Philip Best

Philip Best (born June 15, 1968) is an English pioneer of power electronics, who formed the band Consumer Electronics in 1982 at the age of 14. He joined the group Whitehouse, led by William Bennett, in 1983. After a nine-year hiatus starting in 1984, Best rejoined and remained with the group until departing again in 2008.[1]

In the early 1980s, Best also ran his own DIY label Iphar, releasing compilations of power electronics. Through the circulation of these controversial cassettes he succeeded in promoting the burgeoning extreme noise genre.[2] Among these cassette releases were "On to 83", with Gary Mundy. "Torture Music" by Iphar clinic, a solo project, and "White Power", a fake neo-nazi various artists compilation with artists such as Maurizio Bianchi, Sutcliffe Jugend, and Best's other project with Mundy, Consumer Electronics.

Best has been a frequent collaborator with Gary Mundy on projects such as Ramleh (c. 1987–1997).[3] In 1995, under the Consumer Electronics moniker, Best joined forces with Japanese noise musician Masami Akita – along with several Ramleh cohorts – to release "Horn of the Goat."

In 1998, Best published his doctoral thesis at Durham University entitled "Apocalypticism in the Fiction of William S. Burroughs, J.G. Ballard and Thomas Pynchon", and later received a doctorate in English literature.

In 2010, a collection of Best's artwork entitled American Campgrounds was published by Creation Books, with a foreword written by Peter Sotos.[4]

In December 2016, Infinity Land Press published Alien Existence,[5] a book of over 200 colour reproductions of original artwork by Best, as well as 40 pages of his creative writings, and an extensive interview conducted by Martin Bladh.

Best continues to tour and release music as Consumer Electronics. The current line up includes Best, Russell Haswell and Best's wife Sarah Froelich. Their most recent LP, Dollhouse Songs was released by Harbinger Sound in 2015, and the piece "At Any Rate, It's Already Too Late" was released on the Harbinger Sound Sampler compilation in 2017.[6]

References
  1. "Philip Best discography". Korperschwache.com. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  2. "Iphar". Discogs.com. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  3. "Philip Best". Discogs.com. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  4. "American Campgrounds: Philip Best / Peter Sotos". Archived from the original on 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  5. "Infinity Land Press Web Page - Alien Existence by Philip Best". Infinity Land Press Web Page. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  6. "Consumer Electronics". Discogs.com. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
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