Pagina's

Thursday, July 29, 2010

INTERVIEW WITH AUTODRONE



HELLO, PLEASE TELL US WHO AUTODRONE ARE....


Autodrone are Katherine Kennedy - vocals, Jeremy Alisauskas - guitar, Angel Lorelei - Bass synths, Terry Taylor- drums.

I ALMOST COULDN’T BELIEVE IT THAT “STRIKE A MATCH” HAS BEEN SELF RELEAZSED, I MEAN THIS BAND IS FULL OF TALENT AND THE ALBUM SOUNDS LIKE AN INSTANT CLASSIC? HAVEN’T GOT THE ATTENTION OF SOME LABELS SO FAR?

Thank you. Strike a match was released on the US label Clairecords, is available for purchase internationally, and via most popular types of digital distrubution (iTunes, Amazon etc).

APART FROM SOME BANDS, SHOEGAZE IS AN AMERICAN MATTER THESE DAYS …HOW COME, AFTER ALL IT’S AMERICA THAT KILLED THE SHOEGAZE WITH THE BORN OF GRUNGE…

Is there not alot of Shoegaze in other countries right now? I'm not sure what the definition of the category is, but there are some great noisy/swirly bands in the UK and Europe that I can think of (The Bang Gang. Clockwork Radio, Jonathan Johansson). What kind of music is there rest of the world making?

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS A SHOEGAZER?

Not particularity, but I understand why others have categorized us as such.

ABOUT THAT SHOEGAZEESCENE, DO YOU SEE ANY FUTURE IN IT …. I MEAN IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IT WILL HAVE A LONG LIFE?

I think the shoegaze scene will always exist in some incarnation, people have been creating that style of music for a long time now.

OVER HERE IN BELGIUM, WE ONLY GET SOME BANDS, BUT IS AMERICA REALLY THAT OPEN FOR THESE SOUNDS OR IS IT A VERY SMALL CLUB SCENE?

Wait over here, we heard that it was bigger in Europe!? Are you serious? Its a fairly small scene here too, obviously some bands get pretty big and do very well, but none of us are exactly selling out stadiums.

CRITICS WILL SAY THAT YOU PLAY MUSIC THAT’S 20 YEARS OLD….

They are correct.

THERE’S A LOT OF HEAVENLY NOISE IN YOUR MUSIC, HOW IMPORTANT IS NOISE?

Noise is so important. "that which is not slightly distorted lacks sensible appeal: from which it follows that irregularity - that is to say, the unexpected, surprise and astonishment, are an essential part and characteristic of beauty" - Charles Baudelaire

I ALWAYS SAY NOISE IS GREAT AS IT MAKES YOU DEAF FOR THE SHIT THAT’S OUTSIDE….

WHAT IMPORTANCE DOES MUSIC PLAY IN YOUR LIFE?

Music is very important to me. It is frequently the only thing I have to distract myself from the horrors of reality.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE HOLY TRILOGY “SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK ‘N ROLL” OR IS THAT ALL BULLSHIT IN THE END?

I abhor the entire notion of "Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'N' Roll". It has nothing to do with creating art. It has more to do with posturing and playing a part. it's a lifestyle that sadly is associated with music, Not a reason for creating it. Rock 'N' Roll is horribly passe.

TELL ME YOUR FAVE ECORD OF ALL TIME PLEASE….

Fave record of all time. Wow, we could spend hours debating this. Since this interview talks a lot about Shoegaze, let's narrow it down to fave Shoegaze album of all time. Possibly Cocteau Twins Treasure.

TELL OUR READERS WHY THEY SHOULD CARE ABOUT AUTODRONE…..

They should care about Autodrone because if they don't, than no one will, and we will kill ourselves.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
DIDIER

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

INTERVIEW WITH 17 PYGMIES


Well, hello the first logic question…why does a band like 17 Pygmies change for such a different style?

BECAUSE IF YOU ALWAYS CHANGE STYLES THEN EVENTUALLY EVERYONE WILL REALIZE YOU HAVE NO STYLE.

I guess I know the answer, but I am sure that you were aware of the danger in sales for coming up with an album like “The outlaw J.D. Ray”, not?

WHAT SALES?

Which brings me back to the past….
As a youngster, due to my love for Independent Projects, I came across 17 Pygmies. Over here they certainly were not what you could name as a household name but how were things for you back then?

ACTUALLY, WE WERE VERY POPULAR IN THE LA CLUB SCENE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. WE HAD INTEREST FROM ELECTRA, CAPITOL AND ISLAND RECORDS. WE EVENTUALLY DID SIGN WITH ISLAND/GREAT JONES AND RELEASED AN ALBUM WHICH GOT US DROPPED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. SO I GUESS YOU COULD SAY LIFE WAS PRETTY INTERSTING.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I always saw the whole Independent Project-movement (and thus 17 Pygmies too) as the way Americans saw post-punk.

I WOULD AGREE. WE TENDED TO SEE OURSELVES AS THE CALIFORNIA COMPONENT TO THE EAST COAST’S SONIC YOUTH AND SWANS, AND THE MIDWESTS BIG BLACK. OF COURSE AT THE TIME THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS POST-PUNK SO WE TENDED TO JUST GET A LOT OF BLANK STARES AND THE LIKE. AS I RECALL, THE NEW ROMANTIC MOVEMENT WAS ACTUALLY A LOT BIGGER BACK THEN.

In times where R&’nB seems to be the sole thing which youngsters buy, are you aware that you stood at the cradle of making genius legendary music, or is it just bollocks in the end?

IF YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME BACK THEN THAT I WAS MAKING GENIUS MUSIC OR BOLLOCKS I WOULD NOT HAVE BELIEVED EITHER ONE, SO I’M NOT SURE WHAT TO SAY EXCEPT WE DID WHAT WE DID AND LET THE CHIPS FALL.

Just like so many American alternative bands you never made it to the European playground, is that something which was difficult to handle with?

NOPE. WENT WITH SAVAGE REPUBLIC MANY TIMES AND I HATE TOURING.


Just like all influential bands you were once picked by some major but that ended up quite bad, not?

YEP. SEE ABOVE.

As “pioneers” which advice would you give to young bands if they got the change to sign to some major?

TAKE THE $$$ IF YOU CAN. IT WAS JUST ANOTHER RECORD TO ME.

In all honesty I am not that familiar with your later stuff but “Ballade of Tristram’s Last Harping” was some kind of psychedelic music and now you have a country/folk album out.
Wanna explore all types of music then ?

YOU KNOW, WESTERN MUSIC IS FUNNY. THERE ARE ONLY 8 NOTES AND FRANKLY, I CAN’T UNDERSTAND HOW BANDS GO OUT AND PLAY THE SAME SONGS OVER AND OVER AND OVER. I MEAN, I’M ALSO A PAINTER AND NOBODY EVER ASKS ME TO PAINT THE SAME PAINTING TWICE, SO WHY SHOULD I PLAY THE SAME SONG, OR EVER WRITE IN THE SAME STYLE TWICE?

So if you follow the logic in it all, it can be that the next album will be something totally different then....

ACTUALLY, I’M WORKING ON CELESTINA II AND YES, IT WILL BE SLIGHTLY DIFFERNT THAN ALL THOSE THAT WENT BEFORE. VIVA LA VIDA PYGMY ! WE DO WHAT WE WANT WHEN WE WANT. WHAT COULD BE BETTER ?


One of the keymembers Jackson recently made some soundtracks from silent movies like « Battleship Potemkin » or « Tarzan », can you tell something about it ?

I AM VERY FOND OF SILENT MOVIES AND FIND IT CHANLLENGING TO WRITE MODERN SCORES AS A WAY TO « UPDATE » THOSE CLASSIC FILMS AND HOOPEFULLY EXPOSE THEM TO A NEW AUDIENCE. IN PARTICULAR, I STILL CONSIDER BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER MADE. DEFINITELY IN MY TOP THREE AND BEING AN ANGELINO MOST OF MY LIFE I’VE SEEN THOUSANDS OF FILMS.




For a band that cares so much about their artwork, what do you think of the digital download area ?

ACUALLY, I’M NOT AGAINST DIGITAL DOWNLOADS. I THINK THE MUSIC SHOULD STAND BY ITSELF. BUT, GIVEN MY CHOICE, I WOULD ALWAYS OPT FOR THE PHYSICAL PRODUCT BECAUSE I ACKNOWLEGE AND ADMIRE ARTISTS WHO PUT EXTRA EFFORT INTO THEIR WORK AND I TRUST OUR AUDIENCE WILL FEEL THE SAME.

I ask this everybody.... What’s your fave record of all time and please state why...

MY FAVORITE « RECORD » OF ALL TIME IS ACTUALLY TWO RECORDS THAT I ALWAYS LISTEN TO TOGETHER AND ALWAYS THINK OF AS ONE RECORD. 1. ONE NATION UNDERGROUND AND BALACLAVA BY PEARLS BEFORE SWINE. I JUST CAN’T GET OVER HOW DIFFERENT/ACCESSIBLE/MELODIC/MEANINGFUL THAT TOM RAPP FELLA MANAGED TO MAKE BOTH ALBUMS. AND ALL UNBELIEVEABLY TIMELESS. THESE ARE THE DISCS THAT OPENED ME UP TO THE POSSIBILITIES OF MUSIC AND WHY IT WAS AN IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE THING TO ALWAYS STRIVE TO DO DOMETHING UNIQUE.

