Metadevice Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the musical project these days?

Right now I'm ready to start recording new material. I have some ideas I would like to experiment with and I'm aiming towards something a bit different from "Ubiquitarchia", which was released this August. Usually this initial phase of recordings is quite loose and improvised, where I tend to explore new solutions or simply do a more intuitive approach to my regular set-up and gear. There is of course some extra material that wasn't used on either "Ubiquitarchia" or "Studies for a Vortex" that will certainly be re-formulated. I'm also working with some collaborators, namely for the vocal parts, so this should grant these future tracks a different ambience and tone. If all goes well, early next year some new material should emerge.

2.Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

The new Metadevice album, entitled "Ubiquitarchia" is in my opinion a much colder and mechanical record. Most of the sounds come from synthesizers, highly processed loops and some digital sound sources. Also, I decided to reduce the vocal presence to a few samples, enhancing the idea of something more repetitive and less organic. This reduction of a "humanizing feeling" was an intentional move to reflect the main concept behind these recordings. It focuses on the idea of an ubiquitous regime, the sense that power is an abstract, without a face nor a centre and that it penetrates every single moment of our lives and at the same time that we are its collaborators. It refers to the time we live in, where we deliver ourselves to the instances of control in a process of fulfilment of our needs and desires.

3.You have put out a decent amount of material in the past year, do you spend a great amount of time writing and creating music?

After the end of Sektor 304 in late 2014 and my collaboration with Mécanosphère, I simply began to record just for the sake of it. Soon I gathered a lot of material. Some went for the drone/ambient project Iurta with J.A. (Wolfskin), but much remained kept away, just waiting for the right moment. Last year, the mindset to put the pieces together was finally there and Metadevice was born and much of this material was the skeleton of the first album "Studies for a Vortex".
I believe the conditions for such a productive 2020 were due to the confinement time. It was a basic strategy of coping with what was happening, of surviving media induced paranoia, of trying to make some sense of what was and is happening.

4.Your earlier music had some lyrics, can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored with your music?

While the presence of lyrics and voice in my previous projects was quite large, in Metadevice it was for the moment something exclusive on the album "Studies for a Vortex". Conceptually, "Studies...." explores the idea of an upcoming storm, the imminence of disaster. It is somehow inspired by the current times we live in, always being on the edge of some turmoil or crisis but at the same time, living in a sort of senseless dream, the simulation. Some of the lyrics were adaptations of writings by Allen Ginsberg, Ezra Pound, Thomas Pynchon and James Elroy that appear on the records as oracular invocations of distress, oppression and tension, while my own words were very influenced by Jean Beaudrillard's "Simulacra and Simulation" as well as the vocal samples that populate the track "Hypernormalized".

In Sektor 304, for example, the lyrics were much more related to the idea of dystopia in a more "classic" approach: a scream which translated the anguish provoked by the neurotic and oppressive powers of the modern world, alienation, speed, production and capital. Usually the images underlying the lyrics were much more related to physical or graphical representations: the dysfunctional cyborg with it's flesh infected by the rusted metal edges.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Metadevice'?

It was something that has been going on in my mind for sometime. The term tries to illustrate something like a closed circuit, always turned inwards: a device operating or regulating other devices, towards the point of being totally autophagic or turned inward. It should be a representation for total power, whose function bears nothing but a lack of explicit sense or meaning. And this reflects some of the topics I tend to focus on this project.

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

The artworks of both "Studies..." and "Ubiquitarchia" were developed by me and are both formally and conceptually connected. Clouds, atmosphere, yet ominous, in turmoil, between the spectral and the material. It is both the aura and presence of power and disaster. Two elements that seem to be very present in our lives at the current time. The artwork is developed not just specifically for Metadevice, but it is also integrated in my whole body of work, as I work also as an illustrator and create my own graphic work and graphic novels or books.

7.With the exception of a couple of quest musicians you have recorded most of the music by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

Metadevice is my project, but, yes, I am always open to collaborations. I really enjoy working with other people, because it also represents a challenge to the usual methods. It means leaving the comfort zone and learning to cope with whatever comes. I remember quite well two past collaborations, in the Sektor 304 times, that were really interesting in the sense that put us in a hard spot, namely the collaboration Cd with Martin Bladh and the LP with Le Syndicat. These were cases where I felt the need to reconfigure my methods and the perspective I tend to have towards the final results.
At this moment, I'm working with the vocalist of a portuguese rock band named NU. Their sound can be described as rather repetitive and mechanical rock, incorporating electronic landscapes as well as saxophone and a very narrative and poetic vocal approach. Check their music here: https://nununuband.bandcamp.com/

8.You have put out a couple of releases on 'Malignant Records', are you happy with the support that they have given you so far?

