Supermachiner

Supermachiner was intended as a side project of the Boston hardcore band Converge, which includes singer/songwriter Jacob Bannon and guitarist Kurt Ballou. Unlike the heavier, metalcore and hardcore punk-based music of Converge, much of Supermachiner is ambient. First created as a collection of 4-track recordings done with Ryan Parker, Supermachiner based much of its lyrical content about the rise of technology, transhumanism, and the technological singularity. The group took on the name Supermachiner as a play on words from the term Supermachinder, the compound word for Japanese giant robot toys of the 1970s. In 1999, recording sessions with Kurt Ballou contributed to much of the material for Rise of the Great Machine, a concept album heavily influenced by the instrumentation and style of Swans and Bauhaus. The finished album was published in 2000 to Undecided Records. They disbanded in 2000.^[1]

8 years later, Deathwish Inc. announced the release of Rust, a 30 track double CD that featured remastered versions of the Rise of the Great Machine tracks along with b-sides of forgotten songs and additional audio experiments.^[2]

Supermachiner was a project that I began writing for in 1994 with Ryan Parker. When Converge had about six months of down time as we searched for a drummer, we found the time to resurrect that project. We entered Godcity Studios with Kurt Ballou to take on the piles of old four track tapes we had. We each brought something to the table. And in the end we created an interesting record. After the recording was complete, there was little/no time to carry on with the project.

— Jacob Bannon^[3]

Members

• Jacob Bannon – vocals
• Kurt Ballou – guitar
• Seth E. Bannon
• Ryan Parker

Discography

• Rise of the Great Machine (2000, Undecided Records, Now OOP)
• Rise of the Great Machine (2008, e-vinyl, vinyl only limited repress)
• Rust (2008, Deathwish, Multiple CD Collection)

References