Always wanted to know, why does a band name themselves 17 Pygmies ?

MY BIRTHDAY IS THE 17TH OF NOVEMBER AND A « FLOCK OF PYGMIES » WAS ALREADY TAKEN.

Thank you so much for this !!!!!

MY PLEASURE.

Monday, July 26, 2010

INTERVIEW WITH THE NEON JUDGEMENT


Well, let’s start with those names…who the hell decide to name themselves Dirk DaDavo and Frank TB?

I guess we were born with a rich imagination.
Nah, seriously TB is inspired by Frank’s coughing (TBC, hence the link) and DaDavo finds its inspiration from the days we were recording our first musical efforts with a ghettoblaster.
There used to be song I called “It’s Da Devo” and from that title I simply changed it to DaDavo.
It sounds quite Spanish which was perfect as people often thought I had Spanish origins because of my look.
Apart from that it’s also a sort of wordplay from “The Devil” 

How long were you going before “Factory Walk” got released?

Quite some years I think. We already got 2 tapes released “Suffering” and “TV Treated” which we try to sell at our gigs.

How were the reactions, I mean after all that type of music was rather quite unusual.

After all, not that bad… People were longing for something new and somewhere it seemed like we were the answer to that desire. AS they say : right time, right place.

Everything’s been done by yourself, that must be something hard to deal with moneywise, not ?

It was not so bad as you might think as after all everything’s been recorded with a 4 track taperecorder so not in studios that absorb your money.

By the time you were recording your first material, was there something inside that made you aware that you were doing something timeless or to say it different : did you realize that you stood at the cradle of something that once would be seen as highly influential?

Not at that moment, no. We were both big Velvet Underground-fans and we we were thinking : we can do that as well.
We were quite busy with what we would like to call the “spirit” of our music, we also listened a lot to the very first releases by Pink Floyd at that time (laughs).

As influences you state a lot of classic bands but in all honesty I can’t hear them…

But that’s what I mean with “spirit” in music! Everything’s been handled in a personal way and we never cared about what was seen as hip back then and that’s how Velvet Underground got started…

About influences, everybody’s coming up with Suicide but that’s a typical band nobody loves or care about, just musicians…

We only discovered Suicide after we recorded our 7”inch “Concrete”. A friend introduced us to their music so I can’t really say Suicide were an inspiration for The Neon Judgement.

Today there’s a lot of music but I do miss a lot of originality whereas some decades ago original bands were rising everywhere.
Sometimes you hear the inspiration has gone forever but I refuse to believe this…

I think it has something to do with the mentality and the technique of today which made everything so easu these days. WE didn’t make music for music’s sake but because we had something to say, and that’s what lead us to all these old bands.
The last 20 years everything has become flat, from music to media. Even more, we wxere writing about it 20 years ago and now it has become reality.
Come on, be honest, try to get something on the radio these days that’s underground!

The real undergroundhits were coming before your “Mbih”-years. Every new wavefan could sing these songs from the beginning till the end and without…airplay on the radio….

Still wanna say that on wedsnedayafternoon you got the programme “Vrijaf” which was moderated by Gust De Coster en everything that was Belgian was presented in his show.
Another hot DJ was of course Luc Jansen who did his “Domino”-show on Saturday eve and there were some pirate stations around like FM Brussel.
I think today it would be much harder to get that sort of stuff played as all radios which are around decided that they don’t wanna disturb their audience.

Did you sold many records and could you live from those sales…

I guess it’s better not to talk about sales but yes we could live from it. Not that we were bathing in great luxury but it was bearable though. But we made that decision to live from is as we agreed together that we would do worldtours and things as such can’t be combined with any normal job. But I can tell you this, you won’t get rich of being a musician…

I never understood that Dirk, “TV Treated” became a huge success with the minimum of promotion…now you can’t sell such a thing with a bus full of promogirls!

But these days people hear so much that they got too much to swallow and they can’t see the trees from the forest any longer…

Once they say the 80’s sucked, now they’re cool….

After the 80’s you had the 90’s that brought us all the Nirvana’s and the Pearl Jam’s of this world and it was indeed better not to mention those eighties.
But having said that, there were two kind of eighties : you had the alternative scene with bands like Front 242 or Sisters Of Mercy but there was also another pazrt of the 80’s which was full of crap and people are totally ashamed by it that they once liked it.
Our band had to wait quite a while before the recognition started.
The proof that the 80’s were okay is that today we still play these tracks.
Our audience varies from 14 to 54 year aged people so it contains quite some generations.

After “Mbih!” you startyed working with PIAS. I know that back then PIAS weren’t the PIAS they’re now, but why have you done that?

We were looking for some exposure outside Belgium. We didn’t want our music being limited to the new wave audience from Belgium alone.
That was a necessary decision if we wanted to live from our music. PIAS would give us that possibility.

Sometime they say you’re at the cradle of the new beat generation…

Perhaps but it was something we didn’t want anyway…

With a track like “Miss Brown” you proved you could do the ultimate dancetrack.
Why not doing like Jo Casters from Poesie Noire did and creating thousands of New Beat projects and cashing in?

We always stayed true to ourselves and that makes us proud. I earlier mentioned the spirit of music, remember?
That was/is a punkspirit. Lots of people back from whom I thought that they had the same thoughts suddenly jumped on that New Beat train but after all it only had a short life. Most of those serious people soon stopped after the New Beat-thing and after that they were lost as there was no back, but for us the road is still open…

Being aged now, I see that New Beat thing in a different way…I mean back then I hated it.

If it depends on me IO would like to shut up about that New Beat thing (laughs).

“Blood and thunder” is a total different story. I guess recognition comes with years but back then they must have warned you a thousand times about the commercial suicide…

Maybe, but for us as people or artist “Blood & Thunder” was something like a necessity.
I totally agree that seen from commercial perspective it would have been better to stick at tracks that sounded like “TV Treated” or “Fashion Party” but we aren’t made like that.

And why are you grabbing back to these tracks in 2010?

Oh, you know…we have so many stuff written that we could play a gig for 8 hours. The more I think about it, the more your idea appeals to me!

Never got feelings of frustration that “Blood & Thunder” was so misunderstood?

Not as I still think it was a record that has to be made.

Never got the feeling Luc Van Acker once had : damn it, I’m off to America!

For a while when we toured in the US and Canada at the end of the 80’s but we Belgians do like so much our playground…

And that playground has so many brilliant bands, quite unbelievable if you think about it, not?

Yeah, but Belgium is a real melting pot of different cultures. We are in the centre of Europe and it always has been kind of chaotic and that are perfect circumstances for art.
When we were touring outside our country, we often got thye question : What is it about Belgium?
People were curious that people from a country like ours made such weird music.
It’s like the famous Confucius once told : If you wanna know if people got ruled well or having good or bad laws, you can investigate the music they make.
Something to think about, not?

The time on KK was less succesfull. How do you deal with that?
You can say : people come and go, but still…

Okay, but it was also the decade of grunge. New wave was totally gone and coming up with such a name in such a decade is impossible. It also has a lot to do with money (investment and promotion).
Sometimes they thought : we release an album by Neon Judgement and it sells automatically but it doesn’t work that way.
I run my own label DanceDelic D and I can tell you that I learnt a lot about it.

Sometimes people state you as an influence of the current techno scene…

We like that as it means we built on the future of music….

I know it’s a dirty tough question, but do you think you can do something like you did in the early days?

It was a different time with a different spirit and other methods. You have an evolution both as person and artist. But on our Smack-cd from 2009 you could see that old spirit once again.
But let’s be honest : the music from the 80’s we created has already been made.
And with a band that has a past as ours it’s kind of difficult to satisfy everyone….

Soon there is the Docuvision Tour, what’s that?

Docuvision 2010a1984 is a 35 minutes long documentary about The Neon Judgement that tries to capture the feelings we had in the eighties.
You can see quite some livefootages from back then.
For this documentary we could count on Dave Clarke, The Hacker, Terence Fixmer, Luc Van Acker.
It’s directed by Jeroen Buytaert who made the clip from “Leash” taken from our “Smack”-album.
After the documentary we play a 35 minutes gig that will feature some very early tracks like Schizofrenic Freddy, or Machine Life.
We are trying to make it something very special indeed…

Your fave album of all time is….


Currently I stick to “I feel cream” by Peaches as it has an everlasting quality….

I give you the last words Dirk….
Come and listen to us as I’ll be there!!!!

Belgian Tour Schedule > The Neon Judgement > Dirk Da Davo DJ set 2010

August 28th: TNJ, Boerenrock (Kortenaken) (4pm)_Belgium
August 28th: TNJ, Nock Out festival (Vosselaar (10pm)_Belgium
September 4th: DDD Dj set, Leuven, Zaal Albatros,_Belgium
September 11th: TNJ, Moulin Rock (Tessenderloo)_Belgium
September 25th: TNJ, Trix (Antwerpen) 2010a1984DocuVision Tour_Belgium
October 2nd: DDD dj set Heerlen, Nieuwe Nor (DocuVision Screening)_Holland
October 9th: DDD dj set, Duister Gefluister XL (St Niklaas), Belgium
October 22th: TNJ, JH Zenith (Dendermonde) 2010a1984 DocuVision Tour
November 6th: TNJ, Zaal De Hoop (Waregem)2010a1984 DocuVision Tour
November 26th: TNJ, STUK (Leuven) 2010a1984 DocuVision Tour


Label site :: www.dancedelicd.com
Band site :: www.theneonjudgement.com

Friday, July 23, 2010

INTERVIEW WITH PHENOTRACT


Well hello Eric, you’ve been composing songs for ten years or so…how would you describe these years?

