Augmenting an already strong list of Electronic Rock acts such as The Qemists, I Will Never Be The Same, and The Algorithm, Fixtmusic starts their newest round of signings with LA's THE ANIX. Sounding like a stadium-chewing cyber-U2, this epic track already has us massively looking forward to the forthcoming album ( to be released in the fall ). Check it out!
Blue Stahli ( real name: Bret Autrey ) is more well known for his catchy blasts of crushing industrial overkill than any sweepingly evocative atmospheric pieces. However, the latter is exactly what we get here, as he and label FIXT release this spooky teaser, which we hope is ahead of a full-on rockin' version of the Billy Idol classic. Deep-cut fans will be interested to note that this down-tempo interpretation and that familiar chord sequence makes us think of Joy Division's New Dawn Fades, as covered by Moby on the soundtrack to Heat ( which we will also include below ).
Future-Rocker caught up with Zardonic between recent gigs, to get the inside scoop on touring and album production.
''People go there to see Zardonic. And Zardonic they will hear''
It takes some
balls for a DJ to compose and record his own music and then DJ it at a gig.
What was it like the first time you played your own tunes at an event?
It sure does, and Zardonic has BALLS OF STEEL!! Nukemisms aside, it was interesting! Especially because when
I started, I was still on that trial and error process any self-taught artist
and engineer has.Monitors? I barely had
some Maxell headphones and some Hi-Fi speakers. With enough time and practice,
I mastered my own sound, but you don't expect to have a club-ready mix with
your first few tracks. I think the very first time I played my own tunes was at
some house party in the middle of nowhere. And I remember being extremely
excited about it. All I wanted was to play. I didn't care about any of the
business side of it. Just me playing shit out of Traktor v 2.0 on my old ass
Pentium D computer. Oh, did I mention I didn't have a laptop? Yep. Me, my
computer monitor, my PC tower, some old ass keyboard and mouse. No fancy stuff.
Just me and my passion and nothing in between. Good old days!
What do you do onstage to your own tunes to make them
different from just playing the CD as it is?
I've started to add little toys to my setup to make it all
more fun and interesting. I don't really use the sync button either, as
convenient as that might be, but might have to start doing so, if I want to do
what I want to do - which is having a semi-live act so to say. That's why it's so
easy for a lot of DJs to play four decks and market themselves as veterans. It's
all in the sync button. And I'm not against it. People need to understand that
being a DJ is exactly that. It doesn't make them better or worse than the next
musician. It's simply a different art and a different delivery. Go ahead and
get on stage and do the same shit and see if you can do it any better. And
whoever knows how to do it and can deliver a powerful result whatever the
method, that's perfect in my book. I don't think the main stage at Tomorrowland
would benefit from having Zakk Wylde playing the guitar instead, the same way
Wacken wouldn't benefit from having Calvin Harris on it. Or would it? Zardonic
ft. Zakk Wylde. Hmm. I like the sound of that.
Describe the composing and recording process for the
album.
Lots, lots, lots, lots, and lots of experimentation. And
then some. Until I have gigabytes worth of sample-packs I designed on my own. Then I
choose whatever inspires me from there, and that works as the main spark for an
entire tune. "Pure Power", for example, the intro loop, that was pretty
much where the song was born from. Everything else derived from there.
"Raise Hell", the first guitar riff you hear. "Antihero",
the bleeping loop. I try to find a midpoint between the composition ethos of
an EDM producer and a Metal composer. It all starts with a loop, and then I add
enough variations and things to it, so it maintains that human touch most dance
music has been lacking for a long, long time.
Describe how you plan a gig. For instance, how audiences differ, and how you plan in
advance.
Planning for every single crowd you play for is not
something I exactly agree with. I'm not a DJ that plays what people like. People
go there to see Zardonic. And Zardonic they will hear. I think that's part of
the misconception of a DJ these days. I was talking to Savant about it the other
day, I remember him and his manager Josh saying "Fuck being a DJ".
