It is a musical hybrid that blends the assassin guitar riffs of guitarists Set Landerich and Dave Hazel, the abrasive synths and raw vocals of vocalists/programmer, Gabriel Duceppe and the rhythmic warfare of drummer Salin Gas and bass player Jérémie Martin. These guys are what makes ÖGENIX the sole flag bearer of the sound of the 21st century; with their unique musical vision, their extremely intense live performance and by being, as far as we know, the only Electro-Metal band, ÖGENIX is the balance between electronic music and heavy metal! The future starts now! Vocalist Gabriel Duceppe or G.D. tells us about this electro metal sensation! Don't forget to check them out at their Bandcamp page too!
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in ÖGENIX, and how long the band has been together.
G. D.: Hello! I'm Gabriel Duceppe. I'm the band's founder, Set Landerich joined in about 2 months after my old band became ÖGENIX. I'm the lead vocalist, main music composer and electronic programmer. However in the last few years, Set have been getting more involved in all that relates to guitar and bass arrangements and now we're working on some of his own compositions for the next album :)
ÖGENIX have had two phases lets say. First one was from 2001 to 2003, then we kinda stopped for a while for many reasons and then we've got back in 2008. From 2008 to now, we've had a huge amount of movements among the musicians but our current lineup is stable since early 2011 (except that Salin our drummer recently quit, but her replacement have been swift and really smooth). That explains why it took so long to release anything too haha!
2. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
G. D.: We are located in Montréal, Québec. The music scene is very vibrant here however I believe that there's an over abundance of concerts which makes people lazy and bored… Sometimes you need to balance the offer and the demand ;) Recommendations? Many! In the industrial scene I'd say Pröjekt F and False Flag Heroes… In the metal you have Bookakee, Anonymus, Mythosis (with Crytopsy's guitarist) just to name a few.
3. How did the band get its name ÖGENIX?
G. D.: It derives from eugenism/eugenics, which is "to improve" a population's genetic traits… As said, probably the idea was to cure deceases to make the human specie in a way "better"… However it got quickly borrowed by different fascist and or cultural groups to instead, achieve a "racial" purity, which, in my opinion is horrible. WWII happened and this somewhat common practice in all the western world have suddenly became the deeds of "evil doers" and despicable individuals. Today, with all the progress in biotechnology and genetic engineering, all I can predict is that a new episode of eugenism will happen, but instead, it will be based on social casts. A small dominating cast will be able to improve themselves to become stronger, smarter and better than normal humans, therefore the rest, the normal folks will have to live as underlings whose sole purpose is to make the upper cast happy… An upgraded situation of slavery but where the chains are within the DNA itself!
So then there's also a stylistic concern in the band's name… Replace the "eu" by "ö" and "ics" by "x"… It looks better, it's damn scary biotech leaning word and it fits with our hybrid music style. :)
4. Is there any story or concept behind the Eponyme title?
G. D.: Eponyme in french means eponymous… So it's just the band's name hahaha!
5. Select two songs from Eponyme and tell me what inspired the lyrics.
G. D.: Decay and The End: It's basically about how human tend to forget that they have one life and one planet and if they don't care, it will be too late and gone. Organized religions are breedings their followers to dismiss other's beliefs (or non-beliefs) and fight to prove their "god's superiority while the whole world is falling apart, not only human societies, I'm talking about environment, air water, wild life, etc! The end brings that topic to a fictions armed atheist/revolutionary group that wants to take back its rightful place and to fight for a global and total freedom of toughs, which is impossible as long as authorities will give fundamentals rights to religions despise the fact that religions are nothing more than an idea just like capitalism or socialism is.
6. Who produced Eponyme and what was it like working with them?
G. D.: The drum was recorded at "Badass Studio" by JF Fortin guitarist of the bands Anonymus and Mass Murder Messiah. I did the rest of the recording and the mixing. JF is a pro and it was a pleaser working with him. He is very meticulous and really care that the end result is up there. The mastering have been done by Éloi Painchaud at Studio Éléphantone. Éloi is a very experienced and respected recording and mastering engineer and also, musician, that is more associated with blues, folks, pop and "wolrd" music… Not Electro-Metal! Lets just say that his totally new ears to this aesthetic and open mind was what we needed for the mastering because we have a pretty unusual sound. The sessions, in the mountains up north, at his studio filled with rare vintage gear interlaced with top notch digital technology were pure magic where I have witnessed our music growing to an unexpected level.
7. Who did the cover art for Eponyme and how much input did you have on it?
G. D.: All the graphic design is done by ÖGENIX's guitarist Set Landerich. He's also the one who designed the band's logo. I've had some input on it but it's mostly his creation there… I know he's good at it so there's no worries, it will be nice for sure. He also takes care of most of our concerts's posters and flyers.
8. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
G. D.: It's mostly "anti-religious" but lets make things clear, we respect anyone's freedom of toughs. However when one's freedom trespass someone else's, that's where we disagree. And unfortunately, organized religions are all infiltrating politics, imposing their retrograde, misogynist and homophobic views on society and nobody does anything to protect their freedom. Also, one of the saddest social trend in this political rectitude syndrome where people are now afraid of criticizing any religions by fear of being called a racist… Religions are ideas, not any type of ethnicities… Religious don't miss one occasion to brag on how their followers comes in all shapes and colours but then, when faced with some type of opposition, they start whining about discrimination and starts to call out racist whoever gets in their way… This is what we are against, not spirituality itself, which is a fundamental element of any being who is aware of itself, it's existence, it's life, it's death, others.
9. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
G. D.: Yes. I can't speak for Set but in my case, sometimes it starts with some idea of electronics, some other times, a clear melody or a beat, or just a vague gesture. There's no specific order or process actually. However usually when I lay down some basic riffs, melodies and progressions with then some electronics, then I send it to Set, he starts molding and elaborating the guitars and bass riffs, modifying stuff, twisting things around. Then I get to lay down some more finished electronic tracks, he then works it out again and so on. Of course when we get to start playing them at our rehearsal space, things changes again… What sounded right recorded doesn't necessarily cuts it live… So more modifications happens. We're trying to get the other guys more involved in the creation process and I believe that on a long term it will just improve the band's creativity itself. And lyrics, well I write them and it usually comes after the music.
10. Who are your musical influences?
G. D.: Nothing and everything. I have a degree in Electroacoustic music composition/sound design which is a pretty intense and academic field… But I mean I like music as a whole so it's all about the artist, not the genre or category that the music industry labeled the artist with. So I'm not shy to say that I like Slayer but not a big fan of Metallica just as much as I like Madonna but couldn't care less of Carly Rae Jepsen… After all, music is just sounds organized in a certain way in order to follow the intentions of the composer.
11. Do you guys have plans for new music or a follow-up release?
G. D.: Yes, we are working on new material and tweaking some stuff that didn't make it on the album. Next one will probably be around 10 or 12 songs… and it will be sooner than people may think.
12. What are your upcoming touring plans and plans for this year?G. D.: We will play on few dates of the Kingdoom tour this june. The rest of the summer, it will be quiet on that side, we will focus on working on the new material. More north american touring will happen this fall and hopefully we'll hit Europe in summer 2014. However the goal now is to spread our music as much as possible online to get great attendance when we drop to play in their hood.
13. What advice would you give to fellow bands, who want to do what you're doing?
G. D.: Keep doing what you feel is right, no matter how much rejection you get or how many times you get told that you don't fit, on a long run, it will pay off.
14. Any final words of wisdom?
G. D.: Eat your veggies and other healthy stuff.
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