Hmm, well it has definitely been interesting. I started just doing basically sketches..then went onto real songs. I work full time so I can't always say it's easy to find the spare time, but you have to sort of discipline yourself to get things done. And of course have a passion for it. I definitely preferred making much harder sounds as a young lad ( haha) but have moved towards doing things that are a bit more melodic and new wave pop sounding.

Has it always been electronic stuff or not? I mean, Eric, I am busy with busy with music for 24 hrs since 30 years but I could never limit myself to one particular genre….

I agree. Electronic is my favorite since it encompasses tons of sub genres (most of which I also like) but I also like and buy a lot of music that is not electronic. I sometimes need to hear "real" instruments as well. So some indie rock, post punk, britpop and shoegazer type music and a variety of other stuff keeps my musical palette varied. You would definitely get a kick out of my CD collection!There’s this shoegazer influenced act from Manchester, England called Engineers who are probably my favorite band of the past decade. They make really expansive, cinematic, music ..truly blissful stuff. Check em out!

According to your biog, your first material was more industrial like….

Please tell us about that….

I was really into industrial in the early 90s and was for a long time after that. Bands like FLA, Skinny Puppy, and harder sounding house and techno were a huge influence on my early songs. It was sort of aggro and raw..but I always tried to maintain a sense of melody. "Within A Second", my first "official album, was an amalgam of harder industrial, techno, and EBM and on my 2nd album "Transient Messages" the music definitely mellowed a bit. It still had techno influences but was definitely less raw. As I've gotten older, I dig things that are a bit less harsh. But, I still love the older industrial and will always have a place in my heart for it. And also, there's certain industrial/EBM bands I hear today I can still get into.. for instance I still play live keyboards for my buddies Cesium 137 who I think are doing great stuff!

Sometimes people say (or at least I do) that industrial music evokes soundtracks for the mind…I mean you can imazgine everything with indusmusic…

Definitely. I feel that way about electronic music as a whole..especially instrumental stuff. Producers like Ulrich Schnauss and Isan really conjure up imaginary soundtracks for me. I'm also a huge fan of this band In The Nursery who always do great soundtrack type work. I always imagine a lot when hearing certain electronic music. It's easy to let the mind drift for sure which is usually a good thing.


In my review I described you as a troubadour who swapped his guitar for some electronic equipment… Agree? Haha. Well, the truth is I’m not good at playing guitar at this stage of the game! What's even funnier is that on "Shifting" my friend Gabe played guitar on "Unreal Highs" and "Out Of Sequence" ..and it was the first time I've ever used guitar on a Phenotract album. I definitely want to do more though, and I love the sound of guitar..especially when it's put through pedals, distortion, flange etc. I thought he did a great job on those songs.



With the modern equipment, everyone can compose songs.

Somewhere I think that’s okay but problem is that everybody does that and as a musiclover I now have to face 1.000.000 bands and there’s no real guide in it… I mean, I even discovered Phenotract by a coincidental click on the mouse.

Well, I'm glad you did! It's true though, there are soo many bands and producers out there that's it's often tough to keep track For me, a good way is internet radio ..hearing stuff, flipping through stations to get a read on what's new and good. I also go out to hear music quite often ( often on the techno and house side of things), so I generally get the low down on new productions. Plus I also make electro/tech house music as well which I plan to release this year with a dance producer friend of mine.



Do you believe in all that DIY-stuff? I mean it certainly breeds great music but sometimes it feels that those other 999.999.999 musicians are making music for themselves…

Well, I think a lot of people make music without knowing production and making things sound up to par. You definitely can hear who is paying attention to detail when producing and the others that don't. Sometimes it does feel like quantity over quality but I give credit to anyone trying to make music especially with the state of industry. It’s truly a labor of love but there's a certain satisfaction when you have an album that you made on your shelves or in your CD binder.


I just interviewed Crash Course In Science who became extremely famous here in the 80’s with using toys as an instrument, I told them that something like that couldn’t be possible in 2010 now….

Well I think that depends too on how creative/mechanically inclined you are! Haha. My friend uses an old Nintendo Gameboy for a sound module. He basically wired the whole thing so he so he could generate the sounds from it to use on tracks. I guess that’s not really a toy, but it’s the closest thing I can think of ! The sounds that come from it are really cool. There’s a whole collective of people that use things that are out of the ordinary for sound modules. It definitely gives some uniqueness to the sound design of anything you might be working on.


If I hear Phenotract, I hear definitely Kraftwerk which is of course not a bad thing….

Were they such an influence on you?

Yes, definitely. I always have loved them. Very precise in both their delivery, sound design, and song structure. Bands like Human League, OMD, Depeche Mode, and the Pet Shop Boys are also favorites of mine. Producers like Ulrich Schnauss and Apparat are also influencing me these days

One of the stronger factors is definitely the voice of Niabi Caldwell, not?

How did you got in touch with her?

I agree for sure. Niabi I’ve known for a few years and she did vocals with me on the previous album on about half of the songs. On “Shifting”, I actually used 3 different vocalists. Niabi does 2 songs, my good friend Katharine Heller does 6, and there’s one song ”Blinded” by another good friend Anaben... from a NY shoegaze post punk band called By Night With Spear. It was great to work with them and I like the duality of male/female vocals quite a bit. We all live near each other in Brooklyn. “Full Circle Again” was the only song I sang on my own.


I ask it everybody….fave record of all time is?

Ohh, this is very tough! I'd have to say 808 State "UTD State 90" is up there. It was one of the very first techno albums that I bought when I was 16.


Tell me why would our readers give Phenotract a chance???

Well, I guess I look at my music and lyrics as sort of a soundtrack for life and it’s happenings, especially on ”Shifting” which is all about life’s constant changes ( and during the recording of this album, so many happened to myself and my friends around me!). So, give it a listen and would love to hear feedback ( this goes for all of my releases :)) I hope you enjoy and thanks for the interview!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

INTERVIEW WITH CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE


Well hello, to ask it directly…ever thought that you still would be involved in Crash Course In Science 30 years later?

It doesn’t really surprise me that Crash Course in Science has been out in the world this long and still going. The project has had a life of it’s own all along, it may go into hibernation for a while but something always happens where it becomes activated again.

You were operating in Philadelphia, were you the only ones over there who were doing that minimal synthstuff?

As far as I know, when we first started, we were the only ones in Philadelphia that were using homemade synths and toy instruments. There wasn’t a minimal synth genre back then, our approach came out of more of a punk mentality. This is what we had to work with and we tried to make the most out of it. Because we used what we did it set us apart from other bands that were using more traditional electronic equipment.


Is it a myth or is it a reality that most of your material has been made with toys?

It is true, in the beginning we used crude electronic toys and then began altering them. Moving forward Dale began to build homemade sytnths that took the altered sounds further. These homemade instruments are what we still use today.

Now everybody is raving about the minimal synth sound, but in all honesty…wasn’t that sound only minimal as the bands simply didn’t have no equipment to buy expensive stuff?

Music played on analog instruments has a distinct feel about it that some people prefer over a cleaner, more digitized sound. I think to a certain extent it’s true that bands may not have had funds to but more expensive equipment. We realized early on that what we were using gave us the results we wanted. Sometimes circumstances can inform you in an unexpected way and you realize how to work with what you have.

What do you think from bands in 2010 who are trying to sound like it’s 1979?

All genres of music get revisited in time. People can find inspiration from anywhere, art from the past will influence art in the future.


In fact, do you follow that scene as such?

We like to be aware of it.

Do you understand that obsession some people have with minimal synthmusic?
(Actually I’m one of them….)

It seems like minimal synth music really is an inspiration for a lot of people and it triggers the imaginations of those who follow it, anything that does that can only be seen as a positive thing.



As for Crash Course In Science…do you try to create a sound which sounds retro or is it today something total different on stage?
We just try to sound like Crash Course in Science. It doesn’t have to sound like anything else.


Hmmmm, nice coincidence but your first European gig was the one which was organised by our mag, BIM Festival (the mag is called Dark Entries).
How are your memories from that?

We had a blast at Bimfest 2009! We felt welcomed there and the crowd was into it. It was a great experience for us.

Every person over here who is into alternative music once danced to the tune of “Flying turns”, is that the case in the US as well?

Flying Turns gets played in the clubs here in the US but more so when it was originally released in the early 80’s. It found a wider audience in Europe.


In fact are you aware that your sound was heavily played at discotheques here and was one of the influences from the later EBM sound (and even the New Beat-sound here in Belgium)?

We learned about that after the fact. We didn’t know at the time of our records release that it was being played a lot in clubs in Belgium and that we were considered influential.

Sometimes I do wonder if a band would made such music in 2010 (I mean with a very limited sound) that they actually could make it….

Anything is possible.

