Surgeon

One of the pioneers of the Birmingham sound, U.K. techno artist <a href="spotify:artist:7w9B7AXBUcF5lmlKFuMSCt">Anthony Child</a> has built a solid and innovative catalog of minimal dancefloor techno under the name Surgeon. Compared favorably with Detroit original <a href="spotify:artist:2eIDAcLKnWc4D350YyzvgS">Jeff Mills</a> from his earliest <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Downwards%22">Downwards</a> singles on forward, <a href="spotify:artist:7w9B7AXBUcF5lmlKFuMSCt">Child</a>'s tracks were a mainstay in the popular Motor City DJ's sets. A trio of classic late-'90s full-lengths for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a> (Basictonalvocabulary, Balance, and Force + Form) incorporated industrial and Krautrock influences into hard, driving techno. He continually pushed the limits of analogue equipment with increasingly complex releases on his own <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dynamic+Tension%22">Dynamic Tension</a> label, including 2011's Breaking the Frame and 2018's Luminosity Device. He returned to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a> in 2023 with Crash Recoil, a more direct album inspired by his live performances.

Surgeon's entry into production was also noteworthy; urged on by producer <a href="spotify:artist:3LQ6aBKxUDVOsSjrzaNVde">Mick Harris</a> (<a href="spotify:artist:7w9B7AXBUcF5lmlKFuMSCt">Child</a> was a fan of <a href="spotify:artist:3LQ6aBKxUDVOsSjrzaNVde">Harris</a>' <a href="spotify:artist:0sKlAr34dAjAdb7a9yriqX">Scorn</a> project), the former <a href="spotify:artist:3UqRgrDIQ208yNGiWKRMNt">Napalm Death</a> drummer locked <a href="spotify:artist:7w9B7AXBUcF5lmlKFuMSCt">Child</a> in his tiny studio, imploring him to "go mad." The result, the self-titled debut EP, was released on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Downwards%22">Downwards</a> in 1994, and was instantly hailed as some of the highest quality U.K. techno of its time. Releases for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Soma%22">Soma</a>, <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Blueprint%22">Blueprint</a>, Ideal Trax, and the ultra-exclusive <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a> label followed, with the debut LP Communications appearing on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Downwards%22">Downwards</a> in 1996. He then released a trilogy of well-regarded full-lengths on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a>: Basictonalvocabulary (1997), Balance (1998), and Force + Form (1999). Equally influenced by early electro-pop innovators like Tomita and <a href="spotify:artist:2JIf5JxI3ypOSfrfNIIMQE">YMO</a>, experimental groups like Can, <a href="spotify:artist:4yBBNmdvVaoPEnr2lt14q7">Faust</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6uVeWolwyRDrT84lLsaZyW">Suicide</a>, and the tough grit of American electro and techno (<a href="spotify:artist:5ipQlfnpRCtyOuhYqvPvQ8">Robert Hood</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6AWyFSk8mBekuHeotBV1Jx">Hashim</a>), Surgeon's sound was both straightforward and subtly experimental.

Throughout the following decade, <a href="spotify:artist:7w9B7AXBUcF5lmlKFuMSCt">Child</a> remained steadily active, issuing one proper full-length (2000's Body Request) and numerous 12"s. <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dynamic+Tension%22">Dynamic Tension</a> and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Counterbalance%22">Counterbalance</a>, two labels he established during the late '90s, became the outlets for much of his solo production work -- which was as stripped-down and challenging as ever -- as well as his collaborations with Karl O'Connor as <a href="spotify:artist:2GHvHovCwFqoSUmIR8l16q">British Murder Boys</a>. He remained an in-demand DJ and provided commercial mixes for <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Warp%22">Warp</a> (2007's This Is for You Shits) and <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Fabric%22">Fabric</a> (2010's Fabric 53). His sixth album, Breaking the Frame, appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dynamic+Tension%22">Dynamic Tension</a> in 2011. Surgeon unexpectedly opened for <a href="spotify:artist:1HY2Jd0NmPuamShAr6KMms">Lady Gaga</a> on her 2014 #ARTRAVE tour, wearing a <a href="spotify:artist:37KB5e6cGsN1AQAB9Omm1U">Coil</a> T-shirt and performing with <a href="spotify:artist:1HY2Jd0NmPuamShAr6KMms">Gaga</a>'s regular opening act, <a href="spotify:artist:0eoS0xkD1JAXJIEQi766Mf">Lady Starlight</a>.

After two experimental albums under his given name (2013's The Space Between People & Things and 2015's Electronic Recordings from Maui Jungle, Vol. 1), and a 2015 box set of the three albums he released on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a> (Tresor 97-99), <a href="spotify:artist:7w9B7AXBUcF5lmlKFuMSCt">Child</a> released his seventh Surgeon full-length, From Farthest Known Objects, in 2016. The following two years saw <a href="spotify:artist:7w9B7AXBUcF5lmlKFuMSCt">Child</a> tour using his modular setup, allowing for completely improvisatory sets. By the time he released his 2018 full-length, his sets began to reflect the material from that album; Luminosity Device drew inspiration from Bardo Thödol -- better known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead -- and was released through <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dynamic+Tension%22">Dynamic Tension</a>. Two Raw Trax EPs appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Dynamic+Tension%22">Dynamic Tension</a> in 2019. The <a href="spotify:artist:3KcV1kKG7Y0Gq7xPAGVjkZ">Drexciya</a>-influenced The Golden Sea was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ilian+Tape%22">Ilian Tape</a> in 2020, with Europa Code appearing on the same label soon after. Scoundrel, a collaboration with Reeko, appeared on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Mental+Disorder%22">Mental Disorder</a> in 2023. The full-length Crash Recoil marked Surgeon's return to <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Tresor%22">Tresor</a> after nearly 25 years, and contained studio versions of tracks developed for his live performances. ~ Sean Cooper & Paul Simpson, Rovi