With eight releases so far in 2019, techno punk, or “chickno”, group chickenbreeder blends a love of Punk Rock, Electronica, and Rap/Hip Hop into a creative experimental mix. chickenbreeder “is really a holistic experience, but encapsulated within a singular evolving dark and distressed energy,” says masked member and face of chickenbreeder, Rayne, one of two members who maintain anonymity as artists. Coming full circle from earlier releases such as “Verbal Diarrhea” and “Junk Feud” where the theme was more of a “fluid punk aesthetic” and fueled by annoyance towards social customs, toxic familial relationships, and social injustices; the most recent release “whitefish” keeps the theme and attitude, but with upgraded musicianship and songwriting. It is less angry punk yelling into a microphone and is now more polished into a signature sound.
Created by a chance meeting at a bar in London, England, chickenbreeder is split between the U.K. where Rayne lives and works as a law firm assistant, and Australia where the other member lives and works as a full-time artist. Keeping constant contact between the two via phone calls and online communication, base samples are sent back and forth and then discussed to form a more refined sound. “It’s actually quite a fluid process and takes a bit of patience,” Rayne explains, “We’ve got a good system in place to manage the long distance situation.”
“We mostly start with lyrics and concepts for our songs, tracks or albums – but sometimes it actually begins with the album artwork and title, which informs a kind of conceptual theme to the album,” continues Rayne, “such as for Mister Morley Bossman which was one of our first pure electronic albums,” which has a track listing that entertainingly reads like a chicken shack menu. Using Android recording software has given chickenbreeder incredible flexibility and has allowed for recording whenever the song comes to mind and lets them capture the mood when inspiration strikes. It also maintains to an almost extreme the true meaning of DIY. Everything is created, and produced independently, letting the unchained beast of creativity continue uninterrupted and that “chickno” sound can flow freely. The opportunity to create in the moment and capture whatever mood they are in, has led to a multifaceted sound within their own unique production. While “BIG NAME SPENT (chickno mix)” is a fun, upbeat, dance, electro song, “Caterpillar Empire” brings a Dark Wave and Industrial feel, whereas “Look At Her Speak” is a building, psychedelic journey. chickenbreeder had their current release “whitefish” renamed as such due to a force in change from a distributor, but hopes their acute perspective will be interesting to a first time listener.
Visual and conceptual artists, underground promoters, and techno nights are all being worked with to bring a chickenbreeder live show to life. The entire chickenbreeder catalog can be found on multiple streaming platforms (Spotify, Deezer, Google Play, etc.), as well as on YouTube. “whitefish” was released 31 July 2019.