Revista The 13th 64 - Interviews

AÑO: 7 | NÚMERO 64

THE 13th UN A REV I S TA I M A GI N A RI A

MARK GARDENER THE DANSE SOCIETY - SONSOMBRE HANEKE TWINS - I LIKE TRAINS SOFT SET - THE SEA AT MIDNIGHT INDIE SOUNDSCAPES: BIG THIEF

INDEX THE SEA AT MIDNIGHT

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HANEKE TWINS

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INDIE SOUNDSCAPES

BIG THIEF

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SONSOMBRE

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I LIKE TRAINS

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MARK GARDENER

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THE DANSE SOCIETY

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SOFT SET

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[ Interview with Vince Grant from The Sea At Midnight by Diego Centuriรณn.

Photographs: Liauna Tolmasoff. ]

ANYTIME IS RIGHT FOR THE SEA AT MIGNIGHT

I have honestly felt trapped by the sounds of this project led

by Vince Grant called The Sea At Midnight. It is not that he has great albums, he still does not have them because he has not yet released an album and perhaps that is what this project could generate with just a few singles, exactly five singles, "Medicine", Melancholia", "How Many Times", "Edge Of The World "and their latest single "We Share The Same Stars", which will surely be part of the debut album that would be released in this strange 2020.

To find out about this project we contacted Vince to tell us about The Sea At Midnight.

Hi Vince! Thank you for agreeing to conduct this interview.

To start, tell us where did this pandemic grab you?

Think like most of us, it took me completely by surprise. Released my first single “Medicine” in January and the second single “Melancholia” in February and then in March the whole world practically shut down. Obviously had no idea that I’d be releasing my debut album in the midst of a global pandemic. That being said, I’ve really got nothing to complain about as my family and loved ones have remained healthy and that’s the most important thing. My heart really goes out to all those around the world who have been directly affected by the virus.

Has the Covid-19 delayed things a little, or is everything going in the times that you have raised it?

As far as the music goes, Covid-19 has not delayed anything for me. I’ve stuck to the pre-Covid release schedule of all five singles thus far and the album will be coming out in the fall as planned.

I have read that the beginning of this project was by chance, tell us how did the idea of creating The Sea

At Midnight come about and where does the name come from?

I had pretty much thought my days of being in bands or recording were over.

Then one day was looking for a guitar teacher in the Musicians section of Craigslist and ran across an ad from a producer saying, “If you’re a shoegaze, goth, post-punk, synth pop, darkwave, dream pop or similar genre artist looking for someone to produce or record your music that understands the genre, I would love to get in contact to discuss how we could possibly work together.”

Then it went on to list a number of my all-time favorite bands such as The Cure, Jesus and Mary Chain, New Order, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Chameleons, etc. I couldn’t believe his eyes. I’d never read an ad that ran so similar to my tastes. At the time, recording was the furthest thing from my mind, but I was so curious to meet this person I decided to get in contact and we arranged to meet. Turns out it was Chris King from Cold Showers! I’m a big fan of theirs and think the first thing I said to Chris was, “I’ve got songs of yours on

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my playlists!” I was really impressed by the fact Chris didn’t mention Cold Showers in his ad or in talking with me before we met. Felt Chris wasn’t relying on his musical success to get clients.

The initial meeting went great and as an added bonus Chris said to me he likes to use Brandon Pierce of Glaare to do drums. Was thrilled at this news, as he’d seen Brandon play live a couple of times and thought he was a phenomenal drummer. The day after our initial meeting sent Chris acoustic versions of some songs and we decided to do a single. After the two songs were finished thought this is such a dream, working with a brilliant producer who comes from the same musical place, plus an unbelievably awesome drummer, that I asked Chris what he thought about doing an EP together. Chris was up for it, so we got Brandon involved again and did three more songs.

The plan at that point was to put out a five song EP, but when we were done recording those songs still didn’t want it to end. Was so happy with the way the songs had turned out, and had so much fun recording with them, that I asked Chris what he thought about doing an album. Chris was into the idea and once again we got Brandon on board.

After a few more months in the studio, there was an eight song album.

I have read about your internal struggles, tell us from your experience, is it true that music heals?

I think that music definitely has healing powers. Don’t think I would have been able to make it through some of the things in my life without music. Both listening to others and making my own.

For me writing songs is one of the main things that helps me deal with the struggles we all inevitably encounter being human. Making music is a therapeutic

process for me that allows me to cope with my own inner, as I like to call it, “weather”.

You must be a little tired of talking about the bands The Sea At Midnight resembles, but tell us about the feelings that the songs of this project produce in you.

Lyrically many of the songs deal with my struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and coping with lifelong depression. Suppose there is a strong element of sadness to them, but I also feel they offer hope.

What is it like to work with Chris King as producer and with Brandon Pierce programming electronic drums?

Working with Chris was nothing short of amazing! He’s incredibly talented both as a producer and a musician, and a genius when it comes to recording and mixing. His knowledge of the whole recording process from engineering to mastering is incredible. Plus, he’s so relaxed and he created an atmosphere surrounding the whole process that was completely relaxed and really allowed creativity and ideas to flow.

Brandon is also a super nice guy and immensely talented. I’ve never worked with such a creative and innovative drummer. His drumming style has a musical quality that I love. Overall, I’ve never had such an incredible experience recording or so much fun doing it.

One of the best things about working with Chris is that we approached every song with the idea of, “What is good for this song?” Not, “How can we make it sound like all the others or how can we make it sound like such and such band”. Each song has its own individual vibe and we didn’t want to use a sonic cookie cutter approach with the

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same musical template. That’s why I especially like bands such as The Cure and Depeche Mode. You know it’s them immediately, but each song has its own personality and style. If I strive for anything, it’s that. For The Sea At Midnight to be recognizable, but at the same time each song having its own unique personality.

ble about. Realized I had acted selfishly on many occasions without taking into account the feelings of others and how my actions would affect them. This was weighing on my mind one night while out taking a walk and when I got home picked up my guitar and “Edge Of The World” came tumbling out.

“We Share The Same Stars” The The album called "The Sea At overarching theme is that we are all Midnight" in what state of post-pro- connected. duction is it and when do you plan We are in a difficult time to make to release it?

