SKINNY PUPPY
Drawing from the pioneering work of artists like Throbbing Gristle,
Cabaret Voltaire and Suicide, the dark avant-industrial group
Skinny Puppy formed in 1982 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Originally
a duo comprised of former Images in Vogue vocalist Cevin Key (born
Kevin Crompton) and Nivek Ogre (a.k.a. Kevin Ogilvie), Skinny
Puppy followed their debut cassette Back and Forth with the EP
Remission, the first of many recordings with producer David "Rave"
Ogilvie, in 1984.
Keyboardist Wilhelm Schroeder joined the group for 1985's full-length
debut Bites, but was replaced the next year by Dwayne Goettel,
whose sampling and synth work proved significant in the development
of the Skinny Puppy aesthetic from ominous dance music into a
distinct fusion of industrial, goth and electronic sounds. Subsequent
releases like 1986's Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse, 1987's Cleanse,
Fold and Manipulate and 1988's VIVIsectVI further honed the trio's
style, as well as introducing the outspoken lyrical agenda that
remained a thematic constant throughout much of the group's work.
In 1989, Ministry's Al Jourgensen added vocals, guitars and production
work to Rabies; later, he joined Ogre in the side project Pigface.
Ultimately, the members' interest in pursuing similar outside
projects began to unravel Skinny Puppy: in 1987, Key and Edward
Ka-Spel of the Legendary Pink Dots recorded the album Their Eyes
Slowly Burning under the name Tear Garden, and in 1990, he and
friend Alan Nelson worked as Hilt. A major rift began splitting
the band apart, and Key and Goettel often sided against Ogre,
whom they felt was more interested in pursuing solo work than
in keeping the trio intact; drugs had also become a serious problem,
but Skinny Puppy nonetheless signed to American Recordings in
1993 and relocated to Los Angeles to begin production work.
The sessions for the album, titled The Process, proved disastrous;
for the first time in nearly a decade, David Ogilvie did not oversee
production duties, and the group went through several producers,
including former Swan Roli Mosimann and Martin Atkins. Flooding
and earthquakes further hampered the sessions, and Key was severely
injured in a film shoot. After months of recording, Key and Goettel,
dissatisfied with Atkins' work, absconded with the master tapes
and returned to Vancouver in mid-1994 to finish production. Ogre
remained in California, and later announced he was leaving Skinny
Puppy to form W.E.L.T. A few months later, on August 23, 1995,
Goettel was found dead of a heroin overdose in his parents' home;
in his honor, Key and Ogilvie finally completed the album, and
The Process was released in 1996.
A multi-media history of the band, Brap--Back and Forth, Series
3&4, followed a few months later, while Key returned to his
new project, Download. Released in 1998, ReMix Dys Temper featured
Skinny Puppy reworkings by Autechre, Neotropic and Adrian Sherwood
in addition to industrial groups like KMFDM and God Lives Underwater.
