Seven years ago, industrial music icon Martin Atkins teamed up with Justin Pearson both on a track with his band Planet B and for his podcast Cult and Culture—a then-new outlet Pearson started with Planet B bandmate Luke Henshaw in order to dig deeper into the countless relationships he’s forged over the past three decades within the space of punk and its surrounding culture. In honor of the podcast’s resilience over the years (they’re currently at 59 episodes), Pearson’s label Three One G (in conjunction with Smashed Plastic) is releasing a new comp next week that compiles tracks by Cult and Culture’s guests over the years, including HIRS Collective, ADULT., and several of Pearson’s own bands.
Atkins—a former member of Public Image Ltd., Killing Joke, and many others, in addition to Pigface’s band leader—is also in the mix, with his contribution to the comp debuting here today. The rarity “Beijing Taxi” first materialized on 2007’s Made in China LP and is repurposed here with an opening sound bite from Atkins’ episode of the podcast, leading into his post-dub, sample-heavy, blown-out, industrial take on drum ’n’ bass. “Not only does he have so much insane and impressive history, but he’s still pushing the envelope in this world, either with his Museum of Post Punk and Industrial Music, as well as his drumming, or just being a humble and righteous human,” shares Pearson. “I’ve been so privileged to only play music with amazing drummers in my musical history, and he’s certainly one of the best. So featuring him on the Cult and Culture podcast compilation album made complete sense. His contribution to the album is pretty much a Pigface track, according to the odd and interesting history of the song.”
Pearson will be playing at Atkins’ Extremities event in Chicago later this month, celebrating 35 years of Killing Joke’s landmark LP. Find tickets here, and listen to “Beijing Bicycle” below. You can also revisit Atkins’ episode of Cult and Culture here.
