Miserylab is the post-punk/alternative solo-project of Porl King (originally from Liverpool but recently based in Leeds (UK)), that was founded in 2000. Porl King was the singer/guitarist of Rosetta Stone, a goth-band that split up in 1998, being responsible for many well-known dancefloor-fillers in the new-wave scene in the '90's like "An Eye For The Main Chance", "The Witch", "Nothing" and "Adrenaline".
He used the name Miserylab (at that time written as "misery:lab") first as a projectname for remixing and producing bands like Elbow, Mellow and My Vitriol.
Since 2005 Miserylab is the "official" new project from Porl and 5 albums were already released via digital download. (By DJ Wildhoney)
SL: in 1997 you lost a part of your left little finger, in 2007 you suffered from a heart attack, how is your health today?
PK: To be honest - I think I tend to push my luck regarding my health - after my heart attack I was full of good intentions - It was impressed upon me - the importance of regular exercise and watching what food I eat ... but with time all these things have kinda slipped by the way side ... I always keep meaning to start doing the right thing but it never seems to happen ... regarding my finger - that never really settled down - I'm still unable to use it - the nerve endings on the tip are totally fucked - I'm still unable to use it when playing guitar ...
SL: your view on today's world is for sure hopeless, very dark and depressed. Your lyrics show you are very much against capitalism, authority, religion, animal abuse, etc. How do you make it till the end of the day, carrying so much negative misery with you?
PK: I get asked this quite a lot - and sometimes quite critically ... contrary to how I might appear I'm actually quite laid back - and quiet ... I don't spend every second of my life intensely analysing the worlds problems ... I do tend to have as normal a day as everyone else - I love spending time with my girlfriend Kathryn - and I'm fascinated with watching our grandaughter poppy growing up ... these things make me very content ... but artistically I'm drawn to the general horror of our world - and I think this is also quite natural - in our quietest 'alone time' - we tend to be consumed by our worries and fears for example last thing at night - just as we are going to sleep we often find ourselves worrying about things - we're never consumed by happy thoughts or memories of good times - it seems quite natural for the human mind to wallow in fear ... when writing lyrics this too is 'alone time' ... if I didn't write about 'real' issues and followed a more ambiguous dark poetic path - I don't think the emotion in my vocal would by as sincere as it is ...
SL: what is your vision upon the daily impact of mass-media like tv, radio, newspapers, etc.?
PK: That's a very multifaceted question - and would be difficult to answer completely ... I'm not so sure that I think the media are desperately trying to mislead us - but I think there's a danger from the aspirations that come from the coverage of popular culture - and I also believe there's more to be worried about regarding the stories they don't cover as opposed to the ones they do ... they do like to sell us stories of 'fear' which play right into the hands of the political who definitely benefit from those kinds of news items - muslim fanatics - viruses etc ... you can trust us to protect you - keep voting for us ...
SL: why took it so long before you finally joined the internet with Miserylab? There was a long absence from you, although before you were a very active user...
PK: I think I'd just become comfortable with not using the internet - and I didn't really miss it - after the Rosetta Stone split and scene politics I'd endured it just felt the healthiest thing to do ... for sometime I concentrated on remixing and had a number of mixes released under the moniker miserylab ...
The only reason I ended up back on the internet was because I was encouraged to do so for convenience by a songwriter that I was programming and producing for ... curiosity got the better of me and then I discovered MySpace - this dragged me back into the whole network thing that I'd been used to during my 'usenet' days ... I created an account and started uploading songs I'd written - and then Miserylab - as a writing project grew from there ...
SL: you interact much with your loyal fanbase by offering free digital downloads, a YouTube-channel, Facebook, Twitter and Myspace pages ...
how important are social media for you nowadays as you are definitely a do-it-yourself artist? A lot of things have changed the last years, haven't they?
PK: Social media is arguably more important to Miserylab than anything - the project is completely reliant on it - I don't socialise in 'real life' - and Miserylab doesn't perform live ... so that kind of narrows the options for circulating my music ... I don't use MySpace anymore - I think YouTube and Facebook are the most useful tools on the internet ...
Interacting with listeners [hate the term fan] is pretty much what keeps my enthusiasm running ... it isn't a consciously cynical attempt to patronise people - which is something I often worry about - I am genuinely interested in what people think and how they relate to the music I produce ... it isn't an attempt to humour them into being a Miserylab fan - as people tend to come to me - as opposed to Miserylab whoring itself across a multitude of forums ...
SL: Is writing music your main job you do for living nowadays? What's the next move you will make with Miserylab?
PK: I dislike seeing Miserylab as a job - to me that kind of trivialises those that do important things with their lifes - Miserylab isn't important - it's more of an indulgence on my part - which hopefully others are able to indulge too ... the simplicity of the whole thing makes it satisfying - no touring - no egos (other than my own) - no scene politics ... all I do is sit and write music - I've never before been as productive as I am now ... and never wrote as many consistently good songs during my time with Rosetta Stone - because there was so much shit to deal with ...
There isn't much of a future plan for Miserylab - I just hope that the listener base expands and more people are able to appreciate what I do ... (...)
Out now on Metropolis Records in the USA and Dependent Records in Europe is the newest KMFDM album "WTF?!". Instead of the regular interview questions, we asked KMFDM's Sascha K. some questions on how he and the band see the use of social media. KMFDM being quite outspoken on certain matters, they were the perfect match for this. In the interview we discuss MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Reverbnation but also Wikileaks and of course mobile apps. (by Bernard van Isacker)
SL: You have been using a pro Wikileaks song/download that got quite some attention. However, Assange being the manipulator that he is, how sure are you that you haven't been used or even abused by him and Wikileaks?
KMFDM: Well we did this totally independent of any direct involvement from WikiLeaks or him. We were just protesting the politicizing of his private case and also championing the WikiLeaks mission of “revealing suppressed and censored injustices.” We were also applauding the very “white hat” way they struck back at the system when corporations threw them off their servers. It was not done as support of anything specific and since there was no contact there was no way for him (or them) to “spin” us.
SL: Assange is also the person claiming that Facebook is a big evil due to it being open to intelligence enquiries from the US. However i noticed that you guys are rather active on Facebook...
KMFDM: Facebook is just a tool for us to use to reach our fans and supporters and provide them with basic information about what we are up to, just like Myspace before or whatever will come next. We offer it no special allegiance or support. I do not have a personal Facebook page and do not use it for private matters. If there is anyone who is interested in us who does not wish to use Facebook all the same information we have on there (and more) can be found elsewhere, especially our own site KMFDM DOTKOM.
SL: What did you think of The Social Network film? I found it rather inspiring as far as starting your very own business.
KMFDM: The drama in the movie was so artificially hyped and it worked so hard to create a cult of personality for Zuckerberg. These guys are not gods anymore than rockstars or Hollywood actors are. Their “revolutions” are so artificial. As for starting your own business I have been involved in many of those and the truth is far from cinematic.
SL: What are the direct advantages and disadvantages on Facebook for you as a band?
KMFDM: The platform is very static and lacks ability to customize and like all digital interaction for me it will never take the place of shaking a fans hand and for them it can’t replace the energetic high of attending one of our shows. The benefit is simple - distribution of little bits of info.
SL: What improvements should Facebook get to be the ultimate social platform? What opportunities do you see?
KMFDM: Allow people to step through the computer and meet each other in person, that is the ultimate social platform in my book. As far as improvements maybe they could find a way to require you to read a book for an hour for every 8 hours you spend on Facebook. Seriously though, there is a laundry list of things Facebook could do to be more friendly to musicians and artists. BandPage is a pathetic start but at least it is something.
SL: Side-Line declared MySpace dead and was subsequently tackled by people saying its such a good platform. What is your point of view?
KMFDM: The numbers don’t lie. While we have lots of “fans” on Myspace the number of visits to our page and listens of the songs we post there drops by the day. It was a good run and we had some nice fun interacting with fans there before it truly exploded and we could no longer keep up. (...)
One of the most "special" acts in the alternative scene nowadays is undoubtedly the French band Obszön Geschöpf. Formed in 1996 in Boulogne-Sur-Mer, they first went through an EBM-period, over Industrial-Metal to finish with old-school Metal. Madman Remzi Kelleci kindly gives us an update and explanation of the insane world he lives in... (by DJ Wildhoney)
SL: I like the way you are promoting and announcing all informations on MySpace. It looks like you put a lot of time in it. Do you have time enough to do it all by yourself or do you also still have to spend time going to work every day?
RK: Yes, I spend a lot of time on MySpace etc. to do promotions for Obszön Geschöpf, look for gigs etc. but it doesn't trouble me because I haven't got another job. That's why I can devote my time to music and promotion.
SL: Did the evolution from EBM to old-school Metal come naturally on your new album?
RK: Actually at the beginning Obszön Geschöpf had to be an Industrial-Metal project, but I didn't find a guitarist for my first albums. So I focused myself on electro, but to be honest at this period I listened to a lot of "dark electro indus" music like Yelworc, Leaether Strip, Amgod, GGFH, X-Marks The Pedwalk, Nigra Nebula, Psychopomps and a lot of other bands from old labels like Zoth Ommog, Celtic Circle, Ras Dva, Off-Beat etc. But I'm a big fan of Metal music since 1993 and now as I have a live-guitarist I can compose and produce the music I wanted for Obszön Geschöpf from the beginning. Of course I'm still a fan of EBM old school music and a lot of time I mix these 2 styles of music (EBM/Metal) on my last albums.
SL: It was announced on your MySpace profile that Obszön Geschöpf will tour in the USA in May 2011?
RK: Yes, normally we will make a USA West-Coast tour in March 2011 (not May). We have a lot of fans in the whole USA (a big part of my fanbase are from USA) and that's why I want to make this tour to meet my American fans.
SL: I once read that you were in the beginning a very shy person. When I look to videos on YouTube where you are spitting and kicking on other band-members I must say that this has changed seriously, isn't it?
RK: Actually I'm shy and I'm not, haha! In real life I'm quite shy, but on stage my dark side predominates and I'm uncontrollable. I'm the nice Remzi in daily life and the furious Obszön Geschöpf (german for obscene creature) on stage. I certainly must be schizophrenic!
SL: Through the years, you already went through a lot of misery in the music-business and even wanted to stop completely. Do you have the feeling that you are now finally on the right path with your new label and band-mates?
RK: You know, I was so disappointed about my last labels, no promotion, no good distributions etc. Some of the labels think that you can obtain success without promotion, it's simply stupid and they kill the bands who sign. Believe me, I had a lot of experience with that!!! I can't say a word about my new label at this moment, it's too early yet. (...)
Tying Tiffany combines elements of Gothic, New-Wave and Electroclash, described by some people as Emilie Autumn meets Vive La Fête. Recently "Peoples Temple", her third album, was released which sounds very refreshing, danceable and well produced. Besides being a musician/performer, frontwoman Tiff is also DJ, actress, model and sex-symbol and worked together with Atari Teenage Riot and Alec Empire. It looks like this new cd is going to open doors for a breakthrough in the alternative scene. If you think Spectra Paris is hot, you haven't seen this Italian vamp yet! (by DJ Wildhoney)
SL: Can you describe the current line-up of the band? I saw on earlier live pictures and clips that there were also girls and a drummer involved?
TT: At the moment I'm on stage with 2 musicians (Lorenzo Montana and Lorenzo Soldano) - guitars, synth and effects. I've changed different line-ups because I like to experiment and evolve my sound... Same story for my studio sessions, where I equally keep on changing the arrangements for my live show. I keep a clean language, no frills or choreography, focusing on the wild side of all the performances, I hate proselytes among a song or who sings judgements, music is the best way to talk for me, I always prefer the spontanity and immediacy.
SL: Your song "Storycide" was recently used on an episode of the popular series C.S.I. in the USA. What feelings does this give to you and in which way is this a good thing for your band?
TT: I'm really proud that this TV series has chosen my song for an episode, sounds strange for me to be in this mainstream context. It's fun that the scene is used on a vampire meeting... awesome! I don't know what this will give me... but I would like to say thanks to my publishing partner Zerokilled from NY.
SL: How is the Gothic/Electro scene in Italy going nowadays? Can you name some bands you like or name some befriended bands?
TT: In Italy there are interesting Gothic/Electro/Dark artists, with an international hype, like Spiritual Front, x**, Spectra Paris, Dope Stars inc., Neon, Templebeat, Spiral 69, Banthier and many others. Here this scene is very underground, and it's not easy to bring it to a bigger audience.
SL: Do you compose the lyrics and music of the songs completely on your own?
TT: Yes on my own, music and lyrics come from rush ideas in unpredictable moments, I can't choose and control my dreams but I can sometimes trap them, if I can catch them when I wake up. I usually write with bass or just the voice melody and sequencer. I always carry a notepad with me as I'm scared of forgetting ideas and stuff... my memory is not that great. (...)
For some bands you would travel the whole of the world just to see them live once. Bel Canto is one of those bands, for me at least. Anneli Drecker, Nils Johansen and Geir Jenssen (aka Bleep and Biosphere) have left us pearls of heavenly voices electropop that nowadays is very seldom, if not non-existent (See Bel Canto on iTunes). I remember that I missed their last Belgian concert back in 1996 because of an exam German which I did not want to screw up by going out the night before. Kinda like a catch 22 situation I'd find out later since Bel Canto would never visit Belgium again.
Years passed by and I followed the career of the three members, interviewed them when a new (solo) album got released but that was it. Bel Canto occasionally took breaks in order for Drecker to pursue a solo career and to perform with other bands and artists, as well as performing in films and theatre plays. Nils Johansen composed music for film and television as well as worked and performed with his other band, Vajas. Despite these hiatuses, Bel Canto continued to perform live, without Jenssen that is. Until June 2010 when I got word that Bel Canto was to reunite for a special performance at the Dognvill festival in their hometown Tromsö September 4th 2010. While I couldn't make that concert, it became clear that 2 more concerts would be added, Oslo and Trondheim. All in Norway.
We meet the band in a hotel in Oslo at noon, the day after their concert in the Rockefeller Music Hall venue in the centre of the city. They seem kinda knackered and will travel to Trondheim the same day to prepare for the 3rd concert. This has been the band's second show since their reunion show, 21 years after Geir Jenssen left the band to pursue a solo career. (By Bernard Van Isacker, Photos by Petra Rönnholm and JanRonald Stange)
SL: The why for the reunion stroke me as odd, it was announced out of the blue...
