Front 242 FAQ file:///C:/242faq.shtml.

htm

Front 242 Frequently Asked Questions version 2.23

Last update on

<Front notes>

This is the 242 FAQ.

-------------- Acknowledgements ----------------

If you know anything of interest that should be in this Q/A list, get your fingers on
that keyboard and send it to kh@herrebout.com . After I have checked the info, I
insert it in the FAQ and you get a honourable mention alongside the info, between
[brackets]. I don't put your email on display.

This faq can be found at http://242.herrebout.com/242faq.html

Revisions are made when I have the time and are not tracked. This is what you
get, here and now.

In case you discover a broken link in this page, here is what to do.
1. Mention the Q number
2. Mention the full url that's broken (cut-and-paste should do the trick)
3. Send me both.
Thank you.

---------------------- End Ack --------------------

FOR <YOU>

[Q1]When did Front 242 take off?

[Q2]What are the names of the members of Front 242?
[Q3]Where can I find Front 242 sites on the web, pressreviews etc.?
[Q4]Are there Front 242 MP3 files available?
[Q5]Where can I find a full discography?
[Q6]What are they up to now?
[Q7]What is the best place to find records, bootlegs, rare stuff?
[Q8]Is there an official fanclub?
[Q8bis]What happened to the Active and Passive fanclub membership that started in
1992?
[Q9]What gear do they use?
[Q10]What happened to [Q10]?
[Q11]Is there a mailing list?
[Q11bis]Can I unsub-scribe?
[Q12]How many versions are there of Re:Boot?
[Q13]What side projects are Front 242's members currently involved in?
[Q14]What about the Art Corporation?
[Q15]Are they (Front 242) Gods?
[Q16]What does the name Front 242 mean?
[Q17]What is it with the eggs in the Headhunter video?
[Q18]What is it about these numbers in the Up Evil and Off albums?

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[Q19]How did they get this Fascist thing attached to their name?
[Q20]How many records have they sold in total?
[Q21]Art & Strategy?
[Q22]Do they have kids?
[Q23]Why do they wear sunglasses on stage? Heavy lights?
[Q24]Why is Patrick playing Roland gear on stage now?
[Q25]If they started in 1981, did they use any samplers then?
[Q26]In what films, commercials or radio spots was Front 242's music used?
[Q27]Where did they sample?
[Q28]What's at the end of the Tyranny For <You> CD?
[Q29]Where can I find remixes for Front 242 songs on the web?
[Q30]Can I contact these guys over the net?
[Q31]How come every live song that 242 does is always different. For example.. if I
hear "Headhunter" live on one day, and then see them in concert the next day, it will
be changed around?
[Q32]What kind of recognition were they awarded, being pioneers, this not always
being the most ideal position.
[Q33]Where is RRE and where are Sony in this (Re:Boot) story?
[Q34]In Until Death (Us Do Part), towards the end of the song, it sounds as if J-L is
spelling something?
[Q35]What is "1, 1, 20, 29" a reference to, from the song Circling Overland?
[Q36]I'm a real ass so i don't get to understanding the Evil Off tracklist?
[Q37]Who contributed vocals to the track 'Born to Breathe' available on the "Angels
vs. Animals" remix album?"
[Q38]What means the sentence "I NOSTRI SOGNI SONO SEMPRE PRESENTI" in the
lyrics to "Work 01"?
[Q39]Are there some funny stories from gigs?
[Q40]Who's the preacher in Welcome to Paradise? What's the story?
[Q41]Are there some computer programs, demos or something with any F242
elements?
[Q42]From which groups were they remixed?
[Q43]What 242 goodies are out there?
[Q44]Did 99Kowalski sing whole "cage" scream from "Animal" or is it looped?
[Q45]After the 'Evil' records, there have been numerous rumours about a Front
split-up. What's it all about?
[Q46]Who is this 'Mrs van de Veer' on "Operating Tracks"?
[Q47]What do the initials G.V.D.T. (song from the album Geography) stand for?
[Q48]Evil Off - has it or has it not the voice of Jean-Luc De Meyer?
[Q49]Funny remixes, spoofs, anything?
[Q50]Kristin '99' Kowalski and 242?

[Q1] When did Front 242 take off?

A1. Officially, Daniel B. (who had a band called 'Prothese', collaborating on
compilation LP's) started with Dirk Bergen some kind of synth/guitar duo in 1981. A
first version of "Body To Body" is released on "Principles". In March 1982, Patrick
and Jean-Luc (together known as 'Under Viewer', an underground band) join them to
record U-Men. Richard (who was into Tranik Ind.) is present but not yet a full
member of the group, which he becomes in 1983, the year Geography is released.
[Rock This Town special issue 1991]
[Q2] What are the names of the members of Front 242?
A2.

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Daniel Bressanuti (the fat guy at the mixing desk)

Patrick Codenys (mostly wearing a cap or a hat, behind a synth)

Jean-Luc De Meyer (vocals, does also an impression of JL Pickard)

Richard Jonckheere (vocals - jumping around - creative with hair) AKA R23 or
Richard JK. Also known under the nickname "Irionik"

[Q3] Where can I find Front 242 sites on the web, pressreviews etc.?
A3.

OFFICIAL SITE

http://www.front242.com

Front 242 Fans

[ Join Now | Ring Hub | Random | << Prev | Next >> ]

FANPAGES

http://surf.to/front242 with news, history, rare tracks, stuff. (what is this

gator popup doin' here?)

http://www.dhennin.com/front242 this site has lots of interviews and also

a full biography - very good

http://www.hbci.com/~zeph242/242/ has discography, pics and lots of

useful info

http://www6.ewebcity.com/dfence/ has the rants242 HQ

http://home.earthlink.net/~incycle/front242.html has pics, quotes, links,

spoofs and kicks

http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Artists/By_Genre/Industrial
/Industrial_Dance/Front_242/ 242 at Yahoo

http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/front242 242 club at Yahoo

http://www.red-team.de/ A German site to surely check out !

http://users.skynet.be/Evil.E/ Evil.E's nice discography page

http://members.xoom.com/andre242/242bws/ Brazilian 242 site

http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Music/Styles/Industrial/Artists/Front_242 242
at Open Directory

http://www.waste.org/~terje/front242/ the first one, very complete, incl.

graphics and lyrics.

