Featuring i.Gor of BIOCARBON13 | Interview by Ruud Dreessen aka ebm-industrial. nl | 19-December 2008
Thanks i.Gor that you have found time to give answers to these questions Why did you come about starting BIOCARBON13?
I came out of retirement. A few years prior I stopped playing music because I became disenchanted with playing in a live band. Technology was not at the point where I could play and create music on my own. When I sensed that computer based performances have gained acceptance and technology was available and affordable, I was back.
What inspires you to create?
Music is my therapy. I use it to vent my emotions and to share my feelings. Mostly negative, I feel better venting the negative emotions into my music then to take it out on people around me.
Tell me about your albums: UVN, Cheese Ball, Igorist, Father’s Song and Escape from Happiness?
All of them are experiments; all of them contain a social commentary. I try to approach each album in a different way from the previous one. UVN is the most aggressive of the bunch. Cheese Ball is a bit more synthpop, whilst Igorist and Father’s Song are kind of hybrids of synthpop and a death rock feel. Escape from Happiness was my 1st album and I experimented with use of preset percussions overlaid with BC13 music. To explain BC13 music is not easy because it depend on what I feel when I’m writing at that given time.
Can you give us some insight into the beginnings of BIOCARBON13 a musical project? How did it initially come to be? Can you give me an introduction to BIOCARBON13?
BIOCARBON13 is an experiment from start to finish.There is no particular adherence to any given form or style.I try to write what sounds and feels good to me with hope of my work to resonate in souls and minds of my listeners.
BIOCARBON13 came to be when I came out of retirement and technology caught up with my ideas.I also find inspiration in collaboration with other artists.over all, BC13’s music ended up being influenced by the time we live in and the people that I work with.
BIOCARBON13 is a member of a new generation of electro- industrial bands, projecting sounds influenced by a wide range of sounds of electronic music from synthpop to EBM and power noise.
Can you tell us bit more about the musical projects and bands you were involved with prior to BIOCARBON13?
From the early 80’s I used to play in punk and death rock bands in Kansas City,Los Angeles and Chicago.I took a break and went to back to college, but obviously I could not stay away from music.
What are your views on the current state of the electro-pop scene in Chicago, Verenige Staten, in terms of creativity and audiences? And the scene in other countries?
There are a lot of creative artists in Chicago; however the Chicago scene is very fragmented and small with faithful groups following their own favorite styles such as synthpop, power noise, EBM/electro and Industrial-metal. There is very little crossover between each group which leads to light attendances when it comes to live shows.
The scene in other countries I cannot comment on but I hear great things about scenes in Germany, Netherlands as well as Mexico City. There is a lot of interesting stuff coming out also from Russia, but I am not at all familiar with that scene.
You have very nice numbers in you’re my space and the lyrical compositions what can you tell me about the work done? How does your music creation process work? How do you create a song/ musical piece?
Myspace.com is a great promotional tool. I would like to add that the number of friends we have is based on individuals who seek out BIOCARBON13 and not a result of my friendship requests.
My creative process starts with humming. You can find me humming everywhere like a insane person and the music or rhythms I hum grow and develop into a composition in my head. When I’m near my computer I try to translate these ideas into a beat, melody or sound that I can build on.
How did you come up with the name of your band, BIOCARBON13? And what is the key to making music from BIOCARBON13? And what inspires you to grow as a musician?
I like the visualization I get of the word BIOCARBON13. It brings into my mind, something slightly disturbing. When I think of BIOCARBON13 I see ashes from human remains…
What is the key to breathing? Making music as BIOCARBON13 is like breathing…it’s just that I have to do and that comes naturally.
My inspiration as a musician is that I want to be better than I am. I am never satisfied with what I create. I aim to make each subsequent song or album better then the last.
What ideas, movements and personalities would you say were crucial for the definition and development of BIOCARBON13 as a creative entity?
Though it’s an oxymoron, but in my opinion controlled madness is a creative state necessary for any artistic endeavor.
Without technology BIOCARBON13 would not exist while political unrest, war, social concerns are great catalysts for writing.
What do you think of its intermingling with the Industrial, Darkwave and EBM scenes? While EBM/industrial is your main musical pallet, what other music do you listen to?
I don’t think that artists should limit themselves to form or stile may it be Industrial, Darkwave or EBM. As far as I am concerned, each type of music style evokes different feelings that I need to express. I look at the styles like a painter looks at the colors. I paint with sounds.
I like listening to music outside of EBM/industrial scene. Classical music is one of my favorites. German Classical masters especially. As for the painters, I love Dutch masters and specifically Rembrandt van Rijn. I traveled to Amsterdam many times specifically to spend the time at the Rijksmuseum to absorb their work.
How long have you been in the music industry and how has it change over time? Now I have to ask, what’s the inspiration for the inspiration for the BIOCARBON13 story
I’ve been in the industry for a long time. I actually started playing classical piano in Russia at the age of 6. I don’t believe that industry changed at all; it’s still making music and selling music. The process of making and distributing music has evolved because of technology and selling music has now become the factor of how many clicks generate and/ or friends you have. The music industry, in my opinion, has always been built on dreams and dreamers some lusting for success and recognition and some doing what they like doing if only for themselves and for those who choose to listen to them.
Are you currently working on or planning any new releases? What is the future of your music?
I just released UVN live and BC13 is featured in Negative Impact V0.3 compilation CD (released Oct 2008). I am in the process of releasing SPARTA in early January 2009.
I just started working on a new album tentatively titled UNTAMED & UNCUT due to be released late summer of 2009.
The future for BIOCARBON13 is to grow and to evolve.
Any last words to your ebm-industrial fans?
Last words… sounds like I’m dying and I’m not Goth…this is EBM!
But to friends of BIOCARBON13 - we love to play live. If you invite us out to play, we will come!
This page,and all contents,are © 2003 / 2009 permission by ebm-industrial.nl
