Portion Control share ‘H.O.T. Matter’ from Artoffact box set
Portion Control release “H.O.T. Matter (Demo version 1)”, the third single from their Artoffact box set “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge”, out 14 August.
British electro-industrial group Portion Control have released “H.O.T. Matter (Demo version 1)“, the third single from their archival box set “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…“, out 14 August 2026 on Artoffact Records. The set collects the London group’s mid-1980s work across a 4xCD box, a digital edition and a limited red vinyl LP.
You can stream and pre-order the box set through the Bandcamp player below.
Portion Control detail ‘H.O.T. Matter’ and the box set
This demo version of “H.O.T. Matter” is being made available for the first time; the finished studio version of the track appeared on “Psycho Bod Saves The World”, Portion Control’s third studio album, released in 1986. A video accompanies the single.
“It is strange and satisfying in equal measure to have this era of our catalogue finally gathered into a single coherent release,” the band state about the box set. It is an opportunity for long term and new listeners to hear the music of this period in full context. This material shaped our sound and attitude for all that has followed since.
The box set, “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…”, gathers 77 tracks. It brings together the 1983 mini-LP “Hit The Pulse”, the albums “..Step Forward” (1984) and “Psycho Bod Saves The World” (1986), the 12-inch singles “The Great Divide”, “Go-Talk” and “Raise The Pulse”, and the “Purge” EP (1986), alongside B-sides, compilation tracks, rarities, remixes, demos and two live recordings from 1984 and 1985. Paul Lavigne remastered all 77 tracks at Kontrast Mastering; 16 are previously unreleased and a further 12 appear on CD and digitally for the first time. The 4xCD edition comes in a five-panel ecopak with a 24-page booklet designed by Stefan Alt of Ant-Zen, and the red vinyl LP carries ten key tracks.
“H.O.T. Matter” follows “Refugee (Rhys Fulber Rebuild)”, a version reworked by Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly, and “Tex-Mex (Live at Dolce Vita, Lausanne 6/12/85)”, the second single from the box set. Both original studio versions appeared on the 1984 album “..Step Forward”, which the group promoted on tour with Depeche Mode and Blancmange.
Portion Control tour dates for 2026 and 2027
Portion Control have confirmed two festival appearances:
- 24 October 2026 – Zwickau, Germany – Elektrisch Festival
- 1-4 July 2027 – Canterbury, UK – Shadowlands Festival
About Portion Control
Portion Control formed in London in 1979 and built a raw, minimal sound around sequenced synthesisers, samplers and strident vocals. Their early records – the 1982 debut album “I Staggered Mentally”, the “Hit The Pulse” mini-LP (1983) and the second album “..Step Forward” (1984) – placed them among the pioneers of hard-edged electronic dance music, and the group supported Depeche Mode on tour in 1984. Their use of early sampling and drum-machine technology fed into the work of later acts including Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Nine Inch Nails and Orbital.
After a hiatus that began in the late 1980s, Portion Control returned in 2004 with “Wellcome”, followed by “Filthy White Guy” (2006), “Pure Form” (2012) and the run of “SEED” EPs between 2020 and 2025. The group signed to Artoffact Records in late 2025, and the label is now reissuing their catalogue as a series of box sets. “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…” is the first of those sets, and “H.O.T. Matter” is the third single drawn from it, following the band’s confirmed appearance at Zwickau’s Elektrisch Festival later this year.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.
Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!
