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Interview with Ideomotor

Ideomotor, a true ‘dynamic duo’ are breaking into the Helsinki electronic scene, we were able to have a interview with Erkka Wennonen and Kimmo Myllyviita. As they give us insight into their music and influences.

How do you feel your music fits to a world fueled by the EDM sound?

Erkka Wennonen – We have been somewhat surprised on the the sort of genre descriptions we have been associated with, we honestly thought we were a bit more mainstream.. but I think there is a place for darker tones in an EDM era also.

I can clearly say your music is not EDM.

Kimmo Myllyviita -Yes! I’m having trouble to put us in one genre really.

It feels like you are bringing back the fantastic sounds of the 80s in a modern era. How is this being received?

Erkka – At least myself, I’m quite happy how the first couple songs turned out – there’s obviously a bit of homage, but also some more contemporary stuff. Feedback has been really positive and I reckon its only the live dates that will show how it will all work out.

Kimmo – I have to say we didn’t really plan the sound particularly. just started making music that felt good and would bring something new.. or a nice mix of old and new. I’m really happy if we’ve succeeded.

Which it does.

Kimmo – thank you.

Do you have some shows planned this year?

Kimmo – Not already booked, but definitely there will be!

Erkka – Yes, some support slots in Finland and at the continent are on the works, but will be finalized in the next couple weeks hopefully

Kimmo – Indeed, but can’t say dates yet.

It’s not hard to tell that you guys are influenced by some great artists, that I love as well, Duran Duran, DM and more. Would you like to tell us about your sound?

Kimmo – I think the great diversity comes from all diverse music that we both love and have listened to, but surely you can point out some references, such as DM… but to me at least there’s a lot of guitar rock influence too, 90s especially.

Kimmo – I mean, I’ve played for years, alternative rock, being a guitar player and a lead singer.

Impressive: Your new album is my personal favorite here on WEATNU and WEATNU [OUR] Radio, which we play often. When I first heard Master/Slave I was in love.

Erkka – It was one of the first songs we ever wrote for Ideomotor and that sort of got the ball rolling.

Kimmo – Awesome! I have to say I’m very happy about that song

Being a 80s affectionato myself, it really speaks to me.

Kimmo – Yes, I see that song as very early DM influenced, sure.

And who plays keyboard and guitar in Ideomotor?

Kimmo – Good question.

Erkka – Kimmo takes care of lead vocals and we split duties on other instruments.

Kimmo – We’re both more at home with guitars, that’s for sure. Keyboards are still a bit new to both of us.

Erkka – Not planning to do live shows as a duo however.

Kimmo – I think more like a trio at least.

So truly a synthpop duo, but many are calling it Synthwave these days. We’re rewinding the cassette tape back again, as history is repeating itself with many WEATNU artists.

Erkka – As said we thought of ourselves as more mainstream and have been quite astonished about the synth wave/darkwave talk – finding the correct hashtag is surprisingly tricky!

Kimmo – It’s obvious now I think. but when writing these songs… I had no idea really, what genre it’s gonna be.

As it is with WEATNU, we simply want to hear good music, we’re trying to change things for the Electronic musician. It’s interesting to hear what other countries call mainstream. Because in the states mainstream is pop, so over there it’s more 80s based.

Kimmo – And that’s really great, and I just care about songs. not the genres.

How long have you both been a band, it says that you started in 2014, but I feel much longer?

Kimmo – Well, we’ve come a long way.. but as friends, doing music separately. This was bit of a lucky coincidence, that we decided to do music together.

Erkka – I’ve been in and out music for a long time whereas Kimmo seems to have been recording something always.

Both of you are seasoned musicians?

Kimmo – I’d say that, sure. But never professionally, music is my greatest passion. Can’t think nothing better than doing the music I love and people listening to it.

Erkka – We both have been playing guitars for a long time though. It was just quite refreshing to find an alternative outlet from a more electronic approach.

Kimmo – Like being new born.

And that outlet is WEATNU?

Erkka – I truly hope so!

We’ll we appreciate you guys, glad to have you. I’m looking forward to this new album, when do you have it on release?

Erkka – Thank you! it’s been great you doing this for us!

