The Black Warhols presents Famous For Fifteen Minutes

THE BLACK WARHOLS — A deliberate act of disappearance

For over thirty years, Alan Oldham’s work as DJ T-1000 has been defined by clarity of intent. His techno was architectural—clean lines, functional design, built for motion. THE BLACK WARHOLS, by contrast, is an act of erosion.

Nothing here feels rigid. Beats stagger rather than drive forward. Melodies emerge like fading memories rather than declarations.

Opening track “People Understand” serves as both introduction and warning. Its spoken promise—“Alan’s got something incredible up his sleeve”—feels less like anticipation and more like quiet resignation. The album unfolds not as revelation, but as surrender.

Oldham’s cover of “Rock On” is its emotional center. Where David Essex’s original was theatrical and extroverted, this version retreats inward. Oldham’s vocal performance is subdued, almost hesitant, buried beneath layers of dub processing and spectral delay. It feels less performed than exhumed.

Elsewhere, “Screengazer” and “We Are Dead Stars” drift through shoegaze-inspired atmospheres, dissolving traditional song structure in favor of mood and texture. Even the more aggressive “Choke,” with its clear Suicide and DAF lineage, feels restrained—as if its violence has already passed.

THE BLACK WARHOLS is not an attempt to expand Oldham’s sonic vocabulary. It’s an attempt to escape it entirely.

What remains is something quieter. And far more revealing.

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