The Raged describe themselves as a “high energy, live D’n’B, techno and breaks act”. The pair have shared stages with the likes of Rockwell, Far Too Loud, Shapeshifter, Adam Freeland, Dub Phizix and Scratch Perverts. They have toured festivals and clubs across three continents, In 2014 alone they’ve released two EP’s, a 20min film and received airtime on BBC Radio1, Kiss FM, Capital Radio and XFM to name a few. With the release of EPs, countless festival appearances, collaborations and the aforementioned film, The Raged show no signs of slowing down.
Evolving from a DJ show in Cumbria to a live band touring worldwide, The Raged has progressed into a “fierce, visual spectacle… not to be missed” (Blissfields Festival). The Raged currently consists of its founder, Martin Allinson, and Howard Sessions. The man behind The Raged – Martin Allinson – decided to pursue a DIY band that wouldn’t be held back by genre or bpm. He took inspiration from his favourite British festivals, club nights and bands including: Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, The Chemical Brothers, The Flaming Lips and Daft Punk. Most of all, his aim was to orchestrate music that is visual, positive yet aggressive and virtually impossible not to jump around to! This concept has gained them support from BBC INTRODUCING and seen them sharing stages with artists including Rockwell, Far Too Loud, Shapeshifter, Adam Freeland, Dub Phizix, Evil Nine, Erol Alkan and Scratch Perverts.
2009 saw the initial formation of The Raged (a.k.a. Martin’s DJ alter ego) and his first gigs at Kendal Calling and Pitch Festival, as well as gaining a resident position at Fugitive Sounds. Quite a successful first year for a young, one-man-band, but stepping on the breaks a little wasn’t an option for him. In the following year, The Raged released his first track, “Home Experiment”, which was accurately described by the Squeaky Bleeps blog as an “absolute techno monster”. Not only did this gain attention from techno connoisseur Richie Hawtin; his follow-up release, a remix of Arctic Monkey’s “Dangerous Animals”, received raving reviews from numerous blog sites and reached number 2 in the German MP3 chart.
By 2011, The Raged had developed into a comprehensive live act, including new line-up additions: guitarist Jaymz McMullen and frontman Matthew Richards. In line with the fast-paced attitude of The Raged, they headlined Kendal Calling on the Glow Stage and made a further five appearances on their European tour. The Raged were already “performing better than the much better known Nero”, according to Vibrations Magazine.
Later that year, The Raged released the track “No Man’s Land” with great success, gaining entry at number 10 in the SoundCloud chart. This formed yet another foundation for a successful tour in 2012, including Natural Rhythm Festival, Nozstock, and Subsonic (Romania), before finishing the year by headlining Pendle Imp Festival.
The Raged finally teamed up with Howard Sessions, whose 20 years’ experience in production and impressive support from Johnny Fiasco, Soul Minority and Mark Farina – to name a few – have helped secure several plays on BBC Yorkshire and Australian radio stations, as well as a collaboration with Hinda Hicks for The Raged’s infamous cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”.
November 2013 saw their first official release on their own label “Raged Recordings”. To celebrate this milestone, a secret invite-only EP launch party was held in Leeds. The Raged said, “We wanted to do something a little different from the norm as a way to say thank you to the fans that have supported us over the years”. This event immersed the exclusive attendees in a zombie virus “Outbreak” themed world. Raving reviews from the likes of Leeds Music Scene mentioned how the “EP launch was jam-packed with dark and twisted bass lines, that get even the most techno-hating feet jumping”. Along with plenty of summer festivals throughout 2013, they expanded the scope of their influence to Asia, including the world-renowned Koh Phangan beach party!
With five tour dates set for summer 2014, the imminent release of their second EP “Subvert” and a 15-minute film called “Outbreak live”, their schedule continues to show The Raged working at an accelerated speed. The 2014 festival line-up – their most impressive yet – includes Kendal Calling (Stage Headliners), Blissfields (Stage Headliners), No Man’s Land, Beat-herder and Wilkestock.
Despite playing many festivals, they thrive on making each show unique. What is their secret? “We don’t have a set stage line-up and our band evolves, taking on different forms through the years and most definitely, we don’t hold ourselves back from different genres or bpm”, say the men at The Raged. Be sure to keep your eyes and ears tuned in 2015, as The Raged are already planning more immersive experiences, a further film and the release of their debut album.
