Broken English Club

A driving force in the techno scene since the mid-'90s, <a href="spotify:artist:5rLUaBMqu6XMcMGhodaOmg">Oliver Ho</a> originally made a name for himself alongside <a href="spotify:artist:4erwZm1JybuSPTUg5Bu7nT">Regis</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1PSylklb2w06BAAHEtepqM">Surgeon</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1CxlOLe7rJ6EO7aPMxi9Xx">James Ruskin</a> as part of the new breed of British techno that drew inspiration from not only the techno scene but the rich heritage of industrial and post-punk music from the U.K. After numerous guises -- including <a href="spotify:artist:0QmLOf75Riz4P7ziy2Awm8">Raudive</a>, Birdland, and Zov Zov -- <a href="spotify:artist:5rLUaBMqu6XMcMGhodaOmg">Ho</a> looked back to those early influences with the start of his Broken English Club project. Debuting on the then-fledgling label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Jealous+God%22">Jealous God</a> -- which had been set up by <a href="spotify:artist:1QwvlTkLsKbaB3JT1AV245">Silent Servant</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4erwZm1JybuSPTUg5Bu7nT">Regis</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:1CxlOLe7rJ6EO7aPMxi9Xx">James Ruskin</a> -- <a href="spotify:artist:5rLUaBMqu6XMcMGhodaOmg">Ho</a>'s first EP, Jealous God #4, appeared in 2014 and saw him referencing the likes of <a href="spotify:artist:1UYhxPY1oqFUg1HfF8nV3k">Throbbing Gristle</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4KtyUYo9zaM9YggIVc7uxx">D.A.F</a>., and <a href="spotify:artist:3oi0s3WIuxBU5oh87n7za2">Psychic TV</a>. A split follow-up with <a href="spotify:artist:1QwvlTkLsKbaB3JT1AV245">Silent Servant</a> appeared a few months later as the Violence and Divinity EP, which appeared on <a href="spotify:artist:1akVMMowu12xCGReNfz2wr">Veronica Vasicka</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Cititrax%22">Cititrax</a> label. Buoyed by the success of the EPs, <a href="spotify:artist:5rLUaBMqu6XMcMGhodaOmg">Ho</a> returned to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Cititrax%22">Cititrax</a> with the release of Scars in 2015 and a fully fledged album, Suburban Hunting, a few months later. That same year, <a href="spotify:artist:5rLUaBMqu6XMcMGhodaOmg">Ho</a> took Broken English Club into a live setting with shows in Moscow and at Berlin's Berghain as part of <a href="spotify:artist:4erwZm1JybuSPTUg5Bu7nT">Regis</a>' Downwards showcase. 2016 saw <a href="spotify:artist:5rLUaBMqu6XMcMGhodaOmg">Ho</a> pushing his sound into more extreme territories with the release of the Myths of Steel and Concrete single on his own <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Death+%26+Leisure%22">Death & Leisure</a> label. At the beginning of 2017, he returned to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Jealous+God%22">Jealous God</a>, offering up the 16th release on the label, which this time saw him embracing '80s new beat and EBM into his now-signature sound as Broken English Club. The sophomore album, The English Beach -- which appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22L.I.E.S.%22">L.I.E.S.</a> -- was released a few months later. The album saw <a href="spotify:artist:5rLUaBMqu6XMcMGhodaOmg">Ho</a> bringing together the industrial and minimal wave elements of his earlier releases, while adding EBM and techno flavors to the mix. ~ Rich Wilson, Rovi