Featuring thanks Siborg from Virtual Terrorist Interview by Ruud Dreessen aka ebm-industrial.nl Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:39
Hi Siborg, we are happy to get the chance to ask you a few questions. For the first question, thanks Siborg that you have found time to answer these questions,How are you doing?
I'm doing good thank you. Lots of music stuff on the go right now.
Hello Siborg what noise do you make in Virtual Terrorist?
I make everything. I am self produced. So if there's a sound i made it. Excluding the movie samples lol.
How's the start of 2010 been for you thus far?
Awesome!! I also play in the band iVardensphere. We just did a big tour across Canada and played at Festival Kinetik. I'm releasing a new Ep pretty soon as well.
Do you know the Netherlands?
Sorry I don't. I would love to visit it one day though.For a lot of people, this is probably going to be their first full introduction to Virtual Terrorist.
So how about you tell us a little bit about how you guys know each other and how the band came together?
The band is just me. I am using members from a few local projects to fill in and help the live experience come together. I have Evan Collingwood from Psykkle on keys, and GottHavok from Chaos Theory playing live percussion.
Do you follow the electronic music Industrial / Experimental / Techno , do you have any other favourite bands?
I do in fact. I'm also a local Dj here in Edmonton, Alberta. I go by Dj Siborg (So creative i know). And I spin mostly Techno Industrial. I love SAM, Noisuf-X, Memmaker and recently have been getting big into Alien Vampires, Industriegebiet, Beati Mortui and Acylum. I'm not to sure if anyone else would classify these acts as techno industrial but whatever.
How is your relationship with other electronic bands?
Pretty good I hope hahaha. I've made a lot of good contacts over the years and hope to make more.
Can you give us a brief run-through of Virtual Terrorist story so far?
The project started in the summer of 2001 when i was 16 or so.Over the years I've just been improving my production skills and writing process.Virtual Terrorist is collection of music styles that I love ranging from Drone Ambiance, Rhythmic Noise,Techno, Industrial,Hardcore, and Experimental.The style is ever changing so you're never going to hear the same type of song more than once.
When did you form Virtual Terrorist? What inspired you to make music together?
Formed in Summer of 2001 after i got a music program called Sonic Foundry from a friend,after that I got the remix kit for Celldwellers Symbiont.I remixed the hell out of that song!!! Ever since then I've been remixing other artists (and yes still Celldweller) and making my own noise.
What are your top ten favorite Industrial / Experimental / Techno Club Songs of all time? Who are you influenced by?
Hmmm thats a tough question. I personally don't know a lot of other artists writing this stuff so i'm going to list off tracks that have always influenced me. In no particular order
1)Frontline Assembly-Mental Distortion
2)Skinny Puppy-The Choke
3)KMFDM-D.I.Y
4)Suicide Commando-Pesticide
5)Fear Factory-Body Hammer
6)Ashe-Testing Show (For A Gren Fuzz)
7)Astrix-Tweeky
8)Noisuf-X-Hit Me Hard
9)Sonic Mayhem-Anything off the Quake II soundtrack
10)Hardwire-Jack Me In
What would you consider your favorite cd's?
My Top 3 albums are
1)Frontline Assembly-Tactile Neural Implant
2)Skinny Puppy-Bites
3)KMFDM-ATTAK
Though at times i have other favorites but those have survived the test of time.
What are the future plans for Virtual Terrorist?
Go live and fuck shit up around the world. Also maybe release a full length album too.
What is the main idea, the message you want to leave to people who listens to you? What is your motto?
Don't let other people make your choices for you. You have a fucking brain so use it. Also JAGER FOR ALL!
What’s the name of your band? where did the name come from? or what's the story behind the band name?
The name actually stem'd from an old project I was in 2000,i was writing down names for songs when we didn't end up using one called Virtual Assassin.I decided i wanted to get something a little bit more controversial so I put Terrorist on the end.The Swamp Terrorist inspired that one.
If people don't know what you and your music are about, how would you describe Virtual Terrorist?
Virtual Terrorist is a collection of my anger,pain,frustrations,experiences,and vision on the current state of affairs.Its loud,its aggressive,and it will make your parents question you sanity.Though the project itself is a story or a soundtrack to a story,eventually i'm going to be getting comics made up to help tell whats going on since there are no vocals.Keep an eye out for those because limited prints will be released in a year or two
Remix EP and iVardensphere remix CD where did the concept come from? and whats planned now that your album is finished? or anything else you're working on?
Well the new EP isn't a remix EP, its just a collection of 4 songs i did over the past year. That was a slow year for me but these tracks are pretty solid and wanted to give the people something before the full length gets released. I'm also a part of iVardensphere and my band mate Scott Fox approached me and asked if i wanted to submit a remix. We ended up printing a limited run of 100 so if you see a hard copy i highly recommend grabbing one its killer!
How is your relationship with the fans like? Is it nice to meet fans or have you also problems with intrusive hysterical female and male admirers?
My relationship with fans is pretty good, I haven't had any problems with creepy fans or anything yet but I have my ways of handling them.
How do you feel to hold the finished cd in your hands?
