Electronic body bros Jürgen Engler and Douglas McCarthy, Amphi Festival 2010
Where does one even begin eulogising a giant of electronic music and lifelong hero of n0teeth's like Douglas McCarthy? His early, punky work with Ebb? His later, sleazy lounge crooner persona on albums like Showtime? The fire & ice of collaborations with Terence Fixmer? Or the myriad tracks he lent his pipes to over the years as a guest?
The sheer number and diversity of DJs, musicians and producers who have paid tribute to our fallen soldier is a reminder of how far-reaching Nitzer Ebb's and Doug's influence in particular have been on dance music beyond the obvious EBM heads. So to avoiding repeating what any of these people or indeed we ourselves have said about the ins & outs of the Ebb's formidable back catalogue, I'll keep it brief and personal.
The music Douglas McCarthy made with Bon Harris was (and still is) as important to me as stuff like Pixies and Radiohead was to the lads at my sixth form who never washed their hair. Just an hour or two before I heard the news of Douglas's passing, I was riffing about the death of a Beach Boy. Don't get me wrong, I loved Pet Sounds growing up. But That Total Age was my Pet Sounds.
A memorable, timeless and effortlessly danceable set of songs and a perfect combination of noises both human and electronic. Doug's every bark and yelp somehow felt like the most necessary sound on every track, not a single word wasted, no fat to be trimmed off a single song. His accent was somehow Teutonic as hell and pure Essex at the same time: part ranting drill sergeant, part seedy used car salesman, part wild-eyed apocalyptic bible-thumping preacher. And he honed this act even more finely and with even greater stylistic versatility over the next two classic albums (and, hell, even on a few of the duds that followed).
Despite his illness last year which forced him to step down from playing live (his boots ably filled by Bon Harris), it has still come as a shock to the system knowing we'll never see his fantastically louche, menacing presence prowling the stage again. The last time n0teeth saw the Ebb live Douglas's illness already prevented him from putting in an appearance.
Previously, we saw Nitzer at Village Underground, quite possibly the best show of theirs we've ever seen. It was in that same venue that n0teeth bumped into the Ebbhead himself about a year later - somewhat poignantly, right after a (nearly literally) blinding performance by Richard H Kirk, another electronic genius who would be taken from us far too soon.
Any time there's been a snarling white boy bringing "attitude" to dance music - Audio Bullys, the late Keith Flint, any "electro-punk" you could name - he owes a debt to the original Balearic badman from Barking. Don't take my word for it - listen to some of the tracks he guested on: