PANICMACHINE is the label. Phobos Reactor is the act. TFG, the gnome finder from TONTTU, is the featured guest. The single is “#FOLITWIBG” and in honesty…..yeah, you need to be told what this means. Fragments of life in the world infested by gnomes or had you already guested this? Released on April 18th, 2022, so hopefully not the beginning of the end!
There are five “#FOLITWIBG” tracks, literally numbered #1 to #5. #1 seems to be a gnome taking exception to humans in a simple trippy kind of way. It starts to get a bit groovy in #2…though the gnome is still not happy by the sound of him and by #3 the gnome is getting all sophisticated synth sounding. Maybe futuristic gnome and it is amazing like a bad trip. By #4 that gnome is become cyber mega cool in a very lurking way and track #5 is cyber loathing reloaded from #1, and so all comes full circle in the gnome of life.
Are gnomes out to get you? Probably. Do they want to steal our children? More than likely. Are they stealing our cats? Most definitely! One could ask if they (the musicians) are completely bonkers….but then again, one could say they know things most others don’t. Beware of the gnomes, for they are moving against us, so grab your cat and listen to Phobos Reactor featuring TFG (TONTTU), before the mayhem ensues.
Melbourne based, synthpop/darkwave act, Suburban Spell, have released the single “Fools And Clowns“, with a lushly produced music video. This latest single, comes from the Split Levels album that was released in February and the video was shot and edited by Adam Calaitzis, of Toyland Studios.
From the very beginning there is the shoegaze electronics, that swirl and envelope your senses in a gorgeous blanket of sonic emotion. It is about being out in the wee hours of the morning and the temptation of a one night stand, perhaps also the regret of the aftermath too.
You are taken to spots along Victoria’s Great Southern Road, which is a truly beautiful trip, though I must say in black and white, can look almost menacing at times but also shot in inner Melbourne. Peter Endall has taken his song and pared it down from around six and a half minutes, to a neat, just a smidge over four, yet the track has lost none of what makes it quite beautifully tragic and is only enhanced by the video.
TurboWave is the metal crossed with electronics style that Seattle band, Dual Analog describe as their musical sound. They very recently released their debut album. Lust, Worship And Desire, so there seemed no better time to talk to the two originators of the group, Chip Roberts and Kurtis Skinner, about their turbowave genre, origin story and of course about the new album.
Dual Analog, welcome to the Onyx rabbit hole of reality versus the Id. We hope you will enjoy your flight with us as we traverse dimensions.
You are from the Seattle scene in Washington. What is the alternative scene like there?
Chip: The most popular original groups are metalcore or singer/songwriter acts, but there’s a growing goth/darkwave scene coming up. The climate in the Northwest lends itself to dark, brooding music. Unfortunately, the “Seattle scene” of the early 90s kind of typecasted this whole area it has taken a while to move past that as a city. It’s been almost 30 years now, it’s time to move on!
Let us clear something up. You describe your musical style as turbowave. One of the Onyx cats is called Turbo as well, however he does not write music in the style of new wave, industrial and metal (though he does disappear for large lengths of time so who knows). Can you explain your style a little more?
Kurtis: Personally, I like to branch out to different genres to see what I can do and what will work. A “Dual Analog” song to me would have drum machines and/or acoustic drums, some guitar, vocals, and various synths, as well as possibly some orchestral and sound design elements.
Chip: Saying it’s “synthwave metal” puts us in a difficult spot, because if it’s not synthwave enough, people get uppity. Similarly, if it’s not metal enough, people get uppity. We knew it had to be a “wave” genre of some kind, but we didn’t want to paint ourselves into a corner. Plus, “turbo” makes me think of the Judas Priest record, which incorporated heavy metal guitars with keyboards and drum machines.
Kurtis: We just like to combine interesting grooves and melodies into a more or less traditional song format.
Chip: The songs off of “Lust, Worship, and Desire” comprise just one portion of our catalog; we have lots of different kinds of songs from danceable, gothy affair, to straight up pop. We wanted something that hadn’t already been defined so that we could stretch out a bit.
What were Chip Roberts and Kurtis Skinner up to in the Seattle music scene before joining their collective super music powers together?
Chip: We were playing together in Perfect Zero, but I was also playing or subbing in cover/tribute bands in the area. I played lead guitar in a Prince tribute, which is how I met Libby B.; she sang backup. I was also playing the casino circuit with a female fronted funk/RnB cover band.
