Last Updated on March 11, 2023
Pindown formed circa 1999 after Roki, (Martyn Peck), approached Nigel Ball and Jason Whittaker about getting together to rehash some White Slug tracks, a band all three had been members of at one time or another, (although Roki and Nigel had never been members at the same time). Jason, one of the originators of White Slug, was adamant that he did not want to retread old ground, so the three agreed to work on new material.
Jason trawled his back catalogue of samples, some dating back to his time in White Slug, and put together 5 tracks of music with Roki’s help in creating sub-bass noise and suggesting programming ideas. Nigel wrote lyrics and worked on vocal arrangements for the tracks, and with a set written and rehearsed, the three piece performed under the name Omega Point at The Steamboat Tavern in Ipswich in 2000. The set was one of dark industrial soundscapes and frenetic stabs of noise laid over sampled beats triggered by Jason and Roki, with a rabid political diatribe of distorted verse half rapped and half shouted by Nigel.
After this initial outing, Roki, who normally played guitar, voiced his dissatisfaction with playing keyboards live and decided to leave the band. To mark the change in personnel, Omega Point were renamed Pindown, and went on to write new material around samples and noises sourced by Jason, and politically charged rhetoric coined by Nigel. Over time, the band moved to a cleaner and less chaotically layered sound, exploring many different rhythmic backdrops—including drum & bass, grime, and Mayan drumming—as a foundation for an immersive industrial experience. Their live sets featured hypnotic animated backdrops to augment an intense sonic delivery.
The band performed three further gigs. Two at The Steamboat Tavern; firstly with Chocolate and Earth Mother Fucker; and latterly with Jack Rundell and Henry Homesweet as part of an Antigen Records launch night for Homesweet’s Palm Trance CD. Pindown’s last live outing was in Colchester in 2009 playing alongside Mixamatosis, Cats Against The Bomb, John Callaghan and Kunt and The Gang.
Shortly after their last appearance, Nigel left the band.
Discography
Flea Circus. Single track on The Ugly Truth About Ipswich compilation. Antigen Records + Corndog Records. 2011
Hyper Reality. Single track on Caveat Emptor #1 compilation. Antigen Records. 2011
Democracy In Action, 7 track remastered digital download. Digital Vomit Records. 2009
Available to download free from here.
Democracy In Action, 7 track CD. Antigen Records. 2004
Band members
Main members:
Nigel Ball
Jason Whittaker
With Martyn Peck (Roki) as Omega Point
Related bands
The Ballistics. Bum Gravy. ElvisPresley plc. Fuckhead. Heysel Dean and the Carpenters From Hell. Optimum Wound Profile. These Are End Times. White Slug.
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