Marc Fischer is a German musician who started composing music during the 90s as STÖRFREQUENZ. During a vacation in Nepal he got in touch with new instruments, which inspired him to explore new sonic paths. SIAMGDA was born and several albums got released. Most productions got released on Marc’s own label Mind Plug Records while later on he got signed to Ant-Zen. A few more noticeable albums saw the daylight. SIAMGDA next signed to Hands and last year released the great opus “Here And Now”, which is a sonic fusion between Electro, Trance, Tribal and Techno. The tenth full length album of SIAMGDA also confirms the constant progression of this unique experience in sound.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: The story of SIAMGDA ever started on a trip in Nepal. Kathmandu is such a lovely and magical place, but how did it finally influence your work and career as musician?

Marc: At that time -around 2001, I had already been making Electronic music with another project, but was becoming increasingly dissatisfied with creating music by Electronic means. So I was searching for instruments which would allow me to create Electronic tunes in a more organic way.

Then in a small music university in the city of Bhaktapur, for the first time I came in contact with a wide range of instruments and music styles rooted in Indian classical, Nepali procession and ritual. I was immediately drawn to some of those strange-looking instruments, avid to find out how they were used and all the ancient stories connected with them. Many of these instruments were and are still used to induce meditative and Trance-like states, and are therefore seen as ancient tools that can help establish a connection with the Divine. Devoting one’s time to practising, playing and creating music is seen as a spiritual act and is considered to be one of the archetype’s of yoga.

And so it came that this radically different approach to music in combination with those weird sounding instruments, opened up a whole new world of thoughts, rhythms and noises for me. I started taking Indian tabla (drumming) lessons and from there, things took their course… and the trip that I had planned to last just a couple of weeks turned into a journey of quite few years.

Q: It probably explains why SIAMGDA creates a sonic bridge between the Western- and Eastern culture, but when listening to your music I get the feeling there’re no real cultural boundaries. Do you think music has the ‘power’ to bring people together? And what does SIAMGDA really stand for and mean to you?

Marc: No doubt, sharing, collaborating and celebrating the universal language of music brings people from all kind of origins, backgrounds and corners of the world together all the time. Cultural boundaries, fear of contact or just following rigid structures never appealed to me. It is like sticking to one musical genre only, a limitation. If we narrow ourselves down in this way, we miss  a lot of the diversity and beauty that the world of music and the world in general has to offer. In this sense, with SIAMGDA I try to express an open, cross-cultural breed,  fusing ideas of various music genres, cultural traditions and spiritual rituals.

Q: How do you see the evolution in sound and composition throughout the different albums? And do you have specific ideas in sound you ever want to reach?

Marc: When I started recording the first SIAMGDA album,  the idea was to create a more organic, fused Electronic sound that is not too sterile and polished, and that has an ancient, Tribal touch to it, and yet sounds timeless and gives enough space for the listener’s own interpretations -to reflect and celebrate the diversity of life.

With respect to the sounds and compositions of the first SIAMGDA albums,  the tracks I worked on went through many changes before they were finalised. This was mainly due to my excessive travelling across India and Nepal at the time. My access to recording equipment was very limited, so whenever the opportunity to record something manifested, I used it. In a way, the first albums are like puzzles, recorded in different studios and with whatever equipment and devices I could get my hands on.

Over time, I was able to acquire a more compact equipment that allowed me to record and shape my tracks anywhere while travelling.

Q: Your newest album “Here And Now” is the tenth SIAMGDA full length. It all feels a bit like a serious accomplishment, but what does it really mean to you and how do you look back at the writing- and production process of the work?

Marc: Around the time when I did the finishing touches on the “Noise Yoga”-album, I decided to move to Berlin for a while. There, after having lived mainly in Asia and not been interested in going out and partying for many years, I rediscovered the fun and power that a packed dance floor with a good moving crowd can have. So while producing “Here And Now”, I also spent a serious number of hours on the dance floor, and this feel has infused my music, as I guess you can hear listening to this album.

Q: Can you give us more details about your way of working? How do you prepare and conceive an album? What about the instruments you’re using plus eventually field recordings and samplings? The recording and production?

Marc: I try to keep my productions and the setup very simple, without using too many frills. I don’t have a specific working method. Mostly, the tracks start as spontaneous happenings and slowly, over time they evolve and take form. For background soundscapes and noisy layers, I use a wide range of field recordings and various instruments that I recorded around Asia and during musical exchanges and jam session with artists from around the world. For rhythms, I use a combination of drum synthesizer, finger drum pads combined with a couple of multi-effects devices. Additionally, I do improvised vocals and use a few software-based electronic drums, kicks and minimal synthesizer touches here and there.

