ICD-10 is a medical classification for systematization of diagnoses. It means ‘International Classification of Diseases‘…
ICD-10 is a medical classification for
systematization of diagnoses. It means ‘International Classification of
Diseases‘ and was created by the WHO (World Health Organization). Industrial-
and a lot of electronic music very often focused on structure and
deconstruction. This definition of pathology gives ICD-10 the conception they
might be able to define a clear line between health and sickness without
diffusion, although the border between physiology and pathology often isn’t
quite that clear. Like the definitions between a so-called crystal clear tone
or rhythm at one hand and site riot sounds at the other hand are not that
accurate as they seem to be. A distortion makes sound sometimes more
interesting than a clear phrase and the sickness in sounds helps them to find
roughness, drive and groove. This is the way Daniel Himmelreich introduces
ICD-10, which recently released their official debut album “Differential
Diagnosis” on Hands. This work is a judicious mix between industrial-, techno-
and trance music. I got more details about it all from Daniel Himmelreich.
Q: I
noticed you are already active for several years now. Can you briefly summarize
how you guys met and what have been the main facts in ICD-10 history?
Daniel: Henning Hinck and me became
friends around 15 years ago now. We both shared a preference for mainstream electronic
music. Henning already started producing music at this point and organized
industrial parties (“Rise of the Machines“). He’s still producing in many
genres dealing with alternative electronic music like dark-psy, industrial,
techno, IDM and many others (Voidscream, Constructor, Decuntstructivision
etc.).
Back in time we had many exchanges about
music we had in common, so in 2011 we had the idea to create music together. We
started slowly, but were continuously working on ideas and tracks. We
experimented to find our sound, workflow and drive. Very often we felt alright
with tracks, which made us tap our feeds and nod our heads to the beat. Our
sound got more and more shape at this time. Also we were playing a handful of
gigs per year on little techno- and industrial events.
Around 2012 Henning started to work
together with Wolfram Bange and his project Phasenmensch (signed on Hands). In
2016 I joined in to support Wolfram live on stage and we were working on
remixes for each other. After creating “Divinity Unity Nothingness“, we tried
to figure out which of our bundle of pure ICD-10 tracks would fit on an album.
Since the beginning of 2018 we work together with a techno producer and DJ
Thorsten Felix aka Toneflex. We found out that our ideas of music work very
well together and our production processes got more balanced. So now we are a
happy trio since the beginning of the year.
Q: You recently released your first
official album “Differential Diagnosis” on Hands. What does this album mean to
you, what is the title all about and how would you introduce this production?
Daniel: It is a great feeling to have an
essence of our work and it shows the people a result of what we are doing.
Sometimes it’s more industrial-techno orientated and sometimes even more on the
noisier side of our personal taste.
Maybe the title is allegorical for the
whole process of creating. First you have to find out what you want, you have a
vision, but on the way to get there you have to balance the facts which may
lead you to some other direction. Like in “Differential Diagnosis” you have to
bring parts together, drop or modify parts which do not fit. Crystallize to the
core, using neither too much nor to less information. Balancing between
structure and intuition. We hope we had a little touch of that in our album and
the diagnosis is well and differential enough to make people dance, get
energized and shaken. To give the album a short and common trademark: it is an
industrial-techno/dark-techno album with parts of rhythmic noise and IDM.
Thankfully Udo Wiesmann from Hands shared our opinion to release this album. We
enjoy the familiar, lovely atmosphere and support in the Hands family as
already experienced before working together with Phasenmensch. So we are very
happy to be part of Hands.
Q: “Differential Diagnosis” is not only
driven by a dark-techno format mixed with industrial music, but still featuring
sophisticated sound-treatments. Tell us a bit more about your ‘sound’ and the
sound creation?
Daniel: We often build sketches
separately, sometimes digital- and sometimes analog like. Henning is very
structured, crispy, punchy and professional in his sketches. I’m more chaotic
and ragged in my outlines, coming often from jamming with different digital or
analog gear. Then we come together and are looking if our stuff fits into the
ICD-10 sound and if we could build it up. The core concept of our workflow
might be: every playfulness, texture or soundscape needs the direction forward
surfing on the bassline.
ICD-10 tries to convulse the vessels in your
mid ear and diaphragm. A short half-joking summary of the description of our
sound is: ‘some make music to open hearts – we aim to perforate other organs’.
Q: Do
you feel closer to the ‘techno’- or ‘industrial’ scene and how do you explain
the fusion between both genres, which becomes quite ‘trendy’ today?
Daniel: I personally feel closer to the
industrial scene. That’s where it all started. Henning is a bit more related to
the techno-, breakcore- and dark-psy scene than me, but also has a main pillar
in the industrial scene. In our view of electronic music historically, family
comes together again with this new trend. We think the early drive of the
industrial scene was quite equal to the early non-conform or independent techno
scene. Surely industrial was more stick to a dystopian or anarchistic view and
never became as popular as techno, but you can’t blame techno for becoming part
of the mainstream. There is still much underground drive in that kind of music,
particular nowadays.
Often there are all the discussions about
the simple 4/4 rhythm or other repetitive patterns which make the sound techno
and thus mainstream. So drumming on a steel sheet is the same cliché for so
called true industrial? We both welcome an energy of openness and connectivity
between genres which influence each other. That should be the attitude these
days not only in music. And we also appreciate that parts of techno get more
dystopian, rough, experimental and non-conform.
Q:
You’re clearly in close terms with Phasenmensch. Two years ago now you released
the album “Divinity/Unity/Nothingness” as a collaboration between both projects
while they contributed on one of the songs on “Differential Diagnosis”. How did
you get in touch and what makes this kind of chemistry between both projects?
Daniel: Henning organized Phasenmensch
first bigger gig in our hometown Marburg while he was also doing some DJ-sets.
There Wolfram was inspired by Henning’s techniques and production methods. So
Henning became kind of a mentor for him and was working on mixing, mastering,
remixing as well as writing collaborative tracks for most albums of Phasenmensch.
When we started to support Phasenmensch the idea to make a full collaboration
album happened very fast. Sometimes it wasn’t easy to bring our ideas together,
but it helped a lot to sharpen our profiles, which guided us at the bottom line
to our combined character. The fusion of Wolfram´s ambient, dreamy and as well
internalized tone on the one hand and the more effect driven, pulsing,
aggressive, rumbling sound of ICD-10 on the other hand finally directs us to
something that feels new, but guided us also to important facets of our
projects.
Q: How
do you transpose the album to the stage? How do you see yourselves on stage and
what did you try to express?
Daniel: If our music is the lightning we
try to evoke the thunder on stage. A bit less overblown description might be: we
try to bring the punch and energy of our sound on stage and make people move,
but also fill up the presentation of our album with some new, also unexpected
elements and textures or variations. We were lucky to have our first live
presentation of “Differential Diagnosis” at the well known “Forms Of Hands”-festival
this year. On most of our stuff we’ve the intention to bring a faster heart
rate to the audience. Let’s say it with the ICD-10: R00.2 – that’s the code for
throbbing. Now we are three people and lately we work on new ideas how live
performances could be in the near future. So we will see what the future brings…
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