In fact, it makes me wonder… I know quite a lot of people who own that famous “Pier”’-EP.
How was it possible that such a DIY-thing got so well spreaded over here?

When we recorded “Signals form Pier Thirteen” it wasn’t conceived to be a dance record, it was more about creating a vivid snapshot of what Crash Course in Science was at that moment. We weren’t sure what the reaction would be but it’s a true representation of us at the time.
The inspiration for “Signals from Pier Thirteen” was a real place. There was an abandoned pier that was located along the Delaware River in Philadelphia called Pier Thirteen not far from where we rehearsed. It seemed to have been active around the first half of the 20th Century. All the images used on the cover of the record were either photographs of the pier or were of objects that we found there. Pier Thirteen was a big influence for us and we went there often. Huge silent machinery stood abandoned with shapes, shadows and debris. Daybreak was a favourite time to go there. Pier Thirteen triggered our imagination and I guess the record itself triggered listener’s imaginations as well.




If I may say so, your sound is influential…but there never were that many releases.
How come you think?

Although there were only a few releases initially by the band there were many phases of Crash Course in Science that are documented by unreleased recordings.
We were happy that our album “Near Marineland” was released last year as part of our box set on Vinyl on Demand in Germany.
As Crash Course in Science progressed we experimented with different types of instrumentation and wrote a lot of material over the years that we would perform in our live shows. We also wrote, collaborated and performed with other artists. Getting a record deal with the kind of music we were making back then was a challenge.




I understood that apart from Crash Course In Science you were involved in other musical projects, were they similar or something totally different?

The other projects we were involved in did have a somewhat similar sound but did deviate a bit as well. Dale and Mallory did solo performances and had side band projects called “Green Ghost” and “The Flaming Bango Bangos” with Pete Baker from The Stickmen.
Green Ghost explored a more oblique visual soundscape and The Flaming Bango Bangos ventured into a more funk-noise oriented sound.
Michael also did solo performances, formed the band “KMZ” with Ken Montgomery and was a member of the performance art group “Disturbed Form Theatre”, with dancer/ collaborator Greg Reeves, primarily scoring soundtracks and designing slide projections. The soundtracks for “Disturbed Form Theatre” were raw and noisy at times, and quiet and ethereal at others.

I ask this to everybody….what’s your fave record of all time!

“Dance to the Music” by Sly and the Family Stone




What can the audience expect from your show in Gent this September?

There will be a visual element and a sound element and a performance element. We are looking forward to the performance and hope our fans are too.



Ever been to Gent?

Not yet but we are looking forward to it!



Many thanks for doing this, I give you the last words…..

We look forward to expanding the Crash Course in Science project and presenting it to a new generation of listeners.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

INTERVIEW WITH PRAGER HANDGRIFF


Well hello, Prager Handgriff are already like twenty years in the scene…
How would you describe this decade?

If you look back, it is actually quite a long time. But we did not recognize it. It seems to be, as if we started yesterday.

In fact, a lot has happened in those decades, the musicindustry for instance….
How can you beat this crisis, you think?

We do not know if we could beat the crisis. This is not our first aim. We just thought that the time has come to release a further album.


Maybe this question might be the perfect one for you….I mean Prager Handgriff was one of those bands who released cassettes by themselves and by building brick by brick, you ended up where you are now…
Do you think this can be possible in 2010?

Not in the same way. One the one hand it might be harder to get a record deal today. On the other hand a record deal is less important than in the old days. 20 years ago it was hard to reach an audience by releasing cassettes. Today you can use the internet as a helpful tool to distribute your music. So you can reach a rising audience and might become famous even without a record deal.


In all honesty, sometimes it feel like all those new young bands have no lust as all they want is immediate stardom….

We cannot answer this question, because we do not know any member of those new young bands personally.

Somewhere German bands like yours could profit from the highdays of Zillo, Sonic Seducer or Orkus whereas now they seem gone…or at least have no impact as they used to have.
Do you see that as a positive evolution?

The influence of those magazines especially in the 90’s was very high. Those magazines worked like a filter. We were not one of their “darlings”. They rather used to ignore us. So it was harder for us to reach our audience in Germany. Because of this we would say, it is a rather positive evolution.


You won’t mind for telling you that the music from Prager Handgriff is rather aggressive, does this reflect the persons you are not?

Our music reflects only special moods or feelings we were in. You will not find any person without aggressions. But we think our music seems to be aggressive only on the first sight.

Sometimes you are seen as part of the musical scene Neue Deutsche Härte, are you happy with that term yourself?

We already existed for several years when the term “Neue Deutsche Härte” was created. It is just a further label to categorize music. On the one hand our lyrics are in German and our music seems rather aggressive, so we might belong to this scene. On the other hand we do not use guitars, so we might not belong to this scene. So what?

Sometimes I think, apart from the language, that you are more sounding like American Wax Trax bands like Ministry or so…
Are Prager Handgriff popular over there?

We have an audience in North America. But our in audience in South America is much bigger. Especially in Brazil and Chile we have a lot fans. There existed a P.H.-fan-club in Brazil in the 90’s and the fan-club in Chile still existing.


Prager Handgriff are also not a band who are afraid to express their opinion about politics and so…do you think that is important in music or not?

It is always important to have a clear political opinion in any part of your life. There is no reason why we should leave out politics in our lyrics. We are also influenced by the German “anarcho-punk-scene” of the early 80’s. According to this we are not afraid to distribute our political –some people might call them left wing – opinions.

In all honesty, I adore EBM and so, but I am so tired of all those remixes.
If you buy a single these days you get the original plus 7 remixes or so…. What do you think of that?

We agree to your opinion. We have listened to any remix which sounds better than the original mix.

When I clicked on your website, I was directed to My Space, to be honest again…I hate all these My Spacepages.
Do you think yourself the invention of My Space has its positive merits for music?

It is just a tool to reach our audience. It is an easy way to distribute news and keep in contact to your fans. And we haven´t got enough time to built a new website so far, because recording a new album was more important.

I ask this to everybody : what’s your fave record of all time?

Volker: Echo and the Bunnymen – Ocean rain (Album)
Stefan: Paradise Lost - One Second


Please help me, what does Prager Handgriff actually mean?

?

You soon will be playing in Brugge, what can the audience expect from your show?

We will play some new songs from our new album which will be released in September. But we will also play our “all – time - favourites ”. Of course, we are looking forward to play in your country again.

Ever been to Brugge? Some say it’s the most beautiful city in the world!!!!

We have already played in Brugge in 1998 and what should we say – we love it.

Thank you very much for this!!!!!
Didier

Thursday, July 15, 2010

INTERVIEW WITH LIFE IN SODOM


Life In Sodom are an American band who are creating the finest darkwavesounds you can imagine.
Compare it to Clan Of Xymox, The Curen, Death In June or (ha!) Deine Lakaien...anyone with a heart for melancholic sounds will fall for this!!!!

To be discovered!

www.lifeinsodom.com
www.myspace.com/lifeinsodom


Hello, can you tell us who Life In Sodom are.

The main core of the bands is:
Gerrie Brand: Vocals, programming and lyrics
Daniel Heinze: Guitars
There are also many other artists who contribute on a regular basis, such as Virginia Fuillerat who has provided the female vocals on all of our releases.

I guess it won’t be that difficult to describe your music, and yet I hear both a touch of neofolk and darkwave.
Is that a well planned thing or just something that happened by coincidence?

It must be a coincidence that stems from the musical influences of the band members and the feeling that a particular song dictates. It is not something that has been pre planned or discussed in order to fit into a particular musical style.

You seem to be a band who is going for real instruments as well, I mean the “classical” instruments aren’t changed by some keyboard…..

The basic foundation and structure for most of the songs initially starts with the lyrics and traditional instruments such as electric or acoustic guitar and sometimes keyboards. Afterwards other elements are added depending on the effect that we are trying to achieve. Nothing is ruled out as far as instrumentation goes. If a sound sample or drum program fits the mood we will use it, and if a song works better with a stripped down approach, such as an acoustic guitar and vocal, that is how it will remain.

The first thing I thought was like “Hey, that sounds a lot like Deine Lakaien” but then again I suppose you have never heard from them….

I honestly can say that I have never heard of that band. I will have to look them up.

I also heard some Clan Of Xymox or even early Cure too….

Those are two of the many bands that have made an impression on us. We tend to gravitate towards bands that create a certain atmosphere with their sound. The post-punk movement with band like The Chameleons, Gang Of Four, Ultravox, Joy Division, etc… was a very creative time and I still find that music interesting.

The title speaks for themselves but I let you answer anyway, it aren’t the happiest things you’re singing about!

Lyrically, the songs usually have a melancholy quality to them. Sometimes the idea will come from dream or a memory of a past event.

Over here I guess you were “known” for having appeared on the Hex Files-compilation.
How little that may much sound I guess such things are the perfect opportunity to open doors, not?

I imagine so. Hopefully it reached people who may not have heard our music before. Any exposure is good when coupled with artists of similar interests.

And then, to be honest, we heard nothing from you over here but I guess that’s not particulary your choice…

Not our choice at all. We want our music to be available to anyone who will listen.

In fact, I wanna ask this : how is today to be some sort of darkwaveband in times that the musicindustry is collapsing?

We will continue to work on projects no matter what the climate of the music industry or musical trends. We have maintained a dedicated underground fan base that really does not rely on the industry.

