Kev Gould traces his roots and love for all things industrial and EBM to the 80s and 90s where he was active in such projects as Electro Assassin and Johnson Engineering Co.. Like many others, however, life happened and he took a long, long break from the scene…Until now. Queue the cinematic music and all that. Regardless, Gould has started up a new project with Agi Taralas which was meant to be a simple one off. However, in one format or another, it will continue. Read all about Omen Code on today’s edition of INTRODUCING.
Give us a brief about your band. Who are you and what do you do?
Hi. Thanks for showing an interest in Omen Code. This is a dark electronic project that I am heading up. Initially it was a one off project with myself and Agi Taralas. But to be honest we are not sure exactly how it will progress. Omen Code will certainly develop further but it’s not clear in what format at this point. My name is Kev Gould and my long term background was in the late 80s into the 90s with Johnson Engineering Company and then Electro Assassin. I’ve then taken a long time outside of the industry before tinkering again with Nexus Project and now Omen Code. This project came about through Stefan Herwig who introduced me to Agi. He knew I wanted to start up a project which included a vocalist and front man. Agi and I got on well and he supplied vocals for an album that I had prepped (Alpha State).
When did you first launch the project and how has it come along since?
Omen Code was developed in 2024. Since the initial recording and submission of Alpha State a potential second album has been written and we are taking a bit of time to see how that is going to take shape.
What bands and artists influenced you the most and why?
I’m not so sure about Agi. We have general correlation in music taste but I think his is far more adventurous than I am. I’m kinda still stuck with still listening to the old school golden era of EBM and industrial. My playlist still revolves around Skinny Puppy, Chris and Cosy and Portion Control!
If you could pick a single song from your discography to explain your music, which song would you pick and why?
I won’t go back over historic material as most of it always felt incomplete and underdeveloped. I was usually quite disappointed with released material. But I did love the final Electro Assassin album, The Divine Invasion. It felt like the product that I wanted it to be. Finally with OC I am able to produce material that I am completely satisfied with. If I had to sum the project up with one track I would select Pure+Brutal. I love the structure, mid paced tempo and overall glitchy sound. I also love Agi’s vocals, especially the second verse where he sounds kinda desperate and pleading.
What is your most recent release and what is it about?
Alpha State is Omen Code’s debut release. The general core influences are obviously cyberpunk and dystopian. We carried the theme through from the basic sound patches, samples, titles and artwork concept. I think the theme will become a little more distilled as the project matures, but certainly for the initial release it seems an honest theme considering the influences that are infused.
Take us through your creative process. How do you compose a song from start to finish? Where do the ideas come from?
Tracks basically start with bass sequencing. I use Cubase and the workflow is generally DAW oriented. I’ve tried to integrate hardware but it’s clunky, expensive and, in all honesty, not nearly as versatile as VSTs. I generally layer up a track with a few bass sequences to get a nice, full background. Then I’ll add a couple more layers of sequencing that fills the frequency voids and helps add structure. When I have an enough to start structuring the track I add a few samples and pads. At this point I’m really after getting vocals integrated so that I can work around them and restructure if necessary. I spend weeks listening to rough versions and mixes, especially with headphones so that I can keep making edits and amendments.
What’s your current favorite song, band, or album within your scene? And vice versa, what do you enjoy the most that’s completely opposite of what you make?
Like I touched on earlier… I still primarily listen to old material. PC have always been at edge of this industry and are still throwing out brilliant tracks.
What is on the horizon for your project? Upcoming gigs, tours, merch, videos, etc. Name it, link it, show it off.
A second OC album is in development. It’s possible that we will play a few live venues but nothing is confirmed as yet. I think Dependent records are working on some merch and possible gigs. Video releases will also be a part of the forthcoming schedule. Other than that we will have to wait and see how OC ends up developing….
