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| Photo by Trista Whitman |
What has the band been up to since I last interviewed you early in 2023?
Since we talked last the band suffered a devastating loss when our drummer and dear friend Bas/Dein Offizier passed away in August 2023. He had been battling cancer and in October of 2022 we were able to reunite on stage for what would turn out to be our final shows together. During that time we had discussions as a band on what would be some of the elements of the next album and how to incorporate more of a band vibe on the writing and recording process. In September of 2023 Zwaremachine had some European shows booked and one gig was direct support for Front 242 at a concert in the Netherlands where we had hoped Dein Offizier would be joining us on stage but his unfortunate passing just weeks before that concert meant we would be performing as a duo instead of a trio as planned. Through conversations we had prior to that he had discussed wanting the band to continue no matter what so a decision was made to continue with those September dates. We brought his cap he would wear and his big silver drum on stage and placed them under a spotlight during our set and also honored him with a dedication of our song “Be a Light” with a special video tribute accompaniment.
In early 2023 I began writing and recording demos for the next album and that summer Dbot (Zwaremachine bassist) and I got together to sift through the 20-30 demo ideas and pick the most promising ones to track for the album. By September 2023 we had about fifteen songs and since we had time between some of the European shows I brought some recording equipment and we tracked Dbot's bass parts for eight songs while in the Netherlands. We also released the first single “A Sickness” from the upcoming album in September 2023 with the proceeds being donated to the Dutch foundation Hematon on behalf of Bas Mercx (Dein Offizier) which is a patient organization for people with a hemato-oncological condition. In the video released for “A Sickness” you can see us performing live as a duo with his drum and cap on stage. The sound and stage presence brought by Dein Offizier is something we will deeply miss.
As we progressed in the album recording, I had left some spots open for another melodic element in many of the songs. I decided to pull out the guitar which was my first main instrument and try on some of the recordings which pushed the songs into a more industrial rock sound and also replaced some of the synth parts. This led to the decision to bring in additional members Paul K on guitar and Marshal B on electronic drums. Both are Dutch musicians and friends who are adding a lot to shape and sound as we move forward and will perform with me in the upcoming European shows.
I heard you’re releasing a new promotional video around this time.
The video for “Actions and Forces” marks a distinct change and the new line-up and sound. The full band is featured in the video but since we have not yet performed as the full 4-piece band live, we had to get creative with the editing as we have in the past with band members being in different countries. The idea behind the lyrics for “Actions and Forces” is that as we progress further with technology, we become a little less human. This song addresses that point when man becomes more machine than human and what we may lose when that happens. The single will be released on Friday August 30th for free download from our Zwaremachine Bandcamp page and we will celebrate this release with 3 concerts in the Netherlands and Belgium in September 2024.
How were those European dates in September 2023? How did you feel about those shows as a fitting tribute to Dein?
The show with Front 242 in the Netherlands was in a venue near where Bas/Dein Offizier lived so we had plenty of friends and support to get through that one as a duo with Dbot and myself. The set went well but there was a very strange feeling of being disconnected and almost like I was performing on auto pilot and watching as third person... something I never really experienced on stage before. Seeing a lot of our mutual friends in the audience made it easier and harder at the same time as we were all still in shock since he had only just passed very recently. Dbot and I have been playing live together in bands since 2005 so it was a source of strength to have him by my side and we had Dein Offizier's cap and drum onstage to my other side under a spotlight as a way to honor him. Our final song of the set was “Be a Light” and we had a video tribute to Dein Offizier projected behind us which showed many sides of him... he was a great friend and bandmate who we will miss dearly.
What was the process of selecting from the twenty to thirty demos for the album you planned to work on? What criteria did you use to select those fifteen songs?
Some of the demos were only a drum and synth loop and others were completely written and arranged. In the summer of 2023, Dbot (Zwaremachine bassist) and I got together and played through what I had to see if there were bass parts and riffs that could be written and we would also sort the key and BPM of the song. Then I added vocals and worked more on arrangements for the songs we picked from the demos and we recorded some bass parts for about half of those in September 2023. For those fifteen songs we didn't really worry about fitting any genres and just wanted the best songs we could make since we knew the band was in for a bit of a change in sound and line-up.
Who filmed and produced the video for “A Sickness”? Is there a particular reason that song was chosen to represent the next album?
The video was filmed by the band during a live concert in the Netherlands. This is a special mix for the video, and we have another mix version that will be on the album and include the guitarist and drummer we have recently added to the lineup.
Describe the concept and making of “Actions and Forces” video, and how it conveys the changes occurring with the addition of Paul K and Marshal B.
The video was filmed while I was in the Netherlands and we also used live footage from the band performing live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in the Netherlands. Since we have not yet performed with the new full four piece version of the band we wanted to come up with a way to present everyone in the video, so clips of the other band members were made to look like they were projected on a wall beside me. The idea behind the lyrics is that as we progress further with technology we become a little less human and also what happens at the point when we become more machine than man.
With the addition new members Paul K and Marshal B, we had the opportunity to introduce a new sound with guitars and electronic drums which pushed us more into an industrial rock sound while still holding onto the dark electro and EBM elements.
In the fields of electro, industrial, and metal, technology and its misuse is a popular subject matter. Is “Actions and Forces” able to present the idea in a unique manner with its video and lyrical content?
We intentionally made an effort to not have a narrative or storyline type video and let the electronic and human elements of the song set the mood. The original working title for the song was "Biomech" and that is what informed the lyrical choices.
Is there any song or movie that helped inspire the music or lyrics of this song, or did the band draw their own inspiration?