Erkka – We are currently in the studio lobby.. the producer just left so can’t give an exact time-line; but we hope to have something new out sometime during the spring. Not really decided whether we want to go for a full length album or whether to keep going releasing ep’s.

I think your music will be a refreshing sound to this world, but music abroad is always more colorful, we need more of that here in the States. Do you plan on touring around Finland? Might even open for acts such as Röyksopp?

Kimmo – Wow! that’d be awesome.

Erkka – We are hoping to, but the business side of things is always a little complicated and depends on a lot of things.. but hoping to get some good dates for the spring already. And I reckon the live sound will be a bit more of a band, but lets see what it will fit with!

Kimmo – it would be a dream come true, so driving for live definitely

Optimism is high with our artists in weatnu, they now have hope. What are your thoughts about “We are the New Underground in a whole?”

Kimmo – From what I’ve seen BIG RESPECT!

Erkka – It’s been really inspiring to find quality artists over the platform and I truly hope it gets the attention it deserves. The world has become a lot smaller and therefore platforms such as WEATNU has much more influence on the whole market than ever before. It’s not only the major labels that rule anymore, and it gives decent odds to all kinds of artists.

About the name of your duo, what does Ideomotor mean?

Kimmo – By definition Ideomotor is a part of brain that tells us behaviour intuitively we thought that’s the way we should also do music without over thinking, let the music flow out.

And the future of Ideomotor?

Erkka -Well, we are definitely going to release new music this year. Also we’re quite enthusiastic about the prospects of getting some good warm up slots to get the live shows going.

Kimmo – LIVE! and lots of new listeners, keep on doing un-compromised music and yeah that’s a good track I think.

So you want to make it up there with the likes of 4AD artists? Great to hear that.

Erkka -That would be pretty sweet!

Kimmo – I love Future Islands btw…

Erkka – Would have little complaints..

Kimmo – as one of the new acts to me

Your music quality is very high, care to share your song structure, sequence DAW usage?

Erkka – We ran protools at the studio, but worked with logic at home and shared tracks as Kimmo now lives in Zurich and I stay here in Helsinki.

Kimmo – We have a great production team. We also add a lot analogue stuff to the sound which I think is essential. Also live drums and guitars.

There are more than 2 in Ideomotor, live?

Kimmo – Yes, we want to have live more live.. u know. so that that the person who comes to see us hears and sees a live performance.

Erkka – So at least some added synth and bass to back us two up!

So.. We’ll be seeing some of your videos in the coming future?

Kimmo – Oh yes!

Erkka – Yes, some pretty interesting ideas we’ve floated around with, a friend of ours who does our video production for one.

Kimmo – I’d like to see Master/Slave video

Erkka – Wouldn’t that be motley crue girls, girls, girls 2015?

What do you see about WEATNU as a future?

Kimmo – But you have a great thing going on that’s for sure! I think it’s gonna be biggest label on the planet. no boundaries right!

Erkka – Music discovery is becoming increasingly difficult as there is more music out now than at any point in history. And my take is that vendors such as WEATNU will reap the rewards here.

What are you guys listening to these days?

Erkka – You start?

Kimmo – hah, everyday something different.. let’s see. lately obviously more electronic than ever before. But mostly it’s been indie-alternative rock if you can say that nowadays.

Erkka – I’ve been a bit late to discover Wild Nothing, I’ve listened to a lot of that. Also, whenever I can’t think of anything to listen White Lies is something I never seem to get tired of. Also on the more electronic front Jaani Peuhu is definitely worth checking out, like his stuff a lot.

Kimmo – But already on Soundcloud there’s so many great artists I’ve discovered, such as an Estonian electro/crossover band called I wear* Experiment and to shuffle up a bit I was very happy about the new Weezer album! The guys are back to their roots. I love that stuff.

Interesting to see they are making music again.

Kimmo – And great music that is! I think they lost themselves there for few years.

And the music you grew up with?

Erkka – For me it was Kiss first!

Kimmo – The usual suspects in Finland, Yes, kiss, Iron Maiden, Metallica… then Grunge!

Metal and Grunge for me too in the 90s.

Kimmo – Stone temple pilots is still my favorite.

