I Hate Models & Perc Trax: The Hard School of Techno
· re:union Radio editorial · 3 min read
I Hate Models and Perc Trax: how the London label became home to hard industrial techno with the debut album L'Âge des métamorphoses.
93 minutes, twelve tracks, three records: With L'Âge des métamorphoses, I Hate Models released his debut album on Perc Trax in 2019, the London label for industrial techno. If you want to understand why hard techno fills venues today, there's hardly any way around this axis between Paris and London.
At a glance
- I Hate Models is the Frenchman Guillaume Labadie, born on June 8, 1995.
- His debut album was released on June 21, 2019, on Perc Trax as a 3×12″ vinyl and double CD.
- Perc Trax is the label of Alistair Wells, aka Perc.
- According to a Shotgun study from January 2024, I Hate Models is the most listened-to live act of Generation Z.
From Bandana DJ to Arena Act
Labadie came to electronic music via hip-hop, punk, and metal. A remix album by one of his favorite bands led him to rework metal and punk tracks himself. His artist name reflects his aversion to being pigeonholed into genres.
He almost completely avoids the press, appearing masked in public, initially with a bandana. In 2016, his first EP Warehouse Memories was released on ARTS, including “Daydream” – more on that in our article New Hard Techno EP: I Hate Models – Daydream.
Perc Trax: The Label Behind the Hard Sound
Perc Trax is Alistair Wells' label, where I Hate Models released his debut album in 2019.
Perc himself released his album Bitter Music there, featuring vocals by artist Gazelle Twin. At the end of 2018, I Hate Models joined with the EP Spreading Plague.
L'Âge des métamorphoses: Release Data
| Artist | I Hate Models |
|---|---|
| Label | Perc Trax |
| Release | June 21, 2019 |
| Tracks | 12 |
| Runtime | 93 minutes |
| Formats | 3×12″ vinyl, double CD |
| Mastering | Matt Colton, London |
| Artwork | Lucas Grassmay |
The tracks oscillate between melodic, vocal, percussive, and acid passages, without falling into rigid techno loops. The opener “The Beginning Of The End” was intended, in Labadie's words, to sound like a synthwave soundtrack for a film. The pads come from a Sequential Prophet 6, about which he says:
“It’s the Rolls Royce of my studio.”
— Guillaume Labadie, XLR8R
For “Those Shinny Razor Blades,” he sent the Jomox's kick and hi-hats through the analog saturator Iotine Core 4, shaping them into a constantly evolving bassline. Tube pedals like the Electro-Harmonix Hot Tubes and the Dreadbox Epsilon provide the raw, punky basic tone.
Reception and Classification
Mixmag subsequently named I Hate Models among the DJ discoveries of 2019. In 2021, Labadie founded his own label Disco Inferno. If you want to explore the darker side of the genre further, you'll find more in our Industrial Techno Releases in September 2026.
FAQ
Who is behind I Hate Models?
The French producer and DJ Guillaume Labadie, born on June 8, 1995. He performs masked in public and rarely gives interviews.
Who owns Perc Trax?
Perc Trax is the label of producer Perc, real name Alistair Wells.
Which equipment was used to create L'Âge des métamorphoses?
Among others, a Sequential Prophet 6, a Jomox Xbase 999, modules from Erica Synths, and tube distortions like the Dreadbox Epsilon.
Source: XLR8R – Album Announcement, XLR8R – Studio Essentials: I Hate Models, Wikipedia – I Hate Models, XLR8R – Perc: Bitter Music, XLR8R – 10 Years of Perc Trax
