Featuring thanks Max from Tao of the Machine Interview by Ruud Dreessen aka ebm-industrial.nl 01-04-2010 23:55
Hi Max , we are happy to get the chance to ask you a few questions and thanks Max that you have found time to give answers to these questions,How are you doing?
Well I can’t complain... Our project is just started and we have met many people who are supporting us. We'd never expect to have such feedback from them.
Max, what is your contribution in Tao of the Machine?
Tao of the Machine is a duo. I tend to work on the side of the bare composition, while my partner takes care of the FX, mixing and mastering. But that's not a constraint.
How has the start of 2010 have been for you so far?
Well I can say that it has been productive untill now. We're keeping to spit out new tracks. Many of them are just abandoned or cut into pieces and remixed into another. It's a continuous work.
Do you know the Netherlands?
Well personally I've never been there and unfortunately my knowledge is linked to folklore... as your weird shoes, I mean the gabbers' air max... tulips, windmills and marijuana.
For a lot of people, this is probably going to be their first introduction to Tao of the Machine so tell us a little bit about how you guys know each other and how the band came together?
Well we started to produce in January of this year.We are two guys who earn their living as programmers and share the same gray office. Usually we spent some time to quarrel about music.Both of us come from projects that do not have much to do with electronics. We have decided to dedicate ourselves into this new experience as a bet. We both have a certain affection for industrial sounds, so we decided to try.
Do you follow the electronic music Industrial / Electronics, do you have any other favourite bands?
Well we both have really various tastes.Speaking of this scene,my classics are obviously Combichrist and Assemblage 23.I grew up with Atari Teenage Riot and I think my tendency to seek unusual and harsh sounds and obsessive rhythms can also depend on it. Lately I've been following with great interest Jabberwock, Necrostellar and Mergel Kratzer.
How is your relationship with other electronic bands?
We have received a feedback that absolutely was not expected. We're just beginners, but we already have come into contact with many people. It's amazing how big experienced artists are willing to give us an hand and valuable advices for free.
Who are you influenced by?
We've so many influences... I think they're too many, but we don't want to loose end of them. I think that is our main feature. We mix everything that comes to our mind. We use old films tenses as well as dental drills, drum and bass rhythm as well as trance sounds. We're not here to copy or imitate big guys, but to show what we like. Some have described our style as dark crossover and we like that definition.
Tao of the Machine, where did the name come from and what's the story and the meaning behind this name and band? Our name literary means "way of the machine". It's a concept that by itself denies the human exclusivity to the free will. Today we have got something (or someone) that almost think for us and, as Nietzsche said, thoughts are the shadows of feelings - always darker, emptier, simpler. So, we are trying to translate these feelings into sounds.
Your first self titled EP containing 4 tracks. Where did the concept come from, tell something about it and what are your plans now that the album is finished now?
Our first work is like a business card. We knew it was the first thing which we would have presented in this scene. So we have decided to select 4 very different tracks, to give an idea of what we think that crossover mean.
How do you feel to hold the finished CD in your hands?
It was weird... It was really weird... What do you think of the modern Gothic and about Industrial / Electronics scene? Well... I've just to say that we don’t look like gothic. Sometimes I don't understand the visual needs of this scene. As well I think that industrial music has a great potential nowadays.
Our usual question - what is music for you?
It's just a way to express ourselves. If what we do can move something into people, than it means, we have done good work! You have very nice compositions. Tell me about vocal compositions and what you can tell about the done work? We follow the inspiration of the moment, we just go with the flow.Till now we have not published any track with vocals. When we started, we thought that there was no need to do that. Well... we've changed our mind and just a week ago we've started to looking for a Russian and German vocalist. It seems that we've already found someone interested. We want a vocalist not a singer, we don't want to loose our dance style.
How do you see the future of download / Copyright in area of Gothic-Industrial / Electronics music ? What are the best ways to develop it in your mind ?
This time we have to quote Torvalds: "Software is like sex: it's better when it's free". We think that's the same in a musical context.
Please let us know about your upcoming plans, some new releases you like to confirm here? We're going to release an album. It will be a concept album. We can’t talk about dates, because we intend to take all the time we need.
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