Cyber Monday Interview

Hi Cyber Monday, thank you for the interview!

You are so welcome and thank you for having me :)

 

 

 

What would be your early inspirations?

Well I was an 80’s kid and I remember my parents listening to Erasure, The Human League, Soft Cell, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, and other synthpop artists growing up. Those bands really stuck with me and still do to this day.

What made you become a musician and why Synthpop/synthwave?

I naturally fell into it to be honest. I was musically gifted and learned the electronic organ and keyboard at a young age. I have recordings of me at the age of 8 composing music on my yamaha synth in my bedroom. I then started producing music on the Amiga, then PC. My first album was completed at the age of 16 and it’s just something that I enjoy doing and have done ever since. 

Synthpop I have always loved to do whether it’s covers such as my Under the Covers album series, or original material such as my Store themed albums.

I encountered Synthwave quite late in the game but was so inspired by artists such as Trevor Something that I decided to do Synthwave styled albums with the name Wave or Retro in the titles featuring guest vocals. The proved to be a success.

 

Where do you get inspiration for your songs?

It can be as simple as just messing around with my music tools, waking up with a song idea in my head, or receiving guest vocals and loving them so much that I produce the entire song. Generally if it’s catchy, I am usually interested.

How much do you think AI will change music industry and/or artists?

I think it already is changing rapidly, I came across an AI themed Spice Girl channel on YouTube and it was fascinating as it was putting out music that would have never of existed officially. Such as showcasing each spice girl in turn as a lead singer on previous tracks, New AI Spice Girl tracks. It was really interested. I personally love AI however it does need to reward artists and until that happens there will be still a lot of hatred about it. I treat AI like a tool which is exactly what it is. 

 

 

What did you listen to when growing up?

I am a huge listener of music. If there is a song I really like from a new artist, I will check the entire back catalogue and review all the other songs too. 

In the 90’s I loved Dance Music and Electronic Music. This music has certainly inspired me as I also produce EDM tracks which I have been signed for previously. I am considering incorporating my EDM music into Cyber Monday. Even though the music is different, it does have a lot of similarities.

You have released incredible amount of albums, how did you manage?

Thank you :) I just keep on producing in my own time. People say how do you work full time in IT and still manage to release albums, and my response is that I just do and enjoy it. I’ve done it since the age of 8 and love it. I do value music that I produce even if it’s just a demo, or remix. I have a vault of around 180 tracks which I release on my gold fan tier on my website www.cybermondaymusic.com

It’s important that my vault is accessible to people who are interested. I also do not release every album on Spotify as it would cause oversaturation, so again my vault features my back catalogue on my website and Bandcamp. 

 

In today's fast food society how important are albums compared to short singles?

That’s an interesting question. I really do still value albums. For me, if I listen to a single that I love, I will go searching for previous music and albums. However I realise that this is not usually the case with music listeners as there is so much music out there. For me an album is a journey and a collection of works and I still really value that.

How do you feel about social media that has more to do with artists than the actual music? Or am I wrong?

Nowadays, it certainly seems to be the case. I do not enjoy Social Media that much but it’s a necessary evil. I recently tried an automation tool that posted out to up to 9 platforms at once which saved a lot of time. I am looking into different methods to make things easier. I do think AI will eventually take this over completely for musicians that do not enjoy it.

It seems that because of it songs have gotten a lot shorter. Is this how limiting to an artist?

One of my fans really values longer songs to the point that he has done extended mixes for me in the past. I do have a pop catchy dance head on my shoulders so I do like to get my song across in a few minutes. People do not have long attention spans anymore especially from tools such as TikTok. So I feel I have the right balance however it’s a decision I make on each track and I do mix it up, so some of my tracks can be 5 mins others can be around 2.30 mark. 

 

As an artist what would be your ultimate goal?

Growing up, I always wanted to be famous and signed. I realised that fame was not important in my 30’s but managed to get signed by an amazing independent label known as Pink Dolphin Music. They have been so supportive since 2016 and still continue to do so.

My goal now is to have a solid fan base that appreciates my works and I would love to be a support act for a famous synthpop artist in the future. Right now I just enjoy making music.

In fact my first full page album review was just released in Issue 20 of Blitzed magazine which I feel is huge recognition.