Ask this to everyone : what’s your fave record of all time?

Gerrie: New Gold Dream by Simple Minds

Daniel: It is very difficult to choose a single record, but I would say the ones that I keep returning to are: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Tender Prey, The Gun Club: Fire of Love, Echo and the Bunnymen: Heaven Up Here, Nick Drake: Pink Moon and Television: Marquee Moon

How’s life in Sodomy?

Constantly evolving.
Thank you.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!
DIDIER

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

ALBUM REVIEWS : PHENOTRACT - SHIFTING


Already more than ten years is Eric Shans composing electronic music under the name of Phenotract.
What once started as a more industrial act has been developed into something more new wave-like, and this evolution can be perfectly heard on Eric’s latest baby “Shifting”.
Everything on here has been done by Eric himself and you could say that his work is like the one from a modern troubadour if onlythe instrument he has chosen is the synthesizer, which leads to modern synthpop that embraces the 80’s with love, especially Kraftwerk.
But, and that graces artists like Eric, this artist from Brooklyn has no problem admitting who his influences are.
Never you hear him saying that he’s coming up with the latest masterpiece or that he does something which has never been done before, everything is presented in a humble way and it’s done in a way in where you can smell the love of music….a love that gave Eric the ability to come up with songs that are worth being remembered.
And if it might sound like Kraftwerk or DAF…you know, there are people who are falling for Paul Mc Cartney and you have those who are in love with what Frank Tovey once did.
Beautiful synthsounds that has echoes from Depeche Mode (of course) or the better techno, and if you add to that the beautiful vocals from Niabi Caldwell you’ll have something that we can describe as a wonderful synthpopalbum. Recommended.

www.phenotract.com

www.myspace.com/ericshans

INTERVIEW WITH NEUTRAL LIES


Hello, please tel lus who Neutral Lies are and describe your music.

Hello there,so NL is a duo whose members are Jean François Dean and Nicolas Delbarre.
We do electronic music,we are not very keen on "musical tags" so we'd say that our music is an odd blend of electro pop / New wave / minimal electronics / EBM / Synth pop and techno.

As far as my intelligence goes (not that far, mind you) Neutral Lies is something like an alliance between two different countries, not?

N- No worries mate I don't think our intelligence goes any further anyway...Well in fact NL is an alliance between two old friends who both had different and hectic background.
Jean François spent his life between Northern France and Corsica and Nicolas spent his time between Essex in England and Northern France too.

JF – Hello ! I hope Nick will enjoy Corsica this summer, the way he got me addicted to England and English people !
A real rescue from the french way of teaching : “ my taylor is ritch”or “Mr and Ms Miller are going to the zoo”.....

Anyone who says synthpop says the eighties. So do you think you’re inspired by the 80’s and is this for you the best decade in music

N- It would be slightly sectarian to say that it was THE best decade for music even though we probably said it once or twice when we got carried away talking about the "good old days".
It was a great decade for sure,especially cos even charts oriented stuff was good quality and some top of the league artists had this bloody stomping sound.Not to mention the variety of independent bands and labels available at that time and all the self released artists.
But other decades are also interesting and had some amazing acts.
It is pretty obvious that we were influenced by the 80's,a decade we grew up in and with...

JF-! I think that the most important thing to my eyes in the 80’s
Is how music composing changed. The advance in technology, with synths, drum machines and the early use of computers as a sequencer changed the deal in depths. Musicians got their creative independence and were able to play alone, recording tracks and gather bits and pieces as a whole song.
This democratisation of technology seems to have given another meaning to the future, as people became real actors.
Just like photography killed paintors, video killed the radio stars....and machines quietened down guitars (for a decade)


I do admire synthpop but I guess it is pretty difficult to stay original in this genre, not?

N/JF- As we said before we don't really have the impression to be a so called "synth pop" band or we don't use this term to describe our tunes.
We are an electronic band,that's all and yes you are dead right, it is definitely hard thing to remain original because the use of electronics and machines is so widely spread even in other musical genres that it makes it hard to stand apart and have a sound of your own that will make people go "wow that kicks arsse ! never heard it before


As a band do you listen to all the other stuff from other bands in search of ideas?
The reason I ask this, recently a band told me that the best inspiration comes from music a man don’t like….

N- Honestly not really,we don't want to be mere copycats.We do music in a very instinctive and genuine way,it is more influenced by our personal experiences,mood and state of mind.
I like your quote cos it is very realistic and we would stick to this,it's always easier to know what you don't want to do or what you don't want to sound like,and sometimes it's a tricky bastard to express what you really want.

JF- I often say that maybe, if I was born in another place I would be playing sitar or digereedo right now.
The fact is I was born in Europe and I learned the piano.
The feelings and emotions depend on the musician himself and the moments he lived, whatever the instrument used.
What would have happened if Nick had been blind, and if I'd been one armed ?


In fact , if you compose a song : how do you work? I mean do you seek inspiration in something that exists or are you looking for something that come out of the blue?

N- We are very different in the way we work cos we always start by working separately and then we compare/share the ideas we've had.
But we also proceed in a very different way,I am a bit more minimal in the way I compose tracks,everything is organised,sort of squarey,
I like to start a track and finish it whereas Jeff is more intuitive and gets very much carried away by his inspiration and emotions,sometimes he writes 4/5 songs (just drafts) whereas I want the one track I have started to be completed.
Then we get together in the studio and we include the vocals and lyrics and then add any possible improvements.Some of the tracks on "A deceptive calm" were really and properly finalised when we were together cos we injected a lot of new sequences,gimmicks and arrangements to the first original versions.
As for the lyrics we're both inspired by true to life things like real events or personal experiences but we also use things that come out of the blue as you stated.

JF- Nick has made a right summary of our way of working on Neutral Lies, it seems as a complementarity, a converging dialogue, from two different ways of creating and inspirations.
No arguing (so far) ;)








Reason I’m asking this is that I think Neutral Lies are quite original which isn’t that easy to find in the synthpopleague…..

N- Thanks a lot,much appreciated.The essence of the band really lies in the fact that we don't want to stick to a single style of electronic music,if we can release an album in which 2 tracks will sound synth pop,2 will sound more techno,2 will be more minimal and so on,then we'd be chuffed to bits as we say in England.
We like this blend of influences.

JF – Yes, trying not to repeat myself, I think that it comes from the fact that we merge our differences,
I mean sounds that each of us use and the two different ways to create.


I understood you’re not that keen on bands who are going for the analogue sound, why is that?

N- Don't get me wrong,we have nothing against analogue keyboards,we use some ourselves and we like some bands that sound 200 % analogue but what really niggles us is the nutters who are so committed to analogue synths that they refuse to use Midi for example.
We've already been told that bands like us were not worth listening cos we also used more recent keyboards or even VSTs (hinting we didn't sound vintage enough)...this way of thinking still is a mystery to us....

JF- As we can get all types of sounds with modern equipment (I mean Midi / Vst / Virtual analog synths and computers) and though we own old stuff too, we are not devoted to Absolute analogue system, because we are not scientists.
I couldn’t stand having kilometers of notes and paper pads, about the last positions of my synth knobs, just to retrieve the sound (more, you never find it right as it was).







Apart from the music I also noticed your sleeve which was so eighties in the sense that it was actually cold like some Factory-release?

N-I think cold was probably the word I was looking for,yeah we did mention earlier on that we didn't think nor want to be put in a specific genre but yeah we can say the music is cold and so is the sleeve.
I remember the demo version was even worse which made people at BOREDOMproduct say "errr lads,we like your music but with a sleeve like that why don't you do some collage and handprint it so you'll be able to flog it in Camden Market on Sunday mornings...like demo tapes in the 80's..." so with sound advice from Member U-0176 we decided to go for something more modern and colourful...but still cold,something which really reflected our state of mind in fact.

JF- There’s a kind of fascination for unhuman sized buildings, like industrial sites, factories, dams, chimneys that provide a direct dangerous emotion.
It seems so unreal sometimes with smoke, lights ,bestial machine sounds, and you see no one there, like working on your own.
That kind of landscapes or water tower evokes feelings like forsaking,loneliness and dark thoughts, in fact melancholy .






I guess an album is like having an album, what were your first thoughts when you had “A Deceptive Calm” in your hands?

N - I think it was a great achievement bearing in mind that we'd both played in different bands and also together in the past two decades and that even if there was some sort of potential,we never made it through cos there were three or four of us in the band and people were not that motivated or they started a project but never completed it.
So the first satisfaction for us with "A deceptive calm" is to have worked hard and to have finalised this venture,going from a good demo to a real finished product.

JF- I was very excited though I knew it inside out, I opened it as a child on a christmas day !
Then, you remember all those moments spent on filming in the cold, the places where some tracks were born, people you met on the way, London, Marseilles...This CD is really the incarnation of a kind of story full of images smells and feelings.


Classic question I always ask… What’s your fave record of all time and please state why….

