Real name / Alec Empire, Nic Endo, CX KiDTRONiK
The group was founded as an attack on the increasingly neo-Nazi influenced German techno scene and consisted of three Berliners - Alec Empire, Hanin Elias and MC Carl Crack. ATR's early releases (which included the track "Hetzjagd Auf Nazis!"/"Hunt Down the Nazis!") were surrounded by controversy in Germany.
After signing to Phonogram Records, a major European label, in 1993 the band received an unusually large financial advance which they duplicitously used to set up their own record label: Digital Hardcore Recordings (DHR). ATR never delivered a commercially viable demo to Phonogram.
In 1997 ATR was joined by Nic Endo, a Japanese-German-American noise/soundscape artist during the Beck tour. Their live shows during this time were characterized by violence. An outdoor show in Berlin on May 1st 1999 resulted in the arrests of all of the band members for "inciting violence" after crowds, assembled for an anti-NATO protest, rioted with police (the charges were later dropped). In another incident, a security guard in Brazil was allegedly hospitalized after being beaten by Elias with a microphone. A fan stated in an interview that the g...
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