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Network/2420 Target's site

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http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/agnetha/831/front242/index.html

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/6934/frontmenu.html Front
in Peru

http://www.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de/~johann/front242/fmain.html

http://home.swipnet.se/~w-58377/concerts/242/index.html

http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/agnetha/261/bands/front242.htm pics from

TF<Y>

http://photo.herrebout.com/ has a lots of Re:Boot pics from few Belgian

concerts

http://www.front242.de a German 242 site with guestbooks, card service

etc.

http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/agnetha/831/front242/index.html

http://www.inmove.de/review/front/front98.htm has some pics about the

1998 tour

http://www.angelfire.com/co/front242/ has lots of info and some sound

snippets

http://home.wxs.nl/~edwinp/front242/front242.html a dutch 242 page

http://www.msu.edu/user/sebenic2/ some pics

http://users.swing.be/alain.w/index.html a Belgian site

http://www1.tu-chemnitz.de/~jea/foto/gerrit/front/front.htm pics about

Re:Boot

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Studio/9538/Front_242
/Front_242.htm from the Autobahn lyrics project

http://www.pi.net/~edwinp/front242/front242.html the Dutch 242 site

http://www.obscure.org/~vlad/lyrics/front.242.html some lyrics

http://members.xoom.com/newfangled/242links.html

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Underground/6326/ Brazilian 242

site

http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/student/484/front.html

http://www.megs.com/neworld/sf6.htm some pics from Re:Boot

http://www.spaceports.com/~bell/front242/index.html

http://www.front242.ru a Russian 242 site.

http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/agnetha/831/front242/lyrics/index.html 242
lyrics

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http://www.efd.lth.se/~d93jp/industrial/lyrics.html a few lyrics

http://www.energy-rekords.se/Pictures/242pictures/242pics.html a 242
pic

http://w1.896.telia.com/~u89603071/skivtexter.htm more lyrics

http://www.kaihawaii.de/f.html some industrial-esque bands

http://www.oingo.com/topic/183/183903.html

http://www.torget.se/users/s/Synth/front242.htm looks like a bingo

http://users.skynet.be/swerquin/f242.htm Belgian page, also about other

EBM bands

http://front242bws.cjb.net/ Brazilian 242 page

"http://users.skynet..be/phicarly/Front242.htm A pictures page, you can

even order professional prints of the pics presented

http://www.punishyourmachine.com/

INTERVIEWS & PRESSREVIEWS

http://www.chaindlk.net/interviews/speedtribe/speedtribe.php3

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~robw/front242.html interview with Patric

C.

http://www.sonic-boom.com/interview/front.242.interview.html interview
with Patrick C.

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/6031/front242.html
interview with Jean-Luc De Meyer

http://www.chaoscontrol.com/archives/front242.html interview

http://www.chaoscontrol.com/current/Front%20242/index.html interview

http://members.xoom.com/HilpeaTonttu/Front242/242inter.htm Finnish
site with a 242 interview

http://www.splendidezine.com/reviews/aug-3-98/front.html 242 at
splendid e-zines Re:Boot review

http://www.lastsigh.com/profiles/profile_frontpage.htm Lastsigh magazine

about 242

http://www.aracnet.com/~jester/interview/front.242.interview.html
reboot review

http://www.industrial-music.com/ib/reviews3/front2421.htm live code

review

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http://www.chaoscontrol.com/current/Front 242/index.html a re:boot

review

http://www.anti.matter.com/front242.html up evil interview

http://www.demon.co.uk/cybase23/f242/242int.html re:boot interview +

concert review

http://westnet.westnet.com/consumable/1998/03.04/revfront.html
Mut@ge.Mix@ge review

http://www.move-x.be/9810/nl_int1.htm a very good dutch interview

http://www.srd.d.se/snurr/snurrdf/front242.html Swedish review

http://daily.stanford.org/Daily97-98/intermission/INT8-6-98/music
/INTfront06.html re:boot review

http://www.wrath.de/cdf.html a few reviews in German

http://www.splendidezine.com/reviews/aug-3-98/front.html a review of
Front 242's CD, Re:Boot (Live)

http://www.darkstarorg.demon.co.uk/aint1.htm Patrick Codenys Re:Boot

Tour, London, November 1999

http://www.homepages.de/endemann@dialup.nacamar.de/front242.html
Inside FRONT 242 :an interview with Jean Luc De Meyer by: Jorge C.
Galban

http://westnet.com/consumable/1998/03.04/revfront.html REVIEW: Front

242, Mut@ge.Mix@ge

http://www.infaction.8m.com/242review.html Front 242 with Project

Pitchfork and Crocodile Shop at Irving Plaza, August 12th, 1998

http://crimson-dragon.com/music/TT_242_Pitchfork.html Front 242

August 1, 1998 Baton Rouge, LA

http://www.notam.uio.no/~percf/puls/album/teknologisk/front_242.htm
Norwegian review!

