Cyanotic is an American Industrial band based out of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 2002, with the releases of initial
EP Bonding Through Violation (2003) & Transhuman (2005 & a re-lease in 2006) they fostered a growing fan-base &
respect among peers in the underground music community. They made it evident that when they were established
they also a manifested a new place and haven for sensory over-stimuli.
There’s one commonality in each album, each song, it’s an acute infiltration of raw feelings, personal experiences & statements. The music escapes being any one singular genre. There’s a brutal tinge to the air the screams
consume, the words are enunciated by conviction and on edge. The mind is riled alert, there are non-stop triggers
from the noise, surging rhythm, straightforward feelings. It’s all pinned back to back against volatile electronics,
elements of rock, metal & drum n’ bass. The music mirrors a genuine indifference for dull comforts in life, like
playing it safe, monotonous song structure, repetitive flat lyrical content. The newest release The Medication
Generation in 2010, received exceedingly positive reviews across the board both in metal & Industrial oriented
media.
For those not familiar with Cyanotic, can you please give us a brief overview & insight into the name?
Cyanotic is the medical definition of turning blue from lack of oxygen. We are a panic-prone group and the
midwest is our home. We have been making music, going on tours, producing other bands and operating our Glitch
Mode Recordings imprint for the better half of the 2000s.
We like making mutant hybrids of electronic music and other genres. We don't like the current state of music. We
like where its heading though.
What was it that prompted you to begin this project?
A lifelong love for futurist culture.
What shaped the band's identity & signature sound?
It was the 80s sci-fi movies that I grew up watching. The film scores in a lot of those movies, like Terminator or
Blade Runner, are really driven by energetic electronic noises. My little kid brain really liked those abrasive
machine noises.
My big interest in life was always movies, whether it was reading about movies or making my own movies, thats
what I put a lot of effort into until I heard bands using those machine noises from childhood. I was in awe.
Are there any musicians/bands that you feel helped you develop your artistic identity?
I first heard electronic/industrial music in my early teens, on Chicago radio during the mid 90s. There was a 4-hour
industrial music show, Zoltar's Industrial Zone, that would be on Q101 every Saturday night from 10pm-2am. I had a
cassette box full of tapes I would record. I had like 20 radio mixtapes with all this amazing shit like Cubanate,
Skinny Puppy, Acumen Nation, KMFDM, 16 Volt, Front Line Assembly, Nine Inch Nails. Hearing all that music was a
definitive life-changing event.
How would you classify the band's sound?
Whenever I start a song, the primary inspiration is usually to make a soundtrack to something like Fight Club, but if
Fight Club took place in 2080.
The Medication Generation has received positive reviews and a great amount of attention since it’s release,
however there has also been speculation over the title, album art & content. Can you explain what the work
means to you & what you were attempting to convey?
Its about society and all the different ways to cope with living in a constant state of over-stimulation. Its about
drugs and the media and living vicariously through technology. Personally, it comes from what was happening in my life after we released Transhuman 2.0, about watching friends
become addicts, about overloading, panic attacks, the stress incarnate.
Cyanotic also releases compilation discs featuring remixes of well-known & respected industrial & electronic
artists, as well as show-casing relatively new talent. What made you decide to do this?
Compilations were helpful for finding a lot of the bands that were really influential in my life. Its always been a
focus to help promote other bands we enjoy, to foster a sense of unity, something that was prevalent with labels
like Wax Trax, when underground music had purpose and direction.
Are you involved in any additional band projects?
There's always a couple in the works. I have been in mega overload work mode finishing up the sequel to the
Cyanotic Presents Gears Gone Wild compilation, and then there's been a lot of production work and remixes
for a bunch of different bands lately.
Aside from all that, we are finishing up tracks for television/video games, working on new Cyanotic demos and
starting to do a lot more video editing for other bands.
What upcoming project releases can we anticipate? Solo & with other artists?
There's going to be a bunch coming out over the next few months. I just co-produced, mixed, mastered and
engineered the full album for my buddies in The Prep School Tragedy. That will be out very soon. Gears Gone Wild:
Spring Break will be out around the same time in October.
There's also Stabbed5x, which is slow, heavy, crushing stuff, thats starting to come together really easily. Thats a
collaboration between JP from Rabbit Junk/The Named [ex-The Shizit], Tony from mindFluxFuneral and myself.
What artists have been significant influences in your life?
At the top would be Acumen Nation/DJ? Acucrack... that whole Cracknation imprint. Those guys, especially Jamie
Duffy and Jason Novak, have been the ass-kicking mentors since our very humble beginnings.
Rabbit Junk/The Shizit... just JP Anderson in general.
The guys from MindFluxFuneral. Good guys to produce music with.
Was there a pivotal moment in your life that spurred your desire to begin producing music?
It was the early 2000s. That was around the time music just got boring for me. My dad had just passed away and I
didn't really have a creative outlet since I gave up on filmmaking a few years before that. I had to learn how to
make these noises I kept hearing in my brain.
What is your process for creating music? Do you have a general format?
I like to start with rhythms or atmospheres usually, the skeleton parts of a song, then fill in the main parts as I
build the beats and textures. Thats the time I start hearing the vocal ideas in my head... when the rhythms make
sense and there's an undercurrent of ambience thats giving me a specific visual image when I close my eyes.
Art is generally a very personal undertaking, it can be a reflection of our personal beliefs, hopes & so forth, what
mark or impression do you hope to leave your listeners with?
I don't know if I ever really think about that until way after the point of completion. It differs between projects
and songs. Energy is always the main focus, I guess. I want to leave people with the impression that we make
energetic music with solid production values. The kind of music that gets you through a bad day but isn't all gloom
and doom 100% of the time.
Are there any newcomers in the underground music community that you like & recommend we check out?
Broken Note has been destroying my eardrums lately, really hard electronic music with sub-rattling bass, dark and
evil beats.
Sleigh Bells has made me really happy a lot lately. The new album from M.I.A. has songs that will be permanently
lodged in my brain.
One of the angriest records I have heard in my life is the new album The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza.
Any of the roster on Bit Riot Records is worth checking out if you are into good electronic rock. Looking forward to
hearing the new full length from Be My Enemy, as its the new project from Phil Barry, who was the co-founder of
Cubanate, one of my all time favorites.
What advice would you give to beginning musicians?
Don't try doing it unless you want to do it right. Take time to learn your technology. Expect a lot of personal
sacrifice. Prepare for the worst case scenario. Learn to embrace chaos.
Anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
Thanks to everybody who has been spreading the new album and keeping the motivation constant for us. We will
see you on the road again in the very near future.
www.cyanotic-online.com
www.facebook.com/Cyanotic
Made by Precious Little