Portion Control – Seed EP3.1 (Digital EP – Artoffact Records)
This EP, containing 16 individual tracks, is a reissue of “Seed EP3”, originally self-released in 2021. Portion Control now presents this remastered version—released via Artoffact Records—which feels more like a full-length album, expanded with three additional new tracks.
Forty-five years after their first release, Portion Control remains a highly creative band operating at an impressive level of quality. The sonic construction and production of this work are clear evidence of that. This is dark, EBM-driven music, powered by phenomenal sound design and carried by imposing bass lines. On top of that, Dean Piavanni’s passionate vocal delivery completes the overall experience.
Portion Control stands for intelligent EBM, something they demonstrate convincingly on the first four tracks, including one of the new songs. These are followed by more Experimental, shorter pieces—primarily instrumental, though occasionally interwoven with vocals that function more as an effect within the music than as a traditional narrative element. Alongside these shorter compositions, there is one track that captivates the listener for over nineteen minutes. While the meaning of these pieces is not always as immediately clear as that of the opening tracks, they reveal a different perspective of the band—one that is not only Experimental but also Cinematic in nature.
A work with two clearly distinct faces, “Seed EP3.1” once again proves that Portion Control continues to evolve creatively, even decades into their career. (Rating:8).
Listen to “Move”:
Read the news on ‘Seed EP3.1’.
About Portion Control
Portion Control formed in South London in 1979 with an initial line-up of Dean Piavani, John Whybrew and Ian Sharp. They emerged from the post-punk period with a self-described “electropunk” approach, using early drum machines, samplers and affordable analogue synths.
The group’s first releases were cassette-only offerings such as “A Fair Portion”, “Gaining Momentum” and “Private Illusions No 1”, followed by the debut vinyl album “I Staggered Mentally” in 1982 on In Phaze Records. That record, together with 12-inch releases like “Raise the Pulse”, “Rough Justice” and “Go-Talk”, placed them within the emerging industrial and EBM underground.
They followed with the mini-LP “Hit the Pulse” (1983) and the second full-length “Step Forward” (1984), which coincided with support slots for Depeche Mode. Later 1980s releases such as “Psycho-Bod Saves the World” documented their move towards a harder, dancefloor-oriented sound before they halted activity near the end of the decade.
After the original run, Piavani and Whybrew continued in the related project Solar Enemy before reviving Portion Control in the early 2000s. The reactivated group released “Wellcome” (2004), “Dissolve” (2004), “Filthy White Guy” (2006), “Onion Jack IV” (2007), “Slug” (2008), “Violently Alive” (2010) and “Pure Form” (2012).
After an eight-year gap in long-form releases, the group returned in 2020 with “Head Buried: 54 Pure Electronics” on Progress Productions and began the “SEED” cycle, with “SEED EP1” in September 2020 and “SEED EP2” in December 2020. In 2021 they completed the trilogy with “SEED EP3”, released digitally on 5 March 2021 and built around short tracks plus the 19-minute piece “Chain”. In 2025 the band signed with Artoffact Records, which issued the remastered, expanded “SEED EP3.1” and began reissuing the group’s back catalogue.
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