Erkka – We listened to a lot of classical music at home, but for me the great revelation was The Stone Roses with their debut album. That really blew me away and made want to start playing guitar and write music.

Kimmo – Later on big influences to me have been Placebo, Muse, Mew, Nada Surf, but man there’s a lot..

So a lot of the 90s sound, which is very good, I might add.

Erkka – We only have 2 or 3 bands we ever agree on

Kimmo – Haha. So there you go, diversity.

It’s interesting to find out what our artists are influenced by but it’s also nice to know who they are listening to in WEATNU. Any favourite artists from [OUR] Radio or our SC group?

Kimmo – I have to say I’ve been so busy writing own stuff that I’ve been a little bit too lazy to listen very actively. But I listened to your show case radio show… it was all diamonds

Erkka – Mangabros is great and also The Aircrash Bureau is something I’ve been listening to.

Great to know that!

Erkka – Obviously listened to some of your tracks too. Some good stuff.

Thank you, Appreciated. 

We have a feature with TAB and Mangabros this month, so best of both worlds, both highly talented people. WEATNU is about the artist helping the artist, word of mouth promo, do you think this is working?

Kimmo – Sure! With social media anything is possible!

With the birth of WEATNU starting on ‘yet’ another Soundcloud group in 2014, it has come a long way.

Kimmo – I have such respect for music I’ve found through your channel and Soundcloud, truly great artists which I’d love to help myself if I can to get more listeners.

We hope you continue to find great artists, as we will continue to showcase them.

Favourite food?

Erkka – Thats a tough one – I am maybe a bit of a foodie..

Kimmo – Finnish rye bread, I don’t get that in Switzerland.

Bitter with a little bit of wine?

Erkka – Asian food always seems to work, we’ll we do enjoy our drink also

Kimmo – Any alcohol will do, and milk.

Thank you for having a interview today with #WEATNU Digital Magazine, may the best of luck shine on you both.

Look out for their new album soon…

Follow Ideomotor on twitter.

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Interview with IX

IX is an electronic duo from the UK, based in Chelmsford/Great Wakering, England.

We are interviewing one half of IX today.

How are you Darren?

Darren Esp: I’m great thanks.

We are glad to have you with us on WEATNU as a registered artist. Could you tell us a little about your music?

Darren Esp: We’re glad to be a part of the WEATNU movement. IX are essentially an electronic duo but we strive to be a little different from the norm. We’re not shy of dabbling with most genres and plan on incorporating various instruments along side our main electronic backbone as it were.

It’s always great to hear that, thank you. Even for the UK your music is quite dynamic and different, how is this allowing exposure on BBC radio?

Darren Esp: We’ve actually yet to get any BBC airtime. We’ve been submitting like crazy to various stations both here in the UK and abroad. BBC 6 is actually one of our biggest targets. They’re a great station and are very active at promoting new acts and acts that don’t fit into the normal categories so they’re a good fit for us. Fingers crossed our debut album is getting neat the top of their “in tray.”

We have all the faith that you will.

Darren Esp: We have plenty of patience. One of our founding concepts was to not rush into things and to play “the long game”.

I finally have a chance to listen to your whole album today for this interview, and songs from System VII have been playing on Rotation on WEATNU [OUR] for some time now. Has this in any way benefited your fan-base?

Darren Esp: I’m sure it has. Our fan numbers climb steadily but we do get spikes whenever we’re on your rotation. WEATNU is also a good fit with our plans. We’ve always expected to be an underground act that slowly builds up a back catalog and fan base so it’s a pleasure to be involved.

Glad to hear that.

What is the story of IX?

Darren Esp: It’s quite a long one. My bandmate Iain and I go back a long way, all the way back to the 80s. We met in a record shop and he invited me to an alternative club in our home town at that time. I ended up becoming the DJ at that club and we’ve been firm friends since then. I’d dabbled in a few bands over the years but they never seemed to work out. Doing electronic music was something that I personally had always wanted to do but had never really had the time for. About 2 years ago my personal circumstances changed in that respect and I found I had plenty of time to finally put some ideas together for what became IX. Iain has always been “that guy who knows about computers and technology” which was perfect.