Best quote ever right there. What we obviously mean is not to ditch the CDJs or
the turntables if you will, we simply mean fuck being what people think a DJ
should be. We are artists. We play our shit, we play what we like and you
follow or leave. I've never cleared a single dancefloor in my entire career. I've
played Electro at Drum & Bass shows, Hardcore at House festivals, you name
it. It's just me and I go with the flow. Eventually you do know that some
people like certain things, others like other things. Russians LOVE their hard
music but don't like Hard Techno, for example. Venezuelans love it. Florida is
all about the four-to-the-floor, so my Industrial Electro works better there.
Holland is all about crossbreed. Atlanta is more about trap and dubstep and
whatever. That doesn't mean I haven't played Hard Techno for the Russians or
Electro for the Polish. And again, not a simple complaint. It makes perfect
sense. If you keep the crowd grabbed by the balls at all times, there's no time
for them to rest, then you burn them, and I don't mean that in a good way. If
there's something I've learned in 11 years of career is that people also like
to listen to music, not only dance to it, and are more appreciative of an
interesting set than a bunch of drops one after another.
Any chance of a full DJ set being released on CD, such
as the excellent Moscow World of Drum and Bass gig..? - You should definitely sample that Russian announcer saying ''ZAARRRDONNNNNNIIIIICCCCC'' for a future song!
AGREED!!! Dude, I fucking love those voices. They use them
all over Russia. I might actually do that for next time. I'll hit them up about
it! I would love for a full set to be released on CD, who knows man! That's a
great idea right there for sure!
Rock groups can be a nuisance. They’re costly. They need feeding
and watering, and constantly exercising.
Occasionally they’ll piss themselves or sh*t on the carpet. Worst of all, they
have a tendency to expire at really inopportune moments. Which is why, since
the advent of electronic music, some musicians opt to go out alone and save
themselves the hassle of sharing royalties with a bunch of annoying, sweaty idiots
on a bus.
The autumn / winter of 2015 / 2016 is unique in that it has
seen three acts at the vanguard of electronic rock-n-roll releasing
important albums within weeks of each other. Whether it’s a bonafide musical
movement, electronic rock / metalstep / MetaLectro or whatever the hell
you want to call it, has garnered hundreds of thousands of diehard fans and
generated a growth industry at a time when the conventional music industry is
flatlining.
ZARDONIC – ANTIHERO ( eOne Records, CD / download )
Zardonic’s album ‘Antihero’ feels like both a political
manifesto, as well as the soundtrack to a running street battle. Even though
the album’s subject matter amounts to nothing more than an emphatic
twenty-first century fight for your right
to party, the politics comes from the knowledge that the DJ left a
precarious existence in Venezuela to bring his singularly unique Dance Metal
hybrid to the rest of the world. Put it this way – attitudinally, this album is
closer in spirit to Sepultura’s ‘Refuse/Resist’ than Limp Bizkit’s ‘Rollin’.
Opening
with the sound-montage ‘World at War’, we are ushered into a futuristic
soundscape of crunching metal riffs, loops, FX and crisp beats. In fact, the
production as a whole stands out, having a clean modern metal vibe backed by
punchy drums that are upfront and clear - as you would expect from what is
essentially a dance album. On the two-disk version you have the choice of
tracks both with and without lead vocals. Personally I prefer the ones with
vocals, simply because they give the song context, although after a few plays, you may feel like hearing the music unadorned with vox.
This album is not afraid to shred either, as guitar solos
are plentiful. Zardonic clearly does not try to anticipate or second-guess what
a dance audience thinks. As he says in the interview: ‘People go to hear
Zardonic and Zardonic they will hear.’’
It’s difficult to isolate a standout track, as the album
works cohesively either as a collection of singles or a whole work of sonic
art, but mention must be made of the fourth track ‘Vigilante’, which sounds
like a 21st Century update of KMFDM’s stomping industrial metal -
with an added dash of Pantera's 'fist-skull-break!' ferocity.
