Featuring Josh and Pain from KOM-POUND Interview by Ruud Dreessen aka ebm-industrial.nl | 4 januari 2010 16:32
1- For the first question will be - do you know the netherland?
Josh : Well, my last name is Van Winkle so that should give you some idea. I’m from America but I love the Netherlands and am awaiting the World Cup with baited breath. Come on Oranje!
Pain : For me as a Korean it's very special. From history class we learned that the very first Europian who ever landed on Korean soil was a trio of Dutchman named Jan Weltebree and his shipcrew. This is in 1628 of Chosun dynasty. And then there's the inevitable great coach Guss Hiddink who took the Korean team into the big games of World Soccer. So I can tell you that Koreans have very friendly impressions on the Netherlands.
2- Do you follow the electronic music scene, do you have any other favourite bands?
Josh : At the moment, my favorite bands include ASSEMBLAGE 23, GRENDEL, PSYCLON NINE, TAU FACTOR, GLIS, NOXIOUS EMOTION, ARYIA, FEINDFLUG, FUNKER VOGT, ABSURD MINDS, and many, many others.
Pain : I started out as a keyboard player in the Korean underground scene. So owning synthesizers might suggest that I did have awareness in Electronic music. But my main interest was Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, but being the music fanatic I naturally listened to what comes out and Industrial music got me into this eventully. So you can say that NINE INCH NAILS and KMFDM was my starting point. One may argue (If it's Electronic music at all) but the 2 main men (Konietzko, Reznor) were my main influences for this genre. But if I go deeper, I was a big fan of 80's Synth pop. "Fade to Grey" by VISAGE is one of those songs that hit me BIG and changed me in a big way.
3- Greetings Pain & Josh could you please shortly introduce our readers your music project KOM-POUND Please fill also a biographical resume about how,when and where...give us a more background information?
Josh : Our project KOM-POUND is the first Electro-Industrial project here in Korea. I came from Seattle to Seoul as an English teacher and I noticed the distinct lack of any EBM bands here so Pain and I decided to remedy that.
Pain : I'll detail that a little more. I was playing with my main band a doom (* "Darkness" in Korean), and there were problems within the band so I was going to fire all the members very soon. I played at this Goth party with a doom pretty much for the last time. And after the show Josh came up to me and complimented my music and told me about his musical experiences in Seattle which was pretty impressive. After that show I let go all the members and as a trick of fate Josh contacted me through Myspace asking if I was interested in doing an Electronic music project. I met him a few days later and told him what happened and eventually said :"Hey, I'm band-less. Let's do it". There was a slot for the next Goth party for a doom that was open for me so I talked to the party organizer about the change and she was cool with it. So I just took that opportunity to make the debut for KOM-POUND. We didn't even have a name then so we were a "nameless" band. I later came up with the name and Josh liked it so we just took it from there.
4- How did you start to make Electro / Industrial / Gothic and what is Gothic for you?
Josh : I’ve played drums for many years and for several projects back home, but this is the first time I’ve actually taken part in song writing and creation. Electro/Industrial/EBM is just a term for the music that I love. I don’t put too much significance behind things titles. Instead, I focus on that they are.
Pain : Before a doom I led an Industrial Metal band called PSYCHOTRON. I was hit big by RAMMSTEIN and I wanted to do something like that. PSYCHOTRON played for a few years including the Busan Intl' Rock festival with world famous bands. So this is not totally new for me. I played synths back then as well. As far as "Gothic" goes I'm all about Darkness. I'm a very Dark person and I only crave anything that's Dark. The word "Gothic" came to be in the later years but I did know bands like THE CURE and BAUHAUS and all them original Goth bands. I did my homework trying to really shape my music with a doom and for KOM-POUND I just have to do more music studying, well, more like "Listening".
5- What and who are some of your influences in Electro / Industrial / Gothic?
Josh : As a drummer, I find myself incredibly influenced by Boris Williams from The Cure. As for actually writing music, I am influenced by aggrotech music like PSYCLON NINE, GRENDEL, and the like.
Pain : I try to listen to anything that comes across the way. Josh has the Ph.D in this type of music if you will so I'm trying to listen to whatever he introduces me to. So far PSYCLON NINE, VNV NATION were a few of the coolest bands. But there's very impressive bands like FEINDFLUG, BABYLAND that has very unusual setup or sounds that really interests me. I know I'm pretty "oldschool" but I do take interest in radical Art.
