MACHINAE SUPREMACY (Eng.)
– Hi, thanks for your time. What are you currently up to? How is everything doing right now with MACHINAE SUPREMACY?
Hey! We’re awaiting the release of our upcoming album and meanwhile producing the soundtrack for a video game called Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams. Exciting times ahead!
– First off, how was such a singular band as you formed? Did you start with a clear idea about how you wanted to sound or was just a natural evolution?
I don’t know if it just happened or if it was inevitable. I was playing around with some 8bit music the first time Jonne came by with an amp and a guitar. He started shredding to my music and we knew right there and then we’d found our thing.
– You have a new album coming out next October entitled «Rise of a Digital Nation»; what are your expectations on it?
We really hope it reaches a lot of people and that they love it as much as we do.
– Starting to get a bit deeper into this release; what could you say are the main differences between it and your previous releases?
Every release has minor and major differences, but one thing that is different from all the other releases so far I think is the sound of this release. It’s a warmer, thicker sound than we’re used to and that of course gives the album a bit of a different feel. It’s a very good thing, in our opinion.
– Anyway you have always mixed different influences, creating a really unique sound as well as pretty singular lyrics so, does MACHINAE SUPREMACY has any creative limits?
I’m not sure. One thing I believe we will never do is incorporate growling or screamo elements in our music, but that mainly means I won’t do that. It could of course happen that we collaborate with someone who does that, but I think for us, Machinae Supremacy, that’s one avenue we’re not going to go down. Whether or not that is a limit or a strength is of course a matter of discussion. Other than that, we enjoy experimenting and we’re always testing something new. Sometimes that isn’t as noticable, but on this new album there are a few things that might stand out, especially with the vocals.
– As I mentioned, you use to mix different inspirarions within your music; what are the main musical influences for the band?
It’s really too diverse to say, and ever changing. We take inspiration from everything, could even be non-musical influences that somehow make it into our songs. However, the two most obvious influences are metal and old-school video game music.
– And lyric-wise; what are some of the topics you’ve covered this time around? Where do you draw inspiration from to create them?
There are a lot of fight songs on Rise of a Digital Nation. We’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from what is happening online and thanks to the power that ordinary people can gain from using the net right now. Everything from the Occupy movement to the twitter-supported toppling of dictators light up an exciting road ahead of us. In many ways this album is a soundtrack to this particular aspect of our era.
– This is the shortest album by the band so far; did you consciously wanted something more in-your-face, with less songs or did it just come out like this?
It was a conscious decision. We wanted to really make sure that the experience was a bitchin’ ride from start to finish. No bloat, just pure awesome all the way through.
– Due to this huge creativity, if you don’t mind, I would like you to tell us how the songwriting process uses to be like for MACHINAE SUPREMACY.
Well, it differs some, but most of the time Jonne and myself go from zero to 75% of a song within minutes as we sit down with an idea. It can start with a synth or SID melody or even some rhythmic element, or some sweet guitar play, and then we build from there.
After that stage, we can spend infinite amount of time just tweaking what we have until it becomes a complete song. Most of the work is done by our computers, we have the necessary tech that allows us to record studio-grade guitars and bass from the comfort of our own homes (we’re very DIY), and that lets us tweak and change and rerecord without limit. This process can take 2 days or 2 years. It depends on the song.
– The cover artwork for the album has that certain «digital» vibe all your previous cover have had but, what did you want to express with it?
I don’t really want to spell it out to be honest, but suffice to say the dark anarchist angel on the cover is in the process of burning the Earth.
– If I’m not mistaken you’ve recorded this new album in different studios so, could you please elaborate a bit on how were the recording sessions and the production process like?
Well, now, for the first time, we have a really full-featured studio of our own. But since Jonne lives in Stockholm some of the takes we needed to get done had to be done there due to the impracticality of travelling all the time. The acoustic guitars on Battlecry and all of Jonne’s vocals were done at the 4Sound studio in Stockholm.
– All this being said; how could you describe «Rise of a Digital Nation» in just 3 words?
Our Generation’s Soundtrack.
– You are a band that is closely connected to videogames so, what are some of your favourite ones?
The Metroid saga is a definite high ranking member on that list, but there are games from all eras and all genres. We love the GTA games as well, and modern shooters like Battlefield and Modern Warfare, and I myself used to play CS and Unreal Tournament quite a bit when those were relevant titles. We’re not really into RTS games but other than that, we’re all over the place. Phone-games too.
– You have toured Europe with Children of Bodom and even performed with the Swedish Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, really good experiences for a band I guess but, what else would you like to do into the music world?
We’re looking to do more collaborations with other artists, that would be fun, and perhaps score a full-length movie or a AAA-title game. We’re also looking to do a whole lot more touring than we’ve done the last few years, so we’re working to make that happen.
– And finally, what are your near-future plans?
We need to finish the Giana Sisters soundtrack and another title we’re working on, but beyond that there’s only the upcoming release tour in November – we’re coming to Finland and Russia in November (and having a release party just before that in our home town Luleå). Check out our website (www.machinaesupremacy.com) for details on that.
– That’s all, thank you once more for answering our questions. If you want to add some final words; feel free to do it.
Thanks! \m/
Rob