What are you future plans?

More albums, More Opportunities but not putting myself under too much pressure are my plans. I always want to continue enjoying doing what I do, and so far, I have. :)

 

Check Cyber Monday out

Official Site

Facebook

Bandcamp

DSTRTD SGNL Interview

Hi DSTRTD SGNL, thank you for the interview!

Thanks for having me/us :) Always fun spreading some words about our music.

What would be your early inspirations and what did you listen to while growing up?

My personal inspiration in music and further on in producing music was the early Frankfurt ”Techno” sound with labels such as Westside, Techno Drome International, ”later” on New Beat, Acid, lots of House Music, EBM and early Techno stuff from R&S, Warp... Parallel to this of course the 80s sound of artists like Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, New Order, Yello.

What made you become a musician and why techno?

The music itself was always a magic thing to me. Driving beats, atmospheres, the almost infinite pool of sounds. From the beginning I was interrested in how this music is made, so it was just a matter of time before the first own exeperiments in making music took place. Actually we started no later then 1991/1992... Due to my own label work, Djing, and all the parties and concerts I/we started to organise, making music slowly recieved less and less time in my personal schedules and slowly disappeared. In the end of 2022 I teamed up with Stephan Kessler and within no time we formed/became DSTRTD SGNL. The sound is not necessaryly Techno but for both of us it will always be electronic ”dance” music in whatever style/form. From the beginning we decided to produce what we like with no boundaries.

 

 

Where do you get inspiration for your songs?
We both listen to a lot of music from many different genres but I think i can speak for both of us that electronic music still has the most magic of all music ”styles”. We have many different ways of aproaching a new song, sometimes it's just a groove, a melody, sometimes a sample or a vocal on which we get an idea/inspiration to construct a song around.

Are you digital artist or do you still use analog gear too?

We have set up a complete digital studio and we only use 100% digital equipment, so no hardware in our studio.

Techno as a genre has evolved much more than any other genre. Has it lost some of its authenticity over the years? There is still good Detroit techno coming out luckily.

The good thing in Techno is that Techno has no boundaries. For me personal Techno is the perfect platform to do whatever you like with technology. There is so many different ”styles” in techno and especially crossing these genres is what makes it so entertaining. I really like melodic techno stuff, also house influenced tunes, older detroit Techno was awesome, but minimalistic stuff can also be damn cool, even Hardstlye, Rave or Gabber/Rotterdam stuff had/has their moments.

 

 

The scene in Germany also has evolved and grown a lot. How and why did Germany and especially Berlin become the hotspot of techno and other electronic music too?

For us Frankfurt has always been the hotspot, not Berlin too much to be honest, which of course is owed by the fact that Stephan and I are based in the Offenbach/Frankfurt/Darmstadt (so called Rhein/Main) area where we witnessed the rise of electronic music from the almost very beginning. These days Berlin has become quite important especially due to their amazing club- and DJ scene. Germany did produce a load of talented musicians and producers in the field of electronic music, maybe because we're somehow a pretty cold and industrial country.

I think it was Armin Van Buuren who said people are making trance and calling it melodic techno today because trance is a bit of a bad word.

Well, I think he is correct in this, even if I think that the name is not really too important. A good song/track is good despite any music genre name it has. Sometimes people just need these scenes for their feelings so yeah, well, call it Trance, call it meldoic Techno if it's good, it's good. 

 

 

As an artist what would be your ultimate goal?

Continue to be able to produce whatever music we like and present it to the people. Something we already achieved, so no ultimate goals here :)

What are you future plans?
Well, quite a lot. We already have a massive release and production schedule with new tunes on different labels all over the planet. Italy, Netherlands, Germany, France, some cool stuff in the pipeline.

Check DSTRTD SGNL Out!

 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/4ISX2aRyZ10uoLtypdPNai?si=ulzS9sDyTN-sRtldKEV4BA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DSTRTDSIGNAL

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dstrtd_sgnl/

Nahja Mora Interview

Hello Nahja Mora and thank you for this interview!

Hello, Tommi, this is Josef, pleased to make your acquaintance 

 

 

Your sound is a lot different from other bands. How would you describe it to new listeners?

