Ash Code Interview by Kris Hex
(arrangements for the interview made by DJ Jason)
“Hailing from Italy, this dark trio combine the best of dark synth, darkwave and the more eerie varieties of electro to bring something unique ina musical landscape otherwise overrun with mindless pop, musicians that don’t write their own songs and social & political changes that have everyone constantly on edge.”
1. Hi guys, just to do the typical generic introductions, mind telling the readers your names and what you do in the band?
Alessandro: Hi, we’re Ash Code, a 3 piece darkwave band. I program drums, bass amps and I sing, Claudia takes care of synths, melodies and sometimes sings while Adriano plays the Fender bass VI.
2. Ok to get out the gate, in the description of the bands “Posthuman” release, it’s mentioned that a good bit of the lyrical content is based around how man doesn’t control nature but is a part of it, that with the changing of technology and new innovations, the role of humanity in the order of things is shifting, does that include the changes we’ve wrought with global warming, the fact that so many people seem to have their faces glued to computers and an increasing need to re-evaluate our connection to the world as a whole?
Claudia : of course, your question is understandable, the issue is also based on this . Thanks also to our research, we thought a lot about how everything has changed in recent decades, obviously this has brought a renewed discussion, man must re-think his position in the world and especially his role . We think the concept of “being human” must be reconsidered , from a political , social and ethical point of view . This argument has strongly inspired our music.
3. I’ve noticed the re-emergence of synths as a dominant instrument in darker acts these days as opposed to the old days where the presence of a live drummer was the big sticking point and added guitars, the set up the band has works very well and has a lovely hypnotic effect, was this a conscious decision as far as musical arrangements go or was it just something that happened organically?
Alessandro: After many years playing in different bands with standard line-ups we tried to find the best one for us. It would be great to add real drums to our songs but I personally find it very difficult to relate with a drummer and in this moment it would be very expensive to tour with another musician…Anyway I love this set, basically it’s electronic music but we try to play instruments “live” as much as possible.
4. The band has been extremely active and I saw that you played the Wave Gotik Treffen as well, they’ve been doing a great job giving the best of the up and coming acts a stage to perform, did they contact you or did you write someone on the committee for the festival expressing interest in playing? I’m still a bit hazy on the exact process when it comes to band selection for the roster.
- Adriano: last year we were lucky to play in a lot of great festivals like WGT 15 , NCN and Entremuralhas , We received the invites directly in our inbox mail or on our page on Facebook. It would be easier and less stressful if we had a strong booking agency behind us, we hope in the next future it will be possible…
5. I saw that the band is releasing work through Manic Depression Records and Swiss Dark Nights, I’ve interviewed several artists from their catalogues, I imagine it must be nice to work with someone who will release music from acts that are tired of doing the same old thing, they seem very progressive in their tastes judging by the times I’ve perused their back catalogues.
- Claudia: We were very lucky to find them, Valerio (Swiss Dark Nights’ boss) is a nice and honest guy and it’s very important to find a kindred spirit when it comes to this kind of thing. Manic Depression Records released our works on vinyl and it’s another great label that is very active in the scene, you can find them in every festival around Europe.
6. I’ve spun a few of your tracks in Houston, TX and people seem to respond very well, in particular, Nite Rite does very well and it’s gotten some new people to check out “Posthuman”, have you gotten feedback from any other DJ’s on people’s perceptions of the album?
- Claudia: Since the day one we received a ton of positive feedback from DJ’s from all over the world. DJ’s are the best promotion for a band like us and we have to say a big “Thanks” to all of them. They play our songs in the parties and to new people so that (also thanks to the use of shazam) they can become aware of our music .
7. I saw that Nite Rite had a remix out done by Ashe Ruppe of Delphine Coma, did he contact you about working with the track or had you heard some of his prior musical output and decided you would be interested in a collaboration?
- Alessandro: It was very easy…we’re friends on facebook and we tried to do something together and it worked very well!
8. What upcoming shows do you have coming up? Any in the U.S.? I know it’s a pain right now due to the high costs of travel and the visas now for performers have gotten outrageously expensive.
- Adriano: A lot of fans write us from U.S and we receive weekly requests from South America and U.S. bookers, as you said it’s not very easy, you need to play a lot of gigs in a row. It’s a hard plan but we hope to play very soon outside Europe.
9) Lastly, anything you would like to impart to the readers and listeners?
- Claudia: Don’t stop to listening to new stuff and please support independent bands, it’s a very small scene but with the passion and love of everybody we can grow!
Listen to Ash Code and buy their Posthuman album on Bandcamp
