Hello Ben Bloodygrave and welcome to Brutal Resonance. Let’s start with a primer. What are three of your favorite albums of all time and why?

Bloodygrave:  Hello there! Thanks for havin’ me! Super hard to nail it down to “only” three but I guess it is a wild mix of genres so it might be these records:

Schleimkeim – Abfallprodukte Der Gesellschaft
Hessen Ganz Groß!– Hessen Ganz Groß!
Absolute Body Control – Tapes 81-89

Earlier in your career, you were involved in a bunch of punk bands. However, you were eventually drawn to synthesizers. What band, person, or artist drew you to dark electronic music and why? 

Bloodygrave:  It was actually just at one event. I was at a concert by The Addicts in Freiburg (Germany) and the DJ for the afterparty was missing. The bartender just put in some CDs he found from another DJ who forgot them or something like that. It was just some weird electronic music for me in that time. I was more into punk but was starting to hang out at deathrock/goth parties so i was used to some organ/keyboard sounds in songs, but this was completely different. I asked Johanna (one of my Friends which was dancing to it as well) “What is this?” She said it’s a Flexipop sampler. I said “What?!“ And she it was “minimal wave, synthesizer music”. I guess it was the next day that I Googled what a synthesizer was at first. I had no clue. Then I got those Flexipop samplers. And for some weeks after this first encounter, I called my mom and asked if she could lend me some money for buying a synthesizer. 

You have been working on Transhuman Rebirth for a while now. What does the name stand for? What does it mean? 

Bloodygrave:  I am really into science, physics, research, technology and love finding out about new discoveries, but at the same time feeling dystopian about a lot of them, or at least unsure what some might lead to... Technological revolutions can be dangerous if the fitting social revolutions keep missing. In one of my songs (Human Sparepart Machine) there is the line, "Tools can create and destroy - it’s all about how we use them.“ So, I guess it’s up to the listener if one has a utopian or dystopian feeling about that name. For me it’s both at the same time somehow.


Your music is focusing on old school EBM, the first wave. Do you think that is the best era of EBM? Do you think it’s better than the modern scene? If so, why? 

Bloodygrave:  I guess I just really like the sound of old recordings in general. Electropunk, synthwave or EBM are best with those old machines and recorded on tape. Its not about the “era” but the sound and the attitude, which both are timeless. As the scene got wider and more subgenres appeared, one might like or dislike. For example, I am happy to see Bands like Chrome Corpse or my Bandmate Frasco (from Bloodygrave & Die Lust!) with his new project Zona Utopica Garantita. Sure, I would have loved to have been around in the 90s at an early Nitzer Ebb show... but if you just praise the old pioneers – all subcultures will die. I am happy to discover new and old bands i didn’t know until now, so I feel about both the same.

There are a ton of EBM projects in the wild that pop up. What are you doing to ensure that Transhuman Rebirth sounds different from the flock and not just another copycat project? 

Bloodygrave:  As mentioned, there are so many different styles and subgenres: Anhalt-EBM, Aggrepo... I really don’t know how they are all called even. So, I might not even know if there is already a band that sounds the same or similar. But if you know one let me know! I don’t know if Transhuman Rebirth sounds different from the flock but to be honest, I never thought about this. I really enjoyed recording the songs and it’s even more fun to be on stage with them. I have a lot of different influences from different genres and put this all into Transhuman Rebirth.  

Your album “Preparing Singularity” has recently launched. Tell me what the overall concept of the album is. 

Bloodygrave:  I don’t know if you could call this a concept, but i guess the answer to your third question sums this up the best. 

While focusing on futuristic elements and dystopic topics, you also throw in a variety of political statements. What message or messages are you trying to convey to the listener? What do you want them to hear? 

Bloodygrave:  I guess there are different messages sometimes a several in one song, but I think the most important concept for the whole album is to think critically and to reflect on yourself. For example, in the track Nocturnal Emissions there’s the lyric “Autonomy over your own body”.  For me it’s about anti-abortion laws, but I could point out even more topics for sure.


Out of all the songs on ‘Transhuman Rebirth’, which is your favorite and why? 

Bloodygrave:  Nocturnal Emissions. It kicks ass and I love even more to play it on stage. It’s strange to say but I can’t describe what I feel when I play it loud.

And what else are you working on for the future? I noted there’s a crowdfunding campaign for a vinyl version of the album. But do you have any other singles, EPs, remixes, or live shows in the works? 

Bloodygrave:  At the moment I am just super happy that Transhuman Rebirth has had a good start after all this time and with all the work that went into it. The first gigs were awesome, and more bookings are coming in from time to time. The crowdfunding is almost at 50% of the goal but with more gigs I hope I can spread the word even more. 

I want to start working on new songs sometime soon, but there have been quite a few releases recently from my other projects including a split EP of Ben Bloodygrave together with my friend from Bad Taste Paranoia. This year also saw the release of a double LP of Bloodygrave & Die Lust! 

Lastly, I’d like to thank you for your time. I wish you the best of luck and leave the space below to mention anything I may have missed. Cheers! 

Bloodygrave:  Thank you! All the best to you as well!
Transhuman Rebirth interview
June 28, 2022
Brutal Resonance

Transhuman Rebirth

Jun 2022
Hello Ben Bloodygrave and welcome to Brutal Resonance. Let’s start with a primer. What are three of your favorite albums of all time and why?

