‘Click Interview’ with The Force Dimension: This Was Completely New To Me And Challenging’
The Force Dimension is without a shadow of a doubt the most famous Electronic band from The Netherlands. Set up by René Van Dijck in the late 80s, the self-titled debut album (recorded as the ‘Red Version’), released in 1989 became an instant success. The music was labeled as EBM. The Force Dimension got signed to the legendary KK Records. After the debut album they released “Deus Ex Machina” in 1990. We next had to wait till 2017 to see the band releasing the album “Machinesex” on Daft Records followed by the self-released “Sorcery Pigs” in 2018. This year René Van Dijck strikes back with a new album released on Sonic Groove. “Mortal Cable” is hard to label, different from other albums, but it’s a great and minimal creation mixing elements of EBM, Techno and pure Minimal-Electro. I’d a chat with René.
(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: Thirty two years are separating your very first self-titled debut album and your newest full length “Mortal Cable”. Can you compare both albums with each other and how much of the early Force Dimension-sound and way of working do you still recognize in “Mortal Cable”?
René: It is not so easy to compare as each album has its own -so to say- soul, spirit or energy. I am 32 years older so my mind and way of composing has changed as well. But instrument-wise there is a big difference: the instruments from KK020, the first album, are totally absent in “Mortal Cable”, which is fully composed on 1 laptop, 1 notebook (for the lyrics) and 1 singer, me. Very minimal!
Q: The Force Dimension belongs to the history of EBM. What does that music style mean to you today and what’s your perception of contemporary Electro-Underground music?
René: I have nothing with boxes, niches or pigeonholes like EBM or whatever name you give to some kind of music. I listen to songs or to bands, to artists, not to styles. I have no notion of contemporary Electro-Underground music. I do not know.
Q: Over now to “Mortal Cable”! What have been the sources of inspiration to compose this work (sound- & lyrical wise) and what kind of album did you’d in mind?
René: My inspiration sources are in my life, what I experience or what I feel or think at the moment when I make a song. I improvised a lot when composing for that album. So I had no idea in mind what was coming out or would be the result. I listen to a lot of music, to a lot of artists and bands, all kinds of styles and maybe that influenced me on a subconcious level.
Q: How did the album took shape? What have been the different stages you’d to go through to achieve “Mortal Cable”? What instruments and programs did you use and did you encounter major difficulties and/or challenges in the production?
René: In most of the songs I started with the rhythm, mostly danceable. Then I started improvising melodies and singing the lyrics. I only use Cubase to make music and I use my vocals of course. The lyrics are in most of the cases also improvised. I use a lot of automatic writing and composing, to let my intuition speak. The difficulty in making this album in my home studio was making it with good EQ-levels and mastering. But it turned out quite ok…I hope.
Q: “Mortal Cable” sounds to me as an artist who reinvented his own sound; still pretty vintage-like, but also deeply minimal-sounding and with some extra Techno elements on top. What does this album mean to you and how would you compare it with previous releases?
René: For me the album, like all songs I create, is a kind of expression for my feelings, ideas and so on. Because of this, the album stands on its own. It is in that sense difficult to compare “Mortal Cable” with previous releases. I did this album mostly on my own and by myself, in contrast with the other albums, which were collaborations with Betty, Tycho and Armin. So this was completely new to me and challenging.
Q: Music clearly is a perfect remedy for a lot of music lovers to forget the ongoing pandemic. What’s your personal experience about the question and what’s the impact on your activities? How do you expect things evolving?
René: It is hard to say anything on what people experience when listening to music. It is a personal thing in the end. I have no expectations on how things will evolve in the future. But I hope the world will get better soon.
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