Max HeyraudPerc delves into his extensive discography ahead of his return to Dublin on Friday at Cellar. The UK techno powerhouse chooses ten of his most formative tracks, which comprise both the Perc sound and story.
Ali Wells, better known as Perc, has been at the vanguard of the industrial-tinged techno genre for almost two decades. The UK legend has consistently reinvented himself while remaining committed to his art form. The multi-faceted artist has continued to push the boundaries of what is possible in the genre of techno, frequently fostering new sounds and trends while maintaining a ruthless but forward-thinking attitude.
We caught up with Perc, who chose ten essential tracks that have helped define his career thus far.
Perc & Fractal – Up [Kompakt 2007]
“One of my first releases on a big label away from Perc Trax and the first ‘hit’ of my career. Played at many festivals in the summer of 2007 and was copied by just as many other producers. The track meant I could quit my day job, so it will always be special to me. Shout out to Thor aka Fractal as well for being part of this.”
Perc – My Head Is Slowly Exploding [Perc Trax 2011]
“The track that inspired me to start work on my debut album ‘Wicker & Steel’. At the peak of my deep and moody industrial phase, it eventually came out with remixes from Ancient Methods and Chris Carter of Throbbing Gristle.”
Perc & Einstürzende Neubauten – Liebesdub [Perc Trax 2013]
“This one took years to get from the initial idea to its release, but it was always a dream to collaborate with Neubauten. In the end, I turned in four officially sanctioned remixes of tracks from their debut album ‘Kollaps’. I still can’t believe this one actually happened.”
Perc – Take Your Body Off [Perc Trax 2014]
“First single from my second album ‘The Power & The Glory’. This track was my first time working with a vocalist that I brought in for the project and Dan Chandler’s vocals were amazing on this track. More drive and energy than my previous industrial techno releases even though it sounds slow by today’s standards.”
Perc & Passarella Death Squad – Temperature’s Rising [Perc Trax 2016]
“This originally came out on a French label in 2010 and despite demand, they refused to press more copies. The contract with them expired in 2016 and I immediately rereleased it on Perc Trax. For some reason, this one is still big in Germany, which I love.”
Perc – Look What You Love Has Done To Me [Perc Trax 2017]
“The big one. Originally sitting as track 9 on my album ‘Bitter Music’. This one just grew and grew and soon became the biggest track of my career so far. My lyrics combined with the vocals from Gazelle Twin were perfect and the remixes by I Hate Models, Amelie Lens and myself in 2019 took it even higher.”
Peder Mannerfelt – Sissel & Bass (Perc Remix) [PM008 2019]
“I was never meant to be on the remix package for this one, but I asked Peder if I could remix it after I heard it on his ‘Daily Routine’ album. It was the first thing I produced in my current studio so I was surprised how well it sounded. Another one that came out and slowly grew and grew into a big hit. It also introduced me to Sissel Wincent, who I’m proud to have on my new album.”
Perc – Toxic NRG [Perc Trax 2019]
“The lead track from my first single after the success of ‘Look What Your Love Has Done To Me’ and I wanted to make a statement of taking things back to noisy, driving but slightly weird techno and there are no vocals on any of the tracks on the ‘Three Tracks To Send To Your Ghost Producers’ release. I still play all three tracks a lot but ‘Toxic Energy’ is my favourite. The video for it is a favourite of mine as well.”
Perc – Resistor [Perc Trax 2021]
“The whole ‘Greed Dance’ record was a comment on the behaviour of certain dance music media outlets during the pandemic. ‘Resistor’ was always my favourite track from it and was exactly what I wanted at the time, hard noisy techno that sat next to the ravey techno being released at the time but without using all the same rave stabs and hardcore sounds. I was also really happy with the remix EP for this one with new versions from Tassid, Jensen Interceptor and Wallis.”
Perc – Imperial Leather [Perc Trax 2024]
“The first single from my new album ‘The Cut Off’. It was strange releasing an album after seven years but the response to it has been really positive. I still believe in albums as an essential body of work for an artist in the era of Instagram and TikTok. The tour for the album has been great as well, so I’m happy I put out a new album, even after waiting so long.”
You can purchase tickets to Four Four & Subject Present: Perc at Cellar here.
