Interview : The Unquiet Void

Interview by Black Magazine

		1. Please tell me about your musical history and background. When did you start creating music and what was your personal intention to be a musician?
		I started writing music back in 1989 in the basement of my mother's home. I had this Casio keyboard that I rigged to hook up to my brother's stereo. This keyboard allowed me to customize my own sounds and I would spend hours upon hours experimenting with it while other kids my age (15) were out partying and doing whatever else they were doing. I was pretty introverted due to the guy my mother was married to at that time and music soothed me and alleviated any and all pain I felt. My intentions were to evolve my work to see the light of day, to be released on a compilation and maybe even my own full length CD. It was something that has taken a lot of very hard work and dedication and passion... had I not loved creating music so much it wouldn't have been worth all the effort I have put and continue to put into it. My intentions were always very serious about becoming a "musician" even though I cannot read music and have no musical training. I operate simply on desire.

		2. I think you started very young (you were 15 years old). Was it just some kind of hobby for you at the beginning or could you imagine to be a real artists from the beginning?
		Music was never a hobby for me, I've always been very seriously dedicated to it and it was always the one thing about myself that I was never insecure about. I've always wanted to release my music and have people hear it and try and make some kind of operating project out of my creating music and it all started to fall into place when I came up with the name The Unquiet Void.

		3. How difficult was it to get into the darkwave- or gothic scene with your music? Did you get in contact with Sam Rosenthal of PROJEKT long time before the release of the OF THESE REMINDERS - Compilation and are you satisfied with your early recordings until now?
		I first contacted Sam in 1991 on a search to sample new and original music being that I was getting tired of listening to the same old stuff. I wanted something refreshing and on a whim I ordered a few discs from Projekt out of the blue. I had found what I was looking for and I began to correspond with Sam and this was back when Projekt was being operated out of his home in California. I remember sending him a demo in 1991 and then another in 1993 to which he responded by sending me the invitation to appear on OF THESE REMINDERS. I wasn't going to say no to that kind of opportunity as this was the beginning of what I was trying to accomplish. I got a lot of feedback from the two songs on that comp and I still get quite a bit, so far all positive. I am very apply with those tracks even though they're just renditions of someone else's music. The only thing I'd complain about is the sound quality but then again, it really adds to ambiance of the songs as well as to what inspired those versions of the songs. I was still in a very dark place in life when I did "Into The Garden" in 1993 after I received the invite. I perceived the song to be a re telling of the Adam & Eve story and I liked the fact that Sam's song was kind dark and far away sounding. I thought it would be neat to tell that story from the serpent's perspective which allowed me to filter that apocalyptic chaotic vision into my rendering of the song. In 1994, after I moved to Florida, I was in a different state of being. There's so much sea and sky here, that has a lot to do with what influences my music. Anyhow, this is when I did my cover of "The Glass Is Shattered" which is really about change I think. I'm very happy with the vast majority of my early recordings, the only reason that I'm not happy with a song is because back then I was just getting a feel for mixing and sometimes I didn't do that great of a job. I've never thought of my music as growing or fitting into a scene. I do what I do and whoever likes it is more than welcome to listen to it.

		4. What do you think about your musical development. Did you buy a lot of new stuff (instruments) for your new recordings and what do you think about the musical technology of the nineties?
		I'm really happy with my musical development, being that my music is really simply an expression of my life and of what I experience in it. In order for my music to have evolved I'd have had to evolve. I still experiment a lot and my sounds change as my life changes as well as with any new equipment I purchase. In the last few years I've acquired some pieces of equipment that have helped make my musical evolution possible and I only purchase equipment that clicks with me and with what I'm feeling inside. I think that technology has come a long way although there is so much, in my opinion, to be said for the analog synths of the seventies and early eighties. I like to tweak my keyboards and design my own sounds and then effect the hell out of them so as to create sounds and resonations that fill up a song and describe what's going on in me. Just recently I bought an Alesis QS6 synthesizer which is the only synth I used on a cover of David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes" which is due out on a compilation sometime in the summer or fall. I'm now beginning to mix the Alesis with the Korg M1 I have and that I've always used in TUQV.

