We spoke to Martin King of Dogtablet about Industrial music and the benefits of working from home.
“We are constantly writing.”
Black Space Dust & Memories sounds like something the JWST (James Webb Space Telescope) might find. However, compared to much more experimental industrial, you could say that it is far more down to earth. Why did you chose to release as Dogtablet and not another one of your projects?
Dogtablet is really the only project I have going now. I have been writing Production Music for TV on and off for about 20 years and when I teamed up with Roberto Soave in 2015 that was all we were focused on. But, that whole business has changed so much over time and so in 2017 realising that we had built up quite the catalogue of dark mostly slow beat tunes we decided to go back to doing what we had both been missing for so long– being a band and releasing music.
Dogtablet is clearly not Industrial per-se, but rhythmically I take a lot from my time in Test Dept for sure. That said, we both had roots in other genres in previous lives so it is not surprising. Especially Bob, (Roberto) he was in Associates with Billy Mackenzie, Presence with Lol Tolhurst, and Shelleyan Orphan with the late Caroline Crawley. Plus we are both pretty old now and mellowing darkly.
The album features a lot of guests; What came first, the sound or the collab?
Always the sounds. We are constantly writing. Sometimes when a track is looking good and I do not feel a vocal coming on I then think about what style of vocal would fit and try to find the right person for the tune. I am very fortunate to have made some great contacts through working with Martin Atkins and Pigface, through random Social Media meetings, I found Sapphira Vee on Twitter and liked her style, and voice, so [I] contacted her and now we have done several tracks and remixes for each other, and people I have met through remixing.
The band Scere remixed a track from the Feathers & Skin album and put some vocals from Coral Scere into it. It is still my favourite remix today but since then Coral has done some outstanding vocal work for us and is, like Jared Louche, more of a band member than a guest vocalist. All of our guest vocalists have a free hand when it comes to their lyrics and how they want to present them so the arrangements are flexible. One of the things I love about Dogtablet is hearing artists stepping out of their vocal comfort zones to work with us. That is a massive privilege and something for which I am incredibly thankful.
“I have found new ways to be creative.”
In recent years I have seen some debates as to what qualifies as Industrial Music. There are opinions that argue that a lot of industrial stuff is just distorted techno and others that say you need a sampler instead of a synth. You have had an extensive career within the scene so what is Industrial to you?
I joined Test Dept around 1990. I was not particularly aware of the industrial scene at the time. I was mostly in and into Indie / Dance hybrid bands at the time. I was familiar with Test Dept. Their big shows and their political work appealed to me a lot. So, through that I became aware of the Industrial genre. I guess what I am saying is that Industrial to me is Pigface, NIN, Einsturzende Neubauten etc. But, I do see the relevance to the genre in EBM and Industrial Techno. But really, you gotta be hitting shit with hammers to qualify.
Do you find yourself relying on software synths (VSTs) or hardware more?
In the 90’s we had studio in The Fortress in Kings Cross, London. A cool space where a number of bands had studios and rehearsal rooms. Pig and Collapsed Lung were our neighbours. We had a lot of outboard gear and a couple of samplers. After that I set up a studio in Bermondsey, South London with the same type of equipment.[I] spent a lot of money on rent over 5 or 6 years.
[I] then sold the lot and set up a soft studio in my house which is where I have done all my work since 2014. I do not [have] any hard synths, though I have a decent set of V-drums, no racks, no old school mixing desk. I miss the randomness of knob twiddling to create sounds it is true but I have found new ways to be creative. And, there are some exceptional soft synths to be had, and there is a lot to be said for creating music rent free.
Outside of electronic music are there any artists or styles that you would like to write in or collab with?
I am a fan of Portishead and that whole genre. But, I will tell you this if I could get to do a tune with Terry Bickers on guitar and Howard Devoto on vocals then I reckon my work on this earth is done.