BIOS & RESUMES

http://houbi.simplenet.com/belpop/groups/front242.htm at the Belgian

POP & Rock archives

http://ubl.com/ubl_artist.asp?artistid=001059 at UBL.COM

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/x.dll?UID=1:44:55|PM&p=amg&sql=B13004
at AMG

http://www.aversion.com/bands/front242

http://www.metropolis-records.com/?artists/front242.html at Metropolis

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records

http://ebm.sikkim.cz/archiv/242.html czech 242 page

http://imusic.com/showcase/modern/front242.html at imusic.com

http://www.aversion.com/bands/histories.cfm?directory=front242

BROKEN LINKS

http://www.hallucinet.com/virtual/front_242.html has some scanned

covers

http://home5.swipnet.se/~w-58377/gallery.html has pics of the Front by

Front tour 1989

http://www.flash.net/~ceagle/front242/

http://industrial.onego.ru/f/front_242/ *again* Russian reviews - looks

cool :)

note that some of these sites are in a webring - though broken at various places
[Q4] Are there Front 242 MP3 files available?
A4. There used to be, until some record company forced the guy to close the
archive. So, for now, open your eyes if you like to find some. There are some
bootlegs from the Re:Boot concerts on the web but you could also trade tapes (or
CDR) with other people (eg. on the mailing list). Through Napster et al. you can also
find some. Other useful urls are:

http://dust.net/front242/

http://www.burningchrome.com/~ir8prim8/industrial.html

http://www.audiofind.com has 2 cobalt 60, and Motion live [Richard242]

http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/garage/2042/index.html has Front 242 -

Im Rhythmus Bleiben - Live Offenbach Stadhalle 3/25/91

http://surf.to/front242 features goodies time by time

ftp://24.64.245.202:21/ has several singles

ftp://216.160.237.213:2110/

ftp://oth:oth@206.112.211.97/

http://www.efd.lth.se/~d93jp/industrial/audio.html features a few au samples

http://www.tribu.cl/galerias/front242.htm for a few low-fi video's

[Q5] Where can I find a full discography?
A5.

http://www.waste.org/~terje/front242

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http://www.hbci.com/~zeph242/242/
http://www.cybernoise.freeserve.co.uk/cybernoise/Discographies_PDF
/FRONT_242.pdf
(there's a lot of discographies to find when you browse back to the directory
level.
http://users.skynet.be/Evil.E/
http://www.ludd.luth.se/users/h-son/cd/f/0_front_242.html
http://www.eraseronline.com/front2421.html
[Q6] What are they up to now?
A6. We had 'Still & Raw' and Pulse as the latest EP/album and 242 is poking up here
and there for a performance. Also the side projects MorF and Speed Tribe pop up
once in a while. There's a re-release of Geography with unreleased material from Alfa
Matrix. Richard 23 and Patrick C surface here and there (internationally) with their
Coder23 DJ set. So no: they're not dead. Yes you are, shut up. Well I can't bring him
with me if he's not dead. But he will be soon. I'm not dead. Well I'm sorry but he
needs to be dead for me to pick him up. Boing. OK, he's dead.
[Q7] What is the best place to find records, bootlegs, rare stuff?
A7. You can try specialised record stores, although you won't find that much there.
Venues where (secondhand) records and CD's are sold (like Vinylla Fair in Belgium),
are a good way. You can also try several internet (2nd hand) record stores. Or (on
request), ask on rants (see Q11) if you want to trade, exchange, sell, organise a
scam scam for ;-) bootlegs. See also online auction sites and 2nd hand web record
stores (lots to be found through (for example) ebay..
[Q8] Is there an official fanclub?
A8. Yes: It's called Transmission 242. Write to P.O.BOX 1613 // B1000 BRUSSELS //
BELGIUM EUROPE. At this time, it's only an address for ordering merchandise, CD's,
etc. They will soon have a shop on http://www.front242.com [IRONY].
[Q8bis] What happened to the Active and Passive fanclub membership that started in
1992?
A8bis. They were 86'ed due to lack of funds (mostly advertising and wholesale) and
lack of 242 information. This was established by Thierry (Patrick's brother) and
Francoise (the lady who works at Transmission). [Mike Ramirez]
[Q9] What gear do they use?
A9. While most of the information below is obsolete, it might give one a good
impression of what they used or still use.
In 1991, the setup was as follows: [Rock This Town special issue 1991]

Sound studio: Analog Synths: Roland System 100/100M/101 (+Roland Midi

interface MPU-101);YAMAHA CS-40M (in the Take One video); Oberheim Matrix
1000; Digital Synths: Yamaha DX-7 (2); Ensonic VFX; Roland DDR30; Yamaha
tg77; Korg Wavestation; Sequencer: Atari 1040 (Sequ. Cubase 2.0); Samplers:
AkaiS9000 (2); AkaiS1000 (8Mg + Hard Drive Mfile 44); AkaiS1000PB (4Mg);
Emulator II; akai 1100, e-mu Procussion, roland s-10 for live use @ the mixing
desk; Effects: Lexicon 480L; Yamaha SPX90 II (2); Roland SRV-2000; Roland
SDE-3000; Alesis Midiverb II; Alesis Quadraverb; ART DRX; spx 1000 (x2);
Eventide h3000 se; Mixing: Table TAC Scorpion 32/16; Recorder TASCAM MS16
tracks; Recorder DAT Luxman; Speakers Yamaha NS 10M pro ATC SCM50;
QUAD ampli (for NS-10M); Diverse: compressor/limiter, noise gate, parametric
eq.

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Live: Backline: Akai S9000; Roland DDR30; Simons & Roland Pads; Emulator
II; TASCAM238 8

Graphic Studio: Commodore Amiga 2500 (6Mg + Hard Drive 40Mg);

Commodore Amiga 500; Digitizer SNAPSHOT; Camera Sony CCD V-200E;
Laserprint NEC Silentwriter LC890; Monitor NEC Multisync 2A.

For the Re:Boot tour; it's rumoured they used Rebirth 1.0 evaluation and final
edition and I saw a Nord Rack II virtual analog synth in Ternat. They use an
Apple Powerbook to run the sequencer software on. On stage they use a
custom made 7 string guitar, a Roland jp 8000 and the Roland virtual drums.

