|
Music Player |
Enochian Apocalypse Music Player
The best in electro, EBM, industrial, darkwave and goth music. |
|
|
|
|
Statistics |
Members: 692
News: 757
WebLinks: 263
Visitors: 6415233
|
|
Who's Online |
|
We have 75 guests online |
|
|
|
Fractured Interview @ Enochian Apocalypse |
|
|
|
|
Contributed by Vassago
|
|
Saturday, 03 June 2006 |
 Vassago: I remember emailing Fractured after a little research in Myspace.com. It was exactly 2-3 days before Dependent announced the beginning of your co-operation. Tell us a few words up to that time. How did you start composing songs? What was the motivation behind the band and what was your original goal?
Nick: Fractured has always primarily been a creative outlet for my emotions and opinions. My original goal was to basically write music and press some cds for friends and family. The deal with Dependent came at a really weird time, I had been doing a lot of remix work for Alfa-Matrix and submitting tracks for compilations and all of a sudden I had the 'best' industrial label on the market looking to sign Fractured. I never really imagined it would come this far - considering all thats happened in the last year I have a lot to be thankful for and its become a little bit more than a part-time hobby for me. I have come to realize that the signing means I have creative control over a product that is distributed all over the world and I have control over the message Fractured represents, its quite an interesting concept for me.
Vassago: You are a perfect example of an artist who started alone, uploaded songs on the internet and made it this far. So, good quality songs and a bit of luck is the key to success in the scene?
Nick: I think that bands with a little bit of talent who are willing to listen to constructive critisism and work hard will not be refused in any scene. I am blessed with a talent for learning from others very quickly and I've met a ton of other musicians that have taught me so many invaluable concepts musically as well as personally and I believe that this is the key to the success of Fractured. I do work at least 3-4 hours a night on music production and writing and do take that aspect very seriously.
Vassago: Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t “Contamination” an unofficial internet release? To my opinion this is a great album under a not so good production. Thinking in re-releasing the album under Dependent or at least re-mastering some of the songs?
Nick: Contami-Nation was Fractured's first demo release. I did this demo on my own as well as self-released and sold them off the website. I decided to put it online to stream after I had a ton of people emailing me asking where they could get a copy, which had long since been out of print. I dont plan to re-release it or remaster it, but you may find a track or two reworked on a future disc as a b-side. I was really unhappy with the production and the direction of the music but it was only a demo and for those of you who own a copy it may become somewhat of a collectors item since there were so few pressed :)
Vassago: From Skinny puppy, Controlled Bleeding and Front line Assembly to our age and a completely different profile embraces the electronic scene. Was it that oldbands had being experimenting that made them unique or is it that today’s technology permits everybody to
compose music which is not always of the first quality?
Nick: I think what made bands unique is their ability to create emotion and atmospheres out of their music. Skinny Puppy didn’t rely on trance presets and sequencers with laptops in the 80s to create their music and actually had a 'band'. I think that with technology comes a lot of laziness as its become much too easy to create cutrate music very simply and easily. It also gives us the ability to take ideas to the next level but there is no subsitute for hard work and attention to detail. If you really develop a sound for yourself then you set yourself apart - that is how its always been and will always continue to be.
Vassago: So after “Contamination” we have “Only human remains” your first official release. Can you giveus an insight into this? And are those two titles bound together?
Nick: I have to admit that both discs were huge learning experiences for myself and for Fractured as a 'band'. A big difference was the inclusion of Famine in the thought process and writing of the music and production. All of the tracks on OHR ended up getting revised from their 'demo' versions and completely changed in some cases. He taught me that it is ok to write outside of the box and get away from a familiar trend and try new ideas and his style of writing complimented mine so perfectly and instantly which is an experience ive never had happen before even playing in punk and metal bands with other skilled musicians. I guess there is always a million things to regret after the disc is pressed but I am quite happy with the results and I know that the bar was personally set quite low and Fractured has matured a lot since the release of Only Human Remains. Conceptually they are somewhat linked, I guess I kind of look at the song writing as a personal journal for myself and how I change and how people around me change. I can't write songs about things I havent experienced without it being completely fake and I find its easier to relate to people in general if I write about things that everyone experiences and feelings everyone have at one time or another.
Vassago: 8 months after the official release, Fractured are dominating in voting polls and music charts (you won our voting poll as well). Is this something you were expecting to happen?
