Eight months ago I began a quest to uncover the mystery of EISDRIVE, a relatively unknown hard beat industrial act from northern New Jersey. In my pursuit of knowledge, I discovered EISDRIVE played shows with Armageddon Dildos, Combichrist, Informatik, Inertia, Cesium 137 and Haujobb. In 2008 Xian took EISDRIVE to London to play a show with System FX at the Slimelight. The band released a CDEP titled 'Hours Of Steel' in 2006 that was recorded at Mindswerve Studios in New York City with Xris Flam, known for his work with KMFDM and Meat Beat Manifesto. In 2014 EISDRIVE awoke from its long slumber and signed with Juggernaut Music Group. The EISDRIVE track "Reperbahn" appeared on the Juggernaut Xmas comp titled 'Fuck You! ENJOY'. The next phase of Eisdrive is now upon us. So lets break down the last 8 months and ask Xian some questions!
In a previous correspondence you mentioned the 9/11 terrorist attacks had a lot to do with genesis of Eisdrive. Take us through that thought process. Also, where does the name Eisdrive come from?
Xian - "Well, I was in no way unfortunate enough to have lost anyone in that tragedy but I will give you my impressions of that time. I was living in a New Jersey town, Cliffside Park, that was right across the Hudson from NYC and that Manhattan skyline from Harlem to the Battery was just an everyday sight... so to see a giant hole where the towers stood from one day to the next was horrifying to me.
On 9-11 my wife was working in the Empire State building and I had lost contact with her when all the phone circuits jammed. I had no idea what happened to her for several hours. but thankfully she got out of the city with a co-worker. I myself was up in Hasbrouck Heights freelancing and was watching all this go down from the roof of the company before they closed up shop and sent us home.
I remember visiting the NY Waterway Ferry Terminal later that week and seeing all the flyers people had put up of their missing loved ones and smelling the smoke from the towers when the wind shifted the next day. I can't even begin to put myself in the shoes of somebody who lost someone on that day but most people seemed to be in a state of shock afterward. To me it felt that we were facing some sort of end, as much of a stretch as we know that is now, it felt plausible then. Any security you felt living in this country was ripped away from you when you realized that foreign terrorists could take down your building or a plane you boarded. The future seemed very uncertain. Now in hindsight I can see in 9-11 the seeds of a different sort of ruin, a financial one.
All that fear and uncertainty was just a catalyst for me, a motivation to start doing now what I dreamt of doing eventually. In some ways it's a lesson that I continue to learn as the ebb and flow of life can sometimes put your creative plans on the back burner for one reason or other. I could say that I found Eisdrive in it's earliest incarnation to be a great outlet for the angst I felt at the time. One of our early tracks Destruxure, which was never officially released, was very steeped in 9-11 imagery."
Being from northern New Jersey myself, I saw the coping mechanisms first hand in friends and family. Every person had their own way of dealing with the attack. I would imagine 9/11 was a catalyst for many bands forming shortly after that dreaded day.
Xian - "I can only speak for my own experience but I'd imagine 9-11 was a catalyst for many different expressions of art and continues to be. It was such an unexpected shocking moment in our history and one that instantly changed a lot about the world we live in. That's bound to have resonance for a lot of people. The last thing I'd want to do is use that awful day as a crutch in any way but I'd be lying if I said it didn't wake me up and have an impact creatively."
So......where does the name Eisdrive come from?
Xian - "I had some vague memory of having read a sci-fi story where data was stored on sheets of Ice and they were referred to as "Ice Drives" but really like a lot of band names it was an amalgamation of parts I liked the sound of that sounded good together. "Eis" is Ice in German and whether the Drive portion refers to hard drives or car travel or ambition is open to interpretation. The allusion to things cold and electronic also struck me as fitting."
Prior to 2005, is it safe to say Eisdrive was in its experimental phase? You were learning new software, new instruments and recording techniques. When did you feel comfortable enough to record & release material and ultimately play live?
