Nightmare Magazine (2009)
The Relic and I did an interview for Nightmare Magazine, which was available at the Nightmare Outdoor event in 2009. It was originally written in Dutch and you can download it here (PDF format):
Nightmare 2009 Interview
Mental Wreckage & The Relic, about: Symp.tom, Dual Mechanism & Nightmare Outdoor
You work a lot together and are also friends in every day life, how did you meet and how did you start collaborating?
Mental Wreckage:
That’s a long time ago, I believe somewhere around 2000. We met through the internet, because Maurice was busy restarting the FIX Records label, of which I was a huge fan. Later on, we met on music events a couple of times, got along quite well and started hanging out more often.
The Relic:
After a while we appeared to have the same vision on music, but also on everyday life. After the start of the Symp.tom label in 2004, our music became more similar and that’s how we started to collaborate, while maintaining our own identity and sound. Despite the large living distance (I live in Dordrecht and Lody lives in Hengelo), we chat and hang out quite often.
Mental Wreckage:
Besides our music collaborations, we had our first shared DJ-gig as Dual Mechanism last year and since then, it happens more oftenly that we get booked as a duo.
That’s a long time ago, I believe somewhere around 2000. We met through the internet, because Maurice was busy restarting the FIX Records label, of which I was a huge fan. Later on, we met on music events a couple of times, got along quite well and started hanging out more often.
The Relic:
After a while we appeared to have the same vision on music, but also on everyday life. After the start of the Symp.tom label in 2004, our music became more similar and that’s how we started to collaborate, while maintaining our own identity and sound. Despite the large living distance (I live in Dordrecht and Lody lives in Hengelo), we chat and hang out quite often.
Mental Wreckage:
Besides our music collaborations, we had our first shared DJ-gig as Dual Mechanism last year and since then, it happens more oftenly that we get booked as a duo.
How did you enter the world of industrial; did you already listen to it?
Mental Wreckage:
One day we saw an advertisement in a popular charts magazine saying: “Wanted: Industrial DJs”, so we cut out the coupon immediately and sent it in… hahaha! Nah, in the 90’s I mostly listened to hardcore, with a preference for the more monotonous and harsh stuff. Somewhere around the start of this decennium, hardcore went into another direction, to a style I didn’t like that much. I started looking for new things that were more to my liking and eventually I discovered a completely different corner of hardcore, which gave me a lot of inspiration and was eventually called ‘industrial hardcore’. I especially liked artists like Armageddon Project, N-Vitral, Rude Awakening and the new material from The Outside Agency. Mainstream hardcore is more about catchy and cheerful melodies and sample usage, while industrial hardcore focuses itself more towards percussion, drive and dark atmospheres. It’s not that I don’t like mainstream hardcore per definition anymore; there are still releases that I like, but industrial hardcore just suits me more.
The Relic:
I’ve always been fond of the alternative sound. I used to be a huge Ruffneck fan. I didn’t like most of the music of that time, with the exception of a few labels. With Ruffneck it was fairly simple; either you liked it or not. The FIX label was pretty much the same. Dark sounds in hardcore have always attracted me; labels like Cold Rush, Dance Ecstasy 2001, Ruffneck etc. That sound eventually evolved to the industrial sound, also because there are more cross-overs. Now with the internet, it’s easier to get in touch with so many more different kinds of music, which broadens your taste. It’s hard to say what industrial really is. For me, real industrial are releases from the Hymen label, Ant-Zen and the stuff you hear on Machinenfest events. I think industrial hardcore or alternative hardcore is a better name.
One day we saw an advertisement in a popular charts magazine saying: “Wanted: Industrial DJs”, so we cut out the coupon immediately and sent it in… hahaha! Nah, in the 90’s I mostly listened to hardcore, with a preference for the more monotonous and harsh stuff. Somewhere around the start of this decennium, hardcore went into another direction, to a style I didn’t like that much. I started looking for new things that were more to my liking and eventually I discovered a completely different corner of hardcore, which gave me a lot of inspiration and was eventually called ‘industrial hardcore’. I especially liked artists like Armageddon Project, N-Vitral, Rude Awakening and the new material from The Outside Agency. Mainstream hardcore is more about catchy and cheerful melodies and sample usage, while industrial hardcore focuses itself more towards percussion, drive and dark atmospheres. It’s not that I don’t like mainstream hardcore per definition anymore; there are still releases that I like, but industrial hardcore just suits me more.
The Relic:
I’ve always been fond of the alternative sound. I used to be a huge Ruffneck fan. I didn’t like most of the music of that time, with the exception of a few labels. With Ruffneck it was fairly simple; either you liked it or not. The FIX label was pretty much the same. Dark sounds in hardcore have always attracted me; labels like Cold Rush, Dance Ecstasy 2001, Ruffneck etc. That sound eventually evolved to the industrial sound, also because there are more cross-overs. Now with the internet, it’s easier to get in touch with so many more different kinds of music, which broadens your taste. It’s hard to say what industrial really is. For me, real industrial are releases from the Hymen label, Ant-Zen and the stuff you hear on Machinenfest events. I think industrial hardcore or alternative hardcore is a better name.
Lody, together with ‘Mute.’ you are the label managers of Symp.tom and had the honor to host the industrial area on Nightmare Outdoor. Was this the moment you’ve been living towards all year?
