interview with orkus music magazine after the release of U.F.F.
1)What do you feel after release of new album “U.F.F.”? Do you proud of this CD? (you have to!)
ha, releasing an album is always something with
mixed feelings. First of all, it means that we have to start on new material,
and that is always a point where we evaluate what we did so far. So this means
that we are darn critical to our self at that point. It also ends a certain
period. There is no more editing on the finished tracks. You have to draw a
line.
But then there is the excitement of holding a new CD. And then the fear for
writing new material. But all in all, we are very happy with the new release.
I consider it the best material we did so far, and the reactions have been very
good.
2)I found a lot of new sound elements/details
and several tracks of superb quality on new IMPLANT CD “U.F.F.”
The whole sound picture of this release looks very fresh, complex and modern…
Tell us, what new technics/ideas/equipment you used for recordings of CD
“U.F.F.”? What approach you kept during the work on this CD? And
is it album or MCD actually?
We consider the new release as a full length.
After all it includes 12 tracks, of witch 6 are very long and 6 very short.
But the total is 48 minutes, and that is more then most full lengths.
As for the sound structures used, I think the main influence was trance for
this album. Hence the fact that most tracks are 7 min, this is typical trance.
We have not used any new equipment since the release of brainstorm, so the freshness
of the album is pure done on a sequencing level. We still use the exact same
instruments as on kmputor and brainFX. The only thing that got upgraded was
the computer, and the sequencing software.
3)The ultra-energetic rhythmic attacks dominate in every “big” track of album. Seems like you try to kill people on dancefloors? From where such agression came?
Yes, the long tracks are ment as dancefloor assaults. And some tracks have a real aggressive undertone. But that is kind of the music we love, and the music we have been listening to recently.
4)You like good trance music, but definitely having strong trance elements on CD “U.F.F.” you propose really new and innovative hard electro-industrial-trance crossover to listeners. How long you were searching for such a powerful and unique sound of IMPLANT? It seems that pause between “Kmputor” and “U.F.F.” was not very long, but the progress is so obvious…
there is more time in-between kmputor and UFF
then people would think. We finished up kmputor 8 months before the release,
and already started working on the new material. So we actually worked more
then the gap between the releases. In fact 2 tracks were already finished when
kmputor got released. For the next full length, it will probably take another
2 years or something.
And yes, there is a big progression again. And to us, this is the only logical
step. We will try and have this progression on every release. The easy thing
to do right now, is calling in the ships. We could make another UFF in a short
period, and people might actually like it. But for us, every release is a challenge,
and we just have more fun in trying something new. We are always hoping to find
something new. I think that this scene would gain more recognition if other
bands lived to the same standards.
5)Sci-fi and futuristic aspects are still important for atmospheric side of IMPLANT music? What latest movies in this area you found good and inspiring? (Have you seen for example “Pitch Black”, “Webmaster” or “Thomas Est Amoroux”?)
in fact UFF is again a conceptual release. This
time we kind of bring homage to SF. As far as a know, SF has always been treated
as pulp until people realised that SF was a field with no limitations. So it
became mainstream, with programs like the x-files to show the absolute top of
commercialisation of SF. The same goes for dance music. first it was treated
like pulp, later on it became acknowledged and then abused. And just like SF,
there are still some very interesting bands out there making incredible dance
music.
Unidentified flying frequencies, is actually more then just a nice sounding
title for an album. When I was surfing the net, I stumbled on a ‘believers’-site.
A forum for people that believed in the fact that the earth is being watched
by aliens, and that they abduct people to examine the human race. On the forum,
I found a text by the US-government on Unidentified flying frequencies, that
could not be transmitted by any human-made device. Don’t worry, I don’t
believe shit of all this, but the title of the document got stuck, so we used
it. I would even be surprised if the text is actually a ‘top-secret’-government
text.
But it has been a while since I last saw a SF-movie that really impressed me.
I mean let’s face it, since blade runner, we never had the real doom SF.