Xian - "Well I had been in bands of varying durations and styles throughout the 90s...rock, punk, darkwave/synthpop etc. but EISDRIVE was definitely a concerted effort to hone what I was attempting to do within the Electro-Industrial/EBM genre. Even within that the approach and the methods used evolved over time as did the personnel so change was always a constant. Through the process of working with different people I learned that you can never with absolute certainty be sure of the sound you'll end up when you add someone else into the mix. You may have your eye on a fixed destination but what another person brings with them into the project will always hybridize what you're doing and push it in a different direction. This can definitely be both good and bad but it's more difficult to achieve a solitary vision the more cooks you have in the kitchen. Everybody brings something of their own to the table. There were some elements to our live shows over the last phase of the band that I was not always a fan of but to quote my favorite Republicreep Donald Rumsfeld "You go to war with the Army you have not the Army you wish you had." Ultimately everyone that I worked with in this band had a role to play and something to contribute and for that I'm grateful, which is not to say they were always easy to work with or easy to motivate but these experiences helped me realize what was best for this project in the long run.
I don't know that I'd call everything pre-2005 necessarily an "experimental phase". It's true that there was a lot of learning going on both with new software and production techniques but it was on-the-job learning. My earliest collaborator Myke Roszhart and I would apply things we learned and from that we built up our live sets. Right from the start, we put out a number of early digital demos in those days which were not official releases but served to get us our first gigs. Looking back a lot of these recordings were not of the highest production value but as often happens when using new tools - the more you use them the better you get. It was a case of learning by doing which I believe to be the best way to learn anything. We never felt too precious about what we were putting out there early on, we were more concerned with the quality of our writing which was getting stronger all the time. After that first phase of the band, I took the helm production wise and a lot of what I wrote was composed in Reason, a trend that prevails even today.
It's interesting in being an act that works with electronics because you sort of have to do a certain lion's share of production up front before you even have a track that you can play out with and of course this makes things that much easier when it's time to record. That being said, the bulk of Eisdrive's material was heard more on live stages than any record. As far as playing live Eisdrive started playing shows in Winter 2002 the first over at Myke Hideous's Infestation night in Clifton and shortly thereafter in NYC where we eventually scored a residency at Electric Dreams at the now gone and much missed Korova Milk Bar in the East Village. We had one Monday a month here for about a year and playing out that steadily helped us to improve our live show dramatically. It was also at Electronic Dreams that we met other like-minded electronic NYC artists, producers and promoters."
As active as you have been, you have only released 'Hours Of Steel' CDr EP back in 2006. Will the songs we heard during your live sets eventually make it to your upcoming release or is this brand new material? Also, how did you hook up with Nick and Juggernaut?
Xian - "Perhaps my greatest regret with this project has been how unprolific it's been on the recording front. Live shows and rehearsals have always taken the lion's share of time and in between the hiatuses and working new people into the band there has been alot of starting from scratch. The 'Hours Of Steel' ep has been the only official release but there have been many other ad-hoc assorted comps of tracks of ours that we have put together to give out to promoters, venues, press and fans. The infrequency of releases stands in stark contrast however to the wealth of material I have to develop and work from. The one thing that's been a constant is that I've continued to write tracks at a steady clip since the ep came out and that gives me a wealth of material to choose from when it's time to drill down and decide what I want to put out next.
The next thing that will come out from EISDRIVE will be a re-release of 'Hours Of Steel' plus various really cool remixes that have been trickling in. After that the ideas I have for new EISDRIVE releases is to put out 2 wholly different albums. One album would serve as a clearinghouse for older material that's never been properly released...featuring tracks like 'Cabal'...one of our set standards and other tracks of a similar older vintage. The other album would be a crash course in where the project is at present and would feature much newer material I've been developing over the last few years.
You'll likely hear a refinement in sound and production techniques, but it's all about documenting where the project has been and where it's going.
Putting these releases together is probably my greatest priority but once that is all properly underway I'd like to imagine a proper return to live gigs, though it's exactly those sorts of preparations that have waylaid my recording plans in the past but I'm sure it's all about finding the proper balance. The few live sets there have been from 2008 to present have been weighted more toward the older tracks but I look forward to getting out behind the new material when the time is right.