N- Just for Member U-0176 at BOREDOM,I was about to say TRANSPARENT ILLUSION: "Still human" LP but this would be a private joke even if if it's one I really like despite the fact it's one of the most DIY,homemade records I've ever heard.
No,seriously it's difficult to answer this one,honestly there have been so many terrific releases in the last 50 years that it's tough to summarise with just one item,especially as I'm a rabid vinyl collector and I have thousands of records here,
Jeff is also a music buff and it would be slightly restrictive to name just one.I'd say I've got about 500 favourite records or songs so...among others I remember one track: "In Your Memory" by Depeche,"Then records,I'd say "That total age" by Nitzer Ebb or "Pornography" by The Cure as some of them,and that's just in the new wave genre...I also listen to other musical styles so I would never limit my passion for music to one single item.


JF- I find it hard to answer too....
Well, like in Art, I hate chronology and history, I prefer watching what’s holding the line of time, instead of the line itself. Once again feelings will speak for myself.
I am as interested in Gary Numan for the unique style, as I like techno as an outlet. I like Chopin (it’s not a tribute to gazebo), Bartok, Fauré...
Siouxsie and the Banshees , trentemøller,................. c’mon...it’s a torture !
There are so many more to be listed, and I don’t want to make a catalogue. Sorry !


The last words are yours….

N- Thanks for your time and interest.Stay cool hang loose !

JF- Yes, many thanks !

ALBUM REVIEWS : DECODED FEEDBACK - AFTERMATH


Fans had to wait more than 5 years to the newest offering from this Canadian duo, but they finally found some shelter under the Dependent-umbrella and with "Aftermath" Marco and Yone are bringing you their 8th studio-album.
Anyone who was familiar with this band will know that this is the sort of EBM-band in where there's place for melancholic synths (they even covered a song by The Frozen Autumn).
"Aftermath" sees them from a different vision as for their standards, this album is a bit more brutal.
A track like "Decompress" has harsh vocals and is a bit Nitzer Ebb-ish while "Dark refelections" is futurepop-killertune.
Due to this new direction they might dissapoint some old fans but still one of the better synthetic releases we are reviewing here.
Even if you ever were wondering how Clan Of Xymox would have sounded if they would have decided to become a Front 242-type of band, just listen to "Shelter me" and it might be an answer.
Recommended for all EBM-fans who expect more than boom-boom-boom.

www.myspace.com/decodedfeedback

GENIUS "CRAP" ALBUMS : EUROPE - THE FINAL COUNTDOWN


I really start to like this section of my zine, you know.
Ever met someone who likes Europe?
Yes, I know you do (and I know lots of those myself) but I mean, people who are actually into serious music.
Were Europe serious then? Of course not, they were a laugh...in fact I hated them back ten but me getting older I just see the genius behind it.
Europe actually started out as a prog rockband but as no one wanted to buy any stuff from this Swedish band they decided to put synths into their music...with the well know intro of "The final countdown" that made it one of the anthems of the 80's and once covered by Laibach in a superb way.
Their album was a laugh too with one of the most silly covers I ever saw and still so great, I mean you got here four mannequinboys who were looking like the toughest scumbags ever...
This whole album contained the other hits (even if they were minor ones like "Rock the night", "Carrie" or "Cherokee"). Absolute laugh is "Love chaser" in where they use that Final Countdown-synth to make a ballad with... Brilliant, in a way...

ALBUM REVIEWS : DAS PRAPARAT - UNSCHULDBLICKE


One of the strangest albums we got here at The Original Sin office is the latest offering by das Praparat.
This duo exists from Dr. Hyde and Nachtschwester K and for anyone who’s familiar in the synthpoprange will immediately recognize that this is a side-project from Welle:Erdball.
The music from Welle:Erdball always was just a happy thing but this album here has only one subject : child abuse and paedophilia.
Those who think that this will end up in something heavy is totally wrong as this is synthpop with a jazzy undertone, and if it’s not it’s more EBM-oriented.
It’s not that retro as Welle:Erdball, but it’s just strange to see such a subject being packed in such a musicstyle even if the lyrics itself aren’t that light anyway.
You have the childish innocence from the kid who knows not that there is something not right at all.
A very courageous effort for its subject but with that alone you don’t score a genius album…”Unschuldblicke” has its merits, it’s a nice break from the usual Welle:Erdballsound (and perhaps better than their latest offering) but all a bit too bland….

ALBUM REVIEWS : MORDACIOUS - NECROLUST


On the sleeve you can notice some sort of female who is amusing herself with a human skull and seeing that this cd is entitled “Necrolust” you can guess it’s not the type of music for the pussies among us, more something for the sickminded among us….
Not that Mordacious is new in the harsh EBM/Hellelectro-scene as before this release, our American friend released two cd’s “This emptiness” and “Torture Tatics”.
This third album had to become some new chapter in Mordacious’ bio by releasing this album through the Arkansas-based BLC-label but it turned out that this has become a self-release.
Better that than searching months for months for a label that shows interest, besides this release has everything a proper release has to have so…..
Mordacious uses all the classic ingredients you need for comingup with a classy EBM-album.
It’s perhaps those classic ingredients which is debatable as an optimist will claim that through that we have a classic album that is perfect while the pessimists among us will tell you that this is nothing new, it’s how you see it of course…
Anyone who’s searching for danceable hellelectro that comes close to Suicide Commando (with some industrial influences and lyrics about torture, violence, sex or death) will be very pleased with this one….


www.myspace.com/mordaciousmortem

ALBUMREVIEWS : BETTY AND THE WEREWOLVES - TEA TIME FAVOURITES


Since decades Damaged Goods is the label I could give my trust to if it comes to melodic punk I fall for...
Period Pains, Anorak Girl, Bette Davis & The Balconettes...the list is just endless (or maybe I just could say 90% of their catalogue is a yummy one!).
And yummy are Betty and The Werewolves too.
Not only the recordsleeve which shows tons of delicious cookies that let you think you're wandering in some French bakery.
Despite the name of this band, this has nothing to do with B-Horror movies or horrortrashpunk or whatever, it's supersweet DIY-punk that is both so British (hello Kenickie!), both so sixties (hello Dum Dum Girls), so DIY (Bis anyone?)...
This is music that's being made to dance to, to have fun with, to listen to of course...
Give 'em a change!!!!!

www.myspace.com/bettyandthewerewolves

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

SOUNDS YOU MIGHT NEVER HEAR.... : FELT


When writing this blog I must admit that sometimes I have the time of my life, but sometimes it all feel hopeless too.
For years I write about the tiniest bands ever but there are moments that I’m aware that so called beloved “big bands” are obscure as well.
On this evening for instance, I wanna share some thoughts about Felt. This duo are in my opinion a well respected band but if you walk on the street and if you meet within 24 hours one person who has ever heard of time, you can drink yourself to death on my costs.
So I guess you agree with me that they’re obscure…
Despite having released 10 albums, despite being hailed by Alan McGee who gave them a 2nd chance on Creation or despite the fact that Belle & Sebastian name them as a major influence…Felt are unknown territory.
Keymember from this romantic troubadourband is one Lawrence who had a crush on the songwriting skills from one Tom Verlaine (at least I hope this f*** world knows who Television was) and on the mighty Cherry Red-label Lawrence composed one album after another with drummer Gary Ainge being the sole vast member of the band.
The “highlight” of their career came when Cocteau Twins’ guitarist Robin Guthrie produced their “Ignite the seven canons”-albums with even the vocal help from madame Elizabeth Frazer.
Twenty years later I suppose no one buys their cd’s even if they are priced as 1 Euro and regarding all the dumb bullshit we hear day after day, it’s another shame this world has to face…a cultural shame, don’t get me started about the rest…

ALBUM REVIEWS : SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS - DISCONNECT FROM DESIRE


In a recent interview we done with Mr James Nice from LTM he let us know that one of the most got played bands in his carstereo happens to be School Of Seven Bells and such a reference is good enough for us to give it a go.
This band got formed by twin sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza (is this the newest trend in pop?) and according to these New Yorkers they make a sort of shoegazing/dreampopthing.
Honestly said you can’t hear it that clear as most of the noisy guitars are kind of camouflaged by some danceable beat.
The good thing is that thru this addition, School Of Seven Bells sounds a bit more original than most of their soundmates but the sad thing is that a lot of the noisy beauty got lost as well, but having said that : a track like “Bye Bye” reminded us to the best stuff Curve once made.
According to the press these twins will make it one day and their previous album “Alpinism” already got praised by the NME and made it as one of the albums of 2009.
It’s all fine by me to hear such a band on the radio but the honesty in me must claim that I know other shoegzazingbands which aren’t hyped that much and sound better anyway, but you can’t blame these twins for that.

www.myspace.com/schoolofsevenbells

ALBUMREVIEWS : THE CORTINAS - MK1


From the moment The Clash and Sex Pistols hit the streets I guess that every town had its local punks.
Some of these release were like ultra-limited 7”inches, not even mentioning all those tapes.
Just to point out that it’s not easy for a punkfanatic to find all these releases, but luckily enough for the musiclover there are labels around who are taking care of those mighty releases just like Indiana Jones would do…or even better!!!
Bristol Archive Records is a label as such as they’re trying to capture all the releases from Bristol bands who were doing their things in the punk and post-punkdays.
The first band we are investigating here are The Cortinas and you were right by guessing so, they’re named after that famous Ford model and on the sleeve from this cd they are even posing in front of one!
When being at school, five guys decided that 1976 was the time to rock the nation and form a punkband, an idea that was encouraged by one Mark Stewart!
Their aim was to play raw fast punk and the coincidence (in history all coincidences are possible) they met one Hugh Cornwell at the pavement who offered them some time later being the support from The Stranglers’ concert at the mighty Roxy Club (every punkband with some name played there, it was at Convent Garden in London).
They released some singles, Peelie went awol over them and offered them a session (or what have you thought anyway?), they made it as cover from the only punkzine that mattered “Sniffin’ Glue” and then it was over and out…
MK1 releases the collection of their singles and demos in a very beautiful way and this melodic old school punk is a must, just because of its sound…
I mean : forget all that “I wanna be as arty as possible” and release some straight punkrock like those dudes did decades ago!!!!
This release is available in all different formats, but the vinylcopies are limited to 500 copies.