AD: The Dognvill festival you mean? They actually asked us 2 years ago if we could play there. It was their idea. They are old friends of ours, musicians. I was just moving up to Tromsö when one of the guys asked me as we were all the three of us living back in Tromsö, so he wondered whether they could arrange a reunion concert. So it was their idea from the very start.
We didn't actually want other people to come up with the idea and say it was their idea to think about it. We wanted to do it because we really wanted to work together. That's why it took us 2 years. We didn't want a festival just to pay us to get back together, the idea needed to mature and give us a reason.
SL: Why didn't you guys come up with that idea in the first place?
AD: I have been living in Oslo for the past 20 years and I haven't had any contact with Geir at all. Just through friends and his ex-wife. He was travelling so much and I have been living in Oslo. Of course Nils and I have been seeing each other quite a lot. And then I moved up to Tromsö and was asked to contribute to a compilation by Hommage Records, called "Maskindans – Norsk synth 1980-1988". And that's when Geir and I started to mail each other. Funny actually as he lived just 50 meters down the street, but ok we started to mail each other. We met while we were skiing there and were talking about the old demo's from the eighties. We discovered some jewellery that was lying there, it gave actually a kick to listen to the material.
SL: Was the track for the compilation, "Flowerbeds", originally meant to be on the "Birds of passage" album?
AD: Geir used it later on for his Bleep project. We weren't too happy about it back then. You know, there are a lot of songs that we haven't released. I've done so many concert and commission pieces, 3 of them, with 12 to 16 songs which never got released. I'm so used to thing not being released especially when you are on a major record label. That's really frustrating. Geir is the lucky one he can just release his stuff, but we have been kind of restricted.
SL: Are you still signed to EMI Norway?
AD: Vaguely... I am not happy with the contract and they are not happy with the contract and we just don't want to continue under that contract. So it has to be renegotiated. If they don't like the stuff I want to put out I'm free to go elsewhere.
SL: That is for you personal career, but Bel Canto is free yes?
AD: We got fired.
NJ: We have no more obligations towards EMI now. The contract ended. It's a license deal we have with them, we do all of the production and don't have an artist deal with them.
SL: Did you never think of self releasing?
NJ: That's the obvious thing to do now for known bands as the record industry is totally different now.
AD: But we are not business people so we need someone on board who can deal with all the phone calls and administration.
NJ: Right now we are just thinking about the creative part. There are different ways to handle things now though...
SL: But back to you and Geir.
AD: Well, then Geir and I worked on music for a theatre play, "Hamsun..s Fever" based on the poem "Feberdigte" from 1904 by the Norwegian author Knut Hamsun-s. (Editor's note: at this moment Geir Jenssen arrives and joins us)
SL: Hi Geir, Anneli just explained how you both got back into touch with each other. Why all this musical silence between you 2 during all this years?
GJ: We were just too busy with musical projects you know.
SL: The live material was really completely redone for this show, straight to the core of the songs with just you 3 on stage. It doesn't sound like you did this overnight.
GJ: Two nights you mean (laughs).
AD: We often use different musicians for the gigs as well so the sound always changes. But yesterday yes... our percussionist was there last night at the Rockefeller show and he has been playing with us for 20 years and now it was just us 3 (laughs).
GJ: We trashed all of the old sounds and used new ones, more or less. We just kept the midi-files.
AD: Geir actually even found his old synthesizer in his loft.
GJ: I found back my old Commodore computer from 1983 and it still worked. I inserted the floppies and found back all the midi-files and recorded them into a Mac.
AD: And you Nils, you had to find back all your Akai samples.
SL: Even in the first years when you performed the songs have never been that stripped down to be honest. Is that your influence Geir?
GJ: It was my idea yes. I just kicked out everything (laughs).
NJ: I was allowed to keep my guitar though (smiles).
SL: Approaching the stuff so radically, even the material that was released after you left Bel Canto after the 1989 album "Birds of passage". I guess you guys must be really trusting each other.
NJ: You have to trust each other. We tested out a few tracks from the more recent period and pretended like Geir was still in the band when those songs were made. That's how we were thinking.
AD: It did need some time to mature with Geir that we had to play a song like "Shimmering, warm and bright" as well though.
GJ: When they played the material to me I was like: 'what would happen if we would take away this, or that.' And we took it away and then more and more. In the end we just had the rhythm and the basic metal drums. It can easily be overproduced if you play all the elements plus my elements as well.
SL: But back to those ethnic elements, how did you reconcile both your coldness Geir and the warm ethnic elements that Nils and Anneli put into their material?
AD: Negotiations I'd say. We didn't play the ethnic songs yesterday but we were invited to do this.
SL: I noticed 4 new tracks in the set.
GJ: Yes, correct, we have been working on a few new tracks for which might hopefully be a new electronic album.
SL: Hopefully? Nils, are you ok with that?
NJ: Sure, it's always good to meet up together and get some mind twisting things done. It's a good synergy.
SL: Geir, when you left Bel Canto, what was the first impression you had when you heard the "“Shimmering, warm and bright album", the first produced without you?
GJ: I did like some of the tracks but I didn't like so much the ethnic elements. Like the percussionist. I'm not so into that.
SL: Your own solo material Geir is indeed very clean, clinical and Arctic as I would say. Nils and Anneli, you are both obviously the more ethnic influenced musicians in the band.
AD: I love to sing ethnic songs and have been travelling so much around the word and have been listening to Arabic rai music and Turkish folk music. As a singer it's much more interesting and a way to developing your vocal instrument. That's why I came a bit late because in the store they had some Indian music and I was listening. That's where all the techniques originate from. And personally I find it much easier to make songs in 7/8 beat than in 8/8 beat. It's much more difficult to sing simple and straight. When I was 14 years old I took singing lessons but my teacher refused to teach me because he thought I was an awful singer and could never become a singer. So in my head I made up I had to cheat and try and find a way. I had this crack in my voice, it was breaking, a voice change. I managed to find my own technique to sing but in my head I still was saying to myself: 'you're not a proper singer!' (laughs)
I cannot really sing straight like Christmas carols. But also I discovered then that I would start singing my own songs and not someone else's.
SL: Except in Idol.
AD: I didn't sing anyone else's song on there?
SL: Yes you did, I saw this cover which you sang together with Margeret Berger, the girl you were coaching in Idol. It was Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush' “Don't give up” for the the show 'Idol gir tilbake'. You literally sung her under the table. (See the video below)
AD: Ah yes... No, she is good you know, she was my favourite (laughs). I'm actually meeting her today. You know, people usually don't get impressed by a low voice, they get impressed by the femininity not by the voice. People were also impressed by the song I did with Röyksopp, “Wundering heights”. For me this is more an imitation, it's how I learned to sing from my big brother's record collection he bought in London. If it weren't for him I wouldn't be there now where I am because I had this terrible taste of music. He played like Joy Division, DAF, Psychic TV. No, Cocteau Twins came a bit later, but I started to listen to people who sing with soft voices and I noticed that you can actually sing like that.
Before I was listening to Whitney Houston, terrible stuff like that, and I was like (and she starts singing) 'Oh I want to dance with somebody', I couldn't sing that at all, it cracked up my voice. Other bands that I got to learn this way were Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music where the singing was very soft and smooth. Later on I got to learn Cocteau Twins. I was so impressed by the whole sound and I honestly thought this were two persons, I couldn't believe that one person had this kind of range.
Signed to the exquisite French synthpop label BOREDOMproduct is Neutral Lies, a synth based duo consisting of Jean François Dean and Nicolas Delbarre. Currently based in Lille, Northern France, the Franco British duo both played with different bands in the past two decades and already played together in the 90’s with a group called Process On. Calling them electropop would be too easy as the band nicely mixes minimal electronics, synth pop, EBM, New Wave and more. Out now their debut album "A deceptive calm" which you should have a listen to for sure. We talked with both members. (By Bernard Van Isacker)
SL: Hi guys, can you tell us first of all what the background is of each of you, whether it is music related or not and in what sense it has possibly influenced your music choice if it has of course.
JF: How could I summarise... After quite a nice childhood, spent between Lille and Corsica, I began to get bored with my “classic” studies and went to Belgium, first to St Luc Art school and then ERG Brussels for four years. That Belgian part of my life (and Risjel too ;) ) has been very important for its electronic hub, clubbing, and musical discovery. I learned to play the piano, when I was 6 , and played in different groups, ska, coldwave, electronic... Need to be said that I’ve known Nick since we were together in secondary school, and though I left Lille for more than five years, we’ve always been in touch, and shared different musical experiences, and some great fun too. But, the real interest starts from 2006 and the beginning of Neutral Lies .
N: From a purely personal point of view I could start by telling you I'm a sort of half bred mutant who was raised with one foot in England and the other one in France due to family background.Loads of people asked me if I felt more British or French but it's an impossible question to answer... Jeff and I met at school when we were 12 or something and we both had this fascination for electronic music of that time and for all the underground scene. So we started our first manoeuvres on Wednesday afternoons with one analog keyboard, an organ at Jeff's.His mum had to put up with all the noise we made but was kind enough to bring us a cup of tea or coffee. We had a go at cover versions but nothing really concrete saw the light of day.
In the late 80's I played with another friend in a group called A Place Apart... for the little story, our debut demo tapes was reviewed by Side Line and Sebastien Dolimont, I still have a copy of the fanzine, it was a black and white photocopied paper mag... What we did was not very professional, messy, embarrassing to listen to now but extremely funny and full of energy. In the 90's I played with a band called PROCESS ON,the music was harsh electronics borderline EBM. Then I had a couple of side projects in the techno scene and even worked with a major label but we quickly discovered the real side of money making labels. In the late 90's I had a solo project called Concept Of Xeno and I self released an album of, say, early 80's minimal electronics.So the fact of having lived through several decades and having made different types of electronic music definitely influenced our musical choice.
SL: You're hailing from the Northern part (Lille), wasn't that where Death Nature was from? I don't know any other Lille based electro bands though...
N: Honestly I remember hearing this name a long time ago, but I think this band was from Lens not Lille... and in soccer Lille Vs Lens is a terrible derby...No all I remember is a mate telling me that this band were kind of DM copycats doing covers and all. Lille's never really been the cradle of electronic music. Only very few electro bands here in the last 30 years. I have a great 7" single released in 1984 by a band called Alena but that's the only thing they did,I'm still in touch with one of the guys. No, in fact apart from our fellow music friends BUZZ,I can't think of any other bands. Oh yeah there's also Void Kampf and A Thousand Societies in the EBM genre.
SL: You see, there's still some life in Lille. It seems like it that BOREDOMproduct is hunting synthpop bands in all corners of the hexagon like our reviewer wrote in his review of your album. I guess BOREDOMproduct was a logical choice? Did you contact the label or did the label check you out?
JF/N: Well in fact, a friend of ours, Der Gregolini, who runs the radio programme Sampler et Sans Reproches and also plays with Void Kampf pointed us in the direction of BOREDOMproduct. When he heard our demo, he gave us four names:Sigsaly in the US, BOREDOMproduct in France, one German label, one Swedish label. We sent an email to BOREDOMproduct and got a reply an hour later saying "a collaboration sounds like a real possibility but we'd like to hear the whole demo and you have to know we'd like to improve your materials and give them a more professional sound". We had a long chat with Member U-0176 of BOREDOMproduct on the phone and we decided to start working on one track to see if we'd like the flavour of what BOREDOMproduct would slightly revamp.
So a logical choice, I don't know, cos we would never have imagined signing with a French label (cos we didn’t even know there was one in France) until we spoke to BOREDOMproduct, it was the choice of the heart, we felt at once that BOREDOMproduct was run by keen and professional people who really get involved and we had good vibes. As we are very sensitive people, we're often guided by our feelings.
SL: Your material sometimes a bit hesitatant, don't get me wrong, the songs are great, but I do think that you sometimes hold back? As if you guys did not really let the devil out yet...?
JF: I guess you are talking about the first part of the album ? I think that the minimal tracks might be “fragile” cos they convey more emotions, I wouldn’t say hesitant, we just wanted to keep their identity as much as possible.
N: You mean we sort of contain ? Yeah maybe. Anyway it's interesting to get this sort of constructive feedback as opposed to mere criticisms just for the sake of doing new bands down. You might be right, or maybe it's because some of our tracks are more intimate and minimal and obviously don't convey the same feelings as our tougher tunes. I see what you mean and maybe we'll wait a bit before unleashing the beast... It wouldn't be funny if we showed everything after just one album, maybe we have to do that progressively. So expect to see more in the near future.
SL: Any reason why "Le Fou D'Echec" was sung in French?
N: no particular reason, it's a track that was written in French a long time ago and exploited here cos it fitted the music, and we really wanted to have at least one track in French, just to remind people that even if I'm tied to my British roots, I also speak French and that it's another side of our identity.
The Norwegian Industrial/Gothic/Metal band Gothminister has a very impressive live stage-act, thanks to the gestures and outfit of singer/songwriter Bjoern Alexander Brem and the catchy music. For some people they sound like a Rammstein rip-off, according to others they will become one of the biggest acts in its genre. We had a chance to meet the sympathic minister himself, who is getting ready to celebrate a decade in darkness, for a relaxed chat after the show! (By DJ Wildhoney)
SL: As you are the main composer of all Gothminister songs, please tell us which instruments you all can play and which one your favourite is ...
GM: I started out playing keyboards and then I played the guitar in different bands. Then I played the bass and I played the drums, always doing vocals at the same time. Now I just do the vocals and write the songs and then all the basic instruments. I really like to play drums; drums and bass guitar are in fact my favourite instruments. I did not follow any conservatorium, I learned it all by myself.
SL: There is a period of more than 3,5 years in between the release of the second cd "Empire of Dark Salvation" and the latest album "Happiness In Darkness". What took you so long?
GM: I had a lot of work to do. I work in Oslo as a lawyer, I have 2 jobs. We also did 200 shows in that period, it was difficult to do it any faster.
SL: How was the last European tour experience with Magenta and Trail of Tears ? Is there a big difference with touring in the USA?
GM: We did our headlining US tour in 2007, it was really cool, we did 8 shows from Hollywood to New Haven. I think that America is more rockstar-based than Europe. The industrial-gothic scene is in America more electronic, but we played both electronic and metal clubs. The tour with Magenta and Trail of Tears was cool, we had a great time. We know the people of Magenta from before. I am also doing the EMC (European Music Council) this year with Anders Odden, the guitar-player from Magenta, who also plays with Satyricon and played with Celtic Frost, Cadaver, Ministry and Apoptygma Berzerk. He has his conference on the Inferno festival in Norway, I was also with him last year as a lawyer in a panel debate. This year we are going to focus more on the film-industry: how do film-directors choose music for films. We will invite one director of documentaries and one of motion pictures in Norway, and they will explain how they choose, what they focus on and why they are interested in metal bands. We try to build a bridge between musicians and film-directors which is very interesting.
