Rhys Fulber (left,) Bill Leeb (right.)
Photo: Bobby Talamine
Homepage: http://www.bobbytalamine.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bobbytalaminephoto/
Fresh off the release of the latest Frontline Assembly album Wake Up the Coma we got a chance to speak with legendary producer Rhys Fulber about industrial and its muse.
Hi Rhys, how are you doing?
I am well thank you.
Can you elucidate on the themes of the new album, Wake Up the Coma?
We wanted to try lots of things on this record that were different yet still within the scope of what FLA is. Bill [Leeb] was exploring the idea of getting guest vocalists in so we pulled in a few friends.
Also the Amadeus cover was something Bill had talked about for a little while now and we finally got around to just not worrying about it too much and going for it. I have worked a lot with Jimmy [Urine] in the past and he [was] the perfect person to pull in for it. We aren’t particularly dour people so it was nice to loosen it up a bit and make a fun record for a change.
The title track gave us the album cover, co-written by Ian Pickering, of Sneaker Pimps fame, and the cover was inspired by that title and concept of the masses being lulled into complacency and of the herd waking up and possibly instigating the revolution we probably need.
What albums are spinning on your hard disk at home?
New artists I listen to are Blanck Mass, Recondite, Thomas Koner, Nils Frahm, and then my late 70’s UK alternative playlist.
Industrial has been known to explore mundane sounds and make them into something strange but effective. Was there any hard wired tinkering involved in producing the sounds for this album?
This record is fairly synth heavy, and not as much found sound material. It’s mostly lots of layering and filtering. We had a pretty good team of people working on it [throwing] lots of sounds and textures into the pile and we tried to organize them into something melodic. We like to have a thread of composition in everything we do.
What is your kit of choice these days / What does your studio look like?
My studio has not really changed that much in the last few years. I have a few big ticket boutique analog poly synths, some Nords and a revolving cast of Eurorack modules. I am not using as much vintage gear as I used to mainly because newer gear is less maintenance and stays in tune. I record everything through boutique pre-amps as well which definitely adds a warmth you can’t get any other way.
Do you have a tour schedule 2019?
We are currently looking into options.
