Black Asteroid

Black Asteroid serves as the solo outlet for Bryan Black, who previously gained recognition as half of the industrial techno pair MOTOR. MOTOR leaned on vocal-driven material shaped by the hard-edged EBM approach of Nitzer Ebb and D.A.F., whereas Black Asteroid centers on club-oriented material built from aggressive, distorted techno rhythms that largely omit vocals. Minneapolis native Black held a sound-design position at Paisley Park Studios for Prince and participated in the 1990s industrial outfits H3llb3nt and Haloblack. He formed MOTOR alongside ex-bandmate Olivier Grasset; the pair issued multiple albums via NovaMute, Shitkatapult, and Dim Mak before supporting Depeche Mode on tour in 2009. Black Asteroid first surfaced in 2011 via the CLR-issued The Engine EP, the same label that later put out MOTOR’s Man Made Machine album. Subsequent EPs and remix 12"s appeared on both CLR and Electric Deluxe, among them Black Acid in 2012, Grind in 2013, and Metal in 2014. Black Asteroid has reworked material by Depeche Mode, British Electric Foundation, Marco Bailey, and assorted additional techno artists. Cold Cave vocalist Wesley Eisold contributed to two tracks on the 2014 EP Black Moon. Its title song later anchored a 2016 Pitch Black release that added further mixes plus the previously unheard track “Frantic.” Black Asteroid joined Last Gang in 2017 and issued the single “Howl,” which features Zola Jesus on vocals; the cut formed part of the artist’s first full-length Thrust, an album that also contains several collaborations with Cold Cave.