 |
 |
 |
First of all, please introduce your band to the
people who are unknown with Interlock.
John (guitars, programming): Interlock is a
London (UK) based band. The band is essentially a
mixture of lots of diffrent styles and genres, but
focussing fairly heavily on industrial and metal. We're
trying not to get weighed down by one style or feel,
which is a problem a lot of bands have. The band is made
up of 6 members; Matt - drums, Syan - bass, Chris and
myself - guitars, Hal and Emmeline May - singers,
allthough Emmeline has just left the band.
Yes, we will get back to that later on. First about
your history. Interlock was born in 1997 as a duo. Who
came with the idea of forming it?
John: I started out with the industrial stuff by
being influenced by NIN, Nailbomb, Fear Factory, people
like that. I mainly started programming because I didn't
know any drummers that were capable of playing that fast
or accurately to a click. I started a band called 'Misery'
which ended up being a way of developing my programming.
I then put out a bunch of ads for male and female
singers, a bassist, a drummer, a programmer (because i
was still fairly unsure about it all) and a violinist...
I was really into the idea of using a violin with
effects and stuff instead of just a keyboard player.
Syan contacted me from those ads and we set about just
trying to some up with some interesting and different
music. About a month later Matt, a singer joined, so we
were actually a trio. We released our first demo in '97
with a friend of mine on female vocals. She had no idea
what it was all going to sound like. I just got her to
record a line at a time.
Your line up was finally stabilized about six years
after the birth. Why did it took this long?
John: I think it's difficult for a band such as
ourselves to find the right people to work with. There
are very few people that are capable of singing like we
need. Very few people able to play these drums to a
click. Our ambition has sometimes outstripped people's
ability. It was hard finding a great drummer, really
hard. Most drummers that play that fast or complicated
just want to be free of a click track. Matt was
originally a guitarist with Nightnurse, but he was
between bands and really liked what we were doing, so he
decided to try his hand at playing drums with us. It
took about a year before he had progressed to a point we
were all happy with. It's really hard finding people you
get on with and are innovative. I think we've been lucky
to have the balls to keep going.
I hear a lot of different elements and styles in your
music. What are your main influences?
John: I wouldn't really say there are main
influences that really have a huge effect on what is
written, but there are bands we admire. I'm a big fan of
a lot of '90s death metal - Carcass, Entombed, Morbid
Angel, Paradise Lost. But then you've got all the other
stuff as well, NIN was a big turning point for me with
programming. Aphex Twin, BT, Hybrid, Boom Boom
Satellites are all bands I respect for their programming
prowess. At the moment I'm listening to a lot of
Meshuggah and System of a Down.
A short time ago, you signed to Anticulture Records.
How did you get in touch with them?
John: It was one of those really odd chance
things actually. We went to see our friends Needleye
play a gig and we were introduced to a DJ for Totalrock
radio, we stuffed a CD into her hand and she got in
contact later that week to say she'd be playing it on
her next show. She ended up playing our cover version of
'Army of Me' by Bjork, as well as another couple of
tracks, on air. Steev from Anticulture happened to be
listening in and he was immediately interested in what
he was hearing, so we got in contact with eachother.
They're great guys and well up for taking risks on new
and interesting music when so many other labels are
simply putting out the same old rubbish with a different
tattooed frontman.
How did the people and the press react on your debut
album?
John: Interestingly. For the most part people
have been really amazed at it... it's something a lot of
people have been waiting for with music, a real change
from 'one style - all the time' music. Some of the press
still are a little stumped by it though. I think some of
the UK press seems a little unsure of what to do with a
band thats mission statement is to 'be as diverse as we
can - without being a hundred different bands'. It's
weird you know? We've been doing this for 8 years or
whatever and people are still catching up with us. It's
a pity some people just live to pigeonhole your sound.
Your latest news is that your singer, Emmeline May,
has left. Why did she leave?
John: Yeah, a shame but it was something we all
felt had to happen. She wasn't happy, we weren't happy,
if we continued that way it would have become
irreparable and we wouldn't have been in a very good
situation. She's still a freind, but she's no longer in
Interlock. We're auditioning potential replacements soon
actually.
So, you are in search for a new vocalist. Is it no
option to sing yourself?
John: That's right. Personally, I can't sing too
great and if I could and I were also able to write
lyrics, this band would end up being an extreme version
of NIN! Hahaha. Lucky I can't really. This band was set
up to have two singers, one male, one female, so we
could explore the many different emotional and aural
textures that can allow us. It's also kinda hard having
such complicated sections to the vocals, there are a lot
of vocals that change quickly from male to female and
back again. Hal is trying his best to fill in in the
meantime, but it's hard work as it is. This added to the
fact that we don't really stand still during gigs. We're
everywhere, and that really takes it out of you. If
you're covering another persons vocals as well, that's
gonna hurt. If anyone's interested in the position,
please check out our website www.interlock.org.uk
What else can we expect of Interlock in the near
future?
John: Well, other than looking for a new singer,
we've got a bunch of stuff happening; We're holding a
remix competition at the moment where fans can remix
'Skinless' then send it back to us. We'll have a listen
through them all and then pick out what we like best and
include it on our single release of Skinless around the
end of this year. It should also feature a bunch of
remixes from various different bands in and around the
scene... We're also due to release the album in Europe
around September and we should have some stuff happening
in the States early next year too. We're also due out on
the road in Europe, so we're having a really busy year!
Any and all updates should be available via our website.
Thanks a lot for your time, and good luck in the
coming times. Any final words?
John: No problem, it's a pleasure. We hope
everyone enjoys what they hear. Let's make this scene
one to be proud of with some cool music and cool people!
Interview by: Gerardo (June 2005) |
|
|
|
|
