Perc’s 2011 album Wicker & Steel is a glimpse of the world that he was beginning to create. His new offering, The Power And The Glory is fierce, uncompromising and in places utterly beautiful.  It greatly expands on his debut, retaining the harsh, industrial spine of Wicker & Steel and decorating it with colour. His album comes out in early February and will prove to be one of the definitive techno records of recent times.

Thomas Gorton: The album titles Wicker & Steel and The Power And The Glory have a real Englishness to them and immediately make me think of the industrial revolution. Choice, the first track on Wicker & Steel even references ‘Englishness’ – are you at all aiming to convey an image of the nation in your music?

Ali Wells: I don’t purposely go out of my way to reference the UK or London, but of course my surroundings, my culture and my upbringing are going to influence what I do. I don’t want to pack my music with references to British culture, but it in the same way I don’t want my music to be mistaken for techno from Berlin, Detroit, Amsterdam etc. Nothing against those scenes, they are part of what I do but they are not where my home or roots are at. I find a lot of music these days really has no geographical base, nothing to ground it. Maybe this is a symptom of the internet age where distant global cultures are so accessible or even DJs and musicians touring so much they lose a connection to their home countries, but I still find it strange. I love it when German or Spanish artists (for example) name their tracks in their native languages; it makes the whole thing seem more authentic and also adds a sense of mystery for people that don’t speak that language.

Thomas Gorton: ‘Industrial’ is a word that is thrown around a lot to describe music but I think that both of your records are so deeply connected to the ghostly, harsh sounds of a factory, albeit with the pulse and heartbeat of a human being. Is the world of industry and labour something that has influenced the sound worlds you create?

Ali Wells: Labour maybe but not really industry. I was brought up in Hertfordshire, a part of the UK not known for its industrial heritage and now I live in London, where there is very little manufacturing any more, especially the type that you associate with large scale plants and factories. The idea of labour is more interesting and is something (Perc Trax artists) Forward Strategy Group have touched upon a few times in the past. What is work or labour in this day and age? Moving a mouse around a website to buy and sell stocks (if you get it right) to make more money than working a 50-hour week of hard physical labour, now that imbalance is interesting to me. It is just commerce and business I guess. A football player earning more than a nurse etc. We live in a capitalist society so financial worth will always be held above social worth and I can’t see that changing in the near future.

Thomas Gorton: The Power And The Glory has expanded on Wicker & Steel by retaining that backbone of industrial sounds whilst adding more melodic elements. Was that something that you felt was missing from the first record and wanted to implement when you came round to making the second one?
Ali Wells: It is more to do with confidence. I don’t have traditional music theory training so I always shy away from melodies and attempting anything too complex such as multiple harmonies and lead lines tying in with chord sequences etc. I am starting to get better at that but it is still very hit and miss for me. Also, generally I hate overly melodic dance music. Anything that is added to cheaply trigger some sort of predictable emotional response or anything that hints at musical virtuosity puts me off in seconds, which is a reason why so much overly technical IDM music leaves me cold. I did not think the last album needed more melodic elements but at the same time with The Power And The Glory I wanted to try a lot of things I had not tried before and therefore pushing the melodic side of my music forward had to be attempted.

Thomas Gorton: I think that this album is easier to imagine in a club situation than the first, particularly tracks like Dumpster or Bleeding Colours, were you conscious of re-imagining these tracks in a live situation whilst you were making The Power And The Glory?
Ali Wells: I only really think that Dumpster and Take Your Body Off are really club tracks, maybe Galloper as well in the right context. There was a definite decision to make the club tracks very club focused on this LP but still have them work as part of the whole album. Wicker And Steel was a great success for me but maybe it lacked a track that really got hammered by DJs in clubs. Dumpster and Take Your Body Off are attempts to correct this. They are completely focused for the clubs, especially in terms of their arrangements and mixdowns, but hopefully they also have enough quirks and character to rise above most functional but ultimately disposable club tools.

Thomas Gorton: Do you feel connected to a UK techno scene? I think that there’s a lot of crossover happening at the moment and techno has reclaimed a character through artists like yourself, Truss and Shifted. Whilst Raime and Haxan Cloak operate slightly outside of that, I still see a connection between the artists, certainly in terms of the aesthetic and the emotional impact of the music. Do you feel part of a movement?
Ali Wells: Yes, I feel connected to the British scene and there is a lot of communication between British electronic artists even if they appear to be part of quite separate genres and scenes. There is a definite connection between the more innovative techno producers across to less dancefloor focused artists like Raime, Haxan Cloak, Lee Gamble, through to the Hessle Audio crew and people that have come to house and techno without completely leaving behind their bass music roots. Regis’ relationship with Blackest Ever Black is a good example of this. It is an interesting time and I am very proud of the music coming out of the UK right now. Even the UK producers that have moved over to Berlin still retain an attitude and open-mindedness that separates them from a lot of other artists in the city.

