Endzeit Bunkertracks (Act VII) powered by Side-Line (Part 11/Final Part: Llumen)
Interview of Llumen: a new Belgian revelation?
The new volume of “Endzeit Bunkertracks” (the 7th already, available right here) will be released once again as a deluxe 4CD carton box featuring 68 songs mixing dark-electronics, EBM, dark-electro-pop and related genres. The box also contains an extended 32 page booklet masterfully designed by Japanese designer Tomoki Hayasaka. Next to the 4CD there also is a bonus download card giving you access to some 50 additional songs! Side-Line once again has been asked by Alfa-Matrix to recommend some interesting artists. That’s why we decided to power this new volume by featuring 10 short interviews of bands that you’ll discover on this new volume plus an extra interview by the “Endzeit Bunkertracks” instigator Séba Dolimont.
(by Stéphane Froidcoeur aka DP)
SL: You’ve been introduced by Alfa-Matrix as being one of the new ‘promising discoveries’ so what does it mean to you to get featured at this compilation?
Llumen: Being among the ‘promising discoveries’ on this compilation truly is an honour. Even though there’s a vast amount of music to discover these days through the internet, I sometimes think it’s far more difficult to stand out as a band. It often seems like there’s an assumption of quality by the amount of likes your Facebook profile gets rather than the music you make. While the general public is of course the most important audience to reach, being recognized by those involved in the industry for many years is an important milestone too.
SL: Tell us a bit more about your band and the main purposes behind Llumen?
Llumen: I started Llumen many years ago after the hiatus that followed the slow death of my previous project. I was a bit bored with the electro industrial scene back then and wanted to experiment more with sound and installations. However, I found myself divided between two worlds; at the one hand doing the very experimental stuff is great but I missed making songs too. So this is when I started Llumen as a hybrid of many styles but true to my mentors. So in my music there’s a lot of Suicide Commando meets Haujobb meets FLA and Skinny Puppy (among others). I try to stay current, but I guess there will be an recognizable old-school quality too.
SL: I think you’ve been already involved in other projects before Llumen so what was it all about and how do you look back at these years?
Llumen: My first project, together with some friends, was SAD CBA, it was similar to Llumen, but more basic as we had to do with hardware samplers and synths and didn’t have all these plugins back then. We had some success and played on Eurorock and opening for Project Pitchfork on their “Dominion”-tour in Ghent. I’ve got a psycho-acoustic project IichTraum with Peter De Koning where we experiment a lot that really needs to get out of hibernation, and I make art installations that always include sound in a profound way. The experimental stuff makes that I don’t feel the urge that much to experiment with Llumen and can concentrate on making good songs, although experiments in sound design, interactive visualizations etc do blend in from time to time especially when Llumen plays live.
SL: In, which way can a famous sampler series like “Endzeit Bunkertracks” help you to get a wider recognition and a push to your career?
Llumen: As already mentioned before, I think it’s important to have your music heard and compilations help tremendously. When I was young, we bought CD’s because they were in the same category as let’s say The Klinik or Nitzer Ebb and had cool artwork. You didn’t know the bands and had a quick listen in the store, you bought the CD with the firm believe that you were the first to make this great discovery! Nowadays this process is less mythical with auto suggestions on spotify, band camp, itunes etc. But great compilations still remain a gateway for many to get introduced to new bands. Being on a compilation with such a history speaks for itself, especially if you’re that old to remember the history of the people behind EB ( for example: I was introduced to Mildreda, now a close friend, by a compilation I got from you on my 16 or 17th birthday at a Fuze Box Machine concert). With the response to my previous compilation contribution on Alfa-Matrix in mind, I’m very eager for this release!!
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
