Decal

Dublin, Ireland's Decal started life in 1993 as a duo. Alan O'Boyle ran an ad looking for members for his indie band and Dennis McNulty responded. Influenced by everything from Steve Reich to Chaka Khan, the two started recording layers of guitars with electronics underneath. Lack of decent studio equipment made recording the guitar difficult, turning Decal into an entirely electronic band by default. Their debut, Ultramack 004, appeared in 1994 on their own Ultramack label and drew praise from influential DJ Andrew Weatherall, who licensed two tracks from the band for his Sabrettes imprint. As the band grew, their downtempo techno sound started leaning more toward electro with 1998's Lo-Lite. A series of electro singles appeared on their new imprint, Trama Industries, in 1999, the same year that rumors started spreading that Dublin's popular Funnel dance club was closing down. Given Decal's obvious frustrations with Dublin's club scene, 2001's Dreaming of Electro She EP had "this town is cracking up, this town has broke down" etched into the vinyl. An abstract and nearly beatless album, 2002's 404 Not Found appeared on Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu label. McNulty left the band in 2003 to focus on sound art and electronic improvisation. The more electro-oriented and O'Boyle-only Decal released Brightest Star on Rotters Golf Club in 2003 and Release Through Velocity on Satamile in 2004.