Nick: First of all, thank you very much for even including us in your poll! In retrospect I never expected to even end up on a record label releasing albums and playing shows again, so I am incredibly greatful for everything that has happened, even this interview - or any interview. It is quite interesting in the way that people out there might even care or read about what I have to say about my 'art'. Its a great feeling when I recieve emails from people who say they like the songs or that they saw us play live and liked it. Even if its one person that might like the disc as much as I love other peoples music then I believe its all worth the effort because its such a magical feeling. Of course art is objectional and everyone is entitled to their opinions so I dont expect anyone to get anything out of it except me ultimately.
Vassago: What makes Fractured special to my ears, is the fantastic production as well as the very clever interruptions in the industrial vocals. Also it makes me feel that this is all about a concept album Is this the case with “Only Human Remains”?
Nick: Only Human Remains concept is mostly based on human emotions and the realization that we're all human and all make mistakes. Not one of us is perfect and is a lesson which I myself have to learn to accept is that you can only control what you can control and others make their own decisions based on what they want out of life. I believe in fate and that everything in the world happens for a reason which shapes us as individuals and its up to ourselves to choose the path to live and learn and make the most of it, or the least of it. To be honest the interruptions in the vocals was because I couldent match the same emotions and feelings of the original takes which were recorded in most cases a year prior to the release and I hated the quality so figured I needed to do something to make it more interesting. It was a good exercise in learning new techniques but since the release I have realized a lot of other bands using these ideas and I dont think that you will see very much of it on the next album. I have a lot of new tricks up my sleeve and I'd like to see the Fractured sound evolve from album to album instead of relying on the same old ideas time after time.
Vassago: I’ve heard that one of your band members left Fractured. Tell me a few things about it and how much were you affected from this loss? Is this an end result of musical or personal differences?
Nick: Morgana had decided to leave the band to persue her own musicial goals and was both based on musical differences and personal differences. I think for bands its always hard to loose a member but she was 99% a live member and personally a really good friend. It won't change the sound of Fractured at all but the live dynamic will change a little. I'm still sorting out ideas for live shows and if you've had the chance to see us perform more than once you will notice that our setup and sound changes a lot. At the moment I believe I have settled with Famine playing live drums and myself on guitar and vocals. Im not sure if I will include any other live members in the future but there is always the possibility for a bassist and mabye a keyboardist.
Vassago: Frank Spinath of Seabound decided to co-operate with you. What should people expect from this and how did you decide to bring him in the band?
Nick: Well Frank isnt a member of Fractured, but we have worked on a few tracks together that we hope to release soon. He contacted me shortly after the release of Only Human Remains and congratulated me on the signing and over the last while have become quite good friends. Over the last few weeks we've been working on some music that has really inspired both of us and I really admire his talents and ideas.
Vassago: Any new songs or album on its way? Come on I need an exclusive statement here. ;-)
Nick: Fractured will be appearing on some new compilations in the next little while and we hope to finish the new album before Christmas. Im really excited to get the disc done and we already have some amazing tracks written and it just keeps getting better and better. I'm very satisfied with the style and composition and this is exactly what I had planned to accomplish even before I had learned about EBM. I've stopped using the distorted vocal effects and have been working on much more melodic clean vocals as well as a little yelling and infusing lots of different musical styles.
Vassago: Fractured reminds me a lot Dismantled (not musically wise but their beginning). Their first release was a fantastic album to say the least followed up by weird experimentations, especially on the vocals, bringing them down the line and this is something I do not wish to see happening with Fractured. Do you plan to sound exactly like the first
album or move into unknown paths?
Nick: I think one great thing about Fractured is that we have developed a sound and style which can cross many different generes. Thankfully we arent known really as a "hellektro" band and OHR had a good variety of what plan to be. I think that our sound is something that will mature and move with us and I hope to keep evolving as each album is written while keeping true to who we are and where we come from. With that being said, we have always had clean vocals and guitars as well as a wide variety of break beats and programmed sounds so I dont feel locked into writing a certain style or even changing styles mid track. I am more interested in writing a quality cd that people can listen to from A to Z instead of picking a club hit and ignoring the rest of the album. I love details and little things that make songs much more unique, the things you cant notice in a club and only hear after 10+ listens on a set of headphones.
Vassago: Dependent is by far the leading label of the scene. You recently moved into Noise Terror Production the sub label of the master industrialers Suicide Commando. How is your co-operation with these people so far and how do you feel being in the label of one of the most historical bands in the industrial scene?