As for working with Juggernaut and the force of nature that is Mr. Nick Quarm...I was fortunate enough to get introduced to Nick by my good friends Steve and Deb Alton who already work with Nick via their band System:FX. They had come over to visit NYC and play a show over here and of course I had to open for them. They're great great friends of mine and ridiculously supportive and have stood in as my backing band when EISDRIVE played London in 2008, They had played Nick the ep and he had shown great enthusiasm and interest in what I was doing. After some initial conversations in late 2013 he confirmed that he really wanted to put out my band's next releases and welcomed me into the Juggernaut label family. It really is a great label to be a part of ...there's endless support from the other bands on Juggernaut and with Nick at the helm i think there's some big things on the horizon for Juggernaut and I'm thrilled to be along for the ride."
Tell us a little about what we can expect from the new album?
Xian - "The one thing I can definitely say about the newer tracks I've been working on is that it's 100% me. Every sound, texture and rhythm is something I've labored over in service of my vision of what I want EISDRIVE to be sonically speaking. A lot of my collaborations while great could sometimes derail that purity of vision. The newer tracks have a much more old-school EBM muscularity to them and the percussion has really taken center stage. It'll be a joy to put out the new stuff, as aimed at the dancefloor as it is hopefully it will be received well but only time can tell."
Do you have any friends/other artists you would like to collaborate with on your upcoming release or future releases?
Xian - "While I remain the core of this project, collaboration's very important to stage the sort of live show I have in mind. There's a few local friends I'll likely be relying on to help me put together a new live band to take both new and older material to the stage when the time is right. My main focus now is finishing the writing and recording but this process can become so drawn out that you have to keep several plates spinning at once to hit your goals. I think also finding the right people to work with in a niche genre like Industrial can be one of the biggest challenges of all.
As far as working with other artists I have a very close working and personal relationship with Steve and Deb Alton of System:FX (an amazingly tight, frenetic Industrial band from the UK), who were indeed solely responsible for introducing me to Juggernaut and who have sat in as my band at gigs in London and NYC. I plan on collaborating with them on the production of forthcoming EISDRIVE material as the production value of their material is beyond reproach.
There's also a few proposed side collaborations with other artists that have been discussed but nothing that's taken full shape just yet."
Do you have any live shows lined up over the next few months?
Xian - "When the time is right EISDRIVE will definitely do shows again as the energy of playing for a live crowd is indeed something I miss but I don't imagine this will be in the next few months."
What are your thoughts on physical media versus digital with regards to what you release? What is your ideal format in general and for you as an artist releasing music?
Xian - "Personally for artists I follow I love nothing more than attaining CDs and Vinyl by them. Having that physical artifact can be a very gratifying thing for fans but I do see the direction shifting more and more to digital media and while that may be less pure of a listening/visual experience, the ease of purchase and instant ownership of music is an understandably attractive option for many - especially those in areas of the world with no physical record stores or at least ones that stock underground genres. I think as an artist you have to cover all bases and give your fans the maximum chance to experience your music yet the cost to produce large quantities of physical media can sometimes be prohibitive and leave you with an overabundance of stock if you don't sell what you'd hoped to. As for myself, I think the way forward will be digital releases coupled with limited edition physical product that comes with some added value, remixes/rarities etc. I'd like to get very creative with the physical media I put out for EISDRIVE so look out for that."
Besides your project EISDRIVE, you are also DJing at Insurgence in New Jersey. Tell us a little about that and what forces brought you to point of becoming Eisdriver.
Xian - "I started DJing in 2010, but on a more steady basis in 2011. Under time constraints to come up with a DJ moniker, EISDRIVER seemed to make a certain sense and just stuck. In 2011 I started spinning at a monthly party called Assimilate in Philadelphia run by DJs Wendy Blackwidow and Aaarghh which was a haven for hardline industrial in that town that sadly ended in 2013.
My new digs, INSURGENCE is a North Jersey Industrial Club that was started in 2012 by DJ Dyztort (Assault/Asylum Guild) operating out of Oops Lounge in Bloomfield NJ. The idea of the night as I understand it was to provide a club experience that covers the full spectrum of Industrial music while at the same time expanding our scene and offering an alternative to the Industrial clubgoer in North Jersey.
