Sarin interview: ‘A return to my roots in classic and old school EBM & Industrial’
Sarin (Photo by STuliography Bogota)
With “Searching Hell”, Sarin returns after a relatively long silence—and does so with a statement that feels both familiar and renewed. The Sarin project succeeds in building a bridge between the raw energy of classic ’90s EBM and a contemporary, razor-sharp production style, where analog textures, pulsating beats, and a dark atmosphere converge into an intense and cohesive whole.
Behind Sarin stands Berlin-based artist Emad Dabiri, who in recent years has not only shaped this project but has also been active through numerous collaborations and side projects, as well as through his own label X-IMG. This broad artistic activity has gradually refined his sound: what once started as a more raw and direct approach to industrial and EBM has evolved into a layered and carefully crafted sonic identity, where club-driven power and atmospheric depth reinforce one another.
Sarin’s “Searching Hell” not only marks a new full-length release after years of EPs and collaborations, but also feels like a point of culmination. The album sounds uncompromising, tightly produced, and infused with a dark, almost Cinematic intensity. At the same time, it remains true to the core of Sarin: physical, rhythm-driven music that resonates as much with the body as it does with the imagination. (Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Sarin interview
Q: Emad, you’re involved in quite a few different projects, many of which are released on your own X-IMG label. Can you tell us a bit about your musical background and what differentiates these projects from one another? Do you consider one project to be the ‘most important’, and what does Sarin stand for musically?
Emad: I got into Electronic music naturally as a child of the 90s. Later in high school I came to discover heavier, more experimental genres from Industrial, EBM, Proto-Munk, Musique Concrete and so on – through online research and digging at record stores in Toronto, where I mostly grew up. Around that time I also began experimenting with sounds & production. During university I got into experimenting with audio / video techniques, sampling, cut-ups and live processes under the moniker Infinity Dose. 2014 was when I put out my first proper release as Sarin.
My collaborative projects are differentiated depending on who I’m working with. Each project has its own dynamic, with some projects having been deleted and others continuing to live on. My active collaborative projects include General Dynamics, Human Performance Lab, Devikorps and a couple yet to be released collaborations. I learn a lot from each collaboration.
Sarin stands for a sonic & visual expression of my thoughts & reflections on history, society and my experiences. Societal & political norms, values and lies re/deflected & re-contextualized thru the lens of Electronic music and video art.
Q: Most of your projects and productions are inspired by EBM in some way, but Techno and Industrial elements also stand out. What do these musical genres mean to you personally, and how did you come up with the idea of mixing them?
Emad:I was attracted to the confrontational, conceptual & sonic rawness of Industrial and EBM – as well as the futurist and forward looking elements of Techno. They work well together sonically as well as conceptually. I’m draw from ideas and concepts such as from Dada, Futurism, Musique Concrete, the Cut-Up technique and how they can be combined together within audio/visual electronic processes.
Q: You’re based in Berlin, Germany, which is undoubtedly a perfect location for your kind of music. I imagine it must have had some influence on your musical development and growth. Could you tell us more about that influence and how you would describe the contemporary Berlin underground scene?
Emad: When I moved to Berlin the whole EBM/Techno/Industrial/Post-punk crossover thing was blowing up and it felt like an exciting thing to be a part for a while. That brief explosive feeling in the scene has felt a bit diminished since covid. I definitely became more influenced by the Techno aspect of things here, as it’s a very Techno rooted city obviously. I’ve since pulled back from that Techno world and tried to return to the core elements that originally excited me.
Q: Earlier this year, you released the Sarin album “Searching Hell”, which was also the first new Sarin album in a while. How did this opus come about, and what do you see as the main developments or changes compared to previous SARIN productions?
Emad: After being disillusioned by the vapid & superficial nature of the Berlin Techno scene I decided to pull back from that world and look internally – that is how the Sarin album “Searching Hell” came about. It felt like a return to my roots in classic and old school EBM & Industrial, which is really where my heart is and where my passion for music originally stems from. I had a lot of time to sharpen my production skills since the last album from having worked on so many collaborations and remixes during that gap. I am pretty happy about the results. It was a deeply personal and therapeutic album for me where I tried to condense and channel all the feelings of the last few years.