And that is one of the points that make SF so enjoyable to read. Most of the
time, they take a phenomena that is typical of this time, and enlarge it so
much that it becomes frightening. My favourite auteur are William Gibson and
Isac Asimov.
5)You tasted new tracks on US auditory during July tour with duo PSYCHE. How did americans react on “U.F.F.” material? Did you represent new songs to European auditory already?
The American public seamed open to what we do.
We toured with 50% new material and 50% kmputor tracks. We didn’t even
play any track from the older material. and some shows were real nice. The darkrave
in Toronto was one of the best gigs. On the other hand, the gig we did in New
York, wasn’t the nicest thing that ever happened to us. The cable fell
out of the microphone twice. Imagine that you start a gig with a dance track,
and when the vocals have to cut in, the cable falls out … I felt like
a jackass … so that public didn’t really liked it that much I guess.
As for a full blown European tour, nothing is planned so far. But we have some
gigs in Belgium and France in the coming months. And if all goes well, we should
play Germany too. But most of these gigs are only one-night things in a weekend.
6)But why PSYCHE? I agree that this band really showed progress on their latest album, but IMPLANT play different music… let’s think… probably more in today FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY or EON PROJECT veins?
Yes, you are maybe right that the music we make
is kind of far away from the synthypop that psyche brings. But it was a question
of possibilities. We were planning on another tour, with other bands. But that
tour never got true. So we jumped on the next occasion that came along. And
I always think it is more important to have different people on a gig. The best
shows we did were never in front of an electro crowd. But you might have a point.
If all goes well, we will do another tour next year, with more dates, and we
will probably team up with different artist this time. But everything is way
to vague to start dropping names.
But should you ever talk to Bill Leab, please ask him to take us on the next
FLA tour J
7)Does your collection of x-ray photos with implants became bigger during last year?
No, looks like the fans don’t have accidents any more. J
8)On first 1000 copies of “U.F.F” you presented to people 12 remixes from such a cool bands as AMMO, MLADA FRONTA, SPIES, RAZED IN BLACK, NEGATIVE FORMAT… The inicial number of remixes was bigger? How did you install contact with all these people and how did you chose the tracks for this gift-CD? It seems to me that the main criterium was their danceability and power? Which of 12 remixes became the bigest surprise for you? (I think that the most crazy remix belongs to AMMO… it differs from other tracks.)
the initial number of remixes was always meant
to be 12, but some bands backed down at the end. Most of the times because they
had a lot of work on their own music. Sometimes, this was pretty frustrating,
because it meant looking for new interesting artists, and each artist needed
different sources and so on. Fortunately, in the end, bands started to contact
us because they heard about the remix cd. The down side is that most of them
wanted a remix in return, something we are working on right now.
As for the remixes, I think that a lot of bands managed to come with real interesting
versions of the original tracks. My favourites are dogma3000, concentrix, negative
format, spies, empusae and ammo. Each of these tracks really got me by surprise.
But this doesn’t mean that I don’t like the other remixes, these
are just the tracks that really got my attention. Most people pick out the ammo
remix as the most drastic remix, but the dogma3000 remix is actually the most
drastic, since it has nothing to do with the original track, and yet, you hear
they used midi-signals. Ammo sounds drastic because they re-cut the track, but
all the sources come from the original. Let us just say that the 2 remixes are
well done.
I also think it is not a coincidence that all the tracks on the remix cd are
dance oriented. The original tracks were a already dance, but the bands I contacted
all are bands that have a real tendency to make dance, so I think it is kind
of logic.
9)What were first words of Christian from Flatline after he first time listened to demo with “U.F.F.” songs? And generally, who was the first listener of “U.F.F.” (instead of you and Geert)?
