One can disparage France on a number of fronts, but when it comes to electro, Le France c'est magnifique; It seems to be producing more than its fair share of brilliant artists. Hailing from Grenoble, the same hometown as feline-accomplice Miss Kittin (Caroline Herve), Michel Amato, aka The Hacker, is one such producer/DJ. Fusing his love for new wave futurists Depeche Mode, New Order and Kraftwerk to the Teutonic dance beats of Nitzer Ebb and Front 242, he has taken the best of 80's synth-pop and EBM and upgraded it for this millennium.

His music can evoke a cold and post-apocolyptic landscape at times and a warm, nostalgic feel at others. Because of this wide spectrum of sonic output on assorted labels like Gigolo Records, GoodLife, and Dancefloor Killers, his services as remixer are highly in demand these days.

One of the scarier, evil-machines-are-taking-over kinds of remixes he has put out lately is the one he just did for Kill Memory Crash. I suppose a track like this would be welcome by most any black-clad, goth/industrial-types (you know the ones - they listened to Ministry and Thrill Kill Kult in high school).

The Hacker's stellar new album, Reves Mecaniques, features collaborations with Interdimensional Transmissions artist Perspects (Flesh and Bone), and Miss Kittin (Masterplan). David Carretta pulls remix duty for Radiation, and the most recent single just came out for Traces, his track with fellow gigolo, Mount Sims which features new remixes from Dexter and Oxia and one from Black Strobe for Flesh and Bone.