Fusing industrial and metal is old news, so it's surprising that there aren't more bands bringing guitars to intense techno like Britain's Cubanate.
Cubanate formed in 1992 and immediately got a tour opening for Sheep on Drugs. Their debut album, "Antimatter" got a US release earlier this year, and has already been followed up overseas with "Cyberia." The members of Cubanate all have experience with other bands, but together they strive to re-define the rock/electronic hybrid.
"I didn't want to just throw things together," says singer Marc Heal. "There's no point in adding things together without an understanding of either genre. You've got to know what you're doing. I was going down to clubs in London that were hard beat and industrial sort of clubs and got a lot of ideas. But I still felt on the industrial side that it was slightly directionless and slightly fossilized, very stale and repetitive. I just wanted to do something that shook all that up."
Heal and guitarist Phil Barry comprise the core of Cubanate. The group does most songwriting in the studio and tries to get things done quickly. Most tracks take 2 days to complete, including writing and recording, though some songs on "Cyberia" took longer because the band was not happy with them and did remix work. In general, the group tries to avoid getting overindulgent with the technology.
"I like to use electronics in almost a punky kind of way," says Heal. "The interesting thing about synthesizers is that they should be used in a very human way, almost like you'd just thrash a guitar around. And if the synthesizer gets overdriven and makes horrible squawking noises, then fine."
Cubanate has yet to tour America, but Heal describes their live show as "a completely de-humanizing experience." Lights and smoke play a big role in the performances, which Heal says are "pulverizingly loud" and more like a rave than a concert because "you can completely lose yourself."
The groups approach to live performance varies. Sometimes, all sequences are run live, while other times backing DATs are used. Heal says that it depends on the type of audience expected, facilities of the venue, and how much the band is being paid.
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