Fermion Interview: ‘We got a lot of help from covid’
Fermion
Fermion is an American duo formed by Augustine Backer and Eric Shans. I had the chance to discover them through their very first songs. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely convinced at the time. But this year, after releasing a few albums, they returned with a new opus. “Conflicted”, released on Re:Mission Entertainment, reveals a slightly different musical direction. The duo blends various influences, creating a mix of Electro-Pop, Ambient, and Dark-Electro. At times, the album reminds me of productions by Haujobb and Paracont. It’s an intelligent release that casts Fermion in a new light and is definitely worth discovering. I spoke with both gentlemen. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: How do you look back on your previous experiences in the music world before Fermion, and what brought you together to start Fermion?
Eric: For me, it all started when my first project Phenotract was born back around 2000 – the very early years were very Industrial influenced and became more Synth-Pop over time. I released a few albums over the years and also started making more House and Ambient music under my own name, Eric Shans as well as running a House music label as well as an Ambient one (3Bridge Records and 3Bridge Elements). Fermion came about when Augustine and I met at an Electronic music producers’ meetup in NYC back in 2018 or so. We became friends and started talking about making music together since we shared similar tastes — and the rest was history. 🙂
Augustine: For me, it began when I was in graduate school, taking classical piano and singing lessons. I also began dabbling in synths, with my first one being a Kurtzweil K1000. Fast forward to 2015, inspired by the Chrvches use of Ihe Maschine MK2 while performing, I picked one up, and began to make my own music. I released my first solo project album, under the name enitsugua, which is Augustine reversed. The Enitsugua project music is predominantly Ambient, with some Electronica and Noise elements. I soon afterwards met Eric at a Meetup group in Brooklyn for Electronic producers and we immediately hit it off in terms of the musicians we liked, and began to discuss making music together. In 2018 we began to create and the music production went into full force at the in 2019, with our first official Fermion release “Nowhere”.
Q: You’ve already released quite a lot of Fermion and other material in just a few years. Where does all this creativity and inspiration come from, and do you notice a certain evolution and consistency in your work?
Eric: I think it comes from always feeling the need to create — making music still brings me a lot of joy. I have other creative hobbies and work a full-time job because, well, I have to eat :), but it always comes back to the music. As far as evolution and consistency, our earlier material leaned a bit more toward Synth-Pop, but over time it’s grown darker, moving more into Synth-Wave, Dark-Techno, EBM, and Industrial territory. We just felt this transition was natural.
Augustine: I think it comes from this natural high you get when creating. Although you may start with a single note, or sound, or sequence, and it builds from there, at times frustrating, but with patience things start to jell, and a song is born, like a mother giving birth to a child. This high is addictive, and at times when you listen back to what you created, and think, how did I come up with that? Also as Fermion, we got a lot of help from COVID, it was this catalyst that got us creating with fervor, and it helped us keep our sanity. In regards to our evolving sounds, it all came natural, and elements of the next evolution are found in certain songs on the prior album. Our albums have become more complicated, dense, dark, but always maintaining a hopefulness that comes out in some of the songs. I like where we are, and where we are going.
Q: Do you have anything more to add about your main sources of inspiration, and what does Fermion’s sound and style represent to you?
Eric: Definitely older and some newer Industrial, Electronica/Ambient, and new wave sounds inspire us — as well as the crazy world around us. I’ve always appreciated hooks regardless of the style — songs that stick in your head and make you remember and feel something. I’m also really drawn to the visual side of music; we made two music videos for this album, which were a lot of fun to shoot and edit and we’ll do more with future releases. Augustine: Early ‘80s, Joy Division, New Order, OMD, Depeche Mode, Orbital, Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, and operas from Philip Glass and other modern Classical music from Arvo Part, and Ambient works from Aphex Twin, Eluvium, Alex Somers and more modern sounds from Jon Hopkins and Moderat. Songs that are somewhat dark, but haunting, that touch you, and move you. Fermion’s style is about exploring being human in at times difficult world, and the sounds swirling about, combined with the intellectual lyrics bring forth a place to step into.
Q: How do you reflect on the composition and production process of the new Fermion album “Conflicted”? What were you aiming to achieve with this release — both lyrically and musically?
Eric: For “Conflicted”, we enlisted a longtime friend of mine, Justin Singer, who runs 10×13 Studio (https://www.10x13studio.com/) outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We wanted to elevate the sound, and having him at the controls really did that. Between writing, mixing, and all the other work that goes into making an album, it’s great to have an outside perspective. We were amazed by what he brought to the table, and we have more material on the way that he’s worked and we hope you’ll enjoy! Lyrically, the album varies — much of it paints pictures of the human condition and what we all deal with, both internally and externally, on a daily basis.
Augustine: We were aiming to achieve a darker sound, bigger and more professional, yet maintain some hopefulness within some of the songs. With Eric’s amazing lyrics and help with mixing by Justin Singer, we were able to hit the mark. Eric and I are both perfectionists and it can delay creativity at times, but with Justin helping out it really made the process go much more smoothly. I’m really looking forward to continue to work with him, and know our sound will continue to evolve.
Q: To me, “Conflicted” feels like your most fully developed and refined work to date. What’s your own perception and do you follow specific criteria to decide when a Fermion song or album is truly finished?
Eric: We definitely feel it’s our most consistent work, both sound- and production-wise. I’d say we’re pretty critical — and Justin even more so — which ultimately makes the final product stronger. As far as criteria, we try not to take too long to finish things, because you can get lost in the minutiae, and that doesn’t always move the creative process forward. We don’t like to rush things either, though — we enjoy experimenting and having fun too!
Augustine: When is a song or album truly finished is sometimes difficult, because you don’t want to go past that point and start overworking the project. I agree, “Conflicted” is our most fully developed, realized and refined work to date, but yet I know we can go further on our next full-length album. When you can listen over and over to an album you created, in the gym, walking outside, driving around, and it sounds solid, you know you are there. We do like experimenting, and there is no way to even begin to guess at where we are taking the next album, but I am excited to see it being born!
Q: I couldn’t find any information about Fermion performing live. How does that side of the project work, and are there any plans to play live now that the new album is out? What other plans are on the horizon, and how do you see Fermion evolving in the future?
Eric: We actually did a Fermion live show back in August in Brooklyn which was fun – it had was the very first one for Fermion ever! Since Augustine lives in the southern United States and could not make it to NYC, I had my friend Mike Goetz from the band Vuzz fill in and play guitars while I did keyboards and sang. We plan to do more shows in the coming months. I thought the live guitars added a really cool element too. Augustine: Eric is in NYC and I am in Charlotte, so a few hours by plane separates us. We did do a live show recently, with Eric singing & doing keyboards and even banging on the drums on one of the songs, with another standing in for me playing guitars, and we do plan to do more live shows in the near future.
“We’d also like to thank Wes Turner from Re:Mission Entertainment for putting out the “Conflicted” and believing in the music!”
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
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