Atari Teenage Riot (ATR) is a German punk rock band formed in Berlin in 1992. Highly political, they fuse left-wing, anarchist and anti-fascist views with punk vocals and a techno sound called digital hardcore, which is a term band member Alec Empire used as the name of his record label Digital Hardcore Recordings.
History
Atari Teenage Riot was founded as an attack on the Neo-Nazi subculture by fusing hardcore punk views with German techno; it consisted of three Berliners—Alec Empire, Hanin Elias and MC Carl Crack. ATR's early releases (which included the track "Hetzjagd Auf Nazis!"/"Hunt Down the Nazis!") were surrounded by controversy in Germany.
After signing to major European label Phonogram Records in 1993, the band received a large financial advance which they duplicitously used to set up their own record label: Digital Hardcore Recordings (DHR). ATR never delivered a commercially viable demo to Phonogram.
The major label Intercord signed the group in 1995 for Germany. ATR's record label Digital Hardcore Recordings released the debut album Delete Yourself! internationally. In 1996 the Beastie Boys licensed the album and released it in the US with extra songs under the title "Burn Berlin Burn" on their label Grand Royal.
The band toured in 1997 with Wu-Tang Clan, Rage Against the Machine, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Moby and Beck because of the succes of their album Burn Berlin Burn.
In 1996, ATR was joined by Nic Endo, a noise/soundscape artist, who played her first live show with ATR in the spring of 1997 during the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
In 1999, ATR released the album 60 Second Wipe Out, which featured a number of guest artists, including rappers The Arsonists. According to Magnet, "Empire's guitar-playing values speed-thrash malevolence, and when paired with Endo's painful skronkage, the album is decidedly denser than its predecessor".
That year the band were arrested in Berlin for "inciting violence" during a performance at a protest against the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Conflicts began between the 30,000-strong crowd of protestors and police while the band played their song "Revolution Action."
Elias left ATR at the Brixton Academy show in the winter of 1999. The plan had been to tour with Nine Inch Nails in the US during the spring of 2000, but ATR decided to cancel the show to recharge. Crack also needed time to recuperate from his psychosis attacks.
In the autumn of 2000, ATR started working on their fourth album. The song "Rage", featuring Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, was chosen as an in-between single until the release of the fourth album. "Rage" was part of the recording sessions for 60 Second Wipe Out, but Empire did not feel it would fit the album.
On 6 September 2001, Crack, who had long struggled with psychiatric issues, died from an overdose of unspecified pills. The media hype surrounding Crack's death is disputed by ATR. According to a friend, a few weeks before his death he had spoken about a doctor's report which said his psychosis attacks would worsen with age. According to that friend, Crack said he would rather kill himself than become a "zombie" and not be in control of his life. Witnesses have said Crack tried to reach out to his friends because he felt the psychosis starting again. When his body was found by police with large quantities of medication in his stomach, this suggested suicide. It is still unclear if this happened while he was in a state of psychosis or not (while in a psychotic state, it could be interpreted as an accident rather than suicide).
The other half of the band continue to work together. Endo assisted in the production of Empire's solo recordings, as well as being a key member of his live band. DHR released Atari Teenage Riot: 1992–2000, a collection of the band's best known recordings, on 3 July 2006.
Reformation
In October 2009, Elias contacted Empire to play some concerts together, but had to refrain because of her voice. When it became clear that Elias would not show up to the first show, the band published a statement 30 minutes before show time.
In January 2010, it was announced ATR would reunite for a few live shows in Europe. Later in the year, they announced additional shows in Europe, North America and Asia. In early March 2010, Empire released the new ATR track "Activate" via SoundCloud, which is the first song featuring their new MC, CX KiDTRONiK. "Activate" was recorded on 3 March 2010 in Berlin at the Hellish Vortex Studios. Female vocals were provided by Endo.