The gentlemen of the San Francisco based trio, INHALT, are
currently locked away and hard at work on their upcoming EP titled
"Occupations". This being the follow up to their "Vehicle"
EP. A fine and entrancing four song vinyl collection of pulsing, vibrant,
rhythmic, and sometimes a bit abstract electronic craftsmanship. I remember
being absolutely smitten after just one listen to each of the one minute
samples. I desperately needed to hear them in their full glory and finally got
the opportunity upon the official release.
In fact, it was one that made it into our Top 20 EP's of 2012 list; rightfully
so and well deserved.
Matia Simovich, Bryan Gibbs, and Philip Winiger incorporate
the best bits and pieces of their early and current musical influences into
their own songwriting. That said, they ultimately put their own personal spin
on things. There is no blatant rehash to be heard here and that's something
that's difficult to come by these days. The aforementioned three took some time
out, from their recording, to answer a few questions i had. Here is what they
had to say.
1) I'd like to start things off with talking
about the origin of the band. How did it all come together?
Matia: Philip and
I met several years ago over a shared love of analog synthesizers, drum
machines, and authentic electronic music.
Philip: One day we
just started to work together. From that first day on we sort of knew this was
a collaboration that just worked. There was not much beyond that in the
beginning.
Matia: That first
session was deeper, more established, and honest than any other projects we had
worked on individually. In 2009 I moved to London to finish an MA and met a
great cast of characters in England. When I returned to California, Philip and
I asked my old friend and colleague, Bryan Gibbs, if he would be interested in
joining us with what at that point became INHALT.
Bryan: I was very
interested in joining the project from the moment I heard the early songs. I
had been developing a studio complex that, with the help of Matia and Philip,
was finally christened "The Bunker" which has since become our main
base of operations.
Matia: From there
we put out our first 12" in London on Andy Blake and Joe Hart's imprint
"World Unknown" and following that signed to Dark Entries Records and
released our debut EP "Vehicle".
2) Do any of you have formal music training?
Philip: As a
teenager I played trumpet and then moved onto the piano. I started to dislike
trumpet and my teacher, who could sense I was more interested in electronic
music, introduced me to the synthesizer. Since then, it's a love that's never
died for me.
Bryan: I have no
formal musical training, but I taught myself everything regarding composition
and tone shifting by reading and exploring on my own. My interests, however,
were more on the technical side of music production and recording rather than
composing. This love of the recording arts lead me to finish a diploma in audio
engineering.
Matia: Everything
I know about music production, writing, and arranging I learned through my own
passion for music and through my colleagues both in this project and in the
numerous jobs I've had the pleasure of holding in the greater music industry.
3) Could you elaborate on your songwriting and
recording process? Who takes on what particular responsibilities?
Philip: I am the
principal vocalist and melody writer of INHALT. We just fire up and go.
Bryan: I end up
mostly doing recording and engineering and traditionally act as the other
co-producer.
Matia: After we
have a composition established and arranged we tend to move to a production
stage where the focus is on tone shaping through effect processors,
re-amplification and so on. Bryan takes the lead in utilizing physical spaces
for reverberation and building very complex microphone arrangements. I've seen
him do things with mics I've never seen in any other production that I've been
a part of. Lastly we mix, always using a hardware mixing desk and stream down
to Philip's Revox tape machine. Afterwards, we send the songs to Paul Lavigne
in London to put on the final master. It's a team effort and everyone's energy,
input, and creativity results in the finished piece.
4) I've watched the instudio videos on your You
Tube channel several times over. It seems you have quite the arsenal of
synthesizers and drum machines at your disposal. Is this something that carries
over into your live performances? In the traditional sense of performing electronic
music live.
INHALT: We have
not performed a live concert with this project yet. However, we are currently
developing our set up for live to meet our needs without compromising the
health of the vintage analog synths that we use on our recordings. What that
means is that we are assembling a combination of new analog technologies, DIY
and hand built discrete circuits, and emerging digital mixing platforms
oriented for live use to develop the live INHALT experience.
