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[Link removed - login to see] was born in Texas, USA on Jan 7th 1976 of a German father and Japanese mother. She was taken to live in Munich Germany at the age of one. She lived in Frankfurt in the years 1994 –96, and then finally moved to Berlin. She met up with Atari Teenage Riot’s Alec Empire who invited her to join ATR on a temporary basis.
Nic, an accomplished musician, would handle ATR’s electronic music thereby freeing up Alec to take over all the vocal duties. Impressed by her contribution, he invited her to join the band full time. She has since toured the world with ATR, mostly in America and Europe, playing w
[Link removed - login to see] was born in Texas, USA on Jan 7th 1976 of a German father and Japanese mother. She was taken to live in Munich Germany at the age of one. She lived in Frankfurt in the years 1994 –96, and then finally moved to Berlin. She met up with Atari Teenage Riot’s Alec Empire who invited her to join ATR on a temporary basis.
Nic, an accomplished musician, would handle ATR’s electronic music thereby freeing up Alec to take over all the vocal duties. Impressed by her contribution, he invited her to join the band full time. She has since toured the world with ATR, mostly in America and Europe, playing with the likes of Beck, The Wu-Tang Clan, Rage Against The Machine, Nine Inch Nails and Ministry along the way.
Her first release was the EP “White Heat”, which came out on Digital Hardcore Recordings’ Fatal offshoot. Fatal was set up by Endo and fellow musical innovator, Hanin Elias to stress their identity as female producers in the male-dominated world of electronic music. Work with Atari Teenage Riot and on other projects had shown both women that many men automatically viewed their input as negligible and their abilities limited.
Fatal was established at that time to fight these perceptions and ensure that the radical message of Atari Teenage Riot and of Digital Hardcore was liberated from its masculine implications. Her first album, “Poison Lips,” released under the name of She Satellites, saw her transfer to GEIST Records.
“Cold Metal Perfection” is a more considered release than “Poison Lips.” The latter was conceived while touring with ATR and recorded during breaks in the “60 Second Wipe Out” sessions. “Cold Metal Perfection” represents a much clearer visualization of Nic Endo’s creative aims.
The tracks tackle subjects such the traditional expectations of woman at work and in life, (The Program and The Brides); Her feelings about the independent, but tougher, lifestyle she has created for herself since leaving Germany (I Didn’t Exist); and her hopes that she might encourage other women to find outlets for their creative impulses and that they might themselves encourage her, (Heroines).
Nic Endo successfully manages to combine elements inspired by the original free jazz pioneers such as Sun Ra, Freddie Hubbard, Herbie Hancock and New York’s No Wave Saxophonist James White with the sound of modern electronic music. Experimenting with the drum sounds of early eighties US electro as well as making her own interpretation of Stravinsky’s revolutionary piece “Le Sacrifice” (originally entitled “Le Sacre du Printemps”).
While the majority of the electronic music scene focused on minimalism (in terms of using only one tool for the creation of music which led to a conformist sound in her view; or programming minimalist musical figures and loops), Nic Endo developed a much wider musical field in which her own experiments can happen.
Nic Endo insists on pushing electronics to the limit, often working her equipment to breaking point. She is as comfortable on the piano as she is around digital equipment. She believes that there is purity in noise, which can serve as very direct way of communicating emotion whether violent anger, sex and alienation from society.
Nic is visually striking. Covering one half of her face with a Japanese sign meaning, “resistance,” and wearing black leather she stands out amongst Electronica’s faceless musicians. Teaming up with video director Philipp Virus they produced the “White Heat” video which digitally unites the music and visuals.
Her first live appearance with this new material was at CBGB's in New York City in the summer of 2001. Alec Empire involved her in the making of his latest album “Intelligence And Sacrifice”. She contributed the 10-minute finale for the track “New World Order,” creating a science fiction world war scenario by using complex layers of noise and machine sounds. She also appears on synths throughout the first CD of his double album and as a result became the musical director for Empire’s live shows. She controls a complex set up on stage, engineering two drum kits, guitars and keyboards applying various filters and distortion effects, managing Empire’s vocal sound and, of course, the whole electronic side of the show. Same goes for Alec Empire's new album "Futurist" which was released in 2005.
The American music magazine Alternative Press rated “Cold Metal Perfection” amongst the twenty-five most important releases in the year 2001.
Nic Endo has remixed Dillinger Escape Plan and Mystic. Check out D.I.Y. Fest compilation on Digital Hardcore Recordings.NIC ENDO ON WHITE HEAT (DHR 22)
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