SL: May we know your most remarkable tour moment ever?
GM: I think I have to mention the tour with Mortiis in 2006 here. It is a funny story but also a nasty story. We were driving with a nightliner bus from Edinborough to London and we had a support band, following us in a van. Our busdriver asked the sound-technician to empty the toilet. You should know that it's not allowed to shit in the toilet but taking a piss was no problem. Normally the toilet is emptied on some kind of dumping area and sometimes this is done on the road. So the support band follows us and there was some kind of miscommunication, so the toilet-plug was pulled and the van behind us got it all over them. It went through the air-conditioning system, everybody was puking inside and got sick and they had to stop the car which needed to be cleaned. Later on, we were all standing in a big traffic-jam to London and the drummer shit in his pants, because they didn't have a toilet in the car, haha. They had a terrible day!
SL: It looks like Gothminister is becoming more popular as we can see on the numbers of movies on YouTube, the increasing Facebook and MySpace fans and support profiles worldwide. How important are these social networks for you or do you find it a waste of time?
GM: I don't think it's a waste of time, it's really important. When MySpace was launched a lot of bands also had their own homepage. After a short period of time, a lot of bands put their homepage down and focused only on MySpace anymore. Also as a lawyer working for bands, I have the experience that agents/publishers/booking-agencies/record-labels want to check out bands via MySpace which is very efficient, because they just have to press on the play-button to listen directly to the music. A lot of band-websites are more complicated and they have to struggle to find the music, MySpace is just easier and in fact a result of our society in general, which is becoming more stressful. People have less time and are less patient, they just want everything like this (snaps his fingers) right away. On the Inferno conference some years ago, we talked to people of the US, and they were already talking all the time about Facebook and Twitter. In Norway Twitter hasn't exploded yet but it will soon happen I think. Before, I used to get a lot of mails from fans via MySpace, now I get more mails from bands, trying to promote their own music. You have to go where the fans are, not where the bands are. Twitter is more simple and good for messaging like iPhone etc., but in Norway Facebook is more important. (...)
As a long time pioneer on the Electronic scene, Apoptygma Berzerk's mastermind Stephan Groth has always had fans primed to dance and sing along, but with Apop's latest release "Rocket Science", Groth is out to open eyes as well as move bodies, and the words his audience echo back ring with a deeper, more ominous tone. Already a controversial figure for the shifts in Apop's style he's made throughout the years, Groth has now added more reasons for people to talk with an album steeped in conspiracy theories, reactionary political and social commentary, and even biblically influenced visions of a not-so-bright future. The day after APB's Austin SXSW appearance this past March, the outspoken Groth sat down in Dallas for an in-depth interview with Margie Jessica Patton, offering his opinions on the music business, greed, sin, government control, God, and even the end of the world itself. (By Margie Jessica Patton)
SL: So how did South By Southwest go last night?
STP: It was fun. It was extremely stressful. We played this showcase with seven other bands. We all shared the same stage. We could only play 40 minutes each. Austin was just a mess. There were people everywhere in the streets. It was impossible to get a parking space there. It was impossible to get our stuff loaded into the club. So everything just took forever and on top of that we could only do a 40 minute show. But a lot of people were there. It was full so it was definitely worth it. Am I ever going to do it again, I'm not sure, but it was good. I'm glad that we did it. Of course yesterday probably 200 bands played, so I'm not really sure all the bands got all the attention they deserved, but hopefully somebody picked it up down there, and at least we've been in the press. Because of playing the SXSW festival you end up on posters and flyers and mentioned on radio shows. A lot of exposure that we wouldn't have had if we didn't go there. So I'm hoping someone's going to pick it up and something's going to happen.
SL: You deserve all the success, and the world needs you because you are different. You make people think, and that's very special and very rare.
STP: Yeah, I'm trying to do my job. It's definitely been going in the right direction the last year. Ever since we did the tour in September a lot of stuff has happened, especially online. I can tell from the messages we receive on MySpace and Facebook and personal E-mails that I get...of course a lot of people are telling me that they like the music, and that's great, I'm very happy for that. But also more and more E-mails are coming in from people who are interested in the deeper stuff. Both religious stuff and the whole conspiracy thing.
People are asking my opinions about things. I have people who are already familiar with all the conspiracy stuff who are asking me questions and also tons of people who have no clue. But they may do some Google searches and check stuff out after listening to the album or reading interviews that I've done and they've come back to me like, "wow, this is crazy!" So that's good and that's what makes it all worthwhile. It's not as many people as I would like it to be of course, but it's definitely more people than before the September tour, meaning that the September tour was mission accomplished.
SL: "Rocket Science" motivates people to think. So is it about people processing the information then using it in their own lives?
STP: Yeah, for those that are interested in that. Because most people aren't interested. And a lot of people are scared. They enjoy being in their own little world, their own comfort zone, doing their thing and living the pleasant life. Maybe I actually scare away a lot of people as well who are just not up for it. So I guess it goes both ways.
SL: We had a discussion about greed, and you had an interesting perspective that people are greedy because they're afraid, and they're trying to fill that empty space inside, and those in power are using that greed to manipulate us. So could you talk some more about that?
STP: Yeah, the whole greed part. I experience so much greed in the music industry. Not only with other musicians but also record companies, people in the business. Just "what can we get", the grabbing hands like Depeche Mode sings about.
SL: And it seems these days, nobody cares about the long term, the big picture, for an artist. Every artist has to produce right away and they won't invest in the long term.
STP: And that's a huge problem. Because that's not the way you build careers. And it's all about having that one hit single. This whole "quick fix" thing that is so annoying because it has nothing to do with art, it has nothing to do with anything that is worthwhile or has any substance at all. It's just taking advantage of this quick fix thing. So they're doing to the music industry what McDonald's is doing to the restaurant industry. Fill me up and that's it and I don't have to pay much for it. And if it was like 50/50 I could live with it, but when they are so obviously squeezing all their competitors out of the market... Like now, for most bands, at least in Europe, most bands can't live from making music. Of course there always going to be big acts who have their income from selling records and publishing, touring, selling merchandise, but most bands mid-size and down, they can't live from this anymore. So if you're a three, four, five piece band and you have to share the income the band can generate, then you have to live in the street. And when I look at it from the conspiracy angle...
The thing is when you're an artist, and you don't have a regular day job, one side effect of it is that you have way too much time to think. And even people who are not that... I mean I'm not looking at myself as an intellectual in any way, but when I have so much time on my hands where I can deal with art and really think about what's going on in my head and my heart and about what's going on in the world, that makes me go really deep into these things, and I come up with some quite alternative results now and then. Over the years, think what happened in the '60's with Bob Dylan and those guys. They changed the world through their lyrics and music. And that's what artists are here for. If it's through movies or paintings or music or lyrics or whatever it is. I think the establishment, the whole New World Order and whoever is behind the scenes running the world, I think they're afraid of artists because we have way too much time on our hands to deal with all these things. Music has always been my main interest and my main hobby and it's also been my main source of income.
It's been my job and hobby at the same time. And then I got myself this other hobby which is the whole conspiracy stuff and religion, especially Christianity, and Bible prophecy, and I started to integrate this into music. It was my job, so I spent my whole working day on it, then when my working day was over and I had my spare time, I continued to deal with it. So it's a lot of hours being put into this. And I think if other bands had the same amount of time to study up on these things... I think they have ruined this business because they want people to have their day jobs so they can't be doing artistic stuff full time. It probably sounds a bit paranoid and I haven't been going much into the details, but it makes total sense, and it also goes along with how they fill our heads with crap. You see whatever is in the charts always and has been for years, which is that quick fix thing which has nothing to it.
SL: It's like economics is the new method of control. It used to be with totalitarian governments if there was an artist you just take them out...
STP: They're still taking us out, they're just not killing us. They just make it impossible to make a living. So you have to have a day job so you can survive, so you can only be an artist part-time.
SL: Or the pressure is on to make something disposable.
STP: Yeah, make something that they like or else you go out of the business. Because there's no demand for anything that has any value.
That's why I'm so extremely happy when a band like Muse is having the success that they have now. And it looks like it's going good for them in America as well because they're way bigger in Europe than they are in the U.S. So seeing that a band like Muse who has great lyrics, great melodies, great musicians and concepts, great everything - when someone like that climbs the charts that makes me really, really happy and makes me say, "OK, maybe it's not that bad after all." But there's not that many of those bands.
SL: But, if you take the conspiracy theory level higher, though, why are they successful?
STP: That's the next step. It could be that they're having that success because some of the information that they're putting out is what the New World Order wants us to know about. That's one take on it. Another take on it, that I'd rather think, is that it's just too good to be ignored. You just can't hold it back because it's so great.
I really, really enjoy them. It's amazing. Also on their last album especially, with all the 1984 things going on. When I heard the new album and I read some interviews with Matt Bellamy and he was talking constantly about the whole Orwell thing. I was thinking, "OK, welcome to the club!" It was very nice. It made me feel like, "OK, I've been on to something here and maybe everything I do isn't that wrong after all!"
SL: We covered greed, so I thought we'd go through all the seven deadly sins, and not only the seven deadly sins as sins, moral liabilities, but the same thing, how they can be used to control us.
STP: Anger... I was never an angry person. I've felt anger and I know how anger can take control of you. How it can totally make you blind.
I can relate to most of the other ones [laughs], but...
SL: Well, that's why I believe in you, because you're not angry. People like Alex Jones... I don't like people screaming at me.
STP: Most of us don't like that!
SL: But that's his thing. I can understand his mission, but I don't like his delivery. Sometimes on his show he'll actually be shouting down people who agree with him! He'll just want to step over them, and I guess that goes to pride, egomania, that it's all about him. And this guy Daniel Estulin, the one who wrote the Bilderberg book...
STP: Yeah, I don't know him.
SL: I'd be interested in it, but I'd never read his book because he's such a dick. He acts very condescending and insulting, like a big shot, "well, I've sold 2 1/2 million books..." And I'm thinking to myself, aren't you acting just like the people you're criticizing?
STP: Exactly. You have to put your message out there... or at least what I choose to do, do it in a humble way and in a loving way. The whole yelling thing and the anger thing. I feel that that's what they want you to do.
SL: And anger is so prevalent in the world in general, in all the little parties and sub-parties. The left wing and the right wing and the teabaggers...
STP: And that's how they play us. They play us against each other and it's been like that forever. Fear and anger go hand in hand. If you're afraid of the unknown or other people's skin colour or religion or whatever. You get this anger tension going on, and that's also a form of control. You have two groups fighting - one here and one here - they're occupied doing that, and they don't see what you're doing over here!
SL: So gluttony...
STP: That's almost the same as greed, isn't it?
SL: I'd say gluttony is not only hedonism, but also consumerism.
STP: Well, we're in America right now!
SL: Another method of control, like after 9/11 Bush was saying, "keep shopping", "keep spending"...
STP: That's back to the whole quick fix thing we talked about. People, they're not happy and they think, "OK, I feel sad now so I'm going to go out and eat way too much to make myself feel good right then." Or they go out and shop. The quick fix of just buying stuff. It's all connected. I was in Africa about 12, 13 years ago working on a project there. We went to Tanzania, on the east coast of Africa, to help out some musicians down there to start an organization that dealt with copyright issues. The problem was that all the bands had a band owner.
In the western world, a band would have a manager, they had a band owner. So say I was the keyboard player and I wrote a song, the song would automatically belong to the band owner. And that was whatever Tanzanian tradition that they had. So we went down there to explain to them that that's not exactly how copyright laws work! So we helped them to set up an organization so that when they wrote the songs, the songs actually belonged to them. And the band owner or the radio station or whoever used the songs had to pay them. So anyway that was really cool. But going to Africa I saw the conditions that they lived under. I was out visiting some families who lived in the worst area in Tanzania, out in the slum. It was ridiculous. I've never seen anything like it. Like three families living in a little hut. No electricity of course, no nothing. And one thing that struck me a hundred times every day was that everybody was smiling. They lived under the craziest conditions, all the kids were sick all the time, died all the time...
That's why they have so many kids because they're calculating that "x" amount, a certain percentage are going to die. There's no welfare stuff down there so they have to have many children to take care of them when they get older. So they lived under the most horrible conditions, but everybody was happy and smiling. And when I came down there I was a little bit afraid that because of my skin colour, they would hate me for some reason. I was afraid down there until I found out that I was totally accepted. And when I went down there and I saw what the white man has done to that continent, I got back to Norway and I was almost turning racist the other way around! I was mad at the white man when I arrived at the airport in Oslo! I'll never forget it.
It took me days to get back to normal. It totally changed my life. I cut down on everything. I started to be way more smart with money. I tried to buy just the amount of food I needed. I tried not to buy too much and not buy stuff that I didn't really need. For a long time, and even today when we're out on the road all the time, we see big, huge expensive cars every day. Every time I see expensive cars I know they're able to drive that car because somebody down there is not. All the wealth is in the Western world. We're extremely greedy and we over-consume.
SL: And it's not just one expensive car, why do they have to have 5 or 10 or 15?
STP: I think everybody should have as many cars as they want if that's what they choose to spend their money on. But it's important to think about other people, and if you buy that extra car or buy that extra thing that you don't really need, keep in mind that most of the people on this planet don't have those options, and maybe that will change something. It changed me, and it made me realize that money is never going to buy you happiness. All the people I met in Africa who, to our standards, were broke, were totally happy. They love their children, they love their families, they were living good lives. I'm not trying to glorify the whole poverty situation, but they have so many things that we don't have because it's so much more important to us to have that extra car than to take care of your family.
SL: And envy, I know people are envious of you because you're successful, talented, creative, and smart. And envy is not only that you're jealous of their success, but you also want to take that away from someone.
STP: Yeah, that's another story. If I want something that's totally fine, but if it's to the point where I don't want you to be successful, then it's not very healthy at all!
SL: So why do you think people are like that?
STP: I don't know. I have those feelings myself. Being in the music industry, you're constantly competing with other bands. I feel it now and then. When I see other bands are having success maybe in a territory where I'm not having success, I feel this feeling like, "F..., I wish that were me."
SL: Is it because those bands suck?
