#*plays electronic industrial rock*

[hauntedorpheum]

I was told by spotify that i was fairycore because i listen to *checks notes* Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

[aneptuniana]

SELF [spotify]

"I am made of — junk, I’m just junk."

inspired by "money" by martin amis (1984)

"the plastic age" - the buggles :: "the last film" - kissing the pink :: "no more heroes" - the stranglers :: "both ends burning" - roxy music :: "modern love is automatic" - a flock of seagulls :: "the black hit of space" - the human league :: "dog eat dog" - adam & the ants :: "hit that perfect beat" - bronski beat :: "edge of seventeen" - stevie knicks :: "girls on film" - duran duran :: "legs" - the art of noise :: "the telephone always rings" - fun boy three :: "dead pop stars" - altered images :: "cars" - gary numan :: "get the balance right!" - depeche mode :: "plaza" - john foxx :: "showroom dummies" - kraftwerk :: "acceleration" - bill nelson :: "1981 - 2011" - public image ltd :: "ghost town" - the specials :: "up all night" - the boomtown rats :: "the damned don’t cry" - visage :: "the last of the international playboys" - morrissey :: "secret life" - soft cell :: "just give ‘em whiskey" - colourbox :: "sweetheart contract" - magazine :: "to cut a long story short" - spandau ballet :: "every 1's a winner" - hot chocolate :: "shoulder pads 1#" - the fall :: "the american" - simple minds :: "walking on thin ice (pet shop boys electro mix)" - yoko ono

[gapless playback and automix on - crossfade 5s]

[iamlisteningto]

Soulwax’s Nite Versions (15 Year Anniversary)

[a-substantial-trash-pile]

Studio TV Solutions presents Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware (2020) [not a real movie]. A movie with a totally improv’d script starring a moltey crew who are sure to give you a rip-roarin’ good time!

anyway hi new au just dropped. i’m calling it HLVRAIM. it’s HLVRAI but it’s a blockbuster movie and the science team are played by actors. i have many thought on backstories n stuff that i will stick under a “read more” here otherwise this post will be hella long on people’s dashes. 👇👍 pls care about this i thought so hard and much

Half Life VR but the AI are Self-Aware was put out by Studio TV Solutions in 2020 and destroyed the box office with how fun it was and how well the cast played off one another. The cast was given a general outline for the script with the goal for it to be mostly improv.

Gordon Freeman: Mannie Flores (Dominican American, age 28, he/him) - Popular Youtuber/Twitch streamer (“Radi0Mann”). Got offered the role in HLVRAI thanks to the creative things he’s done in his Youtube/Twitch career. This is his first “official” acting gig. He was pretty starstruck at first, but then as he got to know everyone, he realized they’re all a bunch of dorks (affectionate). - Started off as a gaming channel, but then started branching off into various creative endeavors as he got more popular. He still plays games too though. - One of the things Mannie did in his internet career that hit the mainstream was when he wrote, directed, starred in, and filmed his own movie in just 2 weeks because he failed a bet with his audience. Except the movie was actually really good and funny and heartfelt (i want to say it was about “a man who got left behind on earth after everyone else was raptured because god literally forgot about him”, but i think the concept might’ve been done already). - Met Benji through HLVRAI. They hit it off and now they’re dating. They tried to keep it secret for a while but Mannie had a slip-up during a stream that sort of blew it out of the water.

Benrey: Benji Song (Japanese/Chinese, age 30, he/they) - Started off as a film sound designer in the industry, then through a series of silly willy little events—possibly even shenanigans—got roped into a role in a passion indie film that became wildly acclaimed and flung him into the spotlight. Been an actor ever since, but isn’t the most proactive in taking jobs much to their agent’s annoyance. People never know where he’ll pop up next. Sometimes Benji will sneak in sound designer work behind their agent’s back. - Honestly likes background work more because everyone’s got these expectations of them as an actor that they feel pressured to meet. But he’s also afraid of disappointing people. He’s working on it. - Met their partner Mannie through HLVRAI. Totally was a fan of his streams/videos beforehand though. When they mention that, Mannie gets flustered. - Does music as a hobby. Electronic stuff mostly—enjoys mashing together all sorts of sounds and trying to make them work. After HLVRAI, Mannie’s streams gets cool new music that’s made by somebody going by “johnwicklover1994.” wink

Harold Coomer: Hau’oli “Hau” Kaleo-Kirchhoff (Hawaiian/Samoan, age 66, he/him) - Old musician who’s supposed to be retired but once in a while will release a song or even do a concert (but nothing crazy). - Hau’oli is pronounced [hh-ow-oh-lee], but he also goes by “Hau” for the haoles’ sake. :) Kaleo is [kah-leh-oh]. also Hau’oli sounds a little bit like the name Holly so that’s a fun coincidence i didn’t realize until later. - Most of his music is chill island tunes but he has been known to dabble in rock and jazz. - Married to Mose (been together for 30 years and counting).

Bubby: Mose Kaleo-Kirchhoff (German, age 69 [nice], xe/him) - Veteran actor—been in the acting industry for a long time. One of his more well-known roles was in a popular sci-fi series. - Married to Hau’oli (they got married the moment it was legal). - i went with a name that started with “M” cuz when Gordon first asks Bubby for his name, xe’s like, “mmm Bubby.” and i headcanon it’s because Mose was about to say xir own name and had to swerve last minute and the thing his brain resorted to was Bubby lol.

Tommy Coolatta: Luis Tanglao (Filipino, age 37, he/they) - Child star who dropped out of the industry when he hit his teens and then came back years later as a comedian. He has material about how fucked up being a child star was. Will only take acting roles if it interests them. - They don’t care about how the public/media sees him. He’ll speak his mind and call out BS when he sees it. Interviewing them can be a war zone. - Hosts a popular podcast with some buds they discuss things like video games, their lives, news, etc. Just shooting the shit. - Sunkist is their actual dog and she modeled for the png photo that was used. Her name is actually Biko. She is a very good girl. <3

Darnold Pepper: Sage Haven (African American, age 40, he/her/they) - Famous cooking show host who gets offered roles in movies. Got popular by how unconventional her meals and cooking methods are and how funny he is. - Has had multiple food/cooking/baking shows over the years. Every competition-based one they’ve had focused more on good vibes, fun, and encouraging one another rather than drama. One show involved people competing to see who could make the best full course meal with the catch being they could only cook everything in a microwave. Many microwaves perished. - Changed their name to Sage Haven during their transition. They chose it because it reflects his passion and also is a play on the phrase “safe haven”, which is what she wants to be to others. - He has an adoptive daughter named Kit. She helped them think up bits and jokes. She also had to help explain what Half-Life was.

haven’t gotten to gman and forzen’s actors yet unfortunately. thinking gman’s actor could be a talk show host? because that would be funny. anyway thanks for humoring me on my shenanigans. bye

[rivetgoth]

Black Alternative Music Recs

Not being Black myself, I hesitate to make myself a spokesperson specifically for Black alt artists as I don’t want to be tokenizing or reductive and I’d rather, like, uplift the voices of Black alt people than just make my own lists, BUT, I keep seeing people in the comments of recent posts about Death Grips asking for recs for more Black alternative artists, and I do know a good amount, so as a really basic list I wanted to throw out a few artists I really like—

Light Asylum: Darkwave. Really incredible vocalist, and openly queer. “Dark Allies” is a huge goth club hit but all of her work is great. I’ve seen her live twice and her live concerts are incredible too. One of the bigger Black goth artists.

Ho99o9: Punk/Industrial Hip Hop. Another big one, they’re pretty well known at this point but if you DON’T know them you should. Huuuge variety in sound here, all of it is so fun and solid, absolutely amazing energy.

clipping.: Industrial/Experimental Hip Hop. Really fun and catchy, great lyrics, great mixing, great experimental electronic sound.