Kurtis: In addition to Perfect Zero, I was and still am composing for various independent films, mostly shorts.
We gather the name Dual Analog, has something to do with the fact there were two members originally in the band, so how did you guys become involved with each other and create this project?
Chip: Kurtis and I have known eachother since elementary school. We started our first “band” in 7th grade, broke up in high school, and then reformed in college. We played in Axis of Symmetry and Perfect Zero, both of which erred were melodic death metal. After playing the Northwest metal scene for a few years, we found, if you were a metal band, that there wasn’t a ton of room for innovation; it’s very black and white. We put out an EP with Perfect Zero before dissolving the band; it had just become too much compromise and damage control. However, Kurtis and I still wanted to work with eachother, and we were sitting on some very strong material for what would have been the second Perfect Zero record.
Kurtis: Right after Perfect Zero ended, we got together and discussed how we each wanted to go forward musically. We had the same ideas of what we wanted to make, and so the beginnings of Dual Analog started.
Can you tell us who else is part of Dual Analog?
Chip: Kurtis and I are the primary songwriters and recording musicians. All of the instrument parts you hear on the record were written and recorded by the two of us, but we have some of our backing band members helping out on harmony vocals throughout the record. The live backing band is Sarah Anne Campbell on drums, Lindsey Ferrari on backup vocals, Libby B. Franklin on backup vocals, and Alika Madis on guitar. Sarah and Alika do live backups as well; it’s a really powerful and strong group of players.
Lust, Worship And Desire is your debut, after releasing six singles. Did you feel it was time to put out an album or was it planned this way?
Chip: We had an EP written, tracked, and sent off for mixing, but the person we sent it to for mixing and mastering flaked on us. During that waiting period, we wrote a number of songs that we were excited about, so we decided to shelve that EP and just make a full album of all-new songs.
I have to say I really like the mix of modern electronics with vocals in Golden Temple. Do you have a favourite track off the album?
Chip: I like every song on the record, and they’re all a little different from one another, which I love, but the song I’m the most proud of is the title track “Lust, Worship, and Desire.”
Kurtis: I like some more than others, but I’m very happy with “Among the Living”. It’s also one of my favorites to play live.
Four of the six singles made it onto the album….what happened to Neon Dreams and Wasteland?
Chip: “Neon Dreams” was more of a soft open that we put out to give people a sample of our new project. Originally, I had it arranged with acoustic drums and 7-string guitars, but we decided to do just the electronic version as a single. We had floated the idea of putting out the heavy version for the album, but it didn’t really fit with the rest of the songs musically or lyrically. Live, that song always goes over really well, especially with the guitars added. “Wasteland” was kind of similar in that we thought about putting it on the album, but it just didn’t fit with the rest of the material.
The album has a premise or a storyline running through it. Can you tell us about the boy and his search?
Chip: After receiving an unsolicited kiss from a, seemingly, complete stranger, he sets out to become actualized sexually. Taking the affection as the one thing missing from his life, he devotes his existence completely and utterly to attaining physical perfection and achieving enlightenment through sex. He practices asceticism, studies the ancient, lost art of lovemaking, and worships the goddess who gave him a taste of what he was missing before disappearing. I liken the concept to a “coming of age” story.
It is said that this is an ideal based in Buddhism, and is this a lesson learnt?
Chip: Now, that would be a spoiler.
I also noticed that a lot of the synths create chiming bell like sounds. Was this a preferred addition or a way to tie in the karmaic storyline?
Kurtis: I can’t speak to the storyline, but for me the bells add an interesting organic element and has contributed to how we define “our sound”.
Chip: In terms of whether the sound is intentional or incidental, I think it’s a chicken or the egg scenario. Certain songs need a certain sound, and certain sounds bring a certain song. I’ve always felt that every song we write has a “setting,” some kind of visual backdrop that pops into your head when you hear it. Songs like “Among the Living” or “Pantheon,” for example, feel like a Tibetan monastery. “Dynasties Behind” makes me think of a hot summer afternoon in Angkor Wat. When a certain setting comes to mind, I just go with it and the rest comes together pretty quickly.
There seems to be an 80s retro feel to the music, especially with the synths and the vocals. Would you say this is the era that influenced you the most?
Kurtis: I listen to a lot of modern electronic music, which has a lot of 80s influence in it these days, so I think that’s more what I was going for – a modern version of these types of sounds.