STP: No, it's because I want it and they have it! And I constantly have to stop myself there and look myself in the mirror and say, "is that the kind of person you want to be?" and then I let go of it, and I realize how stupid and self-centered that is, and how carrying those feelings will make me into a crappy person. So I deliberately remove those thoughts. So I'm not like that anymore but I have been like that over the years. I've gotten better and better at dealing with it. One way to deal with it, a few times I actually called those people up and congratulated them and in an instant that [envy] was gone. I didn't feel that "oh I want it!" So that worked for me, I don't know if it would work for everybody. But that's something I've been looking very much into because the envy thing, it's not going to do you anything good and it's going to totally tear you apart. (...)
The Swedish synthpop band Page is often credited with being the first band to bring synthpop music to Sweden. Their music and band members (particularly Eddie Bengtsson) influenced many subsequent Swedish synthpop acts, including Elegant Machinery, S.P.O.C.K, Sista Mannen Pa Jorden and KieTheVez. Formed in 1980 by Eddie Bengtsson and Marina Schiptjenko, soon joined by Anders Eliasson, the band quickly gained underground cult-status releasing many singles such as "Dansande man", "Som skjuten ur en kanon", "Bla fotter" and "Som en vind".
Though most of their important influential work was released in the 1980s, their first album, the self titled "Page" was only released in 1991. Though the band has never officially disbanded, it had been remarkably quiet since a performance at SEMA (Swedish Electronic Music Awards) in 1999 when the band promised nothing new would ever be released under the name Page. A compilation covering their two decades of work was released in 2000 and that was it.
But after a decade of silence, in 2010 Page released an album of newly recorded material called "Nu", and even performed two tracks live on the Swedish TV show "Nyhetsmorgon" in May 2010. The band played in Stockholm the day our chief editor was in town and tipped by our local correspondent Petra Rönnholm, decided to get both Eddie Bengtsson and Anna Marina Schiptjenko behind the mic for a quick chat in the backstage area of the Ultrafoxx/Sugar Bar. (By Petra Rönnholm and Bernard Van Isacker)
SL: Is the album published by the Malmö based label SubSpace Communication or another label?
E: It's published by Bonnieramigo. They distribute outside Scandinavia but they don't know if they will do it with this album.
SL: If you are going to release this album outside Scandinavia you always have a problem with the language.
E: Yes, I know. On the other side I listen to Telex and they sing sometimes in French.
SL: Let's hop to another question before we continue with language. Eurovision Song Contest - why did you never participate in that? Telex did it, they made a joke of it with the track "Eurovision" in 1980.
E: yeah, Hmm...how many points did they get...? It's a brilliant song. I love it!
SL: There is no plan to actually have a go (smile).
E: No, not really but if people like it and they can take it with the swedish lyrics...
M: Yes, cause there is no plans in translating them
SL: Why? I'm just curious why you always sing in swedish?
E: Because we are from Sweden.
M: It's a part of Page. It's part of the package, the concept.
SL: But it limits the possibilities to reach a wider public.
M: Yes, but you know it's not all about reaching a huge audience. For us it's about the sound. Look at Kent. When they tried to take out their package outside the nordic countries it kind of died. I think Kent is more nordic in the temperament, but I also think Page. But saying that we have received really really good reviews from Scandipop.
E: They are from England.
SL: I remember when "Dansande Man" was played in the clubs in Belgium and everybody was singing all kinds of words to it because we didn't know them. Then a group covered it in english and then that song was played a lot.
E: Nice! So you mean they actually like "oh, this is nice" and they danced?
SL: The song is known. "Dansande man" is known.
M: I heard it in New York, when I went to a club.
SL: In Swedish?
M: Yes. THE Dansande man. And I was like "what!?"
SL: Actually, dansande man is used a lot in youtube videos. If you check you have people playbacking on it and doing stuff on it. We actually made news on that because we found it very interesting that a song that old could still...
M: (Laughs), in swedish!
SL: It's become a club anthem. I'm sure that if you guys would have done a couple of things in english you could have... But maybe it's not your target?
M: well, as I say you should never say never. Maybe that is the next step, to translate it into english.
E: If someone would suggest it then maybe but there are no plans.
SL: Ok, we tried, we failed. Next question then, why did you actually return this year? Is it because of the 30 years?
E: Yeah, it's part of it. 30 years since we started and 10 years since we ended. And, Marina she....
M: Yeah, I will stop with my other band - BWO - and I felt I still want to play but I want to play with Eddie. (Laughs)
SL: But these are difficult times for music.
M: Yes, but we are not fulltime musicians, we have other professions. I think that's the key. You can't just play music because then you would get really frustrated. (Laughs)!
E: Yes, it's great to do something just for fun.
M: Hmm, and this is for fun because we love it! Not for like "hmmm, it's premier we want to sell a lot of albums". We just love it.
E: Or to make more money
M: Because we never did. (Laughs)
SL: I'm more looking from the label point of view. Running Alfa Matrix, I know a bit how the market works. It's quite difficult nowadays to launch something, so how did you convince the label to take part in this?
M: Actually we spoke to our boss from the record company. They think that we... they wanted to work with us partly because we are so grounded on the scene already. And this is what it is all about, being on the floor. Selling albums. So instead of signing a new band they took up a band with a substantial history. And they like us, they like our sound. If you listen to other swedish music, Page is quite unique.
SL: Exactly. Definately. But why do you think that is the reason why Page goes so well in the music scene?
M: Do we? (Laughs)
M: I don't know if we have success but I do think that people who like us - the lyrics and the songs they are very melodic - but I also think people feel we are very genuine. This is who we are and I think you can't trick people. They feel it. It's really made with honesty and we are genuine.
SL: If you read wikipedia on Page it says that you guys are the founder of the synthpop music in Sweden plus you were behind groups and that without you bands like Kiethevez, Spock would never existed... bla bla bla.
M: Yes, you formed Spock (to Eddie). (Laughs).
SL: If you look at all this is it difficult to stay all that modest, no?
E: I don't know
M: No, I don't think so because we took a break of 10 years. And as you can hear on the new album it was really important for us to recreate the Page sound, not to take new influence but also to be honest and the lyrics are about what we are today. We worked very hard to find our genuine sound again.
E: At the same time you should hear there has been a progression. And I think you do.
M: In terms of lyrics and songwriting.
SL: Who are you guys? What are your occupations now?
Out on Crunch Pod (USA) and Rustblade (EU) is "Process of Elimination", the new Cervello Elettronico album. Expect hard rhythmic experimental beats to pulsating electro EBM bass lines spread over 14 tracks with extra guest vocals from Karloz M of Manufactura, Uberbyte's Richard Pyne, and Ben Arp from American industrial dance act C/A/T. The EU version also holds exclusive remixes from French break beat artist Zeller and EBM Industrial act Aesthetic Perfection. Together with "Process of Elimination" you can also expect "Bipolar", Rustblade's exclusive box release for the new album and strictly limited to 300 copies worldwide. The set includes the regular album plus an additional disc featuring remixes by P.A.L, Geistform, Detune-X, Xotox, Sandblasting and many more. Also included are original alternate versions of "Demonize" and "Crystal Lines", both from "Process of Elimination". Reason enough to pick up the release and for us to grab David Christian by the hand and drag him into a sofa with our most curious interviewer, Elise coached by our chief editor... (By Bernard Van Isacker & Elise Din)
SL: Your debut album "Negate The Instigator" was released on Crunch Pod only but now "Process of Elimination" also gets a release via Rustblade with 2 extra tracks. Things are going well for you?
DC: Unlike my debut, Negate the Instigator which was only released by Crunch Pod worldwide, the new album "Process of Elimination" is out in the United States by Crunch Pod and available, by the Italian label Rustblade, for Europe. I think things are at a good starting point for the project. Besides having support by two labels, It's easier for people to buy the album in Europe and the US now. The European version does have extra material along with a box version "BiPolar". It has been pressed by both labels in limited quantity so there is just enough to go around. I'm proud of this album. Both labels were excited to release it and I expect more people to discover it as time goes by. I'm definitely not in this for the quick money.
SL: On "Process Of Elimination" you have clearly tried to naturally evolve with your music avoiding to emulate your excellent debut. How easy or should I say difficult was that?
DC: I think it would have been more difficult for me to emulate CE's first release. I believe in moving forward with my music. There is a lot that inspires me and because of the loose boundaries this project has, I'm able to work in different directions. I also had some different sound tools to take advantage of during the creative process on the new album. This made it easier for my ideas to translate into sound.
SL: "Process Of Elimination" sounds harder and more industrial-like. How come?
DC: It might be because I wanted to try more digital sampling on this album. That's one of the qualities that attracted me to post Industrial bands like early Ministry and media sampling pioneers EBN. Before I started writing the music, I spent several months collecting samples. I recorded and processed anything I could think of that would possibly sound interesting like metal tools, plastic bottles, ripping paper, etc. I also tried to find audio from media that was alienating or fit a particular mood. On this album I sampled everything from black box recordings from doomed aircraft crew to Kanye West but you probably couldn't tell, it's heavily processed. Process of Elimination is a harsh album, and that was intentional. It's about leaving behind everything negative in life to be content.
SL: Your music doesn't really need a vocalist, so why bring in guest singers like Karloz M (Manufactura), Richard Pyne (Uberbyte) and Ben Arp (C/A/T)? What did you want to reach with their addition?
DC: Just as choosing a particular synth or drum beat, I was a very big fan of each of these vocalists' style and I thought it would fit with each song respectively. It had been suggested by many people in the past that I write music with vocals and I didn't want to do this unless it felt right and fit with my ideas. On this album with these songs it definitely felt right.
SL: The vocals have been produced in way it all sounds more like an extra vocal input instead of a real singer. Why?
DC: Cervello Elettronico isn't a project originally intended for vocals. The only way I could think of adding this new element was to process the tracks I was given like any other sample. Each vocalist hadn't heard the final song before recording their vocals or spoken word, in Karloz's case. It was definitely not intended to sound like conventional vocals. Hopefully I can experiment more with this again in the future.
SL: The "Electrophobia" album was released online through file sharing networks. Why put all that work in an album and then give it away for free? I feel that your explanation of it being some sort of an act of appreciation to everyone who has or will buy your latest album a bit too obvious?
DC: Electrophobia was released as a free download through Vampirefreaks.com. All the work put into the album was more like a learning process for my benefit. It was also intended for another project that never materialized. Instead of the music being shelved, I reworked it and brought it to light online through vampirefreaks.com. I thought that was the perfect place for it to be appreciated by fans and people who hadn't heard of CE before. To charge people for that didn't seem appropriate. Besides, I wanted to move on with the next album. I'm not sure why or how it also was able to get up on torrents and other file sharing networks, but it is interesting to me. Someone took the time and effort to do all that, and it was completely free. (...)
Front Line Assembly seems to have resurrected as their newest album "Improvised Electronic Device" out on Metropolis / Dependent is getting raving reviews. Not surprisingly as it goes back to the commercially successful roots of the bands. Preceded by the single "Shifting Through the Lens" the album also got Ministry's Al Jourgensen collaborating on the track "Stupidity" providing lyrics and vocals. A lot of buzz surrounded this release so more than time to contact Bill Leeb who talks about synthpop music saturating the scene, the role Rhys still plays and much more. (By Bernard Van Isacker)
SL: Bill, with the new single "Shifting Through The Lens" it appears the band is back on track going back to old strengths with one foot and to new, unexplored territory with the other. Were you playing on safe here?
BL: No, we actually didn’t put too much thought into what direction we were going. It was really just the result of new and old members joining forces and trying to create something that we are all happy with.
SL: You have focused more on writing really 'moody moving music rather than just beat people in the heads'. I would think that this is indeed far more difficult... have you guys taken things a bit too easy on the previous albums then?
BL: Well... Let’s say it was a different time, different people, different moods, a different world, everything is just different and we’ve changed along with it.
SL: This time the band was just you, Chris Peterson, Jeremy Inkel and Jared Slingerland. Rhys Fulber was not in the band at this time due to his own schedule. It implies he was asked for sure to join, was this out of habit or is his input really missing? What could he have added?
BL: Ironically enough, Rhys wasn’t asked to be involved until we pretty much had an entire album written. By the time Rhys was available we felt like the album was done and there really wasn’t any room for anyone to put anything else on it. It was definitely for the best that we all went our own ways.
SL: Did Greg Reely participate?
BL: Greg did participate. He mixed 6 songs on this record and Ken Marshall who normally works with Skinny Puppy mixed the other 6. Greg Reely also mastered the entire album.
SL: FLA has a pretty open door policy, people come and go but everyone seems to find their way back at one point or another. I presume there is and never will be any push to record a new FLA abum either? So what is the driving force behind the band then?
BL: At this stage, FLA is more about trying to create something artistic and responsive rather than trend driven or trying to be a rockstar band. It’s just music that evolves on its own course and we don’t put any time lines or pressures on ourselves since we are always involved in other things. At this point FLA is purely an artistic expression without any barriers.
SL: Bill, you are still working on several other different projects with Rhys. Which ones are still in the pipeline?
BL: My other main side project is Delerium but again I’ve written a lot of songs without Rhys on this one with other members of FLA, who knows if our paths will cross to finish this record with Rhys. He is becoming less and less important.
SL: You guys have described this album as being 'the most collaborative joint venture between all members of the band due to bonds created from our extensive touring'. Nice to hear, was this cohesion missing a lot in the past then?
BL: When a band plays live on stage together, the interaction between guys becomes very personable. It can either brig you closer together or drive people apart. For us it brought us closer together on an artistic level which in turn helped us be creative in the studio.
SL: The track "Angriff" is peculiar in that the chorus is performed in German...
BL: Actually, since I was born and raised in Vienna Austria, German was always my first language, it only seemed natural to eventually reclaim my heritage and do a song in my mother tongue.
SL: Bill, you said in an interview that 'synth poppy music is saturating the scene'. I would have thought that this was already behind us?
BL: Anybody who follows the genre would easily come up with same conclusions as me. If I need to point them out to anybody they are obviously not listening... (...)