Ha, Christian was involved during the complete process. We send him a track
as soon as it was finished. So he gradually sow how we build up the album. I
have a feeling that Christian loves the new album even more then kmputor. But
his exact words after the completion were something in the veins of : “real
nice album …”
Besides Christian, Seba from side-line was always one of the first listeners,
and of course some friends that come along the studio once in a while. I always
try and play the album to a lot of people that have no feeling or involvement
with this scene. The reaction of these guys gives you a total new viewpoint
to the album. You have to keep an eye on the feet ! if it moves, you know you
have an interesting track J
10)Will we ever hear the track of IMPLANT with female vocals? It could
be very curious, don’t you think!
Who knows ? can you get us a vocalist that is
good enough ?
It is defiantly not something we are holding out. And I guess it would fit to
use female vocals on a track. We used female vocals in some of the remixes we
did. But I would again hope to incorparate it in an original way. Have you heard
what juno reactor did with female vocals ? I’m pretty sure that we would
love to work like this ! so if any female vocalist is reading this, and you
think you could do ethnical chants, do contact us !
11)How do you like today development of drum-n-noise/power rhythmic noise scene?
Oh, I love those movements. At least they do
new things ! but don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they are all
good. Any kid with a distortion and a rhythm box can make this type of cd’s.
the key is to find those artists that are doing the real innovating things.
The only difficulty I have is when a band is proud to say that they worked for
4 hours on an album. That is a little to easy for me. I’m not saying that
they should all be freaks like us, putting some 6 weeks or more in a track,
but still, have the same respect for your audience as they have for you right
?
12)You released “U.F.F.” in Europe on Flatline. What about US invasion?
So far we have no real deal with a US based
label. But this does not mean that we are not interested. The problem with these
sublicenses is that all parties involved need to find a way to get guaranties
that he can work his own territory. I know that some labels are interested,
but the final contracts have to be made.
For us, the European label is the most important, since they represent us in
our own territory.
13)What is your today motivations for creating music?
My motivation never changed. For me this music
is a hobby. I have fun making the music and doing the things we do. The motivation
for a release is the hope to have enough sales to buy us more studio equipment,
so that we can have new grounds to discover and have fun again. As soon as the
fun part is gone, I’ll stop making music. But the good thing about a hobby
is that it tends to stay. I can not imagine a week without switching on the
studio lights.
Even when I’m on a holiday, I have to walk in some music store or something
like that.
14)During our last interview I asked you to name some bands which released really interesting electro-industrial albums and you recommended to us SPIES, HALO_GEN, MLADA FRONTA, EMPUSAE among others… Their CDs were really cool, so I ask you to tell us about your current/latest discoveries? You proved that you have a good taste!
Thanks for the compliment on my taste. Ok, I’ll
give you my latest discoveries. Lately I have been listening to a lot of trance,
so I’ll mention the cd’s that really impressed me.
First of all, I heard a few tracks of the upcoming 4 carry nuts CD. This is
a project of tim schuldt, and this guy is know in the electro scene because
of his remixes for front line assembly and klinik. His new album ( and first
full length) is pure madness. This should be released somewhere this year on
aurinko records. And if you ask me, it will be a classic album. I also loved
the new cosmos album. This is a type of crossover between trance and electro,
but it is from the hands of a trance artist. So you could call it opposite to
UFF. The cd is kind of a long trip. Another very nice album is concequencer.
A side project of S.U.N. project and also a little closer to industrial.
As for cd that are know in this scene, I liked the new haujobb a lot. And the
new substance t is also a very interesting album.
Another band that caught my attention was headscan, I have the demo cd of those
guys, and 3 out of 4 tracks are really good. So I’m holding an eye out
for the first release that will be on art of fact records.
15)Thanks a lot for interview. My final question is: Can you imagine yourself as Bill Gates? What would be your first action if you’ll get in his shoes?
Ha, what about releasing a version of windows that is actually bug-free. Or is this not interesting from a commercial point of view. But to tell you the truth, if I would be bill gates, I would stop working, buy myself a dream studio and set up a record label. If you have that amount of money, why get into corporate live ?