Chip: In previous projects, I always sang tenor. That kind of voice works at times for this kind of music, and you can hear it in a few songs on the record, but the rounder, more baritone flavored vocals just kind of found themselves into the sound. It wasn’t a foresight driven decision to say “I’m going to try to sound like Depeche Mode” or “I’m going to make this one more like Duran Duran,” it’s just that the music lends itself to that kind of vocal style. As we got more organized and focused, I had to get back into voice lessons. As I learned more of the proper technique, my voice just sort of naturally changed. It was kind of odd since I had always tried to sound more like Sebastian Bach than Roland Orzabal, but I like the way my voice sounds now, and I can still sing like Bas when I want to.
What music and bands inspired you to get into the music world?
Chip: KISS and Bon Jovi were the two biggest ones starting out.
Kurtis: Chip was basically the first person to introduce me to music, so KISS and Bon Jovi, but also AC/DC and Guns n’ Roses.
What bands/acts do you listen to now?
Kurtis: I’m all over the place, so this is always a hard question for me. Rufus du Sol is one of my favorite bands right now, but also Above & Beyond, Porter Robinson, Lane 8, This Will Destroy You, Lights & Motion, Halestorm, Dance with the Dead to name a few.
Chip: I’m listening to whatever my girlfriend has playing in her car. Lately, it has been mostly Wu Tang Clan and LaRoux. I’m getting into some Fates Warning right now and also stumbled across this obscure New Wave band called “Zee,” particularly their album “Identity” from 1984. Sounds kind of like Dead Can Dance, but poppier.
If you met Buddha on the road would you ask him the meaning of life, kill him or have a beer with him?
Chip: A cup of tea.
Kurtis: I would ask what he was doing sitting on the side of the road.
What is in the future for Dual Analog?
Chip: Hitting the promo as hard as we can and lots of meetings with promoters. We have a video for “Into the Unknown” coming out in May, then we’ll be shooting another video for the title track “Lust, Worship, and Desire” around late July.
Kurtis: Also, tons of new material, we have no shortage of ideas. There will be a lot of music coming from us for the foreseeable future.
Thank you for astral travelling with us today. Glad to see no one became motion sick or became spiritually lost.
What do you get when Mexico meets Finland? The single “Verenkiertohäiriö [Circulatory Disorder]” is the outcome. Mexico’s Exemia in conjunction with the Fin, TFG from TONTTU, have thrust into the world, this single on April 13th, 2022.
An merry dance you will get from this track as it bursts to life in all the vocal ferocity TFG gives to his performance, while Exemia simply kill with the amazing electronics that assault your senses. The whirl of angst and synths is a brilliant cacophony.
Industrial beats definitely make this feel so utterly alive and ripple under the skin. Great aggro-techno industrial music is often hard to get just right and this definitely ticks all the boxes. It is out on Bandcamp for name yourprice if that helps curry your fancy, but most importantly….. beware of the gnomes and their nefarious ways.
Pure Obsession And Red Night have come a long way since their early days. Originally known as PORN, this French band, over the years has matured and evolved, especially in their sound. This brings us to the latest album, Let Your Obsessions Run Wild, which was released on April the 22nd. Philippe Deschemin is the lead singer as well as the composer for the band and on top of that, has done the mixing and producing.
The thing you need to know is that this is mostly a collection of singles, in album form. Now some would say that is a bit odd, but I am going to say to you, that this means you are getting all the good stuff. In other words, each of these tracks was considered good enough to be a single and the whole album is honestly excellent.
I think for me, my favourite tracks are “The Call Of Your Life” and “The Night Is Dancing In Your Eyes“. The music is a mixture of seductive electronics, vocals to entrance you and beats to move your body. The tracks are a synthpop joy to listen to and we think that this incarnation of Pure Obsessions & Red Nights is well worth listening to, as they have developed a deft touch for this ephemeral form of music. Exhilarating and poignant, so Let Your Obsessions Run Wild.
Thieves are those that steal from others. Possessions, jewels or maybe even a life. VAZUM also have a double single out called “Thief“, which was released on March 25th, 2022. The dynamic and prolific duo of Zach Pliska and Emily Sturm have given you two versions of this track for your listening pleasure.
The original is full of those lovely post-punk twanging guitars and soaring vocals with Emily in the lead. She is going to take your all and everything because she is the undead and in the end you will willingly let her thieve everything. The second version is an electronic affair, where “Thief” the Dagger mixis maybe, and more so, a much darker creature that seems a little unhinged as it crawls to you for your (un)dying love.