We'll its only in digital form so if i was capable of holding I would have to be in the Matrix or something haha. Its Done and it feels good. Now the final step is the get the art done and release it. Sites that will be releasing the Ep are LASTFM, Myspace, Synthetic Sounds, and iTunes, it's going to be a free release so be sure to download the shit out of this and send it to your friends.
How is the current promotional tour going for supporting this album?
No tour, my funds are tied up with touring iVardensphere at the moment but who knows maybe one day VT will make it to you city.
What do you think of a modern Gothic and about Industrial / Experimental / Techno scene?
Well personally I think its turning into a bunch of people who want to look pretty in their lacy underwear, PVC tights and UV hair. I'm not saying everyone who dresses like this is a plague but really the scene is changing. It's not even about the music as much as it has been but still downloading is rampant, attendance to shows are down and nights are closing down. People need to support the music scene and help out these artists. Kaine Delay once said "You can't download a hoodie!" Basically i'm trying to say is come on people lets stop being bar stars or rockstar wannabes.
What's your favourite track of yours?
I've got 3. One i wrote about 5 years ago called Siber Cex Interface, a track off the Demo-Lition Ep Trauma and off the new Ep a track called Killer.
What and who gets you excited about music today?
Left Spine Down gets me really excited, those guys are starting a new wave of industrial in my opinion. Mixing elements of Cold Wave, Drum & Bass, Industrial, and Punk. What really excites me is the Terror EBM fad is starting to die out. I was getting tired of everyone wanting to sound like Suicide Commando! things are looking up. Sorry if i seem jaded hahha.
Our usual question - what is music for you?
Music is life and life is music.
What was your best live experience so far?
Oh man thats a hard one. Though I think playing at Festival Kinetik with iVardensphere was the best. a week of partying with friends, cracking a rib in the Tactile Sekt mosh pit, meeting new friends, drinking stupid amounts of booze. And we toured across Canada to get there. 4000km!!!! Then drove back. It was a hell of a time.
What are your views on the current state of this Industrial / Experimental / Techno scene in Canada.in terms of creativity and audiences? And the scene in other countries?
Canada is a big country and the scene is small compared to countries like Europe or America. The fans are great though. As for the rest of the world i haven't experienced it first hand but I plan on it.
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?
The ladies also tell me I have nice numbers...sorry I don't understand what you were getting at there. No lyrics. I sit down without a plan, i smoke lots of cigarettes, sometimes drink a bit. All in all its what ever comes out. Totally random. I think this is why I have 9 side projects.
What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Techno infused industrial with a sprinkle of experimental. Influences are all over the place. Skinny Puppy, FLA, SAM, Noisuf-X, and stuff thats not even industrial like trance, ambiance and noise. I try and not let outside influences directly affect my sound.
Since the music industry is more open now to purely electronic music has this made things easier for you?
I don't know...I'm an unsigned artist but its nice to see not everything is guitar driven these days.
So what are their main influences as a band at the moment?
Well i've been going through a rough patch in my life right now but things are looking up again. I tend to just write what ever comes out. Usually its anger.
What is currently inspiring your material as an artist? tell me all about the Industrial / Experimental / Techno scene of Canada?
See above answer, I honestly don't know of a single other Industrial/Experimental/Techno artist in Canada. I would like to see it grow.
Do you think that people from the music press didn't expect you to grow up musically?
I know of a few people in the press that would be very surprised. ;)
what is the key to making music from Virtual Terrorist and what inspires you to keep growing as a musician?
I make music to make music. If i have 1 fan or a million i'm going to keep doing it. Its a personal thing for me. Theres only 1 thing that inspired me to keep going and thats to push myself to write better songs.
How do you see the future of download / Copyright in area of goth-Industrial / Experimental / Techno music ? What are the best ways to develop it in your mind ?
I support it. Sink or swim people! The world is changing, with digital media becoming the standard its only natural to face the facts and adapt to it. I'm also a big collector of cds so its a bit depressing to see. I like laying down and flipping through the booklet while listening to the cd. Those days are coming to an end but i'm all for progression and if it means I need to look at it on a computer screen then so be it.
If there was one thing you want people to know about your band what would that be?
A Virtual Terrorist is a computer hacker, but i'm not.
Please let us know about your upcoming plans, some new releases you like to confirm here
New full length album, live shows and new projects getting released. I'll be getting my dark ambiance and noise projects out there soon enough.
It has been a pleasure to interview you on your musical activity,Well,any last words to your ebm-industrial fans?
Keep requesting good music, keep stomping and never let the jagermeister run out :)
and what is next on Canada agenda?
Live gigs hopefully.
How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
i'll provide some friendly links for you.
and search up Virtual Terrorist on Facebook for updates
How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
We haven't played a live gig yet haha.
How is the new line-up working out?
I hope it works out good
And, finally, what does the next twelve months hold for the band?
Writing music, playing shows, and hopefully get some new gear.
By the way do you like my questions? tell me what you think about it! ;-)??
I did like your question though i think you repeated a few of them. But thats ok.
Any last words? Thanks alot for your answers! We wish you furthermore great success and a lot of fun with your live-shows
Thank you for the interview and stay posted for the EP
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