Interview from Side-Line Magazine

The Pain Machinery "Dirty music in a nasty world"

Contaminated by this Swedish venom propagated worldwide by BLC prod, we tried to infiltrate The Pain Machinery and understand for you why such a nice and friendly boy makes such nasty and dirty industrial music. Industrial? EBM? Punk? It's a bit all of this and some more. And beware: the machine never stops on its route. (By Seba Dolimont)

SL: How did you feel the day you signed to BLC Prod, one of the most promising new label in the USA?

TPM: I was, of course, very pleased. I'd been in contact with BLC's president Brandon for a while and I knew that we were on the same level. His goals for BLC works well with my goals for The Pain Machinery and it felt really good signing the contract.

SL: Should we understand your music as anarchist punk music made in the 21st century?

TPM: There is definitely a strong punk attitude in my music. I like the way how the punk music I listened to when I was a kid managed to be both "anarchistic" and chaotic yet still very catchy and straight forward. Many of the early industrial bands such as Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Test Dept and SPK managed to do that too.

SL: You seem to enjoy mixing power industrial noise with an EBM background' Is it an intentional combination or more of a diversified musical background of influences?

TPM: The latter, absolutely. I never "plan" what TPM should sound like. TPM has developed from my personal taste and from my very diverse influences who range from punk,the bands I just mentioned, Kraftwerk, Skinny Puppy, Klinik, Public Enemy to Ska and Ragga and beyond.

SL: With such a band name and such music, I have the impression your sole intention is being ugly and nasty? Am I wrong?

TPM: I don't think I could do "nice" music even if I wanted to. The world is an ugly and nasty place and my music just reflects that.

SL: Are you that bad boy you pretend to be behind your wall of noise and tortured vocals, or is it just a chosen mode of expression?

TPM: I'm a good guy! when I was younger I was pretty messed up, but these days I use all my negative energy to create music instead of being a "bad boy".

SL: Tell us more about your first 'official' album 'The Venom Is Going Global. What were your musical & lyrical intentions with this one?

TPM: I knew I wanted The Venom Is Going Global to sound really dirty and with a "live feeling". Therefore I used a guest guitarist, live percussion and lots of old analogue synthesisers on the album. The songs deals mostly with the state of the world and humanity. I can't say that I am so optimistic about the future of the human race. Therefore, the album and it's lyrics are rather dark, if you want "Oh baby me so happy" then I'm afraid that The Venom Is Going Global may not be what you are looking for.

SL: How do you perceive the evolution of your project from its creation until today. And how do you want it to be tomorrow? What's next?

TPM: Oooh, that's a hard question to answer. I think TPM has evolved to be a bit more accessible now than it was when I started the project. Though my main idea with TPM haven't changed that much from when I started. I really don't know how The Pain Machinery will develop in the future. I have an idea to bring in more guest musicians and use more "real" instruments than I've done so far. But then again I always experiment a lot when creating music and every time I think I know where my music is heading it goes another direction. Only time will tell. One thing is for sure though, TPM will never be a Future pop band:)

(c) 2004 Side-Line Magazine