The album is pretty much in its final short-term plans, but what are the stages of completion. The single “We immediate plans for The Sea At Share The Same Stars” officially co- Midnight? mes out on August 21st and the album There’s actually quite a lot happening. The single “We Share The Same will be coming out sometime this fall.

Stars” coming out on August 21st and Tell us something about each single: it’s going to be accompanied by the first official video. There is another video “Medicine” is about ways we cope being worked on now for a subsequent and deal with emotional pain, whate- single to be released early in the fall and then the record will come out after ver that pain may be. that. Wish I could say we will be playing “Melancholia” is about my lifelong live shows, but that seems like a far off struggle with depression and making possibility at this point due to Covid. peace with it.

And to close this interview and thank “How Many Times” You know, this you for this opportunity. one has a lot of different meanings be- What would you say to our readers hind it. There are actually a lot of layers who don't know The Sea At Midnight to the lyrics for me and rather than ex- yet? pound on my own meaning of the song, If you are a fan of bands such as The think I’d like each listener to experien- Cure, Depeche Mode, New Order, Joy ce and have their own personal inter- Division, Echo and the Bunnymen and other similar sounding bands then I pretation of what it means to them. would say you should check out The “Edge Of The World” was written Sea At Midnight. Think you might enjoy when I was going through a period of what you hear. remorse about some past behavior of mine that was hurtful to others, particu- Thank you very much Vince and larly when I was using drugs and alco- Shameless Promotion for making hol, that I was ashamed of and felt terri- us know this beautiful band!

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[ Interview with Stefanos Leontsinis and Paschalis Vichoudis from Haneke Twins by Diego Centuriรณn. ]

HANEKE TWINS: THE LARGE SOUND PARTICLE COLLIDER

Stefanos Leontsinis (guitars) and Paschalis Vichoudis (vocals and bass) they are two Greeks established in Geneva, Switzerland, who are not only friends, have shared other bands and are also scientists at CERN (The European Organization for Nuclear Research), but the fundamental thing in this story is that we approach them for their Haneke Twins band. The band was formed in 2018, that same year they recorded their self-titled debut EP and just a few weeks ago they released their second album called "Astronaut".

So we contacted two space musicians to discover, among other things, how space relates to music.

Hi guys, thanks for accepting this interview. It is always tempting to enter the life of a new band and discover those first impulses that managed to create the band, which would still be very fresh in your memory.

to everyone to please comply with the measures suggested by the expert virologists and remember, the pandemic is not a joke, it is real.

From what I have read you have been together for a long time, tell us, how long have you known each other? When do you join CERN? [Paschalis]: We have known each other for more than 10 years.

We met in Geneva when Stefanos joined CERN in 2007, if I remember well. Concerning me, I have already been at CERN since 2003.

But to start, tell us how and where did this pandemic called COVID-19 surprise you?

[Paschalis]: Hi Diego, firstly thank you very much for having us, it is a great pleasure! As you can imagine, COVID-19 caught us by surprise, as most of us we guess. Luckily we happened to be caught at home in What kind of work do you do at Switzerland rather than anywhere CERN? abroad - so at least we avoided being [Paschalis]: We both work mainly quarantined :) on the development of physics detectors such the Compact Muon You as scientists, a topic that we Solenoid (CMS) designed to study the will address in another question, interaction of particles accelerated what reflection do you have about by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). this pandemic?

Stefanos is working on the physics [Stefanos]: One lesson we learned aspects of the detectors while I am working in a scientific environment more focused on their electrical is to always trust the experts and we engineering side. wouldn’t diverge from that lesson, especially now during such a crisis. How and when the Haneke Twins Therefore we would just suggest was born? And does the name

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have to do with Michael Haneke?

[Stefanos]: The Haneke Twins project was born in 2018, when we both realized that we were sharing the same urge to compose our own music. We already had some ideas in the drawer that quickly converted into our 5-track debut EP. The album was recorded at Dudu Loft studio in Athens, Greece in just a weekend with a (not so) little-help-from-ourfriends drummer Kostas Zabos and producer Costas Verigas (both members of the amazing post-rock band Afformance).

Concerning the name, it is indeed a tribute to the great Austrian film director. More specifically, the name refers to his film “The white ribbon”, a one-of-a-kind suspense movie that — contrary to any other (that we know of) — it creates a second-tonone atmosphere without playing a single note of music! And for those

that have already watched the film, just a little hint: do you remember the twin girls? You never know, maybe one day we will compose an imaginary soundtrack for it :) They usually compare you to Interpol or Joy Division, how would you describe your postpunk?

[Paschalis]: No doubt, Joy Division and Interpol are two of our favourite artists and great influences, too. In general, it is quite difficult to describe post-punk as it is a very broad genre. Our approach musically is to mix dark dramatic baritone vocals, eerie but catchy guitars and minimalistic avant-garde aesthetics, while avoiding rock traditionalism and clichés. Lyrically, we deal with subjects such as psychological quests, concerns about modern life as well as other social and political

issues. Our end-goal is to time- Stathis Antoniou is and how did travel you to the dark and smokey he influence you when writing underground bars of the 80s with a this work? fresh revisited sound.

[Paschalis]: Stathis Antoniou is a young contemporary Athenian poet At the time of thinking about this with a very strong pen! A common interview it occurred to me to think friend introduced us in order to help about its direct post-punk sound, “dress” our debut EP with beautiful and I was thinking… How much of words in a period where lyrically we the hardness in your music can were out of ideas. Check him out, and you find in space? please don't hesitate about his greek [Stefanos]: hehehe, I will take origins since many of his poems (if that one. Unfortunately, no matter not all) are written in English. how powerful the music is, it cannot be heard in space. Sound travels They have just released their through the vibration of atoms and second album, tell us about it and molecules in a medium (such as air his suggestive name "Astronaut". or water). In space, where there is [Stefanos]: Indeed, we have no air, sound has no way to travel no released our album Astronaut the matter how good it is :) last day of July 2020. The album continues where we left off with a In your first work you use poems post-punk attitude same as in tracks

by Stathis Antoniou, tell us who “Deep” and “Climb” from our debut

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EP, but this time with a more in-yourface production. As with our debut EP, the recordings took place at Dudu Loft and Costas Verigas took care of the mixing, mastering and production. The title of the album is taken from the opening track and even though it suggests otherwise, the song deals with a story of mental illness.

