Information Society

Information Society (also known as InSoc) are a synth-pop band formed in Minneapolis in 1982. Originally consisting of Macalester College students Kurt Harland, Paul Robb, and James Cassidy, the group began performing a mixture of avant-garde electronic music with hip-hop, dub, and electro. Following the release of the EPs The InSoc EP (1983), the band finally found their footing with the electro-freestyle single “Running,” which was included in their EP Creatures of Influence (1984) and became a massive hit on the New York Latin club scene. However, their big breakthrough arrived after the release of their eponymous major-label debut in 1988, issued via Tommy Boy Records. The album peaked at Number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and featured the Number 1 single “What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy),” as well as the Top 10 hit “Walking Away." Despite a handful of singles that performed quite commercially, their subsequent albums suffered from the label’s lack of promotion, failing to enter any official charts. By the time Don’t Be Afraid (1997) came out, Kurt Harland was the only remaining member of the band, which went on indefinite hiatus shortly after. Almost a decade later, Paul Robb and James Cassidy reformed Information Society with Christopher Anton as lead vocalist and returned with the EP Oscillator and the full-length Synthesizer, both released in 2007. Subsequently, Kurt Harland would resume his role as frontman on the albums Hello World (2014) and Orders of Magnitude (2016), which peaked at Number 10 on Billboard’s Dance charts. Oddfellows, their eighth studio effort, saw the light in 2021.