It is always an interesting proposition to hear a song performed in two different ways by the same band. You can tell VAZUM get a bit of kick out of this experimenting in variation. So you get a goth track with a creepy electronic track which is well worth checking out. And the best thing, you can get this for a steal on Bandcamp as it is name your price!
If you search the name Elenor Rayner, you can be quite overcome with the amount of musical acts and bands she is involved in. Most recently, she released two singles for her project, Robots In Love as well as a remix of the JA/VI track, “Good Cocaine“. We were fortunate enough to be able to speak to the delightful Elenor about the music she has been involved in, what she is up to now and ….oops we may have created a monster. If you want to know how then read on!!
Welcome Elenor Rayner, the creative mind behind Robots in Love, to the Onyx mainframe, which is far dodgier than the holodeck in Star Trek and tinged with the macabre.
You started your musical career in Melbourne, Australia, but you now live in Dunedin, New Zealand. Are you a Kiwi or an Aussie, as inquiring minds want to know?
I was born in Australia but I now have New Zealand citizenship. I adore Dunedin. It’s a creative, eccentric place with more musicians per capita than anywhere else in the country. Everyone plays in 3 different bands and they’ll put on gigs anywhere. I do keep a keyboard at a friend’s place in Melbourne though, so I can pop over and play shows.
Elenor, you have had a varied and successful music career, which we’d like to touch on. Soulscraper was the first industrial band you were in, starting in 1991. That must have been a really exciting time to be getting into the scene?
The technology at the time was so exciting. To be able to sample anything and change it however you like was mind-blowing. We sampled a lot from movies, especially sci-fi, and playing those mangled cinematic sounds live through huge PA systems was really satisfying.
In fact, I met up with the other Soulscrapers last week and we talked about playing shows later this year. We’re all keen to play those songs again.
The next big thing was The Crystalline Effect with Pete Crane, which started in 2002. Pete definitely has a darker take on electronic music, so how do you think working with him affected the way you write music and is there a chance we might hear from The Crystalline Effect in the future?
The Crystalline Effect released 6 albums I think, so it was a prolific period for us. We wrote two songs before we even met. We used to send cds through the mail because we both disliked the sound of mp3s. I really enjoyed the subtlety of Pete’s programming, it was amazingly delicate and there was room for me to experiment with vocal melodies and harmonies. Some of those songs are incredibly beautiful. I still listen to them. Maybe one day I’ll do a show with all my bands on the line-up.That would be a rollercoaster of emotions.
Recording for yourself as Sobriquet and Sobriquet Nation, how different was this for you as opposed to writing and making decisions with a band?
In a band there’s a lot of compromising. Probably most bands do this, but I remember developing a theory that the singer should have the ultimate say because they’re the ones who have to really believe it. With Sobriquet, being on my own I learnt a lot, delving into the tiniest detail of a song and tweaking it until it’s perfect. Nowadays on about a quarter of tracks I am the producer, on a quarter I am the vocalist and on half I do both. On the ones where I do both I do tend to talk to myself. Vocalist-Elenor says to Producer-Elenor: “we need a dropout there”.
In 2019 you released the haunting album, July, under your Sobriquet moniker and before that, in 2018, another album, My Very Essence. You are very prolific, as each album has around 15 tracks, so do you find the process of creating music easy?
Yes, I do find it easy, and it is essential to me. I’m not very good at talking about feelings so I tend to pour everything into songs instead. It’s like: “I can’t say this to you, so here, listen to this song”. All the main events of my life, and my friends’ lives are there for anyone to hear.
This brings us to your project Robots In Love. 2017 saw you drop the 5-track self-titled release followed by various singles, including two new tracks in March of this year, the slower ‘Wish’ and the bass heavy hitter ‘The Raven’ (which actually made think of Paul Raven Killing Joke/Ministry). Can you tell us a little about these tracks?
Usually, I produce the music first and then when I listen to the song, I figure out what it’s about and the words come into my head. The Ravens is stompy and quite upset. It is about dementia. Wish is sad and resigned and it’s about inequality.
There was also the rip snorting dancefloor remix of the JA/VI song, ‘Good Cocaine’, that you recently let loose. What was it about this track that spoke to you?
As soon as I heard it, I could relate to the feeling of love lost. It’s a universal thing but I loved the melody and the sadness in JA/VI’s vocal. I kept the vocal as it was and added the music. I think smashing your emotions out on the dancefloor is a healthy thing to do. I really enjoy playing that song live, it definitely gets everyone moving. I’m glad it’s getting airplay.
