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07/06/2026

Centrifugal Force Machine - The OMN Interview

By MATT HANSEN // Portland's EBM-industrial-techno phenom will play High Water Mark on July 23rd

Signed to the Berlin-based label X-IMG, CENTRIFUGAL FORCE MACHINE is an industrial solo project from Portland that is unmistakably Berlin in tone. It's music for underground warehouses, and concrete rooms where dark club culture has taken over.

CFM (Court Knight) burst onto the industrial music scene in 2025 with the debut album OBJECT PERMANENCE, and released the OBLITERATE / COLLAPSE EP earlier this year. Knight's sound nurtures her love of dark aesthetics, 80s industrial, and the intensity of hard techno wrapped in dystopian lyrics. 

We caught up with Court Knight ahead of her show at High Water Mark this month to talk mortician homework, Portland's hard techno scene, and her upcoming appearances.

Oregon Music News: There are a lot of industrial band names with very industrial sounding names like Front Line Assembly or Test Dept. but Centrifugal Force Machine is also a blueprint for your sound and aesthetic. How did you come up with that name?

Centrifugal Force Machine: I came up with the name CENTRIFUGAL FORCE MACHINE while I was going to school to be a Mortician. While studying my vocabulary terms for embalming class, I came across the term, “Centrifugal Force Machine” and I immediately highlighted it. After starting my music project and thinking of what to call it, I remembered the ONLY term I highlighted in my whole textbook throughout my 3 years of school. A “Centrifugal Force Machine” is an embalming machine that uses centrifugal force to pump embalming chemicals throughout the body.

OMN: You have quite the range of voice, from raspy whispers to bellowing shouts, have you been in any other bands before going solo?

CFM: CFM is my first solo project other than DJing for 9 years.

OMN: Are you yourself a film buff? Are there any movies that have inspired your sound?

CFM: Absolutely. Films are half the inspiration for my music. I have three specific movies that have paved the way for my sound. The early Alien franchises, Mandy, and The Matrix are the ones that have inspired my samples and visuals the most. 

OMN: When you are traveling in a new city how likely is it that you will visit a cemetery?

CFM: Visiting cemeteries is the only thing on my itinerary when I go to a new city. 

OMN: The year is 1988, you can tour with any band, who do you choose?

CFM: Hands down, Skinny Puppy VIVIsectVI Tour with Nine Inch Nails.

OMN: Is Portland a place that could use more hard techno in the dance scene?

CFM: I’ve actually thought about this recently, Portland definitely could use more hard techno as well as EBM as far as music projects go. However, Portland is full of so many talented artists and DJ’s who keep these genres alive. What I love about the music scene in Portland is that most of us don’t care about growing bigger. We just want to throw shows for our friends to have a good time. And that’s sick. 

OMN: What’s next for CFM and will we ever see a return of VANTABLACK to Coffin Club?

CFM: New music, more shows. My second album is currently in the works scheduled to be released by the fall. My next upcoming shows are July 23rd at High Water Mark, Das Bunker’s Summer Massive at Catch One in Los Angeles on August 1st, and for Luna Negra Goth Nights September 12th in Coachella, CA. SEE YOU THERE. As far as my promotion company/DJ night VANTABLACK goes, I buried it in its coffin a long time ago.

SHOW ALERT: MAYRAY, Centrifugal Force Machine, Crash Davidian, Sylphide at High Water Mark Thursday July 23, 2026 Doors 8:00PM / Show 8:30PM 21+ ($10) 

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