Couch Wisdom

Atari Teenage Riot Founder Alec Empire

Following the fall of the Berlin Wall, a young Alec Empire looked to the rebellious sounds of techno, acid house and punk to inform a new project: Atari Teenage Riot. The trio debuted in 1992 and became notorious for its self-styled digital hardcore sound. When ATR split in 2000, the group and its founder had become household names beyond their humble beginnings. In this episode recorded as part of the Red Bull Music Academy Bass Camp Berlin 2017, Empire recalls the city's reunification years and more.

Couch Wisdom is a weekly podcast presenting the best of Red Bull Music Academy’s lecture archive. Questlove has called these in-depth interviews ‘Inside the Actors Studio’ for music, and who are we to disagree with Questlove? With personal stories and creative insights from Björk to The Black Madonna, Young Thug engineer Alex Tumay to Moodymann, there’s something for every music fan. Red Bull Music Academy is a world-traveling series of festivals and workshops est. in 1998.