A tortuous electronic loop intro opens the next track, into a Laibach-style industrial stomp-fest, before ushering in
the kind of Dubstep that sounds like a 300-foot tall robot kicking over the
Empire State Building. The titles give an indication of the general thrust of
this album: ‘Vigilante’, Override’, ‘For Justice’ and ‘The Time Is Now’ - one
gets the feeling that Zardonic knows he is in a unique place and time where pop
culture taste is finally catching up with him, and he’s the one that seized the
moment.
BLUE STAHLI – THE DEVIL ( Fixt Music, CD / download )
Bret Autry, AKA ‘Blue Stahli’ is definitely a musician from
the ‘more is more’ school of sonic bombardment. After an atmospheric intro,
opening track ‘It’s Not Over til We Say So’ assaults the listener with a Cradle
of Filth-style barrage of riffs and artillery drumming, before segueing into
the typical pop rock mode he’s known for. With a guest bass and backing vocal turn
from four-string virtuoso Emma Anzai ( of Sick Puppies fame ), ‘It’s Not Over’
sets out the battle-plan from the get-go: Wall-of-noise rock, busy electronica,
leavened brilliantly by the most insanely catchy pop-hooks you’ll hear all
year. ( Although, this listener would love to hear a remix with Anzai’s bass skills
brought to the fore ).
Once acclimatised to the full-speed ahead approach, the
listener may be able to appreciate the cheeky humour of the composer, his skill
with instruments, and the myriad sonic flourishes ( the album was produced by
Celldweller mastermind Klayton, with additional mixing by industrial music
veteran Rhys Fulber ), and also marvel at his facility with what we used to
refer to as ‘a tune’.
Stylistically, during the more mid-tempo parts, this
reviewer is reminded of 90s industrial rock duo Filter, while in the heavier
parts, the manic intensity of Devin Townsend is recalled. Throw in a nod to
Muse on ‘The Fall’ ( with its layered vocal harmonies ), and a wink at Dream
Theater for the wah-wah riff on ‘Shoot Em Up’, and you pretty much have Blue
Stahli down. On the final stretch we get a superbly malevolent lead vocal from
Mark Salomon on ‘You’ll Get What’s Coming’ which allows the album a neat gear-shift
away from Bret’s customary yelp.
Subject matter on the album generally covers the gamut of
fighting, shooting, and blowing sh*t up, with some spiky religious allusions thrown in for good measure. As a genre you could perhaps label it
First-Person Metal - indeed it’s notable that Autry’s main job is providing
soundtracks to video games and trailers for films like Iron Man. Because of this, there’s a refreshing economy in his
compositions, and, like his day-job suggests, there is no room for filler – only killer. The Devil is an
ideal album for people whose idea of relaxation is to watch a Jerry Bruckheimer
film while bingeing on a family pack of Skittles and Red Bull. In other words,
it’s loud, attention grabbing, occasionally disorientating... but also a hell
of a lot of fun.
Without wanting to draw too many parallels, it seems oddly synchronous that Klayton himself resembles a cyber-culture analogue of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, and that this conclusion to his 'Blackstar' song cycle is released within weeks of Bowie's final opus, also entitled 'Blackstar'.
That aside, in terms of CD output, this is a very interesting sidestep
in Celldweller’s oeuvre ( although not entirely unexpected, because Klayton has often spoken about how much he would love to score
movies such as 'Tron' or 'Bladerunner' ). Therefore,
‘Blackstar’ is a luxurious exercise in the current trend for cosmic
synth-driven faux movie soundtracks.