"We're working with two Nord Lead, a keyboard module and a modular module.
We'll soon get a Z1 that will replace the Prophecy Korg; so we have a VL, Akai
3200, a Groovebox as many and Wavestations from time to time. Sometimes
we switch on an old Oberheim, just to get an pure analogical sound, that's what
we're touring with right now." [Patrick Codenys in an interview by Jocelyn
Chappaz, Le Miroir d'Encre, 1998]

It's said that Up Evil was recorded on 48 tracks (mixing by Andy Wallace).
[Q10]What happened to [Q10]?
A10. It was sucked up by a big furry bunny!
[Q11] Is there a mailing list?
Q11. OK, there have been some changes lately - the original [242RANTS] mailinglist
was stopped for obscure reasons. Fortunately 2 new lists were born at eGroups but
then yahoo bought eGroups and now, point your browser at:

Yahoogroups... right blabla zeoidjioergouijer.

The specific mailinglists are at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rants242 or rants242@yahoogroups.com - an
English speaking community 'all 'bout 242.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/work242 or work242@yahoogroups.com - a French

speaking 242 community.

You can apply at these urls. And if you do, please don't whine. Don't post a reply to
every damn message that you feel you should agree to. Rants is supposed to be a
community, a forum for people that like 242 et al. You can talk about anything, it
doesn't have to be 242 or even EBM or industrial. But please keep it decent. Lots of
people have lots of different views. They all have the right to express their particular
view. And when you don't agree you can start a healthy discussion, no problem. But
please don't reply to messages that are intended to start a flame or that are insulting
in any kind of way. Just push the delete button on your email client. That's far more
than they deserve. Be good, be constructive!
[Q11bis] Can I unsub-scribe?
A11bis. Yes: go to the same page you (were) sub-scribed from instead of bothering
the mailing list.
[Q12] How many versions are there of Re:Boot?
A12. For Europe, Zoth Ommog released three CD's and one LP. The CD's contain 13
(CD ZOT 242), 14 (CD ZOT 242-L; plus Punish your machine) and 15 tracks (CD
ZOT 242-Z). The LP version contains all 15 tracks on 2 disks (Vinyl ZOT 242).

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There's also a version on MD (Minidisc) available, limited to 500 ex. The American
market got 14 tracks from Metropolis on the standard version and 15 tracks on the
limited. Each time, the bonus track is 'Motion'. Energy Records from Sweden
released 2 CD's, both with all 15 tracks (ERCD 242) and (ERCD 242L) limited in
digipack.[Marco Coninx]. There's an Italian version, "FRONT 242: Re:Boot '98
(Italian version including 3 extratracks)" (MHCD036 - CD) on Minus Habens Records,
which has Punish Your Machine, Motion and a (second) exclusive version of Religion.
[Ivan Iusco] And finally, a UK release was done by Iris Light Records. It has the 15
Tracks of the CD ZOT 242-Z.
[Q13] What side projects are/were Front 242's members (currently) involved in?
A13. Jean-Luc De Meyer is now again involved in his own group Cobalt 60 (was
terminated, but ressurected, new album should be on its way), is enjoying himself
with C-Tec, the former Cyber-Tec, and featured on a Birmingham 6 and Bigod 20
CD's. Richard 23 made the 'Free Tyson Free EP' and has released a rather
commercial track called 'Is this love' as 'Latchak'. Daniel B. and Patrick Codenys have
their own studio management 'business' and are busy with projects like NUDE and
MorF. Male-or-Female 'MorF' released a few albums with strange stuff. They were
both working on a project called 'Grisha Zeme' which they have been saying for
some years now, will be minimalistic industrial. For now they released some remixes
of other bands under that name. But it seemed MorF sucked it all up. Patrick is
(was?) supposedly working on a "song-oriented" album with a female singer (circa
1995).
R23 was, in another life, a member of the Revolting Cocks, the indecent weekend
passtime band of Al Jourgensen of Ministry. He participated to the album Big sexy
land. He also appeared in a Ministry song, "The nature of love".
According to [Norman Narvaja]: <male or female> as an audio/visual collaboration
between Daniel B. and music video director Rod Chong, circa 1995. Only a few
interactive press kits were sent out regarding it and there were two "performances"
in Europe of that project. There is a <male or female> track available on a german
compilation called "Future Noir" on a label called Nova Tekk.... It's a sister label to
Offbeat records <FLA, Download>. The track is called "Woofer".
Patrick C and Richard 23 have a DJ-set called Coder23 with international
performances.
[Q14] What about the Art Corporation?
A14. The ART CORPORATION was established in mid eighties by Dirk Bergen and
Geert Alaerts. From the very beginning up till today the computer is their medium
and means of expression. Through this medium is squeezed out the collection
RIGOR MORTIS suggestion the precariousness/fugacity of beauty, a metamorphosis
of the original picture. With JUOTONES the reality of the original photograph is
respected although the design is altered for the medium of serigraph. These images
perfectly illustrate the evolution and possibilities in the computer graphic industry.
The collection MILITARIA (1995-1996) reflects this technical evolution. The basis for
the more recent collection INDONESIA are pictures from Indonesia in the twenties
and girls in the nineties. For the ART CORPORATION the initial vision is unchanged:
simple, catchy graphic art. The CD, produced by Daniel B. is to complement the
graphic material. The music invites the spectator to observe more consciously the
exhibited art. The attentive watcher-hearer will find a common theme between image
and sound. [Transmission 242 August 1997 - Transrelease 02]
[Q15] Are they (Front 242) Gods?
A15. Well, you see, religion is a free issue so everybody should decide for
him/herself whether these 4 lads are gods. Fact is, that they represent a certain

