Alfa Matrix has a second tribute to Front 242 on the way. “Recovery 2 For You” collects 32 tracks, is scheduled for 19 June 2026 and will come as a digital album and as a 2CD. Acts from the label and from its Spleen+ division reinterpret songs by the Belgian cult EBM group.
The 2CD is available to pre-order on the Alfa Matrix store, which also handles digital pre-orders, and the digital album can be reserved on Bandcamp as well.
Four songs to hear first
Four tracks have been released ahead of the compilation: “Operating Tracks” by Kant Kino, Krystal System’s “Headhunter”, “No Shuffle” by The Breath Of Life and “Never Stop” from AD:keY.
Thirty acts take part
The collection follows the earlier label tribute, “Recovery For You”. Contributing this time, in alphabetical order, are Acylum, AD:keY, Aesthetische, Aiboforcen, Alien Vampires, Armageddon Dildos, Circumpolar, C-Lekktor, Cubic, Cut.Rate.Box, Darkness On Demand, Diffuzion, Digital Factor, Elektroklänge, First Aid Tech, Frontal Boundary, Implant, Kant Kino, Komor Kommando, Krystal System, Llumen, Lovelorn Dolls, Neikka RPM, Nigra Nebula, Star Industry, Technoir, The Breath Of Life, The Names, The Psychic Force and To Avoid.
About Front 242
Front 242 began in Aarschot, Belgium, in 1981, started by Daniel Bressanutti and Dirk Bergen. Patrick Codenys and Jean-Luc De Meyer joined before the release of “Geography” in 1982, with Richard Jonckheere (Richard 23) following in 1983.
The first single, “Body to Body”, dates from 1981. In Chicago, Wax Trax! had the band on its roster by 1984, and “Take One” was its first release in the U.S. Further titles included “No Comment” (1984), “Official Version” (1987) and “Front by Front” (1988), then “Tyranny >For You<” (1991) and, in 1993, “05:22:09:12 Off” and “06:21:03:11 Up Evil”.
A hiatus came next. In 1997 the four core members got together again, adding Tim Kroker on drums for concerts, and “Pulse” followed in 2003. Meanwhile Alfa Matrix had released the group’s side projects, and it later began issuing anniversary editions and vinyl reissues such as “Geography”. Front 242 said farewell to the stage with the “Black Out” shows, the last of which was held at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels on 25 January 2025. More on the band is gathered in the Front 242 archive.