5) What was the idea of German lyrics instead of
English as heard on the "Vehicle" EP? Is this something that will be
revisited on the upcoming EP?
Philip: My native
language is German. I felt that it was a natural expression for me to sing in
my native tongue.
INHALT: On our upcoming EP, there will be songs in German and also French
and English
6) Who were some of your early influences? Was
it a strong enough influence to guide you in the direction of recording and
performing music?
Philip:
Kraftwerk, Oscar Sala, Stockhausen. It inspired me to find my voice within the
legacy of such highly creative electronic music. There is no measure of
strength, it is exactly what is guiding me through this voyage. Also seeing
likeminded electronic musicians doing the same is both comforting and
inspiring.
Matia: My early
influences were always of the New German Wave variety and early New Wave like
Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Pet Shop Boys. In recent times my horizons have opened to
other music but I credit many of these artists as the initial spark of
motivation to learn how electronic music is made. Culturally, I also feel
aligned with a lot of the ideologies present in much of this music, including a
very pan-European sense of humor. Looking more introspectively, the specific
creation process of our music, for me, is a practice of honest self-expression
which is a deeply personal voyage.
Bryan: The first
real music that moved my imagination was the psychedelic story telling of Pink
Floyd. This theme continued into the electronic sounds of 80's synth bands,
especially Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and the like. Industrial sounds of Front
242 and Skinny Puppy activated the appreciation for the darker sounds and less
pop oriented styles of electronic music leading into the emerging techno sounds
from Prodigy, Aphex Twin and Leftfield. The use of the synthesizer offered such
an other worldly soundscape that I could not ignore it. This technology became
as much a passion as the music itself.
7) Can you remember the first record or CD you
ever purchased? What effect did it have on you? Is it something you would or
still do listen to currently? My reason for this question is that i hear some
people shun some of their initial music purchases and bands they loved once
upon a time. They'll say that they were a different person then and can't
relate to a "that band" any longer. Me personally, i can always go
back and listen to ABBA and many others from my adolescent years. It brings
back memories...good and bad. Ultimately, it reminds me of where i've been and
how much i've grown (mentally) since those times.
Philip: NWA's
"Gangsta Gangsta". I bought this in New York and brought it back to
my little Swiss town much to the confusion of everyone else there. I still
listen to it as warped as that vinyl is.
Matia: The first
record I remember getting was Depeche Mode's "People are People". To
this day, I feel as though the masters of the songs on this particular
compilation are more endearing to me than the same masters of the same songs on
their respective albums. I don't know if it's because it was the first record I
had, or if they do actually sound more musically pleasing. I'd like to think my
ears are tuned enough to make the later statement confidently.
Bryan: It was the
cassette of The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds". I had absolutely no idea
what that whole thing was all about at the time but I really liked the vibe and
the complexity of those records. I still listen to that album and I think they
were geniuses.
8) What lies ahead for INHALT? Are there any current and upcoming activities
you'd care to share with our readers?
INHALT: We just recently had the pleasure of working with
the legendary Pete Byrne, one half of Naked Eyes, on an original INHALT
composition. This song, as well as several new ones and remixes will be coming
out on our next EP, titled "Occupations", for Dark Entries Records.
Half of this EP was mixed just outside of Vienna, Austria at Werner
Freistätter's exceptional SSL equipped "Vinyl Carvers" studio. Being
in a little village in Austria, breathing fresh air in the morning, blasting
the mix at night, and working with close friends was definitely an
unforgettable experience. We have a new video in the works by Dmitry Semenov,
who has recently been doing videos for Alan Wilder (which are absolutely
incredible and full of Dima's unique visual talent). Our graphic designer and
conceptual ally, Leo Merz, is hard at work on our website which should be
launching soon. In addition to the DJ appearances that we have been making, we
will be booking live concerts. Outside of producing our next EP we are also
remixing Sally Dige's absolutely stellar song "Doppleganger".
Author: Ty Voltaire