Q: Do you have a specific modus operandi when creating your songs? And could you tell us a bit about your studio and how it has evolved over the years?
Emad: This is always changing. Sometimes I get a spark of an idea from watching or reading something and I put it down as haphazard notes then revisit those notes to start a sketch for a track. Sometimes things come to me in dreams, images, sounds or situations which I try to write down in a dream journal before they vanish.
My studio is in my apartment and consists of a few synths & samplers, and a computer. I use both hardware and software tools. Sometimes I begin a track from the computer then add recorded synth elements or vice versa. For the last album I sketched out half the tracks as sequences and patterns on the Octatrack with synths, recording them into the computer for further arrangement, processing and mix down. I like both software & hardware approaches and use them interchangeably in the studio.
Q: Tell us more about Sarin’s live performances, where visuals also seem to play a significant role. What is a typical Sarin performance like, and how do you translate the songs from the studio to the stage? To what extent does improvisation play a role?
Erad: A typical Sarin performance consists of a live hardware set of around 45-50 minutes, accompanied by visuals, with vocals now, and sometimes other elements like metal percussion or a metal grinder. The visuals add a bit of a synaesthetic vibe to the performance. Half of the live songs were the original components of the last album, and the other half are either exclusive live songs or reworks of old tracks. To rework an old release track for live I disassemble the pieces in Ableton as one shot samples or very short loops then rebuild the tracks in the Octatrack, including re-building the MIDI. Through the rebuilding process of old songs, the tracks end up being refreshed and unique to the live set, sometimes more interesting to me than the original released versions.
Improvisation plays a big part. This keep the live sets fun and engaging for myself and I think it also translates to the audience’s appreciation as well. Originally I played with a laptop and midi controller live but that felt boring and rigid so I switched to build up a full live setup with sequencers, samplers and analog synths. With my setup I can add/remove notes, switch up the arrangement, break down & rebuild drum sequences, modulate/mangle synths and trigger weird one shot samples on top, all on the fly. That being said I do have a pre-programmed basic setup of the live tracks from which I can manipulate all elements live. I would say it’s about 50/50 for per-programmed parts and improvisation. In between shows I’m always tweaking this, adding new elements for new live tracks or removing ones I find less exciting.
Q: You were born in Iran, and the situation in your country—as well as recent developments—must understandably have a profound impact on you. What has been going through your mind lately, and how do you cope with it personally? On the other hand, music can also be a way to process or channel emotions and feelings. How does that apply to you?
Emad: It’s been difficult to see what’s been happening there. My parents had the strength and ability to get our family out of Iran when I was 6, but my core memories, identity & roots are still from there. The massacre of protesters by the theocratic dictatorship on January 8th & 9th affected me heavily. No one knows the exact death toll from that massacre, because that information is suppressed by the regime that carried it out, but the estimates I read range from at least 30,000 to 40,000 and possibly more killed. On top of all this there is now the added threat of the war. From the few messages that get out of Iran by ordinary people, they say that the only thing worse than the bombs falling around them is if the regime is allowed to survive. They are more afraid of the regime staying in power than they are afraid of the war.
So yes it affects me a lot. Those are my compatriots, that’s the country that gave me life & where all my early core memories are from. My parents took us out of this country because of the corrupt and twisted nature of the regime – the regime inherited a nation and turned it into hell for their own people. I’m not saying that life was perfect under the Shah but I believe my parents when they tell me it was much, much, better than life under the current religious dictatorship. I always appreciated the great sacrifice my parents made to bring me to Canada, to give me a chance so I wouldn’t end up in one of those body bags in the morgues after a protest. My parents suffered a lot of hardship and stress to get us to Canada. As a child I could adapt easier to my new home than they could. I’m happy they were not around to see the massacres in January but sad that they could not live to see their country becoming free. The only future for Iran is democracy, and that does not include the current regime.
It has been hard to focus on music & my label activities since January but I’m working on how to reconcile these feelings productively together with 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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