Canadian electrometal band Ögenix has had its fair share of glory going so far as to get praise from GWAR's David Brockie who stated, "That's the kind of music I like to listen to...It's harder, harder

and harder to find good bands cuz' we've been doing heavy metal music for 30 fuckin' plus years...You guys just fuckin' blew my nuts off." But, Ögenix is back with something for their fans. Ladies and Gentleman I present to you their latest music video shot at the Mao Live House in Beijing for the track "The End" which can be streamed below. The new video didn't just release by itself, but had a companion remix track released done by fellow Canadian electrometalheads GÖR FLSH and can be downloaded for free HERE.

You may be wondering why this band decided to record this video in China of all places. Well, simply put, Ögenix has decided to relocate to the People's Republic of China. Among that, Ögenix has been up to a lot, putting together a new line-up, and prepping to launch new material for 2016. Since all these happenings are, well, happening, I decided to chat with frontman of the group Gabriel to discuss all that and more in regards to Ögenix.

Welcome to Brutal Resonance, Gabriel! It's a pleasure. Let's start simple. Give us a small introduction to Ögenix. Who is in the band and what genre do you play in?

Gabriel: ÖGENIX is an electro metal band, originally from Montréal, Canada, now based in Beijing, China. Basically the main idea is to make a true hybrid between a metal band and an electronic band without falling in the generic electronic sonority we've seen in the last few years where some metal or metalcore bands are just using some cheap sounding electronic sounds presets taken from the cheap generic synthesizers they got at the Guitar Center in the mall near their mom and dad's house in the suburb. The current band lineup consists of four people right now (guitar, bass, drum and me, vocalist). We are looking for a second guitarist but the lineup is fully functional as it is!

History is always important and it is always fun to learn the roots of bands. Going back to when you were young, what was the first instrument you ever picked up? And how did you progress forward in learning new instruments and the such?

Gabriel: I did some classical piano and guitar for a couple years younger and eventually branched out to electronic to finally study electroacoustics/sound design in university. I'm more drawn to sound itself than what you do with it when you organize it - music. But hey, after all, music is a set of sounds organized following the composer's intention right?

I always love hearing musicians say who influenced them. So, off the top of your head – be they new or old – which bands have influenced you as a musician?

Gabriel: That I have so many, hahah! But lets say that early nineties stuff has already been a big inspiration; Body Count, Beastie Boys. That whole nineties punk and metal revival. And also, I always had that fascination for electronic beats so alternative and synth music like New Order, Depeche Mode, etc. Seeing NIN's 'Happiness in Slavery' live at Woodstock 1994 video was really something that left its mark for me, haha!

Let's talk about how you met all the other band members in Ögenix. Where and when did you meet them? Have you always gotten along or did you ever butt heads with one another?

Gabriel: Well, I'm the founder of the band actually. We started in 2001 with the drummer of the tentative band I had before; I was playing guitar actually. Shortly after then Set joined the band as a guitarist and, being really good, I let him play the guitar alone. We then had many different musicians going in and out of the band. Our sound wasn't very mature back then and eventually the band went on a hiatus in 2003. This would last five years! We decided to get back to it in the end of 2008, a bit older and much better. There was still a lot of instability within the band's lineup and it really slowed us down. We've found stability in early 2011 and this is when we've slowly started to introduce visual elements such as automated stage LED, stage outfits, etc. Basically the final Canadian lineup, and really what was the best lineup at that point, started in early 2013.

Basically from the early days to the 2013 self titled release, we had recorded many demos. Most of them are not really good but it's a good way to trace the evolution. The Self titled release was okay for a mostly DIY album. However after having recorded the 2014 single 'Robotic Pestilence' around April 2014 at The Grid, in Montréal, we've decided to re-record the self titled over there as a high quality definitive version of those songs. That was the right move to do! Lots of praise came after that album! Basically "01" is our only album after all those years.

Here are some random stats of the people who stepped on stage with us at some points with ÖGENIX, including the current members and excluding me; five drummers, five guitarists, seven bass players and three live electronic/keyboard players.

And where does the name Ögenix stem from?