Void Palace: Industrial/EBM. Local LA-based act with an amazing industrial dance club sound and vibe. Seen them live and they bring such cool but crazy energy. Really really solid.

O. Children: Darkwave/Post Punk. Really classic gothic sound, amazing vocals, really underrated, theatrical, fun, and moody gothic rock.

Izzy Spears: Industrial/Experimental Hip Hop. Openly gay alternative hip hop artist with a heavy and super danceable beat. I saw him live and he sounded great and had awesome punky energy.

LUSTSICKPUPPY: Punk/Electro-Industrial. Has almost a hyperpop sound sometimes, super high BPM high energy danceable electronic music with a really crazy theatrical style to their performances (kicking myself for missing them last year!). ETA: LSP uses they/them pronouns, corrected now but apologies for missing that irt any older iterations of this post floating around.

Baby Storme: Darkwave/Ethereal Pop. I think she got a bit of popularity on TikTok recently? I don’t use TikTok so idk, but she’s great. Really well mixed, fun, super solid dreamy darkwave with a dancey pop sound intermixed.

Grizz: Darkwave Hip Hop. I JUST discovered this artist, he’s another LA local who just put out a new single that’s getting some attention and he’s really good. Super cool goth fusion sound with really great classic darkwave electronic backing. Check him out!

Cold Gawd: Shoegaze/Post-Hardcore. Iconically sells merch that says “ABOLISH WHITE SHOEGAZE.” Absolute powerhouse of sound; I saw them live and their music sounded torrential, like this intense, powerful storm.

Debby Friday: Dark Electronic/Experimental Hip Hop. Really really haunting and dreamy gothic sound. Collaborates with artists like Boy Harsher. Superbly mixed. Lots of variety in sound but very consistently strong.

Dre Robinson: Industrial/Experimental Electronic. Longtime cEvin Key/Skinny Puppy collaborator. He was on stage with Skuppy during the recent live tour, doing sound and playing the maggot maracas (iykyk). He’s also been involved in a ton of cEvin’s solo work and accompanies him on stage for his live solo shows.

Charles Levi: Industrial/Industrial Rock. Wax Trax!/90s industrial icon, did work for My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult and Pigface. He’s recently had a bunch of serious health problems and has a GoFundMe up of you’d like to donate. He contributed to so much classic industrial rock, it’s crazy.

There’s a billion more. These are just some artists I genuinely really like personally who are Black, and I think all of them deserve a ton of support and recognition as contributors to the alternative scene. There’s so many amazing Black-fronted alternative bands and projects, and I’m just scratching the surface with artists I know and enjoy, Also considered listing some larger names like Yves Tumor and Tricky, but I feel they’re slightly more well known in the mainstream with ~1mil+ listeners on Spotify and I wanted to highlight some slightly more underground voices (to varying degrees—obviously some artists here are more well known than others).

Check them out!! Support Black alternative music!

[gatheringbones]

[“Audre Lorde’s coworkers at Keystone Electronics were other Black women from the City or the South or Puerto Rico or the local community. Most were not on a “leave of absence” from college. They worked with dirt.

Keystone mined quartz crystals in Brazil. Audre and the other workers sorted them. Keystone’s mission? To find functional crystals in the surface of the earth and turn them into the transducers that made radar, radios, and other electronics work.

The factory was the processing site; the women worked the process. First, they rinsed the rocks with toxic carbon tetrachloride. Carbon tetrachloride is a caustic greenhouse gas once widely used in dry cleaning. It was probably the solvent Audre’s mother used during her brief stint working in a New York City cleaning facility before Audre was born. The story is that Linda Belmar Lorde’s lungs eventually started burning so badly that she stayed home sick, and when Byron Lorde went to collect her check, the owner of the cleaning facility found out Linda was not “Spanish,” as she claimed to be, but a Black woman married to a Black man. So he fired her.

Linda’s racist boss may have inadvertently saved her life. Generations of working-class women breathed carbon tetrachloride in factories and cleaning facilities. It didn’t take a scientific study to feel the burn. But now studies have shown that the fumes from carbon tetrachloride destroy the liver. It destroys livers so effectively that scientists use it to test whether new liver medications will work; their goal is to create something that does the exact opposite of carbon tetrachloride.

At the end of her own life, Audre would wonder if her work at the Keystone factory in Connecticut was how she got liver cancer. Audre might have lived past fifty-eight if she had never worked at Keystone Electronics or if the working conditions had been safer.

[…]

When her father died, Audre came home for the funeral and stayed a few days in the home that was no longer her home or her father’s house. When she went back to Connecticut, she got a slight promotion at the factory. Now she worked in the “Reading Room” with an X-ray machine measuring the electrical charge of crystals to determine which ones could be used in machines and which ones would become industrial waste.

The company gave bonuses based on how many crystals the “readers” sorted through in a day. To make the process quicker, Audre left the protective shield of the X-ray machine up and exposed herself to radiation. She would hide carbon tetrachloride–washed crystals in her mouth and then spit them out in the bathroom to get through the pile faster. She told herself she was working to get back to school as soon as possible, and to fund her trip to study in Mexico.

She worked and worked and didn’t visit her father’s grave. She didn’t know that her work at Keystone played a small part in the evolution of the machines that would beep measuring the heart rates of hospital patients a decade later. She worked the line, like her father had worked third shift all those late nights in the munitions factory during World War II.”]

alexis pauline gumbs, from survival is a promise: the eternal life of audre lorde, 2024

[operator-report]

do you have any ideas about the undersiders music tastes. your other posts are so beautiful and true

aaah i'm so glad you liked my silly music posts! after some thought this is what i've landed on for the undersiders: taylor: in my heart taylor's mom did this to her, which is why taylor has a better-than-average teen girl knowledge of blondie, neil young, and the police. i think taylor's taste is a mix of dad rock and alt-pop rock hits. she likes the strokes and arctic monkeys. maybe a little mgmt. after her mom dies she stops listening to music that reminds her of her mom, so much less 70s/80s rock, but i don't think she switches to sadder music or anything like that, i think her taste just skews more contemporary after that. after the bullying started she tried out heavy metal really early on because she figured angry music might help her vent but it wasn't her thing. taylor does not listen to radiohead but she's the undersider who would like it the best i think. karma police is a taylor song send tweet

brian: there's a post out there somewhere that talks about brian listening to imagine dragons and that is SO real to me. he listens to imagine dragons. he listens to "tough" guy music that sounds like it could be in car commercials. he also listens to dudes rock music he hears at the gym. brian and taylor both like to match their music to their workouts and they have an immensely geeky conversation about matching bpm at one point. taylor matches it to her running brian matches it to boxing they are in nerd-jock heaven

lisa: she's a tricky one, because the music industry is one that both values authenticity and yet is extremely manufactured. i think that means that lisa finds music in which rich musicians make music about how hard their life is immensely grating. i think sarah livsey's taste was influenced by her brother, and much like how taylor does not listen to music that reminds her of her mom, lisa does not listen to music that sarah used to like. another smugbug yuri of absence moment if you ask me. anyway all that means that lisa listens to three kinds of music: downtempo instrumental electronic, classical, and We Are Up Partying In The Club Tonight Ooh Girl Oh Yeah. i think she finds, e.g., pitbull and eurotrance endearing. if you ask lisa what her favorite kind of music is she'll say something obnoxious like IDM or some shit just to see what the reaction is

rachel: i looked up "do dogs listen to music" and google says they will listen to classical sometimes, so! there you go. if worm took place a little later i think taylor could have introduced limited doses of lofi hip hop study beats to rachel and she would be ok with that too but also like. why listen to music when she could be outside listening to her dogs

aisha: the undersider with the best taste! we know that early worm aisha is a bona fide scene teen, and i think she consequently likes blink-182, pierce the veil, 3oh!3, cobra starship, and maybe a little bring me the horizon. in later worm aisha's taste gets less pop, like deftones, odd future, etc. she's a supervillain who would actually listen to madvillainy. aisha is also probably the only undersider who actively seeks to cultivate her own music taste! a good chunk of the undersiders have trauma that separate them from their interests and/or feelings, but aisha is an undersider who i think is both self aware and also true to herself, as well as being genuinely interested in art!