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artistic idea which is their own and which might be appreciated by others. This
applies to all bands. So, if you're on the mailing list and keep jabbering about this or
that group being the best, being better than or even accusing them of being gods,
well please back off. It's personal, stupid!
[Q16] What does the name Front 242 mean?
Q16. It doesn't mean anything. It has nothing to do with the Worldwar II front
number 242 or the U.N. Resolution 242 that deals with an issue between Palestina
and Israel or... They were just looking for a strong name, which could be easily
translated into various languages. [Daniel B. in an MTV interview with the release of
06:21:03:11 Up Evil]. "Patrick said to me once that even if it's totaly random, they
wanted to have letters and numbers. So a day Daniel B saw on a box 242 in big
letters and they then adopted the number." [Dimitri Della Faille]
[Q17] What is it with the eggs in the Headhunter video?
Q17. Anton Corbijn, the Dutch photographer who directed the clip: "I can't
remember exactly why." The group had sent him the music but hadn't read the script
in advance. When they were taking the clip, they started to get worried and asked
him: "You do know that the title of the song is 'Headhunter', do you?" Nevertheless,
they liked it and decided to go along with it for the video. [MTV interview with the
release of 06:21:03:11 Up Evil and Rock This Town special issue 1991]
[Q18] What is it about these numbers in the Up Evil and Off albums?
Q18. Just replace the numbers by the according letters of the alphabet and you have
the real titles. For more info on certain dubious 242 things, see
http://www.front242.com.
[Q19] How did they get this Fascist thing attached to their name?
A19. Journalists who misunderstood their performances. Read below the official
disclaimer;
"The group Front 242 would like to reaffirm that its members are totally opposed to
any extreme right-wing ideas, doctrines or ideologies. Front 242 refuse to be
associated with fascism, nazism or neo-nazism or any other anti-democratic,
extremist tendency of whatever leaning. Front 242 claim their right to freedom of
artistic expression and week to explore the moral grounds of their surroundings and
our world with integrity and dignity. Points taken out of context can often be
misleading; the editing of statement band-members have made in the past and the
misinformation presented by certain journalists have contributed to the formation of
an untrue and biased image of Front 242. Such intellectually dishonest practices
have, amongst other things, lead to concerts being cancelled and damaged the
reputation of the band."

And here's some personal comments from guys from 242:

"Yes, especially with HUMO! The last trick we had to cope with was when they sent a
journalist to our opening concert in London. It was sold out for two thousand people.
That chap was in our lounge acting really strange, saying how brilliant we were and
so on. But during the concert he was completely drunk. He camped the whole gig at
the bar! Afterwards his review was full of shit about the gig. HUMO has always
something to say about what we are doing! They even once wrote that we were
wearing "SS" signs! It was "242", so they can't even read in a decent way! I don't
know if that was Serge Simonaert, but anyway he had splendid initials for it: SS!
(laughs)"
and
"In fact, and honestly I don't know any neo-nazi that knows how to handle

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instruments like we do! They are just too stupid for that! (laughs) But I do find it
rather strange they keep on publishing such a crap. We haven't worn any army
cloths since the late eighties! I think it's just their way of rejecting each kind of music
they don't know shit about!"
[Interview "Jean-Luc De Meyer: Inside Front 242" by B.V. of Frontstage]
[Q20] How many records have they sold in total?
A20. Whilst that is the least of anyones interest, it's rumoured that up to this time,
they must be over 4 million sold records.
[Q21] Art & Strategy?
Q21. Art & Strategy was founded in 1992 to do the artwork around the Front 242
music. There were also a couple of exhibitions in Chicago and New York under that
name and an art book with an exclusive CD. Secondly, it is also the name of their
own studio in Aarschot.
[Q22] Do they have kids? Are they married? Do they go to church? Are they Cat/alco-
holic? Do they sometimes swim naked in ponds?
A22. Yes. All of that and more! PS Jean-Luc likes watching the mice that populate his
appartment
[Q23] Why do they wear sunglasses on stage? Heavy lights?
A23. The thing (joke?) behind this was that whilst wearing sunglasses on stage, they
couldn't be recognized on the street, without them. As they say, they've always
hated the Hollywood stardom and this is their way of disguising themselves. Other
stars put on sunglasses to be left alone, they put them off. Other sources say that it
was to hide them being human, keeping the music cold. [Sam 213]
[Q24] Why is Patrick playing Roland gear on stage now?
A24. Well, Roland did something they almost never do: sponsoring a band. But 242
seemed important enough to be used as a promotional tool. Not only that Patrick is
playing on a Roland keyboard, the Roland V-drums are also on stage. So just see the
Re:Boot tour as a huge promotion for these (new) Roland goodies.
[Q25] If they started in 1981, did they use any samplers then?
A25. In those early days, samplers were either hand made by 'electro-engineers' or
dreadfully limited and very expensive. In the early years, sampling was done by
manipulating tapes, as was the habit in most studio's (eg. Commando Mix, No
Shuffle, ...). It's only with Official Version that they started using samplers, notably
the Emulator II, which Patrick got from his parents when they won the lottery. They
wanted to buy him a car instead...
From an interview with JLDM: "The song GVDT, from the Geography album, uses
what is now known as a sample that says "What's wrong?" followed by the sound of
rewinding audio tape. Then the sample is heard again. Was a tape recorder used as
an early kind of sampler?" JL: "Exactly. We used our first real sampler about two
years later."
[Q26] In what films, commercials or radio spots was Front 242's music used?
A26.

