Please introduce yourself and your companion. Where are you from? For how long you both know each other?
IRM is me; Martin Bladh and my dear college Erik Jarl. We've known each other for almost 10 years now, and are both from the town Norrkoping (about 125 000 people, located in the south east of Sweden). Erik and me had been into industrial/experimental music for a couple of years before we founded IRM; in the beginning of 1998 - and had a long list of rock based band/projects behind us. At that time we were really fed up with the occidental, conventional view of what music is and should be, and were looking for a more aggressive, unconventional way of expression.
I was introduced to music of IRM through Esthetics of Cruelty compilation. Back then I have found that IRM is one of my absolute favorites of the compilation. Just a couple of minutes ago I took out the compilation from my CD player and I should notice that I still like your stuff on that CD. What do you think about those tracks today, almost 4 years later?
Well, as I see them now… they're pretty much typical rock n' roll songs, don't you think? They got verse and chorus, which certainly was original to some point, and made it easy to track down our rock heritage. We're not interested in that kind of composition/song writing anymore.
Both tracks on EOC compilation is your debut or you had releases before EOC.
Our first recording was a self titled 5-track tape (often referred to as the green tape - 1998). The eoc tracks was recorded during the autumn/winter of 98 as a part of our debut LP "The Red Album", which was released through CMI later the same year.
Your debut CD was released 3 years ago. It has a name "Oedipus Dethroned". Could you tell me about the concept of the release. As far as I can understand from the song titles they all are parts of one thing. Am I right?
When we did OD, we wanted to do something different, more epic. The sounds were more sublime and I tried a new kind of lyrical approach. I have my personal obsessions. Everything is about imaginary, aesthetic images. I try to get my subconscious down on paper, not like surrealistic automatic writing techniques, because I rewrite all my material to fit the personal aesthetic context. Most of the lyrics were already done when we started to record, and we both knew what we wanted to do with them: an epic concept album. The mythical protagonist from the Sophocles tragedy "Oedipus Rex" is a stark symbol for physical and psychical cleansing. Just like Christ he is a martyr figure; his fascinating life tragedy, the mother/father relation and the self-mutilation: his blinding. He became the ultimate "symbolic" protagonist for an album such as OD - The whole catharsis theory (one of my obsessions) personified - my test pilot who has to make his journey through my subconscious netherworld. The album is a study for the post-modern crucifixion and the post-modern tragedy as well.
"Four Studies For Crucifixion" was released not long ago, but it belongs to the same period of time like "OD". I had no chance to listen to the record since I do not own a turntable. Is that different from "OD"?
The Studies was recorded back in 2000 and was supposed to be the little sibling to OD. It was meant to be released as a 2 x 7' box set on Jonathan Kan's LSD.O. Label. But due to circumstances it was not (I don't even know if LSD.O. is running today).
What about concept of the record? I have seen the cover and it looks like the record deals with Christianity. And it seems it's hostile to that religion. Am I right?
It pretty much deal with the same ting as the OD album, but it's also a tribute study for my favourite painter Francis Bacon. My goal isn't to show "hostility" towards the christian religion, as mentioned above it's all about stark aesthetic images; the sadomasochistic nature of the crucifixion.
Frankly I do not feel a pressure from Christianity or some other religion in Belarus. What about Sweden? It that so bad that you have to show your anger towards the religion through your records?
There's no religion to speak of. 2% of the Swedish population are regular church visitors, the average citizen will only attend the house of the house of God for a baptism or a funeral.
Could you tell me a bit about your split with Skin Area as well as about the band Skin Area? Bring some light on that subject.
Skin Area has been around since 2001. It consists of me and my good friend Magnus Lindh. It a very experimental unit, much more free form and "avant-garde" (influences ranging from Phil Spector pop through free jazz, avant rock and modern composition to extreme noise) then the static monotony of IRM. The first full-length album "New Skin", was released through CMI in the beginning of 2002. Then we've just finished to record two new albums (which got totally different characters; showing two separate sides of the band), which will be released together as a CD box set on CMI early next year.
Could you tell me a bit about your songwriting? How do you create your songs? Is that spontaneous process or you work on every song for long period of time, improve it, polish, etc?
I like to have someone to work with (not to many though), someone to exchange ideas with and tells you his opinion and but you down to earth again when you're to far out. I don't really enjoy doing music by myself.