alec: speaking of undersiders who have a difficult time developing a defined music taste due to being cut off from a strong sense of self. alec in early worm is too depressed/apathetic to seek out music for himself, he'd rather be playing video games or watching movies. which is a shame because disassociating to music is one of the depressed activities of all time! alas alec's vision of a person with Taste is like. cherie. rip. however, aisha completely turns his life around into a guy who likes...................... soulja boy

there you go! tried to keep this period typical and also didn't include bands we know for sure didn't exist on earth bet (such as mcr). however i am very sad aisha and alec didn't get to listen to 100 gecs together. can you imagine. i can imagine and that's why i have a beautiful aishalec amv set to doritos and fritos in my mind

[blue-lollipops-and-ice-clouds]

Sleep Token's "The 100 Songs That Changed Our World" Article.

(Source - photos courtesy the lovely jawsofeden)

Transcript:

100 - Sleep Token

The Summoning

(Take Me Back To Eden, 2023)

The meteoric rise of Sleep Token caught us all by surprise. At the start of 2023, the mysterious masked band were one of the metal underground's buzziest names. Led by enigmatic vocalist Vessel, they were a band to watch, for sure, but firmly attracted the niche passion of a cult following.

Then came the song that would change everything. On consecutive days in early January, the band released two singles from their third album, Take Me Back To Eden: the burning, crashing Chokehold, followed by The Summoning - and it was the latter track that would turn them into an Earth-conquering, expectation-shattering phenomenon.

Veering between depraved tech metal, soulful vocals and shimmering electronics, an enormous, hymnal chorus gave way to an Earth-shifting breakdown and screams. Intricate and groove heavy, The Surmoning was more like three songs seamlessly crafted into one genre-fluid modern masterpiece. And it still had its trump card to play: a bendy, thirst-trap, funk outro that went viral on TikTok, turning the internet intoalusty Take1 puddle. Suddenly, Sleep Token were the most talked-about band on the planet.

"THERE ARE HINTS OF EARLY SLIPKNOT THERE."

COREY TAYLOR

"It took me three listens of [The Sumroning] to realise that when they do that whole psychedelic section at the end, that it's actually the same chorus as it was before, only in a completely different way," Evanescence's Amy Lee told Revolver. "And I love it even more that. I thought they just went a whole new direction and wrote a new part, and then I was like, 'Wait, that's the same...but not at all'."

Sleep Token weren't the most obvious choice for a commercial breakthrough. The success of The Summoning, an unconventional, seven-minute, brutal shapeshifter, bucks just about every music industry trend there is.

"It's going to a lot of different places, and I think there isn't any other band out there right now that's able to do that," Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford said earlier this year.

The Summoning set a chain reaction in motion that was unprecedented in modern metal. In just a few weeks, the band saw their Spotify figures jump from the thousands into the millions. To date, the track has been streamed more than 123 million times on Spotify and 19 million on YouTube. On release, Take Me Back To Eden went straight in at No.3 in the UK and was the most streamed metal album of 2023. When the band announced a show at Wembley Arena, tickets sold out in 10 minutes.

Earlier this year, they left the metal-heavy roster of Spinefarm Records for RCA, the home of mainstream megastars Justin Timberlake and rapper Doja Cat.

"In heavy music, or even in just rock, even in the last decade or 15 years, there's so few stories of bands ever breaking through," says Health bassist and producer, John Famiglietti, who supported the band at Wembley and sees Sleep Token's success as proof metal still can resonate on a massive scale. "This is one of the few times I've seen a band go from a fucking club to an arena in six months. And I don't know the last time that happened."

It's worth pointing out that in the social media era where celebrities and artists are more accessible than ever, Sleep Token have achieved all of this on their own terms. To date, they've barely done any press, while their masked mystique is all part of the allure. Last year, fans reacted with outrage when bassist III's identity and birth certificate were allegedly leaked online, seemingly leading to a decision to wipe the band's Instagram.

"There are hints of early Slipknot there," Knot vocalist Corey Taylor told The Allison Hagendorf Show in 2023, thinking back to the early internet days before Slipknot removed their masks. "At first, we were like, 'Nope. You get nothing. This is what you get, you figure it out. We'll let the music speak for ourselves.

Today, Sleep Token are being mentioned in the same breath as potential future Download headliners Ghost, Gojira, and Architects. The only difference? Sleep Token have managed to ascend to the same level as those bands in a fraction of the time. Metal needs new superstars who will push things forward, innovate and keep the scene relevant - and with Sleep Token we have a band we can believe in. DL

[thedevilsoftruth]

•-•Songs I think KNY characters would enjoy•-•

Coming from an american :)

Sanemi:

Sanemi, in my opinion, is a metalhead. His ears are just made for heavy music, and honestly, I think all he needed in his life was a little bit of Pantera or maybe Slipknot to cope with his trauma.

Rengoku:

He leans more towards easy listening music. He likes a little bit of everything, but what he likes most is some nice acoustic ( possibly rock ) music. It's calming, and the lyrics normally hold a meaning he can appreciate. ( I think he'd like Mr Jones by Counting Crows too but TTWS is more accurate. )

Obanai:

Okay, lets get this straight. This mans favorite movie would be The Crow. This man gets mad when people can't tell the difference between Industrial and electronic, okay? He is a sad sad angry meow meow baby, and all a sad sad angry meow meow baby needs is a little bit of noise.

Tengen:

This man is raging with hip hop frat boy stank okay. He is listening to whatever gym bros from the hood listen to. This man is playing what people play in strip clubs. His favorite movie soundtrack is the black panther soundtrack. He is listening to TikTok edit music, okay.

Giyuu:

Yeah I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. He's cooked, bro. Giyuu is reeking of " I'm a liar I'm a cheater, i'm a nonbeliever!!! I'm a popular, popular monster " okay. You know you're cooked if you're listening to Dying is Your Latest Fashion by Escape The Fate okay. You're cooked if you're sobbing listening to Can You Feel My Heart by Bring Me The Horizon and telling me " ITS SO DEEP!!! "

But this is a good song and one of my favorites, so he's not as cooked because I'm also cooked too.

Gyomei:

I really don't think Gyomei would listen to music... At all. He's really just a classical music sorta guy but i do not know any classical music because I like metalcore and industrial music 😭🙏 however, I did have a short jazz phase last Christmas so here is this CLASSIC.

Mitsuri:

I bet this bitch EATS up that Love Angle Music Baby album as much as she can. I know she's walking down run ways with Madonna playing. Oooh girl.

Shinobou:

Girl I dont even need to say anything.

[orgyupdates]

Jay interview with Music Festivals Aus

California Nu-Metal pioneers Orgy are rearing and ready to embark on the first ever tour Down Under! Following on from sell out dates across the US, Orgy and fellow patriots Cold are gearing themselves for three massive back to back shows this October. The Orgy + Cold Australian Tour kicks off at Melbourne’s Max Watts on October 25th, The Metro Theatre, Sydney October 26th and rounding off at The Triffid, Brisbane October 27th. Now celebrating 25 years since the release of debut album Candyass, we caught up with Jay Gordon from Orgy to discuss the renowned Family Values Tour , the cause and affect of Napster and the evolution of Orgy since conception.

Interview behind the cut

Thanks for meeting with me today, Jay. I first found Orgy on the Family Values tour back in 1998 in possibly one of the most standout performances, and one that's remained with me for all of these years. Can you tell me about that tour and what it meant to you then and now?