There're some music artists like Adam Mitchell you better ask yourself what they've ever never done than all they've done! Back in the early 90s he teamed up with brother Frankie bones in running the first all techno records shop in the USA called Groove Records. Later on the name was changed into Sonic Groove Records. Time went on Sonic Groove Records becoming one of the top techno record retailers for DJ's and other vinyl collectors across the world. Adam Mitchell finally set up the label Sonic Groove Records, which he run on his own. He also got active as musician and producer expanding his music activities. Musical wise he released an amazing number of releases. He got better known under the Adam X moniker, but got involved in other projects like P.L.U.M, Crossbones, X-Crash, X-Heart or yet a new project called Traversable Wormhole. All projects let clearly appear a techno influence while Adam X has been often mixed with good-old EBM influences. I got rather intrigued while discovering ADMX-71 as another side-project of the artists being signed on the famous industrial and powernoise label Hands! I experienced the “Luminous Vapors” as a refreshing piece of electro-industrial music where Adam Mitchell reveals another side of his influences and talent! We try to catch this busy bee to understand this metamorphosis. (By by Stéphane Froidcoeur)
SL: Hello Adam! How did you come to set up a new project under the ADMX-71 moniker?
A: I had felt the challenge for a while to create an album that was more for listening to in a relaxed environment then for dancing. I recorded one track on the last Adam X album “State Of Limbo” called “Intermission On The Congo” that was on the ambient/experimental side of things. I enjoyed composing this song a lot and felt I should have a try at recording a full length album of this style of music.
SL: How was it working on a completely new project, which I can easily imagine is also like starting back from zero?
A: It was quite a liberating experience for me. I felt no restrictions while in the process of creation unlike I do when making more dance floor oriented music under my main artist name Adam X. I just created what came to mind without thinking if it would work on a dance floor or not. The plan from the on start was to make an album of down tempo sci-fi & cavernously themed head fuck music. The end result was exactly as I hoped for.
SL: I personally experienced ADMX-71 as your most ‘unexpected' project to date! It all sounds a bit like you'd to exorcize some old demons you couldn't launch into Adam X so tell us a bit more about the main ideas behind this new project?
A: I would not say I was trying to exorcise old demons. I like exploration into new things. I always say you only live once and you should try everything you have an interest in.
I have always had an interest in making more experimental based down tempo music going back into the 1990's. For me creating this project was a wee bit long overdue but something I knew would eventually get done.
SL The titles of several tracks are quite ‘astral'-like so what is it all about and what are the main ideas hiding behind the title of the album “Luminous Vapors”?
A: The songs on the album run through a myriad of themes and idea's that range from memories of my youth to thoughts and fantasies of future, space and the afterlife. For instance one song on the album entitled “CC Line (Return Of The R-10 Flats)” contains sounds of my favorite type of NYC subway cars I would paint graffiti art on as a teenager in the mid 1980's. The specific model was called the R-10. This subway car type would emit loud compressor sounds randomly throughout the hours while we would be painting in a silent train tunnel underneath the streets of NYC. I had found a video with this car model in it and thought it would be cool to make a song based around the compressor sounds. Then in “They Lurk In Decay” I created a musical back drop to much of the “Urban Decay” I grew up in NYC around in the 1980's. Then several of the tracks on there are ‘astral like' as you say. I do love my sci-fi and also have many a thought about outer space, other dimensions and travel to. Then there is the strangely themed “Indigenously Speaking”. In the starting sketch of this song I had created a sound that reminded me of Indians chanting. So I just went with it and turned it into a song about American Indians. It maybe the strangest themed track I have ever written. All the titles on the album come from thought provoking visions I had when writing each song.
SL: What will you keep in mind from the writing of the songs and how easy/difficult was it to take some distance with ADAM-X?
A: With all music I record, it marks a certain time period in my life. So I will remember quite well the time period of recording. It was super simple to distance myself from my main artist project during this time. The time of recording was perfect as I had already stock piled a lot of unreleased Adam X material. So I was ready to devote sufficient time to make this project happen. Once I recorded the first song of the album then I knew the rest of it would flow very smoothly.
SL: What have been the main tools/equipment you used for the writing of this album and did you use new gear/techniques?
A: All the music on this album was created in Ableton Live using the same methods I have been working on with music in the last 5 years. With Ableton Live I feel limitless. It's overwhelming what you can do with this software when designing sound and rhythm.
SL: We've been used to hear you composing a mix of EBM and techno while you here moved into ambient spheres! What does it say about your fascination for ambient and what kind of elements from this music do you like?
A: In the early 90's I grew up listening to the very first wave of IDM before it was aptly named this as a genre. Instantly I fell in love with the first releases of Aphex Twin, Autechre and other less known artists who were making similar melancholic, self reflective type ambient music. During this time period there was a big techno party scene on the east coast of the America. Many weekends in the year I would often drive 3-4 hours to play gigs. On the way home from many of these gigs I would listen to ambient music or just over all mellower music on the drive back home to relax my aggressive driving habits. For me the main element I like most about ambient music is the more tranquil state of mind it puts me in.
SL: I noticed on the myspace profile of ADMX-71 that you've been inspired by an artist like Biosphere! He's for sure one of the uncontestable masters in the genre while revealing an amazing production in sound! How do you as musician listen and analyze the work of an artist like Biosphere?
A: I tend to analyze everything from the feeling of mood to sound design, arrangement and production technique in most music I enjoy. With Biosphere I love this cold feeling of his music that is very warm to my ears. He is from Norway and you can feel his location throughout his music. I often think about submarine travel under the North Sea on way to the Artic when listening to his early works that were more bleepier. His later output is quite different but also leaves feelings of being comfortably isolated somewhere in the cold white north of the Artic.
SL: 2 more names that you mentioned as sources of inspiration are Monolake and Mika Vainio. What do you especially like in their work?
A: With Monolake I love the consistency of his work. There is a self reflective and future thinking atmosphere in each release that draws me in. The sound design, beat structure, arrangement and production of Monolake is extremely well executed. I find overall his production sets the standard to the next level in electronic music. With Mika Vainio, I love how he experiments in between rhythmic noise, abstraction and minimalistic tonal sound designs. His last solo album under the name Ø (pronounced ohm) entitled “Oleva” is a masterpiece of a listening album. I will for sure say that “Oleva” had a big inspiration on this project.
SL: What kind of influences precisely did you try to use and rework into “Luminous Vapors”?
A: I think of influences as utilizing another artist's sounds and ideas. I would not say I sat down and thought to do something similar to another artists work. I do think in electronic music that it is extremely hard to create something which never been done before. I can always hear at least one element whether it is a bassline, a string chord or drum rhythm in another artist's production that was done by someone previously. I have asked several of my friends who own big music collections if my recordings may have reminded them of something else. Some names they mentioned were Klinik (namely the box set) and Clock DVA. I could see the correlation since I am big fan of both. So perhaps there are subliminal influences in there.
SL: Some parts and especially bleeps on a few songs remind me to M² (Squaremeter)! In which way do you feel related with this project?
A: I am not so familiar with much of the recent more ambient/experimental side of things in the industrial scene. Projects I do love on the more ambient experimental side of the scene is early(late 80's) Delerium, Clock DVA, Mid 90' works from Oliver Moreau (Imminent) that were released on Re-load Ambient out of Belgium, Converter's side project, Painstation to name a few. These are big listening favorites of mine and I feel “Luminous Vapors” in relation would fit nicely together with all of the names I mentioned.
SL: And how much of ADAM X can be found back in ADMX-71?
A: The music of ADMX-71 comes from many of same feelings and emotions that come out in the creation of Adam X songs. If I was to slow down the tracks of Adam X you will for sure hear that I could easily make many of the songs into ADMX-71.
SL: I noticed that you last year released an EP of Orphx on your own label (Sonic Groove)! I think that ADMX-71 sounds quite different than Orphx and yet there're some links as well! What fascinates you in this project and do you think there're some links between both projects?
A: I love Orphx. There will be a new 12” called “Black Light” on Sonic Groove in a few weeks time. I knew of Orphx for most of the zero decade. Though it was not until I heard them at Maschinenfest in 2008 that I realized how techno oriented a lot of their music was. I was blown away by their live show. I was fascinated by how their sound during the show was techno in its purest form. I had been telling many people in the techno scene for years that some of the best hard edge techno music was coming from the rhythmic noise scene but most never seem to listen. I receive similar responses when I try to tell rhythmic noise/industrial people that there is a lot of techno they would like. I thought to myself when hearing their show that I have to release some of the music Orphx played this night in the techno scene on vinyl. I proposed this idea to them at the festival. Several months later I would release “The Division EP” from them. The release sold very well gaining major support from some of the biggest techno dj's/artists in the world. The main link between Orphx and I is we are into both the more underground elements of the techno and industrial music scenes. I think stylistically our music combines both elements but our music itself sounds very different from one another.
SL: I think a few interesting and intelligent projects are definitely filling the gap between different styles of music! It all seems today it's much more easier and evident to mix very different influences with each other, but what's the explanation behind this evolution?
A: It's been a slow evolution that has been happening since the 90's. Act's like Aphex Twin, Autechre, Pansonic all came out of the techno scene but would have excellent marketing from the bigger labels they signed to such as Mute and Warp Records. These labels helped break down the genre walls by marketing their music not as techno but as electronic music. Don't forget too that one of the biggest new styles in electronic music out now is Dubstep. For me this sound comes straight from the rhythmic noise/industrial scene. Scorn on Hymen & KK Records predated this Dubstep sound with his style several years before anyone called it such. At the end of the day whether it is industrial, ambient, techno it is all electronic music. Those artists who keep an open mind to this ideology will have a lot more open range to experiment with which will continually keep this music evolving.
SL: You mentioned that the album was partly produced on various airports and airplanes across Europe and the USA! I can imagine a laptop must be an interesting tool here, but not really in the right atmosphere?
A: For me a long flight is the perfect atmosphere to record music. I like the ambience of flying on a long flight especially when on a trans-Atlantic haul at night. The lights are off and mostly everyone around me is sleeping. I'm 35,000 feet above the sea flying over the Northern Hemisphere with the window shade open with a flashing strobe on the wing. As we speed 500 miles and hour, skipping time zones into the crack of dawn. What more of an atmosphere for making headfuck music can I ask for?
SL: Except airports and airplanes, do you've to be in a particular mood to compose music and do you've some special ‘rites' and habits?
A: There are no special habits or rites and or particular moods involved when I'm working on music. I've worked on music in the worst and best of moods. (...)
Diorama is a German electro-pop/darkwave band, founded in 1996 in Reutlingen, which is many times compared with labelmates Diary of Dreams. Torben Wendt (vocals, piano, production), Felix Marc (keyboards, production, also known from Frozen Plasma), Sash Fiddler (guitar) and Marquess (drums) are the people behind this rising star in the dark scene. Since the successful release of the single "Synthesize Me" (2007) the melancholic words and atmospheric music of Diorama are reaching a wider audience. Recently the latest cd "Cubed" was released, so it was time to torture the mind of Torben Wendt some more with our questions! (by DJ Wildhoney)
SL: Most of the Diorama songs are sung in English while you are a German native speaker and a lot of people in the dark scene just like the German language very much for its sound. How difficult is it for you to express your feelings in your songs in English?
TW: Not at all. Most of the lyrical ideas are popping up in English right from the start. The songwriting process is far more driven by uncontrolled intuition than by controlled construction.
SL: The new cd "Cubed" could reach #1 position in the Deutsche Alternative Charts for several weeks and got a lot of positive reviews internationally. The band is also touring more and more and the fanbase is growing step-by-step. Is it almost time for the breakthrough of Diorama?
TW: We've always felt quite comfortable with our underdog status. But I have to admit that the reactions we're getting at the moment are a huge motivation to work even harder and to push things further.
SL: This album also has the typical Diorama character: it takes a few listening-sessions before you understand every song completely and before you heard all layers of it. How long and difficult was the creation process this time?
TW: It took us about 2 years to record the music and another 6 months to create the visual concept of the album. We always put a lot of diligence into each musical element and detail until everything takes shape and the subtle complexity you mentioned is able to unfold. CUBED was no exception. As always, the recording sessions were characterized by lack of sleep, self-doubts and very happy moments.
SL: Is it possible for the Diorama-members to live from their music or do you all have a boring 9 to 5 job?
TW: I might be able to survive as musical church mouse, but then again I have a rather sophisticated lifestyle and a high consumption of expensive wine... Seriously, we've always had all kinds of jobs and study courses besides our musical activities, not even necessarily boring ones. The problem with my last job was, that it wasn't boring at all - plus not a matter of 9 to 5 but of 8 to 8. Another reason why CUBED was released so late; but also a reason to bring about songs like "Stereotype" and "Child of Entertainment". (...)
After 10 studio and 2 live albums and more than 100 songs for the 20th jubilee, Lacrimosa returns with the album "Schattenspiel" (= shadow play) on Hall of Sermon. The double album holds 15 unreleased recordings from the past 20 years compiled for the first time for an audience. The duo of the German Tilo Wolff and Finnish Anne Nurmi also added two brand new songs, which were composed just for this new release. And surprise, surprise, included in the tracks are aso pure electro numbers like "Schuld und Sühne" and "Seelenübertritt", both from 1990. Also added is the original version of "Schakal" (1994). A set that let's you cruise through the band's rich catalogue all accompanied by linernotes, track by track. Tilo Wolff explains us the why and how of the release plus his views on the current scene, the magazines and producers... (By Bernard Van Isacker)
SL: After 10 studio and 2 live albums and more than 100 songs for the 20th jubilee, you now return with the album "Schattenspiel" on Hall of Sermon. This double album holds 15 previously unreleased recordings from the past 20 years. Why this release now? Is this an end and the beginning of a new era for Lacrimosa?
TW: We wanted to give something back to all those fans after 20 years of being loyal to us and our music. So the 20th anniversary of the band seemed like a good idea to offer this very nice present. Anyhow, people kept on asking for these tracks to be released.
During all these years I have taken it day by day. I'm proud about what we have achieved. When I'm looking back to the past i can only say that my music has been a real part of my life. How many bands today can say that they had a career of 20 years? I remember that when I was young I looked up to a certain band because they celebrated their 10th anniversay with a CD release.
At that time I thought that we would only last for 3 years and that that would already be a big achievement. How could i know that we'd still be there 20 years later. I have no idea how many years we still have to go, but we're still doing fine, despite the crisis and despite the turmoil in the music business which doesn't make it easy for indie labels like my own Hall Of Sermon to survive.
I have no idea if we will reach another 20 years, but let me say this, a lot of bands appear and disappear in no time today. If you are just around as a band to try and impress others, then don't start. You won't make it. To me it all depends how honest you are as a band. Sure we did fuck up concerts and signing sessions, we did make mistakes but we always tried to give the best.
SL: Meaning?
TW: I remember that one day we had just been 15 or 16 hours in a plane and when we landed we were so tired. But all of a sudden we were escorted to a signing session we hadn't been infomred about. 3, 4 or 500 people were waiting to get their stuff signed. We were so tired that after half an hour we decided to call it quits. Okay, we did leave many fans disappointed...