Moldavia as background music for the US television advertisement of the movie

K2, circa 1991. [Norman Narvaja]

The German TV station RTL used the "Religion" remix from The Prodigy (to be
more precise: they used the Trance U Down Mix from the CD
Mut@age.Mix@age) for a news commercial in German cinemas - btw: The

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commercial was perfectly synchronized to the music... [Pascal Finette]

A cover version (very close to the original one) was used as a background
music for a car pub in France: Citroen XM. We were able to hear that tune whilst
a horse, then a military tank, and finally the car were crossing a living room.
[Julien Dhennin] [Sam 213]

Single white female: Rhythm of time, clip [Sam 213] We can hear and see the
video for "Rhythm of time" during the movie: "Jeune femme partagerait
appartement". In fact, a wife is attached on a chair, she's prisonered... and can
only watch TV... so, she turns on a music channel: and put the sound very
loud, to alert the neighbours. The music on the telly is Rhythm of time...![Julien
Dhennin]

La 5 (french tv channel): Moldavia used for the news. [Sam 213] A remix of
Neurobashing (made by the band itself) was used as a jingle for "La Cinq".
Thierry Codenys said to me. [Julien Dhennin]

MTV used the Trance U Down remix of Religion in a fashion shop, called
Stylissimo in 1997. [Marco Coninx]

At the beginning of the film Doom Generation, some songs are played at a
nightclub, one of them is the JG Thirlwell 'Pussy Whipped Mix' of Religion. It's
not on the soundtrack of the movie. [Marco Coninx]

MTV had around 1993 a commercial about new-sounding groups, with clips
from the clip for Tragedy <For You>, Richard throwing some vegs in the
shopping cart. [Marco Coninx]

MTV-europe used the beginning of "Crushed", mixed with "Skin fur Coat" in a
jingle some years ago. [Chris & Kris]

In the daily World Cup soccer/football '98 reports they used an entire
Headhunter remix just to show nasty tackles all framed on the lyrics , was
pretty neat and well synced. [Geert 'Sorex/WOW' Verschueren]

In an action thriller "Straight Shooter", Germany, 1999, with Dennis Hopper,

almost at the beginning of the movie there is a scene in a brodel in London.
(The character played by Dennis Hopper is the owner of this "club"). Some
gogo-dancers / strippers are dancing on stage to the music of Front 242! It's
Headhunter 2000 (Spacefrog Remix). It lasts about a minute. [Kai01/W]

There is one minute long version of Religion (Prodigy technoshit trance U down
remix) during the battle in a splatter action film called BEOWULF (featuring
Christopher Lambert aka Highlander).[Rychlik Martin]

There used to be an MTV programming in Brazil called LADO B ( B Side,

meaning to a vinyl format album ) and pieces of the track UNTIL DEATH was
played - over 5 seconds only ! - in the opening trailler of the programming.

The intro of "Rythm of time" was used for the jingle of the -flash information- in
1991 on an old french tv channel (La Cinq)[Khémara Yos]

Now an then, you can hear music from Evil Off as background music on
emissions of the Belgian VRT TV station (Flemish).

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[Q27] Where did they sample?

A27. See the sample sources page. Take a look at http://www.sloth.org/samples
/samples.html. or for a direct link go here
[Q28] What's at the end of the Tyranny For <You> CD?
A28. "There is some confusion over what is at the end of Front 242's album
TYRANNY FOR YOU. According to Transmission 242 originally, the songs were called
simply 'Bonus Track I' and 'Bonus Track II'. However, upon further prodding, they
replied that the pieces do have titles. The first one is called 'Hard Rock'. The second
one, according to the letter received, is called 'Trigger 3'. However, it is believed that
this is a misprint, and instead it should be called 'Trigger 1', because the band had
released a (longer) song also called 'Trigger 3' on one of their TRAGEDY remix EPs."
[from the The Industrial FAQ, periodically published on the following newsgroups:
rec.music.industrial, rec.music.info, news.answers, rec.answers]
[Q29] Where can I find remixes for Front 242 songs on the web?
A29.

http://www.leaetherstrip.com has a remix of Headhunter as featured on the

Headhunter 2000 part 3

http://www.ping.be/hv/dnf - my page, has the 'Andrea - Headhunter Remix'

http://www.waste.org/~terje has some Amiga style modules

http://www.ping.be/hv/dnf/242.zip has the 242.MOD mix from

Moldavia/Neurobashing/DSMO1-3. Thanks to [Champailler Stefan]

http://dust.net/front242/ has a Grisha Zeme remix

http://surf.to/front242has each week another rare track available

And on http://www.front242.com/modem:"Modem Angels", a remix tribute to

Front 242 by fans, limited to 242 pcs.

http://dnf.herrebout.com contains some of my 242 remixes in the sounds page

http://www6.ewebcity.com/dfence/ has a no shuffle remix

http://www.geocities.com/doktorboring/digital.html the infamous DrB remixes

http://mp3.kiddingkurrys.com/F242Covers/ Sam213 Kiddingkurrys mixes

again, there's some stuff you can find with filesharing programs...
[Q30] Can I contact these guys over the net?
A30. No, they're not technologically impaired. But could you imagine how many
e-mail they would get from throughout the world if their e-mail adresses would be
made public. You can always go through the fanclub or the website. But mind you:
they're very busy people and have very little time to answer the next wave of
questions like 'when will there be a new album' etc.
If you ask kindly on the mailing list, you might get the e-mail for Kristin '99'
Kowalski, the chick from Evil Off (no, not the one on the cover).
[Q31] How come every live song that 242 does is always different. For example.. if I
hear "Headhunter" live on one day, and then see them in concert the next day, it will
be changed around?

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A31. 242 is known for having a powerful live show, and one of these interesting
reasons is that Daniel B. (at the soundboard) likes to screw around with the songs a
bit. You can hear him always fiddling around with the vocal sampler and adding
samples/sequences and deleting them. This is all done from a Powerbook that Daniel
runs during the show. [Mike Ramirez]
[Q32] What kind of recognition were they awarded, being pioneers, this not always
being the most ideal position.
A32.

Front 242 is included in the top 500 Best producers in Rock History in the
Billboard Encyclopedia. [Mike Ramirez]

They had the chance to play at the Lollapalooza festival. (1993)

They had recognition in "Wit-Lof from Belgium, 40 jaar popgeschiedenis in

België, by Gust De Coster and Geert De Bruycker, 1990, BRT Brussel,
p135-137". In this kind of dictionary, Front are said to be very great! [Julien
Dhennin] They also get a great comment in "ROCK OVER BELGIUM", a book
about music in Belgium.

