Portion Control is a British electronic and industrial band from South London. The trio of John Whybrew, Ian Sharp and Dean Piavani started out experimenting with electronics in 1980. Linking up with In Phaze Records, they released a number of cassettes and records before signing with Illuminated Records in 1983. There followed a series of classic 12″ singles: “Raise the Pulse”, “Rough Justice” and “Go-Talk”, which have become underground dancefloor hits. The band classifies their music style as “Hard Rhythmic Electronics” and were a major influence on Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly and Depeche Mode.
Going back a few years, the band released their first official vinyl album ‘I Staggered Mentally’ on In Phaze Records in 1982. This album laid the template for the harder edged rhythmic industrial sound of the 80s and 90s. ‘I Staggered Mentally’ is as raw as electronic music gets. Dean Piavani’s anguished vocals are the lone human element amidst electric drones, metallic beats and alien analog flickers. Lead synths and effects were created with the Roland SH-09 and RS-09. The rhythm section was provided by the Roland TR-606 and then brand new TB-303 Bassline. Pulsing rhythmic tones were generated using the sample and hold feature of the Moog Rogue. This album documents the band’s transition from Cabaret Voltaire-inspired experimentalists into proto-EBM and electro-industrial pioneers. It remains a shockingly brutal and viscerally exciting statement.
All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket is an exact replica of the original 1982 edition featuring a pixelated man screaming. Each copy includes a 8 page, stapled pamphlet that contains press releases, concert flyers and photos circa the recording of ‘I Staggered Mentally’. The perfect soundtrack for the harsh, even malignant, urban-industrial nightmare.