SL: I presume you have now emptied the complete archives?
TW: We indeed did empty the complete archives, there's no other material now that has not been released yet. Each trac has its own history and also a perfect reason why they haven't been released n certain albums.
SL: You recorded two new tracks as well...
TW: The two tracks were especially recorded for this release. I cannot release an album or compilation without having actual something brand new on it, it wouldn't be fair to our fans either just to deliver old material. Let's say its part of my artist pride to do things this way. These two songs are about something very radical that happened in my life. It's very private, about loosing someone dear to me... (Silence) They reflect perfectly what it is about. To me music should express different emotions and these two share the very same feeling. Yes, it has been a healing process, just like it always is. You know, Hetrich, the singer of Metallica said it perfectly: "If I hadn't become a musicians I'd surely would have become a mass murderer."
SL: Any steps that you regret right now considering the past?
TW: If I did wrong steps in my carreer? I wouldn't change a single thing, of course I did stupid things, but at least I'm 100% free to do what I want as an artist. If that means I'm a control freak? Not just for being it, i just don't want to do things that I don't like. If that means I'm a control freak, so be it! (...)
Out now on Remote Music (the label which also has the acts Deviant UK, Eurocide, Midnight Resistance, Monody and Obscenity Trial) is "The Ride" by the British band Resist. Produced in Manchester by "Ding" (PJ Harvey, Frank Black, ...) this labeldebut was preceded by the digital single "I Am Not The Enemy". On "The Ride" you get a mix between electro, rock and punk all powered by by the vocals of singer Misha. Everything went quite quick for the band so it seems. Only three months after they formed in 2005, they already played a 26 date national tour with Mark E. Smiths cultband The Fall. A self-released digital album followed in 2006 with "Violated". So the least one can say is that the band is more than entrepreneurial. (By Else Din / Bernard Van Isacker)
SL: How did you guys end up on Remote Music, the label of Oliver Wand from Obscenity Trial?
MISHA: Well the U.K. music scene is filled with 'jingle jangle' guitar music and not a great deal of anything else! The European music scene, in our opinion, is a lot more imaginative and open. We had already decided once work had begun on 'The Ride' that we would be looking for a German label with it.
MARK: We found ourselves a manager that happened to be a) from Belgium and b) Pure Goth and he made it clear from the start that he would be focusing his attention on the European Market as he firmly believed that to be our destiny.
MISHA: He shared our vision!
PHIL: Yeah it was through our ex manager Bart that we were introduced to Oliver Wand and Remote Music. After many emails and conversations between all parties Resist became the latest signing to Remote Music and the rest is just the future!
MISHA: As a band, we like to think outside of the box and take a few risks here and there. That's half the fun. We needed a label that could compliment our imaginative free thinking and creative vision. We turned down a few deals before we finally met our match with remote music! We are not your average 'run of the mill' band and remote music is certainly not your average 'run of the mill' label! Have you heard our label mates yet? Trust me, there is some SERIOUS talent rising in the remote music camp! (Laughs)
SL: Please tell us a bit more aout the background of each member and the previous bands yo have been a member of.
MARK: This has been our focus for the past five years, and I think I speak for all of us when I say that we were all lost souls before we found each other. A couple of us have been involved in other bands over the years but nothing that we ever took very seriously.
MISHA: I'm from a family of professional classical musicians but I was always the black sheep! (Laughs) When I was 5 or 6 years old I started piano lessons with a very reputable and strict clasical teacher. Her daughter was a professional studio sound engineer and had worked with bands like Simply Red and various other big name Manchester acts. She had a really punky image and I was fixated with her. I didn't know her very well at all, but all I knew was that when I grew up, I wanted to be just like her! I was never able to let go of that dream! (Laughs) She was all I ever wanted to be. So different from the classical world that surrounded me. And so the rebel in me was born! By the age of twelve I had my first sequencer and would skip school just to play on it all day and night. I LOVE my dance music but I never thought I'd have the confidence to front a band as a singer... I wanted to be a producer really. Resist kind of happened by accident. It was going to be a very different band initially but that imploded and this exploded! Once I got a taste for performing, there was no going back! (Laughs)
LEX: This Is the first and only band I have been in. Before I joined RESIST I couldn't count to 4.
MISHA: "haha" I promised him that if could learn to count to 4 and then count it again and then count it again with out dropping a beat then I'd let him be in the band!
LEX: But I knew how to make a lot of noise! It was a no brainer when they asked me to step in for their old bass player who was taking a break ! Since then we've grown to work well together playing off each others strengths and finding what I think is a fairly unique sound.
PHIL: I come from a diverse musical linage from Classical, rock, pop, blues, metal, punk and reggae and all the weird sub genres that have sprung out over the decades. I have so many influences over the years I have been playing, the likes of Buddy Rich and Billy Cobham to Dave Grohl, Neil Peart, Chad Smith but my main influence and I just cant knock anything he created for our listening pleasure, John Bonham. Since the 80's I have been involved in lots of projects with friends but nothing very serious until I was introduced to Resist. From the first time I played with them I knew there was something very special about the band. To this day we are all a close knit family, including graphics and lighting man Pete Devlin. Being part of the Resist family has been a wonderful and eye opening experience!
MISHA: Ah bless the old man at the back! (Laughs) We all love each other very much... but you'd never guess that in a rehersal... We swear at each other a ridiculous amount, but there is a LOT of laughter and fun in our camp. We don't take ourselves so seriously that we lose the fun. That's what it is all about! Its seriously fun! (Laughs)
SL: "The Ride" was produced by 'Ding' (PJ Harvey, Frank Black) in Manchester. How did this collaboration take place?
MISHA: Ding was my lecturer at college when I trained in sound engineering (before he started to get a bit famous!) and we have been friends ever since. As well as being a talented engineer and producer he is also an accomplished bass player. He took me under his wing and has supported us whole heartedly from day one and we owe him a lot!
MARK: I've drawn a lot of inspiration from Ding as every project that he has ever been involved in, he has given it 100% and encouraged us to push ourselves that little bit harder. He's currently back with his band AAAK after a twenty year break and they are also signed now with German label Electric Tremor.
SL: What did you learn from it, soundwise, production wise, on songwriting level?
MISHA: Well Ding is always showing off new tricks with his 'plug-in of the week'! (Laughs) There always seems to be something new to learn on the software front. I haven't got nearly as much gear as he does!
MARK: With the age of the internet it is common practice now to send a mix to a producer and wait a week or two for the result, not knowing whether it is what you had in mind or not but from day one, we have had the benefit of sitting throughout the whole session in most cases to oversee everything, every step of the way. This has definitely had a positive impact upon our learning. No matter how good it is when we take a track to him, it always comes back better.
LEX: Pretty much all I know about music is directly from this band. I learned structure, composition and dynamics as well as holding the groove and looking good at the same time (not an easy task) but I managed it.
MISHA: I've got to admit, Lex is really hot to be on a stage with!
LEX: I know this !
MISHA: (Laughs)
SL: Where would you exactly place the band's sound in? People that are not from this scene and who hard your music talk about such acts as Within Temptation or even Evanescence, but what are actually the bands the you'd like to be named with in one same phrase?
MISHA: There's an interesting question! I can see the links sometimes... we are female fronted rock (sort of) so the afore mentioned bands are a very basic comparison, but we are nothing like them really. 'I Am Not The Enemy' drew these comparisons but all our songs do not sound the same. We don't liken ourselves to any other band directly. We like to think independently. We don't 'paint by numbers' or follow the structures or the sound-scapes of other artists. We follow our own instincts.
MARK: That's not to say that we are not influenced and inspired by other bands. I mean for sure those influences are varied and I'm sure this shows, not just in 'The Ride' but our whole body of work over the last five years starting with 'Violated' and right through 'Polarity' and 'Melt' which we self-released. This whole issue has been commonly observed within the reviews we've got back.
MISHA: The variety that we present sometimes works for us but sometimes has worked against us.
MARK: This goes back to us being compatible with remote music as other labels had a tendency to encourage us to go more one way or the other. Part of our appeal is that you never know what you're going to get next, although we are never going to be doing a country and western song...
MISHA: ... or an indie brit pop 'jingle jangle' piece of shit! (Laughs) The truth is that we all have different musical tastes but we tend to find the most common ground with bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Gary Numan... that kind of thing...
MARK: Which of course we don't necessarily sound like, although we never do a gig without playing at least one NIN cover. (Laughs)
MISHA: Personally I like any music of any genre which is expressed with true sincerity and an intense passion. We just try to keep our music real in that we have to feel it. If we all feel it... then our fans can feel it to. Isn't that what music is all about? Why limit yourself with boundries? Anyway when bands like 'The Prodigy' came through, who did they sound like... nobody...it was fresh... what about 'Leftfeild' They created their own genre that became called 'Leftfeild' in the music press... Very cool! They were pioneers! If you truly have a creative soul then it feels good to be inspired, but surely you don't want to just emulate somebody else. Say it straight from the heart and it will be as unique as your soul!
LEX: Undoubtedly all of the above is true...
MISHA: He wasn't paying attention just then ! (Laughs)
LEX: However I feel like the music I listen to has a very large part in the way I play, due mainly to the fact that it sounds good.
MISHA: (Laughs)
LEX: I totally love ripping off stuff from tool to NIN. That's not to say I sit down with their melodies n think hmm how can this be mine, but I do definitely try to emulate the bands which I hold in esteem as good sounds for a band. e.g. Tool, S.O.A.D, NIN, Prodigy, Muse etc.....
PHIL: As Misha said we are Resist and we sound like Resist. We play Resist and we take our sound from our hearts and souls! There is a darkness to the Resist sound and an inclination to a more perverted lifestyle and I think it makes all of us more open minded regarding performing the songs that are so well created, crafted and even forged. It is sometimes a gruelling effort to get the songs nailed because Misha has a very strange idea of how drum patterns should be when they are live, but it's not impossible. So in conclusion to anyone who asks us about the sound and what influenced it, from my point of view there is one answer, the energy of Resist!
SL: There's this punk element in the band as well, who infiltrated that into the sound?
MARK: I think the punk element has happened naturally. I'm sure it hasn't been deliberate although we are aware of it. I see it as a middle ground between the electro influence and the rock influence that our sound combines.. complex sounds with a simple under-current pinning it together..
MISHA: We've got a punk attitude that's for sure! Thats our most natural instinct, its not by design! We think for ourselves and we don't follow suit! Two fingers up to everybody who can't get on our wavelength. Its their loss, not ours (Laughs) They don't know what they are missing! ;) We know how to have fun and push the boundries ! That's what we are all about! Sad for them if they don't !
LEX: It just happened, mainly because we want to keep it simple ( so Me 'n' Mark can play them) and we want to get all of our thoughts into song format as quickly as possible so we can play them in a live format.
PHIL: Yes there is a punk element within Resist that is the pure Energy that we have when we perform. I have a huge punk influence in my playing with lots of flamboyant energy.
Mix that with Mark's guitar sound and you get that feel to the set. I do think that the whole Punk rock ethic still lives in lots of bands, it's not just the sound and style, but the attitude and belief. Like previously stated it's the two fingers up to the establishment. If you haven't got that attitude you could never understand the individuality we have as a band.
SL: Only 3 months after being formed, the band already played a 26 date tour in the UK supporting The Fall. Who pulled the strings there?
MISHA: The Fall are obviously a Manchester band so we found ourselves in the same circles. We went to Ding with our first demos for a three day session. That weekend the Fall's then manager Alan Wise approached Ding and asked what he'd been up to. Ding played him the demo and within days we were offered the full tour!
Italy's best synthpop at Babylonia returns with quite an exquisite new album, "Motel la solitude". Since the band's birth back in 2003 with the release of their first single "Without Asking Me", Max Giunta (vox, programming) and Robbie Rox (synth) have been working hard on getting their sound and looks professionalised at maximum. And something tells us that they have reached the ighest levl right now, so there's no more excuse to not check out what these two have been workng on lately. Side-Line has been following the band's career quite closely over the past couple of years and although the band is not all that productive, this is only their second full album since their 2005 debut "Later tonight", they do deliver igh quality work every time they actually come back from the studio. After 3 years of writing, recording and producing, helped by sound engineer Marco Barusso (Lacuna Coil, Cradle Of Filth and more) they now serve us "Motel la solitude" preceeded by the first single "By My Side". Notice also the excellent video for "By My Side", directed by Stefano Bertelli which has been broadcasted by main TV Channels including MTV and others. More than reason enough to have a chat with the duo! (By Elise Din)
SL: 4 years is a long time in musicland, was the future of the band at risk at some point because the gap between the new album "Motel La Solitude" and the debut "Later tonight" is rather big.
B: You’re right, 4 years is rather a long time between one record and another, but I should add that those four years have been very useful and rich in experience. We spent a lot of time promoting the last record, “Later tonight”, releasing 4 singles, each with a videoclip and playing shows around Europe from Berlin to Bratislava, from Frankfurt to Paris... and more.
As well as all that, one of the founding members of Babylonia, Lorenzo, quit the band (for personal reasons) which caused, albeit briefly, a few traumas in the band. And last but not least, our hopes and expectations were quite high for this second record, for example, we would not have it printed until we were thoroughly satisfied with the results.
SL: What did you exactly learn from the debut album, what do's and don't's?
B: I think that “Later tonight” had a lot of typical features you find in a debut album, a series of songs penned or recorded at different times and not thought out as a proper album. Maybe this factor didn’t give a homogeneous sound or the same maturity throughout while “Motel La Solitude” was conceived right from the start as a true and proper album.
Time has aided us to understand better the “pop” nature of our project and the ensuing needs which led us to a new label with more experience in this particular field.
SL: The album was produced and mixed at Milan's Massive Art Studios with sound engineer Marco Barusso (Lacuna Coil, Cradle Of Filth among others). How did you get Barusso invoved in this album? He is not exactly a synthpop prducer?
B: Marco Barusso is one of Italy’s best sound engineers and has worked with top Italian artistes. For “Motel La Solitude” we were looking for a rough potent sound and for this reason the choice of Marco, who has worked with many “rock” artistes, eas fundamental. His taste and experience gave that fullbodied touch to the songs, something that was completely lacking in the first album.
SL: Where exactly did he intervene on the album, what songs or approaches were influenced or directed by him?
B: You can note one major influence that Marco had on our music by the use of good solid rhythm sections. The pre-production was done in my home-studio and then once in the studio with Marco we went over every single sound track by track.