		5. Why did you chose the name THE UNQUIET VOID for your musical output? Is there a special or personal meaning behind this title?
		I cannot remember the exact reason that I chose TUQV as my pseudonym but it does have a very special and personal meaning to me. We live in an unquiet void, it serves as a metaphor for a lot of things. It encompasses everything I experience and feel as being part of this world and living in it. Part of me believes that this life is a training course for our souls and if you fail it you have to start all over again before evolving to the next level of being... whatever that may be. Another part of me would like to believe in that but my faith lies mainly in the here and now and not so much in what will be or what I'd like to believe will be. I think I'll stop there though because I'm in a really good mood right now and this could get really heavy!

		6. How difficult was it, to get a contract for the release of "Scorpio" -your first full time album. Was it a little bit easier in fact that "Scorpio" is the soundtrack of a movie?
		Well, it was a bit difficult because I sent out completed and mastered promos to labels and although I got some other interest and a lot of very positive feedback, no one seemed able or willing to sign it. When I sent it to Alterculture they responded quickly and said "Sure, we'll release this if you'd like?" Obviously I jumped at the opportunity and was not at all discouraged by the fact that they're a relatively new and pretty small label. I believe that if you start at the top or even the middle that there's room to drop but if you start on the bottom the only way to go is up metaphorically speaking. I'd like to grow with the label. Being that this music appears in a film made it easier only by allowing me to finance the mastering and promotional demos after it was already finished and that did cost a bit and I was paid in advance. The fact that it was a soundtrack didn't seem to phase Alterculture in the least and I'm very happy about that because they paid attention to the music and to TUQV rather than the fact that it was a soundtrack to a film. It gave me more of a sense of accomplishment and like I wasn't riding on anyone's shoulders.

		7. How did you get in contact with John Brodie of PHANTOM PRODUCTIONS and why did he think that your music could fit with the concept of his film?
		John and I have been friends for a couple of years now and I played him some of my music after he mentioned his idea for making a film. He really liked what he heard, he's a really spiritual guy and I think he connected with it. He liked it so much that he insisted that I do the music to appear in the film. John's concept was very mystical and dealt a lot with the occult and the tarot, etc. I guess that John saw or felt something in my work that reminded him of Tangerine Dream which was the kind of music that he wanted to accompany the film, that vein of music anyhow.

		8. Could you please give me a few information about this movie and the concept? What can our readers expect of the movie "Scorpio"?
		John is a really good friend of mine and I will not knock his efforts but the film just isn't my thing. The concepts in the film are higher learning through occultism, realizing the error of your ways and the truths about yourself and the world around you. There's another concept regarding using mind altering drugs as a mean to open ones mind and gain clarity amidst another realm which would be a much truer existence. In highschool I used to smoke up all the time and I used acid as a means to clean myself out emotionally and spiritually but I haven't done either of those things in years and have no intentions on starting back up, it's an adolescence thing and I'm over it. I don't necessarily agree with that concept but I'm sure as hell not wound up so tight that I feel the need to get politically correct about it. I have a child and things change when you're not taking care of just yourself. However, what can people expect from the film? The director and the producer / writer had two entirely different visions for this thing. The director has a very aggressive and violent and vulgar approach while the producer has a more peaceful and spiritually drug enduced approach and the two mix together like oil and water (remember this is just my own personal opinion). So what you end up getting often times has the consistency of a wet pancake.

		9. During the filming of "Scorpio" about 20 pages of the script were dumped due to the fact that there was a lack of preparation for the film. How could this happen?
		Well, John didn't have the budget he should have had and that was a factor as was the fact that most of the people in the film were completely ripped or stoned during the filming. This film was shot in 4 days and was rehearsed for about a month and that was another factor. There was humidity and rain and a nasty hailstorm that interrupted an already incredibly short shoot being that it was mostly filmed at outside locations. Everyone was tired from the hours which were 5 in the afternoon to about 4 or 5 in the morning. There were arguments that sometimes got out of hand, I remember while I was operating the boom mic the director and I got into it. There was tension due to certain scenes in the film pertaining to nudity. There were a lot of complications and by the last night the producer said "fuck it!" They ended up doing this faux impromptu rape scene and an impromptu ending as well as a tarot card scene that wouldn't have been so painful to sit through had the 20 pages not been trashed. They needed more time and money really as well as a good studio set and for the movie to be shot on film rather than on digital.

