In the midst of attempting to review INDeX's third full-length album, Faith in Motion, I realized what a daunting task lay before me. While reading the freshly-scripted review, I realized that the hypertextural industrial soundscapes blasting from my speakers could not be adequately reduced to mere words. Faith in Motion stands as one of the very few albums to successfully explore the fertile but perplexing landscape of postmodern industrial. In its renegotiation of traditional musical forms, typical song structures have been replaced or significantly altered, leaving in its place something that is complex, exciting, and - dare I say it - new. I was, of course, more than pleased when the interview questions that were answered by the musical mastermind behind INDeX, Eric Chamberlain, corroborated many of my theories. INDeX is industrial music that transcends industrial music...hypertextual and hypertextural, the sonics of the album is a collage where every piece serves an integral purpose, and every purpose can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. It tickles the imagination with a thick sound that is laden with subtleties, yet easy to appreciate at a single sitting. Faith in Motion is more than just a CD - it is lyrics, artwork, music, and the reaction that it provokes in its audience. Chaotic Critiques: I am amazed at the way in which Faith in Motion seems to have been conceived of as a full album, rather than just a grouping of songs - everything from the album's title and cover art to the lyrics and music fits together. Did you write Faith in Motion with any conceptual threads in mind? Eric Chamberlain: I wanted Faith in Motion to have an organic feel to it and that starts with the first thing people see: the cover. The cover is exactly what I wanted because it's not just a painting; it's also made of bits and pieces of things that already exist, and there's a lot going on in the image. My music has a lot going on in it and, just like the cover, is made of various different musical ideas. So, having an overall organic feel while using mixed media was a very basic idea. Figuring out how to do that with electronic instruments was the challenge. To make it real. I would almost say that I wanted a dirty sound, but without putting distortion on everything. Some songs make references to other songs; sometimes it's a sound, maybe a lyrical phrase, or maybe the whole flavor of another song. For example, "Paradive" and "Ne Plus Ultra" don't sound anything alike, but lyrically they have a similar flavor in the way they are descriptive. They are both surreal, but other songs are more...what I'm saying [in the songs] is more obvious, and the topics of individual songs lead to the overall topics of the album, which is first represented by the album cover. Aside from the basic sound of the album, the active ingredient is the point that we're running out of time to make positive changes, on an individual and societal level. I don't make the point obviously, but the first and last songs tell you that there are some things in this life which could be more positive. We will reach a point where we will be overcome by our own stupidity - it's already happening now. But if we recognize what the real problems are we can solve them before it's too late. That's what I want people to get. If each song was a word and together they made a sentence, what would it be? That's something people have to decide for themselves. I wanted to make music that people could talk about. CC: The title of the album, Faith in Motion, can be taken in a lot of different ways. How did you come up with this title, and what do you believe that its significance is? EC: Since I wanted my music to be about something important, it just dawned on me that there isn't a bigger topic to tackle than religion or politics; what people believe in, what people will die for. It fascinates me that, in spite of all the reasons we have as people to work together, we find ways of fighting over lesser things; over things that don't even exist....The title signifies what things like religion cause people to do, like have false hope, discriminate against the different, start wars - any of this ring a bell, people? That is faith which is in motion. But hopefully there will be change so we have Faith in Motion itself, because if we stand still in any way, we will stagnate and die. Again, it's how you interpret it. CC: Literature, politics, and other fields have sought to separate the modern from the postmodern in recent years. In music, such a division really hasn't been made, but I hear a lot of what I conceive of as musical postmodernism in Faith in Motion. For example, the way that you reconceptualize sonic space by making use of advanced technology, and also the way in which your music is similar to postmodern textual deconstruction, where the perspective of the audience is important in developing meaning and the subtleties and gaps in the narrative become increasingly important. Would you agree with any of this? Would you consider INDeX a postmodern band? EC: Yes, I do [consider INDeX a postmodern band], especially the part about the importance of the audience. I don't write music for myself, conceptually. The way it sounds to me is what I want, obviously, but I try to understand how people think and that determines, aside from the subject of a song, how I compose a song. That's something that I'm really going to get into on the next album, which is titled Ultra Hard Shadow. It's something that helps me stand out. Even though there are aspects in my music that you hear elsewhere, mine are created with a different point of view. Every part of a song of mine has a function; nothing is gratuitous. I know that sounds conceited but it's true. That's really where I'm trying to develop; I don't want to just go through the motions of doing what I already know. And the next album will be written with these things in mind. Faith In Motion really only touched on that level, as far as post modernism, but Ultra Hard Shadow will really be a big step for me in that area. I will constantly try to stay one step ahead of stagnation, and the longer I do this the better I'll become at going beyond any trends. CC: How would you describe INDeX's progression over the years? In what ways do you feel that Faith in Motion differs from your past albums? EC: INDeX has developed within a certain style and, over the years, I've tried to slowly incorporate different aspects of other music. I did that on this album, but it's only a small step so far. I have a lot to learn. Black Light Twilight was the big step, I think, because it was the first CD I did by myself, and I really took advantage of the fact that I had complete creative