"BIG in Belgium, het verhaal van de Belgische pop", by Jan Delvaux, 1997,
Hadewych/Studio Brussel, pg. 56-58 and several references to Front 242,
concerning upcoming electronic music, new beat, major labels, etc. throughout
the whole book. [Kris Beyens]

They got mentioned in "Black Book - De dag dat het zonlicht niet meer scheen -
Wave in België", by Het Collectief vzw, 1999. Ed. Boogie cd store. pg. 39-47.
[Kris Beyens]

Each time they go on stage, they get their biggest award, from their audience.
Btw; as it seems, they were asked for the Re:Boot tour by others; i.e. a lot of
people wanted to book them for festivals, gigs, even raves. In the US, they had
planned to perform only on 5 dates, but the demand was so high they went for
the whole thing of 27.
[Q33] Where is RRE and where are Sony in this (Re:Boot) story?
A33. As for Sony, it seemed they (the white collars at Sony) couldn't cope with the
artistic freedom front members needed. As for RRE, Red Rhino Europe, a subsidiary
of PIAS (Play It Again Sam), there must be a dispute with PIAS about money they
didn't get. [Daniel B. in Side-Line nr. 23]
[Q34] In Until Death (Us Do Part), towards the end of the song, it sounds as if J-L
is spelling something?
A34. L-O-C-K space T-H-E space D-O-O-R space F-O-R-E-V-E-R.
[Q35] What is "1, 1, 20, 29" a reference to, from the song Circling Overland?
A35. The date on which the song takes place.
[Q36] I'm a real ass so i don't get to understanding the Evil Off tracklist?
A36. Ok, it's really simple: the first three songs are on the first line, divided by a
slash.
[Q37] Who contributed vocals to the track 'Born to Breathe' available on the "Angels
vs. Animals" remix album?"
A37. Eran Westwood, a New York based musician and studio technician. He formed
the group Spill with 99 Kowalski and John Dubbs and came to record a project in the

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Front 242 studios but never released anything of that. They did vocals for Evil Off
and Angels vs. Animals.
[Q38] What means the sentence "I NOSTRI SOGNI SONO SEMPRE PRESENTI" in the lyrics to
"Work 01"?
A38. It means "Our dreams are always present" [Ivan Iusco]
[Q39] Are there some funny stories?
A39.

There was some funny story from the first concert of the tour, in Louvain La
Neuve in 1987. After few minutes, the stage came down and the group was
suddenly playing two meters lower. [from the interview Front during 97'
Re:Boot Tour]
Another, not so funny story is from the Tyranny tour. Both Jean-Luc and
Richard 23 were hit by very high pitched feedback, that left them deaf for
several days. The doctor who cured them said that if the same thing would
happen again then the damage would be permanent. Since that day Jean-Luc
always goes on stage with ear plugs. [from the interview by by D. Phillips]
Daniel B. was interviewed for a Belgian magazine in which he told about a gig
they did in Salt Lake City, USA. A group of Mormons were not allowed to visit
the concert because of their belief, but a lot of them bought the 242-“Welcome
to paradise”-t-shirt that quotes the phrases “No sex until marriage” and “You
deserve to go to hell”. [Kris Beyens]
A Brazilian band named BONDE DO TIGRÃO ( Big Tiger's Street Train ) which is
labeled as FUNK sampled the very beginning of HEADHUNTER track. This action
has resulted a justice process which involves the band label and 242 label
representative in Brazil. Over US$ 100.000 is the value of the process which is
still been judged.
[Roger]
[Q40] Who's the preacher in Welcome to Paradise? What's the story?
A40. It's Farrell Griswold, he also appears on 'Angst' from Official Version. Take a
look at the Sample Sources page at Q27 to see all the copycats that sampled from
the same source. There is some confusion about this, cause other sources say it's
tele-evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, who had to ask forgiveness en plein public for
obscene behaviour with a prostitute, only few months after the release of the song
'Welcome to Paradise'. [from the Humo Interview of 25 November 1997 by Gert van
Nieuwenhove]
[Q41] Are there some computer programs, demos or something with any F242 elements?
A41.

SAMPLED V1.2 by Neurodancer contains some F242 graphics and samples

(http://www.sylaba.com/~neurod). The little demo (in zip archive with
SAMPLED) cyber!.exe contains a few seconds of Neurobashing.

http://www.themeworld.com/ has a 242 theme for MS plus;

http://www.themeworld.com/cgi-bin/redir.pl/front242.zip

There's one demo on PC called Robotnik - at the end, there's written the
sentence "Punish your machine". Well, I don't know if this has anything to do
with F242 since "punish your machine" is the technique for helping people to
shake off the fear from computers.

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You should know Tremor - it's one of the most nasty viruses ever created, and
it's quite interesting that its creator was F242 fan! See this portion of F-Prot's
info about Tremor: The activation routine is executed if another program tries to
use the interrupt 15h, after which Tremor clears the screen and displays the
text . "T.R.E.M.O.R. was done by NEUROBASHER / May-June '92, Germany,
-MOMENT-OF-TERROR-IS-THE-BEGINNING-OF-LIFE-". The sentence "Moment
of terror is the beginning of life" has been borrowed from FRONT 242, a Belgian
techno/industrial band. The sentence is printed on the inner envelope of their
Front-By-Front album. Neurobashing is one of their songs.