— are more “down-to-earth”, more “underground” :)

We are in difficult times to make plans, but is there something you have already planned?

[Paschalis]: We learned that lesson the hard way, since we have to cancel all scheduled concerts from our spring 2020 mini-tour in Switzerland. We hope that our 4 Tell us about the cover made autumn gigs will take place but

by Bewild Brother. In a way it is nowadays you can never know. Let's related to your scientific activity. see what happens.

[Stefanos]: The album cover — made by this extremely talented To end this interview and thank illustrator — is inspired from the you for the time you have given lyrics of the title-track “Astronaut” us, I leave you this space so that rather than from our scientific you can say something to our activity. Besides, even though CERN readers... has a certain relation with space [Stefanos]: In a previous question I applications (such as the AMS), its referred to Haneke Twins as a project main scientific activities — and ours rather than as a band because back

in 2018, Haneke Twins was only seen as a studio project. This has changed in 2019 after the very positive feedback from various independent media, and only then we started thinking of setting up a band and start playing our material live. Haneke Twins became a band only after three talented musicians (and scientists!) joined us in spring 2019. Our band-mates I. Koukovinis (guitars), A. Kyritsis (bass) & M. Schenk (drums) have also participated in the recording of the album “Astronaut�. Such a pleasure having them with us!

Last-but-not-least, a small message for your readers: thank you very much for your support, we hope to see you soon in one of our future gigs!

In the meantime, please STAY SAFE! Thanks Haneke Twins and Kool Things Promotion for the contact.

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www.mutanteradio.com

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www.indiego.com.ar

[ By Fernando Rivera Rodríguez ]

INDIE SOUNDSCAPES TODAY: BIG THIEF

IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY DEAR AND BELOVED FATHER. Review: “Big Thief - Cattails”

Hello my friends. I want to talk about two events that happened the same day and were very sad and strange for me. First of all, unfortunately, my father passed away on November 11, just the same day of my Birthday and exactly one week ago. Secondly I´m in the need to show all my gratitude for your kind regards and signs of affection on my birthday. Thank you very much for thinking in me and showing all your love.

As you know I never talk about my private life and my goal is to write Music articles and share them with all of you.

But this time I think is important to mention my Dad´s loss because he was a great human being and I feel blessed to have been his son, always teaching me to do the right thing and to be honest.

He is now in God´s Heaven and is very rewarding because he is taking care of my family and me. Also it´s important to say he died the same day of my birth date. Some friends tell me it means that my father wanted to thank me, give me a tribute or just love.

In honour of my father I wanna dedicate him an incredible and gorgeous song I love so much and that he also liked. This theme is "Cattails" by BIG THIEF extracted from their masterpiece album "U.F.O.F." (2019 - 4AD RECORDS) with awesome reviews from critics and fans. This album is a serious contender to be one of the best records of the year.

I have chosen "Cattails" because is a peaceful, nostalgic and joyful song that represents the perfect vibe for this difficult moment and somehow creates a relaxing environment and softens the pain.

On the other side is the best song of the album showing delightful arrangements full of sonic details and an amazing aura. For sure it´s one of my favourite songs this year and I highly recommend it.

BIG THIEF´s third album is the first one to be released by the mythical 4AD RECORDS label. The band comes from Brooklyn, New York and the members are ADRIANNE LENKER (vocals and guitars), BUCK MEEK (guitars and backing vocals), MAX OLEARTCHIK (bass) and JAMES KRIVCHENIA (drums).

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All the songs on this magnificent album are great on their own and I will name some like the opener "Contact", "U.F.O.F", the song that gives name the album, "Orange", "Century", "Strange", Betsy", "Terminal Paradise", "Jenni", etc.

These are pastoral anthems wrapped in an exquisite Folk-Psychedelic atmosphere elaborated with a high sensitivity where we can appreciate the wonderful and delicate voice and whispers of ADRIANNE LENKER, the frontwoman and composer. It reminds me the best early years of R.E.M. (I.R.S. RECORDS), 10,000 MANIACS, MAZZY STAR, JUDY COLLINS, FLEET FOXES, JONI MITCHELL, ANGEL OLSEN, Kramies, THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH, COWBOY JUNKIES, BON IVER, etc.

Amazing news are that Big Thief has recorded their fourth album this year entitled "Two Hands" (2019 - 4AD RECORDS) and it´s as great as "U.F.O.F". Thanks so much my friends for your regards and great feelings!!!...

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http://madwaspradio.com/

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Loose Canon http://www.6towns.co.uk/

Simon's Big New Thursday Thing https://dimitriberzerk.bandcamp.com/releases

[ Interview with Brandon Pybus from Sonsombre by Diego Centuriรณn. ]

KEEP THAT FLAG OF REVIVAL HELD HIGH AND KEEP PUSHING THE SCENE!!

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If there is a band that represents the new wave of gothic rock, without a doubt it is the band led by Brandon Pybus, Sonsombre. Since 2018, he bursts with his first album "A Funeral For The Sun" and in two years he releases "The Veils Of Ending" (2019) and "One Thousand Graves" (2020).

We have long wanted to have this prolific and interesting band in the magazine and the time has come to interview their brain, Brandon Pybus.

Hello Brandon!

Thank you for agreeing to make this interview, it is an honor for us to have you on our pages.

To start with the questions, where did this pandemic surprise you?

First of all, thank you for this opportunity to talk to your readers!

Yes, the pandemic has been awful for everyone around the globe. Like many bands we lost a lot of shows this year due to it. We had a European tour scheduled for June and several festivals here in the US. We’ve been really fortunate to be able to still reach people with live-streaming, which we love, but we definitely can’t wait to get back on the stage when circumstances permit.

own merits. I’ve always listened to a wide variety of dark music, and Goth Rock was a constant love of mine.

Before you fully entered Sonsombre, you had a side project last year alongside Michael Louis of Chronic Twilight called "Shadow Assembly" and they released a record called "Ghostcrawl". Tell us about this project.