Q: How do you as an artist experience and face the Covid-19 pandemic?

Marc: Overall, for me personally, it was quite a productive and energizing time, perfect for slowing down, keeping to myself and focussing a bit more on softer, Ambient Soundscapes for meditation and slow body movements. I am planning to release these tunes soon under my HERTZKLANG project.

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial-Trance, Tribal, Industrial-Techno, IDM.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: German Marc Fisher aka Siamgda is back on track unleashing his newest album, which comes three years after the astonishing “Noise Yoga”. It also is the first album released on Hands after multiple productions released by Ant-Zen and Mind Plug Records. “Here And Now” is Siamgda’s tenth full length album.

Content: “Here And Now” is a symbolic title for an album moving on where “Noise Yoga” stopped. It remains a fusion between different genres and music cultures. The meeting between Industrial, Trance, Ritual and even Techno, but also the mix between Eastern- and Western influences. The work is driven by hard banging, repetitive beats merged with Industrial sound treatments. The repetitive loops, mystic chants and beats create this transcendental effect. The album is however diversified –more than on the previous work, touching ground Techno elements. 

+ + + : Siamgda is a project I’ve always liked and supported for its particular sound. There are not that many artists sharing similar influences and that’s probably because this kind of productions need a real tough preparation; sound research, getting the right Tribal samples and of course creating this heavy, bombastic drum patterns. So the work is definitely complex and yet accessible because of the repetitive loops. But in the end there are always extra layers joining in, boosting the song till reaching a state of trance! The Eastern influences also create this effect, but they still have something mysterious and essential in the work of Siamgda. The work features multiple outstanding passages like “Dead Man, A Piece Of Thought”, “Do Not Tell Me What To Do”, “Resistance”, “Tribal Blood” and “They Got The Sun”. Last, but not least, I also like the front cover of the work, which is fitting with its mysterious content.

– – – : No real minus points about this brilliant work!

Conclusion: Siamgda has accomplished a new masterpiece. It remains inspired by similar influences and yet it sounds like a work in progress. If you believe that shamans no longer exist, Siamgda will lead you into a trance!

Best songs: “Dead Man, A Piece Of Thought”, “Do Not Tell Me What To Do”, “Resistance”, “Tribal Blood”,  “They Got The Sun”.

Rate: (9).

Artist: https://siamgda.info / www.facebook.com/Siamgda

Label: www.handsproductions.com / www.facebook.com/hands.official

About Siamgda

Siamgda is the project of German musician Marc Fischer. Fischer began composing music in the 1990s as Störfrequenz before a trip to Nepal introduced him to instruments used in Indian classical and Nepali ritual music, which led him to found Siamgda. Fischer described that formative trip in a Side-Line interview.

Most of Siamgda’s early albums appeared on Fischer’s own label Mind Plug Records, followed by releases on Ant-Zen and Aufnahme + Wiedergabe. “Here And Now” followed in December 2020 as Siamgda’s tenth full-length album and his first for HANDS, catalog number HANDS D289.

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Experimental, Industrial.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info: This project was set up in 2007 by Japanese artist Mehata Hiroshi. He has been involved with different projects, but seems from time to time moving back to Mehata Sentimental Legend, the newest work has been again released by Mind Plug Records –label set up by Marc Fischer aka Siamgda.

Content: “Exhausted Woeks / Mercury” invites the listener to join an experimental and often abstract sound universe. You get the feeling some passages are clearly improvised while other parts seem to be elaborated. From obscure atmospheres to very few ritual elements, the album is covering a wide range of influences. The experimental input remains however the guiding line through this work, which is marked by a last song/remix by Siamgda.

+ + + : I’m not saying that this album sounds in the purest Japanese noise tradition, but there for sure is a very strong appeal for total experimentalism. I like the tracks accomplished with an obscure touch. And I mainly refer to “Bitora” which also has something ritual-like for the injection of some voices. There are some other songs with voice effects boosting the mysterious sphere running through the work. I also like some of the industrial sound treatments.

– – – : This album sounds as the work of a sound scientist, but it however remains hardly accessible for a wider audience because of the experimental approach.

Conclusion: Mehata Sentimental Legend stands for total experimentalism or call it free-industrial music!

Best songs: “Mujin”, “Bitora”.

Rate: (6½).

Artist: www.facebook.com/MehataSentimentalLegendNoum

Label: www.facebook.com/mindplugrecords

About Mehata Sentimental Legend

Mehata Sentimental Legend is the project of Tokyo-based artist Hiroshi Mehata, set up in 2007. His work has repeatedly appeared on Mind Plug Records, the label run by Marc Fischer under the Siamgda alias.