I’m often at a loss to exactly describe what we sound like. We are informed by industrial concepts in our approach to sound and to communication; we are aurally akin to a digital maelstrom of indecision ensnared by expressionist and psychedelic extremes. I see spirit in music and in sound relating to sound and creating harmony or not. Tension in the unknown and the known.

What were your early inspirations or influences?

I am influenced by a few industrial groups. Particularly SPK, Monte Cazazza, Throbbing Gristle, COIL. I am also influenced by Tori Amos, Arnold Schoenberg, George Crumb, Giles Swayne, JS Bach, Igor Stravinsky. Skinny Puppy and Battery are particularly fascinating. I think if you’re reading this you should listen to Leichenschrei. I am most particularly influenced as a musician by growing up with a piano, buying Throbbing Gristle’s DOA on CD when I was 13, and becoming fascinated with digital audio and digital synthesis when I was a teenager.

What made tou become a musician and why this style? 

 I have always been a musician. I think when I was growing up I personally listened to industrial and electro-industrial music (i tape traded in the 90s). I also studied music in highschool and on a variety of instruments when I was young. I think of this as all part of the pallete that I use to express an Idea. The idea just has become constantly and consistently informed by alienation by and through technology. So, technology… and the way it distorts… (the medium) has become something intrinsic and as parcel that the sound delivers. It’s communication. It’s overloading to get a message through. 

 

 

Where do you get inspiration for your songs? 

 Inside Out Ep is an examination of spree killing events as well as the socio-media-ecosystem that follows. The songs that I am currently working on conceptually deal with communication/assault, being driven to violent thinking, and predicting the future and it being a curse.

As an artist what would be your ultimate goal? 

”As Death…” I don’t know that I have an ultimate goal as an artist; it’s more how deeply can I express an idea and I am very very ambitious. I would like to play in more countries.

How is the music scene in US today? How has it changed over the years? 

Things leave marks and people have become worked over stuck in home and stuck in the face with rhetoric about sides and rhetoric about each other. Things have been gutted in the interim, the fallout of pandemic … danceclubs do well but less of them ; waiting for scene itself to get over itself if itself is even itself anymore. Where is the scene? Where is the youth? Are we talking witch haus haunts or goth club institutions or punk rock house parties . Noise is huge and so is Dark Electro. Everything is merging into rage.

Lot of artists are saying touring has lost its appeal and it is not financially worth it. How,as an artist, you see the situation?

I will do it and it will be done. But it must be done for everyone and everyone must be more involved to make a scene be a scene if anyone wants any part of this dream. If you want to see a band in your town, you should maybe make some promo yourself and put it up where you can. Xerox logos or make stencils. Do what you will. Also there are these people at venues called talent buyers. Readers, you have to make them know you will buy tickets for some act and you have to buy the tickets too and show up. There’s just not as much money as there used to be. There is no huge giant music industry willing to let an artist be free and paid. If you want a big artist again, you have to support that artist. You have to carry their creed and share their work, get them more fans. Get them shows. Reach out and see what connections can be made. Be a gardener. This has to be grassroots. 

 

 

Digitalisation from artists point of view, is it good or bad? 

Now that more and more music is being released it seems as a listener to be harder to discover new interesting bands. 

 Is it more of social media these days than of the actual music?

Social media is trash. It’s taken over any indepedence of the internet and is working to constrain it into some sorta authoritarian ”choose for us” nonsense. It limits voices but digs in on delusions to keep end users engaged. It’s nasty stuff that will stage comments and notifications differently in an attempt to get your biochemistry out of whack. It’s addictive and dangerous. Spotify is trash. Most digital distributions-- actually all-- are complete trash. Bandcamp is decent until you have merch. There’s been some decades long reduction of the valuation of music and they’d have you think it’s because of the extreme amount of data but it’s instead to nullify the deviant voice that used to have mass media in its hand. You can’t be that political if you’re not that personally paid unless you have a really big following. It’s not at all fair or like it has been ever before. I wasn’t alive during the 1960s clearly but it certainly seems like the counter culture in the US once had an impact. Since then though there’s been a careening bumper car of ruin knocking down any sort of social care and social remark for too long and Spotify is part of it. It all goes back to something Dead Kennedys... Convenience... It’s undoing everything. Things should be hard to find. You should have to go into the shadows. You should have to learn and have that experience. Putting everything in the light, devaluing it, and cutting its wings so that it ”comports”, is not the way.