 

Oh, yeah. I mean, it was our first tour ever. So it was what a way to break into the music industry. I mean, play with all of those great bands and all that kind of stuff. So it was fantastic. You know, definitely a learning experience. I learned how to navigate through the Big Boys you know, so it was cool. Messed up a lot. Had a lot of fun with Rammstein. It was chaotic. You know, we had we had a great time. But yeah, they cost me a lot of money. But it was cool. Yeah.

Yeah, it was definitely a rite of passage back in in the in the 90s. In Australia in those years, we had to physically import albums from overseas. Candyass was definitely one of my first and favourite imports. So, it’s 1997 and Korn’s Jonathan Davis signed Orgy as one of the first artists on their debut label Elementree Records, what impact did this have as an up-and-coming artists in the pre digital era?

 

Huge, you know. Korn was like a massive band at this point. And, they're good friends of mine, thank God and I owe them everything. They, you know, paved the way and opened up the doors for me along the way. So that was cool.

 

There is something candescent about your sound, in some forums labelled as electronic rock or alt metal, but more famously, as a pioneer of the nu metal movement? What were some of your biggest influences at the time?

I mean, I think always, you know, people like David Bowie and I just love the way his brain worked. I really can identify and relate to a lot of his music and stuff like that. But also, like, really heavy stuff, too. Like, where I came from, you know, the San Francisco thrash metal scene and things like that. So, adding like futuristic, melancholy weirdness with heavy stuff from the era at the time. Metallica and Testament and all those guys coming from where I'm from. So that all helped and kind of paved the way for me. And obviously Korn I suppose at the time. They were my favourite band. And so that's how I got to know those guys. And Jonathan would come stay at our house and stuff when they would play in town and it kind of started off a pretty, pretty basic friendship from then. And so they were a huge influence on me like I loved every song.

 

What impact did these artists have on you, personally and professionally?

 

Just Korn has such an original sound and they had a really big impact on me, all the way through my career. I’m always excited to hear what they come up with and what their next sound is going to be and what their next song is going to be. We get to play with each other every now and then like, in Sick New World. That was really cool. And just a huge impact.

Candyass was a pivotal album of the 1990’s, not only for myself but a deluge of young adults transitioning life. As a parent, it’s hard to pick between, but what is your favourite album release and why is it Candyass?

 

I don't know that it’s the best album that we've ever released. But I mean, it's probably my favourite. I don't know I was just in a different headspace. Candyass came from, let me see. So myself and Josh Abraham, were watching Depeche Mode show downtown and these three drag queens walked up to me and one of them’s name was Candyass. And, you know, he asked me, my name, I was like, “Jay” and he's like, “why don't I know you?” And whatever. And he goes, “you know me, my name is Candyass” and I thought it was so funny. So I said, I'm gonna name my first album Candyass and that was it. Then, you know, we became friends and everything, and they will come over to the studio and like, you know, mess up the board when I'm working. Like, I'd go to the bathroom and I come back and like, why does it sound like ass, you know, they were just like, him and Alexis Arquette, you know, RIP but I love Alexis Arquette and they would come over to the studio where we recording you know, it was just funny. Yeah, so that's why I named the record Candyass after him.

As most 80’s kids, I’m a sucker for a synth and electronic drum kit. The amalgamation of this soundscape with industrialism is none more evident than your cover of New Order’s Blue Monday. Before Stitches, this is one of my favourite releases. What was the inspiration behind your sound and its’ evolution?

 

You know, I wanted to do a cover song. And we were messing with a couple of different ones I liked it's called ‘Something Going On’ and Frida Lyngstad was her name. Her and Phil Collins, I guess got together and they did this song called I know ‘There's Something Going On.’ And that was gonna be the first one that we did. And then so we're playing around with that one and the Blue Monday one and we just went with Blue Monday. Yeah, just kind of, it's kind of clicked and worked out.

 

Vapor Transmission and Punk Statik Paranoia celebrated the unique sound encapsulated by Candyass, both in their own right. What was the progression in sound as traversed through the years and these albums?

Well you know, Vapor Transmission, I think definitely a progression, sonically, and things like that. I think we're headed for something really different on that record, but at the same time, that's when Napster dropped, you know.

“Napster kind of came out and kind of really killed the record industry, so to speak”

So, the record sales weren't there anymore, and things like that. But that's not an indicator that it wasn't doing what it was supposed to be doing. It's just that music was free after that, like, so it kind of just, it was a vibe killer on that, on that level, because our record had just come out, it was literally like, two weeks out. And then you see this big change in the sales of records because everybody caught on to Napster so fast. So that's kind of what happened there. And then Punk Statik Paranoia, that record just came out, like way too late. That was more like to me, like a bunch of glorified demos, you know, like, it never really got mixed, right. We never had a chance to really finish it up, because we were going through a lot of label stuff and trying to figure out what we were doing, if we were still going to be on a label or not, I think we were trying to get off Warner Brothers at the time. And that took some time. So the record just came out so late, and we ended up just putting it out in the end. Yeah, it took a long time for that to be able to happen. So we were sitting on it for like a year waiting for the lawyers and to get everything solid, so we can actually put the record out.

Carlton Bost first joined Orgy circa 2011 after an equally successful career as guitarist in parallel bands such as Deadsy, The Dreaming and the bass player in Stabbing Westward. What kind of dynamic did Carlton bring to the Orgy party?

I mean, Carlton's, he's great, like he's, he's a great band member. He and I actually, you know, when it comes to the more now orgy, you know, we kind of do a lot more stuff together. Whereas before in the past, you know, the first few records I just did by myself, you know, a lot by myself, you know, everybody did their part. You know, they played on the records and did whatever but, but as far as writing and stuff like that, I just did a lot of that on my own. And then I'd say, Paige wrote quite a bit of stuff on those records. And, you know, like a riff here a riff there and he was always really good at coming up with stuff on the spot. So, Oh, first, you know, he's like the new Paige in this era, but we actually just write a lot of stuff. Like sometimes he'll write like entire songs like Spells and Wide Awake and Dead. He had a big part of those songs. So it's more like a team on this one.

In October, Orgy embarks on the first ever tour down under alongside fellow patriots Cold in a three city rampage including Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. What kind of energy are you anticipating from an Australian crowd?

 

I have no expectations. Because I've never been there. I don't really know a whole lot about it other than like, you know, the typical kangaroos and this and that. I mean, I want to see all of that stuff when I come there. But I have no idea what to expect from the crowds I think I think it'll be a good show. I think the crowd will love it. And we're gonna bring the energy that's for sure. And, you know, we just killed it out here. We sold out every show but one with Cold here, it was a great tour. And I anticipate it being similar to that and hope the turnouts there and the turnout there is going to get a great show, you know, and we just signed Orgy, Carlton, and I we signed a Tucson deal with Golden Robot, which is an Australian label. So we're gonna try to get those songs done and be playing those live when we get there.

A huge congratulations on the 25th anniversary of the debut album Candyass. You've just answered my question. can fans expect any new Orgy releases within the near future? So yeah, as a fan, I'm very, very excited about that one.

 

Me too. You know, I have no idea what the release dates gonna be on those two songs. But yeah, we get them done and get them out before we show up and play so we can play them.

 

I do follow you on social media, so I will be definitely keeping an eye out myself for that. Following the tour, what's next for you, for you, both individually and professionally?

 

I'm kind of getting into, I'm going to be getting into like film stuff like Sony and direct some stuff. So that's kind of my next chapter in life. But yeah, other than that I'm also producing music. So I'm gonna keep doing that and work with other artists and things like that.

Full Interview, Aus dates/tickets, and pictures here.