6- What are your top ten favorite Electro / Industrial / Gothic Club Songs of all time? Who are you influenced by? What would you consider your favorite cd's?
Josh : In no particular order, some of my favorite CDs are :
- ASSEMBLAGE 23 - "Disappoint"
- PSYCLON NINE - "Divine Infekt"
- GRENDEL - "Harsh Generation"
- TAU FACTOR - "Second Stage Ignition"
- ABSURD MINDS - "The Focus"
- ARYIA - "Debris"
Plus a whole lot more. I don’t really like club songs too much. I prefer to listen to albums as a whole rather than what song the label wants me to hear.
Pain : I don't think I can even name 10, I'm a toddler in this genre lol. I'll name my 5 most "INFLUENTIAL" albums in this genre would be (in no order) :
- NINE INCH NAILS - "Downward Spiral"
- V.A. - "Mortal Kombat" O.S.T.
- RAMMSTEIN - "Sehnsucht"
- KMFDM - "Power"
- LAIBACH : "Opus Dei"
7- Do you have a favourite track and album?
Josh : If I had to pick one album to be my favorite it would be Failure by ASSEMBLAGE 23 and my favorite track from that album is "Disappoint".
Pain : If I had to choose 1 song only, it would have to be "Juke Joint Jezebel" by KMFDM from the movie "Mortal Kombat". That song has it all, Electronic mayhem, a cool Metal riff, and 1 of the catchiest chorus melodies ever. You the man Sasha ~!
8- So tell me a bit more about yourself, such as musical?
Josh : I started playing drums at the tender age of 15 and have been doing so since. I haven’t actually written any melodic music until I came to Korea in 2007.
Pain : I'm just a musical maniac, an enthusiastic one that delivers on stage hopefully. I'm a musical lovechild of PINK FLOYD and BLACK SABBATH. I've played every part in a band at least once. As a person I'm a pain in everyone's ass . That's all I gotta say.
9- By the way do you like my questions? tell me what you think about it! ;-)
Pain : I didn't kill myself or thrown anything yet. So it's a good sign I would say.
Josh : I like it.
10- What is the main idea, the message you want to leave to people who listens to you? What is your motto?
Josh : Don’t let other people tell you how you should live your life, it’s way too short for that.
Pain : That the world is a Dark place, and I'm Darker than YOU!!!!!
11- What’s the name of your band? What’s the origin of that name? Have you changed the band’s name before?
Pain : As I wrote above. I just thought of the word "compound" and thought it had a strong vibe. I like words that have more than 1 meanings. And there's a little "rammstein"-ish ring to it. Then I replaced the C to a K to have that "Feel" for this genre (if you know what I mean) and separated the 2 words to give a subliminal "Pounding Komrades" meaning to it. I'm just glad Josh liked it.
12- where did the concept come from? and whats planned now that your album is finished? or anything else you're working on? Tell us a few words about the concept of this?
Pain : Well Josh's experience and knowledge in this genre, his cool electronic drumkit, and the 2 songs he had written (just waiting to be played) pretty much did the trick. I just filled in the empty spaces in betwen I think.
13- When's the new album coming out?
Pain : Good question. Hmmmm.....
14-How is the current promotional tour going for supporting this album?
Pain : Aaa ~ Ha ha ha ha ha ha......
15- What do you think of a modern Gothic and about Electro scene?
Josh : Right now there’s really not much of a scene at all in Korea but I hope to see that grow and change.
Pain : I'm still learning so I can't say much. I CAN say that I made the very first Goth Metal band and album at least in Korea and also the 1st ever Electro band.
16- Our usual question - what is Music for you?
Josh : Music is the ultimate expression of who we are as people. And, it’s fun too.
Pain : Something I would live and die for.
17- What was your best live experience so far?
Josh : My favorite KOM-POUND experience so far was our first live show in Seoul. It was very humbling to see a bunch of kids from a completely different culture and language from mine dancing and stomping around.
Pain : Hasn't come yet.
18- Please list the name, age, school, and respective instrument of each band member
Josh : I’m 31 and an English teacher here in Seoul Korea. I’m from Seattle originally (shout-out to all my Musicwerks peeps!) and I play drums.