I first became involved with the night in 2013 and I was very honored to be allowed to join my fellow INSURGENCE DJs Dyztort, Mykill Plague and Nuematic..all of whom bring something unique to the table and make this night the distinctive experience it is. This past summer our club filled the void of live Industrial gigs in NJ and brought some amazing performances by regional bands Panzer Division, Frost Theory and most recently DC's Worms Of The Earth. In September our night will move to its new home at NJs longest standing alternative club QXT's where we'll be taking over Area 51 downstairs every Friday night."
As a DJ what would we expect to hear in one of your sets?
Xian - "What's most central to me when I spin is to bring a perspective musically that only I can. I don't get distracted by gratuitous turntablisms, tricks or DJ showmanship, rather track selection is where its at for me, its absolutely critical. I believe it's in the curation of a setlist that your personality as a DJ emerges. Sure, we all have to spin some tried and true staples within our scene that keep people moving but beyond that I feel very confident that I play a lot of things I've heard spun nowhere else and I will always work material like this into my sets. There are so many amazing, underexposed artists in Industrial/EBM as well as great underexposed tracks by known artists that hardly ever get spun. I like to shine a blindingly bright spot light on this stuff.
Stylistically, I favor a lot of firstwave Industrial and EBM, both classics and obscurities as well a lot of newer old-school influenced Anhalt/Oldschool EBM-influenced bands coming out of Europe. I will always find a way to work in the odd dark electro/new wave obscurity from time to time and a some very choice occasional Harsh Industrial/Noize styles but you'll never hear me spin TerrorEBM as I can't stand that stuff."
Any musical recommendations? What bands have captured your attention of late?
Xian - "I've been very into Chris Connolly's new project COCKSURE, sort of a revisitation of what he was up to with Revolting Cocks but reformulated in a variety of interesting ways - they'll be opening for Front242 this Fall so I'm excited to see them live in NYC and Chicago for Coldwaves.
The latest Amnistia also has me digging their fusion of bodymusic, and almost darkwave-ish synths."
Any last words or final thoughts?
Xian - "Not that I haven't droned on enough by now but I thank everyone for their support both in the music and DJ arenas and I'd just say to look out for more EISDRIVE releases in the near future and if you're ever in the NYC metro come visit INSURGENCE @ QXTs in Newark where we'll be taking over the downstairs Area51 floor every Friday night!"
Sep 09 2014
In a previous correspondence you mentioned the 9/11 terrorist attacks had a lot to do with genesis of Eisdrive. Take us through that thought process. Also, where does the name Eisdrive come from?
Xian - "Well, I was in no way unfortunate enough to have lost anyone in that tragedy but I will give you my impressions of that time. I was living in a New Jersey town, Cliffside Park, that was right across the Hudson from NYC and that Manhattan skyline from Harlem to the Battery was just an everyday sight... so to see a giant hole where the towers stood from one day to the next was horrifying to me.
On 9-11 my wife was working in the Empire State building and I had lost contact with her when all the phone circuits jammed. I had no idea what happened to her for several hours. but thankfully she got out of the city with a co-worker. I myself was up in Hasbrouck Heights freelancing and was watching all this go down from the roof of the company before they closed up shop and sent us home.
I remember visiting the NY Waterway Ferry Terminal later that week and seeing all the flyers people had put up of their missing loved ones and smelling the smoke from the towers when the wind shifted the next day. I can't even begin to put myself in the shoes of somebody who lost someone on that day but most people seemed to be in a state of shock afterward. To me it felt that we were facing some sort of end, as much of a stretch as we know that is now, it felt plausible then. Any security you felt living in this country was ripped away from you when you realized that foreign terrorists could take down your building or a plane you boarded. The future seemed very uncertain. Now in hindsight I can see in 9-11 the seeds of a different sort of ruin, a financial one.
All that fear and uncertainty was just a catalyst for me, a motivation to start doing now what I dreamt of doing eventually. In some ways it's a lesson that I continue to learn as the ebb and flow of life can sometimes put your creative plans on the back burner for one reason or other. I could say that I found Eisdrive in it's earliest incarnation to be a great outlet for the angst I felt at the time. One of our early tracks Destruxure, which was never officially released, was very steeped in 9-11 imagery."
