Before Portland's Meat Beat Manifesto show I got to hang out with project founder, Jack Dangers. I wanted to get some information while I tried to figure out how Meat Beat Manifesto managed to do cool shit for 20 years without flashing the pan...

Like Andy Partridge of fellow Swindon band, XTC, Dangers grew up listening dub and reggae on the radio. With an interest in new sounds, it wasn't long before he began to hear the music coming out of Chicago in the mid 80's. "It really was amazing how in one city there were the monumental house and industrial movements occuring at the same time without much overlap."

The initial idea for the Meat Beat was to bring in elements of distorted bass and beats blending it with elements of hip hop. Sound familiar? Well a few years later, 40 miles away, Trip Hop exploded in Bristol. Soon their band's music evolved to show of the Chicago House influence Dangers heard as a kid, and in the early 90's the bands and their recordings were were associated with the likes of Orbital. - After moving to SF and signing to Nothing Records, the group found themselves in the heart of the electronica scene, making music not far from classic Chicago industrial.

MBM's newest album, Autoimmune, dropped last week on Metropolis Records. And it truly is Meat Beat Manifesto circling full circle back to their early influences by creating a cross of dubstep and their signature distortion. And though Dubstep is not a new genre, it is picking up some major steam in the US and Meat Beat Manifesto has managed to exist as trendsetters by finding a way to keep the roots and goals of the project true while mixing it with contemporary styles. It's this formula that's kept Meat Beat Manifesto in a state of contact evolution for twenty years.

Meat Beat Manifesto - "Return To Bass"

Check them out on tour:
Apr 19 - Chicago, IL - The Abbey
Apr 21 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
Apr 22 - Buffalo, NY - Showplace Theater
Apr 23 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace
Apr 24 - Boston, MA - Middle East
Apr 26 - New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
Apr 27 - Washington DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
Apr 28 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
Apr 29 - Atlanta, GA - Smith’s Old Bar
Apr 30 - Orlando, FL - The Social
May 02 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
May 03 - Austin, TX - Club Deville
May 04 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre
Photos taken at Portland Show