There are a good deal of subdued sounds to IX, especially with System VII. Not to compare with acts such as Massive Attack but still modern enough to sound unique.

Darren Esp: Yeah, we spend a lot of time getting things just right. System VII took over a year of producing and mastering before we were happy enough to release it.

Atmospheric/prog-rock is a focus point on this album, with both high quality mixing and song structure. You are also the guitarist for IX is that right?

Darren Esp: Yeah I play both bass and guitar. System VII is quite “guitar light” to be honest, you’ll be hearing more on our future releases.
Our devision of labor is quite polar. Iain focuses on technology and the management/ promotion side of things while I concentrate on the song writing side.

So you work together in the studio?

Darren Esp: We always take quite a long time getting each track right. Generally I’ll write and rough out tracks on my own and then we get together and go over things together, then there are revisions… and revisions and revisions. we both come from a software development background so that’s how we attack song writing, with version numbering, mastering and alpha-beta- release cycles.

Right, being organized is very important to the song process.
How was the name IX decided upon?

Darren Esp: We’re both big Sci-Fi fans. We wanted something that was simple, bold and would look good on a poster lol. We took IX from the Frank Herbert novel DUNE, where IX is a mysterious planet where machines and technology are created and developed. Sometimes that technology is seen as dark and foreboding, something we thought married up with how we as a band use the technology of music. We don’t always do things the way most people would.

Yeah, I’ve seen the album cover, fantastic stuff and we have another huge fan of the Dune series on #WEATNU, Pzi, Pal Zoltan.

The album VII sounds much like a modern Dune soundtrack might sound, are you hoping to break into the cinematic world of electronic and score for film?

Darren Esp: That’s totally something we’ve talked about. I’m actually writing a couple of pieces currently for a writer friend of the band to go with his releases. So booking soundtracks as well as the movie angle is something we’re planing on pursuing.

Indie or mainstream?

Darren Esp: Indie all the way

Do you play keyboards sometimes?

Darren Esp: Yes indeed. It’s the backbone of what we do. Almost everything we’ve done was written on keys.

So, you play guitar, bass and keyboards…

Darren Esp: …all badly yes lol

And Iain does the sequences, drums and so forth?

Darren Esp: It’s so far been mostly me on sequencing too.

It’s hard to cover over talent with modesty

I love how the album builds suddenly on The Machine. Parts I – III, listening to the first part.
Or the beginning of that movement.

Darren Esp: We are definitely studio-centric. we have a phrase “Quality Threshold” basically a track never leaves the studio if either of us have any issues with it.

As it should be.

Darren Esp: The Machine was actually one of the fastest tracks we recorded. Everything came together very quickly on that one.

Being a musician myself, I agree 100% What music influences your sound these days? I hear Classical on Serena’s Lament.

Darren Esp: That is a complicated question lol.. There are two types of music… good music and bad music. We’re influenced by the good stuff. Yes we plan on having another classical style track on our next release too. Again it goes right back to when we first started. We said if we’re going to do it we’re not going to go half measure. It has to be great in our opinion or it’s not worth doing. It’s why the first album took so long. It was a learning process for us both. But hopefully we’re progressing and our new output wont take quite so long.

Are you playing live at this time?

Darren Esp: No, we’re totally studio based for the time being. there are technical issues with recreating our sound live that can only be overcome by throwing lots of expensive equipment it’s way. If we can’t be brilliant live, we’ll wait until we can.

That’s understandable, as many of us these days use software centered sound.

Darren Esp: Yeah it would be easy enough to plug a laptop into a sound desk but that sound would not be good enough for us. We’ve seen people do that and we’ll wait until we’re in a position to do something better.

I hear VST modules are good for live performance.

Darren Esp: … and that is where you’d have to ask Iain lol. He’s in charge of technology.

Laughs, right. What do you think about WEATNU as a whole?

Darren Esp: I think it’s a great idea and I love the energy and effort you put in. I think it’s going to grow to be something very cool.

Thank you, already we’ve been showcased on a community radio station in Austin, Texas. We hope to gain the attention of larger media such as PBS. Plus we have the PR, Radio, record label, and now #WEATNU Digital Magazine. With a team of people helping make this dream real for the electronic musician.