Sure, Shadow Assembly was all Michael’s idea. He is a prolific songwriter and wanted to do a really Goth project… We started sharing ideas and ended up with Ghostcrawl.

I’m proud of that album. It has a unique vibe. He’s currently working on a new record with that project. This go around I’m only doing vocals on two tracks, but I traced you to Butchery, a death he has a really impressive line-up of metal project almost 30 years ago, vocalists contributing to the rest of the what happened to your music until tracks. I’m excited for people to hear you reached Sonsombre? that record.

Ah! This is a great question. The truth is it never really stopped. I was Now we start with Sonsombre. in several other bands through the I have read that the name is a name years mostly in the black metal scene. formed by the union of two words I actually still have an active black in French. Tell us what are those metal project that I won’t name here words? And how and when is the because I would rather it stand on it’s music of Sonsombre born? own musically. If people find it I want Yes indeed… It is two French words them to either like or not based on it’s Son Sombre meaning “dark sound”. I

wanted a name that would keep me on track. I envisioned Sonsombre as an outlet for all of the Goth Rock I would write through the years and it was important to me to keep the vibe dark, like all of the art that I love. I started writing the tracks that would become “A Funeral for the Sun” in 2016. I kept writing and recording it on my own while working other projects and when I felt it was done I released it on a whim.

I honestly never intended to release that record until the very last minute. I just didn’t think anyone would respond to that sound. I’m glad I changed my mind though. It’s been a great ride ever since.

You pick up the gothic rock sound of bands from the 90's like Nosferatu, The Wake, Rosetta Stone or Suspiria, among many other bands. I have read that one of the main idea of Sonsombre was to rescue the sound of the guitar. What can you tell us about that?

Absolutely! My first introduction to Goth was through bands like Christian Death, Nosferatu, The Wake, Suspiria, Fields of the Nephilim, etc. As the 90s waned and the 2000s rolled in Goth was changing and I missed the sound of those bands. I know there were still bands doing guitar driven Goth Rock, but the scene largely migrated away from that sound. I just wanted to make a record like the ones I enjoyed back then… to re-create the feeling that I had when I heard “Rise” or “Masked” for example. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against synth driven music, but as a guitarist I just love the edge that a guitar adds. To me songs just hit harder, are more dynamic, and drive more emotion when they have guitar, so it is very important for me to keep that feeling in Goth Rock moving

into the future.

Three albums in two years is a significant number and marks your prolific way of writing, have you written the songs in these three years or do you have a song reservation on hold?

I have a lot of songs recorded, but they are all songs that I rejected along the way from inclusion on the albums.

I write constantly. It’s just something that I’ve always done. I don’t consider it work. It’s my outlet. I definitely go through periods of where I’m perhaps more creative than others, but writing never stops. If the songs are there and ready for release, why wait? As a fan of music, I love new albums, so I want Sonsombre to do everything we can to keep fresh music coming out for the listeners.

How do you listen to the first album "A Funeral For The Sun" today? Do you find production errors or would you change some things?

Oh absolutely I do. I’ve learned quite a bit along the way, and feel that I’ve really found my voice. I still am very pleased with that album for what it was, but I see progression between every album. Looking back I would like a chance to re-master that record (maybe for a vinyl release) to make it punch a little harder. If I ever get the opportunity I would love to do that.

"The Veils Of Ending" is a great album. What differences do you find between the first and the second album?

I think Veils is where I found my voice, both as a vocalist and in the music.

The Sonsombre sound started to come to life. I became more confident as a vocalist and just feel a lot more emotion

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in that album. The production is bigger and bolder and hits harder, and I think the writing is a bit more coherent since it was done over a shorter period of time.

interesting thing about the world we live in now is that I don’t think shows play as big of a role in promotion as they used to. Ironically we’ve grown tremendously during the pandemic between Social Media, videos, and live-streaming. I think we just had to redirect our energies toward making content to keep people engaged and curious about what we were doing.

I've read an interview this year where you said you wanted to play as much as possible, but the Covid-19 appeared. How did it affect the promotion of the album “One Give us three words that come to Thousand Graves”?

We definitely had a lot of shows mind with each of your name albums. planned that were cancelled, but the "A Funeral For The Sun": searching,

lonely, anachronism "The Veils Of Ending": power, black, foggy "One Thousand Graves": rising, flying, isolation

sensibility. The number of bands is growing and people in the scene seem to be genuinely responding. We were fortunate to come along at this time and to be a part of it all.

In an interview you said: “Playing live is honestly one of my favorite things to do in life.”

How do you feel in these months without that possibility?

It’s still true. The energy I get from playing live cannot be replicated in any other way. I absolutely love the whole process. I love meeting new people, seeing new places, and the feeling when the lights go down and the first guitar kicks in. I miss it terribly! We can’t wait for this pandemic to end and get back out there again.

January wouldn't be that far back in time if this pandemic hadn't existed, do you already have more songs?

Oh yes definitely. The fourth album is almost complete… haha. In honor of what’s happening in the scene it will be called “Revival”. So far I can tell you that it will have the biggest sound to date.

Once again there is a progression in writing and production to my ear. We certainly hope the listeners and fans will agree.

In the last album there is a much more produced, do you think the same?

Yes I agree. I do all of the recording, mixing, and mastering, and I’m learning a lot as I go along. I think the listener deserves quality, so I put everything I can into getting the best production possible.

Hopefully the next record will be even better on the production front.

How do you see the current gothic rock scene today?

I’m actually so excited to see what’s happening.

There is a general enthusiasm all across the scene. What excites me most though is the Revival in guitar driven Goth Rock with a classic Goth

What did it mean for the band to

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sign for Cleopatra Records?

It was coming full circle for me.

Cleopatra bands back in the 90s got me into Goth, and it is honestly the home where I’ve always wanted to be with this project. We’ve been so fortunate to work with Post Gothic records (and still do), but Cleopatra’s platforms have helped us grow tremendously, and we are grateful that they believed in us enough to bring us on board. I would also say that it is wonderful to see Cleopatra as a label returning to their roots. I’m sure you’ve noticed they have really stepped up their Goth releases of late. It’s a great thing!

What do you think of the streaming live that flood the networks?

