PORTION CONTROL – 1983-86 - Hit the Pulse to Purge… - 4CD

PORTION CONTROL – 1983-86 - Hit the Pulse to Purge… - 4CD

Portion Control are a highly influential British electronic group who formed in London in 1979. Their early, innovative use of synths, drum machines and samplers inspired a subsequent generation of acts that included Depeche Mode (who they toured with in 1984), Nitzer Ebb, Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, Nine Inch Nails and Orbital.

Following decades of staunch independence, Portion Control signed to Artoffact Records in late 2025. Alongside new material, the label is curating and reissuing the group's back catalogue as a series of box sets, allowing their work to be fully appreciated at last.

The first of these sets is scheduled for release on 14th August 2026. Entitled ‘1983-86 - Hit The Pulse to Purge…’, the 4xCD package and digital variant consists of 74 tracks that include the 1983 mini-LP ‘Hit The Pulse’, the full length albums ‘..Step Forward’ (1984) and ‘Psycho Bod Saves The World’ (1986), the classic original 12” singles 'The Great Divide’, ‘Go-Talk’ and ‘Raise The Pulse’, plus the ‘Purge’ EP (1986). Additional material includes B sides, compilation tracks, rarities, remixes, demos and two concert recordings from 1984 and 1985.

The first example from the set is a rebuild of the classic ‘Refugee’ VIDEO from the 1984 album ‘..Step Forward’. With its subject matter more relevant than ever, Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly grasped the opportunity to create this remix.

All 74 tracks have been fully remastered by Paul Lavigne at Kontrast Mastering. 16 have never previously been released, with a further 12 appearing on CD and digitally for the first time. The 4xCD box set is packaged in a 5 panel ecopak with a 24 page booklet containing archive photos and a new design by Stefan Alt.

Tracklist:

CD 1 - Hit The Pulse, the Illuminated singles and Step Forward (2026 Remaster)

01 Chew You to Bits (version) 
02 Discord 
03 Crash Weight Gain 
04 Eat Your Heart 
05 Thrust Angle 
06 Death by Venom (Ricochet mix) 
07 Abbo Dabbo 
08 Raise the Pulse (12" version) 
09 Rough Justice (12" version) 
10 Go-Talk (12" version) 
11 Refugee 
12 Under the Skin 
13 Mutie 
14 Tex-Mex 
15 Tongue Beat 
16 Micro Box 
17 Micro Box 2 
18 Real Estate Cult 
19 Tin 
20 Havoc Man 
21 319 
22 Scramble 
23 Son of go talk
 
1-7 from "Hit The Pulse" mini-album [1983]; 8-10 single A-sides [1983-84]; 11-23 from "Step Forward" album [1984]
 
CD 2 - The Great Divide, Psycho-Bod Saves The World, Purge… (2026 Remaster)

01 The Great Divide (12" version) 
02 Brain Scraper Death Dive 
03 Siren City 
04 Breaker Breaker 
05 Danger Zone 
06 Screen of Death 
07 Coming for You Baby 
08 Fistful of Creds 
09 Trashville Baby 
10 Cut and Thrust 
11 Hot Matter 
12 Soap Distant 
13 Raise the Pulse 
14 Go-Talk 
15 The Great Divide 
16 Karateka 
17 Brain Scraper Death Dive (Rebuild) 
18 Refugee (Rebuild by Rhys Fulber)* 
19 Chew You to Bits (Rebuild) 
20 Chew You To Bits (Instrumental 2.5)~
 
Track 1 single A-side [1985]; 2-12 from "Psycho-Bod Saves The World" album [1986]; 13-16 from "Purge" extended play [1986]; 17-19 2k+ versions [various sources and dates]
*Previously unavailable on CD    ~Previously unreleased
 
CD3 - B sides and demos 1983-85… (2026 Remaster)

01 Collapse 
02 Bite My Head 
03 Justice 
04 The Man who did backwards Somersaults 
05 Upside down 
06 Drag down 
07 Divided 
08 Bolt it down 
09 The Great Divide (Instrumental)* 
10 Total Recall* 
11 24* 
12 IDL Dragdown* 
13 Displaced Hybrid Refugee 
14 Scramble (Instrumental) (Demo)~  
15 Cut and Thrust (Demo)~  
16 Heart of the Matter (Demo version 1)~  
17 Heart of the Matter (Demo version 2)~  
18 Taste of Love (Demo)~  
19 Conscience (Arthur Baker demo mix)~
 
Tracks 1-10 single B-sides [1983-85]; 11-13 compilation tracks [1984-2022]; 14-19 demos / mix [1985-86]
*Previously unavailable on CD    ~Previously unreleased
 
CD 4 Live 1984-85 (2026 Remaster)
01 Intro~ 
02 Eat Your Heart* 
03 Abbo Dabbo* 
04 Crash Weight Gain* 
05 Betrayal* 
06 Box* 
07 Go-Talk* 
08 Raise the Pulse*

Tracks 1-8 at Potanus, Amsterdam/Netherlands on 1/4/84; 9-15 at Dolce Vita, Lausanne/Switzerland 6/12/85
*Previously unavailable on CD    ~Previously unreleased
09 Tex-Mex~ 10 Real Estate Cult~ 11 Drag down~ 12 Karateka~ 13 Havoc Man~ 14 Bolt it down~ 15 H.O.T. Matter~