Information Society

Information Society emerged as a dance-oriented ensemble drawing from industrial music, techno, and funk while maintaining a keen pop sensibility. Formed in Minneapolis as a quartet, the band comprised James Cassidy, Paul Robb, Kurt Harland (also known as Kurt Valaquen), and Amanda Kramer. A few years later they signed with Tommy Boy Records and cut a self-titled debut album. The 1988 single “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” became their breakout hit, propelled into clubs and eventually to number three on the pop charts by a Leonard Nimoy sample and Valaquen’s smooth, assured vocals. Later that year “Walking Away” also reached the Top Ten, and the album attained gold-certified status. Kramer exited shortly afterward to record with the Golden Palominos, 10,000 Maniacs, and under her own name.

The group’s sophomore album proved competent yet largely overlooked, much like the underappreciated follow-ups from EMF and Jesus Jones, as critics dismissed them as one-hit wonders. A few singles received only modest chart attention. After the third album, 1994’s Peace & Love, Inc., both Robb and Cassidy departed. Harland continued alone, signing with the Cleopatra label to release the industrial-tinged Don’t Be Afraid in 1997 and the remix album InSoc Recombinant in 1999. He then turned to video game music, working with publishers such as Crystal Dynamics and Electronic Arts.

Activity stayed quiet until the band appeared on VH1’s Bands Reunited in 2004, though Kurt opted out. Amanda Kramer had already joined the Psychedelic Furs. A handful of shows featuring Harland, Cassidy, and Robb took place in 2005 before Harland stepped away, remaining a silent fourth member while endorsing a 2006 lineup fronted by vocalist Christopher Anton. That configuration recorded the 2007 album Synthesizer, but Anton left by the end of 2009 and Harland soon returned. The band issued Hello World in 2014 on Robb’s Hakatak label and backed it with a world tour. In 2016 they released the all-covers album Orders of Magnitude, featuring songs originally performed by Human League (“Don’t You Want Me”), Devo (“Beautiful World”), and the Sisters of Mercy (“Dominion”).