PTP (band)

The industrial band PTP was a short-lived side project of Ministry's Alain Jourgensen. The band's total recorded legacy consists of three songs. The first PTP track, "Show Me Your Spine," was recorded in 1987. The song has several claims to fame. It marked the first collaboration between Jourgensen and vocalist Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy. The two continued to work closely with one another through 1990. The track appeared briefly during the club scene in the first RoboCop movie (1987) but, notoriously, did not appear on the soundtrack. In fact, the song was not commercially released until 2004 when it appeared on Ministry's "Side Trax" compilation. Musically, it is representative of the early Wax Trax sound, which is not a surprise considering Jourgensen's history. It features arpeggio melodies, loud drums, Fairlight orchestral hits (played back at various speeds) and of course Ogre's heavily distorted vocals.

PTP released the "Rubber Glove Seduction" single in 1989 on Wax Trax. It was reissued in 1993 on TVT. The b-side was a song titled "My Favorite Things." The sound featured slicker, more sophisticated electronics in accordance with Jourgensen's growing production skills. Chris Connelly took Ogre's place on vocals. "Rubber Glove Seduction" became a club hit with Connelly's deadpan lyrics: "Tick tick tock I am the kitchen clock / Tick tick tock this is my wife / Tick tick tock I am the kitchen clock / Tick tick tock this is my "knife"." Speeded up vocals swirled through the mix, some of which offered a commentary on the song itself when slowed down. "My Favorite Things" had a throbbing bass line and an uncharacteristic guitar solo. The CD liner notes were cryptic, as usual. They offered no expansion of the band's name though interviews with Jourgensen later revealed that it stood for Programming the Psychodrill, taken after a J.G. Ballard collage. The listed band personnel were:

*$corpio (Chris Connelly): big bass drum, vocals
*Alien Dog Star (Alain Jourgensen): pan flute, finger cymbals
*Frenchie l'Amour (Paul Barker, also of Ministry): spanish guitars

The notes go on to give the usual Hypo Luxa/Hermes Pan production credit, a mention of the engineer (Littlefellow) and the studio (ursini/hyams recorders, "where you always save more money"), and this odd solicitation:

PTP Fan Cube: Mad DOg! P.O. BOX 138402 Chicago iL 60613

Jourgensen stated in 2004 interviews that his future efforts will revolve around what he calls the "three headed monster," Ministry, the Revolting Cocks and Lard, so it seems that PTP has run its course.

External links

* [http://www.nodevotion.com/ptp Programming The Psychodrill]
* [http://www.rockdetector.com/officialbio,65404.sm External PTP Biography]