On no particular track can you feel a major influence by Marco, his presence is evenly distributed throughout. Working together led us to make important decisions on the song structures with some parts being completely taken out.
SL: The "By My Side" video is a jewel, who shot it and how did you get this financed - or was it a firned of a friend did us a favour type of thing? Congrats anyhow with the result! The car is a corvette type back to the future no?
B: Thank you for your appreciation and we are very fond of it too. The video is by Stefano Bertelli, one of Italy’s most interesting and in vogue video-makers. Thanks to the stolid belief in us by our label, they decided to invest in the single “By My Side”, also thanks to the attention and play time given on the radios. We even used a DeLorean, the automobile used in the cult film “Back To The Future”, a tribute on our part to the great eighties. (...)
Tuesday, March 23rd 2010, I have taken a 2 hours lunchbreak in order to interview ex-Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder who is staying a few days at the Sofitel in Brussels, if you are on holiday in Brussels, it's a hotel to check out. He's to play in Antwerp later that night as part of the Recoil "Selected" tour together with his partner in crime Paul Kendall (who also delivered his input for this interview) and Olivia Louvel. I arrive just on time to have a small chat with the PIAS promo guy, before I see Alan Wilder. It's actually the first time I see Alan Wilder face to face after almost 13 years of chatting, e-mailing and the odd phone call to promote his last album "subHuman".
He's slimmed and obviously has been working out - an observation which is confirmed by his assistant. In short, 'the boss' is in extremely good shape, on all levels. He's got his private life back on track and the tour is a huge success with some of the nights (especially the Hansa Tonstudios one) already reaching cult status.
Soon we are seated with a tasty expresso. I hate the Oxfam coffee served at work you see, absolutely dreadful, so a good cup can bring a smile on my face in a second. It's actually quite a pleasant 'rendez-vous', Wilder clearly has both feet firmly on the ground and displays a clear vision and understanding of how the market today works. It's refreshing to be in front of such a respected artist who is open for new approaches and techniques. Some lesser gods should clearly take a lesson out of this.
Earlier that morning he mailed me asking if I could get hold of The Normal's "Warm Leatherette" single. Being at work, that was quite an impossible task, but a phonecall later and a friend confirms he can deliver it the same night. In return the guy gets a backstage pass. It's just an example of how Wilder is networking these days. It's all very much close to the fans with a very open communication. And it is paying off; suffices to check forums and reviews from the concerts.
But let's get back to what this is supposed to be all about. Out in the next days is "Selected", a brand new Recoil compilation which has grown into nothing less but a full blown art installation tour hitting both continents and featuring selected members - on selected dates - such as Olivia Louvell, Douglas McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb), longtime Depeche Mode producer Gareth Jones (who is also featured in this interview) and even Mute label boss Daniel Miller. On top, the compilation itself is available in no less than 4 formats (including a deluxe 4 disc boxset of 1,5 kilos), which is kinda exceptional for a best of - normally a low budget release. Not so with Recoil, thank god. The tour and compilation travel through the not so extended - but rich - catalogue of Wilder's solo project Recoil. (Pictures by Oliver Thiede, Vincent Dufrane and Recoil)
SL: I noticed that you omitted everything that was from "Hydrology" and "1+2", any particular reason or is it because that since 1995, 1996 that you shifted towards a new new direction anyhow...
AW: Well, it seems you know the answers to all the questions before you even ask them really (smiles). I would have included tracks if they had fitted, but it just didn't work conceptually. When I started to put the selections together, I wanted it to flow like an album rather than a collection of random tracks - to work as a cohesive musical listen. Even "Bloodline" sounded weird since it's so much more electronic. Fitting 'Faith Healer' and 'Edge to life' in there was a bit awkward but I felt the inclusion of at least a couple of tracks from that album was important. I think I crafted my art a bit more from 'Unsound Methods' onwards.
SL: My guess is that the DVD in the limited edition 4 disc box set will be including that Hansa night or am I wrong?
AW: No, everything has been pre-prepared for that DVD. We really wouldn't have had time to record the show and release it time for this 4-disc set. We still have to work on the artwork as it's not finished yet. That's about as fast as we could turn it around, even though it will be released about 4 weeks after the main album.
You'll understand from what you hear tonight. We obviously perform some live elements but it's pretty much prepared. It's more like an art installation (without sounding too pretentious about it). What PK and I add are effects and a few other things. It's quite a new thing for me being out with the project - I have felt a bit self-conscious at times, being on stage again, but it's getting better now. I do however think that I probably didn't give myself enough to do (smiles).
We have actually recorded some of these performances - Hamburg for instance was filmed with 3 cameras because visually it gives everything another layer, especially in that venue - a church. I'm not so sure what to do with the sound though, whether we lay on the original sound or add some of the live sound - we'll have to see how that will work.
SL: Is it meant to be published at some point or....?
AW: Well, we actually haven't planned yet what to do with it. We might end up with a documentary of some kind, with live performance elements in there, but I'm not too sure yet.
SL: Was Liveherenow an option for this tour or not?
AW: We originally were thinking about it but thought that would be shooting ourselves in the foot somewhat given the other packages that are in the planning.
SL: The whole set is sounding very balanced with faster tracks going over in slower paced work , how did you both go about getting this result?
PK: Lot's of experimentation. Reducing existing songs to more basic elements, enhancing others and generally creating compositions that even the most fanatical Recoil person would never have heard.
SL: There's also lots of extra rhytms, were this built for the mix are just taken from the vaults?
PK: They come from different sources. We treated existing rhythms, combined new rhythms, and sometimes the vault as you put it.
SL: How does one start on such a hour long set?
PK: It is not that different to creating a new album, except that we had the starting point of songs that already existed. As I've just said, it was important to create a totally new object that would work in a live situation and to somehow guess how the sequence would work live. It has similarities to DJ-ing except that it is not a case of getting people on the dance-floor and keeping them there, it is more a case of entertaining and questioning. Also the visuals are absolutely crucial to the presentation. lot's of trial and error.
SL: The extra live elements that you add consist exactly of what? How did you two split up who would do what?
PK: Process and reprocess, dub and redub, splitting it down the middle.
SL: With Alan's Apple laptop having crahed, it becomes clear that laptop performances have their limits. Is that something you'd have expected or just part of the game?
PK: Fortunately we have back-ups available in many forms so there should not be any major disasters. Computers on the road aren't exactly suited but then we aren't exactly rock and roll (laughs).
SL: Alan, when we talked to each other for the "subHuman" promo, I remember you said that promoting Recoil was quite a tough thing. You are of course promoted into the industrial scene in Germany, but I thought that there was plenty of space away from that scene as well. Did the approach change in any way?
AW: It's never easy... for example, we have come here to Belgium and there's not really much promo to do. Belgium has always been more difficult than other European countries. But decent promotion is always tricky - that's why we spend so much time on-line trying to find new concepts to present the project to people. The whole concept of this release did not just happen like that. First Mute wanted just to release as a quick low budget compilation, mainly for retail, targeting people that are kind of borderline who won't buy the albums but who might invest in a compilation. However, it has evolved into four formats now, ending up as a much bigger budget package with high artistic values.
Things have changed drastically even since Mute and I first talked about this project. They have re-organised their whole licensee network, re-creating 'Mute Indie', and now also realise that special editions can be financially viable. That's the latest concept many labels have where the customer chooses what format they want. Everyone is kept happy - the artist who wants to indulge his higher art values, the consumer who can choose their desired format, and the record label which is generating income from the special editions.
SL: They are quite expensive, the shipping costs I mean, because the set itself is worth the price.
AW: I know, I've been getting quite a lot of e-mails from people asking me what the fuck is going on... so I asked Mute to explain the thinking behind this high cost. I was told that they had so many complaints following standard postal services (with items not turning up, not being well packaged or even damaged)that they decided to set up this shipping service which can be tracked, that guarantees that you get your order delivered in good condition and on time. But the downside? - it costs. I do think that one should give people the choice really. Mute and Mutebank kind of operate as separate entities, so there is a degree of politics involved.
(Editor's note: Basically, because of the nature of the box (and packaging) weighing in at 1.5kg, Mutebank can only use a courier. Their tariffs are actually much lower than DHL. When ordering at Mutebank you get this clear message: In order for us to track all orders and ensure safe delivery of this deluxe limited edition box set all orders will be dispatched by courier only.)
SL: The product itself is worth it though.
AW: Yes, exactly. I do think that the product is good, it's a luxury package and you get good value for it.
SL: The promo that you do for Recoil online or offline, is always very soft, like in the video for the Depeche Mode website because of the short 'live reunion' set during the Royal Albert Hall charity concert, you don't even mention your own project...
AW: Well, I'm not naive, I understand that it is good promotion for me but I also genuinely enjoyed the experience of doing that. It was good timing but there's no need for a 'hard sell'. I also think it was good promotion for Depeche Mode, possibly giving them back some credibility and showing that they have some humility in them.
I also realise that the name 'Depeche Mode' is sometimes used to promote my Recoil project. This is never my doing. For example, it is often used by promoters to communicate the 'Selected' tour (but not at my suggestion or insistence). Anyway, some people are maybe just turning up because of my history, but that's ok in my book. Some are more into Recoil. I just hope that, whatever their motivations, what they see will impress them in some way.
SL: You will now add The Normal's "Warm leatherette" in your set.
AW: It's quite good to be able to adapt I think, but it's a bit tricky because the film has been made to the music so the visuals need to be adapted as well - which we can do of course, but it takes a little bit of time. There aren't all that many dates you know, but we might change it as we go.
SL: Personally I think it has changed into a real Mute promotion machine, look at the Hansa experience.
AW: Well, I haven't really thought of it like that. I guess Berlin was certainly a bit more of a Mute event. It's cool having different things infiltrate and I was genuinely excited that Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones were involved for that one. It's also the reason why I decided to possibly include a section of "Warm Leatherette" into the set and bring different eclectic guests into the melting pot to see what we can turn the evenings into. Ideally, I want each event to retain its own unique feel.
SL: How did you get both Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones to do this?
AW: I just asked them. I told Gareth that I was playing at Hansa and asked if he wanted to get involved in some capacity. In view of that, it made sense to ask Daniel as well. And I knew it would appeal to them because Hansa is such a special room with so many great memories for all of us there. I do also think that Daniel was genuinely glad to be asked because no one usually bothers asking him to do something like that. He has done a bit of DJ-ing but never this, and people like to be asked you know...
Gareth Jones answered a few questions regarding the set he gave with Daniel Miller.
SL: I did recognize quite some annoyance when that fan asked that Depeche Mode reunion question...
AW: It's just boring - it's the question I get asked more than any other. And that was already the case before the Royal Albert Hall thing - since then it has gone tenfold! It will probably never happen anyhow. You never know of course, because I never say never, but again... there are no plans. You see, you managed to ask me the same question there (smiles and takes a crisp). (...)
The excelent French electronic music label BOREDOMproduct has just released a string of MP3 singles, 12 to be precise, consisting of no less than 48 tracks, that's right, 48 tracks. Included in the last 6 singles, out now, is material from Foretaste, Dekad and Celluloide. More than worth checking out as all of these bands have been very well received by the Side-Line staff for just being simply exellent. We talked with the people and the bands behind these fine releases... (By Bernard Van Isacker)
SL: What was the idea behind releasing your series of "mp3-singles" actually when you did it for the first time, this being the second time already.
BOREDOMproduct: We decided to attach to each album one or two mp3 singles. we would have loved to release them as regular CD singles with the albums themselves but it was simply not possible then. We had this opportunity, and this idea to use the digital format only for "singles" purpose so we finally released all these singles that should have been published earlier. But it meant 12 new 4-track EP and 48 tracks to select, re-master or eventually create, it was a lot of work and we preferred to release a first part in November, the second in December.
SL: You now have a total of 12 mini-albums and 48 remixes, not available on your regular CD catalogue. How were these selected? I hope it weren't leftovers?
BOREDOMproduct: Yes and no, leftovers, not because tracks or remixes were not good but because we mixed them in a more 'single' oriented way, not for an album... for instance the extended versions of tracks from Celluloide's "Naive Heart" debut album were recorded as we recorded the album... they were simply not intended for the album, but we liked these versions from the start and we would have released them on CD as 'singles'if we could. On the other hand, a track like "Porn Star Baby" by Foretaste is a fan's favourite in their live sets, but we (neither the band) never wanted to include it on a CD. We thought thiswas the perfect track for a single, as the track is better on its own.
We don't consider an album as a collection of tracks, but more as a whole, that's why some versions didn't 'fit' on an album, though we find them as good as the album ones.
SL: The work you put into this kinda explains why 2009 was a bit silent on the BOREDOMproduct side I guess?
BOREDOMproduct: yes, and also because it's not only a serie of singles and that's it... in the future we will release mp3 singles for every of our releases, so we had to think of it, and prepare that with our current band and also with new ones like Neutral Lies that we've just signed.
SL: Did you ever consider releasing them in one batch of 48 tracks as downloads on iTunes and related?
BOREDOMproduct: we won't release them as a pack because it's not a pack... we think that all these singles should have been released way back when, at the same time as the album... it just didn't happen, but just consider that we put back things as they should have be. It's not a pack, a whole thing... all independent single are attached to their respective albums and this will continue in this way, all our future release will have their associated mp3-singles.
SL: The 'u-mix' are versions which were done when the album was mixed, but they were never used, why?
BOREDOMproduct: We at boredom work closely with the artists to "produce" the tracks very carefully... we do not just release the demo recorded by the bands. So before we got the final version, we have some rework done on sounds, structures or anything we think is needed to turn a demo track into a fully produced song. So we sometimes make some tests of different mixes and change of sounds to find the good balance, before we re-work the album with the band in this new direction. So the U-mixes are some kind of studio pre-test versions helping us to agree and decide with the bands what are the changes to make. We though it could be interesting for the listener to have an idea of this studio process.
SL: Any reason why they are being sold as 192 kbps files on your website instead of 320 kbps?
BOREDOMproduct: Actually we thought it was enough at that time... but maybe it's a mistake, we are considering changing that to 320... We'll see. Of course if we do this, the people who downloaded as 192 will have the opportunity to download the tracks again at a higher rate. Of course the tracks are available at higher rates and maybe formats on platforms like iTunes or so...
SL: Any reason why there is no new work included from Thee Hyphen, I remember you told us a while back that some tracks were already recorded?