My relationship with Malignant Records dates back to 2009 by the time Sektor 304 "Soul Cleansing" was released. Malignant ensures a good promotion, great level of quality on the releases and full support to the artists. What more can I wish?

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of noise, industrial, ambient and drone?

I've had quite a positive reaction and I can only be happy with the fact that Metadevice simply doesn't fall into very specific niches when it comes to people who bought or appreciated both albums: it seems to go beyond musical genre barriers. Although I haven't performed live with this project and there are no plans for it at the moment, I do feel this is an important step to get to more people. I hope in a near future this will be possible in proper and dignifying ways. I tend to hate all these webcam live performances or restricted gigs and such.

10.What is going on with your other musical project these days?

Right now I'm collaborating in Sensor and it's something very different from Metadevice. It's much more of a proper band but with strong focus on improvisation. Our goal is not to create songs or narrative limitations, but rather develop some kind of dialogue between us in the most honest way. More than just doing noise rock or free jazz, Sensor is about action, reaction, cooperation and such. There is always a certain feeling of walking on the razor's edge, being on the brink of a certain disaster and knowing how to overcome it. Both failure and accomplishment are part of the business, as in life in general.
I also collaborate with J.A. (Wolfskin and Karnnos) on a project called Iurta. We have a second album on the works for a couple of years, after the release of "Notes Towards a Mental Breakdown" on Cyclic Law in 2017. This project tends a lot more ambient and dronish approach, but somehow this new material seems to be gaining a rather industrial vibe to it.
As for the other projects I was into, they seem to be dead and gone or otherwise in a state of dormancy. Honestly, right now, both Sensor and Metadevice are the ones that keep me motivated.

11.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?

I don't see much of the future and in part it is my choice. I have, of course, some plans and ideas I would like to develop in next releases, but currently I'm not making any big expectations out of it. Right now I'm finishing my next graphic novel and perhaps early next year I'll start recording the new album for Metadevice. For now, that's about it, since the conditions we are presently living in do not allow me to make very precise plans.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Hum... lately it's Swans, Jarboe, John Hassel, Penderecki, early Skullflower, Nico, African Head Charge and Scott Walker. "Slaves No More" by Sutcliffe Jugend is a record I found myself playing repeatedly in the past few weeks, as well as the latest Grunt and Soundwalk collective & Patti Smith's "Killer Road". Stromstad's "New Devoted Human" and Wet Nurse "Thanatosis" are some of the best and unique industrial/power electronics records I've heard lately. Also digging out my shelves some Segerhuva CDs, which was quite a landmark label to me. I'm currently in a process of reducing stuff to my essentials, more and more. Cutting off what seems to be just regular, unenthusiastic replicas of a specific genre. Most music seems to fall into a simulation of something that has been done before. All is retro or immersed in nostalgia, reduced to kitsch or irony. I'm really more interested in people or projects who, even if they might fit into categories, try to have some voice, some personal discourse, to bring some fresh air. I would say that my biggest references, and those who made me start creating music were probably SPK and Test Dept, Einsturzende Neubauten and, because at the time I was way more connected to the extreme metal scene, the homonymous records by Thorns, Satyricon's "Rebel Extravaganza" and Dodheimsgard "666 International" were crucial. These three records really pushed black metal to the outer limits of the genre.

13.What are some of your non musical interests?

As I mentioned before, I'm very focused on visual arts. I spend as much time in music as I do drawing and painting. Doing visual narratives is something that means a lot to me. It is very hard to see myself without it, but as all praxis that is taken seriously, it is something that requires a great deal of effort and seriousness, often leading to frustration. But all this is part of the process and a step to get better and better. For me, to draw is truly self expression in a way I cannot find in any other medium or language.
Besides, I really enjoy gardening and farming. Working with plants requires a great deal of effort, but it is quite rewarding to see them grow, fulfilling their life cycle and all the transformations it implies. A day working in the garden with my wife is something that usually leads to a "positive" tiredness at the end of the day.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

Thanks for the interview and your support. If you are interested, make sure you follow Metadevice on bandcamp for news and other related issues regarding the project.
All the best!

https://metadevice.bandcamp.com/