Front 242

Front 242 formed in 1981 in Aarschot, Belgium, founded by Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen. Jean-Luc De Meyer (vocals) and Patrick Codenys (keyboards, programming) joined in 1982, arriving from the group Underviewer. Richard Jonckheere, known as Richard 23, joined in 1983 on electronic percussion. Bergen stepped back from performing to manage the band. Their 1984 album “No Comment” carried the term “electronic body music” on its sleeve, an early use of the phrase that later named the genre.

The band’s early releases came out on Another Side/Les Disques du Crepuscule and Red Rhino Europe, followed by Wax Trax! in the United States from 1984. Studio albums include “Geography” (1982), “No Comment” (1984), “Official Version” (1987), “Front by Front” (1988), “Tyranny (For You)” (1991, released through Sony/Epic), “06:21:03:11 Up Evil” and “05:22:09:12 Off” (both 1993), and “Pulse” (2003), the band’s most recent studio album. Daniel Bressanutti continued producing and mixing for the group through its later years on Alfa Matrix.

In March 2024 Front 242 announced the “Black Out” tour as their final live shows, closing with three concerts at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels on 23-25 January 2025. Side-Line marked the farewell show the same week. Alfa Matrix released the tour recording as the live album “Black Out” on 19 June 2026, in seven formats including 2CD and clear vinyl 2LP editions, with first official releases of the live tracks “Generator”, “Fix It” and “Hide & Seek”. A tribute compilation, “Recovery >For You< 2”, followed in April 2026.