Conceptualized a few years back after late nights under an influence, Soft Riot came to be as a musical creation of JJD (Jack Duckworth) of the London, England based psych electronic post-punk outfit Savage Furs. A casual project that formed in the mid-naughties under the original name JJ Wax, Soft Riot’s original angle was “ambient punk”, fusing elements of drone-y post-rock, minimal wave electronics, synthesizer-based cinema soundtracks and a bit of chordal mass composition.

Soft Riot remained as an occasional studio outing while energies were put into other bands for a number of years. In late 2010 the project was finally given the focus it deserved with the release of   “No Longer Stranger” on the Panospria label. Drawing inspiration from synthesizer-based film soundtracks of yesteryear, drones, minimal electronics past and present and a heavy dose of throbbing appregiated rhythms, this EP featured six minimal, pulsing pop songs, the lyrics drawing from science fiction, isolation, politics, romance and psychedelia with an element of wry black humour.

More recently the Soft Riot sound has started to edge in a dance feel, incorporating elements of minimal wave, EBM and synthpop; all masterfully inserted into Soft Riot’s more recent compositions which see a progression informed by successfully working out his show in the live arena. JJD is no stranger to performance after years of gigging and touring in other projects and the experience shows by the execution a true one-man show. Manning no less than two synthesizers, a microphone, an on-stage mixer, and a variety of outboard effects augmented by atmospheric on-stage lighting, this spectacle alone sets this live show apart from the bulk of the modern bulk of laptop-based live solo electronic shows. Documentation of this shift will commence in early 2012 with the release of the extended single, “Another Drone In Year Head” on the fast rising Tundra Dubs label (Funerals, ?AIMON) out of San Francisco.

This agenda and performance concept is a thought out one by an artist who is now into his second decade of writing music, playing shows and releasing numerous records on labels such as Gold Standard Labs (GSL), Kill Rock Stars, Action Driver and Ache. From the polyrhymic textured new wave of Radio Berlin, the panicked synth-punk of A Luna Red and Primes and numerous other post-punk/hardcore and electronic projects; all of these experiences have pointed to the calculated execution of Soft Riot’s minimal yet compelling sound.