Darren Esp: It’s great. the one thing we’ve been surprised by is the willingness of electronic musicians to club together like this.

It was the dream from the start of WEATNU, because it’s the only way, due to the market changing so much after 2000.

Darren Esp: Indeed it’s a whole new world for music publishing now and organizations like WEATNU are going to start playing a big part in shaping the market.

Being the first virtual movement of the Electronic underground, we hope this happens.

Darren Esp: The same here.

Do you get a chance to listen to #WEATNU [OUR] 24/7 radio?

Darren Esp: I’ve not had a chance yet but I know Iain has. Another of his jobs in the band is to find things for me to listen to. He’s dropped a few WEATNU band names in my inbox and I’m working through them.

Some names?

Darren Esp: Yeah I was listening to Ian Haygreen and The Aircrash Bureau earlier.
Interesting stuff. I like the differences there are between a lot of “electronic” artists.
Those two are both essentially electronic bands but very different.

There is a lot of variety on WEATNU.

Darren Esp: On the downside though, I think its very home studio set-ups make is easy for people to churn out content of lesser quality. If you go on soundcloud and just surf it’s stunning how much poor quality stuff there is. It’s important to keep that Quality Threshold in mind.

And we do, especially for the label

Darren Esp: Absolutely it’s that which what makes WEATNU stand out.

So you’re on your way to writing a new album?

Darren Esp: Already well underway. We have half a dozen tracks already lined up and in the early production stage (alpha we call it). Our new demo: “Now Spell IX” is kind of a little inside joke for us. we thought it would be fun to put it out now as it’s quite different from the stuff on System VII (as is most of the stuff on the new album).

Exactly, I heard that right off.

Darren Esp: Yeah it’s something we thought of ages ago but were waiting for the right song idea to use it. Now Spell IX just flew together once we’d had the idea.

And are we to expect that same sound throughout the album, or are there surprises in store?

Darren Esp: Totally surprises. There are basically two types of album we intend to release “Blue” (concept albums like system VII) and “Red” (more traditional mixtures of songs like the new one Grinder).

I see the really great merchandise on your bandcamp. With limited edition minidisc and more.

Darren Esp: Indeed. That’s another thing we always wanted to do. our next album will be available on Cassette, we like redundant formats.

It’s never easy to produce physical in mass, how did you manage, are you under a label?

Darren Esp: No we’re not signed. we do everything ourselves although we do use a label name (Guild Records) for our releases but it’s just us. eventually it may be more.
* remember we mentioned “The Long Game”

Favorite softsynth these days?

Darren Esp: Trade secrets lol.

Good answer.

Just wanted to say thank you for having this interview with us today, for WEATNU and your support.

Darren Esp: Totally our pleasure. Thank you for your continued efforts to develop the electronic music underground.

It is our passion and now yours.

You can find IX on twitter 

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Interview with Almark

‘Founder of #WEATNU and Electronic artist. Almark has written abstract electronic music since 1998. He had a few words to speak about We are the New Underground. Also his music, videos and future plans.’

Craig Manga – As founder of #WEATNU and the workload that entails, how do you keep your own musical identity afloat in such a sea of electronic talent? Do you time manage?

Almark – Yes, I do one thing at a time, pacing myself the best I can, it’s real discipline. I have to make myself be organized or fail. More like I work toward doing three things at once, a constant multi-task. laughs

CM- Do you see making music as relaxing, or still workload?

Almark – Music is my life, and the number one reason why I formed weatnu. When I have the time, I seize it. Just as I was going to finish a video to “Oracle” that I’ve been working on for a few days, but it slipped past me to do this interview, but there’s always tomorrow and that’s ok too.

Oracle from Almark (SynthoElectro) on Vimeo.

CM- You’ve been flitting across your career from circa 98, with various tunes on soundcloud, etc. and spotted several key influences, noted by yourself. But you don’t seem to sound like any of them. You stay individual and original. Amongst them, one of my fav, Severed Heads. Care to comment?