Buy Cassettes, Buy Cds, Buy Vinyl, Buy Merch from Artists.

What advice you'd give to young artists?

”Never play to the gallery” Do what you have to do because you have to / need to. Don’t mistake teaching and advice for control and abuse and def do not mistake the reverse. Learn from everyone, judge not . Go on an adventure, and have fun. Release on physical media. Have events and sell merch. Connect with other people local to you and have them involved in your event.

What are you future plans?

Too many to name!

TOM RADAR of RADARFIELD And Dylan Phoenix Interview

 

 

Hi TOM RADAR of Radarfield and Dylan Phoenix, thank you for the interview!

We are happy for having us and thank you for the invitation.

Hi TOM RADAR, please give me a short introduction:

I am a group member of the music band RADARFIELD (vocals, guitar). The band name RADARFIELD comes from the vision of exploring the visible and invisible world (RADAR) and of conveying information from the tangible, intangible and fantastic acoustically and/or visually in the songs/videos (FIELD). RADARFIELD (Voc/Git, Bass, Synth, Drums) was founded in 2010 in Berlin, transitioned to a drum machine and a electronic bass in 2011. We (Tom and Marcus) are offering a unique blend of Darkwave, Electronica, Synthpop and New Wave. RADARFIELD has published a number of songs on Bandcamp, Spotify etc, like „Vampire Diary“, „Hypnotized“ and Metropolitan Area“ and more than 10 videos on YouTube. Some songs were played on local radio stations but also around the world (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Peru, Italy, France, Belgium, Greece, Cyprus, …). RADARFIELD`s songs are also on a number of CD compilations, e.g. Sonic Seducer, Orkus!, Dark Spy Magazine, EBM Nation Vol. 4 and 7 and on EBM International Day 24.2 of DSBP Records. „The Man With White Wings“ is the first side project of TOM RADAR (lyrics, vocals and guitar) and DYLAN PHOENIX (music, choir).

 

About DYLAN PHOENIX (aka Kabal Apokalyse):

DYLAN PHOENIX (aka Kabal Apokalyse, Vocalist/Composer/Producer), and project leader of Funeral Records Autoproduction from Pietrasanta/Italy. TOXIC INDUSTRY is the other project of DYLAN PHOENIX which was born in 2008. DYLAN PHOENIX published several songs and albums on Bandcamp and Spotify, e.g. „A Different View“, „Like Shadows In The Rain“ or the „Endless Night“

 

 

 

 

  

When did the first projects started?

DYLAN: In 2022, Funeral Records Autoproduction published the compilation „E.B.M. Nation Vol. 4“ (13 tracks) on bandcamp with RADARFIELD on first place with the song „VAMPIRE DIARY“.

TOM: In December 2022, DYLAN aka Kabal Apokalyse asked RADARFIELD, if we would like to make a song together with TOXIC INDUSTRY with german lyrics. His vision was that the lyrics are about the topic „Schmerzen“ („Pain“ in English, see single cover). We were pleased for asking and we liked the idea of having a new project. He sent us the first version of the song and asked us if we were happy with the music. The track was really good and within 1-2 hours the lyrics were written. DYLAN optimized the music of the song. In the end, RADARFIELD added some special synthesizer effects and the song was finished. On the 9th January 2023, the track was published on bandcamp and in other digital music stores. This song became RADARFIELD´s first song which is sung in german.

 

 

Please tell me more about your new joint project „The Man With White Wings“

TOM: In Spring 2024, I wrote the music and the first lyrics to „The Man With White Wings“. I send a guitar version and the lyrics to Marcus (Keys, RADARFIELD). Unfortunately, the lyrics did not fit very well to the music, he composed. Luckily, I have a stock of lyrics/songs in my drawer and I tried the lyrics of „MEMORY IMPAIRMENTS“. They fit quite good to the music and a new song was born.