Another two viruses from the author of Tremor with 242 themes - the first is
called Nightfall (or N8fall) and displays the message:
Invisible and silent - circling overland :
\\\\\\ N 8 F A L L ///
Rearranged by Neurobasher - Germany
-MY-WILL-TO-DESTROY-IS-YOUR-CHANCE-FOR-IMPROVEMENTS-

or...
\"Any means necessary for survival\"
<* N8FALL/2XS *
\"By the perception of illusion we experience reality\"
Art & Strategy by Neurobasher 1994 - Germany
\"I don\'t think that the real violence has even started yet\"

The second is Neuroquilla with the message:

HAVOC by Neurobasher\'93/Germany
-GRIPPED-BY-FEAR-UNTIL-DEATH-US-DO-PART-[Freddy Krueger]

In the Amiga days, there was lots of 242 in demos etc.

http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/ will bring you these goodies, like the
Fairlight 242 Amiga demo.[Peter Adams]
[Q42] From which groups were they remixed?
A42. The Orb, J.G. Thirwell, KMFDM, The Prodigy, Rico Conning, Underworld, Space
Frog, Apoptygma Berzerk, Funker Vogt, Aqualite, Frontline Assembly, Suspicious,
Xingu Hil, Haujobb, Empirion, Leaether Strip, Substanz T, Beefcake, Resistance D.,
The Gallan Pixs, Noisex, Doug Laurent [Freddy Krueger], D'n'F, Talla 2XLC, [Peak],
Project-X, Childrin Within (to be found on the Golden Master edition of Headhunter
2000), Mike & B (on the Bonzai Records version of Headhunter 2000), Razormaid
(made the Welcome To... Headhunter remix, released on Anniversary 6.5 and a
remix of Rhythm Of Time by Warren Sanford, released on Razormaid 10.5), Mike
Wertheim for Twitch Records (remix of Religion, released on Twitch CD#8) [Marco
Coninx], "Mike's & B's Generator Mix" by Dirk M.I.K.E. Dierickx & DJ Marnix B. This
mix is on the Headhunter release from Lighting Records. [Dhennin], Blind Vision,
Birmingham6 / Filter Section (released on the Cyberlab 2.0 from SideLine).[Henrik
Jensen]
A lot of the remixes go back to Headhunter, which is a pity. There's a lot more good
material from 242 available to put in the blender.
[Q43]What 242 goodies are out there?
A43.

There are german telecards. Telephony for you ? See it[BOON Jean-Paul
[(Jean-Paul Boon] For T-shirts and other stuff, write to Transmission (Q8).
Joseph G..gh - Front 242 - Windows Re:Boot Theme and Winamp skin
http://members.fortunecity.com/twins242/activities/index.html

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There is a fan-tribute called 'Modem Angels', a CD which contains 15 remixes,

made by 242 fans that were at that time at the rants@front242.com list. It's a
regular CD in a special case, it's numbered 1 to 242 (limited edition). Normally
you won't be able to get one now, but sometimes they appear on eBay for
rediculous prices (over US$ 100). See the traces of the projects on this owners'
page http://242.framtid.nu/242/. But remember: NO ONE WANTS TO SELL HIS
COPY - DON'T BOTHER ASKING - YOU'RE TOO LATE.
There's also Re:Cover, a very similar project from the yahoo rants242 list. Find
the traces here: Re:Cover. It's one of the best remix CDs out there. You might
find this one on ebay too. But there are only 242 numbered items available.
roger2_3@ig.com.br also produced a tribute to 242 named A VIEW FROM
BRAZIL - A TRIBUTE TO FRONT 242 which is released in demo-tape format
only.
From the same contact: I used to run FRONTzine, a fanzine written in
Portuguese ( Brazil's official idiom ) which talked about FRONT 242 news,
curiosities and information sent to all Brazilian readers and 242 fans and which
also talked about other EBM bands.I published the last issue in 2000 and a
up-to-date complementation was published in december 2001.
[roger2_3@ig.com.br]

[Q44] Did 99Kowalski sing whole "cage" scream from "Animal" or is it looped?
A44. It's a loop and a delay. [Patrick Codenys, thanks to Susan Jekarl]
[Q45] After the 'Evil' records, there have been numerous rumours about a Front
split-up. What's it all about?
A45. As a matter of fact nobody ever left the band F242.... In 1993, Jean-Luc
DeMeyer (singer-lyricist) got a lot of sentimental problems and his writing was not
easy. We asked the Pauly Brothers to help on some lyrics. The Pauly Bros. played in
a Belgian band called "Parade Ground" (a JoyDivisionesque kind of band) [Patrick
Codenys, thanks to Susan Jekarl]
Also, on an early 242 song 'Don't Crash', the lyrics were written by Valerie Steele. All
other words (post Geography) are by J-L.
[Q46]Who is this 'Mrs van de Veer' on "Operating Tracks"?
A46. It is the name of a woman in the movie "Wolves" who inspired the lyrics of the
track. [Jean-Luc Demeyer, from an interview by Julien]
[Q47]What do the initials G.V.D.T. (song from the album Geography) stand for?
A47. Guido Van Den Troost, the first one to have aired one of our tracks on the
radio... [Jean-Luc Demeyer, from an interview by Julien]
[Q48]Evil Off - has it or has it not the voice of Jean-Luc Demeyer?
A48. "I didn't do anything on Off. But, there are some remix from Up Evil, you may
find in some places my voice remixed... I've only listened to this album one time,
when it was released." [Jean-Luc Demeyer, thanks to Julien]
[Q49]Funny remixes, spoofs, anything?
A49. You can find some spoofs of 242 lyrics at http://home.earthlink.net/~incycle
/identitycrisis.html/interests/front242rantsong.html (temporarily down)

Or check out who acquired the 242 lads souls'.

There's a nice Jean-Luc page at http://listen.to/my.own.material. Thanks to Cristian

Colliander

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[Q48]Kristin '99' Kowalski and 242?

A50. As the story goes, Kristin Kowalski and Eran Westwood, both members of the
New York based band 'Spill', were at the Art & Strategy studio's at the 'Evil Off'
composing era (to produce their own album, which never got released, anyway).
242 used both their voices on Evil Off. Kowalski brings the songs she did with 242
live on stage, sometimes. Thank you [Seth Popham]

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