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Hello, and thanks for your time answering our questions! First of all, can you give us a brief introduction of Switch?
IQ: Switch was a full electronic solo project that I constructed during the mid 90's which later on evolved as a 3 piece electro-industrial band. The main core about the band and the music that I wrote is deeply rooted on the society in which I grew up in, a very corrupt government, fascism by the media, religion, a very polluted culture and so on... Its our tool of expression on how I react to the environment that we are in.
How did things get started, and why did you pick this bandname?
IQ: I met Will a few years back and I asked him if he wanted in. Although I've been working with a lot of musicians in the past, none of them ever got to fit in or some had other priorities. Switch : I got the name from the most basic apparatus in starting up a piece of mechanism.
How would you describe your music?
IQ: Electro-industrial rock head on with the Tsar-Bomb.
What are your main influences?
Will: Jimi Hedrix, Pantera, Spin Doctors, Radiohead, Garbage, Pink Floyd, Prince...
IQ: I have tons of them but to name a few there's James Brown, Louis Armstrong, The Beatles, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Duran Duran, Black Sabbath, White Zombie, Ministry, NIN, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Atari Teenage Riot, Slayer etc...
Your debut album 'Visceral' recieved a good review on our webzine - but what do you think of the release yourself? How satisfied are you with it?
IQ: Thank you... we're so relieved... I mean for us, we're just glad that its finally released after 3 years of hard work. I talked to Will about it before we started recording, I said something like "dude if we're gonna do this album let's infest it with every creative idea that we could ever think of, and ram it down like a jackhammer." What lacks for me is exposure, I was really aiming for an international audience that's why I've decided to write the lyrics all in English.
What do you consider to be the best track on the release and why?
Will: Reconnect, because it has a very hip hop feel that I dig.
IQ: I really can't say... since I wrote them all... Fixing the flesh:redemption, it's the very first song that I have written way back in 1996, its the most difficult one to arrange and mix because its two songs merged into one... kind of a very episodic type of approach.
What is the message you try to spread lyrically?
IQ: Racism, war, corruption, religion, politics, violence-meaning after billions of years of evolution there is a part of us that is still very animalistic, mind controlling of the media, assimilation of this planet's natural resources, the abuse and pollution and now we are all experiencing its side effects, the apocalypse maybe? It's like the soundtrack of what I have seen and experienced for the past 35 years of my life and on how I react to it through songwriting.
I'm not known at all with the alternative scene on the Philipines. How is the scene over there? And how did the people recieve the 'Visceral' release?
IQ: The album has been well-received critically here as well. Commercially, that's another thing. Not many Filipinos can relate to our music. I hope they do, though. And as for international distribution Visceral will be available soon for downloads at cdbaby.
Will: Yeah we've had a few good reviews here from fellow musicians, local music magazines and stuff. But for the average Filipino - especially the masses - it's hard for them to absorb the genre. That's one of our main goals,to educate the masses and widen their insights on music and the arts.
One thing I couldn't find a clear answer on - is Switch as well a live project? If so, what can a stranger expect when he visits a live show of Switch?
IQ: First question-Yes. Second- a gut wrenching barrage of synth, gritty samples, heavy guitars and thundering drum machines. And as of one article mentioned "as satisfying as f@#k."
What are next to music your other passions in life?
Will: Music is all I really care about. :)
IQ: I'm an Art Teacher in one of the Private Colleges here in manila and I'm a full time Painter/Gallery Artist at Finale Art Gallery. I'm planning to do some short film and stuff... well anything that falls under the art section.
Here's a link on the gallery im in ;
www.finaleartfile.com/artist_quirante.html
Here's another link on one of my interviews that's been posted on the net ;
http://www.artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives.php?page_id=75
What can we expect of Switch within the near future - and what are your final words?
IQ: The Evil that Men do... as long as we are still there to witness it, the music will never stop. Thank you for this interview :)
Interview by: Gerardo - answered by IQ & Will (September 2009)
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