Opener ‘Retros’ underlines an interest he has in science fiction and synth
scores: It is sweeping, cinematic, and greatly reminiscent of Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack. A very
impressive opener, which is then slightly curveballed by the following track,
‘Purified’, which starts appropriately enough like a Tron remix, but very quickly lurches sideways into an innard-shaking MetalStep
workout that is typical later-period Celldweller. Compositionally though, it is
more like a sound-collage and not a conventionally constructed or resolved
song, and that perhaps explains why it doesn’t warrant inclusion on the actual ‘The End of an Empire’ album ( review below ). Even
so, one suspects it is placed to attract the Celldweller headbanging die-hards
who may have wavered over buying this purely instrumental album. Following on, ‘The
Possibilities of Purpose’ has a celestial choir backed a synth riff that
wouldn’t sound out of place on a Jean Michel Jarre album, while ‘A Dystopian
Utopia’ features an eerie choral effect similar to Ligeti’s on Kubrick’s ‘2001’
soundtrack. It is meant to convey a vast and cosmic presence, and does so
superbly. ‘The Undercity’ uses a pulsing didgeridoo-stab chased by some glitch
effects while ‘Lost Treasures’ brings to mind another French electronic maestro,
Vitalic, from his album OK Cowboy. Revisiting
favourite movies,‘6:17’ sounds like
a love theme from the aforementioned BladeRunner
soundtrack, and heading towards the album’s conclusion, ‘On the Surface of
Scardonia’ is particularly effective: A composition anchored by ominous electronic
reverberations, with eerie eastern cadences flitting back and forth across the
soundscape. Akin to waking up on the surface of a planet-sized supercomputer
and feeling it think.
The album brings you back to earth with the concluding
‘Echoes of Time’ a track that would doubtless find itself onto myriad yoga
compilations - a great future market for Klayton to
exploit!
Celldweller has established a neat ‘look’ to his albums, and
this is no different: A very punchy sci-fi concept-art cover that will grab
gamers and comic-con fans alike. It does make me wonder what a more unusual and
counter-intuitive cover could have done for the ‘feel’ of the album, as the music is certainly powerful enough to stand outside the regular Celldweller branding,
and attract a more crossover audience.
All in all, this is an unexpectedly strong album, and as a
potential composer for future Hollywood blockbusters, Klayton / Celldweller
acquits himself well.
Most definitely not a throwaway side-project, rather, a
weighty augmentation to his regular cyber rock-n-roll output.
As a listener who prefers to digest Celldweller in an album
format, it’s been a frustrating few years. Not least, because of
Klayton’s very generous internet dissemination of standalone songs, as and when
they’re completed. This leaves album fans trying to avoid spoilers, and praying
that FIXT hasn’t given up on the CD / album format altogether.
Seemingly with that in mind, the label has put together this
definitive collection of just about every iteration of track from the END OF AN
EMPIRE song cycle. DISK 1 ( album proper ) & DISK 3 ( instrumental version
).
The human auditory system has so far taken 120-million years
to evolve. To completely absorb the sonic bigness of this album, we probably
need another hundred million or so to grow an additional set of ears, because it
is only when played out of a great sound-system do you begin to grasp the
meticulous production that comprises ‘Empire’.
Window-rattling bass frequencies vie for airspace amongst
crushing metal riffage, topped off with both lush and screamo vocals, and the
now obligatory Godzilla / dubstep FX.
Those of you who may have already absorbed the ‘Empire’
material online may still find something of interest in the ‘instrumental
version’ of the album ( Disk 3 ). With the realisation that this disk doesn’t feel like a cheap add-on, it is instead a great way
to properly absorb the intricately layered sonics, and furthermore, surprises
the listener by how just how complete
it feels, even without vocals. In fact, it is so fully-resolved that you find
yourself going back to the ‘proper’ album just to remind yourself how the
vocals fitted-in the first place.
It seems that Klayton is not just a
singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, but also a sound designer. Most, if not all, of the Celldweller output has the feel
of a futuristic movie soundtrack, hence my mentioning the need for multiple
speakers, and an enhanced human auditory system, because sounds attack you from
every conceivable angle. Please, do not just listen to this streamed, or on
some shitty earphones. Insist on the full fidelity.
Running the full gamut from faux-soundtrack, to stadium-chewing
cyber-rock, the only time you step outside the Klayton-sphere is perhaps the
track ‘Down To Earth’ whose intro is so like classic late 80s / early 90s NIN
that it immediately has you YouTubing Trent Reznor’s ‘Broken / Fixed’ EPs for a
second opinion. Absolutely superb, the track is a fitting nod to a much-respected
pioneer.