I like it honestly. I watch as many as I can (and yes there are more than anyone could possibly keep up with). I think it’s a great opportunity for bands to interact with the listeners and fans,

and I would wager that it won’t go away once the pandemic passes. As an artist this format just allows you to reach people you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach. It’s definitely not a replacement for live shows in any way, but it is a nice extra layer of interaction.

To end this interview and thanking you for the time you have given us.

What would you say to our readers?

If you’re a Sonsombre fan, thank you so much for your support!! We truly appreciate the devotion and enthusiasm. If you’re not, give us a listen. I’m sure we’re not for everyone, but we would love an opportunity to show you what we’re about. We look forward to seeing you all out there as soon as we can. Keep that flag of Revival held high and keep pushing the scene!! Stay Goth Thanks Brandon!

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[ Interview with David Martin from I Like Trains by Diego Centuriรณn.

Photographs: Ben Bentley. ]

I LIKE TRAINS IN OVERDRIVE: NEW PHASE, NEW LP

Within weeks of the release of a new album called "Kompromat", announced for August 21, we wanted to approach this post-punk band from Leeds to get to know them more closely. Born in 2004, they have released four albums, "Elegies to Lessons Learnt" (2007), "He Who Saw The Deep" (2010), "The Shallows" (2012) and the soundtrack "A Divorce Before Marriage" (2016) and various EPs. The band consists of David Martin (guitar and vocals), Alistair Bowis (bass), Guy Bannister (guitar and synthesizer), Simon Fogal (drums) and Ian Jarrold (guitar).

And after the first three singles that advance the new album, "A Steady Hand", "Dig In" and "The Truth", we have contacted David Martin to talk his music.

Hi David!

Before starting with the questions, I want to thank you for the space you provide us so that we can get to know you, beyond music.

To begin with, and thinking about this precise moment in which we have to live, how and where did this pandemic find you?

I am at home with my family in Leeds.

Trying to keep my kids educated and entertained while also working and promoting our album. We’re all fit and healthy and still friends most of the time!

governments took in dealing with it, and the profiteering and corruption which is being revealed. Quite the opposite of the selfless actions the people of Eyam took during plague to isolate themselves.

Did the post-production or the Kompromat strategy change anything because of the Covid-19?

I guess the key difference is that we would be heading out to play some live shows. We did an interview livestream on the day we should have been playing in Leeds. That approach has become more popular during this time. I was worried the subject matter would be a little too Thinking of the song "We All heavy at this point, but people seem Fall Down" from your first album to be enjoying it.

"Elegies to Lessons Learnt" (2007), have you thought about Listening to their previous writing about the Covid-19? productions, all the albums have A few people mentioned ‘We All a story to tell, tell us a little about Fall Down’ when the pandemic the research work you do to write started. I wouldn’t rule out a song the songs. about Covid-19 I guess, although I find I need to read and research a I suspect it would concentrate great deal for the lyrics to come. One on the terrible response certain song will usually lead onto another

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quite naturally in this way. During my research another story or subject will be mentioned and I’ll make a note to come back to it. There are certain songs which tell the same story from a different view point.

‘Spencer Perceval’ and it’s b-side ‘I Am Murdered’ for example. The truth is never simple!

The songs always talked about characters, but in "He Who Saw The Deep" (2010) you talk about climate change and in this album you focus on the political and commercial manipulation of personal data. What inspired this new approach?

Even in dealing with these subject, I do tend to take on character roles.

He Who Saw The Deep took its name from an epic Mesopotamian poem, and various characters are referenced in the songs. On KOMPROMAT I think I generally play the villians. Politicians and

special governmental advisors pulling the strings and manipulating the narrative.

I believe that at this moment the personal data of each one of us poured into the networks is being more manipulated than ever, this pandemic and this global quarantine will be the cause, but I feel that in a way we are more enslaved by the monopolies, either using social networks or platforms for communication or with the home office. What do you think about it?

I think you’re absolutely right.

It’s difficult to know how we break free from that at this point. I think democracy itself is under threat as a result. I guess we try to stay aware. Call out the people and the companies that need to be called out. Try not to spend our money with those companies and vote with our eyes open.

You have your own record label (ILR), but you just signed with Atlantic Curve. What motivated this new path? And what situation is ILR in?

Self-releasing simply became too much work. We have families and jobs that take up a great deal of time, so it was the right moment to find a label to take this album to the world. It’s good to have a team around us. Absolutely no plans at this point to do anything with ILR, but that may change in the future. Everyone dreams of having their own label! Most people don’t realise how much hard work it is.

Already speaking of "Kompromat", the three singles they have released, it has a much harder sound than everything they have recorded before, they seem more angry. What difference do you find in the new album compared to his previous works?

I feel like there’s lots to be angry about. The global political situation is worse than it’s ever been in my lifetime. It was a cathartic process to make

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this album. I get to shout at all the lizards who are putting power and money above human life.

Speaking of the new singles preview, tell us what can we expect from the new album from the strictly sound?

It’s all pretty dark. I think the influences have broadened. I was keen that the album didn’t sound polite. So there’s a fair bit of abrasive noise.

To finish and thank you for this opportunity, waiting for the release of the album, I have read that for this album, you have listened again to those bands that served for the birth of I LIKE TRAINS ... Is it a new beginning again?

It’s true. We took a long time to write the album, and it felt important to reassess why we formed a band in the first place, and to do that we needed to find the original source material. I feel like we took it, and ran in a completely different direction. Being in a band is supposed to be fun. I think we found that in noise and chaos.

Thank you David and Shameless Promotion PR for bringing us such brilliant artists!

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[ Interview with Mark Gardener by Diego Centuriรณn.

Photographs: Julian Hayr, Steve Gullick and Matt Draper. ]

MARK GARDENER TAKES US FOR A RIDE AND BEYOND

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An ever-active Mark Gardener gave us the chance to ask him a few questions about the new single he just released, “Chained” in collaboration with 2Square, also known as Stephan Haeri of Telepopmusik from France. But his well-known career with his band Ride and his countless collaboration gives way to these questions...

Hi Mark!

Thankyouforgivingusthisopportunity to ask you these questions.