[gaijin-fujin-resonance]

スブロサ - SUBROSA

This was one of the few album tracks that was legally previewable before the album launch, and even just from a brief SMS snippet, it was clear that this was metal-banging Industrial EBM at its finest. The prowling panther beat of Yuta’s hip-hop bass plays off a sproingy synth-bass lick, the backbone of the 80s Industrial sound*. Endlessly repeating, weird electronic squiggles of sound are run through heavy filters to emulate robotic chatter. It even features a mentasm Hoover Synth. And, of course, the Aphex Twin-pioneered micro-edited, infinitely fast snarerushes and LFO-twiddling that seem to collapse the song into itself during the breaks.

*There’s some controversy as to the original of this tone: depending on who you ask, it was invented by either NU Unruh hammering a giant spring with Einstuerzende Neubauten (the ‘Bassfeder’ comes in about 0:17); or Chrislo Haas’ analogue synth work, as one of the founders of DAF, a band whose aggressive minimalism would become the blueprint for the European EDM sound.

Yokoyama-san’s working notes on the track reveal the incredibly complex editing work, like an auditory jigsaw puzzle. (The track names are incredible: "Dissonance Progress"; "Pitch Black Night"; "Future Breaks"!) You can see the beats double, quadruple, multiply exponentially as the cuts become smaller and denser. The stereo manipulation is mindblowing - truly a song made for headphones! - as sounds flicker and skitter and pan in every direction. He said that Imai “insisted on leaving out his guitar (even though the guitar can still be heard)”. £5 reward to anyone who can spot any guitar on the track!

Imai also revealed in an interview, that this song was originally written during the Izora sessions, and rewritten for Subrosa. Imai’s playful raps and dizzying flow are so perfect for the song’s swaggering attitude that I can’t imagine how Sakurai would have sung it. I fear it might have become something in a playful, slightly silly vein a la Gustave. (I love Gustave as much as anyone, but it has a very different atmosphere.) But instead, Imai created a blueprint for a far more dance-oriented, synthesiser-based B-T Mk II. Vocals here are just another instrument: more of a rhythmic element than a melodic one; a background textural element to provide colour, rather than the main figure of the foreground.

Favourite moments: oh, there are just too many to count. Maybe the very end of the ecstatic drop, where the Jungle beats from 2:20 give way to the scratched (phased out? Leslie-speakered?) vocals coming in at 2:34. Very Beastie Boys – memories of my first time hearing their mixture of acid rock and hip-hop on Check Your Head in pot-scented student digs in New York. Can you imagine the stereophonic fun they could have with a pair of these babies?

The NOIZE solos at 3:11 and 3:27 (these would sound great live on a theremin, Mr. Imai, hint hint!) The stereo-panned sawtooth tremolo synth that comes in during the very last verse (starting at about 4:05) like a flash forward to the extreme noise-gating of Muyubyo’s guitars? It’s the tiny sonic details that make Buck-Tick so moreish – I’ve listened to this song dozens of times and on each deep listen, I catch another tiny sound I hadn’t noticed before. (I just caught a tiny stereo twitch in the synths at 1:58!) It works as a pop song – the irresistible panther rhythm and the strutting vocals drive it along with charismatic velocity – but the detail and complexity of the soundscape is like the whirling, ornate pattern of a Persian carpet you can lose yourself in forever.

[lurinatftbn]

in a modern au what music would the characters be listening to?

Man, I'm bad at these sort of questions. I'll take a stab at it, though with the whole people-have-sides-you-never-expect motif this might not quite represent the whole truth:

Utsu: Probably a mix of slow jazz, synthwave, and video game OSTs she likes. She probably has extremely narrow tastes and listens to the same stuff she finds sentimental over and over.

Ran: Black metal and other adjacent punk stuff. Environmental soundscapes when she's reading.

Kam: A combination of classical music, extremely formulaic mainstream hip-hop, and kpop (not jpop, she'd hate the increased jazz influence).

Theo: Ballads, slowcore and folk rock. Broadly, any form of music where a girl sings about sad things while playing an acoustic guitar.

Ptolema: Electronic dance music; house, techno, etc. Synth-pop. Piano collections when she's working.

Seth: Extremely specific forms of indie and progressive rock. Math rock is his favorite. He is the most passionate about music in the class and will talk about it for hours.

Ophelia: <redacted>

Lilith: The same anime OP on loop for six hours.

Bardiya: Gothic country, trip-hop, lounge music. Enjoys watching string solos. Loosely follows modern classical scenes like New Complexity but doesn't actively listen to it away from performances.

Ezekiel: Melodic industrial and hardcore, or overly-sentimental piano music and alternative rock, depending on what he's currently feeling bitter about.

Fang: Experimental and improvisational music - fast jazz, avant-rock, vaporwave. Vocaloids. Probably used to compose when they had more free time.

Balthazar: Country music, but doesn't like religious stuff. Movie soundtracks.

that's all I have the brainpower for today, I think.

[rhapsodynew]

#Did you know that this is a cover?📌

"But we all often glorify the former, not knowing that we glorify only the latter..." (Part 2)

"Gangsta's Paradise"

But here the cover is clearly better than the original. Although the original is good, because it was composed by none other than Stevie Wonder back in 1976. Yes, the song "Gangsta's Paradise" did not immediately become a harsh rap. At first it was called "Pastime Paradise". To the same string part played on a synthesizer, Wonder sang about social problems (segregation, isolation, exploitation) and that one should not dream of paradise, but do everything to bring it closer.

However, in 1995, rapper Coolio took over the song and, together with his sidekick L.V., composed his own lyrics to the same tune - this time about "Gangster Paradise". The text came out angry, sarcastic, hopeless and fit very well into the film "Dangerous Thoughts", dedicated to disadvantaged teenagers. However, at first Wonder did not give permission to record the cover, demanding to remove obscenities from the text. Coolio fulfilled the requirement. After that, "Gangsta's Paradise" became the best-selling single of 1995, and probably the most famous rap of the 1990s.

«Over The Hills And Far Away»

The Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore once performed not only blues "slowies", but also martial hard rock. Listen, at least, to his 1985 hit "Over The Hills And Far Away", recorded together with fellow countrymen - the folk group The CHIEFTAINS.

This song experienced a rebirth in 2001, when it was covered by the band NIGHTWISH. The author himself was not enthusiastic about the cover of the Finns - they say, nothing new - ordinary karaoke. You can't argue with this, although Tarja Turunen's pseudo-operatic vocals still deliver…

«Das Model»

Without exaggeration, the members of the RAMMSTEIN group can be called brilliant compilers of the German musical heritage: from hard metal and industrial to electronic music and even eurodiscoe. Unsurprisingly, in 1997 they paid tribute to the KRAFTWERK band by recording a cover of their song "Das Model".

The song was first released in 1978 and was a classic KRAFTWERK electronic composition with lifeless vocals and a mechanized rhythm. RAMMSTEIN added brutality and harsh guitar riffs to Das Model, but the authors didn't like this version.

«Stripped»

Another tribute to RAMMSTEIN was paid by recording a song for the tribute album of the British synthpop band DEPECHE MODE "For the Masses" (1998). The choice fell on the song "Stripped" ("Naked"), in which natural beauty was contrasted with the urban landscape. The song became a track on DEPECHE MODE's album "Black Celebration" (1986), and was also released as a single, which reached number 15 in Britain.

RAMMSTEIN made a very decent version, without spoiling the original at all. But it caused a resonance not so much by itself, but thanks to the scandalous clip. After all, archival footage from Leni Riefenstahl's film, shot for the 1936 Olympics, held in Nazi Germany, was used there.

«Tainted Love»

Surely there will be those for whom the song "Vicious Love" is associated with the "scarecrow" Marilyn Manson. But it became a worldwide hit in 1981, performed by another synth-pop duo SOFT CELL.