Is creating remixes under the Robots In Love name a new thing for you and how much fun do you have reimagining someone else’s music?
I do quite a few remixes each year. The next ones coming up are for Tiny Fighter, a Swedish band, and IKON.
I never have a pre-determined idea of what I’m going to do, I just start and see what happens. One cheeky thing I like to do is alter the melody of the vocal somewhere in the song and add harmonies. Cellmod added harmonies to one of my vocals in a remix of “How I Get Out” and I thought it was great and wished I’d come up with it.
Sometimes I do remixes of remixes. For instance, I remixed the first Human Confusion single, ‘Overwhelmed’, then I decided I liked it as an instrumental then I accidentally found myself singing new words and melodies to it so now there’s a completely new song.
Will there be an album coming out soon?
Yes, and there’ll be a variety of styles on it. I’ve written a few Goth Trap songs lately.
You describe your sound as ‘darkly beautiful, emotional, melodic electronic music’. What is it about this style of music you love?
The emotion is the main thing for me. Songs are like little capsules of things you need. If I’m sad I will listen to a song like “Equilibrium” and by the end I’ll be back to equilibrium. Magic.
You are involved with David Thrussell’s Snog as a live member. Please tell us what that is like, and is it utter insanity?
I’ve been playing live in Snog for 23 years. Even though the song topics are as serious as you can get, David loves humour and so do I, so being on tour with him is great fun.
I’m looking forward to the Snog shows in Melbourne and Sydney supporting PWEI.
When you were young, what bands and people inspired you to get into industrial/electronic music?
I remember going a lot to a club called Thrash and Treasure in Richmond, Melbourne and jumping around to music there like Nitzer Ebb and Young Gods. I liked the dual bass guitars of Denial and Pre Shrunk and I remember being very happy when I discovered bands who had both bass guitar and electronic bass.
Who inspires you or makes you happy now in musical terms?
I have a few other projects which I really enjoy. My band Human Confusion consists of me doing all the programming and Miriam Leslie the vocals. Her voice is like warm salted caramel sauce and her lyrics have a twist to them. Our first single “Overwhelmed” has a line in it – “I tried setting fire to it, but it burned too bright and took the bridges with it”. We’ve almost finished an album.
I like doing vocals for DevilMonkey. Our collaboration “Deluxe” is my favourite song. Live, I play a combination of the original track and my remix. It’s a powerful way to end a show.
An artist called Dead Caldera released their first single last year which I listen to all the time. I keep asking them to release more. The intricate programming of Sirus excites me. And anything Ehsan Gels creates is always satisfying.
What sort of robot would you want to be, if you could choose between a replicant as seen in Blade Runner or a cyborg, with your memories and personality downloaded into it, like Ghost In The Shell?
That is a good question. I always thought I’d be the little sad boy in A.I. but now you’ve got me thinking – I could be something really innovative. I will ponder that. You may have created a monster 🙂
What do you see in your electronic dreams for the future of Robots In Love and Elenor Rayner?
I always just feel a need to create more music. I have three new band members of Robots In Love and that’s been great. We can play live some of my older songs like “July” now, and they bring their own interpretations. Also, it’s fun to have others on stage to jump around and interact with.
So I just see more songs, more releases, more gigs and endless moving around of sounds on a computer screen to make sure they make me feel.
Thank you, Elenor, for joining us in this electric dream.
Over the last two years, we have seen some amazing unions of international musicians, creating super-groups. One of these is Heatwave International, a band made up of Mario Alberto Cabada (No Devotion Records, Bolaspace), John Bechdel (Ministry, Fear Factory, False Icons), Roberto Mendoza (Panoptica, Nortec) and Ant Banister (Sounds Like Winter, Lunar Module, Sequential Zero). They released their debut single, “We Won’t Be Silent” on the 8th of April, on the label GIVE/TAKE, ahead of their impending EP.
I would know Ant Banister’s vocals anywhere and the message is there that they can’t be silenced any longer. There is a wonderful purpose to this track and I can definitely hear the Depeche Mode influence, through the graduations of the synths. There are two remixes of the single, the sublimely smooth Union Divine mix with those sparkling synth lines and the eerily wavering tones and cyber-punk style of the Tokee re imagining.
With such a plethora of musicians, all creating this track, I wondered how this was going to turn out. Actually, it’s pretty bloody good in all honesty. From the electronic to the vocals….it all meshes wonderfully and even with the serious nature of the lyrics, there is a seductive undertone. I say watch this space closely for HeatwaveInternational.