It is a pleasure for us to have you in our magazine.

For starters, I'd like you to tell us where this pandemic found you.

The pandemic has found me between home and my studio in Oxfordshire.

I’m most mainly in my studio and have been able to continue to work as lots of the work I’m being sent files to mix and produce without the people. I’ve actually been the busiest I have ever been in my life over the past 3 months. Working crazy long hours from morning until the early hours of the next morning!

It’s all good though as it’s all music and I love being in my studio.

I’ve also sometimes been visiting an ancient elevated old roadway close to the studio called The Ridgeway. It’s beautiful and has panoramic views around Oxfordshire and is a great place to have ear breaks and clear my mind and think a little.

We go back in time and you look at yourself in that beginning with RIDE in the 80s and your dreams within music, that dream of your future.

Paraphrasing a song from that project "The Animalhouse" and precisely from the album "Ready to Receive". What happened to the future?

The Future is unwritten! It was my dream to be in music. It was my dream to build a studio like the one I have now built and work in. That dream to build a studio space I could work in took a long time to achieve but I got there in the end. Being a professional musician happened very quickly with Ride. I also wanted to travel lots and see the World as people, places and different cultures and language really interest me.

It is impossible not to ask about RIDE. Are there any news?

Not much at the moment. We finished the World tour in February just before the Pandemic kicked in. We have taken some time to rest and recover from that. I needed this time to work in my studio and get the studio build finished with an extension and get lots of new music work coming in.

Like many bands at the moment it will be hard for Ride to survive without any live shows? Spotify and streaming services are terrible for bands and survival. That model has to change as it’s so difficult now for bands to get any income to keep going and develop their talents. More bands

should use Bandcamp and if people want their favourite bands to continue then they should support them on platforms such as Bandcamp as some income does actually go to the artists.

Your new collaboration is the reason for this interview, but speaking of collaborations, you have worked with many artists and in very different musics, just to name a few with Robin Guthrie, Ulrich Schnauss or Goldrush,

up to The Brian Jonestown Massacre or the Surfin Chaos de Iguana Lovers, without forgetting the Pure Phase Ensemble. What are you looking for when choosing collaboration?

Most of the time these people ask me to collaborate. I enjoy working with different artists. It keeps me fresh and I like the challenge of creating something interesting and unique with people.

The new single "Chained". I have

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had crashed and before I moved to the Medieaval wilds of France for four years.

My house and life had turned into a night club and nonstop party. I had not dealt with the fall out of having been in a successful band and then it crashed and then there was nothing. I liked to party but all was getting out of hand. Escaping to the wilds of France was a good move for me after that time.

You recently released the video for Tell us about the lyric. I read that “Chained”. Please tell us about it. reflects a specific time in your life.

Shauna McLarnon connected me with Yes it was a time in Oxford after Ride Dariy Karyakin and he forward a video read that it was a few weeks of intense work in Paris with Stephan Haeri. Tell us how and when is this collaboration born?

We had a mutual DJ friend in Paris called Melanie Bauer. She connected me with Stephan. I spent a week in Stephan’s studio apartment with him in Paris and three tracks were created. I will release the other tracks soon.

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idea that was perfect for the song. He re shot that video and added the shadowy demons and it was perfect. I hate and have problems with lots of videos but when they work they really work and I think this worked really well. I would like to work more with Dariy maybe for the next releases of these songs with Stephan.

You said that this is one of the collaborations that you have made that you like the most. Tell us about that feeling.

Yes I love it. It’s timeless and really interesting. I love all the sounds and the drum break and the jazzy kind of piano feel. It fits with how I would like to work with sounds and these kind of elements for future solo and collaboration work.

Stephan pushed my vocal into a different kind of feel and place and I loved working

with Stephan and I love Paris. Paris is a very inspirational and creative city for me.

I know there are two more songs from that collaboration. When are you planning to release it?

Soon I think !?!?!

Quarantine has stopped the course of things in real time, but not in virtual.

Are you working on something new?

I’ve just been working with a couple of artists who are signed to Alan Mcgees Creation 23 label they are Charlie Clark and Christian Pattemore. I mastered Charlies’ album and I have remixed and produced a single for Christian. Alan is still finding amazing new artists and music and it’s been great working with Alan again. I’m also starting work on a solo album. I’ve also been working with other artists in the

studio... Leani Kaleido, Magic Seas I’m also about to mix an album for an Australian band called ‘Shiva And The Hazards’ and I also recently mastered a fantastic single for a band from Glasgow called ‘Kundalini Genie’. Kundalini genie and their mixer / producer Jason Shaw will be coming to the studio in September and we will all do more work together… I’ve also been producing a few Podcasts with astronauts and some really interesting people so yes I ‘ve been busy !!!

I know that you have been in Argentina and Chile a few years ago. Will we ever see you from these sides again?

I certainly hope so. I’ve really enjoyed my visits to South America. I look forward to coming back. I was quite ill the last time I was in Argentina so I would like to come back to Argentina and be well and play more music. I met lots of great people when I was last in Argentina.

To end this interview and thank you for the time spent. I would like you to tell your fans what you want.

Stay safe …Thanks for the support and I look forward to hopefully seeing you again soon Thanks Mark it was a pleasure and an honor to be able to ask you these questions!

You’re very welcome X

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[ Interview with Paul Nash from The Danse Society by Diego Centuriรณn. ]

THE DANSE SOCIETY OUR MUSIC IS FOOD FOR THE DARK SOUL.

Thinking that a band can celebrate 40 years of existence is a dream that very rarely can come true. But we are here before one of those bands that can boast that it has reached this age and that it still continues to have fresh ideas to release its seventh album, "Sailing Mirrors" that will arrive on September 1.

And beginning a new decade within a pandemic, we can ask one of the pioneering post-punk bands in English these questions.

Hi Paul, thanks for agreeing to answer these questions and thanks for a new album by The Danse Society.

There is something that has crossed us in this 2020, Covid-19.

How and where has all this madness surprised you? And how are they today after several months of this pandemic?

Firstly thank you so much for the interview and may we wish everyone who reads this healthy and happy best wishes. When the pandemic hit the UK and everything went into lockdown I personally was very ill for two weeks (which I believe was Covid-19) although no testing was being done at the time so I guess I will never know for sure.

