4th November 2005
100 CDs in a washing machine
Wrong Music room, Overkill @ The Electrowerkz
What we did
We put 100 pop CDs in a washing machine
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The long version
Well, this was our rock'n'roll moment, and we loved it.
The idea itself was simple but effective. We love the whole breakcore, noisecore, gabba mash-ups music thing. And we really wanted to make a big noise. But rather than just mutilate some pop tunes by sampling them and distorting them, we wanted to really fuck 'em up. Make some huge noise. Physically. Violently. Dangerously. And not just one or two songs either. No, we wanted to do 100. So naturally we decided to collect 100 pop CDs, put them in a washing machine, and turn the thing on. On stage.
Truth is, we really didn't know what was going to happen. It's not like you do this sort of thing everyday. We'd collected the CDs, and modified the washing machine Robot Wars style, to be extra dangerous. Basically, it would go straight to the fastest spin cycle the moment it was turned on, and would work with the door open. We'd been warned that it could probably rip someone's arm off, so obviously we were looking forward to flicking that switch. But we hadn't tested it all...
We'd blagged a slot at the epic Overkill night at the Electrowerkz, which was also hosting Shitmat and V/Vm, so we were hoping for a receptive, noise friendly crowd. As it turns out, despite (or maybe because of) our early slot (23:00 hours - perfect!) the room was packed with people. When we jumped up on the little stage with the washing machine, started reading the CDs out and bunging them in, the crowd was right behind us, screaming for the destruction of the precious pop platters. 99 CDs and one great pun later ("We're going to spin some discs for you tonight!") and the crowd were psyched. By the time we slammed the door to turn the evil machine on, they were baying for Elton, Atomic Kitten and the Sugababes' blood.
What a shame it didn't work. Rather than the machine spinning the CDs to their doom, all we got was a quiet whine from the over-exerted motor, as the drum remained inert. Fortunately, we had a back-up plan. While Hooray dived behind our machine with a screwdriver, Mattie threw the CDs out into the eager crowd, where they were ritually destroyed - stamped on, snapped, torn to bits, and in one case, chewed to pieces.
It's fair to say that the orgy of destruction was already in full swing, but when the machine finally, triumphantly spun into life, the roar from the crowd was immense. And we were as shocked as anyone, at the spectacle of that vicious machine, spinning and vibrating wildly, making the most unholy noise know to man, door flapping open, spewing CD shrapnel everywhere, jumping up and down on the stage and threatening to bounce right off into the assembled masses. It was incredible. What monster had we created?
It was glorious. But we knew we had to flick the switch back, before things got really fucked up. As the machine slowly span down, we saw that the whole top had somehow been crumpled and ripped. Before we could be held responsible for our irresponsible actions, we said a quick thank you, jumped off the stage and became one with the crowd. Walking out of the room, CDs crunched under every step, and surrounding us were hundreds of smiling faces. One way or another, we knew that they, and indeed ourselves, would never see anything quite like that again.
View all photos from this event >>
Read the list of CDs that got destroyed >>
Watch some video of the event >>
A special thanks to Wrong Music, our hosts for the night >>
