The Pain Machinery in expansion

With the release of The Pain Machinery's second demo last year and some truly awsome live perfomances since then I thought it was time to send some inquisitive questions to the man behind the rhythm and noise/power noise project; Anders Karlsson.

How would you describe your sound and which bands do you think have influenced it the most?
It's always hard to describe your own sound. I can say that I want my music to feel like it's always on the verge of collapse. But at the same time I want it to have a defined structure. It's a tricky thing; order versus chaos. My main influences are early industrial bands such as SPK, Cabaret Voltaire, Test Dept and of course Skinny Puppy which always were on the edge of collapse.

How long has The Pain Machinery existed and has it always been a one-man project?
TPM started out in the beginning of the nineties and has always been a single person project.

Are there any other Swedish bands in the industrial/power noise/ebm-genre you especially like these days?
I have the good luck of being friends with a number of other musicians that I have great respect for. Tarmvred, LEAK, Phrank and Splitter to name a few. And the best thing is that I get all of their releases without having to pay anything ;).

What sort of response have you gotten for your latest demo "Chaos In Expansion"?
The response has been really good. It's really nice to get feedback from people who like what you do. Especially when someone describes his or her feeling when listening to a certain song and you realize that it was exactly the same feeling you had when you wrote it!

Did any labels contact you after the release?
This whole business with labels is always a pain. I've been in contact with a couple of labels but they always want me to adjust in a way I don?t want to. It's always something like "Nice, but could you do a whole record like track number 3 on the demo?" I've also been offered some very questionable contracts. There are some things I will not do just to get signed, even though it would be nice to have a label to back me up.

On last years Tinitus festival you did an awesome gig using members of Phrank as a live-crew. Are you going to continue and use "live-performers" on your gigs? And is there anything you can tell us about the next gig?
Thank you! I will absolutely continue to use "live-performers" on future gigs. I don't like to repeat myself and I want TPM live to continue to surprise and also be a physical experience. It's about respecting your audience and offer more than just a guy with a laptop. All I can say about the next gig is that it's going to be tough, really tough!

Do you have any plans for musical projects involving other artists? Some remixes perhaps?
I have a project together with members from LEAK and Splitter, we play a form of nightmare electro and I hope we can have the debut album finished this year. Also, I'm working on remixes for above mentioned Splitter and the EBM act Severe Illusion. I believe that Splitter and Severe Illusion are two acts that we can count on in the future!

Anything else planned? You?ve said something about a TPM side project earlier.
Yes, I've just released my first EP with the side project Preset that could be described as a harsher and more naked version of TPM. I'm working on a full-length album, which is going to be really ugly! And as I said, I have the electro project and a few other things in the loop!

Could you describe a bit how you approach the song writing with TPM. Is there a special method you always use? And how do you get your ideas on tape?
It differs every time actually. Sometimes I start with just a sample and sometimes with a bass line. The main ideas often come from something I read or watch on TV. Many of these ideas don't work at all getting on tape so then I just have to start over again.

You DJ a bit from time to time in the clubs here in Stockholm. Any special music you like to play and do you have any new dates set?
No new dates are set right now, I have too many other priorities to set straight first. Anyway, I like to play the more experimental stuff; Break Core, Power Noise and odd electro tunes. But I wont go over the top when for example playing at an EBM club. You're there to entertain and not to feed your own ego!

What do you when you are not Mr TPM?
I read an interview with Front 242 for about 15 years ago where they told the magazine that they were just ordinary people as soon as they got off the stage. I was really disappointed 'cause I always figured them as the group who would wear camouflage gear when picking up milk in the grocery store. As for me, I'm TPM 24/7 ;)

Anything you want to add as a closing comment?
I just want to say that in these days when all the big bands have grown stale it's really nice to see that the underground scene is alive and kicking with new interesting artists, labels and fanzines. Support the underground and of course TPM ;)

/Micke Lind

Interview from Moving Hands