Being from northern New Jersey myself, I saw the coping mechanisms first hand in friends and family. Every person had their own way of dealing with the attack. I would imagine 9/11 was a catalyst for many bands forming shortly after that dreaded day.
Xian - "I can only speak for my own experience but I'd imagine 9-11 was a catalyst for many different expressions of art and continues to be. It was such an unexpected shocking moment in our history and one that instantly changed a lot about the world we live in. That's bound to have resonance for a lot of people. The last thing I'd want to do is use that awful day as a crutch in any way but I'd be lying if I said it didn't wake me up and have an impact creatively."
So......where does the name Eisdrive come from?
Xian - "I had some vague memory of having read a sci-fi story where data was stored on sheets of Ice and they were referred to as "Ice Drives" but really like a lot of band names it was an amalgamation of parts I liked the sound of that sounded good together. "Eis" is Ice in German and whether the Drive portion refers to hard drives or car travel or ambition is open to interpretation. The allusion to things cold and electronic also struck me as fitting."
Prior to 2005, is it safe to say Eisdrive was in its experimental phase? You were learning new software, new instruments and recording techniques. When did you feel comfortable enough to record & release material and ultimately play live?
Xian - "Well I had been in bands of varying durations and styles throughout the 90s...rock, punk, darkwave/synthpop etc. but EISDRIVE was definitely a concerted effort to hone what I was attempting to do within the Electro-Industrial/EBM genre. Even within that the approach and the methods used evolved over time as did the personnel so change was always a constant. Through the process of working with different people I learned that you can never with absolute certainty be sure of the sound you'll end up when you add someone else into the mix. You may have your eye on a fixed destination but what another person brings with them into the project will always hybridize what you're doing and push it in a different direction. This can definitely be both good and bad but it's more difficult to achieve a solitary vision the more cooks you have in the kitchen. Everybody brings something of their own to the table. There were some elements to our live shows over the last phase of the band that I was not always a fan of but to quote my favorite Republicreep Donald Rumsfeld "You go to war with the Army you have not the Army you wish you had." Ultimately everyone that I worked with in this band had a role to play and something to contribute and for that I'm grateful, which is not to say they were always easy to work with or easy to motivate but these experiences helped me realize what was best for this project in the long run.
I don't know that I'd call everything pre-2005 necessarily an "experimental phase". It's true that there was a lot of learning going on both with new software and production techniques but it was on-the-job learning. My earliest collaborator Myke Roszhart and I would apply things we learned and from that we built up our live sets. Right from the start, we put out a number of early digital demos in those days which were not official releases but served to get us our first gigs. Looking back a lot of these recordings were not of the highest production value but as often happens when using new tools - the more you use them the better you get. It was a case of learning by doing which I believe to be the best way to learn anything. We never felt too precious about what we were putting out there early on, we were more concerned with the quality of our writing which was getting stronger all the time. After that first phase of the band, I took the helm production wise and a lot of what I wrote was composed in Reason, a trend that prevails even today.
It's interesting in being an act that works with electronics because you sort of have to do a certain lion's share of production up front before you even have a track that you can play out with and of course this makes things that much easier when it's time to record. That being said, the bulk of Eisdrive's material was heard more on live stages than any record. As far as playing live Eisdrive started playing shows in Winter 2002 the first over at Myke Hideous's Infestation night in Clifton and shortly thereafter in NYC where we eventually scored a residency at Electric Dreams at the now gone and much missed Korova Milk Bar in the East Village. We had one Monday a month here for about a year and playing out that steadily helped us to improve our live show dramatically. It was also at Electronic Dreams that we met other like-minded electronic NYC artists, producers and promoters."
As active as you have been, you have only released 'Hours Of Steel' CDr EP back in 2006. Will the songs we heard during your live sets eventually make it to your upcoming release or is this brand new material? Also, how did you hook up with Nick and Juggernaut?
