Can you give a brief introduction to nolongerhuman?
My name is Clint, nice to talk to you, and thank you for taking the time for the interview.
You started nolongerhuman in 2002, as a concept project, when did you start to make it more serious and what was the reason for that?
I moved away from a more noise based project, and took a break from making music in general for some time. Around 2002, my long time girlfriend and I broke up, which ended up being a source of inspiration for music, as well as the direction that other bands in the genre had gone, I just felt like it was time to get serious about it and see where it took me.
Who are the members of nolongerhuman and what is the background, how did you meet each other?
Right now, nolongerhuman is just me in the studio, and live, it is myself, Rob Z. playing live keyboards, and I just added Rob M. to play live drums. Rob Z. I have known for 12 years, we were good friends when I lived in Minneapolis, and I respect his work ethic quite a bit, so, when his previous band broke up, I asked him to come on to play live with me. Rob M., has been a great supporter of the music since my first show, and after talking with him and becoming friends, I realized that his stage presence and, again, work ethic would work perfectly for the live line up.
Can you explain the name and what do you have with cockroaches, the logo shows one and also the album cover of Antipathy?
The name, nolongerhuman, is an accusation. It is specifically about the seeming or real lack of humanity, human emotion, in society, and in individuals.
The cockroaches...they are symbolic of the same ideal as the band name. Cockroaches are unfeeling, unthinking, just moving from one task to another, mindlessly, just like so many humans do.
I had been working on the material for Antipathy for some time, surprisingly. the process was very smooth, Christian from Cop helped out alot, in terms of recommending mastering, and giving me plenty of time to clean up the tracks. Also, Kolja from Soman mastered the CD, and really polished it, and he was amazing to work with, that made the whole process free from hang ups.
For most musicians it's always a nerve breaking time, between finishing the album and the actual release, how was this period for you?
For me, it was initially hard to let the material go, to admit that these songs were done. Every song I make is very personal to me, so, it was difficult to send it out and know that it would be reviewed, and hope that it does well on the market. It's stressful, but, it is a good stress.
How are the first comments so far?
Very good actually, the CD was just released, so, I haven't gotten too many reviews yet.
In my ears your style seems to be highly influenced by some European bands like Grendel and Nurzery [Rhymes], are these bands a source of inspiration?
The music is very inspired by European bands, I have a really wide variety of inspiration to reference, everything from X-Fusion to Pink Floyd, but, yes, the European scene was a big influence.
What do you think is the difference between the European and US electro scene?
That is a hard question, I have not been to Europe, so, I can't speak for the scene there. Hopefully soon!
I think street teams are a huge help, getting the word out about releases and shows, and the band in general. It is very, very difficult as a newer band, with a debut, to get people to listen to it, to pay attention. The street teams are instrumental to that, and I really appreciate the people that have or are putting work into that.
You played several live shows already, how did they go?
Doing shows is always interesting, there are so many things that can go wrong, and usually, if you go on stage assuming that everything that can happen, will happen, you are alright. Processors will melt, lighting will probably faiI. you might get a sound guy who has never done a show, or, in my case, I got a sound guy who hated electronic music, and wanted to mic the keyboards (!) I enjoy every show, for all the ups and downs of each one.
How do you make live shows visually attractive to see (do you use live videos or anything?)
Starting with the release party in March, the shows will all have live video, up until now though, I have not had video. The show tends to be very aggressive and crowd oriented, so, I tend to interact with the crowd quite a bit.
What will be next for nolongerhuman?
Right now, I am working on several remixes, and in the initial stages of planning release parties. After that, I will be touring in support of the new album, and then back home for a bit of rest, and back to work on more music.
Any last words for the readers?
Support your local scene as much as possible, I think the electro scene is producing some of the best music out there in any genre, and it would be a shame if more people didn't get a chance to hear it.