Alec Empire

His maternal grandfather, Karl Steinhof, was a self-made millionaire who patented the first domestic hand-knitting appliance during the economic boom in Germany in the 1950s.

Wilke grew up during the Cold War near the Berlin Wall, which he passed every day on his way to school.

The frequent sight of patrol guards with guns influenced his outlook on life from an early age.

He describes Berlin at the time as: "Probably the most left radical place in Germany in the 70s, terrorists, a lot of demonstrations, and probably the first address to hear the latest American music, because of the radio shows the US soldiers brought to Berlin."

At the age of ten, Wilke's love of hip hop led to a vogueing career on the streets of Berlin.

Later disillusioned by that genre becoming increasingly commercial, he left it behind in favour of a completely different form of musical expression.

He had played guitar since the age of eight which coupled with his politically charged upbringing eventually led him to punk music; he formed his first band, Die Kinder (The Kids), at age twelve.

By sixteen, however, Wilke came to believe that the punk movement was "dead" (though the anti-establishment punk attitude would figure significantly in his subsequent output).

After leaving Die Kinder, he began listening to classical music and experimenting with electronic instruments.

He eventually became fascinated by the rave scene, and, following German reunification, frequented underground raves in East Berlin, believing his native West Berlin scene to be too commercialised.

Known earlier in his career as LX Empire he produced a great deal of what he refers to as "faceless DJ music".

Empire retaliated by utilising samples of 1960s and 1970s funk – a predominantly black style of music – in his solo work.

In order to further spread the message, he gathered like-minded individuals Hanin Elias (also a former punk) and Carl Crack (a Swazi MC) to form a band.

Alec Empire (born Alexander Wilke-Steinhof on 2 May 1972) is a German experimental electronic musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot, as well as a solo artist, producer and DJ.

He has released many albums, EPs and singles, some under aliases, and remixed over seventy tracks for various artists including Björk.

He was also the driving force behind the creation of the digital hardcore genre, and founded the record labels Digital Hardcore Recordings and Eat Your Heart Out Records.

Wilke's father was a working-class socialist, himself the son of a radical activist who perished in the Nazi concentration camps of World War II.

Empire, who is straight edge, also stated that it was a reaction to both the fashion-victimized and drug-fueled nihilism of the rave scene of the 1990s, once saying that "You can't read or do anything else while listening to our music."

In 1991, while DJing on a beach in France with his friend Hanin Elias, he caught the attention of Ian Pooley, which led to the release of a number of 12" records on the Force Inc. label.

Although Empire was a prolific producer and DJ at this time, and made a comfortable enough living, he nevertheless saw the rave scene as decadent and selfish.

This angered him, as he and his friends lived in a city embroiled in politics, and the demise of communist-led governments had given rise to increased conservatism in Germany, whilst few people cared.

The German neo-Nazi movement had invaded the scene, declaring trance techno "true German music".

In 1992, the trio became known as Atari Teenage Riot (ATR).

In Empire's words, Atari Teenage Riot's complex musical style was intended to "destroy" the "simulated harmony" of the mainstream electronic music, and that, besides their protest lyrics, "riot sound produce riots".

ATR signed a record deal with Phonogram, a major UK label, in 1993.

The two parted ways after only a couple of single releases, due to the band's refusal to play by the label's rules.

In 1994, using the non-refundable cash advance from the deal, Empire started an independent record label that allowed its artists the freedom of expression Phonogram were unlikely to give.

He named it Digital Hardcore Recordings (DHR); the direction his sound had taken came to be known as "digital hardcore".

That year, DHR released EPs by EC8OR, Sonic Subjunkies, and Empire himself.

While working with ATR, Empire continued steadily with his solo output.

He recorded for Force Inc. under several pseudonyms, including the Detroit techno-inspired Jaguar.

He also recorded several albums for Force Inc.'s experimental sub-label Mille Plateaux, including Generation Star Wars (his first full solo album) and Low on Ice, which he recorded entirely on his laptop during a three-day tour of Iceland with ATR.

In 1995, ATR released their first proper album, Delete Yourself!, on DHR, and, in 1996, Empire released his first solo album for DHR, The Destroyer.

In that year, Empire and Mike D signed a deal to release a number of DHR's recordings on the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal record label in the United States.

ATR spent the next few years touring the world with artists such as Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Beck, Rage Against the Machine, the Wu-Tang Clan and Ministry, as well as headlining shows as the Digital Hardcore festival at CBGB's in New York City in 1998, and the Queen Elizabeth Hall show in London in 1999 at the request of fan John Peel.

During this time they introduced Nic Endo to their ranks as a fourth member.

All of the members found some comfort in their solo work – Empire's output at this time would include his sole release as Nintendo Teenage Robots, and the bootleg recording Alec Empire vs. Elvis Presley, as well as remixes for the likes of The Mad Capsule Markets, Mogwai and Thurston Moore.

However, ATR's problems worsened.

Onstage at one show in Seattle in 1999, Empire slashed his forearms with a razor.

At another show that year in London, in which ATR supported Nine Inch Nails, the band dispensed with the usual song-based formula and delivered one long barrage of what could only be described as "noise"; this would later be released as Live at Brixton Academy.