freedom. That album is my baby. In some ways it's my favorite because it was the first time I was on my own and that's what I came up with; it's totally honest. I reached inside and that's what came out. Since I had comfortably established myself, I tried to figure out how to improve on what I knew at the time. Rather than having the arrogance to make a completely different album and say "Look what I can do!" I decided to try to get better at what I was doing because I always have room for improvement. Faith in Motion is more subtle; everything adds up to one thing now. It's not just a bunch of sounds that happen to be in the same song. Also, the same variety is still present on Faith in Motion but I'm getting better at making it all fit together. CC: I noticed the anti-Nazi symbol on the CD booklet and was wondering if you could give some details on your anti-fascist stance? Are you very political? In what ways does this manifest itself in INDeX's music? Have your lyrics grown more or less political over the years? EC: That attitude came from a history class a long time ago. I was just starting to understand politics a little bit, and the teacher starts telling us about WWII. When it came to the Nazi party I just asked "Why?" Sure, people have and always will try to conquer others: that's a part of reality we practically take for granted. But, for the sake of taking over Europe, how does killing millions of Jews help your goal? If Hitler hadn't done that he would've simply been looked upon as another ambitious leader who happened to be at war with our allies. Now, though, he's [considered to be] the Antichrist. So I tried to investigate what fascism really was, and I found that it's different on paper than it is in reality. It exalts the nation, or the state, above individuality. But wait a minute. We make young American kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school, and they don't know what it means: they're too young. Yet we drill somebody else's ideas into their heads before they're wise enough about life to make their own decisions about things, which is the freedom that Americans are supposed to have, the individuality that fascism takes away. By programming their brains before they can effectively think for themselves we are defeating the entire notion of freedom of thought....Instead of teaching our children to make their own decisions when they grow up, we are teaching them to obey. Anyway, I discovered that a belief in racial superiority is not always a part of fascism, but that's what comes to mind when people think of fascism, because of the most famous fascist part, the Nazi Party. The perception of reality is more real than the original item. I'm not saying that fascism is a good thing, but I am saying that people owe it to themselves to learn what something really is, not just what somebody else says it is. CC: The programming on Faith in Motion is really active, yet smooth at the same time - do you have any goal in mind when developing the programming for a song? What would you identify as the most distinctive aspects of your style? EC: I like things to flow, but in an unnatural way, so that, although the sounds and sequences sound unnatural, they still make sense. I would hope my distinction is hard sounds mixed with pretty melodies to create a tension or a balance, but if anyone disagrees it's okay because I want people to draw their own conclusions. CC: Is there any aspect of INDeX's sound or lyrics that tends to get overlooked or misinterpreted? EC: I [have] had to deal with the reaction to the cover art, but that was expected. There's a picture of an angel embracing a swastika and people wanted to know what it meant, or whether or not I was a Nazi. I've even been asked if I was a Satanist, but I am none of those things. The combining of Nazi imagery and religious symbolism was meant to show the similarities in thought between these two types of organizations; specifically and bluntly to the point, if you're not a member of the club then you're considered inferior. Both ideals show an archaic way of thinking, one that is outdated and eventually defeated by bigger minds who understand the necessity for humans to advance socially and to adapt to an ever changing world. Also, I received a letter from this guy who said he wanted to "go blow stuff up" when he read my lyrics. Now, I'm flattered that I evoked a response but I am not encouraging violence. If you have some dark deed that needs to be done, it's your own decision. But don't quote me when you're being questioned by the authorities. CC: When you began writing and recording the new album, were you consciously trying to do anything differently than before? EC: I have been trying to develop INDeX within a certain style, trying to get better at it. I wanted to explore new ideas while still keeping it accessible to the fans. I don't think making every album completely different is the way to go; I think it's more of a challenge to see how I can make one flow into the other smoothly and still develop significantly as an artist. As I mentioned before, I am slowly trying to become more subtle because if I can manage to do that I'll be a better musician, one who's able to get the ideas across more efficiently. CC: 1998 and beyond. INDeX. Industrial music. Predictions? EC: Right now I'm completing my side project, the name of which I am undecided [it will be called Skylash - ed.]. It is very pop oriented, with a lot of instrumental stuff. I'm really happy with it so far....I've also been working on material for a film being done in Los Angeles, and that's a big deal to me because it's a first step towards what will hopefully be a solid career in film and television. But no matter what works out I will always continue INDeX and whatever other projects I have. Industrial? Hmm... Whether it's called industrial, electro, whatever, I think the potential is good, but no matter what scene you're in, the music has to be original to some extent....The problem with a lot of post industrial stuff is that lots of bands are sounding the same. Now listen, I'm not knocking these bands; I like the style, but if you want to get further you're going to have to find some individuality. In further defense of these bands, just because something sounds old doesn't mean it's bad and just because something sounds new doesn't mean it's good. But most people don't think that way, do they? The most successful artists will be the ones who push the envelope because they're giving people something different rather than the same old thing. That's my prediction. Contact Index c/o Cop International, 981 Aileen St., Oakland, CA 94608; http://www.copint.com.

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