Download

Download is a Canadian electronic and industrial group from Vancouver, active from 1995 to the present. The project is formed by Dwayne Rudolph Goettel and cEvin Key of Skinny Puppy, and its membership is fluid. Alongside Key, early and recurring contributors include Phil Western, Mark Spybey, Anthony Valcic, and Ryan Moore. The group is associated with electronic, industrial, IDM, experimental, and ambient music.

Formation and line-up

Download begins as a side project for Key and Goettel after their work in Skinny Puppy. Goettel and Key start the project in 1995, and Goettel dies of a heroin overdose several months before the debut album appears. After that point, the line-up changes frequently, with Key and Western remaining the most consistent members. Other participants include Anthony Valcic and Ken Marshall, as well as Mark Spybey, who is known for Dead Voices on Air.

Style and sound

The group’s music is described as post-industrial and is rooted in the legacy of Skinny Puppy, while also sharing stylistic ground with artists such as Aphex Twin and Autechre. Its recordings commonly use synthesizers and sampled instruments, with a strong emphasis on percussion and rhythm. Over time, the sound also reflects the influence of electronic dance music.

Releases

Download’s debut album, Furnace, is issued on the band’s own SubConscious Records and distributed by Cleopatra. The group then releases the EP (Microscopic), which includes remixed material from Furnace, and (Sidewinder), its first release for Nettwerk Records. The second album, The Eyes of Stanley Pain, follows in 1996. In 1997 the soundtrack Charlie’s Family appears on Metropolis Records, and later that year the group releases (III). Effector follows three years later.