DJ Chihiro represents pure power through grotesque&evil, in his work as a dj and activity in the band Vanished Empire. Gothic-electro project from Japan, which will drag you through the darkest of your dreams and shake your limbs. Happy New Year dar(k)lings and enjoy!
pdn: Greetings! Firstly, how did you come up with Dj Chihiro as a stage name? Does it have something to do with your real name or did you get the idea from somewhere else?
Chihiro: My stage name come from a part of my real name. But I keep my real name secret. lol
pdn: You collaborate with many bands; which one was your favourite band to work with so far?
Chihiro: I really enjoyed that I played with ZODIAQUE (Japanese metal band). As remix work I enjoyed with every band!
pdn: If you could pick any place, where would you like to play someday, most of all?
Chihiro: I would like to go to Germany and play in Wave Gothic Treffen. But I would be happy if I can play for the audience who were waiting for me no matter any place any country.
pdn: When did you get started with Dj-ing and what influenced you to play industrial?
Chihiro: I started to go to gothic event in Japan over about 10 years ago and it was the time of the beginning of Dark-electro music. This is the very important experience and influence for my career.
pdn: Please tell me a bit about the main themes, subjects that inspire your music.
Chihiro: My main theme is "Dark, aggressive, and danceability". I like around 142~5BPM.
pdn: Does Vanished Empire have any plans for the near future?
Chihiro: Vanished Empire will launch gothic event in Tokyo from next February. I will be glad when I see the audience who come from oversea!
pdn: What are your main aspirations as an artist?
Chihiro: Making a legend in world gothic scene. This is my aspiration.
pdn: Thank you for your time!! Any final words you would like to add for the fans, fellow darklings out there?
Chihiro: I will keep on providing dark and gothic music! I would like to ask audiences and organizer in whole world to wait for my coming!
http://www.myspace.com/dj_chiro
http://www.myspace.com/vanishedempire
The Gothsicles is a really, really, awesomely original band from Chicago, with humorous, funky lyrics and rhythm, combined with the crazy-sounding voice of Brian Graupner. Playdeanation had a little chat with him!
pdn: Greetings, Brian! 'The Gothsicles' is a fun name for a band, how did you come up with it?
Brian: I needed an outfit to launder all the money I’d made selling completely fake and worthless Star Wars merchandise to Jim Semonik and figured that everyone would instinctively steer clear of any operation named “The Gothsicles”. So far, so good.
pdn: Your sound and vocals are quite humorous, how did you get the idea for such music?
Brian: The basic working model has always been to actively and knowingly attempt to plagiarize an Hocico song and then make it be about alcohol or genitalia, but lately I’ve been getting pretty experimental.
pdn: Describe your music in a few of your own words, please!
Brian: Everything Goes Cold minus the guitars and Metropolis signing.
pnd: What inspires the band's obvious uniqueness, and what are the main themes and subjects for your songs?
Brian: Wanting Jim Cookas to like me.
pdn: If one day you would be to play a different type of music, what would that be, and why?
Brian: Okay, werd [sic]. I actually do listen to a lot of fainty-swoony goth rock, but I think I’d be horrible at it ‘cause that shit actually comes with some musical assembly required. I think it would be fun to be the easily least popular guy in an huge boy band, all driving myself home in a minivan after the concert and secretly telling myself that I know there’s someone out there for me, just before I quietly tuck myself to sleep.
pdn: What artists do you usually collaborate with, and also, who would you love to work with in the future?
Brian: This is actually a brutally well timed question ‘cause there’s a lot going on. I will forever endeavor to drop machinations of acclaimation unto one Dan Clark. He’s my go-to producer guy and he’s fucking, fucking, fucking great. He produced the last Ego Likeness album and every time I hang out with those guys, we inevitably talk about how effin’ rad this freakin’ guy is. This sounds so comic booky, but I don’t think you’d be interviewing me right now if it wasn’t for Matt Fanale. The particular timeliness I was mentioning comes by way of the new live member (and keytar player), Mike, whose stage name this week is “Cylon Belmont”. Never said it before, but I was really ready to hit the reset button on the whole ‘sicles thing, just from all kinds of hypershit, but this man has fully re-energized the project to the point that it feels like a whole new band. Invincibility stars. I have this private fantasy with I would get on really well with Prince.
pdn: What are the plans for the near future? Any upcoming shows, new material?