The song has been waiting for its hour for a very long time - since 1964! At first, composer and producer Ed Cobb wrote it specifically for his ward, the aspiring black singer Gloria Jones. However, "Tainted Love" was pushed onto the second side of the single, and no one noticed the song (however, as well as the song on the first side). But even in the original recording it sounded great - it was such a very energetic soul with a memorable rhythmic hook.

SOFT CELL made the song a new electronic arrangement and slowed down the tempo, which made it sound more menacing. Also, due to the fact that the original was sung from a female face, in the line "I gave you everything a girl can give", it was necessary to replace "girl" with "guy". As a result, according to the apt remark of one critic, "Tainted Love" began to resemble a song by an "offended homosexual." Nevertheless, Gloria Jones herself praised the cover, saying that she liked it more than her own version.

As for the 2001 version of Marilyn Manson, there was nothing special new there. Except for a more sinister performance and a clip with vicious girls.

https://youtu.be/CCTBuOheUpE?si=xONtubrpBj2VSmbJ

Part 1

To be continued. ..

[cursegirls]

subject to changes/additions but these are pretty solid ♥

readmore for genres & recommended starting tracks!

🎧for albums that should be enjoyed through, at the very least, decent-quality headphones

_______________

Violet by The Birthday Massacre (2005) [darkwave]

"Violet" or "Play Dead"

Low Birth Weight by Piano Magic (1999) [lo-fi electronic/rock]

"Crown Estate"

🎧Popular Mechanics by Piano Magic (1997) [lo-fi electronic]

"Revolving Moth Cage"

Odessa by Bee Gees (1969) [baroque pop]

"Odessa (City On The Black Sea)" or "Lamplight"

Main Course by Bee Gees (1975) [soul/funk]

"Nights On Broadway" or "Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)"

---

Permanent Sleep by Lowlife (1985) [post punk/gothic rock]

"Permanent Sleep"

Larks' Tongues in Aspic by King Crimson (1973) [prog. rock]

"Book of Saturday"

🎧MAGDALENE by FKA twigs (2019) [art pop]

"sad day" or "mary magdalene"

🎧CALIGULA by Lingua Ignota (2017) [neoclassical]

"DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR"

🎧Deep England by Gazelle Twin/NYX (2021) [drone choir]

"Fire Leap" or "Golden Dawn"

---

🎧Alter by Lustmord (2021) [dark ambient]

"Perihelion"

Created In the Image of Suffering by King Woman (2017) [doom metal]

"Utopia" or "Hierophant"

Bites by Skinny Puppy (1985) [electro-industrial]

"Assimilate"

Surf's Up by Beach Boys (1971) [progressive pop]

"Until I Die" or "Surf's Up"

🎧Obsidian by Baths (2013) [electronic]

"Earth Death" , "No Past Lives" , "Ironworks"

---

🎧Passive With Desire by Choir Boy (2016) [dreampop]

"Passive With Desire" or "Hellmouth"

Wiped Out! by The Neighbourhood (2015) [electropop]

"The Beach" or "Daddy Issues"

🎧Air Con Eden by Jerkcurb (2019) [dreampop]

"Air Con Eden" or "Voodoo Saloon"

Lookaftering by Vashti Bunyan (2005) [folk]

"Here Before"

Natural Born Losers by Nicole Dollanganger (2015) [alt. pop]

"Poacher's Pride"

[mileapo]

Happy Me Happy 'MILE' with Mai Phakphum

“The first time I saw a guitar was probably in grade 2. It was my relative’s guitar. I secretly took it and played with it. Then, the string broke!!! So I secretly hid it and never dared to take it out to play again because I had broken it already… The guitar came into my life again in grade 6. I was a kid at the back of the class. I studied hard, but I sat at the back of the class. Then, there was a female friend who sat in front of me. Her brother played music. She showed me photos of her brother competing in various competitions. She also showed me a magazine called The Guitar Mag. So, I opened it and read it. I read and read and found a guitar. It was an electric guitar in the shape of a white rabbit. 

I was like, “Wow!!! What a beautiful guitar! It made me start to fall in love with the shape of the word guitar from just looking at the picture first.”

And what about Mai's happiness with the guitar!!!

The eyes of the person you are talking to will tell you how they feel. This is not an exaggeration.

“The guitar is the instrument that brought me into the entertainment industry. Since I liked music since I was a kid, starting with the guitar, I started to be interested in music, interested in fashion related to music, which made me curious about music. I became a DJ, started to enter the loop where people saw my face more, started to go to castings, and was once at Grammy for a while. It was a time when I saw the entertainment industry in many other ways. It was the starting point that developed me until now.

The guitar has been with me since the beginning and has always been. For example, in AUTHENTIC MILE FIRST SOLO CONCERT, there must be a guitar that represents us and the different scenes in the show. If it's romantic, it will be an acoustic guitar. If it's a sexy scene, it will be a guitar solo. I am happy to play in the show. Entertaining and making the people who come to see us happy is another happiness that I like a lot.

We asked about the 28th anniversary of LOSO We Are The Rock And Roll Concert and being a guest of LOSO in the past.

“Phi Sek is an artist who I can say with certainty that he is the King of Rock and Roll of Thailand. He is also an inspiration to many Thai musicians. In terms of his work and songwriting, Phi Sek’s songs are meaningful, easy to understand, and honest. I think whoever listens to them will feel that way. I am very happy to be able to perform at the big concert to celebrate Loso’s 28th anniversary. It was fun to work on. The Loso team is lovely.” (smiles)

We asked Mai which guitar he likes the most. Mai replied that it was a very difficult question to answer. Very difficult.

"But if I had to choose, it would be this one I play regularly," Mai pointed to the olive green electric guitar he was carrying. 

“He has an overall meaning and a look that we really like. He’s the one that I feel has the right look, the right tone, not too strong, has a vintage feel, and still has a modern sound that can be used.”

Throughout my life journey, the guitar is the thing that makes me feel the most charming. I am most fascinated by the guitar. It’s like I’ve fallen in love with it. I don’t know how to stop loving it. As for other musical instruments, I might have had the chance to get to know them, but I might not have fallen in love in terms of playing. But in terms of consuming, listening, of course I am someone who loves music. Whether it’s the sound of the piano or the sound design of some electronic musical instruments, they also touch my heart. But in terms of playing, collecting, or anything physical, the guitar is with me. It is my first and only love, something like that.” (smiles)

That Cherished First Guitar of 'MILE'

“It’s still there,”  we asked about the first guitar in Mai’s life.

“Since we saw the white rabbit-shaped guitar in The Guitar Mag, that white guitar started to come into my head. I remember that when school ended around 3-4 p.m., while waiting for someone to pick me up in front of the school, I would complain to myself, saying to myself, “I really want a white guitar.” Then a friend named Ying Yai walked up to me and whispered in my ear, “I don’t know how to play, but I still want one.” I was shocked, my head was full of question marks. How difficult could playing a guitar be? Why did my friend say that even though she didn’t know how to play, she still wanted one? When I got home, I went to my mother and asked to buy one. At that time, I was still young, only in the sixth grade, and I was studying in Kalasin. It wasn’t easy to find one… When I asked my mother to buy it, she said, “Okay, I’ll buy it for you if I pass the entrance exam for Mathayom 1. Let’s exchange.” I was comfortable. I passed the entrance exam for Mahasarakham University Demonstration School (Secondary Section), and I got my first guitar, which was a popular classical guitar model, which most guitar lovers probably started with.”

“As for the first songs I played, they were songs that my guitar teacher taught me, which were “Khang Khao Kin Kluai” (Due Due Due, Due Due) (and then hummed the song for us ^_^) But if it’s a song that ends handsomely, it’s a song by Potato, “Mai Hai Tur Pai”. This is a song that I really like. The MV is beautiful, the feeling is there, and I really get into it. At that time, I was in Grade 6. I knew how to get into loneliness. I felt like playing this song. It just so happened that my guitar teacher’s younger brother, who was a night musician, told me that he would teach me to play a song. He asked me what song I wanted to play, so I told him “Mai Hai Tur Pai” (No Hai Tur Pai ). So he taught me. I was really determined because I really wanted to play it. After teaching him for about 2 days, I could play it. After that, I played this song all day and all night.” (smiles)

The Guitar Masters Who Fueled 'MILE' Passion

“Wow!!! That’s a lot.”