		10. The track "The Devil Card" was created for a scene which were never shot. You got some imagery of the same titled tarot card for this track. So please tell me about this imagery and could you please give me a few impressions of the movie scene?
		Well, actually the card itself is not what inspired the track, the concept of the card related to certain changes I was undergoing at the time. I really took the job because money was very tight and my wife just had our daughter. There was confusion and fear from worrying whether or not we could make ends meet which wouldn't have been so scary if we hadn't had a child. There was frustration on my part which arose out of acclimating to such a radical change such as having a child. I think that the devil card name was used after John, who is very much into occult studies, explained the meaning of the card to me. However, I cannot ever leave well enough alone as I have to interpret everything. The song begins with a very rough static like sound which closely resembles the sound of a very strong and raging fire. The song is really a plunge into the darkness and the frustration of realizing that I was a somewhat self centered person and that I was frustrated at having a child because it took time away from me. Don't get me wrong because that's all past me now and I worship the ground my daughter crawls on. It took a lot for me to get that out... even into a piece of instrumental music. It was a hard and taxing experience but it really was a major alleviation and a big step towards becoming the person and the father that I wanted to become. The devil reference is really the anger that I felt upon realizing my own selfishness and that it subtracted from the love I could've been giving her. I'm just glad this didn't last very long.

		11. O.K. let's talk about music and sound. THE UNQUIET VOID reminds me a little bit of bands like LYCIA or BLEEDING LIKE MINE. So please tell me about your musical influences and inspirations.
		In all honesty my music is not at all influenced by the music of others. There is one influence for TUQV and that is my life and what I experience and learn within it. I make a point of not listening to music when I'm having a creative streak, I like my creativity to remain unaffected by any outside influences other that what I've mentioned. The only Bleeding Like Mine songs I've heard are those on OF THESE REMINDERS and as far as Lycia goes... we express similar themes and emotions. If you'd like to know what some of my favorite bands to listen to are I could give you an example: And Also The Trees, Stay Frightened, Trance to the Sun, Lycia, Cocteau Twins, Elliot Goldenthal, Cindytalk, Massive Attack, Birthday Party, Mozart, Jeff Buckley, Kalkenbalz, Skinny Puppy, Legendary Pink Dots, David Bowie, Gary Numan, Blancmange, Belfagore, Curve, The Cure, etc...

		12. The soundtrack of "Scorpio" sounds very dark, nightmarish and depressive. Often I got the impression to walk on a lonely street at midnight and thousands of demons and monsters are following me. So how difficult was it for you to create music for a movie without pictures. I think you only had the script to work with. Am I right?
		Scorpio wasn't what I'd call easy to create and it was done without the script or anything to do with the film. Everything TUQV does is personal to me and every song has a story behind it, a moment out of time that will never be repeated. To be honest I had only read snippets of the script and put it down to exorcise some of my own demons. The whole process of recording Scorpio was a very positive one, it was a cleansing process. The whole CD is really my dealing with frustration in one way or another and to be able to express it and cast it out of me is no less than a wonderful thing. Creating Scorpio helped me come to terms with myself and with my feelings about my daughter which are that I adore her and that my frustration lay in the fact that I had allowed myself to become stagnant in my personal evolution. Scorpio is a very dark release, sometimes it gives me the shivers but it is something that I took from myself and am no longer attached to so when I hear it I'm not overwhelmed by how dark it is, I was plenty overwhelmed before I created it. Four of the songs on the disc are from different time periods years before I even met John Brodie and have nothing to do with the film. Some of the songs are named after certain catch phrases from the script that John threw at me over the phone that, I felt, related to what I was going through at the time. For instance, the song "Neophyte" is about my coping with the fact that I had become a father and that was something I had never done before hence the name which means 'beginner.' "The Cube of Bondage" is, thematically, what the devil on the evil card sits on tying man and woman to their weaknesses and temptations. To me it really signifies feelings I was having towards my job and my life in general...I felt bound and leashed come to find out that the only cause of those feelings was myself. SO there you have it, the music is separate from the film but does share similarities with concepts the film should have explored in more depth and detail. "Breathing Liquid Breath," the title alone suggests sex or a sexual act whereas the song reeks of frustration, when I did the bass guitar / guitar track I remember bleeding my hand on the neck strings because I was choking the damn thing... so if you listen to the song really closely you can hear the bass cutting off at certain times. There's a whole lot going on in this CD.