Unfortunately a couple of months later my elderly father contracted and died from the virus so for me it’s a very personal thing. I find it amazing that our government have been so incompetent at dealing with this here in the UK and while other countries like New Zealand are leading the way in fighting the pandemic my country appears to be the worst, which is tragic for all the people here who have lost their lives.

While things are beginning to return to normal in some areas, there is fear of the second wave and the worst hit area, which is the arts, especially live performance, is not being supported at all. I am scared to think of what will

happen to the music and performance industry and when and if we will be able ever play live music again. I believe the response in Argentina has been much more decisive and successful in dealing with Covid which is really good news. There is no doubt though, going to be a challenging times ahead for everyone. Apologies if that was a bit of a heavy answer as I said it’s hit me very hard personally.

It is difficult to summarize 40 years in a few questions. Surely each album each, single, each show, has a story to tell and surely they are very interesting anecdotes. But to cover these 40 years, you have been supporters of Killing Joke, Bauhaus, The Cure, all bands that are already 40 years old… There are not many bands that can boast about it, how does it feel to look back and have so much road traveled?

You know it’s hard to believe that this all started 40 years ago, in some ways it seems like a blink of an eye!

I do however feel privileged to have played with so many great bands, many of which as you mentioned, are still around! It was a magical time so much great music, so many great bands, so many great times. The Cure gave us our live break supporting them in Manchester and London, and then we were lucky to get on tour support with the mighty Killing Joke where we

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really learned our trade so to speak - I will never forget the power of Geordies guitar and the intensity of Jaz’s vocal performance. Bauhaus turning up to the gigs in a hearse was great fun and Pete Murphy was super cool (too cool to talk to the support band that's for sure!)

These days we still get to play with some bands that were around then, recently doing some gigs with Spear of Destiny, Rose of Avalanche but for me it’s about making new friends and making new music recently playing with Palais Ideal, The Arch etc. although there are still some bands 40 years old and more I would still live to play on the same stage with (who knows it may happen one day!)

From the beginning of the band “Society Records” was born and they still continue, How is it to carry your music in such an independent way throughout so many years? Because today it could be understood more,

but in the 80's and 90's maybe it was all much more difficult.

Society records was born so we would have complete control of our musical output and not be influenced by anyone outside the band (which actually worked pretty well except for the period we were signed to Arista/ BMG) - the value, looking back, seems very clear - when we were signed we had to bend to the record companies desires, I don’t think for example we would have ever made ‘Say it Again’ had we still been independent, not that there’s anything wrong with it - just that it wasn’t really the direction we were destined to explore. Going DIY these days is much more common and easier to do in many ways, but now there is so much more competition so it’s hard to get noticed - but we make our music for us (as always) and hope that other people like it (which fortunately they seem to do) - The Danse Society sound has always been an evolution - I don't

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go and are part of your timeline for a while before moving on - I am fortunate to have met so many great musicians while doing The Danse Society. They all bring something fresh to the musical table and it makes for interesting and rewarding collaborations. The band has fun playing together and that keeps the spirits high. Plus on the new album ‘Sailing Mirrors’ I asked a few friends to How is the spirit of the band contribute including our old keyboard maintained after the member player David Whitaker amongst others. changes?

As in life people/friends come and If I name some people or festivals, want to be stuck in the same rut like some bands (mention no names) who churn out the same sounding album time after time. I want each album to be something new and interesting, some will love and some will prefer the previous records which is fine btw - we are grateful for the support from our fans in any way.

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what words come to your mind?

John Peel Peel was massively important to so many people my age introducing new music to us night after night - doubly important to TDS as he gave us our first big break by offering us a BBC session - sadly missed

entirely your own choice? How to write more pop songs to enter the rankings.

There was definitely some of that but I think it was more a frustration of not being able to get a second record deal which sent people on their way, either in search of something new or down a rabbit hole of drugs and depression, things drifted apart, the desire wasn’t strong enough like it was earlier in the decade, I don’t think it was all about writing pop songs, we were never interested in that.

Futurama Festival John Keenan the promoter of Futurama took a chance booking a small young band from Barnsley onto the same stage as U2 and Soft Cell (we played in between them) - it was our second ever gig as Danse Crazy 2010 was the year they got back (which became shortly after Danse together, but Steve Rawlings was Society). Fantastic set of gigs/festivals only a short time, what was the feeling of the rest of the band when - just look at the lineup posters! he decided to leave?

Steve initially said he was interested The Cure Love love love them, still amazing - and then disappeared back to America did you see the Glastonbury gig last and despite everyone’s best efforts year? if not check it out on youtube - we could not get hold of him, again so influential and made great music - I frustration set in as we had some great was only listening to Three Imaginary songs written - we wanted to put them Boys in the car yesterday - still sounds out to show them off and for people to see the magic was still there - but it incredible. wasn’t to be.

Christopher Lee (Dracula) Ok I have a thing for Dracula - Whitby Enter Maethelyiah and The Danse is literally just up the road from where Society is reborn. What are the I live and it’s always great to see the differences between the new TDS Abbey. Christopher Lee was one of the and the old TDS? best Dracula’s - in my mind it’s a toss- TDS was never the same, even during up between him and Bela Lugosi as to the 80s the Seduction album is radically who was best - however the recent BBC different from Heaven is Waiting which drama was pretty special...Check out is radically different from Say it Again or the video to Valerio’s Theme, you will Hold on etc. We have always evolved, see my specially commissioned guitar grown and changed. Having a woman (named ‘Mr Harker’) which features replace a male singer was just another amazing artwork on it of Christopher step in the evolution for us, in fact I challenge anyone to come up with other Lee as Dracula. examples of where this has happened Do you think that the separation in (there are not many). So, apart from the '87 was due to losing the direction of obvious ones in singing style, pitch and his music a little, and be influenced range there is also a different dynamic. by bad decisions that were not For some old school fans this was too

much to handle, but for those that came with a more open mind they responded brilliantly and really got behind the new incarnation. I think ‘Change of Skin’ the first album back after reforming was some what of a shock but I really like that album and believe it still sounds like ‘The Danse Society’. Maethelyiah has added another dimension like any new member does, just like when we recruited our newest drummer Tom Davenport, however The Danse Society ethos remains the same; dark powerful music - innovative, interesting and experimental.