Thomas Gorton: You worked with two vocalists on the album. Do you have a pre-determined idea of what you want them to bring or is it looser than that? I was once walking through London listening to You Saw Me off Wicker & Steel and the sound of a street preacher was seeping in through my headphones, so I stood there until the song had finished. I thought it sounded amazing.
Ali Wells: I love it when that kind of random musical synchronicity happens. For the vocals, I had a good idea what Nik [Colk Void, of Factory Floor] would bring to the track. With her, the vocal performance and the vocal processing are one and the same. So the vocals arrived fully treated, but she had done it with the track in mind so the textures she created fitted Speak perfectly. With Dan [Chandler, of Dethscalator], I had tried to record some of my own vocals; guttural, screaming-type phrases etc but it was not working at all, I was just too close to the track. A mutual friend put me in contact with Dan and in the end he sent over all the vocal takes from Dethscalator’s recent album. Then it was just a case of choosing what I wanted to use and adding some extra distortion and processing. I could have used Dan’s voice on the whole album but I think the two contrasting tracks he appears on work well without over doing it. I love vocal effects in tracks; it adds a human edge even when the lyrics are not clearly decipherable. A lot of my percussion sounds are also layered with vocals sounds I have made myself. I think it gives them a bit more life and personality compared with standard, off the shelf percussion hits.

Thomas Gorton: Choice and Rotting Sound are such arresting openers and both share a strong stylistic similarity, acting as gateways into an unforgiving world. Choice talks of a ‘crap, suburban existence’ and Rotting Sound about ‘falling in love with a rotting sound that doesn’t belong there’. What is at the forefront of your mind when creating the introduction piece to one of your records?
Ali Wells: Rotting Sound was written as an album opener, though the actual speech sample that opens the album was only added right at the end. The track is quite extreme and twists and turns for a few minutes before those big chords appear which was exactly the sort of statement I wanted as an album opener. Choice was quite a surprise success from Wicker And Steel with a lot of people really latching on to it, so of course it was in the back of my mind when making this album. It was either that or kicking off the album with an instantaneous percussive assault along the lines of A New Brutality but I thought against it. One thing about Choice was that until a week or two before Wicker And Steel was mastered it was quite a tough dancefloor track with the main speech sample appearing halfway through and carrying on though the main breakdown. Only at the last minute did I rearrange it and take away the drums.

Thomas Gorton: It’s been suggested that there’s a ‘political edge’ to this record. Do you think that techno is inherently political, as a genre, or a movement that cut its teeth on illegal raves, drugs and created a subculture? I’ve always looked at techno as being anti-establishment, as being punk, really.
Ali Wells: As a genre and a culture it has generally avoided making overt political statements, though some would argue that the very act of escapism through dancing is political in itself. It is anti-establishment but of course there are different levels to that, an unlicensed London squat party is obviously far more anti-establishment than a corporate sponsored licensed club event in Ibiza with VIP areas and bottle service. There is more of political edge to this album that anything I’ve done before. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of UK politics and the current government should be able to work out who David and George are and connect then with the laughter running through that track. The title A Living End also ties in with the right to die and the current debate on assisted suicide. There are also a few other issues not touched on by the album, including LGBT rights which I have had some connection to before and will be working more to support in releases on Perc Trax later this year.

Thomas Gorton: Last year you started Submit, so you’re running another label aside from Perc Trax. So far you’ve released your collaborations with Einstürzende Neubauten. How will a release on Submit differ from Perc Trax and what will it be that defines that?
Ali Wells: Perc Trax now has a quite recognisable sound, even though that sound is evolving over time. Releases are generally aimed at the dancefloor even if the occasional curveball makes it on to an EP or album. Submit can be anything and really does not have a sound; it is for whatever interests me and for what I think will interest others. There is definitely some connection between my EP with Neubauten and the Feral Grind compilation that followed it but I think the next release will be something a lot more surprising. Also, Perc Trax follows a pre-planned schedule and releases at a steady rate whilst Submit will release as it discovers music it loves. That could be six or seven releases one year and then one the next, there is no pressure or plan for me with Submit and I find that quite liberating.

Thomas Gorton: Finally, you’ve got the launch of your album coming on 8th February at Corsica Studios with Truss, Shackleton and Demdike Stare playing. It looks like an incredible party. What should we expect?
Ali Wells: Something much more than your regular techno event I hope. I love techno of course and that will never change, but I like my nights more mixed up, as long as there is a cohesive aesthetic somehow linking all who perform. Demdike Stare and Shackleton certainly bring that to the line-up and with Shackleton releasing new material for the first time in a while the time is certainly right to have him play in London. Truss is a great across the board DJ and can really throw some surprises into his sets. Clouds playing five hours gives them more scope than they have ever had before to show their musical range and of course I’ll be showcasing album tracks plus a mix of different things. London crowds are some of the most open-minded in the world and to think they just want techno, techno and more techno is a touch patronising to be honest.

The Power And The Glory is released 17th February, with a launch party on 8^th February at Corsica Studios

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