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Interview with Noisuf-X


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Jan L. started experimenting with making electronic music in 1988 with the assistance of the humble Commodore 64 computer, which was later jettisoned in favor of an Amiga. Recording 10 albums' worth of material in the meantime, Jan came to the attention of Scanner/Dark Dimensions and released his debut album, Dial D For Demons, under the project name X-Fusion in 2003. This project is a blend of intense harsh industrial with gothic undertones and vocals. Noisuf-X, as Jan explains to ReGen, is X-fusion's polar opposite, conceptually and musically. Noisuf-X, which is noted for memorable ditty samples and catchy smooth grooves and rhythms, has been a big hit on the dance floors of Europe and beyond with the club tracks 'Hit Me Hard' and 'Toccata del Terrore,' both lifted from the recent album The Beauty of Destruction. Noisuf-X's debut album, Antipode, was released in 2005 on the Pronoize label. Not just content with working on both of his aforementioned projects; L. has teamed up with Johan Van Roy of Suicide Commando to form Kombat Unit, which so far has released the track 'We Are Machines' on the Noise Terror 2: World Wide Electronics compilation. ReGen spoke to L. backstage at the Infest 2008 festival about his two main projects and the future of Kombat Unit, among other things.

1. When you first started making electronic music in 1988 with the C64 and then later the Amiga, what was your inspiration for making music?
L.: I was always interested in music; in the days before the computer, I tried to mix things with turntables and so on, with mix tapes. And after that with my first computer, a Commodore 64. There were a lot of computer games and demos and so on with some really great music. I wanted to make the same kind of music, to use the same kind of sounds, which was a better option for me to make music than only using turntables. I wanted to generate my own melodies and beats, so that is why I started with the computer.

2. As you mentioned turntables, were you ever a club DJ?
L.: No, I was never a DJ in clubs; I only did it by myself to mix up some songs and use samples, scratching and like that, in the very beginning. I also did mix tapes and so on.

3. Speaking of samples, there is one really strange but funny sample on the track 'Geh zur Hölle,' from your latest album. Where is that lifted from?
L.: That is taken from a zombie movie from Belgium. It's about zombie grandmas eating people It's a really funny movie, and I love that scary voice; this is why I used it in some of my songs. I love that voice because it's so scary and fits perfect to my music.

4. What's the translation of 'Geh zur Hölle?'
L.: 'Go to hell.'

5. Keeping with the weird and strange, all of the artwork for your albums features insects; also, the title of your latest album, 'The Beauty of Destruction,' indicates a link to or is inspired by insects.
L.: I think insects don't have what you might call brains; they have only instinct. Some insects destroy only to live, not because they like to destroy, like mankind. I make music only with my instinct. There is no deeper aim or anything. When I write a song, I don't think about what to do. My instinct speaks.

6. Is this in direct contradiction to X-Fusion?
L.: This project is completely the opposite of X-Fusion. X-Fusion is very emotional, a very personal project, and is very complicated music. It is not made for dancing or something like that; it's made to think about when you hear it. Noisuf-X is the opposite; there is no deeper meaning. It's more like a fun project. I can do things with Noisuf-X that I would never do with X-Fusion. X-Fusion is a very serious project. With Noisuf-X, I can use some fun samples which would never fit with the concept of X-Fusion.

7. Did you imagine Noisuf-X being such a big club hit?
L.: I think that Noisuf-X is a mixture, a hybrid. It's not pure industrial or EBM or pure techno. In private, I don't listen to industrial; I don't know a lot of industrial artists. I like to work with industrial samples and distortion, but I am not inspired by a lot of industrial artists. That is why Noisuf-X maybe sounds a bit different from the rest, I think, or maybe because sounds a bit fresher. I'm not sure. It's the mixture between industrial, techno and EBM. That's the concept.

8. Would you say then that Noisuf-X appeals to people that are into the subgenres of electronic music, such as noise?
L.: I am not sure; industrial hardliners I don't think would like Noisuf-X, because it's not industrial enough, or there is too much techno. It's not hard enough for them. Noisuf-X is for the people that are new in the scene, who like a bit of noise and a bit of techno or EBM. I have no idea.

9. A lot of people start out liking the industrial and hellektro sound, but those influences on the current sound are changing, as are individual tastes. People are looking for something different, and maybe this is where Noisuf-X comes in.
L.:You are right; Noisuf-X is growing, because it is a bit different. A lot of EBM and hellektro bands sound the same. They are using the same sounds and the same kinds of melodies and distortion for the vocals. It's the same with industrial; with industrial artists, everything must be totally distorted and made as hard as possible. That is not my aim; I make something in between, and maybe that is what the people like.

10. You use vocals for X-Fusion; why you haven't done this with Noisuf-X?
L.: As I've already said, Noisuf-X is more of a fun project. It's for dancing and not for thinking about. You don't need deep lyrics for dancing to. No one cares about the lyrics if people want to dance. It makes no sense to write lyrics people won't listen to. You don't need vocals to make the people dance.

11. Now that Noisuf-X has become such a success, will your musical focus now switch from X-fusion?
L.: No, X-fusion is very personal, and so it Noisuf-X will never be the main project. Noisuf-X is my fun project, so I don't care about success. If I was to do the same kind of music and nobody liked it, I wouldn't care. I don't need to make a living from my music. I do a lot of mixing and mastering for other bands, which is what I make my living from. Making music is a hobby for me. I can do what I want, and I don't want to change that. I don't make music to get a lot of success, so I will keep the focus on my main project.

12. You mentioned that you master and produce other artists. How do you approach mastering and producing your own music, as opposed to someone else's?
L.: It's a bit complicated. It's very hard to do the mixing and mastering for your own stuff, because you spend too much time on your own work. It's easier to work with other bands' new material. I hear from the very first second what to do, what the sound needs, how much compression, and so on. With my own stuff, it's more trying and changing a lot; it's very very different. I spend too much time on my own stuff, and I get too close, and this is a big problem. But I want to do this by myself, because the concept of X-Fusion and Noisuf-X is to do everything by myself, without any other people. For me, it is the only way to do things without any compromise. This important for me; I don't want to make any compromise with my music.

13. What's the status of Kombat Unit, your project with Johan Van Roy of Suicide Commando?
L.: We met a lot of times to make some music, and we released one song on the Noise Terror compilation, but the problem is we are both very busy, so we canceled our first shows. We had to cancel Summer Darkness because we didn't have enough material to play. At the moment, he is very busy, and me too. We don't know when we will have more time to make music. I'm sure we will do more songs with Kombat Unit, but I have no idea when we will release something.
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Translator: Schizev
Add date: 2009-07-28 / Interviews


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