For this song there was a strong inspiration from the band Killing Joke for the choruses I wrote... their epic song “Love like Blood” was in the forefront of my mind when recording the vocals. The original instrumental synths and electronic drum elements were written by Dbot and I can't speak for his inspirations. I was able to work on the arrangement more once I had the final lyrics written and the guitars were recorded. For the mix it was necessary to carve out some room for the guitars that were played by myself and new Zwaremachine guitarist Paul K. The addition of electronic drums from Marshal B gave a bit more punch and both guitar and electronic drums were recorded and tracked for this song in February 2024 while I was in the Netherlands.
Has Killing Joke been a consistent influence, or were they specifically influential on the vocals of “Actions and Forces?
That influence is coming through more with the addition of guitars on the new album. Dbot and I both really like that band and have considered covering one of their songs in the future.
As I watched “Actions and Forces”, it struck me more as a surreal film than a promotional video. There are elements of videos from the eighties, but the atmosphere is much colder. Did you omit a storyline to emphasize those qualities?
We prefer that style more than a storytelling type video, and we did want the song to be more of the focus. However the style and way it was shot and edited was mostly out of necessity since we had no footage of the full band performing together and I was trying to find a way to present the new line-up.
Did you work independently on “Actions and Forces” or did you work with professional shooters and producers, conveying your ideas to them?
The instrumental was written by Dbot and I did a bit of arranging once the vocals were written. We produced the songs ourselves and the mixing is being done by I and Jason Orris at The Terrarium studio in Minneapolis. Minnesota. USA.
How would you address those who interpret a song about technology as being anti-technology, thus implying that the band writing it is anti-technology?
I think this song is a bit vague in some of those references and probably obvious at the same time. I wanted to keep the message simple...for instance, each verse starts with the same line “Throw the switch” which also inspired the cover artwork by Mark Gerrard. The song is only pointing out the pitfalls of advancing technologies and the last verse even has a glimmer of optimism about these type of situations with the line "Replace my parts, I will Succeed". For me there isn't an anti-technology stand but only a bit of skepticism if left unchecked.
As you view technology at present, what are the pros and cons you see?
In relation to music and probably most everything else, we seem to be losing character and uniqueness. There are many templates and models to churn out songs and art so the genres and markets become saturated and the bar becomes lower. There will always be some who seek out original and exceptional art but I think most are happy with something that sounds or looks like something already popular so it’s easy to recognize and digest.
I see technological advancements in music software and hardware as a way to perform in ways that were previously hindered. The speed at which we can edit and produce music is a great benefit for my style of writing and recording.
Would you say you have more of an organic feel with the addition of industrial elements?
I always consider us an electro-industrial band and more recently the industrial rock elements like guitar have been added. The guitars are blended with the synths to often double them and create a thick texture while not being out front or in your face. I also like to reinforce synth line melodies with a guitar line here and there. We still use heavy synth programming and electronic drums so there’s probably not much of an organic feeling but we do consider the band a bit of hybrid electro-rock since we now have live guitars and bass guitar.
How long did it take to find appropriate guitar and synth sounds to blend those instruments as you wanted?
When I was working on the demos and we started arranging and recording I intentionally left space for additional melodic elements. I planned to add more layers of synths with some arps and melody lines but after pulling out my guitar and trying some parts it became evident that the guitars could fit that purpose better and I really liked that some songs took on that industrial rock vibe. Since guitar was my first instrument it didn't take long to find sounds and record those parts. The “Actions and Forces” song became the first song to feature the guitar of Paul K and myself and the live drumming of Marshal B to fill out the drums that were programmed.
Zwaremachine scheduled some shows for this month. What is your ability to reproduce in live performances the sound you found in the studio?
We will easily be able to create the same feelings and sounds...however I do like a bit of freedom to change up some vocal arrangements in the live set depending on my mood and energy of the crowd. For these shows in September our bassist Dbot will not be able to join us but the sound won't be lacking as we have plenty of low end synths and there is still plenty of energy on stage from live guitar and drums. We are planning more shows for 2025 and the full four piece line-up will be present for those.
Do your audiences appreciate the occasional changes you make to your vocal arrangements?
I doubt many even notice as they’re slight changes to the arrangements, depending on how I'm feeling in the moment. My bandmates and some close to the band may notice, but they aren’t drastic changes and they are able to play the song arrangement as we rehearsed.
Can you let the readers know about any of the shows you've performed this month? You posted about several of them at Facebook, including one at Café The Shuffle at Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Our bassist Dbot couldn't make these dates so we performed these concerts as a trio and 2 of those shows were with Vuduvox which is a band we share our drummer with. The Shuffle is a special place for the band since it is where we played our last show with Bas/Dein Offizier in October 2022.
Are there any other shows from the tour that you would like to mention in this interview? After all the dates were completed, how did it feel to return home?
It was three shows so I call it a mini-tour. With everyone’s schedules with other bands and life commitments we prefer doing a few shows over a couple weekends for our European dates.
All of these shows were with bands and DJs we are friends with so of course it was a great time all around. I would always like to do more shows but we have to balance cost and time and plan ahead for 2025 and I am still working on the record so returning home to finish mixing and perform some solo Mach FoX shows was necessary.
In the near future, you will have another event called Dark and Local October. Would you like to reveal anything about this beforehand?
That is a local Twin Cities event put together by my friend Jarvis from the band Absynthe Of Faith to showcase bands in our area. I will be performing a solo set of electro/cyber-industrial songs I have written for the next Mach FoX album.
What is the next move Zwaremachine intends to take? After your tour, are you taking a break to rest or starting to write again?
I am still mixing and recording songs for the next Zwaremachine album. In December I will go back to the Netherlands to record some guitars and drums for some of those songs. We plan to have the album out in 2025 and have already started booking shows for next year.
-Dave Wolff
