collaboration with the South Wales Striking Miners Choir in support of the
miners' strike of 1984. They were particularly notable for complex and powerful percussion, as well as high-energy live performances. Like the German band
Einstürzende Neubauten
(, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments; perc ...
, another Some Bizzare label signing with whom they are often compared, Test Dept used unconventional instruments such as scrap metal and industrial machinery as sound sources;
however, Test Dept's use of these objects was far more rhythmic than was Neubauten's, and was often accompanied by film and slide shows.
The group were noted for large-scale events in unusual site-specific locations, such as Bishopsbrige Maintenance depot at
Paddington station
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...
,
Arch 69 and Titan Arch near
Waterloo station
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...
,
Cannon Street station
Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is on ...
,
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...
and the disused
St Rollox Railway Works in Glasgow.
Test Dept. were also active in the 1980s underground
tape scene with many of their earliest releases being available only on cassette.
The band's album ''The Unacceptable Face of Freedom'' was praised by a music reviewer for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', claiming the album was notable for a "sophisticated use of sound-collage techniques and the helter-skelter momentum of its cyclical rhythms".
In the 1990s, the band's music became less industrial and took on many of the properties of
techno
Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...
. The band's political stance was energised by the passing of the
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights, clamping down on unlicensed ...
.
The band split up in 1997, but its former members have continued to work in the fields of art and culture. Angus Farquhar re-established the ancient
Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
Beltane Fire Festival
Beltane Fire Festival is an annual participatory arts event and ritual, held on 30 April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh.
Historical background
The modern Beltane Fire Festival is inspired by the ancient Gaelic festival of Beltane which began on th ...
, held yearly on the night before/morning of the first of May on
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
's
Calton Hill
Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the ci ...
. Farquhar also formed
NVA, an innovative theatre company specialising in large-scale site-specific events. Cunnington, who suffers from chronic
rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...
, produced a one-man show in 1996 called ''Pain'', recounting his experiences as a sufferer from this condition. Jamrozy works with the performance group C.3.3. Their album, ''Ballad of Reading Gaol - The Cacophonietta'', was released on Cold Spring Records. Gus Ferguson teaches music to orphans in Kathmandu, and young buddhist monks in Northern India.
The core of the original group re-emerged in 2014 to engage with the current cultural and political climate, exploring new ways of expression in a strategic programme of actions. Their large scale film installation 'DS30' utilised Dunston Staiths, an industrial landmark on the River Tyne in Gateshead and was commissioned by AV Festival to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the
UK Miners' strike. The DS30 film from the event then toured former mining community areas in the UK. They subsequently released ''Total State Machine'', a large book documenting their history, via PC Press Publishing in 2015.
The group began playing again in 2014 as Test Dept: Redux the current line up includes Zel Kaute, David Altweger, Charles Poulet, and scales up with additional performers for large scale events these include Ashley Davies, Rob Lewis, Alex Nym and Franziska Anna Faust. Further Test Dept: Redux gigs followed in 2016, including the London gig supported by electro-punks Feral Five. In 2017, the band organized a three day festival titled Assembly of Disturbance, featuring an exhibition of TD manifestos and films ''Culture is Not a Luxury'', Malcom Poynter's sculpture 'Horseman of the Apocalypse', speakers, DJs and other contemporary performers, these included a new TD project - 'Prolekult',
with kinetic sculpture from 'autoPneumatix' and sub sonic frequencies from 'Disinformation'. They released a new album, ''
Disturbance
Disturbance and its variants may refer to:
Math and science
* Disturbance (ecology), a temporary change in average environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem
* Disturbance (geology), linear zone of faults and folds ...
'' as Test Dept, along with their entire back catalogue on the
One Little Independent Records
One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In ...
label in 2018.
Discography
Albums
*''Ecstacy Under Duress'' – 1983
*''Beating the Retreat'' (
Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of ''Some Bizzare Album'', a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, the The, Neu Elect ...
) – 1984
*''Shoulder to Shoulder'' (with South Wales Striking Miners' Choir) Some Bizzare Records – 1985
*''Atonal & Hamburg, Live'' – 1985
*''The Unacceptable Face of Freedom'' (
Some Bizzare Records
Some Bizzare Records was a British independent record label owned by Stevo Pearce. The label was founded in 1981, with the release of ''Some Bizzare Album'', a compilation of unsigned bands including Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, the The, Neu Elect ...
) – 1986
*''A Good Night Out'' – Some Bizzare Records 1987
*''Terra Firma'' – 1988
*''Materia Prima'' – 1989
*''Gododdin'' (with Brith Gof) – 1989
*''Pax Britannica'' – 1991
*''Proven in Action (Live 1990)'' – 1991
*''Totality'' – 1995
*''Legacy
990–1993 The Singles Plus More'' – 1995
*''Tactics for Evolution'' – 1997
*''
Disturbance
Disturbance and its variants may refer to:
Math and science
* Disturbance (ecology), a temporary change in average environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem
* Disturbance (geology), linear zone of faults and folds ...
'' – 2019
References
External links
*
Discogs full release listingTest Dept resourceNVA (Angus Farquhar's post-Test Dept project)Satellitic (Paul Jamrozy's post-Test Dept project)
{{Authority control
British industrial music groups
Musical groups established in 1981
Third Mind Records artists
Some Bizzare Records artists
Cassette culture 1970s–1990s