Bloodygrave:  Hello there! Thanks for havin’ me! Super hard to nail it down to “only” three but I guess it is a wild mix of genres so it might be these records:

Schleimkeim – Abfallprodukte Der Gesellschaft
Hessen Ganz Groß!– Hessen Ganz Groß!
Absolute Body Control – Tapes 81-89

Earlier in your career, you were involved in a bunch of punk bands. However, you were eventually drawn to synthesizers. What band, person, or artist drew you to dark electronic music and why? 

Bloodygrave:  It was actually just at one event. I was at a concert by The Addicts in Freiburg (Germany) and the DJ for the afterparty was missing. The bartender just put in some CDs he found from another DJ who forgot them or something like that. It was just some weird electronic music for me in that time. I was more into punk but was starting to hang out at deathrock/goth parties so i was used to some organ/keyboard sounds in songs, but this was completely different. I asked Johanna (one of my Friends which was dancing to it as well) “What is this?” She said it’s a Flexipop sampler. I said “What?!“ And she it was “minimal wave, synthesizer music”. I guess it was the next day that I Googled what a synthesizer was at first. I had no clue. Then I got those Flexipop samplers. And for some weeks after this first encounter, I called my mom and asked if she could lend me some money for buying a synthesizer. 

You have been working on Transhuman Rebirth for a while now. What does the name stand for? What does it mean? 

Bloodygrave:  I am really into science, physics, research, technology and love finding out about new discoveries, but at the same time feeling dystopian about a lot of them, or at least unsure what some might lead to... Technological revolutions can be dangerous if the fitting social revolutions keep missing. In one of my songs (Human Sparepart Machine) there is the line, "Tools can create and destroy - it’s all about how we use them.“ So, I guess it’s up to the listener if one has a utopian or dystopian feeling about that name. For me it’s both at the same time somehow.


Your music is focusing on old school EBM, the first wave. Do you think that is the best era of EBM? Do you think it’s better than the modern scene? If so, why? 

Bloodygrave:  I guess I just really like the sound of old recordings in general. Electropunk, synthwave or EBM are best with those old machines and recorded on tape. Its not about the “era” but the sound and the attitude, which both are timeless. As the scene got wider and more subgenres appeared, one might like or dislike. For example, I am happy to see Bands like Chrome Corpse or my Bandmate Frasco (from Bloodygrave & Die Lust!) with his new project Zona Utopica Garantita. Sure, I would have loved to have been around in the 90s at an early Nitzer Ebb show... but if you just praise the old pioneers – all subcultures will die. I am happy to discover new and old bands i didn’t know until now, so I feel about both the same.

There are a ton of EBM projects in the wild that pop up. What are you doing to ensure that Transhuman Rebirth sounds different from the flock and not just another copycat project? 

Bloodygrave:  As mentioned, there are so many different styles and subgenres: Anhalt-EBM, Aggrepo... I really don’t know how they are all called even. So, I might not even know if there is already a band that sounds the same or similar. But if you know one let me know! I don’t know if Transhuman Rebirth sounds different from the flock but to be honest, I never thought about this. I really enjoyed recording the songs and it’s even more fun to be on stage with them. I have a lot of different influences from different genres and put this all into Transhuman Rebirth.  

Your album “Preparing Singularity” has recently launched. Tell me what the overall concept of the album is. 

Bloodygrave:  I don’t know if you could call this a concept, but i guess the answer to your third question sums this up the best. 

While focusing on futuristic elements and dystopic topics, you also throw in a variety of political statements. What message or messages are you trying to convey to the listener? What do you want them to hear? 

Bloodygrave:  I guess there are different messages sometimes a several in one song, but I think the most important concept for the whole album is to think critically and to reflect on yourself. For example, in the track Nocturnal Emissions there’s the lyric “Autonomy over your own body”.  For me it’s about anti-abortion laws, but I could point out even more topics for sure.


Out of all the songs on ‘Transhuman Rebirth’, which is your favorite and why? 

Bloodygrave:  Nocturnal Emissions. It kicks ass and I love even more to play it on stage. It’s strange to say but I can’t describe what I feel when I play it loud.

And what else are you working on for the future? I noted there’s a crowdfunding campaign for a vinyl version of the album. But do you have any other singles, EPs, remixes, or live shows in the works? 

Bloodygrave:  At the moment I am just super happy that Transhuman Rebirth has had a good start after all this time and with all the work that went into it. The first gigs were awesome, and more bookings are coming in from time to time. The crowdfunding is almost at 50% of the goal but with more gigs I hope I can spread the word even more. 

I want to start working on new songs sometime soon, but there have been quite a few releases recently from my other projects including a split EP of Ben Bloodygrave together with my friend from Bad Taste Paranoia. This year also saw the release of a double LP of Bloodygrave & Die Lust! 

Lastly, I’d like to thank you for your time. I wish you the best of luck and leave the space below to mention anything I may have missed. Cheers! 

Bloodygrave:  Thank you! All the best to you as well!
Jun 28 2022

Steven Gullotta

info@brutalresonance.com
I've been writing for Brutal Resonance since November of 2012 and now serve as the editor-in-chief. I love the dark electronic underground and usually have too much to listen to at once but I love it. I am also an editor at Aggressive Deprivation, a digital/physical magazine since March of 2016. I support the scene as much as I can from my humble laptop.

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