Almark – I’ve always played to my own drummer, or in this case, “electronic drummer”. It’s kind of like I work on a new thing until I feel it becomes my own creation, I have tried to sound like other people, even 14 years ago, I gave up long ago. – laughs. The influences are there of course, and sometimes they even appear in my past works, but it always ends up different. I believe that an artist should “if they can” be original and do something crazy and new. With each song and album, I change completely, that is what happened with the past 2 albums. Though I come back and re-visit my roots from time to time. Maybe one day I’ll drag out the Mirage and make some gritty Industrial again. You were saying? Ah yes, Severed Heads! Though I had a few influences before the Sevs, I can say that Tom Ellard’s music influenced me greatly into the electronic artist I have become, but that was the beginning, in 2000, the primed moment for me; very fond memories during that year. After 2012, I started moving deeper into the rabbit hole.

CM- Almark in Wonderland?

Almark – Musically? I think I was there long ago, some of my stuff is very strange, like the Nineteen Eighty Four Show, something I feel is my greatest masterpiece, but only gains the attention of a select few.

CM- Many, many touchstones, but I hear that weaving of Industrial tropes into your work. A favorite genre?

Almark – Actually yes, I can think back to the first time I heard Industrial. In 1992 a friend in HS gave me a recorded tape of NIN Broken and Pretty Hate Machine. I played that tape to death, hearing the static quality that appears at the beginning gave me the raw intake into what Industrial really was. Later it was Ministry’s “Psalm 69, and the story continues on into 1997 when I got into Goth, EBM, Darkwave, taking me into the electronica sounds of late 90s. I was listening to Grunge/Tool/ Soundgarden/Nirvana, at the time but started turning my head to electronic completely by 2000. Thanks to Mtv “The AMP” and Stitch.com, website. Gone since late 90s. Then later groovetech.com, gone too, in 2000. I can certainly say that Industrial was my driving force and still is, into what my music has become throughout the years. Severed Heads is a prime example of weird industrial machine sounding, meshed with quirky pop tunes and I love it. Tom Ellard’s music was personal to me and untouched by the masses. I love things like that, that are untouched by the masses such as, Dalis Car, Peter Murphy, Mick Karn , RIP.

Wow-and-Flutter from -ATD- from Almark (SynthoElectro) on Vimeo.

CM- If you had to put a label on such a diverse body of work, what would it be?

Almark – I call it void-music but most of the time I say abstract electronic, and since the abstract is not a genre, that makes me even more happy, I’ve been doing this for a long time. The music started turning avant-garde or electronic / avant-garde early 2013, I felt it at first then someone brought up the conversation one day about the music I write, so there we have it. I suppose it doesn’t mesh well with the masses, and that pleases me.

CM – Personal question, like many artists, musicians and poets, we are usually diagnosed with A.D.D. how about yourself?

Almark – I believe that A.D.D. is nothing more than societies way of forcing on you their standards, do this, do that, don’t think this and that. It crushes the creative spirit of a person. Like many in my age group, I too was “lied to” into thinking this. And yes teachers love to tell your parents to force feed that poison into your body. When you start to realize, it isn’t you that’s the problem, that is when you free yourself from it’s bondage. Whatever it is. Without it I wouldn’t have creativity, it’s a gift not a curse. I personally think it’s a way to tell people they are different, and there is nothing wrong with different.

CM – Sorry, tell me why I thought that?

Almark – Yes?

CM – I have it too, I call it “spinning plate syndrome”. flitting from project to project, multiple genres to pique my interest.

Almark – I mean, I have incredible focus these days, this wasn’t so when I was a kid, pills didn’t help, that’s for sure. I think it’s a gift, society views it as “un-normal”. ADD isn’t a problem, it’s a rebellion, no doctor in the world can tell us that.

CM – I believe ADD is a key addition to making interesting creative music.

Almark – I believe you are right.

CM – The melodies, do you always have to wait for them to surface or is there ever a melody knocking around in the cranium? And you just have to get them out on midi?

Almark -Yes, I must get them out of the mind, so I jot them down “so to speak” on MIDI. Lot’s of snippets are in projects that way. This gives me the edge over finishing my work, that’s how a lot of -ATD- was created. If I allow myself, then the melodies come, usually in some kind of drum beat with my hands, sometimes I take my hands and make a beat, since ableton live 9 allows for MIDI translation I did that on a few songs, even lately, A-Test may have been one of those. But sometimes I hear a melody for months in my head, I still have one from 14 years ago, never created; one day I will.

