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Admit it: with a band name like Pink Panther Project, you can’t help but be intrigued. The British trio, formed by Uela, Alex K., and Ether Mu, released their second album this year. The record delivers an energetic blend of influences that can be summed up as EBM, with a certain nostalgia for Electroclash and a touch of Electro-Punk on top. “Clinics And Models”, released on Assur Anshar Records, is a powerful and dynamic work that genuinely surprised me. Uela’s somewhat sterile vocal style occasionally reminds me of the magic of Miss Kittin—but that’s where the comparison ends. I sat down with vocalist Uela to talk about the new work, the band’s evolution, and her unfiltered views on live performances and the future. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Tell us a little about the origins and background of Pink Panther Project. What were the musical motivations for starting this band?

Uela: We were three musicians dedicated to Electronic music. Initially, Alex and Dether were an instrumental duo, and with the addition of my voice, the band was born. Our aim is to create rhythmic, melodic, aggressive Electronic music, with modulators, synths, and impactful tracks.

Q: How do you look back on your debut album, “Intoxicating Embrace,” and the transition to your new opus, “Clinics and Models”?

Uela: “Intoxicating Embrace” is a bad album in my opinion, poorly recorded, with too many songs (2 CDs), and it’s a sort of demo compilation from our early days. Although there’s something good in two or three singles, it’s not an album I’d listen to again today.

“Clinics And Models” is much more coherent. We deliberately chose a short album, with 10 songs lasting 40 minutes, which isn’t exactly the standard in Electronic music, with very long CDs and often monotonous, repetitive songs. We’ve collected many ideas and references into an album that feels ‘acid’ in itself, though it’s also mellow and at times catchy.

Q: Could you give us some insight into your overall approach and production process? Who is responsible for what, and are there any specific benchmarks or criteria you use to determine the final result of a song or album?

Uela: I couldn’t tell you. The process is never planned. Let’s say you enter into an atmosphere that permeates the album and certain sessions, and without repeating yourself each time, you try to stay consistent with that vision, that photograph, that moment. When combining the various photographs in an album, they must have that same faded light and leave a similar feeling to the others. I think we do this more or less unconsciously.

Q: Can you tell us more about the influences behind this new work—both musically and lyrically—since your song titles, lyrics, and the album title clearly carry meaning?

Uela: We primarily deal with psychological distress, mental alterations, and phobias, or dreams often described as nightmares or anguish. It’s extremely complex to be part of society today. I think ours is an altered alienation; it makes no sense to be lucid and listen to our music; it always expresses a concept taken to its extreme. We’re heavily influenced by cinema, I don’t know, Carpenter comes to mind first, and musically… Well, by many things, from Mike Oldfield to The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, obviously Front 242, Kraftwerk, and Berlin Electronic music.

Q: What have you found to be the biggest challenges in the entire composing and production process, and how critical are you of the results once they’re achieved?

Uela: We’re always very critical; we often discard perfect songs just because they tire us out immediately. We’ve currently reached a good level of composition, excellent studio and post-production results, and we’re quite satisfied and confident that the new album is professional and full of interesting ideas.

Q: What does the future hold for Pink Panther Project in terms of performances, potential remixes, or even new tracks?

Uela: We’re not really interested in anything other than creating new music. We recently released two albums (including with Virgin Vampires, our sister band dedicated to Goth) and haven’t played in months. We needed a break, but I think the new album, if it happens, will be very violent and powerful. We don’t want to end up like The Cocteau Twins and put people to sleep. We never imagined playing live. I always see so many performances that are so pointless. I don’t think there’s any need to add Pink Panther Project. Have you seen The Sisters Of Mercy live recently? Don’t!

Inferno Sound Diaries

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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