Dark Territory � �House or EBM, it�s all about good music�

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13 Sep, 2005

From The Netherlands reaches to us the new project Dark Territory. Having quite a successful background in house music with their own Touch� label and collaborations with artists like Carl Craig, Darren Emerson, Felix Da Housecat and many more they now step into the darker sounds with their label debut on Dark Wings, �Libera me�. Our editor went on a trip to the �walletjes�, tasted the local cheese and met up with Jamez and Jon, the duo behind the project. (By St�phane Froidcoeur)

SL. You have both been active for quite a long time in the House scene, tell us a bit more about your background as artists and the move from House to underground music?

JA. I�ve been a house/techno producer for twelve years. I produced my first release together with my good friend Dobre under the project name �Trancesetters� and it was released on Jaydee�s First Impression label, back in 1993. A year later, me and Dobre, decided to release our music on our own Touch� label. We didn�t know then, that the label would become one of the leading labels in the house scene. Artists like Carl Craig, Darren Emerson, Felix Da Housecat and many more took part in one or more releases. Some of our own releases became club classics. In all, it was a wonderful time, but two years ago the music-industry collapsed and even a strong label like our Touch� did not survive. In the late nineties I was looking for a vocalist and had the pleasure to meet Jon. We started producing songs as �Lemonsoul�. Jon had always been more interested in EBM and gothic than me, and his enthusiasm made me curious. I already listened to bands Front 242, KMFDM, Consolidated and later on Dead Can Dance, but Jon opened up a whole new world to me.

JO. Jamez introduced me into the house/techno scene. Up �til then I'd been mainly performing as a singer in bands that used authentic instruments, like piano, guitar and cello. We started working together and we released some 12"es as Lemonsoul. Also I did the vocals on Jamez' solo album "Dreamchasing". But since I grew up listening to bands like Frontline Assembly, Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox and Siouxsie and the Banshees, I kept the urge to experiment outside the boundaries of the house scene as well. We'd already done some 'darker' tracks, but it wasn't until the Australian EBM band Angel Theory asked us to remix their single "Transmission", that we took Dark Territory to a next level.

SL. In which way can we understand Dark Territory as a kind of escape from the �happy and commercial� House scene to explore and express darker thoughts and subjects?

JA. I�ve always been interested in the dark side, however I�m not a Darth Vader wannabe. I like to watch Horror movies, listen to Coil and I�m interested in fantasy, witches, sci-fi and other things like that. These influences also reflected upon my house productions, so the �happy and commercial� house scene is not entirely where I come from. Dark Territory is however some kind of escape, but more from the boundaries that are set in music instead of our inner thoughts. With Dark Territory, we can explore a much larger spectrum of music, combine much more music styles and at the same time use our love for darker things to make it in to songs.

SL. A few songs like �Vrijdag�, Ankesuei� and �Kalandare� sound in the spirit of Dead Can Dance. Tell us a bit more about these songs and the eventual influence of Dead Can Dance?

JO. We are very honoured that people connect our music to the music of Dead Can Dance. Both Jamez and I admire and adore the music of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. Of course being inspired by artists you admire is inevitable, so I can understand that people make this connection, even though for us it is not intentional. The songs you mention all started off as vocal improvisations. The soundtracks to the songs were later arranged to complement the melody and emotion of the vocals.

(...)

To read the complete interview, be sure to buy Side-Line issue 52!

Side-Line issue 52 at Side-Line shop
Dark Territory CDs

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