Xian - "Perhaps my greatest regret with this project has been how unprolific it's been on the recording front. Live shows and rehearsals have always taken the lion's share of time and in between the hiatuses and working new people into the band there has been alot of starting from scratch. The 'Hours Of Steel' ep has been the only official release but there have been many other ad-hoc assorted comps of tracks of ours that we have put together to give out to promoters, venues, press and fans. The infrequency of releases stands in stark contrast however to the wealth of material I have to develop and work from. The one thing that's been a constant is that I've continued to write tracks at a steady clip since the ep came out and that gives me a wealth of material to choose from when it's time to drill down and decide what I want to put out next.
The next thing that will come out from EISDRIVE will be a re-release of 'Hours Of Steel' plus various really cool remixes that have been trickling in. After that the ideas I have for new EISDRIVE releases is to put out 2 wholly different albums. One album would serve as a clearinghouse for older material that's never been properly released...featuring tracks like 'Cabal'...one of our set standards and other tracks of a similar older vintage. The other album would be a crash course in where the project is at present and would feature much newer material I've been developing over the last few years.
You'll likely hear a refinement in sound and production techniques, but it's all about documenting where the project has been and where it's going.
Putting these releases together is probably my greatest priority but once that is all properly underway I'd like to imagine a proper return to live gigs, though it's exactly those sorts of preparations that have waylaid my recording plans in the past but I'm sure it's all about finding the proper balance. The few live sets there have been from 2008 to present have been weighted more toward the older tracks but I look forward to getting out behind the new material when the time is right.
As for working with Juggernaut and the force of nature that is Mr. Nick Quarm...I was fortunate enough to get introduced to Nick by my good friends Steve and Deb Alton who already work with Nick via their band System:FX. They had come over to visit NYC and play a show over here and of course I had to open for them. They're great great friends of mine and ridiculously supportive and have stood in as my backing band when EISDRIVE played London in 2008, They had played Nick the ep and he had shown great enthusiasm and interest in what I was doing. After some initial conversations in late 2013 he confirmed that he really wanted to put out my band's next releases and welcomed me into the Juggernaut label family. It really is a great label to be a part of ...there's endless support from the other bands on Juggernaut and with Nick at the helm i think there's some big things on the horizon for Juggernaut and I'm thrilled to be along for the ride."
Tell us a little about what we can expect from the new album?
Xian - "The one thing I can definitely say about the newer tracks I've been working on is that it's 100% me. Every sound, texture and rhythm is something I've labored over in service of my vision of what I want EISDRIVE to be sonically speaking. A lot of my collaborations while great could sometimes derail that purity of vision. The newer tracks have a much more old-school EBM muscularity to them and the percussion has really taken center stage. It'll be a joy to put out the new stuff, as aimed at the dancefloor as it is hopefully it will be received well but only time can tell."
Do you have any friends/other artists you would like to collaborate with on your upcoming release or future releases?
Xian - "While I remain the core of this project, collaboration's very important to stage the sort of live show I have in mind. There's a few local friends I'll likely be relying on to help me put together a new live band to take both new and older material to the stage when the time is right. My main focus now is finishing the writing and recording but this process can become so drawn out that you have to keep several plates spinning at once to hit your goals. I think also finding the right people to work with in a niche genre like Industrial can be one of the biggest challenges of all.
As far as working with other artists I have a very close working and personal relationship with Steve and Deb Alton of System:FX (an amazingly tight, frenetic Industrial band from the UK), who were indeed solely responsible for introducing me to Juggernaut and who have sat in as my band at gigs in London and NYC. I plan on collaborating with them on the production of forthcoming EISDRIVE material as the production value of their material is beyond reproach.
There's also a few proposed side collaborations with other artists that have been discussed but nothing that's taken full shape just yet."
Do you have any live shows lined up over the next few months?
Xian - "When the time is right EISDRIVE will definitely do shows again as the energy of playing for a live crowd is indeed something I miss but I don't imagine this will be in the next few months."
What are your thoughts on physical media versus digital with regards to what you release? What is your ideal format in general and for you as an artist releasing music?