Brian: WOOOOOOOO! I fucked up on getting back to you on this interview in a timely fashion, and have also just done a shitpissfuckcuntcocksuckermotherfuckertits-load of shows so I don’t know how much my current show line-up will help, but here goes: DEFINITELY the next shoot dang KINETIK FESTIVAL with some of my favorite bands of all time (Beborn Beton, S.P.O.C.K., Lenny & The Cenobites, etc.). Bunch of shows tentative with a band I’m really excited about that I prolly shouldn’t mention, but their initials rhyme with “Deviant UK”. With regard to material, I was able to release an album on WTII earlier this year, so that’s sort of freed me up to work on the other 12 things I got in the mix. The Causticles (me & mattmatt) is a priority, but I’m also slowly being seduced by the allure of being able to be the cool remix guy, maybe (someday) like an XP8 or a Grendel. Maybe even a Boole (just kidding, there can be only one).
pdn: Oh and by the way, what's the deal with you 'looking like Kurt Russel'? Had to ask!
Brian: At the 2009 Kinetik Festival, motherfucking Vasi from Reaper (also Frozen Plasma, formerly Namnambulu) just decided that I look like Kurt Russell, which I completely don’t. It kind of became our thing over that weekend and I was really just loathsomely, schoolgirlishly excited to have somebody that recognizable acknowledge me to the point that I referenced it in a song, basically to desperately tie my shit band to a band people like.
pdn: Thank you so much for you time and attention! What would you final words be, for fans, friends?
Brian: I was working on this year’s Kinetik comp track at the time of this interview, because of which, there is now a Kurt Russell reference in the track. Freal.
http://www.thegothsicles.com
Essence Of Mind is an alternative electronic rock band from Oslo, Norway. It delivers the listener a fusion between great power in the vocals within rhythmic tunes.
pdn: Hello, Erlend! First of all, how did you come up with the band name?
Erlend: Hello!
Well, I was trying to come up something that reflected to my music and lyrics. As it contain a lot of reflections about human psyche, how we treat each others, my own thoughts and feelings about my own experiences, as well as fictional stories about human relations etc.
So when I come up with Essence Of Mind, I knew it was the right choice!
pdn: Of course it is up to everyone to listen and discover, but how would you personally describe the sounds of Essence of Mind in a few words?
Erlend: Powerful, melodic,emotional yet aggressive electronic music blended with rock elements!
pdn: What is it that inspires you mostly while writing the lyrics?
Erlend: A lot of different stuff like I mentioned earlier, but I think the mood of the song has a very big impact on how the lyrics will end up in the end.
A also tend to make them hopeful even when they're quite dark, as well as keeping them quite open for the listeners interpretations.
I sometimes even have different interpretations on some songs as well :) I think it makes it more interesting that way, it's all about the feelings!
pdn: And what inspired your sounds and style since the beginning? What bands for example?
Erlend: Oh, a lot of different stuff, both modern and older stuff! But I do have a fascination for new sounds and blending different styles together to an own expression! I listen and love a lot of different music, from Linkin Park, Marilyn Manson and Enter Shikari via 80's new wave and synthpop to The Prodigy, 30 Seconds To Mars, Pendulum, Apoptygma Berzerk and so on!
pdn: If you could pick any other Norwegian band to share the stage with, which one would it be?
Erlend: We have already been so lucky to have played with great artists such as Apoptygma Berzerk, Zeromancer and Combichrist, but it's no secret that Apoptygma has a special place in my heart! Stephan is also a very nice guy!
pdn: If you would be to have another project of a different genre, what genre would you choose and why?
Erlend: That's a tough one cause I tend not to think genres when making music! I need to evolve and to be able to be creative so I just makes what I want, be it very electronic or very rock oriented. It usually blends together in some sort though. So if I would do something else, it could be anything really.
pdn: Are there any plans for upcoming material in the near future?
Erlend: Yes there is!! We are actually in the final stages of the production of our next album! It will continue what we started with the 2 previous ones, but also taken a step forward as well, trying out new elements!Experimenting is an important part of my music making! We do also have a new video finished, made a really great and professional team, so we can't wait to get the album done, and to present it to the public! We also plan to do some more touring, and will try to play as much live as possible! We have also started to rehearse the new songs, and will try some new elements to our live shows!
pdn:Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! Anything you would like to add for your fans?
Erlend: Thank YOU!
Hope you will like our new album, we can't wait to get it finished and released! And we hope to see you at a show near you!
http://www.essence-of-mind.com
http://www.facebook.com/essenceofmind