Roughly at the halfway point, ‘Just Like You’ provides a needed
respite, as it is the nearest the album gets to a conventional ballad. This is
followed by ‘Good Luck ( You’re F**ked )’ crashing the listener back to earth
with its jerky electropunk-metal. A couple of tracks later, and never one to
miss a marketing opportunity, with ‘Breakout’ Klayton teases the listener with
a nod to his other persona SCANDROID, a deliberately trad electronic act he
formed with Nick Kaelar, AKA Varien. Namechecking the Scandroid side-project must
mean that there is an imminent album in 2016, and that this incredibly
productive phase of Klayton’s has yet to lose any traction. The final track,
‘Precious One’ sounds like a Queen vocal harmony mash-up with ‘For Those About
to Rock’ grandiosity, and thus closes the album on the appropriate note of
triumphalism. Job done!
DISK 2: FACTIONS
'Factions' is a rather intriguing
deconstruction of the ‘Empire’ album with added voice-over parts. Re-assembled
into a soundtrack album, one can assume it’s a premonition of a future concept
album, perhaps in the vein of Queensryche’s ‘Operation: Mindcrime’. Although it’s probably more likely that
Hollywood will hand Klayton a real soundtrack project before that. There's some interesting moments on it, and while not as solidly resolved as 'Blackstar Score', for those wishing for more Klayton soundtrack music, it's a nice diversion until he releases another proper album.
DISKS 4 & 5: REMIXES
The final two disks comprise re-worked 'Empire' tracks from notables
such as Zardonic, Rhys Fulber, Combichrist and many others. Taken as a whole, the sheer amount of
material in the collectors' box means that the now-customary remixes are maybe best left for a
rainy day when compiling a new mixtape or playlist, or when you've played the rest of the album into the ground. Nevertheless, there are some great examples that will suit every taste, such as the aggressive version of 'New Elysium' by Zardonic ( below ).
Song-wise, EMPIRE is a huge improvement on its predecessor
WISH UPON A BLACKSTAR. That second album, despite being years in gestation,
felt anticlimactic and rather half-baked in comparison to the genre-busting -
and much-loved - debut album. Despite the sophomore hiccup, Klayton’s skilful
management of his online persona, constant drip-feed of new - and better -
material, meant that now this completed album has finally dropped, there is a
huge and receptive audience ready and waiting for it. It certainly does not
disappoint.
''...this is what keeps our music interesting, it's some sort of a clash of cultures...''
This month has seen the long-awaited release of BAD CASE OF FABULOUS, the debut album by electro-bonk-rockers JUNKSISTA. With a host of influences, the German duo - Diana and Boog - have created a hypnotically
edgy sound: The band’s trademark insistent rhythms and profane, shag-mad lyrics evoke a thrilling and uniquely un-PC approach that makes Motley Crue's lyrical repertoire look like One Direction.
We caught up with the two of them during the busy first
week of the new release. They turned out to be very charming and obviously
excited about the new material, but also took the time to talk about influences and how they came together.
FUTURE-ROCKER: Your debut album, Bad Case Of Fabulous, is out now. It sounds great – and we’re specifically looking forward to the Special Edition. What can we expect to find on it?
Diana: You can expect to find a rather wild mix of different
musical genres and lyrics that go from silly, through sexy to dark.
We experimented with blues, glam rock, funk, metal...as it
turns out, all can be mixed...who would have thought!?
Boog: It's safe to say that this album is the essence of what our
band is all about. We didn't aim at fulfilling conventions but rather tried
everything and just kept what we liked, no matter if it's "allowed"
in the electronic genre or not - in the end we had lots of fun recording it and
are really proud of the outcome!
''At first it didn’t seem like we could even stand each other''
Your
website suggests that you both come from totally different 'musical tastes and
backgrounds'. How did you meet?
