Philip Best

Philip Best (born 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."

Best continues to tour as Consumer Electronics and has recently released two albums (Nobody's Ugly in 2007 and Crowd Pleaser in 2009) under that moniker.^[4]

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.^[5]

References

External links

• Discogs page for Philip Best