www.myspace.com/bristolarchiverecordsuk

Monday, July 12, 2010

ALBUMS YOU HAVE TO HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE : BLACK SABBATH - HEAVEN AND HELL


Some people discover heavy metalalbums in their teens, I guess I’m one of those who will discover Saxon when he’s 70 I guess (to avoid reactions, just wrote it down as it sounds nicer as “Denim and Leather” was one of the first albums I actually bought).
Might have something to do with the recent death of Ronnie James Dio who knows but “Heaven And Hell” is one of the darkest hardrockalbums I know, just listen to “Wishing well” or the choral extravaganza in the titlesong “Heaven and Hell” and you know enough.
It might remind you of some Harley’s and tattoos that’s true but it will also remind you of something dark, a sort of motherrecord for many things to come…
Cynically enough this 9th Black Sabbath was welcomed as an absolute failure as it was the first album that welcomed Dio after Ozzy Osbourne got fired… A classic!

ALBUMREVIEWS : THE MISSION - DUM DUM BULLET


When you’re a dedicated Mission-fan like I am, it’s damn difficult to put any perspectives in the release of this album as one part of the brain says that it is a sign that once The Mish will come together, but the other part says that it’s just some lame excuse from the label to gather the last milkdrops of a dead cow.
The Mission were since 1986 one of the best bands ever on this bloody planet, during 20 years we were faced with the fact who was the genius behind The Sisters and I can’t think of that many bands that mean so much to me.
Anyway, this release is a collection from B-sides and demos that were made in the area of their latest release “God is a bullet” (soon after they disbanded) and some tracks are even from the Wayne Hussey-solostuff.
“Dum Dum Bullet” is the kind of album that can’t be bad, certainly not if you think like I do that the worst material from this band can’t (mostly) top the best of other bands.
Those who never cared about them won’t even be aware of the existence of this cd, the fans will just ask one thing : Baby come back!!!!

Friday, July 9, 2010

ALBUMS YOU HAVE TO HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE : LAIBACH - OPUS DEI


It's not always that easy to understand the world of Laibach, certainly not when I was a teen.
When I was 15 or so MTV still mattered and in programmes like "Alternative Nation" we were shown videos from bands like Laibach (imagine that now!!!!, and think about the "progress" our telly made).
Those Slovenian guys were dressed up like nazis (later I found out it was a satire which they call Neue Slowenische Kunst) but back then I didn't knew what it was about.
But still this album marked my later love for the industrial music.
This year Laibach will see their 30th birthday with a greatest hits album on its way and this album certainly has to be seen as one of the milestones from the genre.
Apart from the very funny versions from tracks like "Life is life" by Opus ("Leben heisst Leben") and the best cover by Queen ever ("One Vision" becoming "Geburt einer Nation"), you also hear here industrial soundscapes added with the military drums.
Honestly said I don't think they ever were that good, certainly not the last ten years but this is essential....

ALBUM REVIEWS : MUNICH SYNDROME - ELECTRONIC ECSTACY


I can’t think of that many bands who are sounding very close to Kraftwerk without being a failure. I guess Komputer and Dust Of Basement might be an exception, and from now on, you can add Munich Syndrome to that list as well.
Munich Syndrome is very clear about it that Kraftwerk is the inspiration (on the cover you can notice those typical robots behind a synthesizer that were used by some lads from Dusseldorf) and yet, Munich Syndrome is a musical project with a very own face.
This release comes from an American (David B. Roundsley) and it sounds from the first to the last second very European and that’s cuz this artist has been inspired from everything that sounds electronic.
Be it the more commercial European pop (hello Giorgio Moroder) to the more EBM-oriented beats from Front 242, you hear it somewhere in Munich Syndrome.
Munich Syndrome is certainly not the first band on this planet who had this humble thought but many other projects are sounding dated where it’s nothing but a copy, but as said before Munich Syndrome resolved this danger into some great songs (or sounds) which makes this album an electronic adventure with both analogue sounds and trancy soundscapes.


www.munichsyndrome.com

www.myspace.com/munichsyndrome

SOUNDS YOU MIGHT NEVER HEAR.... : THE HOLY SISTERS OF THE GAGA DADA


Picked this one up at a local fleamarket as the women on the sleeve were gothic dressed and you never know that some unopened gem might turn out intosomething like Siouxsie & The Banshees.
They're a bit goth but this all female band formed in 1981 are playing a sort of batcavething with 80's synths, I mean if you can ever imagine how Christian Death would sound if they cover an album by The Slits I guess you have a picture how this California based band sounded.
Makes me wonder how this album got here as it seems to be a very Hollywood undergroundthing, let alone how insane it is that it ended up being on some Belgian fleamarket!
Makes you aware that you better keep your eyes open there, I won't start writing a hymn about fleamarkets but unbelievable what I found there in my life and even more what people are leaving behind.
If you look on You Tube you can see their "Neighbor's Scream".
Strange but good, but then again I love strange music....

SINGLE REVIEWS : DOMINANT LEGS - YOUNG AT LOVE AND LIFE


I obviously hate it when recordcompanies are going wild about their latest signings as it's the most useless thing there is, I mean you never except them coming up with knocking something down which they just released but with Dominant Legs it's different.
With such a band's name you can figure out at what sort of sites we were wandering around but in the world of music Dominant Legs is the alter ego from one Ryan William.
This young man from San Francisco recently supported the highly acclaimed Girls and throughout the gigs he gathered some nice reviews that all were referring to Arthur Russell and that must be because of the minimalistic approach as a simple handclap (added with the godlike female vocals from Hannah Hunt) makes it more than a delight to the ears.
Hard to say what type of music this stuff is as I hear lots of 80's echoes (from Felt to The Fall, to new wavesynths from Fad Gadget) to Fleet Foxes to name something.
Guess you'll give it a go yourself....
www.myspace.com/dominantlegsmusic

INTERVIEW WITH AND ALSO THE TREES


Dear Justin, when you started in 1979, would you ever have thought then that you’ll be doing this for 30 years?

I was always fairly committed to the project so I think I would have been pleased if I knew I would spend my life working on it. When you start out you have quite high expectations and longevity is quite a satisfying result, even if you do think back and realise that nothing has ever been quite perfect. It’s been a good journey.

In all this years I follow you I always saw And Also The Trees as a band who have a huge loyal fanbase, I suppose your fans mean a lot to you….

Yes people that support our music have been exceptional, there have been times that I think we have been ‘strange’ and perhaps made odd decisions (creatively) but the AATT people have generally stuck by us and I am enormously grateful for this.

I guess you know it better than me but especially in France I knew people who were living for one band (yours….).
Can you imagine such things?

That’s a humbling thought.

Maybe it’s me but there are of course the post-punk/wave influences but I always thought your music sounds like the one from a lonely troubadour.
I guess it’s no coincidence you covered Cat Stevens once…

Cat Stevens was something my sister played and Simon and I (being her younger brothers) were exposed to this from an early age. Lady d’Arbanville (the cover version) was an idea of Simon’s that I am not sure today was a good idea. It was an interesting project as I find re working other people’s music a challenge and the process sparked off lots of other ideas that became the whole of the album ‘farewell to the shade’ (1989). So as a catalyst it was useful but maybe we were better off leaving Lady d’Arbanville off the album. I know the German record label removed it for fear of religious reprisals.


I always thought it was funny (or tragic?) but if you compare the huge following in France, it’s like England almost never cared about you…

This has become something of a myth. We did quite well in England but decided quite early on that we preferred playing in mainland Europe (and later America). The british have always liked us but not in the numbers of other countries purely because we stopped touring England as the experience isn’t good. Ask any band in the UK how they feel about touring in England and I think you will get a similar reaction. Nobody likes touring here it crushes your soul.

I guess your neighbour must be surprised if you told him you’re some kind of star in Paris!

Yes I’m always telling people in the street ”you don’t know who I am but I am a star in paris!”. They just step over me sometimes giving me 10 pence and a pitiful expression of sadness.


“When the rains come” is a perfect album, let me be clear, but wasn’t it a risk for a band as yours? I mean, Justin, some love the band for its guitarsound…

Its not perfect by a long way. It was a good experiment and a learning process that I have found to be both positive and negative. I never played the acoustic before the project and yes you may be right people don’t want to hear me playing the acoustic guitar but I think the interpretations are (I hope) interesting and bring something to old original ideas.
The space that we created is very positive for the voice so in many ways it’s Simon’s album.

After “Silver Soul” you took a long break and I always thought that you never would come back….

We didn’t spilt like most bands do just to reform some years later for money. Personal circumstances made it impossible to work as a group so we went underground. Then after time we re thought what we were doing and decided that continuing was what we wanted to do. I’m not pleased with Silver Soul as an album so I am pleased we didn’t stop there.