BOREDOMproduct: simply because, nothing is ready from Thee Hyphen. Some tracks have been recorded but finally nothing will be released. I don't know what will happen with Thee Hyphen, a totally new direction maybe, or nothing at all... we never know.
SL: Also, no work was included from your latest signing Neutral Lies. But, tell us a bit more about this new act. What is their sound like and why were they selected to join the crown jewels of France's best electronic label?
BOREDOMproduct: Well, thanks for the compliment... With Neutral Lies we will work in the way we intended originally: a single to announce a new album and possibly a second single along the way. So of course there will be a mp3-single for Neutral Lies, but it will be announced when the album is ready. For the moment we are stil mixing the album with the band... the single will very probably be released in april, with 4 tracks as usual, remixed versions of tracks from the album "A Deceptive Calm", that will follow the single. What is their sound... well... it's very melancolic and mostly mid-tempo, though they obviously had some techno influences as well. It has a somewhat minimal and cold feeling but with a more modern and pop approach... we were immediately convinced they had to join us when we heard the singer's voice.
SL: You included 3 releases from Foretaste out of the 6 available. Being one of Side-Line's favourite bands from your label, is there any reason why they got this extra treatment or were they ust that bit more productive and having released more albums?
BOREDOMproduct: Indeed. We thought each album could have 2 or 3 mp3 singles attached. Foretaste proposed interesting things, and especially unreleased tracks such as "Porn Star Baby" or "Keep the Devil Away". We thought the tracks were all ok for a release, it's as simple as that.
SL: What is on the release schedule for the label in the next months?
BOREDOMproduct: Actually, it was a bit complicated to organise things in this beginning of 2010, so I couldn't say anything with precision... for sure we will release the debut album of Neutral Lies very soon. Then the Celluloide new album "Hexagonal" will follow soon after, with some mp3 singles as well. Foretaste and Dekad are already working on new tracks, and we hope to sign new bands this year, so nothing precise now, but we will announce exciting things this year. We are preparing a new start for the label, with more bands and these mp3 singles to release material on a more frequent basis. We just need to organise this a bit. (...)
Franky Deblomme and Thomas Vrambout are probably not the most familiar musicians active in the Belgian electro underground scene. Yet the duo known as Darkmen released a very promising EP entitled "Guilty" on Machineries Of Joy. This label (part of COP International) set up and run by the guys of Ionic Vision became a quite familiar name in the EBM scene. All who knows the devotion and passion of Ionic Vision for pure old-school EBM can only imagine Darkmen as being an EBM combo as well. Yes indeed and sometimes they are even quite close to the sound of Ionic Vision. The official debut-CD "Guilty By Association" is a hard traditional EBM release evoking the good old-years of the style. Ionic vision has found its little Belgian brother and that was rather unexpected after all these years. We get in touch with the band asking for some details about their debut CD. (By Stéphane Froidcoeur)
SL: Your debut album "Guilty By Association" has been just released on Machineries Of Joy! How did it feel holding this album in your hands and what means this release to you?
D: A great feeling of course. We already had a little preview when we could hold the EP "Guilty" in our hands, but this was really the moment we had work for, for a long time. And really a dream come true, when we first started making music together when we were only 12 years old...
SL: I heard from Sven Lauwers (Machineries Of Joy) that the album was already on illegal download platforms even before the official release date! What is it all about and do you've any idea who's hiding behind this imposture?
D: Indeed that's true and very sad. Fans were waiting for the release, but the distribution company had set the date to 28th August for Europe, but the American release of the album was much earlier. So in the US the CD was already available... and so also on illegal download. So I was I bit disappointing to find that out, especially when friends asked us to buy the album and we had to keep them waiting, when they were already on illegal download. I'm sure some eager fans just could wait anymore to hear the full album and just downloaded it, and now perhaps won't bother buying the real one, now they already got all the track from the album.
SL: Tell us a bit more about the writing and content of "Guilty By Association" and what is the title all about?
D: It seems that old-school EBM is always associated with some kind of political statement. People seem to make political association with our music, most of the time even without listening to it, but just by perception... It fucks us off to be stigmatised by people who don't know us, and who don't even care to ask our opinion, but make up their own minds.
For example, in a recent interview we were asked if the song "Stop The Machine" was politically correct as the first sentence is "I'm an anti-social", so making it into a political song...? That's not what this song is about! In good English the correct phrase had to be; "I'm an asocial" but that just didn't fit the rhythm of the song...
SL: We're not used to get Belgian bands making pure EBM! How did you guys come into this type of electronics and why do you think old-school EBM isn't that more popular by Belgian musicians?
D: It's is just the kind of music like a lot: great to dance and very powerful! Also ideal for us to express ourselves musically. We don't know why it isn't more popular, but it seems the Belgian public is more into 'future pop sounds', then the old school EBM. Perhaps some musicians want to please the public more then they want to make the music they really like... don't know...
SL: EBM or old-school EBM, what ever you would call it, but what does it evoke to you?
D: For us EBM should be dance music! We love it when we perform and we see people dancing, that's the best reward we can get! Just because we also like to dance to EBM, especially old-school EBM, because it has a very simple and easy to understand structure, whit the typical bass sequence. Even if you don't know the song, in 20 seconds you know what you can expect from the song. Also the power you get from certain songs...just pure fun to dance to that form of music.
SL: You mention on your site that you were into acid, new beat and even techno plus trance! Can you still enjoy it today and what kind of music are you listening to?
D: I think indeed for both of us, new beat will be our first love. That's the music we listened to when we started going out in clubs, so that will always be in our hart! And that's why we will always have as special place for electronic music in our lives. Thanks to New Beat we discovered EBM ( Nitzer Ebb, Front 242... ) And as for acid or techno, well it was just a natural thing to pass on to that, and hey, everybody makes mistakes-:) Today we still listen to the old EBM stuff (Pouppée Fabrikk, Orange Sector, DAF, Depeche Mode...
SL: The "Guilty"-EP preceding your album features remixes from only typical EBM bands (Ionic Vision, Orange Sector, Ad:Key ao). Any reason why you didn't ask less typical EBM bands for this job and what's your opinion about other styles like dark electronics, techno-EBM etc?
D: Indeed only real EBM remixers on the "Guilty"-EP. And that was a real choice for us. We wanted this EP and the full album to be a real old-school EBM statement, so that's why we didn't want any other type of remixers on the "Guilty"-EP. It was of course a difficult decision to make because our friends from Ionic Vision did a real good job with some unexpected remixers for their latest album.
SL: You guys seem to be very close to Ionic Vision! How did you get in touch with each other and what is the friendship between both bands all about?
D: Well it all started out when Darkmen was looking for a label. We knew the Machineries Of Joy label, but we didn't knew who was behind it... so we asked Ionic Vision, if they could help us to get it contact with Machineries Of Joy.... seems Sven Lauwers from Ionic Vision, was also behind the Machineries Of Joy label... and from there on the friendship grew stronger and stronger. We not only share the same taste in music, but also in Belgian beers...-:) In the past years we already had some great times together on concerts and festivals. Or even in the Ionic Vision studio...!
SL: I guess the cover version of "Synthetic Sex" was very symbolic in the friendship with Ionic Vision?
D: Very true, we always thought of "Synthetic Sex" as an EBM masterpiece. And to be honest, one day we had a great track... but couldn't find the perfect lyrics for it... so put the 2 together and had a great song including a tribute to our friends!
SL: Another interesting and maybe symbolic song on your album is "Hard As Steel", which I guess is a wink to Orange Sector's "Kalt Wie Stahl"! What did you try to express on this song?
D: Once again you are correct. "Kalt Wie Stahl" is a typical Orange Sector song, and an other example of how a good old-school EBM should sound like. So yes, once again we wanted to show some appreciation for this band and use the title as an inspiration for a new song. And perhaps you would believe it when you first hear some songs, but must of the songs are about love... or the lack of it... and everything in between. Unhappy love-stories seem to be a great inspiration for us.
SL: And what can you tell us about the cover version of the old Depeche Mode hit "Photographic"? Why this title and how was it working on it?
Franky: I'm a great fan of Depeche Mode. Especially the early songs are real masterpieces so also here a tribute was in place. And when we first performed this song live, I think it was in Leipzig on a WGT warming up party, the crowed went crazy and everybody started to sing along... so a great experience and a great way to honour Depeche Mode. (...)
In Strict Confidence strikes back after an absence of more than 2 years. With "La Parade Monstrueuse" this German band set up by Dennis Ostermann has launched their 7th studio album. The story of In Strict Confidence started in the early '90. Being signed on the legendary Zoth Ommog one of the main characteristics of the band has been always to compose an electronic sound without real compromises. Far away from fashion trends and other cheap copies In Strict Confidence progressively increased success and popularity. With empowering guitar parts and angelic female backing vocals the sound of the band has been always in constant evolution. Each new album sounds like a new achievement while each new album sounds better than the previous one. Being released on their own label Minuswelt Musikbabrik this new opus already got some very enthusiastic response and Side-Line only joins the flow! We had a chat with frontman Dennis Ostermann. (By Stéphane Froidcoeur)
SL: With "La Parade Monstrueuse" In Strict Confidence finally strikes back after a hiatus of a couple of years (the previous album "Exile Paradise" having been released in 2006"). What explains this longer break in your discography?
DO: I have asked myself the same question. Originally, we planned to finish the album in late 2008 but then we realized that it didn't do us any good to work with a fixed deadline in mind. We wanted to take all the time that was needed for composition and production to improve the quality of the new record even further.
SL: If I'm not wrong "La Parade Monstrueuse" is your 7th regular album! A quite symbolic number, but what has been the main purpose behind this new release?
DO: Yes, it is number seven. And we still feel we can't stop and have the urge to continue, to make it even better than before.
SL: The album has been preceded by the MCD "My Despair" (featuring different mixes)! Was it an easy choice to introduce the album and what made you decide to choose this song?
DO: No, the decision wasn't easy since we considered a number of songs for the single. But in the end we chose this one and might just release some more singles to do the other tracks justice.
SL: The song "Silver Bullets" has been announced as the title-song for a next MCD! I think it's a quite logical choice, but did you get other possible songs in mind? What made you finally choose for "Silver Bullets"?
DO: As you say, it was quite a logical choice. It is a wonderful contrast to our first single "My Despair" since it is quite rough, features this dynamic guitar riff and a straight beat. But we have thought about releasing a third single at a later date. First of all, we want to concentrate on the album though.
SL: "Silver Bullets" will be a kind of collaboration with the magazine Sonic Seducer! How did this 'concept' come true and can you reveal some more details about the release (and number of copies)?
DO: The editor of the magazine approached me with this idea and I found it rather interesting.
SL: Back to "My Despair" now. I heard that the video has been censored! I saw the original clip and I didn't really know why it was censored! How comes and what did you try to express through this clip?
DO: On MySpace you are not allowed to show nakedness. To make sure the clip wouldn't be censored too badly, we slightly disguised the naked female breast in this version ourselves.
SL: I think to remember that Front 242 claimed in their early years that 'any publicity is good publicity', but I guess it's not always that pleasant to get censored and has it been a good publicity for the album?
DO: You probably cannot generalize that. We tried to accommodate the censors from the start to make sure we could place the clip there, therefore it wasn't too problematic.
But if censorship becomes such a spectacular thing as it was with Rammstein in Germany for example and if it creates a huge media buzz - then of course it's huge promotion for free. But it isn't guaranteed that it will automatically boost your success.
SL: The MCD "My Despair" reached the 1st rank of the famous DAC charts! What's the importance of the DAC (and especially for a German band), which doesn't say anything about the number of sold copies?
DO: The German Alternative Charts are newly evaluated by DJs every week. It's true, they don't necessarily correspond to sales and success but their rating gives you a certain feedback. And of course, being number 1 is always a great thing for the band ego.
SL: "La Parade Monstrueuse" as an album title is also interesting and especially the way it has been introduced throughout the "Intro"-track! What have been the main ideas behind this title?
DO: The title was taken from a film from the 1930's called "Freaks" - the French title was "La Monstrueuse Parade". This idea fitted our artwork with its slightly unusual circus scenario perfectly. (...)
After the release 'Dystopia', C-Drone-Defect present the re-release of their 2001 debut 'Neural Dysorder Syndrome' (SPV) as 'Neural Dysorder Syndrom ReduX'. (...)
The legendary dark pop-band 18 Summers (former Silke Bischoff members Felix Flaucher and Frank Schwer) will release their first new album in 10 years. (...)
The Cult have announced their first new album in 5 years. 'Choice of Weapon' will be released on May 22nd. You can download a free single entitled 'Lucifer' right after the jump. (...)
Dark electro artist Miss FD is back with the new single 'Infatuated', out on Quantum Release Records. The song is quite a big and daring departure from the songwriting style of her past albums. (...)
Les Discrets have just released the 'Ariettes Oubliées' video clip. 'Ariettes Oubliées' is the title track of Les Discrets' upcoming second album 'Ariettes Oubliées' out on Prophecy Productions. (...)
In an interview with the German magazine Sonic Seducer Martin Gore has confirmed that the new Depeche Mode record will be out at the latest in early 2013. (...)
A Depeche Mode tribute video for the song 'Everything counts' has gotten some viral love on YouTube thanks to the special line-up of a certain Dicken featuring Milah and Korben. Milah being a 6 year old girl and Korben a 4 year old toddler. (...)
On 23 March 2012 industrial-metal pioneers Ministry will release the new album 'Relapse' via 13th Planet Records/AFM-Records as Digipack-cd, vinyl and Deluxe Fan Box. (...)
L'Âme Immortelle have launched the video for 'Wie Tränen im Regen' which was shot by director Carlo Roberti (Solobuio Visual Factory) in Rome last December. You can watch the video after the jump. (...)
Out on February 28th is the newest VCMG single 'Blip'. 'Blip' is the second single taken from the band's forthcoming album 'Ssss', out on March 13. (...)
English pop group Saint Etienne (comprised of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs) have just released their first new material in 7 years. Listen to it right here. (...)
The Cranberries have played an acoustic reprise of The Smiths classic 'There's A Light That Never Goes Out' and 'Tomorrow' on the French radio station OuiFM. (...)
This just came in from the Alfa Matrix headquarters. The Belgian electro giants Front 242 have decided not to perform in Europe after the 1st of May 2012 and this until further notice. (...)
SL: But these are difficult times for music.
SL: FLA has a pretty open door policy, people come and go but everyone seems to find their way back at one point or another. I presume there is and never will be any push to record a new FLA abum either? So what is the driving force behind the band then?