The end of last year saw the Athenian’s, Siva Six, release DeathCult, their fifth studio album, which came out on the label, Alfa Matrix. There were two years poured into the creation of this stunning album and the tracks are amalgamations of synths and beats with classical elements, all tied up with Z’s guttural vocals. It is a truly beautiful opus on the dark delights that await those that pass the veil. The lovely Z spoke to us about DeathCult and what makes Siva Six tick.
Welcome to the downward spiral that is Onyx! Please ignore the harpies, as they are grumpy because we put them on a diet.
You released your first album, Rise New Flesh, back in 2005. Did you ever think Siva six would still be releasing albums in 2022?
Z– Hell no… we thought we could have a good ride for approximately 10 years but as always, making plans is a part of reality. The other parts are a complicated equation, nevertheless I feel proud of what we have achieved so far. I assure you, it was not easy starting an Industrial/Dark Electro band in 00’s in Athens /GR
Can you tell as how the band started back then in Athens?
Z– We where just a couple of youngsters full of dreams and love for music, we had a hunger for life, to explore, to create, to do it our way. We started very young, we should have been around 15 years old when we had our first gig, trying to play some hardcore/punk/metal stuff. As soon as we got into Goth and EBM a whole new great world appeared and we wanted to be part of it. Since then we spent countless hours on the project and with faith, love and will, we made it happen.
You guys are also involved in the Greek metal scene as well, so when the band first started, what was the industrial/metal scene like back then and do you think it has changed?
Z– Along the way and more precisely, during our demo days, we were offered to play keyboards in 2 of the biggest Greek bands, me with SepticFlesh and Noid with Rotting Christ. Although our skills were not that great, I guess they loved our looks lol…Seth from SepticFlesh, once said that you guys look like pinheads son’s…,as for the Industrial /Metal scene, it was great back then, everyone wanted a piece of it in their music. Rob Zombie, Manson, NIN, Rammstein, that was the heydays of that scene and sure we were enjoyed it as well. Yes, its not a trend anymore, you hardly hear the good stuff with the exception of 3Teeth and a few more I guess…
Photo – VAIA
November 2021 saw you release your fifth studio album, DeathCult. It took 2 years for you to give life to brilliant album, so what took so long?
Z– Thank you for the compliment! I have been hearing it a lot about “DeathCult” and honestly puts a smile on my face. It always takes too much time to do an album that I am happy with. It takes me more than a month to do the pre-production for 1 track. I was into some deep personal shit, living in Leipzig at the time and it was hard for me to focus. We changed producer and that was not an easy one to deal with, especially when you work with a certain producer for 15 years
The 2 year wait was well worth it. You said in an interview that you enjoyed the work of Erik Saite. What was it about Gnossienne No 1 that inspired you to incorporating it into the mesmerising track Ghost Dance?
Z– I love Satie’s work, its utterly unique. His works are simply haunting, so..all in all, I was obsessed with his track, “Gnossienne No1”. I wanted to do a cover of it and here you go…. It was the hardest track to deal with and it took me 2 and half months to finish the pre-production. From a point and on, I started to be delusional, thinking that Satie is punishing me because he was still not happy with my outcome. I was desperate hearing it over and over again and for many hours per day. I was stuck, hearing his piano theme in a loop, it was killing me mentally until I found a way out and finished the song. Totally happy with the final result and hopefully with Satie’s blessings. Definitely a track that has a great feedback and brought many on our ship
The album is all about death, from serial killers to the after life. Can you tell us more about this?
Z– Death and Life, that’s the total balance and opposition at the same time, although both part of the whole that is existence. In this album I chose to focus on Death, it felt more like kin at the time… so I dove into its ocean, tried to understand a bit more. I twisted the angle. I watched and I asked to learn more. I think I did. Death is vital. Death is a path. Death is the transition. Death makes life unique. Death is all around us. Our societies, since day one, worshiped Death, not in a good way….its easy to understand that if you look carefully. Which is the god we mostly obey to?…it’s Death. We hate, we take advantage of others, we step on our friends, lovers, colleagues, we will do anything it takes to fulfill our desires and twisted plans. We think we control our lives but we are mostly nothing more than just the pathetic servants of Death’s lowest quality…the vain and ignorant, close minded tourists of life’s miracle.
What is it about the grotesque and macabre that inspires you and your music?