Mental Wreckage:
When we heard the news late last year, we were very enthousiastic. Since then I’ve been looking forward to it a lot. We tailored the line-up to fit the sound of our label as much as we could. Symp.tom was actually already linked to Nightmare Outdoor because of the Symp.toms compilation CDs that we release after each edition, and our own area would be a logical next step. I’m very happy that it happened and also hope this will make the label a bit more accessible to the audience – although you still have to appreciate this kind of hardcore.
When we heard the news late last year, we were very enthousiastic. Since then I’ve been looking forward to it a lot. We tailored the line-up to fit the sound of our label as much as we could. Symp.tom was actually already linked to Nightmare Outdoor because of the Symp.toms compilation CDs that we release after each edition, and our own area would be a logical next step. I’m very happy that it happened and also hope this will make the label a bit more accessible to the audience – although you still have to appreciate this kind of hardcore.
Maurice, can you describe the difference between your The Relic and Zanthrax aliases and under which name you rather play?
The Relic:
My first vinyl was released in 1998 under my Dark Earth alias. Before that, I was already using the Zanthrax alias for DJ’ing. The Relic came to existence when I produced for the FIX Records label; I was the only producer at that time and started using more aliases to maintain some variation. The first The Relic release on FIX Records 17 sounded quite different than the Zanthrax releases before that. On Symp.tom everything was released as The Relic, because I thought the name sounded better than Zanthrax. My different styles started to grow towards each other and sound more alike, so I eventually decided to stick with only one name, whether it’s hard techno, doomcore, darkcore, industrial hardcore, or acid – I think it is more recognizeable to use just one name. I only still use my Zanthrax alias for my weekly Ben Harder Radio Show.
My first vinyl was released in 1998 under my Dark Earth alias. Before that, I was already using the Zanthrax alias for DJ’ing. The Relic came to existence when I produced for the FIX Records label; I was the only producer at that time and started using more aliases to maintain some variation. The first The Relic release on FIX Records 17 sounded quite different than the Zanthrax releases before that. On Symp.tom everything was released as The Relic, because I thought the name sounded better than Zanthrax. My different styles started to grow towards each other and sound more alike, so I eventually decided to stick with only one name, whether it’s hard techno, doomcore, darkcore, industrial hardcore, or acid – I think it is more recognizeable to use just one name. I only still use my Zanthrax alias for my weekly Ben Harder Radio Show.
Can you describe some of each other’s good and bad traits?
The Relic:
Lody can be a little bit too perfectionistic every now and then. He can be working on a track for weeks and when it’s finished, he doesn’t like it anymore because he has heard it too often. A good trait is that he has a very unique sound, recognizeable in the type of kickdrums and drive.
Mental Wreckage:
I think Maurice sometimes produces a bit too fast. He can make loads of tracks in just a few weeks, but in my opinion they don’t sound ‘finished’ yet. I would put a bit more time in details and edits, for me that’s more important than the amount of tracks you make. A good trait of Maurice is that he can make a lot of different styles, which makes him very diverse.
Lody can be a little bit too perfectionistic every now and then. He can be working on a track for weeks and when it’s finished, he doesn’t like it anymore because he has heard it too often. A good trait is that he has a very unique sound, recognizeable in the type of kickdrums and drive.
Mental Wreckage:
I think Maurice sometimes produces a bit too fast. He can make loads of tracks in just a few weeks, but in my opinion they don’t sound ‘finished’ yet. I would put a bit more time in details and edits, for me that’s more important than the amount of tracks you make. A good trait of Maurice is that he can make a lot of different styles, which makes him very diverse.
What can we expect from Mental Wreckage & The Relic in the future?
Mental Wreckage:
A new Dual Mechanism release is coming. We’re also working on a cool remix project – one that I’ve been looking forward to for some years, but I’m not going to spoil anything yet. It will probably be around the end of this year. Furthermore a few more collaboration tracks with Moleculez, The Relic and some other artists are going to be released. Besides that I’m also working on a guest release for another label. I also have quite a few nice bookings for this year.
The Relic:
Many new productions from me as well as Dual Mechanism. I’m also finishing some tracks together with Moleculez and Lody, and there are some nice remixes coming. A lot of tracks are ready to be mixed. There are also some nice bookings. This will both be solo as well as together with Lody. I also hope to make a sequel to our “Symp.toms 4: Life Below 20Hz” Mix CD, since this one was received very well.
A new Dual Mechanism release is coming. We’re also working on a cool remix project – one that I’ve been looking forward to for some years, but I’m not going to spoil anything yet. It will probably be around the end of this year. Furthermore a few more collaboration tracks with Moleculez, The Relic and some other artists are going to be released. Besides that I’m also working on a guest release for another label. I also have quite a few nice bookings for this year.
The Relic:
Many new productions from me as well as Dual Mechanism. I’m also finishing some tracks together with Moleculez and Lody, and there are some nice remixes coming. A lot of tracks are ready to be mixed. There are also some nice bookings. This will both be solo as well as together with Lody. I also hope to make a sequel to our “Symp.toms 4: Life Below 20Hz” Mix CD, since this one was received very well.
You can find more info about Mental Wreckage, The Relic and Symp.tom at: www.symp-tom.nl