IRM is a duo. Is that hard to compose songs with someone else behind your back? I guess it's hard to find a compromise when it comes to creative process. Am I wrong?
Mostly, some of us come up with an idea - sound, lyric etc, and we start to orchestrate and build the track around that, piece by piece, brick by brick.
I've heard that you play live sometimes. Do you like it? Do you use alcohol or drugs during your show? Some of my friends who play harsh music can't play without "stimulators", he-he. And what do you think about drugs?
I never enter the stage sober. Alcohol is an important part of the performance. We often perform special live actions inspired by artist such as Hermann Nitsch, Otto Muehl and Paul McCarthy, were I try to invoke an aesthetic, "dionysian" atmosphere (and then of course alcohol is a necessary catalyst). When it comes to more heavy drugs, I'm not an experienced user, but they've helped artist and musicians I admire to develop masterpieces.
I've heard that your new album will be released through CMI and it's planned for 2 CDs. Is that true? Could you tell me a bit about this upcoming album?
The new album is a 2 x CD called "Virgin Mind", and will be released on CMI during Sep/Oct. It is by far our most professional recording to date, and it took us 1 1/2 year to record it. The new material is not as static as OD, but it still monotonous in a different kind of way. It's not a power electronic record at all (well, maybe 2 or 3 tracks could still fit that label). The synthesiser is not the only instrument anymore, not even the main source; we've used a large variety of instruments; everything from guitars to accordions, strings, gongs and trombones. I think we've managed to develop a more organic sound and interesting sound, compared to the sterile coldness of our earlier recordings.
Do you listen to industrial music a lot these days? What about non-industrial music? House, techno for example…
We listen to a lot of different music. Mainly experimental electronic and rock music, but we're also into free form/impro jazz and avant-garde composition. Some of my favourites at the moment include: Black Dice, Organum, Andrew Chalk, Hermann Nitsch, The Angels of Light, Supersilent, Coil and Gyorgy Ligeti. As for industrial music my favorites are the golden oldies: Throbbing Gristle, Merzbow and Whitehouse, Erik is very found of MB.
As I understood, every your album has a concept and all tracks on an album fit that concept. What about concept of Virgin Mind?
VM deals with some fundamental concepts, which spans through the whole album. It's subjects are existential; the dualism between flesh and spirit, how to overcome the limits of the body; how they meet and fit together in a new anatomy. - the way extreme form of escapism can help you to come to terms with the tragedy of life; about finding your way back to the start; square one; being reborn with a new "Virgin mind". The time the lyrics was written (must've been two years ago), I was obsessed by the work of Antonin Artaud, and his radical thoughts about a fundamental change of the human species through artistic forms of cruelty.
What do you think industrial is? Is that some sort of music for "elite" or it is nothing but a small part of popular music? Brian Lusimord believes that industrial music is long time dead and contemporary industrial has nothing common with things SPK of TG done in the beginning.
I don't really care about the industrial music scene, or what people refer to as industrial. I would say we're (were) inspired by early act's like TG, SPK, MB and Whitehouse; so I guess it make our music post-industrial, but I'm just as happy with definitions such as experimental or avant garde; industrial music is only one of many inspiration sources.
Lustmord got a point; most of today's acts have only taken some of the most evident subjects from the early days and made a subculture movement out of it. The reason why this kind of music only appeal to a small audience is because its non-musical; built around sounds not melodies etc. The average person find it very hard to come to terms with it, because they've never heard anything like it, to them it's just meaningless noise…
Do you consider your music an Art?
Yes our music is an artistic expression, and IRM has more to offer then just music. We've been making several; live and photo aktions, and have also experimented with film. My goal is to make IRM into a multimedia unit.
In your answers you said that your first musical steps were in rock music. What has changed your musical preferences? And what makes you to choose industrial music and not to choose "classical" musical forms like rock/ metal?
We grow bored with it. Conventional music-rules where a limitation to our creativity.
What do you plan to do when DCD will be released? Take vocation or begin to work on your new album?
Well, I don't know… It'll take a while before we start to work on a new album that's for sure. Booth Erik and me got other musical projects like Jarl (just released three new CDs on different labels) and Skin Area (two new albums due next year on CMI). I got a solo album coming up during the beginning of 2004 which is called Umbilical cords, and I also try to make a living as a painter (which is very hard and takes a lot of work).
|