Z– More or less that’s what has always attracted me in music, The grotesque and the Macabre. My music heroes were drug addicts, alcoholics, outcasts and dangerous, damned and the tracks that I was turned on, listened to, were always the one’s that made me feel otherworldly. I cannot really put it in a frame, as a music and lyric creator, its just a feeling and when I hear it, it rings in me, I know that I am where I want to be.
You recorded the album with Dinos Prassas, also known as Psychon, who mixed and mastered DeathCult. Can you tell us about working with Psychon and what he brings to the Siva Sixalbums?
Z– Psychon has also done the production on this album besides Mix/Mastering. We have known each other since the early 00’s. We met at the rehearsal studio that Siva Six and his band was rehearsing at the time. He is a great guy, very talented, easy going and skillful sound design wise. Meanwhile, the timing to do another album with our ex producer was not a good one, so I talked with Psychon. I asked him to do a couple of demos and when I heard with what he had come up with, I heard the ringing in my ears….Psychon brings all of his positive and artistic aura in our music, working along side with his big orchestras, guitars, basses and the rest of the weird stuff he is into. We love his work and final touch he did in “DeathCult”.
George Klontzas of Teknovore spoke to me about how much admiration he has for Siva Six and was super proud of the cover you guys did together of Save Me God. This seems like a close friendship.
Z– Its an honor and I am glad to hear George’s feelings about us! We have met a couple of times in Athens & Edinburgh. I don’t really get excited by collaboration offers, my time is limited but when he offered to me the singing position in his Dark Soho cover, which is one of my all time favorite bands, I immediately accepted! I am happy and proud at the same time for the final outcome.
Photo – VAIA
Which song do you think you are going to really enjoy playing live?
Z– I will totally enjoy to play live again dear, since it has been 2 years and a half since our last gig, so all in all at this time, what really matters to me is to get back on the stage which I feel the urge to do so but “Ghost Dance” is the one I really can’t wait to experience on stage.
Talking of live music, how has covid affected the band as far as touring and are there any plans to do so soon?
Z– Some gigs in Germany & Greece were cancelled or postponed, we had no gigs for the last 2 and a half years. Lets face it…it’s a disaster. A ray of light has come in at the moment, so we will take the chance to do 4 live shows in Greece and hopefully our agent will sort out some gigs in Europe but its way too much complicated at the moment, since the line up bills and tours are full with the 2020 schedules. It’s sad but at least, since we get this feedback on a daily basis, that “DeathCult” is our best album so far but unfortunately the doors are not opened as wide as it would probably be pre-covid era.
You have toured with some legendary acts, so who was the most fun?
Z– We have shared the stage with some really great bands indeed. Tuske Ludder are great and funny people. We have became good friends with Hein from Theatre of Tragedy. Type o Negative were such a good people and Clan of Xymox are very cool and funny, I love Ronnie and we used to hang out a lot.
What music and bands got you into the EBM/industrial scene?
Z– I think it was mostly Ministry in the very early 90’s, Aphex Twin, Front 242, Einsturzende Neubauten but at the time the whole scene was on a launch and so many new bands were going out with a bang!
Who really gets you excited now about music?
Z– Without a doubt NIN and Trend Reznor projects, Chealsea Wolfe, 3TEETH, Wulfband, Perdubator, Soundtracks
Right at this moment in time, you have the ability to teleport to a beautiful sunny beach with blue waters or a gloomy cemetery full of mausoleums and famous artists……. where do you choose to go and why?
Z– If the cemetery would be the resurrection spot of a few of my favorite artists…. I would definitely wanted to be around and chat with them…. if not I would rather enjoy the sea thinking of them.
What is in the future for Siva Six?
Z– Our contract with Alfa Matrix is over and we have started some demo’s but as usual, it will take time to finish the pre-production. To be totally honest with you….I have no idea. There is too much mental strain all around us and the times we live in seem relentless. Hardships and setbacks are on the daily menu on everyone’s table. We will do some shows hopefully…and we will take it as it comes, you know..thinking a lot about the future does not really make sense, good things or bad things will happen or they will not.
Thank you for the dance while Chaos has her way with the world and thank you for your exquisite music!
Z– It was my pleasure and honour dear Adele ! Thank you.
BlazerJacket were releasing a single on the 25th of February and never thought they would be releasing “Get Out” featuring Dirty Bird 13, while their home country, Ukraine, was facing invasion from Russian forces. The irony now is that a song which was about leaving abusive relationships is now a call to remove the invaders and free their home. We were lucky enough to be put in contact with Denis and Hybri Mod, who answered our questions. Those questions where it doesn’t say who answered, are a combined answer that they both agreed on in unison. If you haven’t checked out their thumping industrial track, this is our suggestion that you should.
