Portion Control announce box set ‘1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…’
Portion Control announced “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…”, a 4xCD box set and LP on Artoffact Records, out August 14, 2026.
Portion Control “Hit The Pulse to Purge” is a 4xCD box set scheduled for release on August 14, 2026 through Artoffact Records, with digital and limited LP editions. Titled “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…”, it is the first archival box set in a series drawn from the British group’s back catalogue.
The collection covers 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). It adds B-sides, compilation tracks, rarities, remixes, demos and two concert recordings from 1984 and 1985.
77 tracks in total were remastered by Paul Lavigne at Kontrast Mastering, of which 16 are previously unreleased and a further 12 appear on CD and digitally for the first time. The 4xCD set is packaged in a five-panel ecopak with a 24-page booklet of archive photos and a new design by Stefan Alt of ant-zen. A limited red vinyl LP collecting ten tracks will also be issued.
The first preview from the set is a rebuild of “Refugee”, a track from the 1984 album “..Step Forward”, reworked by Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly.
Portion Control signed to Artoffact Records in late 2025. Side-Line reported the signing when the band joined Artoffact and released “SEED EP3.1”. The label is reissuing the group’s back catalogue as a series of box sets, of which “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…” is the first.
About Portion Control
Portion Control formed in South London in 1979, with a line-up of Dean Piavani, Ian Sharp and John Whybrew. After early cassette releases, the group issued its first vinyl album, “I Staggered Mentally”, in 1982. Their use of sequenced synthesisers, samplers and strident vocals placed them among the early electro-industrial acts, and they have been cited as an influence on Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Nine Inch Nails and Orbital. The group toured with Depeche Mode in 1984.
After disbanding in the late 1980s, Portion Control reconvened in the mid-2000s and resumed releasing, with records including “Wellcome” (2004), “Filthy White Guy” (2006) and “Pure Form” (2012), followed by the “SEED” EPs issued between 2020 and 2025. Side-Line has covered the band over this period, including its reissue of the “Dissolve” material in 2022 and a 2020 interview. The “1983-86 – Hit The Pulse to Purge…” box set opens Artoffact’s reissue programme for the group.
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