“I think it depends on the time period or the loop of listening to music. At first, we started listening to Thai music. The guitarist at the beginning of our life was 'P' Win Potato'. After that, time led us to know many guitarists, both Grammy and RS. We dissected a lot of songs. We dissected continuously until we learned that the flavor of Thai music is like this. 

When I started studying in Mathayom 2, I secretly went to study music, which made me know about Blues, Rock, Progressive Rock, and Dream Theater (a legendary American progressive metal band). The complexity of listening began to increase. I knew that John Peter Petrucci was this person ( John Peter Petrucci, founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater). We started to enter the loop of all things Rock Metal. My seniors listened to Trivium , so we listened to it too. We felt that it was good, it was cool. (Trivium is an American heavy metal band)

“The time when I really started to change was during Mathayom 4-5. I moved to study at Triam Udom Suksa School in Bangkok. A friend of a friend who was a student at Suankularb played John Mayer ’s “ Neon” in the karaoke room. When I heard it, it made me change my taste in music. It had an acoustic guitar feel, ding ding, ding, but it was a different feel from all the music I had listened to in the past 4-5 years. I can say that John Mayer was the first person who really inspired me. After that, it was blues rock like SRV ( Stevie Ray Vaughan ). Another person I really like is Philip Sayce ( Philip Sayce, Welsh guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor, and producer ).

In Thailand, there are many. Master Winai (Winai Trinatipakdi) and Phi Jack (Thammarat Duangsiri) are my inspirations who I used to study with. If it were about the same generation, I would say The Toys . He has great skill and a clear character. But if we talk about guitarists that I like at present, there are 2 people: Mean Thaitatsamit and Kong H3F. Their signatures are clear, their accents are clear, both in their sound and playing methods.”

And if there's a chance to perform with someone on stage? 

“John Mayer,”  Mai replied with a smile.

“But if it’s a Thai artist, “I want to play with Carabao.” I like the way they present meaning through Carabao songs. I’ve listened to a lot of Carabao songs. I went to the last concert. I like songs for life. I like songs that don’t talk about small images, just small feelings. I like songs that make the receiver, the consumer feel like they’ve gained something from life. Carabao’s songs are songs that have meaning. If I had the chance to be a part of a song with an artist, it would be Carabao.”

'MILE' Dream and A Part of 'MILE' Life

We all had dreams when we were kids, but not everyone can fulfill those dreams. Because dreams of “what do we want to be when we grow up?” “what do we want to do when we grow up?” may be just imaginary dreams. Because when we grow up, “dreams” tend to change over time, according to the context of society, according to what we see along the way. My dream is the same…

"When I was a child, I wanted to be a civil engineer." This is the dream of Pakphum Romsaithong.

“I remember having a relative who worked on road construction. He took us and his children to visit the dam. We saw the development from the laterite area and then saw it gradually develop until it was completed. So we thought about what kind of career could help our city in Kalasin grow. At that time, as a child, we also wanted to have fun, so we wanted to be a civil engineer.

When I started studying in Mathayom 4 in Bangkok, I felt that the vibe had changed. When I was in middle school, I went to school in the King’s class, got good grades, had many close friends, played music, and had activities with friends all the time. When I changed schools, I still couldn’t adjust myself. I studied a lot more. The subjects I studied were more intensive. I started to feel homesick. When I started to skip school a lot, I couldn’t keep up. Things started to go wrong. It made me start to isolate myself, talk to myself more, and see people’s nature more.”

“In the past, I liked to sit alone at bus stops, parks, or wherever people walked by every day for at least two hours a day. I sat mindfully, observed people’s behavior, and talked to strangers. People in the past were very charismatic. Many people talked to me even though we didn’t know each other. Some told me their stories, complained to me about this and that. I had no reason to do this at that time.”

Time makes us grow up and learn continuously. From Triam Udom Suksa School to the yellow and red walls of Thammasat University with the TU Sexy Boy stage that made both seniors and juniors open the warp to find out who 'Mai Phakphum' is and where he comes from.

“I used to think that I wanted to inspire people, but it doesn’t mean that we have to be great or anything. I just feel that being an inspiration to someone who is confused or lost, or being able to make someone who is straying in some way, bring them back to the center, to the point where they can balance, this is what we want to do, and we did it (smiles). 

Today, more people know us, whether it's international fans, younger people, or older people who may be in their 40s. I notice from the cards they write to me or the feedback when they send me DMs. I read them all the time. I may reply to some or not. What I see is what they reflect on how we inspire them. This is one of my dreams that I've seen take shape. I've made it happen and I want to keep doing it."

'MILE' Story of Pushing Through Bad Day

“Have you ever encountered anything difficult?” “Wow, a lot.”

“The more well-known something is, the more people expect it. This is a difficult thing. Even if we have a mindset that we can’t make everyone like us or change anyone’s mind, they say that life gets harder as we grow older. I think the difficulty lies in expectations.”

“The easy way is to let it go, let it go. But when the time comes, it’s hard to do that. It’s easy to say but very difficult to do because we are people who care about others and we think carefully. The best way is to try to stop inputting things, stop playing with our phones for a while, stop asking for opinions from others for a while while the problem is happening. Try to take a deep breath and stay here, in the present, come back to yourself, come back to talk to yourself, ask yourself what happened, what is the best case, what is the worst case. I do this and feel better. Even though the problem or stressful thing doesn’t go away, in the end it gets better.”

“I am lucky that my family is lovely and always behind me, no matter when I fall or encounter something difficult. But if I encounter something not too serious, I don’t tell them because I am afraid that they will worry. I will use a method like taking a nap. When we sleep, it is like resetting ourselves. Or changing the atmosphere, changing focus, or what they say to focus on breathing. At first, we didn’t understand, but when the time comes to try, when we focus on breathing in and out, really breathing in and out, the things that are floating, the things that are stressful, the extreme suffering, will get better. The nature of the human mind is to focus for only a split second and focus on one thing at a time. When we are forced to focus on breathing, whatever is floating will disappear. 

I learned this method when I was talking to a lot of people. One person talked about breathing exercises and I followed what he was saying. I felt better. When I went home and had a problem, I used this method. Hey!!! It helps. 

But in the end, I think everyone should have their own technique. For me, when I started to get to 30, I think that if we tune everything to be in moderation, in the middle, I think it makes us happy easily and it’s easier to move forward.”

The Art of Happiness in 'MILE' Moment

“Guitar, watch, record, wine glass, alcoholic drink”

“We have a bad habit. When we do something, we like to go all the way. We are like ducks who go all the way. When we reach a certain point, we will retreat. We are not experts, but we will understand the structure and then retreat. This is our habit.

All the things I mentioned, if we put them there, they will all be beautiful. Beautiful guitars, beautiful watches, beautiful glasses, beautiful alcohol bottles. Start with beauty first. When we touch them, we will find the next thing, which is what they give us, the form, taste, smell, sound, and so on. Then it will become a story. Story can fool us later. Everything I say will be like a rocket that gradually rises. Story is the last flower that makes the passion for that matter stronger. Like a first impression, I like beautiful things. I feel that even if I put it aside, in ten or twenty years, if we look back, it will still look the same. It has complexity and I think everything is a work of art. We like to consume art, but our art tends to go in this direction. Guitars are also art. They have their own stories, their own shapes. For example, guitars are relics that make them look old or painted in this or that color, which there are many. Or guitar amps, these are all charming. They give off a very personal sound. Vintage guitar amps can’t produce sounds that modern amps can’t. They have a certain sense, a tone, a character of sound, and a certain uniqueness that suits us.”