Pain : I'm the synthepsycho and the retard of the band.
19-What are your views on the current state of this Electro / Industrial / Gothic scene in City of lost SEOUL Zuid-Korea, Republiek Korea .in terms of creativity and audiences? And the scene in other countries?
Josh : The scene in Seoul right now is very small but very dedicated. In the whole country I think there are about only 200 people or so who like EBM and I hope to see that number grow exponentially. Back in Seattle, the scene was huge so it’s quite a change for me.
20- you have very nice numbers`.............. tell me about lyrical compositions what you can tell about the done work? How does your music creation process work? How do you create a song?
Pain : Josh wrote the first 2 songs so I kinda LEARNED off of them and now I'm writing music as well. I just pull out some cool sounds from my synths and if it sounds good enuff it will be played on stage. Hopefully I come up with more. Lyrically anything heavy or Dark.
21-What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Josh : I’m not really big on the whole idea of genres for music but if I had to classify us, I’d call us Stompy Electro Monkey Music. Hmm, do you think that genre title will catch on?
Pain : Whatever Josh says.. lol
22-Since the music industry is more open now to purely electronic music has this made things easier for you?
Josh : It makes things easier in other countries, but not in Korea at all. The popular music here is literally corporate crap that gets spoon fed to all the kids and teenagers. There are many, many things that I love about Korea but the wretched excuse for pop music is not one of them. Unfortunately, Auto-Tune and lip syncing seem to be the heart blood of the industry here.
Pain : Josh said it all.
23-So what are their main influences as a band at the moment?
Josh : Anything loud and stompy.
Pain : Anything I listen to will influence me. Both good or bad ways.
24-What is currently inspiring your material as an artist? tell me all about the Electro / Industrial / Gothic scene of City of lost SEOUL Zuid-Korea, Republiek Korea ?
Josh : The scene is small, but the people in it are dedicated, awesome, and completely loyal and kickass. I can’t say enough good things about all the Korean goth/rivetheads/punks/etc that I’ve met here.
25-Do you think that people from the music press didn't expect you to grow up musically?
Pain : YOU are the very first press we're talking to. So what do YOU think?
26-what is the key to making music from KOM-POUND and what inspires you to keep growing as a musician?
Pain : As long as I like doing something I know I'll keep playing it.
27-How do you see the future of download / Copyright in area of goth-Electro / Industrial / Gothic music? What are the best ways to develop it in your mind ?
Josh : I see the future of music distribution being internet based and I only hope that everybody obtains their music legally. Britney Spears may not miss the money from 100 albums being downloaded illegally but I know for a fact that all of the artists in our scene do. If we want our scene to grow and expand we have to support it. Otherwise we’ll be left with nothing but absolute shit to listen to.
Pain : I'm a CD listener. Hell, I still buy vinyl and don't have an MP3 player. Nuff said.
28-If there was one thing you want people to know about your band what would that be
Josh : I’d like everyone to know that we appreciate our fans here in Seoul very much and that they are incredibly freaking awesome.
29-Please let us know about your upcoming plans, some new releases you like to confirm here
Pain : For now we are working on rough ideas for new songs and trying to think of some crazy tactics to show on stage. Whenever I play I want to leave an impression to the people. Be it music or visuals.
30-It has been a pleasure to interview you on your musical activity,Well,any last words to your ebm-industrial fans?
Josh : Thanks for the great support and we hope to live up to your expectations. Also, whiskey is the greatest enemy of all humankind and only a coward flees from his enemies!
Pain : Keep on pounding!
31-and what is next on City of lost SEOUL Zuid-Korea, Republiek Korea agenda?
Pain : I hate the fucking politics here and the crooked statesmen which are all corrupted. I also hate the scene that doesn't let music that sounds DARK have a chance to be played. But all those will only keep me INSPIRED even more.
32-thanks for your time! great work on the albums and good luck with everything.any How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
Pain : Thank YOU. It's grat to be noticed by such a cool webzine. I know I'm not that good yet but I'm hoping to get better. With a little help from my partner Josh. For now our Myspace page has everything.
Josh : Thank you for the interview. It means special because it's a Dutch webzine!
33-Were you asked to play or did you have to ask for a slot?
Pain : We were lucky enuff to be asked for every shows we played. Hopefully more. Thanxxx!
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