Never got tired of all that touring, I mean I suppose you saw it all.

Not really in 30 years we have done just under 400 shows. That isn’t that many. Most bands do that in about 5 years. I suppose it has been a positive thing not ‘over-touring’. It still feels like we ‘mean’ what we do rather than acting and I think people, certainly AATT people can see through acting. They like to see the soul.

It’s a difficult question, Justin, but as I’m a long time fan I wanna ask anyway.
I know you changed musically but what do you think from your 80’s and early 90’s stuff?

I am pleased it was varied.The first album and Virus meadow sound a bit like different bands. From there I think we developed a style and were aware of not overdoing that style. A lot of bands from that time find a formula that works for them and understandably stick to this method until they have exhausted it by which time their audience tires of the sound repeating itself. That is probably why we experimented around the Klaxon (1993/94) and came up with a different approach which exhausted itself at the end of Silver Soul (1998).

Do you think And Also The Trees makes heavy music (I mean it in terms like heavy for the mind….).

Never thought of it as heavy. It isn’t a bad term. I always hoped it was not superficial.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

INTERVIEW WITH JAMES NICE (FOUNDER OF LTM RECORDINGS)


HELLO JAMES, I GUESS LTM CAN ONLY BE THE WORK OF SOME PASSIONATE MUSIC LOVER

Actually now I see myself more as a historian or archivist. Less keen on the
word curator though. But it's true that music from 1978 through to the mid
1980s is a particular interest of mine. I was born in 1966, so in 1980 I was
just getting seriously interested in music, and was introduced to groups
like Joy Division and Wire, then more underground and arty groups like Josef
K, Section 25 and Crispy Ambulance. Through the Factory Benelux connection I
got interested in The Names and Minny Pops, and after that the whole Les
Disques du Crépuscule catalogue and Brussels scene, Tuxedomoon in
particular. If you're asking what I listen to in the car for entertainment
today it's Lady Gaga, The Whip and School of Seven Bells.



IF I MAY SAY SO, THE BACKCATALOGUE ISN'T EXACTLY WHAT YOU SHOULD CALL THE
TASTE OF A TYPICAL BRIT

That may well have been true in the 1980s and 1990s, but the web means that
groups like Berntholer, Marine and Isolation Ward, who only made a few
singles, have now reached a truly international audience. I've always been
pretty Eurocentric though, and moved to Brussels in 1987 when I finished
university. I thought it would be like Ernest Hemingway's Paris in the
1920s.



I MEAN, JAMES, BRITISH PEOPLE WHO ARE AWARE OF LES DISQUES DU CREPUSCULE CAN
BE COUNTED ON ONE HAND..

That's not true, although certainly it does not have the same profile (or
collectability) as Factory or 4AD.



HOW DID LTM START?

Fanzine to cassettes to 7" singles to albums (William Burroughs, Crispy
Ambulance, some compilations.), in the space of four years between 1982 and
1985. In those days Rough Trade Distribution paid to press and store the
records. Then in 1987 I moved to Brussels, and worked for Crepuscule and
then PIAS. After that I was a lawyer for a few years. LTM only became a
full-time job in 2001. But it was never my intention to try to discover new
bands. I leave that to people with better ears.



YOU SOON BECAME THE LABEL THAT GIVES US REISSUES FROM LONG FORGOTTEN VINYL
ALBUMS THAT NOWHERE CAN BE FOUND..

Not so very soon! When CD became financially viable for indie labels I was
one of the first to do reissues with bonus tracks and sleevenotes, from
1989/1990 onwards. I was still working at PIAS then, and some people thought
I was wasting my time. But CD gave you great sound, space for bonus tracks,
and a higher profit margin that allowed for small runs, digital remastering
costs, etc etc. Which is why I don't really understand the fresh appeal of
vinyl editions today! And 180 gram vinyl pressings now are nowhere near as
good as they used to be.



MAJORS COMPLAIN THAT THE MUSIC IS IN DEEP CRISIS, DOES A LABEL LIKE YOURS
FEEL THAT?

Certainly the market has been shrinking for the last few years, and becoming
more fragmented. So, for example, some people want a vinyl edition instead
of CD, which isn't really a format I want to revisit. Most or all younger
people - teenagers - don't really expect to pay money for music, though
fortunately most of the people who are interested in LTM releases still want
to buy a physical CD, nicely packaged, with sleevenotes. The day that music
is only available by download is the day I stop doing LTM, as my job would
just be data management rather than running a record label. But I don't
think that will happen. It's just that everything is becoming more and more
niche. Deep discounting annoys me though. Filesharing too. I think if you
trade files, and like what you hear to the extent that you play it more than
once, then you should buy the track or album. But it's hard to pin down.
Just because someone listens to an illegal fileshare or download it doesn't
mean they would have paid money for a CD.





YOU REISSUE STUFF FROM EXISTING LABELS, IS IT THAT SIMPLE TO CONVINCE THEM
THAT YOU DO THE REISSUES?

Usually I work with the artist direct. But certainly it is easier and
cheaper to licence catalogue from major labels these days, as they are not
interested in physical reissues of marginal catalogue any more, only
download. One of the reasons that I do a lot of Manchester and Brussels
catalogue is that the rights have often reverted to the artist, so the
working relationship is easier and more enjoyable.



WE ALREADY UNDERSTOOD THAT YOU ARE A FACTORY-DEVOTEE.. TELL US: IS IT YOUR
GOAL TO REISSUE THE WHOLE FACTORY BACK CATALOGUE?

No, though I see Factory as a discrete art movement like the Bauhaus, so
everything that Factory issued and released is always interesting on that
basis alone. On a commercial level, it's far better for core Joy Division
and New Order catalogue to be managed and distributed by a major label. True
indie labels are becoming increasingly niche, and the channels for
distribution more limited.



YOU RECENTLY STARTED THE AUTEUR LABELS SERIES. ARE THERE ANY OTHER IN THE
PIPELINE? (MY MIND SAYS SOMETHING LIKE SARAH .)

I'd love to do an Auteur Labels volume on Sarah but they refused, on the
basis that they wouldn't want any other label to do a Sarah compilation.
Which is fair enough. I'd love to do Industrial, Postcard and Fetish. For
me, an 'auteur label' has to have some sort of firm identity, so Rough Trade
would be difficult as the catalogue was so big and eclectic, and not always
well designed, even though it occupies a large space in The Culture. A few
people cite El, but that's not a label I take very seriously.



I WANNA BET MY MONEY ON IT THAT YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE GUYS WHO COLLECTED IT
ALL.

At the time, sure, I was a hardline completist. But not now - if I'm
interested in a group or artist I just go for the core catalogue. I'm less
insecure. How much money did you bet, by the way?



WHAT IS IN YOUR MIND THE PERFECT LABEL? (FOR ME IT'S STILL 4AD)

I was, and remain, sufficiently fascinated by Factory to write a book about
it, Shadowplayers (Aurum Press, 2010). 4AD I found a little bit too stylized
and boutique, though I still play their Cocteau Twins and Colourbox records.
I suppose the ultimate 'auteur label' is ECM, though I don't own a single
release on that label. But I do like Blue Note, even though I'm not really
into jazz. And I find Creation interesting even though I don't own too many
of their records.



I GUESS YOU LOVE BELGIUM A LOT HAHAHA...

For sure I like visiting Brussels. It is a much better place now than when I
lived there, between 1987 and 1991. A cop in a leather jacket once
threatened me with his submachine gun outside a small bar on Kolenmarkt
because I was drinking a glass of beer on the pavement, rather than inside.
I doubt that would happen today. Anyway I much prefer the Au Daringman (aka
Chez Martine) on the Rue de Flandre.



I GUESS DUE TO LTM YOU GET IN TOUCH WITH A LOT OF HEROES, SO IT MUST BE SOME
SORT DREAM COME TRUE, NO?

I suppose it is, but I don't start screaming or sobbing when I meet members
of New Order, and so on. Although I did shed a tear at the funeral of Larry
Cassidy (Section 25) in February. It was great meeting the Savage Republic
guys in the States last year.



IS THERE STUFF AROUND YOU LIKE TO RELEASE BUT IMPOSSIBLE AS THEY REFUSE TO?

Not many, though Clock DVA is a notable one. I'd love to work with Front
242, the first two albums, but it never seems to happen. Other projects just
take a very long time, like 23 Skidoo.



I ASK THIS TO EVERYBODY: WHAT 'S YOUR FAVE RECORD OF ALL TIME AND PLEASE
STATE WHY..

Too hard to answer, and they change over the years. But Night Air by Blaine
L. Reininger was a huge influence on me. Crépuscule released it in 1983, and
the music and lyrics and ambiance was one of the things that drew me to
Brussels a few years later. I think it captured the expatriate atmosphere of
the city really well, at least at that time. If I hear it today it still has
a very strong emotional pull. Probably too emotional! I'm being sentimental.



THE LAST WORD IS YOURS, JAMES

Perhaps you could explain that to the musicians on LTM! OK, I'm not above
shamelessly plugging my Factory book again, Shadowplayers. It is the
definitive history of the label, and also includes a lot about Factory
Benelux, Crépuscule, Plan K and the Brussels cold wave scene.