1. How are you finding the Toronto industrial/goth crowds versus a few years ago?
Vicar: My general impression is that that scene - globally - is very much what it was ten years ago. In other words, the vibe within that scene is tired and there's nothing particularly fresh going on anymore. The sounds, the fashion, and the graphics of those genres seemed to stop evolving a few years back. I truly wish that were not the case, but that's what I'm seeing.
2. How about the whole scene of what you're about?
Vicar: I think I should answer that along with your fourth question:
4.What is store for the future of the band? (i.e. releases, tours).
In August, 1995 - when we began our writing sessions for a third DHI album,
we found ourselves expanding upon our sound in such a way that we ended up
with a sound that was QUITE UNLIKE the first two DHI albums. We felt very
positively about the way we were progressing. In fact, we believed the
music was strong enough to stand on it's own - without vocals. So, we left
them out.
And we found that as soon as you drop vocals out of the mix, you're free to
take your music into some pretty crazy territory (i.e. there's no longer
any need to debate whether vocals will work in this section or that - you
just keep on following the noise that you're making until you feel that the
journey is ready to conclude). This process is one of discovery, and trying
to do something new each time, I believe.
So, with this type of thinking in mind, we named our new project
Transformantra, and officially stopped working as DHI in spring, 97. Our
first 12-inch as Transformantra will be out just about any day now, and our
debut (self-titled) CD is due out on January 27. Our label for these
releases is Silver USA (related to Belgium's Silver Recordings - home of
Starfish Pool, Unit Mobius, Ra-X, etc.).
I should probably give you some idea of what Transformantra sounds like.
Essentially, I think we've extracted the best elements of what we did as
DHI, and allowed them to intermingle with other musical interests that
we've had over the years, such as dub, techno, ambient, hip-hop, trip-hop,
and tribal, amongst other sounds.
In terms of live performances, we'll be playing this New Years Eve (97/98)
at a party called Sky High, which was originally supposed to be at Skydome,
but now I understand it'll be at the International Centre. Be there if you
can!
3. Being Canadian, do you get a lot of Skinny Puppy comparisons?
Vicar: Not especially.
5. What are some of your more current bands to listen to?
Vicar: Across the room I can see a few CDs. Hang on, I walk over and see what we've got. Well, judging by this stack, I've been listening to Mouse On Mars, Led Zeppelin, LTJ Bukem, Bjork, Bitter Harvest, Plug, Sepultura, and The Rolling Stones.
6. Any piss off/misconceptions?
Vicar: Many. That's why I wrote the lyrics!
7. What would you like to see for Christmas?
Vicar: The death of email, and a return to true person-to-person communication.
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