C-Tec

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = C-Tec

| image =

| caption =

| image_size =

| alias = The Cyber-Tec Project

| origin = United Kingdom / Belgium

| genre = {{hlist|Electro-industrial|EBM}}

| years_active = 1995–2000

| label = {{hlist|Cyber-Tec|Fifth Colvmn|Synthetic Symphony|TVT|Wax Trax!}}

| spinoff_of = {{hlist|Crisis n.T.i.|Cubanate|Front 242|New Mind}}

| website =

| current_members = Jean-Luc De Meyer
Ged Denton
Marc Heal

| past_members = Jonathan Sharp

}}

C-Tec (or The Cyber-Tec Project) was an EBM band originally formed as a side project in 1995 by Jean-Luc De Meyer (of Front 242), Jonathan Sharp (of New Mind), and Ged Denton (of Crisis n.T.i.). The name was taken from Cyber-Tec Records, who released the band's debut EP. Afterward, Jonathan Sharp left the band (due to problems with Cyber-Tec Records manager Paul M. Green), and Marc Heal (of Cubanate) joined as a full-time member.{{cite book |first=S. Alexander |last=Reed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EJRNDwAAQBAJ |title=Chapitre 10 Body to Body: l'EMB Belge 1981–1985: 5. Ordre Physique |others=Camion Blanc: Assimilate a Critical History of Industrial Music |publisher=Xlibris US |date=February 5, 2001 |isbn=9782378480219 |access-date=4 September 2020}}{{cite journal|first=Ed |last=Finkler |author-link=Ed Finkler |url=https://sonic-boom.com/interview/c-tec.interview.html |title=Interview with Marc Heal of C-Tec |journal=Sonic Boom |date=January 13, 1998 |volume=6 |issue=1 |access-date=4 September 2020}}

History

C-Tec was conceived as a one-off project, under the name The Cyber-Tec Project, but the members decided to continue producing music under the name. The concept emerged during a dormant period for Front 242 when De Meyer (the original lead singer in 242) and other members took time to work on solo and side projects.{{cite journal |editor1-last=Waggoner |editor1-first=Andy |title=Interview: Jean Luc de Meyer |journal=Interface |date=1996 |volume=3 |issue=2 |page=10 |issn=1081-8065 |url=https://archive.org/details/interface3.2}}

In 1995 Synthetic Symphony released the band's debut EP Cyber-Tec, which was later reissued in the United States by Fifth Colvmn Records with an alternate track listing.{{cite journal |last=mosez |url=http://lundinoir.com/mag/BMv1_1.pdf |title=Cyber-Tec: Cyber-Tec |journal=Black Monday |date=1996 |issue=1 |pages=2 |access-date=4 September 2020}} The EP peaked at #7 on the CMJ RPM Chart in the U.S.{{cite journal |last1=Frampton |first1=Megan |title=RPM |journal=CMJ New Music Report |date=19 Feb 1996 |volume=45 |issue=462 |page=14 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/1996/CMJ-New-Music-Report-1996-02-19.pdf |access-date=12 December 2021 |publisher=College Media, Inc. |location=Great Neck, NY |issn=0890-0795}} In 1997, after shortening their name to C-Tec, they released a full album, Darker, on the US industrial Wax Trax! label.

The band toured early in 1996 but the American leg of the tour was cut short after playing only one show in New York City due to contract issues. The band toured North America twice in 1998 with a hybrid lineup featuring other members of Cubanate and Julian Beeston, one time drummer in Nitzer Ebb.

The second album, Cut, was released in 2000 on SPV imprint Synthetic Symphony. The album was originally slated for US release on Wax Trax! but the label closed around this time, thus, Cut never had an official American release. Cut was ranked #25 on the German Alternative Charts (DAC) Top 50 Albums of 2000.{{cite web |title=DAC Top 50 2000 |url=http://www.public-propaganda.de/charts/1999/dac_alb50.html |website=Trendcharts oHG |publisher=AMC Alster Musik Consulting GmbH |access-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010211140354/http://www.public-propaganda.de/charts/2000/dac_alb50.html |archive-date=11 February 2001 |date=2001 |url-status=dead}}

In terms of how C-Tec sounded, Darker contains a downbeat, moody collection of songs, showing strong electronic influences but with more ambient textures than would be suggested by the industrial music backgrounds of the main participants. Cut is faster in tempo, with De Meyer’s vocal mixed low. Most of the material on the two full-length C-Tec albums was co-written by Marc Heal and Jean-Luc De Meyer.{{cite journal|first=Ilker |last=Yücel |url=https://regenmag.com/interviews/c-tec-interview-part-1-cut-from-a-darker-cloth/ |title=C-Tec InterView: Part 1 – Cut from a Darker Cloth |journal=ReGen |date=June 11, 2018 |access-date=4 September 2020}}{{cite journal|first=Ilker |last=Yücel |url=https://regenmag.com/interviews/c-tec-interview-part-2-far-from-the-limits/ |title=C-Tec InterView: Part 2 – Far from the Limits |journal=ReGen |date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=4 September 2020}}{{cite journal|first=Ilker |last=Yücel |url=https://regenmag.com/interviews/c-tec-interview-part-3-never-a-silent-voice/ |title=C-Tec InterView: Part 3 – Never a Silent Voice |journal=ReGen |date=June 13, 2018 |access-date=4 September 2020}}{{cite journal|first=Bob |last=Gourley |url=https://chaoscontrol.com/the-cyber-tec-project/ |title=The Cyber-Tec Project |journal=Chaos Control |date=1996 |access-date=September 4, 2020}}{{cite journal|first=Bob |last=Gourley |url=https://chaoscontrol.com/c-tec-2/ |title=Cyber-Tec |journal=Chaos Control |date=1998 |access-date=4 September 2020}}

C-Tec effectively went dormant after the release of Cut. In 2018, both "Darker" and "Cut" were remastered and re-released on UK label Armalyte Industries as Darker/Cut.{{cite web |last1=Van Isacker |first1=Bernard |title=C-Tec sees 'Darker & Cut' re-released as a 2CD set with bonus |url=https://www.side-line.com/c-tec-sees-darker-cut-re-released-as-a-2cd-set-with-bonus/ |website=Side-Line |access-date=10 September 2020 |date=23 Apr 2019}} C-Tec reformed for a corresponding North American tour, featuring DeMeyer, Heal, and Denton, as well as Sean Payne of Cyanotic on drums.