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