Nick: NTP was pretty much a very last minute choice for Fractured, before I had signed to Dependent I had actually been contacted by Johan while he was thinking about starting his sub-label and we talked about Dependent and the possibility that he was going to be working with Stefan Herwig on this project. When the time came to finalize the artwork and decide about NTP I agreed to be the first release through the label and am very happy with my decision. Im not exactly sure what Johan will think of the next disc but our relationship so far is great and he is very good at promoting the bands and its great to be in a group with stand out bands with a harder-edge sound. I would not have agreed if the quality would have been lesser and I respect the rest of the bands on the label a lot, theyve managed to create something that is very interesting in a stagnant genre, but then I guess thats why its under Dependent.
Vassago: Do you agree with all these different types of music in the scene? Everything that has a beat and electro elements is EBM to most people. To your opinion how should an EBM band sound like and what should we expect from you in the EBM scene?
Nick: I honestly dont listen to EBM or much electronic music at all. I was really into it for a few years but my tastes change so fast and I found it literally impossible to find decent releases in EBM. I really hate watching laptop bands play live and even most ebm bands are so horribly boring that 95% of it just does nothing for me. On the other hand there is a really really great 5% that I love but even some of those bands arent signed yet such as Encephalon who are on the Septic VI comp that came out this year. Mostly I listen to metal like In Flames and Dark Tranquillity, At The Gates and one of my new favourites Soilwork. I dont really classify Fractured as anything, we have tracks that arent ebm at all and if you want to label us as EBM thats fine but I just write music, I dont plan it to be anything, what comes out is what comes out.
Vassago: COMA 3 was a total success, mind share with us your experiences?
Nick: COMA 3 was a 3 day event held in Montreal Canada with a ton of great bands. We were very greatful to play on the Friday with Headscan and Grendel as well as many other great acts and the show went very well. Fractured also played at COMA 2 last year and we have a tendency to stick out at festivals like this because we arent really the norm as far as it goes. We had Famine on drums and Morgana on keys as well we had a Dance-Dance-Revolutions mat that she 'played' with her feet for the track 'Cold Eyes'. I was playing guitar and vocals and we had It-Clings do a guest appearance doing his spoken word. The setup was really amazing with 7 video screens and live projections for each band and we had the show professionally recorded but I havent had time to edit the video and master the audio. I plan to have some treats from the show on an upcoming Fractured release as well as streaming via the website once we get closer to having the new disc finished. My personal favourites from the festival were Autoclav 1.1 and Pneumatic Detach, unfortunately I missed the third day with Displacer and s:cage, two of my favourite electronic bands also from Toronto.
Vassago: How do you describe the ideal EBM live show? Only laptops and music or interaction with the crowd? I admire a lot Crushadows for their fantastic interaction as well as some ideas Gothminister used to have about their live shows in the past.
Nick: Like I said previously, I think most electronic shows really suck. Unless you have a huge budget for video screens and a whole bunch of fancy projectors and live video there really isnt anything to keep my attention. I can watch a crappy rock band for hours upon hours because they are actually doing something, and to me someone sitting behind a laptop really isnt doing much. I do understand that most of these acts are just one person but whats the point of playing live if you're really just pressing play on winamp and playing solitaire in the background. There has to be some kind of interaction with the crowd and people dont like to feel ripped off. As a musician I feel really bad if im not giving the crowd something to look at and I do everything I can to change that. I dont pretend to play keyboard because I can't. We also re-work all the tracks for shows and change things around so its not sounding exactly like the album and it gives us a chance to show people some alternate ideas of how we could have written the track. One track in particular I really love to play live is 'Bleed', we speed it up twice as fast and add guitars, clean vocals and some cool breakdowns.
Vassago: How do you like to see yourself few years down the line?
Nick: I think in a few years I hope to have a few more records out, producing some up-and-coming talents and of course still writing more music. I would love to jump into the realm of producing video as well and im always interested in new forms of media. My regular job is basically an interactive media developer and I get to play around with lots of really cool cutting edge toys and I love to be a geek apart from being creative musically. I think regardless of what happens with Fractured im always going to be creating.
Vassago: Give a message to the readers and fans all around Europe.
Nick: Watch out for Fractured tour dates once we release the next record, I am very much looking forward to experiencing the european 'scene' and meeting lots of new friends and drinking lots of german beer ;) Also I would like to thank you all for your support, we dont have a label in North America so the only real exposure we have is still over-seas and we appreciate everything you've done and for all the djs who play us, the people who request our music at clubs and for all of you who own a copy of the demo and OHR, and for you for reading this interview!
Vassago: I thank you very much for this interview and I hope to hear from you very soon mate.
Nick: Thanks very much for asking such thoughful questions, I really appreciate all your support you've given and I promise to send you a copy of the next disc free once its pressed :) |
|
|