Over the year 2024, I optimized the lyrics of „The Man With White Wings“ for better singing. I still wanted to make a dark song with the chords I wrote. Then, I heard the dark song „Like Shadows in the Rain“ of DYLAN PHOENIX and so I asked DYLAN PHOENIX at the end of 2024, if he would like to make another joint-project with RADARFIELD. I sent the improved guitar version to DYLAN PHOENIX and he agreed to join this project. I was very pleased to have DYLAN PHOENIX, as a great composer of dark music, on bord. In the end, „The Man With White Wings“ is a little bit different from the music of RADARFIELD. Therefore, this song was published under the brand „TOM RADAR“ and „DYLAN PHOENIX“.

Background: “The Man with the White Wings” is a modern allegory. I used an allegory to convey complex meanings through symbolic figures, actions, images or more abstract concepts such as „beauty”, „independence“, „vulnerability“, „decay” or “death”. The man in the song is a synonym for planet Earth and the creatures that live on it. Both have suffered a lot in recent years and time has left its mark. In the end, the god of death, Thatanos, takes the man into his kingdom and the man surrenders to his fate.

Note: On March 6th, “THE MAN WITH WHITE WINGS” was chosen as “Video Of The Day” on the “WHITELIGHT-WHITEHEAT” website. A review of the song/video was also written.

https://www.whitelight-whiteheat.com/wl-wh-video-of-the-day-tom-radar-dylan-phoenix-the-man-with-white-wings-official-music-video

 

 

 

How different is the song writing process when you collaborate with someone? The chemistry changes I'd assume?

TOM: I guess, it was not easy for DYLAN to transfer my guitar playing on his synthesizers. I send him some tracks of other bands like DEAD CAN DANCE to give him an idea in which direction the song should go. At the beginning, I was not sure, if we can combine the guitar and the synthesizers. In the end, the guitar (solo) is only at the front of the song, but it makes the song more interesting and more complex right from the beginning. This song that had a lot of back and forth with ideas, and we went through multiple composing sessions to get it right. In the end, the song has a cool, dark style, and a deep gothic feel with a lot of emotions.

DYLAN: Starting from the first ideas, I did a lot of tests in search for the best sound. Every time I made changes, I sent the material directly to TOM. At the same time, I was also busy working on several projects with other artists, putting in the effort, and not caring what I wanted. We had a kind of spiritual connection to the music. We have a lot in common between me and TOM. I'm also a very versatile person when it comes to genres. Working remotely hasn't been difficult for me. So, it doesn't change whether I'm working directly with a music artist or miles away. Everyone brings a part of themselves, and I always try to highlight the qualities of both in the melody. I find it stimulating and I am happy to learn something new every time.

What are the best parts in collaborating with other artists? You can learn from the other artist a new way of looking or doing things?

TOM: The best part of the collaboration is the final song itself. I think, we could combine the best ideas of both of us. Usually, I am using a vocal performer effect device (delay, reverb) gives me a better feeling while I am singing. Dylan convinced me to sing the song without digital effects, which was a new experience to me. In contrast, I played the guitar without effects but DYLAN added a cool effect on the guitar.

DYLAN: I enjoy collaborating with different artists; they teach me, and I give them a part of myself. It is a wonderful experience to repeat it over and over again, always trying to improve myself for best results. Always staying locked in the same status doesn't teach me things. There's always something to learn also at every age. By collaborating with other music artists, you learn to understand more and to progress in composing. I don't want to limit myself, but I love to improve my knowledge, and that helps me a lot.

What is the next project?

TOM: RADARFIELD is currently working on two new songs. The song „Death & Beauty“ is full of poetry and like „The Man with White Wings“ a modern allegory. In contrast to RADARFIELD´s other songs, this song belongs to the music genre gothic rock. The song and the video willl be published in April 2025. The other song will be pure dark wave and has a futuristic theme.

DYLAN: I'm working on my new album "A Different View," of which I only have four demo tracks left in the studio version, and I'm about to enter the "International Contest Awards 2025," which will take place on April 15th in Los Angeles.

 

 

Check TOM RADAR out!

https://tomradar.bandcamp.com/

https://youtu.be/hbHcD8aoGrc

https://www.facebook.com/tom.radar.1

https://www.n1m.com/tomradar

https://radarfield.com/