Factrix

Factrix came together as a post-punk outfit in 1978, its lineup consisting of Joseph T. Jacobs on bass and vocals alongside Bond Bergland, who handled guitars and vocals, and Cole Palme, responsible for electronics and vocals. The final pair had already collaborated with Patrick Miller in Minimal Man. In the manner of their industrial contemporaries across Europe—Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, and Einstürzende Neubauten—the trio expanded standard rock instrumentation through found percussion and tape manipulation. Their consistently dark, experimental approach might have found a natural home on sympathetic imprints such as Mute or 4AD, yet the group’s San Francisco base imposed narrower resources and narrower distribution. Over the course of their five-year existence they issued one single, “Empire of Passion” backed with “Splice of Life,” and two albums: Scheintot in 1981 and California Babylon in 1982, the latter recorded in tandem with Monte Cazazza. Obscurity kept them out of Trouser Press, the era’s definitive underground reference, though Julian Cope stands as their most visible champion. Nearly all of their studio work, supplemented by previously unreleased live material, surfaced on the 2003 Storm label compilation Artifact, issued from Germany.