Fractured

The Electro/Industrial act Fractured was a long time one of Canada’s best kept secrets and was considered one of the best unsigned acts atseveral online forums. With the signing now to the new sub-label of the German Dependent (www.dependent.de), NTP (www.noiseterrorproductions.com), led by Johan van Roy of Suicide Commando, this act begins to fulfill its potential professionally. Fractured just released “Only Human Remains” a real masterpiece on this label, which received worldwide respect and appreciation. So the time is right to introduce this act with this interview… 

Chain D.L.K.: Nick, you have created your debut “Contami-Nation” on your own, but now for your first release under the wings of a label you added two musicians. Please introduce them to us. How big is their influence in musical aspects when you create new tracks for Fractured? What’s happened with Christian Bankes who did some compositions for your new CD “Only Human Remains”, why isn’t he still included?
Fractured: While working on the first few tracks I wrote for “Only Human Remains” I met Famine, who had just moved to Toronto from Winnipeg. We were introduced by Justin Tripp of Re_agent and started talking about music. The first night we sat down and wrote together, “Contain” was born whichmade it onto the Septic V compilation. Also “Contain” was a debut of Morgana who was unfortunately not included in the credits on the disc. Morgana plays live keys and vocals and Famine is doing live percussion. Christian Bankes contributed to OHR by writing “One More Time”, and “Becoming One”. Unfortunately he lives in the southern United States, which makes practicing and working on music hard with the vision I had of Fractured playing live. He is currently working on a demo, which I amgoing to be mixing and mastering. And who knows you might see him again on the next Fractured disc.

Chain D.L.K.: You have found your home with the German Dependent label, but the signing was a bit surprising. Why a German label instead to take a look at your home country, Canada? How much influence has had the newly founded NTP side label to get this deal?
Fractured: I agree that the Dependent signing was surprising, I’m still a bit shocked myself. I have actually never sent out a ‘demo’ to any labels. A friend I had made over in Germany, Andreas Kemerle, passed a CDR to Stefan Herwig of some bands which he liked and knew personally.He liked some of the tracks and asked for more. About a week later was when “Contain” was written and passed on. A few days following I received an email from Dependent and we had a 4:30 time limit for the track hence the “edit”. As for the NTP side label, that was something which came right at the very last minute before the disc going to print.

Chain D.L.K.: Would you also agree that your winning remix for the :WUMPSCUT: remix contest and your exclusive appearance on the Septic V compilation did help a lot for the Dependent deal?
Fractured: I would definitely agree with you that it did help.. I don’t know if Stefan Herwig has actually heard the remix I did for :W: but I’m sure that did help. That remix was actually the first remix I ever did. Once Septic came out, Dependent asked for us to send our demo tracks of the disc and the last 9 months has been a mad scramble to get everything done, haha.

Chain D.L.K.: Your new CD “Only Human Remains” is out now, but to my surprise I could read in an online forum that a few people liked your debut “Contami-Nation” a bit more. Do you have an explanation for this?
Fractured: Well, I knew this was going to be some of the reaction. In the last 2 years my electronic music tastes have really diversified and expanded farther than just Industrial, EBM and Synthpop. I think that this new disc is a million times higher quality than my demo was. The demo was just a demo, and I was too afraid to experiment and do what I wanted to do creatively. I was locked into being a “Hellektro” band, when really I don’t think that is my identity or the identity of Fractured. I really am striving for quality here, and I know that a lot of people wont like it at first, but I believe my music is something that will grow on you, there are so many small nuances in there for people willing to give it a good listen on headphones. I still really enjoy stompy music, but I can’t write an entire album of it.

Chain D.L.K.: Some social criticism seems to be a favorite theme for your lyrical content, but most of course in your opener “What is the Moment of Truth”. The spoken words in this track are done and performed by It-Clings. While other bands would mainly search for some cool vocal samples you have used this spoken words. Why?
Fractured: I first saw It-Clings do spoken word for Pneumatic Detach in Montreal, Quebec for the COMA 2 Festival. I was kind of intrigued by it. Later I saw him perform with s:cage and a local Toronto band DYM. I met him through Morgana and we all started hanging out together. We (Fractured) did a performance with him in Quebec City and it went really really well. So well that I decided to have him do an intro track for the disc. He is AMAZING live, so if you have the chance to see him do it!!

Chain D.L.K.: What else would you consider to be a driving force behind the music and the lyrical content behind Fractured?

Fractured: I think that the concepts will change for each album. “Only Human Remains” was about human concepts, emotions and situations. Even though it’s kind of a dark-sounding disc, it’s always something I think people can relate to lyrically.

Chain D.L.K.: A nice and often used effect in your tracks are the “stuttering interceptions”. Would you say that this is a typical trademark of your music?
Fractured: I think that it would be a typical trademark of that album. I’ve noticed a lot of plug ins lately which mimic the same effects which I have programmed by hand so that’s a small indication that there is a wave of this coming soon. Famine is really amazing at these sort of innovative ideas and we mix our ideas and make new ideas. I think that the IDM flavors will really be a trademark in the future.

Chain D.L.K.: How do you globally review this “Hellektro/Terror-EBM-thing”? People often try to sort in acts without any further sense, so maybe also Fractured could fall into this…
Fractured: The hard EBM sound is what really got me listening to electronic music in the first place. I really love bands like Tactical Sekt and Suicide Commando, and also a new band which I really like isControlled Collapse which will be released through NTP. I don’t believe that Fractured really falls under that umbrella anymore. The music has changed a lot and I think that we have really developed our own style as a unique sound. 

Chain D.L.K.: Now with the help of a German label, how is it with some live performances in North America as well as in Europe? How does a Fractured gig look for all those who can’t see you on stage?
Fractured: We just finished two shows for our release parties in Ontario, I would like to take a break for a while and work on practicing hard and developing the stage show and create projections. On stage it’s Morgana on keys, Famine on electronic kit & other toys and I do vocals.

Chain D.L.K.: Maybe a bit early to ask for, but… do you have already some plans for upcoming releases? Any new stuff in sight, any other works like remixes which you can announce here?
Fractured: Well, currently we are working on a disc for Luminess, which Morgana sings, and I do programming. Famine has started helping as well,and I hope we can have it mostly finished for early 2006. As for remixes, the Headscan singles of “Lolife” have remixes by Famine and I on each single, we also just finished a remix for The Azoic, and we’re working on a mix for Controlled Collapse as well as a few other bands on the plate to remix.

Chain D.L.K.: Any final words you would like to tell us here…?
Fractured: Thanks very much for the interview, we hope to make it over to Europe in the next year – maybe for some festivals.

[interviewed by Marc Tater] [proofreading by Brandon L. Clark]