		13. Another track ("Penetrating the mental plane") - a nearly 12 minutes piece of music - wasn't going to fit on an already 70 minutes soundtrack. Wasn't it possible to cut this track a little bit shorter and will this piece be found as a bonus track beside "The Devil Card" on the "Scorpio"-Soundtrack?
		You can only fit 74 minutes onto a CD and the CD, as is, is an hour and ten minutes long... that's 70 minutes. The way the song is structured I'd destroy the piece if I edited it to fit on this disc. The song explores soundscapes with heavily effected noise... not rough to listen to but a bit drawn out I think. This track will appear on something in the future, I just don't know what that would be yet being that I do like the piece. PTMP doesn't fit the flow that Scorpio has and I wouldn't want to interrupt that.

		14. When will the movie "Scorpio" be finished?
		The film has been done for almost a year now and isn't having any luck being distributed in the states here. This film isn't marketable here, I'm thinking that maybe it isn't marketable at all but I'm sure it will have its own little crowd. I think that Europe would be a better shot for John as far as distribution goes but I'm not sure.

		15. You've done a cover-version of DAVID BOWIE´s "Ashes to Ashes" for a Tribute Compilation and that's the first time I heard you singing on a track of yours. I ever though THE UNQUIET VOID is just a project for instrumental music. So why don't connect your musical arrangements with lyrics?
		I've done vocals on a few songs, I'm not a person who feels that every song needs lyrics. TUQV deals with emotions, raw and powerful emotions and I don't think that words really cut it a lot of times although sometimes I write a lyric that's perfect for a song... then I'll use it. The music is really what's important to me and that's what I concentrate on. I think that lyrics, most times, are very contrived and try to achieve something they simply cannot. I won't include lyrics into a song unless it's just as much from my soul as the music is. Another thing is that I'm just now starting to actually have the confidence to actually use my voice on a slightly larger scale. I sang on "The Glass Is Shattered" on OF THESE REMINDERS and it didn't turn out as I had hoped sound wise, my voice kind of fades in and out but I kind of like that effect now in the song... it all relates to what was going on at that time. There was no way I could do an instrumental version of "Ashes To Ashes" because those lyrics are so poignant in Bowie's history as well as in his character's (Major Tom's) decline. The cover is really a character study of Bowie's character and I have just reinterpreted the story told in "Space Oddity" and "Ashes to Ashes" and I've killed Major Tom off in a scary way as well. The vocals that I've done in the song are split up into 2 voices, the first and slightly off pitch (due to FX I might add) voice is his mind talking and tormenting him : "Do you remember a guy that's been in such an early song? I heard a rumor from ground control... oh no, don't say it's true. They got a message from the action man. I'm happy, hope you're happy too!" ~David Bowie The second voice is a distorted voice as if trying to communicate from a dying radio transmitter, it is Major Tom speaking aloud: "I've loved all I've needed love... sordid details following." ~David Bowie The song continues along like this between the two voices until the two sing together at the end depicting his demise, the voices are now in agreement and that signifies his death. I actually studied both "A Space Oddity" and "Ashes To Ashes" in order to design this version and I'll give you an example of this: In Space Oddity Major Tom says, "Tell my wife I love her very much..." and in Ashes he says, "I've loved all I've needed love..." and, to me, this means that he's rationalizing that he'll never see his wife again being that all these years later he's still up in space all alone junked out on drugs and he knows he's going to die. The story of this character really intrigued me and I though I'd delve a little deeper.

