Can you give a brief introduction to Cynical Mass?
Drawn together on a toxic island, [Cynical_Mass] is the creative union of several twisted-minded individuals, borrowing influences from various electronic styles, and espousing themes of insanity, violence, self-loathing and death. Intent on creating imagery of a bleak future, while at the same time, hinting at subtle themes of redemption and the faint possibility of hope, [Cynical_Mass] puts forth disturbingly distorted vocals, simultaneously unleashing powerful and catchy synth lines, with harsh and demented drum beats.
Who are the members of Cynical Mass and what did you do before starting Cynical Mass, is it your first band or did you gain experience in other bands before?
The members of Cynical Mass include M.A.Y (Ali), Gearslave (Jeff), and Severhead (Jeremy). Before Cynical Mass was formed, Ali and Jeremy were involved in film/visual effects and self teaching themselves music software as a hobby and for their soundtracks. A little over a year ago, Jeff came into the picture, and sharing similar interests, a new theme was born. So technically, it is the first "band" considering we are performing as a group now.
How would you describe your music and what makes a Cynical Mass song a Cynical Mass song, what is your trademark so to say?
Our sound could be described as a culmination of distorted insect noises, machinery, war, and dark symphonies. We use heavily distorted vocals to give the lyrics a less human aspect, we consider it more as an instrument than anything else. Without giving away technical secrets, we feel our fans can differentiate a CM track from other industrial bands, not to say we don't follow the roots. We don't sound like a lot of the music that is in the current "scene", which is good and bad. Our trademark (technically) is that pretty logo of ours. >:)
What inspires you in songwriting and how are the songs created, is it a group process or does everybody work on them individually?
We find inspiration in all things, from a shitty day to a bad acid trip (ha ha). Our first album was mostly inspired by events on this toxic waste dump that we live on here in San Francisco, and obviously a lot of negative emotion (if that wasn't already obvious). As far as the creative process is considered, most tracks are started by one member and go through many stages with the other members. Since there are three of us (and we all live in the same home), we have a LOT of content... it's just a matter of picking particular pieces and going further with them.