Xian - "Personally for artists I follow I love nothing more than attaining CDs and Vinyl by them. Having that physical artifact can be a very gratifying thing for fans but I do see the direction shifting more and more to digital media and while that may be less pure of a listening/visual experience, the ease of purchase and instant ownership of music is an understandably attractive option for many - especially those in areas of the world with no physical record stores or at least ones that stock underground genres. I think as an artist you have to cover all bases and give your fans the maximum chance to experience your music yet the cost to produce large quantities of physical media can sometimes be prohibitive and leave you with an overabundance of stock if you don't sell what you'd hoped to. As for myself, I think the way forward will be digital releases coupled with limited edition physical product that comes with some added value, remixes/rarities etc. I'd like to get very creative with the physical media I put out for EISDRIVE so look out for that."
Besides your project EISDRIVE, you are also DJing at Insurgence in New Jersey. Tell us a little about that and what forces brought you to point of becoming Eisdriver.
Xian - "I started DJing in 2010, but on a more steady basis in 2011. Under time constraints to come up with a DJ moniker, EISDRIVER seemed to make a certain sense and just stuck. In 2011 I started spinning at a monthly party called Assimilate in Philadelphia run by DJs Wendy Blackwidow and Aaarghh which was a haven for hardline industrial in that town that sadly ended in 2013.
My new digs, INSURGENCE is a North Jersey Industrial Club that was started in 2012 by DJ Dyztort (Assault/Asylum Guild) operating out of Oops Lounge in Bloomfield NJ. The idea of the night as I understand it was to provide a club experience that covers the full spectrum of Industrial music while at the same time expanding our scene and offering an alternative to the Industrial clubgoer in North Jersey.
I first became involved with the night in 2013 and I was very honored to be allowed to join my fellow INSURGENCE DJs Dyztort, Mykill Plague and Nuematic..all of whom bring something unique to the table and make this night the distinctive experience it is. This past summer our club filled the void of live Industrial gigs in NJ and brought some amazing performances by regional bands Panzer Division, Frost Theory and most recently DC's Worms Of The Earth. In September our night will move to its new home at NJs longest standing alternative club QXT's where we'll be taking over Area 51 downstairs every Friday night."
As a DJ what would we expect to hear in one of your sets?
Xian - "What's most central to me when I spin is to bring a perspective musically that only I can. I don't get distracted by gratuitous turntablisms, tricks or DJ showmanship, rather track selection is where its at for me, its absolutely critical. I believe it's in the curation of a setlist that your personality as a DJ emerges. Sure, we all have to spin some tried and true staples within our scene that keep people moving but beyond that I feel very confident that I play a lot of things I've heard spun nowhere else and I will always work material like this into my sets. There are so many amazing, underexposed artists in Industrial/EBM as well as great underexposed tracks by known artists that hardly ever get spun. I like to shine a blindingly bright spot light on this stuff.
Stylistically, I favor a lot of firstwave Industrial and EBM, both classics and obscurities as well a lot of newer old-school influenced Anhalt/Oldschool EBM-influenced bands coming out of Europe. I will always find a way to work in the odd dark electro/new wave obscurity from time to time and a some very choice occasional Harsh Industrial/Noize styles but you'll never hear me spin TerrorEBM as I can't stand that stuff."
Any musical recommendations? What bands have captured your attention of late?
Xian - "I've been very into Chris Connolly's new project COCKSURE, sort of a revisitation of what he was up to with Revolting Cocks but reformulated in a variety of interesting ways - they'll be opening for Front242 this Fall so I'm excited to see them live in NYC and Chicago for Coldwaves.
The latest Amnistia also has me digging their fusion of bodymusic, and almost darkwave-ish synths."
Any last words or final thoughts?
Xian - "Not that I haven't droned on enough by now but I thank everyone for their support both in the music and DJ arenas and I'd just say to look out for more EISDRIVE releases in the near future and if you're ever in the NYC metro come visit INSURGENCE @ QXTs in Newark where we'll be taking over the downstairs Area51 floor every Friday night!"
Luke Jacobs
info@brutalresonance.comPart time contributor since 2012 with over 150 contributions with reviews, interviews and news articles.
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