“If it’s an alcoholic drink, the way to make it enjoyable is like we understand if it’s a top nose or not, or we don’t need any principles at all. We drink it and feel that it gives us some imagination. Rum is one type, whiskey is another, bourbon is another, gin is another, and so on. So we spend a lot of time on these things. But I have to say that I’m not encouraging you to drink it (smiles).”

Vintage is 'MILE'

“Today, I’m dressing up a bit like this vintage style. I think vintage has a sense of timelessness. It has a sense of having its own character. It doesn’t have to follow anyone. It doesn’t have to change because the trend changes. But I will change when I want to change. Vintage is right here.

I think it’s similar to my personality. Actually, I am 100% myself. I am not someone who follows trends. But I have to study trends to work or change my look to follow trends as an actor or as a presenter. But deep down, I know what I like and dislike.”

“In terms of music, I think of Stevie Ray Vaughan ’s (SRV) song Lenny. It talks about an old guitar sound, a bit clear, a bit bluesy, but the guitar tone is the sound I’m describing. A vintage guitar sound is something like this.”

Green → Rose → 'MILE' → Greeny Rose

Why do you like green???

“At that time, I didn’t know what color I liked, but I probably liked it a lot because everything was green. I asked myself that question, but I couldn’t find the answer. Looking back, I only knew that the children’s dolls that we asked for or that we chose were green. They were Shin-chan dolls. Children like Shin-chan in green shirts. Even the first electric guitar that we secretly bought was green. The first amp cabinet, I didn’t know the sound, so I chose it based on the look. It was green felt. Everything was green.”

“I think green is a color that gives a feeling of comfort and is pleasing to the eyes. At the same time, it also has a coolness to it. It’s like a young man in his mid-teens who is starting to get older. He is calm, cool, and sharp but still, not loud. The cool thing about green is that there are so many shades. The green I like the most is olive green. Olive green and British green are British green, like MINI cars and BMW cars. Racing green are the two shades that I like. This is the charm of green for me.”

Tell us about Greeny Rose. 

“The green rose” represents composure, slowness, and calmness in making decisions. Seeing him makes you feel safe and comfortable. Why does it have to be a rose? Because the rose represents the feeling of love and passion at the same time, which is Love and Passion that is given to each other. When you put these two things together, it is a Greeny Rose. But there must be a condition that the rose that is given must be a rose that is willing to let go of each other’s thorns.”

“A rose that is willing to let go of its thorns means that it will compromise with both the giver and the receiver, and both of them will be happy.  Greeny Rose is a green rose that is willing to let go of its own ego thorns. So my meaning is that fandoms should not fight among themselves, or if we have something, we talk about it. The relationship in terms of fans will continue on forever.” 

Is the meaning too deep? Mai smiled and asked us back, then continued to tell us about 3 years of being impressed with Greeny Rose.

“ I think it’s a give and take, a mutual happiness , as I’ve always tried to tell everyone, whoever we meet, it’s a good time in life. And when we’re together, continuing to be together, nourishing each other is not just about taking or giving. That’s what I call a give and take, like a spinning top. We see fun, developing our relationship all the time. This is what I’ve always seen. Whatever we can do for him, be nice to him, do good work for him, respect him all the time as much as we can respect him. Whatever we can do, we do it all.”

“At the same time, Greeny Rose has sent us good feelings in various forms. Coming to the event, sending good feelings via social media, some are not in Thailand, they are abroad, posting to encourage me. I know they are still here, but some have withered, some have disappeared, but new ones have grown.”

“Lastly, whatever it is, I have to thank everyone, thank the fans, thank Greeny Rose , everyone who helped complete the experience, and gave and took together all along. In the past, I didn’t have many chances to thank you. I want everyone to take good care of their health. I want everyone to take good care of their hearts, their minds, and their bodies, both our own and those close to us.”

'MILE' Present is The Best Present

“Being alive now is the greatest gift in the world.”

“Being who we are, living here, is something we unpack and are happy about. And the box next to it that they gave us to live through is about family, about fans, about friends, about various desires, whether it’s a guitar, a record, or other things. The box that comes together to be Present 

Experience is like a grain of sand or a pebble, a stone that comes together. The Star is a big stone that lets us see how to work in the entertainment industry. And the most obvious thing is that we never thought we would become a star. Talking about this makes me feel shy (smiles). But now we can’t deny it. We ourselves used to be secretly confused about how we got to this point.”

In the final conversation, we asked Mai about the role of Kinn, the ill-tempered young man of the main family. What are the differences between Mai and Kinn? 

“Kinn is a size that is us, and then we expand on something more to give him. Love, possessiveness, thinking a lot about people he feels good with. Kinn and I are exactly the same (laughs). Both in the script, in the performance, and in terms of taste, we like it that way, whether it’s drinks, houses, lifestyles that are similar to what we like. But the difference is that I’ve never killed anyone (laughs). The second thing is that I feel that Kinn is too childish. When we’re children, we’re children, but we’re not that childish. But in the story, we expand on the cute side of Kinn’s personality.”

[randomvarious]

Today's compilation:

Siglo 21 3.0 2000 Downtempo / House / Alternative Pop / Trip Hop / Big Beat

Siglo 21 was a radio program that mostly specialized in contemporary electronic music and ran for about 25 years on Spanish national station Radio 3, beginning in 1996 and airing its final show in 2021. They seemed to play a blend of accessible major label-backed alt-popular stuff (think The Prodigy, Moby, Air, Massive Attack, etc.) along with both Spanish-made and Spanish-language music that fit their own scope as well. Plus, there was also a corresponding Siglo 21 compilation series that was launched by Virgin in '97 too, and this release from 2000 that I listened to today is the third installment from that series.

So, largely, what we have here is a pretty nice and eclectic slate of alt-electronic and dance tunes from the turn of the millennium that seems to reflect what the sound of the Siglo 21 show was back then. We've got alt-poppy darlings Goldfrapp, French club and lounge legend St Germain, worldly downtempo wardens Thievery Corporation, and the we-eat-nails-for-breakfast acid-breakbeat-industrial-techno duo of The Chemical Brothers, whose "Out of Control" features Bernard Sumner of New Order on vocals and has a definite 80s New Order touch throughout most of it too.

But in addition to a bunch of those alt-electronic household names who were being marketed successfully across multiple continents at the time, we also have some of that very cool Spanish and Spanish-language stuff that didn't really make many inroads in the more culturally dominant English-speaking parts of the world too; like a dope hip hop banger from Spain's own Mala Rodriguez called "Tengo un trato" that served as her own debut single; and something from Mexican alt rock-electronic duo Plastilina Mosh, whose "Human Disco Ball" makes for a fun and quirky piece of talkboxed-and-vocodered bass-zappy electro-house.

So, overall, a quality release here that seems to represent what Siglo 21 was once all about. A whole bunch of this album passes for something that you probably would've been more likely to hear from the BBC than anywhere else, but the infusion of Spanish music certainly helps to give this thing its own unique and distinguishing features, thus making for something that's thankfully not just primarily comprised of your typical y2k-era alt-electronic staples 🙏.

Highlights:

Goldfrapp - "Lovely Head" Hooverphonic - "Mad About You" St. Germain - "What Do You Think About..." Autour de Lucie - "Je Reviens" Thievery Corporation - "The Mirror Conspiracy" Utah Saints - "Lost Vaguness" Mala Rodriguez - 'Tengo un trato" Plastillina Mosh - "Human Disco Ball" Bentley Rhythm Ace - "Theme from Gutbuster" The Chemical Brothers - "Out of Control" Playgroup - "Make It Happen (Extended Dub)" [unlisted bonus track]