[Interview - Dark Entries, Belgium, April 2007]

How does it feel to be able to tour with a great band like VNV Nation?

It is absolutely amazing. To play to 1000-1500 people every night has been fantastic, and to play our first tour with such an experienced group of people has been so helpful. VNV have years of touring behind them, as do the Imperative Reaction guys and the crew are all tour veterans. There is a really great spirit on the bus so for our first tour, it couldn't be better. Every show there is something new that I will learn from them, so it has been a great learning experience so far. We had only played 3 shows before joining this tour so it's been a baptism of fire a little bit but we are really enjoying it now.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this was your first show in Belgium. How was it?

It was our first show in Belgium and it was really good. It's interesting to see the different reactions in each town, some places prefer the more old skool style tracks, some places prefer the harder ones, some the more melodic. But from what I heard about Belgium we thought they would be into our sound, and they were. Our first ever release was on the Alfa Matrix compilation, Endzeit Bunkertracks Act II last year, and I know DJ Hive has been spinning some of our tracks so it was good. We sold more T-shirts and CD's in Antwerp than any other venue on the tour. :)

Would you like to come back again in the future?

Absolutely! Bands like 242 and Suicide Commando were an influence on me so to play in Belgium was great, we supported Suicide Commando in London back in November and the guys from 242 were at the show in Antwerp. I'm not sure when yet, but I'd love to come and play in Belgium again. Right now were are a new band so we are playing pretty much as many gigs as we can in front of as many people as possible.

You have just released your Skullfuck EP, when can we expect a real full album? The last one (Dystopia) dates from September, but was a 100-copy limited edition. After this small tour I can imagine that the demand will rise?

Dystopia was something I released myself to fund some equipment so we could play live, so it's not technically an album, and yes it was very limited. I still get requests every week from people asking “Can I buy a copy of Dystopia??”. And no, it is sold out. :) I think some of the tracks from that will be reworked for the full length LP. I have a few months off inbetween tours with VNV and Combichrist so hopefully we can get the album finished then for a release later in the year.

If you look at Ronan from VNV Nation, you see there is a lot of interaction with the audience.. Your music is mainly instrumental, so you have to stay behind your drums / sequencers. Do you feel like you are missing something in a way?

Ronan is a phenomenal front man, probably one of the best front men in any band at making a connection with the audience and that connection is a big part of the VNV live show. I'm not sure missing out is the right word, because we are instrumental, so I'm not sure we could do it any other way...but yes, having a front man certainly adds an extra level to the performance. You have to physically stay behind the drums/keyboards, so there is a limit to how much you can 'perform' to the crowd. I've seen laptop artists that just dance behind the computer, and we could do that, but we actually play live so it's a trade off between performing to the crowd and playing the music. But that is something all electronic musicians face when they play live as it is essentially music made in a studio, so it's always a compromise .

You already have made some remixes for e.g. Reaper and Neikka RPM. Is there a song that you dream to mix one day? An all-time favourite you want to rebuild? Why that particular song?

That's a tough one! I don't know. I don't think there is a song that I have thought, “I would desperately love to remix this”. Maybe Chrome from VNV. I'd love to make a much harder club mix of that but I know Ronan is very particular about remixes.

Everyone has its favourites. Which band is the most present in your collection?

In terms of numbers of albums? Probably Pink Floyd, Nine Inch Nails or Joy Division, they are some of my favourite bands of all time so I have pretty much everything they have ever recorded. U2, Public Enemy, The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, VNV, 242, Suicide Commando, Combichrist, Faith No More, Bowie, The Cure. That is partly because they have released more albums than other bands but I think they are all favourites. Currently I really like people like SAM, Noisuf-X, C/A/T, good stompy industrial dance stuff, some indie, rock, dance music, the new Keef Baker album sounded amazing, classical, dark ambient, whatever...I have really eclectic tastes but I think good music will always stand out whatever genre it is.

Do you have some last inspiring words for your Belgian audience?

Thank you for the reaction to the show, it's really great to play somewhere new to a crowd that doesn't really know who you are and be well received. And I'm sure Modulate will be back before too long so see you soon. :)