CM – You a player or step-writer?

Almark – Certainly a player, as I play by ear, which I am most comfortable with. And the music is composed, both hands on the keys. This is a dying art I might add, with the flood of Ableton push devices in the market now.

CM – Play any other instruments?

Almark – I began playing guitar in ’92, then bass. Started by learning metal then progressed into electronic and computer composition in 1998 with Fasttracker II DOS program. In 2000 I finally owned my first keyboard and just started messing with it. I still play guitar today. I dabbled with real drums once, and started to get them down, until my friend took them back – laughs.

CM – So, the process. How do you begin to build your sound?

Almark – I begin with a blank project, no effects, no instruments on the screen. By using MIDI keyboard controller and Ableton live, while utilizing VST. I find complete silence, and start to work. Sometimes the melodies come and if I sit there long enough then happy little accidents start happening. Those are the pinnacle of music, the accidents you didn’t mean to do, the timbres and elements of a deeper sound. That’s how “Thought Patterns in “Documentary” Form” was created and High Bias from -ATD

CM – Softsynths then?

Almark – Yes, I use to use hardware and software together, but in 2009 the digital transition happened with me because I was seeking a different sound, then finally through discovery I found it, now I nurture that sound.

CM – Thought Patterns in “Documentary” Form, that’s your favorite work, isn’t it?

Almark – Oh yes, there is something surreal about that album, it puts me in such a mood that I can’t explain, it brought me to the avant-garde and I plan on continuing down its path on the new live show “The vibes show” which is a setup but uncompleted from 2013. If light were any brighter, that is how I feel listening to “Thought Patterns in “Documentary” Form”, but I have a new album on the horizon, “The Scheme of Things”. I also sing, but you wouldn’t know it, with my recent tracks, go back a few years and listen to Devoted, Melancholy Heart, 1000 Machines and Sodium Penthanol and Sun Temple with Thalie Nemesis on our duo Melancholy Imagery.

1000 Machines from Almark (SynthoElectro) on Vimeo.

CM – Listening to your stuff: I hear elements of electronic soundtrack in there. A John Carpenter fan? Bladerunner soundtrack, do u own it? Vangelis is underrated.

Almark – Oh yeah, love Carpenter, mostly “Escape From New York”. I’ve seen the movie Bladerunner but I’m not a Vangelis fan actually, I appreciate his work though. My earlier songs were touching at John Carpenter, but only a few of them. I also have a love for 80s soundtracks, Fletch, with the Faltermeyer riffs, even stuff from Firestarter, Manhunter. Those were written by Tangerine Dream.

CM – There’s a chill, nay glacial heart to your work. the drum machine beats an “erratic tattoo”

Almark – I believe in kick, snare drums, I’m not in love with the hi-hat, though I have used it quite extensively on certain sounds and albums. I create my drums by keyboard playing. If it were my world I would remove drums and make music with silence, which is something I have been thinking deeply about for years, this.. music of silence and one day I hope this journey ends up there. I can almost feel it; I think a lot. I also create music in my head, without the music, there is a lot of thinking going on for weeks sometimes. Those beats you speak of are elements of “EBM/Industrial” but it goes deeper than that.

CM – favorite Soundtracks (inc. non electronic)?

Almark – John Berry soundtracks, those Bond soundtracks are breath-taking, the man was a genius composer. I would have to say John Williams or course. I’m very much in love with composing, and even jazz, Classical. But there are some amazing scores of Williams, Indiana Jones for one, every scene. Modern soundtracks, composers like Mark Snow from The X-Files and a few new composers just showing up in the film world, but I can’t think of their names, amazing music. A lot of these types are very avant-garde and it’s good to see the world embracing such extremes.

CM- “Almark played to his own drummer”… A fitting epitaph (discuss, applied to your music and the WEATNU)

CM – Finally: What would you ask yourself as a final difficult question?

Almark – I would ask, “how deep is existence”, but never find its answer.

You can purchase music from Almark through his bandcamp and WEATNU Records.

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