Diana: In 2001 Boog released an album with his former band
"Pfeffer" and booked me as a DJ for the aftershow party of the
release gig. We also had a common friend so we saw each other after that from
time to time. At first it didn’t seem like we could even stand each other...I
guess our inappropriate humour led to a friendship eventually.
Boog: You wouldn't think that this could be working out with
me coming originally from a rock and metal background, and Diana being an
electro and Pop DJ one. But this is what keeps our music interesting, it's some
sort of a clash of cultures. The friendship kind of evolved around the music
and helps us not to kill each other because of our musical tastes..!
Very intriguing – which explains why the electronic sound has a definite rock ‘edge’. What are
your different musical influences? Your Top 3's, if you like?
Diana: I can't name a specific influence, I'm afraid...I am a
little obsessed with the 80s...especially the Bangles, Cyndi Lauper and A-Ha, I
love 90s eurodance...more recent bands and artists that I totally love would be
Florence and the Machine, Garbage, Björk, Chvrches. I do enjoy some good metal
too from time to time.
Boog: There's a bunch of great bands that I could name, but I don’t
think they qualify as an influence for JUNKSISTA, since it's mostly Rock, Metal
or Jazz. One of the more current albums I enjoy would be Daft Punk's Random
Access Memories, this is just sensational! What are your favourite Metal albums then, Boog?
There are hundreds of great releases of great bands that
should make it on this list but if it has to be three this is what I currently
enjoy hearing:
Anthrax - Worship Music
Trivium - Vengeance Falls
Killswitch Engage - Disarm the Descent
Some great modern Thrash Metal in that selection, Boog. OK, so where
is JUNKSISTA based? What else is going on there, in the local scene?
Diana: We are based in the south of Germany and seriously...nothing
is going on here. There is no local scene. We write and produce the music here,
but to play gigs, we usually travel rather far...mostly abroad, even.
Boog: JUNKSISTA really is the first band of mine where there is
close to no local scene where we live. But our music seems to spread really
fast over the Internet, so it's not that much of a drawback.
What
art, films or books influence you both?
Diana: I have an obsession with horror movies...especially the ones
from the 80s, of course. I've got an impressive collection! You sound like a connoisseur, Diana. For instance..?
Diana: Oh dear, thats a tough one. I mean, I am really obsessed and
started watching them when I was a kid...so I've seen quite a few..! OK...I shall try to keep the list not too long...
First of all - that's probably the hardest question I've
ever been asked...and this list won't be complete...no way I can think of all
the movies I love, haha!
One of the first horror movies I've seen and that turned
into one of my all-time favourites - if not my favourite - is The Exorcist with
Linda Blair...every single thing about this movie is brilliant. Same goes for
Evil Dead, Alien and Carrie. I also love the original Nightmare on Elm Street
movies. Those would be some of my favourite classics. More recent movies I'd
recommend would be American Mary, In My Skin, Martyrs, The Loved Ones, The
Descent..and even though I usually don't like remakes, I loved the remake of The
Ring and enjoyed the one of Evil Dead a lot!...man, I feel like i forgot at
least 32 movies, haha!
Regarding books, I don't really read much these days due to a lack of time,
but the last book that definitely influenced me a lot, was "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins.
Boog: Hmmm, I'm afraid that I am not the artsy kind of guy, I
enjoy mostly fantasy stories like the Tolkien ones and Science Fiction. Now and
then a horror movie has to be on the screen.
Will you be doing a tour to promote the album, and will
there be any UK gigs..?
Diana: We're being asked this question a lot. Sad thing is - for
most bands it's a close to impossible thing to play tours or simply a sequence
of gigs for album promotion. Simply because promoters won't even cover your
costs. Each gig we play causes us financial loss... and certainly not because
of a lack of audience. We know it's the same for most other bands in the indie
scene. We love to play live but it doesn't look like we'll be able to do it as
much as we'd like to! FUTURE-ROCKER is sure the album will be a great success, and that they'll be touring very soon. See links below for details!