After several albums together they prepare for a new release, but in June they release "ON'T BBC 198082". Tell us about this live song compilation album.

ONT BBC is a compilation of performances done on the BBC - two John Peel sessions, the futurama performance that was broadcast on BBC2 and the bands set on the BBC’s flagship arts programme Riverside. It captures brilliantly the band’s energy and freshness of the early 80s.

Now comes "Sailing Mirrors", certainly a great album. Tell us how

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was the recording of this work.

Sailing Mirrors was intended to be a double album - in fact we had 60 songs to choose from which we worked down to 18 and then down to 9. The reason for that was it was too overwhelming to work on so many songs at once. We had to be very ruthless in our selection and we wanted to release a real album of top quality. I am sure some of the other songs will surface on future records but I am so proud of this album, we all think it sounds amazing - I hope the audience will love it as much as we do.

did play some of the songs live before lockdown and they were very well received, especially Valerio’s Theme, We Fall and Kill U Later. I cannot wait to play them and some of the others again.

Tell us who has made the beautiful art of the new album?

An italian artist called Alessendra Centi who we discovered through a mutual friend - her artwork is incredible and when we saw it we knew we had to have it for the album - wait till you see the LP and CD (beautiful) - and also I imagine that you will feel a strange the collectors pack comes with some sensation of releasing an album and art prints. We are so lucky to have her not being able to go out and show it on board. live. How do you feel about it?

I’ve come to terms with it now but when For those of readers who haven't we were recording it was ‘This ones is listened to the album, what will you going to be amazing on stage’ and ‘wait find at Sailing Mirrors? till they hear this live’ - of course we Well that’s a really hard question,

every track has its own story, you won’t find two alike, I’ve asked people what their favorite track is and no one says the same track - what you will find is some pretty dark and powerful tracks, some great sounds and melodies and something (we think) a bit different from the usual run of the mill ‘Goth’ record.

To finish and thanking these responses.

What do you mean that I have not asked?

Thank you for asking, and I hope everyone stays safe and gets to listen to our music. If music is food for the soul then our music is food for the dark soul. peace and love!

Paul Nash The Danse Society You can pre-order the album from www.thedansesociety.com or go to dansesociety.bandcamp.com for all other albums and merch.

Thank You Paul!

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[ Interview with Soft Set by Bernardo Jiménez Mesa.

Photographs: Heidi Athay. ]

SONIC REVERIE AND DISCOVERY WIT TORONTO'S SOFT SET

We are about to discover a duo formed by James Gray and Nathan Athay, called Soft Set. A project from Toronto, Canada that has a connection with another of the artists found in this issue, the new Soft Set EP, "Never Die" was mixed by Mark Gardener, from this and from the life of this duo they responded to us And this is the result…

The “Never Die”single has been quite a beautiful surprise for us at the magazine. One can hear several different influences but the outcome is quite unique. It sounds Indie, Dream-Pop and Shoegaze in equal parts. May you tell us a bit about your musical influences?

Thanks! We’re glad you and everyone at the magazine like the single. We’ve been very surprised at the reception we’ve received considering no one really knows who we are except in our little music scene circles here in Toronto. Influences?

Definitely fans of Slowdive, MBV and RIDE (of course). We also enjoy bands like Felt, Moose, Radio Dept etc.

forthcoming EP, your debut, may you share with us some of your musical background and history as artists?

Sure! Both James and I have been playing music for over twenty years and it all really started in high school where I was playing drums for a local shoegaze/dream pop act called “Watercolour”. James got a guitar around that time and learned all of the songs we were playing and stepped in occasionally when the lead guitarist couldn’t attend a show. The band only lasted a few years, but James and I continued to work on other projects both together and separately in other bands. Even when we were playing in other bands, James and I never lost touch and played music together whenever we Apart from those musical could. Now we’re here! influences, any other artists (from any discipline) or writers that We read about Mike Gardener inspire your music and/or lyrics? mixing the single Never Die, is I believe we inspire each other, that correct? Did he work mixing really. Whenever we go in the studio, the rest of the EP as well? we always try to give everything we We’d like to know about how can for each song and because your paths crossed and how was there’s only the two of us, we feel it for you working with him? that each of us has to work that much Yeah! Mark mixed the entire EP and harder to deliver! it was such an honour working with one of our heroes! We learned a lot Being this single, and the throughout the entire process and it

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was amazing to hear our music really unfold whenever we received mixes back from Mark. The process was pretty seamless. We’d send Mark the tracks and we’d go back and forth with notes for a bit until both parties were satisfied with the final product and then we’d move on to the next song. We’re really pleased with the final results and we hope that whoever listens to the album likes it too!

Is Soft Set a duo when playing live too? Or it becomes a full band on stage?

I think it all depends on the shows and where they are. James and I are currently rehearsing for upcoming shows in Toronto with just the two of us, but we’ve got some very talented friends that can help out with the live elements whenever needed. We would love to have a 4, or 5 piece if

we had a tour in place in the future!

What is the origin of the name Soft Set? What it means to you?

Haha! This was actually the hardest part of the whole project! James and I pondered over the name for the longest time and we really decided on Soft Set when Mark Gardener asked us for a name, so he could start mixing the tracks! We had a few names in mind, but Soft Set sounded right for the kind of music we play.

What are your plans for the near future?

It’s pretty much business as usual for us at E5 Studios here in Toronto!

We’re trying to meet up whenever we can to rehearse for upcoming shows and to work on new music!

Once all this Covid-19 madness is over (if such a thing is possible),

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will you consider coming to South America to play? In the last 6 or 7 years, there's been a growing new audience for Dream-pop and Shoegaze in our countries, and we reckon Soft Set music could fit in perfectly in those circles.

We’d love to play in South America if ever we get the chance! We’ve heard similar things in that there’s

a growing scene and demand for shoegaze and dream pop acts and we’d love to come down and see the great things that are happening over there!

Is there anything else that you’d like to add or tell to our readers?

Thanks for listening to our music and stay safe out there!

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