Tragic comedy interview


Interview with Collide



How did you come together to work as Collide?

Statik: She stepped on my toe.

kaRIN: Purely by accident. Statik was working constantly in a studio. He finally had some free time and was going in to record one of his own songs that he had been working on. We were friends, and he knew that I had done vocals on other projects, so he called me up and asked if I wanted to come in and add some vocals to a song. So with about an hour to prepare, I put some vocals together and we recorded them. That song was "Dreams and Illusions", and from there we just continued, a couple of songs later, we realized we were working on something really important to both of us... so we never looked back.

Why did you chose to work with female vocals?

kaRIN: Because it was too hard for me to sing like a man =).

Statik: Like kaRIN said, when we started out, we weren't really starting a band totally on purpose...it just kind of happened, and kaRIN was the person doing the vocals, and I was the one doing the music....it wasn't really a choice, that's just the way it is.

How did you get your contract with Re-Constriction?

kaRIN: We did an interview for Industrial Nation and they suggested some labels to approach. We had never heard of Re-Con, so we sent a tape and Chase (quirky label slumlord), called us the next day. How do you write your songs, what instruments do you use?

Statik: We start in different ways...when I'm starting a song, I use my sequencer and my sampler. I have a Mac with Studio Vision Pro, and an Akai S-3200 sampler. I don't like to write with traditional instruments...I'll start out with a strange sound or rhythm and go from there...that's the beginning of it all...a sound kaRIN: I use my voice as an instrument, and usually I work with tape on machines (I love working with machines they never talk back and I have complete control). I like to dive in at the first moment as I hear the song so that I get my initial reaction, and then I develop and channel my subconscious in layers, sometimes the song goes through many metamorphoses before it is complete, and has several internal moods or meanings. My words are kind of abstract and often visual. I like my work to be open to individual interpretation.

How did you come up with the name Collide?

kaRIN: We thought long and hard about a name, and wrote down a page of them that did not quite fit- and then one day we were talking on the phone and thought about the name Collide. At the time, we worked separately in different cities, as well, although we have similar tastes, our approach to music is entirely different. For so many reasons the name seamed to work perfectly, so of course it stuck.

When will the next album come?

Statik: We are lucky because we are still not under any deadlines...and I think that's the way it should be when creating...creativity comes when it comes, and does not always conform to business deadlines. After finishing Distort, our remix album, I needed a few weeks to just sit back and not even think about music for a while. When I do start a new song, I like it to need to come out, I don't want to force it, so rather than going to the studio and saying "I need to do a song now", I want to go into the studio to work because I have an idea or the need to create something. We've started working on new material, but I have no idea when another albums worth of material will be written and mixed...hopefully by spring of next year.

How will it sound, how has your sound changed?

Statik: Like I was just saying, I won't really know how a song will sound till it comes out and makes it's way into the computer or onto tape. I like that about the way we work, and what we write. We just finished a version of Son of a Preacher Man for a compilation, and it turned out to be fairly heavy, with some distorted bits and heavy guitar...and then we can turn right around and go very ambient, like 95&7 or the Felix the Cat song we just did for TV Terror. The newest song we just started is very slow, and definitely different than anything that we have previously done...it's still Collide, but I don't like to box ourselves into one sound...that's the beauty of it.

kaRIN: We never know how any song will sound- we place absolutely no expectations on them and just let them unravel- I only know from experience that it takes a lot to satisfy each of us, so we are always trying to push a little further.

How did you come to choose music as a way of expression instead of painting, writing dancing etc.

kaRIN: I have always been artistic in one way or another-I feel like I need to create. As a child, I was overly sensitive, so I think I had to find some outlets or I would probably explode. Some of my other forms of expression include painting, designing, photography, and dancing. I find that although I appreciate all of these releases, my favorite one is definitely music. In lyrics, you can be particularly poignant and speak exactly of how you feel, and then through the actual vocals, I am attempting to play the emotions, and touch the core, or at least twist it.

What music do you listen to and what influences you?

Statik: It seems like there has been a bit of a dry spell for a while of new music that has really caught my ear. The last few days though, a few things came out that I like, Hooverphonic; the new Bjork is interesting; I like the new KMFDM, especially the song with Ogre singing; the new Portishead, although it hasn't hit me like their first album, I'm sure it will grow on me; although it came out a while ago, I did like parts of the Marilyn Manson CD too.

kaRIN: Although I am always exposing myself to new music, we don't always have time to just listen, any free time is spent working on our own music. Influences are gathered from all the experiences in my life. I am interested in the concept or reality, mind control and emotional conflict.

What will happen next, any tour?

kaRIN: Suspense, mystery- that's what keeps it interesting. As for touring- right now we don't have enough time to create which is our first priority