		16. Are you a big fan of DAVID BOWIE or have you done this track only just for fun?
		Oh no... I'm a BIG Bowie fan!! I wouldn't do covers of a band that I wasn't a fan of let alone appear on a tribute CD for the artist or artists. I'm very happy that I got to be on a CD to pay homage to Bowie.

		17. Also you collaborated with Mike Van Portfleet of LYCIA in the past for PROJEKT'S first "Excelsis" Compilation. You recorded the track "We Three Kings" with Mike. So please let me know ... how did you get in contact with him and how could this collaboration happen?
		I wrote to Mike after Ionia came out as I fell in love with the CD. We corresponded as we have through the years and still do and he gave me his opinions on my earliest works. He's heard almost everything I've ever done and he probably has more of my material on tape than I do. It's very flattering that he proclaimed himself, at one point, the biggest UQV fan... I've been fortunate to have a friend like Mike who really believed and believes in what I'm doing and has supported me throughout the years and who cheered me on when the comps came along nd who pepped me up when I almost threw TUQV away for good. He's been really supportive (and likewise) and I'll always be appreciative of that. In 1993 we were talking on the phone and what I used to do was call him and play these mini concerts over the phone to see what he thought of new material I was working on. These "concerts" were like 10 or 15 minutes long. One night he came out and said that he knew we'd work together one day and I nearly pissed my pants!! In 1995 when Lycia toured for "The Burning Circle" they stayed with me at my apartment where we stayed up until all hours of the morning recording "We Three Kings." Mike and I were working on the drums and our individual parts and Dave was having temper tantrums because he was over tired and couldn't get his parts the way he wanted them (finally did) and poor Tara had to wait it all out until she could add her vocals. Working with them was great, they were very inclusive with me and Mike was working on the drum patterns and then hands me my drum machine and says, "Here, go ahead and add what you'd like!" I'll always remember that time as it was pretty exciting to work with them.

		18. THE UNQUIET VOID will do another track for the second "Excelsis"-Compilation too, which will be released in Autumn 1999. Please tell me what can I expect of this contributing track?
		Firstly I must state that it is not confirmed that my cover of "Silent Night" will actually appear on Excelsis 2 although I am really hoping it does! All the songs have to be submitted and then they choose which pieces will be on the disc. The song is completed and has already been submitted and it is an instrumental version of the song being that the vocals I had done didn't quite work out as I slowed the tempo of the song for my version. What to expect from the song? I think it's a beautiful song to begin with. I was at home with my daughter for about five days and my wife was away so I was taking care of her all by myself. I had the most wonderful five days spending every moment with her and playing with her and cuddling with her, we really bonded during that time. I would look at her and cry because of the love she makes me feel... it's a very powerful thing! That joy and that awe she was inspiring is what the song sounds like. It is a bit dark and it's very wintery sounding but that power is there, the song is dedicated to her whether it makes the Excelsis 2 CD or not. I'm not a religious person but all of that aside it really does hold a lot of how I feel about my daughter, the song I mean. It was simply very appropriate for me to do. I was actually thinking of doing "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause" but I really wanted to give a true and slightly more serious offering.

		19. What can you tell me about ALTERCULTURE RECORDS and other artists which can be found on that label?
		Well, the two brothers that run the show, Chris and Jason, are the band Mindless Faith which is an electro - industrial outfit that sound comparable to early Nine Inch Nails. I like some of their material that I've heard quite a bit. As for other bands, I really couldn't say much other then they're electronic music. Chris and Jason are a couple of pissers, we get along great and I'm very happy with the treatment I have gotten as well as the new friendships that I've made. TUQV wasn't really their thing but it has grown on them both and I can't argue with that. Oh yeah, it's a small label based in Pittsburgh, PA. I have a feeling that Alterculture will grow and become something bigger than it is now.

