A STEP BACKWARDS TO MAKE MANY STEPS FORWARD
We’ve entered 2026 with great expectations coming off the back of some fundamental structural and organic changes.
Welcome to our first update of 2026 where we take a glance back and also provide some hints of what there is to look forward to from Test Dept this year and beyond.
Recent History
2020-24
Having built up a head of steam with the Disturbance album and live work in Europe and the USA, the devastating global pandemic and its repercussions knocked us back to earth, physically, mentally and financially. After a difficult period of reflection and personal loss we began an important recalibration.
https://testdept.bandcamp.com/album/disturbance
Our engagement with the arts organisation A/political in 2023 marked the start of this new journey. With their help we created a project entitled Furnace, which produced some amazing audio-visual recordings and a scaled up live performance at the Foundry in Maubourguet France, featuring additional performers and custom built sculptural instruments.
This was followed with other collaborative works with other A/political artists. We hope to announce further developments soon from this ongoing relationship along with a number of other collaborative art and culture projects that we are working towards, incorporating exhibition and performance.
https://testdept.org.uk/news/furnace
2025
More big steps were taken in 2025 as we moved from the ‘One Little Independent Records’ stable to link up with ‘Artoffact’ - a Canadian label with a great understanding of TD sensibility, potential and ambition.
The first fruits of that partnership saw the release in December of the highly praised Industrial Overture box set, and we will continue to carefully curate and re-present our past through a programme of releases pulled from our back catalogue and archive material.
https://testdept.bandcamp.com/album/industrial-overture
Our re-calibration has also seen a logistical shift after recognising that the feasibility of transporting tons of steel around the globe has become an increasingly difficult task that has limited many, many opportunities.
We are currently working as a duo with a new, sharply focussed electronics-based audio-visual show which will enable us to perform more live dates.
In 2025,we performed in UK, Finland, Germany, Poland, Spain and Sweden and have been overwhelmed by the responses.
2026 +
This year we look forward to engaging in further ‘Sonic Resistance' around the world and are currently in discussion regarding some special forays.
However our eyes are most firmly fixed on the future with our main focus this year being the recording of a new studio album which we look forward to sharing with you all within the next 12 months or so.