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, industrial-trance, tribal, experimental.

Format: Digital.

Background/Info:  Siamgda (Marc Fisher) is back on track with a new EP featuring five new cuts. This German artist has already released several impressive tribal/industrial productions, his last album “Noise Yoga” (2017) being a true masterpiece.

Content: “Symbiotic Creatures” is more versatile compared to the last album. It remains driven and inspired by industrial-trance and –tribal, but globally speaking it also sounds more experimental. It feels a bit like these songs couldn’t have been placed on a full length album. The common element between all tracks is the genius sound design and overwhelming dark atmospheres emerging at the surface.

+ + + : The sound intelligence of this artist took me again by surprise. I’m really fond of the deep, blasting treatments, which are taking you by the throat. “Fake Dream” is a real cool song, but I also have to mention “Find You”’, which is pure industrial-dub. The diversity of the work is this EP’s main strength, but it also shows the open-minded approach of the composer.

– – – : I’m less convinced by some experimental passages and especially “Stuck On Hold” can’t convince me.

Conclusion: I personally prefer most Siamgda albums instead of this EP, but this artist remains a genius sound architect!

Best songs: “Fake Dream”, “Find You”, “Symbiotic Creatures”.

Rate: (8).

Artist: https://siamgda.info  / www.facebook.com/Siamgda

Label: www.ant–zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official

About Siamgda

Siamgda is the experimental project of Marc Fischer, founded in spring 2001 near Kathmandu, Nepal, following his earlier project Störfrequenz. The project combines Asian tonalities with dark electronic textures and has released albums including “Tremors” (2014), “Oppression” (2015), “Re-Born” (2016) and “Noise Yoga” (2017), all on Ant-Zen, followed by “Here And Now” (2020, Hands Productions).

Fischer discussed his work in an April 2021 Click Interview with Side-Line.

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.

www.side-line.com

Background/Info:

Read the news on ‘Zucht’.

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.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Industrial, tribal, trance.

Background/Info: Marc Fischer aka Siamgda strikes back with a new album, which remains inspired by his fascination for Eastern music genres (and especially the Indian table drums) mixed with more familiar industrial fields.

Content: “Noise Yoga” sounds like it’s going a step further than previous work. The influences and sound formula remain pretty similar, but “Noise Yoga” sounds more powerful and especially into trance and dance music. This German artist has found the perfect balance between Eastern mysticism transposed into fascinating atmospheres and tribal drums at one side and harder, industrial and even techno-orientated elements at the other side.

+ + + : “Noise Yoga” sounds to me as the most accomplished work of Siamgda. Marc Fischer has created the ultimate match between Eastern- and Western influences. Both elements create a compact and elaborated album, which grows quite progressively till reaching a total climax. The mixture between electronic gear and authentic drums creates an authentic feeling. The mystic element is also accentuated by Eastern samplings of chants while you’ll also hear real vocal parts, which are more like an extra effect. “Noise Yoga” is the kind of work appealing for fans of This Morn’Omina and other trance-tribal or industrial-techno freaks.

– – – : “Noise Yoga” is one of my favorite industrial/tribal albums of 2017 so I don’t have real minus points. I was just a little less convinced by the more groovy passages running through a few cuts.

Conclusion: “Noise Yoga” rather appears to be a frenetic dance opus, which will drive you mad. Get ready for a wonderful and shamanic sound trip.

Best songs: “Yoga”, “First”, “Noise Shifting”, “Sangha”, “Drumosphere”.

Rate: (8½).

Band: http://siamgda.info / www.facebook.com/Siamgda

Label: www.ant–zen.com / www.facebook.com/antzen.official

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.

www.side-line.com

Out in a few weeks is “Maschinenfest 2017”, a compilation including all artists who have performed at Maschinenfest 2017. You can order this set right here. This year’s event will take place from Friday 27 October 2017 until Sunday 29 October 2017 at the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen, Germany

On the compilation you’ll find material from the following bands: Ah Cama-Sotz, Alarmen, Aphexia, Dive, Empusae, Esplendor Geometrico, Gatto Nero, Geneviéve Pasquier, Gold, Goreshit, Greyhound, Haus Am Rand, Horskh, Imminent/Synapscape, In Slaughter Natives, Lustmord, Meta Meat, Mono No Aware, Monolith, Nur Zwei Linien, S.K.E.T., Siamgda, Somatic Responses, Suicide Inside, Sutcliffe Jügend, Yura Yura and more.

Maschinenfest is a yearly, 3-day underground music festival in Germany, featuring industrial, power electronics, noise and other alternative electronic performers.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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