16 Volt

by John BushBasically the one-man studio project of Eric Powell with other members added mostly for live shows, 16 Volt combines the two main thrusts of '90s industrial music -- electronics and guitars -- in surprisingly equal amounts on several albums for Re-constriction Records. The son of a record executive, Powell became interested in music early on, and formed 16 Volt in 1988. While shopping his demos several years later, he met up with a college-radio music director who agreed to release the recordings on his newly formed Re-constriction label. After working with Skinny Puppy's Dave Ogilvie on production, 16 Volt released debut album, Wisdom, in 1993. Skin followed in 1994, after which the project met Hate Dept. on the Remix Wars EP. 16 Volt's third album, LetDownCrush, signaled the end of Powell's relationship with Re-constriction; Super Cool Nothing, issued in 1998, appeared on the Slipdisc imprint of Mercury/Polygram. Demography appeared in fall 2000.