Gabriel: ÖGENIX is a made up word which consist of stylized version of the word Eugenism. Which is more of less a favoured theme in the eighties and nineties sci-fi movies. I would say that the movie "Gattaca" along with Fear Factory's "Demanufacture" and "Obsolete" have been major influence for the name and initial band's theme. And, hey, metal with electronic sounds? Why not bring dystopian future themes onwards?

Speaking of “01”, your latest music video “THE END” stems from that album. It has been one year and three months since “01” has released, which also means “THE END” came out about that time. Why did you decide to revisit the song and make a music video out of it?

Gabriel: When I moved to Beijing in January 2015, the initial plan was to work at a distance and to start focusing on small out of Canada tours. We had plans to record 3 new songs along with three videos for them, to do a small China tour during the festival season in October, then right after, a small eastern US tour with an established American band and there were actual possibilities to play in an outdoor festival also in the USA around that same period. "The End" live official video was going to be a teaser for the three new songs that we were planning to record and release. However seeing the personal and financial involvement and sacrifices needed, some got discouraged and finally the whole band quit. Basically about 6 months of work got completely trashed when everything had to be canceled since it was too late at that point to find willing replacement musicians and reorganize from half the globe away!

So that show at Mao was our first bigger show we've done since the recruiting of the band's new lineup, which took most of the fall of 2015. Seeing the footage that came out of the show, I've decided to do an official video with it to give something out until the release of our new material and videos later this year. Since electronic music producer GÖR FLSH had also finished a remix of that song, I was like, why not release a new free single with his remix. This would be even more fun.

The video was recorded at the Mao Live House in Beijing, China. Why did you decide to record the video at this venue? Did it have a certain charm to it?

Gabriel: I've actually asked two local friends in cinema to come and film our show. They ended up bringing five camera operators with five cameras. This is how it happened! MAO Livehouse is somewhat legendary here for independant music, metal, punk, hardcore and such... Touring bands often play there. It's kinda ugly on the punk/metal sense of it. It was perfect for us.

Why have you decided to move from Canada to China? Do you have any fear of adapting to the environment over in China?

Gabriel: It was not my first time in China, I came here for a contract in 2013. But some professional opportunities showed up and I was like, why not? I've always wanted to live abroad anyways so here was a chance to do so! Adaptation, in my case, is not hard since I've traveled a lot since I was a kid. Food here is great and I like the general chaotic vibe. Extreme modernity meets the millennial history. How insane can this be when you're from a such a new place like North America?

And to remain in the music topic, alternative music is newer here than in the west, so I can feel this vibe where people are really looking for new and exciting sounds... People are curious, open minded, enthusiastic and really not jaded like a good part of the metal scene fans we have in North America... Honestly, seeing many concerts here and how the audience was genuinely happy to go see live music, it gave me that little push of motivation to form a new ÖGENIX lineup here instead of just stopping the project once and for all after the departure of the previous band's lineup.

I also know that you're coming into the year with a new line-up. Who has left the band, who has stayed, and who is coming along new?

Gabriel: Well everybody is new! I won't go in details since we will have formal new band members introduction coming up with the new material and all! However they are mostly experienced musicians from the Chinese scene and things are going pretty well with them.

And, with such a big move to China and new members joining your band, I have to ask: Are you planning to release an album by the end of the year? Or, more generally, what are your plans for 2016?

Gabriel: HELL YEAH! Well we've lost almost one year with the whole band members change and all. So yes! We'll have two more singles from "01" with surprise remixes from some pretty well established industrial artists actually. And one song that was recorded for "01" but finally was not released. The singles with new material should start appearing just after mid 2016 and a new album just before the end of the year.

As of right now, do you have any live shows lined up? If so, where can fans find out that information?

Yes, some dates will be confirmed really soon. All the news and information can be found on our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Weibo (China Only).

Lastly, I would like to thank you for your time. And, I leave the space below for you to say anything you may wish to say. Cheers!

My pleasure man! Words of wisedom from me to y'all: If you ever come to China DO NOT eat local Chinese food, you may get addicted. Look where I'm at now!

Ögenix

Feb 2016

Electrometal