Welcome to Onyx, where the streets have no names…..um because we removed them all.
You are based in Ukraine, so how are things for you both currently?
Denis: I am in Kyiv, trying to lead a normal life, only with the addition of two options – “try to survive” and “fight”. Of course, life has changed a lot … Daily rocket and artillery shelling of cities, constant air raids, daily evidence of attacks by Russian soldiers, murders of children, rape of women… It makes me very nervous and I struggle every day. And in all these conditions, you need to find additional sources of income, because things in online commerce, in which I work, are not going very well at the moment for obvious reasons. But I am in Kyiv, trying to lead a normal life… which will never be the same again
Hybri Mod: I am in the west of Ukraine right now. There are almost no explosions here, it’s relatively calm, definitely compared to what is happening in southern and eastern parts of the country.
Can you tell us the premise behind the two brothers the band portrays?
In 2020, we released an album that tells the listener a story of two brothers from a distant galaxy who protect the Earth from the most dangerous creature in the world. You can find out more by reading the album description on the Bandcamp and listening to the tracks in the correct order. We tried to convey the atmosphere not only through music and arrangements, but also through dialogues between the tracks. Also, since the release of this album, we have strictly adhered to our images on stage.
You recently released the single Get Out which is about domestic violence. What inspired you to write this track? Also you released this single as your country was at the beginning of being invaded by Russia. Do you find the timing ironic and has the song taken on a new meaning for you?
Denis: These two questions are directly related, so I will answer two of them at once.
Personally, I have put a similar meaning into this song before. Before writing this song, I had a very big fight and stopped all communication with a former friend. The reason was the bullying of the Ukrainian nation and pro-Russian sentiments. For me, this is a particularly sore subject since I was forced to leave my hometown due to the occupation by pro-Russian terrorists and Russian special forces in 2014. Therefore, the phrase “Get out” is addressed to all abusers, whether they are “friends” or Russian occupiers.
Hybri Mod: At the time of the process of creating a track, I treated it simply as nostalgia for the 00s of the industrial/dark scene, the bands to which I often listened in those years.
If first, I put one meaning into “Get Out” lyrics, then on the day of the release, I revised the message of the music and dedicated it to against Russian aggression represented by Putin.
Can you tell us about your association with Dirty Bird 13 and how they became involved?
Denis: Yes. I am Dirty Bird 13 🙂
I started the project with my classmate as a duo in 2009, but after 2013 I did it alone, gave it very little time, and a couple of years ago I played my last gig with Dirty Bird 13. So technically I’m “dirty bird 13” at the moment.
Yes, it’s strange to release a collaborative track with myself but let me explain.
I started writing the track itself back in 2012 in Horlivka (Territory in the east of Ukraine, which since 2014 has been under the occupation of Russia). After a long time, sorting through information from old media, I found the draft of this track and decided to finish it together with Hybri Mod. We managed to create something completely new for the BlazerJacket.
Since the track is a bit different from our usual sound, we thought it would be fair to credit “Dirty Bird 13” as a co-writer.
Hybri Mod: I was just a fan of Dirty Bird 13 before I met Denis. It’s always been a great interest for me to participate in the creation of a collaborative music. And although it happened within the whole BlazerJacket band, I’m very glad that my old dream came true officially.
You are heavily connected to Comic Con Ukraine, so can you tell us about this?
We have been residents of the Comic Con music scene since the very first festival in 2019. We maintain good relations with the organizers and other residents of this festival and are always happy to entertain visitors with our shows and performances.
Is this a part of your creative outlet?
Since our lyrical characters in BlazerJacket are mystical aliens from a science fiction novel, we think we are directly related to the “Comic Con” culture.
If you could be any comic or anime character right now, who would you be and what would you do with your superpowers?
Denis: I want to be an “iron man” to end this war as soon as possible.
Hybri Mod: I don’t know exactly who I would like to be, but definitely with an unkillable skill 🙂 It would be possible to single-handedly change the system in which we all live and build something new, where life and human rights are above the interests of global corporations.
I realise it is hard to talk about the future currently but what are you looking forward to in the long term?
We were planning to speed up the release of our tracks and videos. But now we do not know what will happen after another air raid. Let’s see what happens, but we are not going to give up our music.
Onyx Music Reviews 