Obsidian FX

I always enjoy when an act comes out of nowhere and surprises me with an album that I've never heard about. And that's what happened with Obsidian FX's latest album, Illusions of Darkness. The dark electro and IDM duo hit hard with a two CD release that featured a lot of good songs and fresh remixes. With that said, I got an interview with the two gentlemen behind the project, R.DarkArt and D.Fox. Read on below:

Well, let's get this show on the road. First of all, tell us a little history behind Obsidian FX. When did it start? And where did you get inspiration to make it a project focused around transforming paranormal sounds into music?

R.DarkArt - "Hello, friends! Obsidian FX started in 7 of September, 2010. The project was titled Obsidian, and we added FX when we signed to Xperiment XIII, because there already is a famous band with that name.

I love electronic music and I was looking for a man who had good vocals for a long time. When I met D.Fox I understood that I finally found them.

Well, the most mysterious thing we have is our soul inside. Discovering this dark theme is the most important aspect of my life. Our inspiration, ideas are coming from the inside. There are no reasons to be absorbed by something outside. A question and it's answer is always within."

Were the two of you always involved in the act? And how long have you two known each other?

D.Fox - "In 2010, August, it was a gig. I had a performance with my first band ? Pheromone. R.DarkArt was playing in his own band. Well, we met, we talked, and understood, that we have to create our own project, because we share similar interests, musical influences and tastes. When I'm going back to that day I'm wondering how things went so good and so fast."

Your sound is always inspired, at least it seems to me, by some sort of horror element. Why did you choose this route? Were there any bands, movies, or pieces of art that really inspired you to take this route?

R.DarkArt - "Now we're talking about duality. There's always another side behind the words we're singing. Just read between the lines."

D.Fox - "Sure, we love horror books, video games, cinema... But this is not a reason we are playing such dark music. 'Illusions of Darkness' is about human fear and paranoia...which are always pointless. Which will
never come to life. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

When did others first start taking notice of your act? Was it when you were first signed to Xperiment XIII?

R.DarkArt - "Feedbacks were instant after releasing the first demos (Painmessenger and Tight Spiral-Flux demo tracks). They caught attention of our listeners, and I understood we were going the right way. Well, we have a long story before signing with Xperiment XIII by the way."

Not only that, but how did you get signed to the label? Did you send in a demo, or did the label discover you on some sort of off chance?

D.Fox - "If I could call our first release 'The Injection' our demo release, so be it. Actually, Xperiment XIII found us by itself. We still don't know how and where did it found us. Well, the Internet is a great way for a promotion, I mean it."

Aside from your most recent release, were there any other releases you've had out beforehand? Any demos or singles still floating about on the internet?

R.DarkArt - "We have another EP released in 2011. It's called 'The Injection'. You can listen to it on our official VK band page: vk.com/obsidian_fx

Now, let's talk of "Illusions of Darkness". The album was pretty fantastic. What were you trying to do with the album? Was it just for fun, a way to produce music based around your personal struggles, or something politically concerned?

R.DarkArt - "We done the album in one breath. We were creating it for about 6 months. Of course we had demo versions before, but the main works took about 6 months. We were focused on creating something stressing, terrifying and creepy... Crawling in the skin, you know. Well, the energy we have has been burst like a supernova effect. Instant and souse."

The piano work that I found within the album was extremely well done in my opinion. In fact, a lot of the instrumental parts were fascinating. Do you have plans to create more instrumental pieces in upcoming albums? Or do you not fancy the idea?

R.DarkArt - "Experimenting is one of the main rules of Obsidian FX. In our next releases we want to show you a variety of Obsidian FX sounds."

D.Fox - "You know, only the fool and the smart ones don't change. Fortunately, we're somewhere in between. So, in our next release we want to show you something more you don't know about Obsidian FX. I promise, there are a lot of interesting things that are coming this way."

You went pretty hard on this release, with an entire second CD based around mainly remixes from pretty well known acts. Did you contact the artists' yourself? And do you have plans to remix their work in the future?

D.Fox - "I totally love 'Illusions of Darkness'. Image design, original glossy shining, bonus CD ? all thanks to Xperiment XIII. It helps us so much. What about the idea of remixes will come in the future ? why not? It's very useful and never useless."

Overall, how goes the criticism of the album? I know that I gave it pretty positive reception, but how does it fare with others?

R.DarkArt - "We were aimed to create a very atmospheric, deep and dark release. We decided to forget about vocal distortion for some time and to make it sound clean. Well, feedback is very different. First tell they don't like non-distorted vocals, second tell that music is so slow... But most of our fans are very happy with that. In my honest opinion, this is our best release."

As far as supporting your current album, do you plan on playing live anywhere to get the album, and your name, for that matter, more well known?

D.Fox - "Of course. A lot of gigs are coming this year. You can track it on our FB and VK official pages. Stay tuned."

And, what are your current plans as of now? Are you working on new material as we speak? Or are you just taking a break from it all?

D.Fox - "There's no time to sleep! We're already working on our next release. I can't tell about release date, but a lot of good surprises are coming with that, believe me."

And, that should cover it all for now. I leave you the room below to say anything you wish.

R.DarkArt - "Be yourself. Stay strong wherever you are. Be focused on your inner world and give more than you take. Stay cool!"

D.Fox - "Listen Obsidian FX, subscribe to our official VKontakte and Facebook pages, be good children. Steven, thank you for the interview! And thanks to everyone who's reading it!"