		20. I think you're a good friend of Conrad L. Dickey of STAY FRIGHTENED. Are you in contact with other american artists and how important is friendship for you in the musical business?
		Conrad and I are very close friends, yes. Actually, it was OF THESE REMINDERS that introduced us to one another. I got a letter from him in the mail as I was at the post office to drop off a letter to him regarding his wonderful pieces on the comp. Aside from Lycia and Stay Frightened I'm rather friendly with Ashkelon of Trance to the Sun and I was friendly with Gordon Sharp of Cindytalk who is a wonderful guy as well as a very deep and moving artist. I used to be in touch with Jeremiah Soto of Eventide (also on OF THESE REMINDERS) and his brilliant solo project called Solace. Friendship is very important in the music business for me as well as it is important for me to return the favor. I love to help people and that's just the way I am. I have been busting my ass for the last 10 years to get this first CD out as well as to evolve my sound, myself and complete this work. I know that everyone has to pay some dues and, most likely, keep on paying them but I like to lend a hand or give advice where I can because this business is tough and I know what it's like to be rejected and struggle towards a dream and continue doing it despite whatever circumstances... it's not easy to keep on doing this, it's a lot of work and it takes a pretty intense desire to want to make it happen. However, I like my friends to be friends outside of all of this as well, that's important to me also.

		21. You started the promotion for the release of "Scorpio" by yourself. Have you got an idea, how important this promotion will be for the success of this release and how many CDs have you send over sea to Europe?
		Oh yeah, I have a very good idea as to how important promotion is for the success of a release. I have been promoting Scorpio, by myself, for almost a year now sending promo CD's and when I ran out of those I'd send cassette copies. I made up a Scorpio / TUQV press book, about 50 copies, and I only have 19 left and I'm getting more promos soon to send more out. It has also been hard work sending all these promos out but it is a labor of true love. Chris from Alterculture has helped me by burning a lot of the CD promos and then he'll place ads in magazines. I go onto the internet and cruise the gothic / darkwave websites and sign any guestbooks that I find advertising the release of Scorpio as well as the website where samples of Scorpio can be downloaded and heard :http://listen.to/TheUnquietVoid I spend hours upon hours doing this... but it gets the word out there and that's what I need to do. Plus, Cleopatra Record's "The Unquiet Grave, Volume 1" 2CD compilation comes out March 1st and has "Breathing Liquid Breath" from Scorpio on it. The double CD set will sell for $9.98 and will be a handy promotional tool for TUQV / Scorpio being that it comes out in late April I believe. We have Metropolis willing to distribute it and I'm waiting to hear back from Projekt / Darkwave regarding distribution. I've gotten a lot of e-mails from people in different countries who apparently have been waiting for a full length CD for a few years now, I hope to be able to have it distributed to where they could easily get a hold of it.

		22. Did you contact a bigger label like PROJEKT with your musical output to get a better contract and if yes, which kind of feedback did you get?
		Well, for a while there all I wanted was to be on Projekt... I didn't even send demos out to other labels. Projekt didn't really respond to what I was sending them and Sam probably didn't get the chance to hear most of what I did send him. Also, I don't know that TUQV was his thing... I didn't know what to think. I have sent Scorpio to nit Circle Rekkids and I got an amazing response from them, the guy went out of his way to tell me what a good CD it was and that he hoped we could work together in the future. Red Stream Records liked the disc very much and took 3 weeks to review it and then advised me that they weren't going to offer anything at that time. I'm happy with the way things are at the moment and I plan on enjoying what I have going on for a while.

		23. What do you think ... could you imagine to release your music on a european label - for example PALACE OF WORMS in Italy?
		Yeah I could imagine myself on a european label, especially Palace of Worms which is a wonderful label and the label to which Stay Frightened is signed. I don't know what the future will bring but Alterculture is perfect for right now.

		24. What can we expect of THE UNQUIET VOID in the near future? I think you got a lot of plans ...
		Well, I'm itching to release 2 separate CD's containing around 20 early recordings, a CD which these other two would lead up to entitled "Meridian" as well as a rather lengthy EP entitled "Between The Twilights." I want to try and line up as many compilation appearances as possible both here and in Europe, I haven't been on a European compilation yet and I'd like to be on something like that over there which would circulate well and spread the word and generate more interest in TUQV. I'm going to be pretty busy for a while trying to get these other releases going with comp tracks in between but I'm loving every minute of it.


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