Attrition Still Tearing Arms From Deities

Attrition are considered one of the founding fathers and early movers from the Industrial movement. The band regularly release albums and also tour. below is an interview with Attrition founder Martin Bowes conducted in 2006 at the time of the release of the bands compilation album Tearing Arms From Deities.
A great many Attrition albums including Tearing Arms From Deities can be ordered dirtectly from the Gonzo website

http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/site.php?s=2&action=list_table&t=products&filter_id=152&dbf_search_for=Attrition&image.x=7&image.y=14Attrition:
Tearing Arms From Deities

Attrition was formed in 1980 by Martin Bowes. The band has undergone a number of changes over the last twenty five years with various vocalists coming and going whilst al the time retaining their cutting and experimental edge. 2006 will see the release of the album Tearing Arms From Deities 1980-2006 which is a celebration of the bands twenty five years success outside of the mainstream. Also planned for 2006 is an extensive touring schedule and plans to re master the bands back catalogue. Martin Bowes laid out the bands manifesto for the next twelve months and what it was like looking over his shoulder at the last twenty five years.


Jon Kirkman
Attrition are about to release their latest album which is entitled Tearing Arms From Deities 1980-2005 which is a collection of some of the bands best material the first question must be what was it like looking back over twenty five years of material.

Martin Bowes
It was really good. I don’t listen to much of my older work, well not that often… so I actually learnt a lot from doing that. In perspective I changed my mind on the effectiveness of some of the pieces I’d done and could see much more clearly what I was attempting on others. I also think I regained a few things I had lost along the way.
There’s that thing about learning from the past and I think it applies to the arts as much as anything…We should all do this every 25 years or so! 

JK
How did you choose the material that appears on the album and how do you approach re working or remixing material of that age without trying to re write history.

MB -
Well I took some time with this. Wanted it to be the definitive collection, which wasn’t easy after 15 to 20 albums. I didn’t want a simple singles collection or just to throw a track off each album on there as some kind of sampler. I wanted something very special that would last as a document of my work and something as much for old fans as for new ones. So I made sure that “Tearing Arms...” worked as an album in itself, that it flows as a complete work. And at the same time it reflects some of the varying styles I’ve worked with…from dark ambient to neo-classical to harder industrial and experimental works…
As the pieces I chose were freed from their original albums I could work with different mixes or edits that worked here. I also revisited the original 4 track tapes from the first 2 albums and was able to remix them and enhance those tracks…there wasn’t an attempt to re-write anything but more the chance to improve on some of the production and make the album flow even though the pieces varied a lot in sound quality with over 20 years separating some of the recordings..
I actually took the same approach with the attrition artwork and in the booklet that comes with this release you will find re-worked and rare versions of the art that accompanied many of these albums and sleeve notes I wrote which go some way to explaining what the tracks are about as much as I actually can do that!
So it all works as a whole and I’m really pleased with this release…

JK
How did the band fit in with some of its contemporaries twenty five years ago such as Cabaret Voltaire and the Legendary Pink Dots? It seemed to be a very explosive and creative time

MB
We were really born in that post punk wave which was very strong here in the UK and there was so much going on. Bands like Cabaret Voltaire and Joy Division were a big influence to us to start with and like anyone we expanded our influences pretty early on There was a second wave of more experimental and electronic UK bands in the early 80’s and we were very much a part of that alongside people like The Legendary Pink Dots, Coil, Portion Control, 400 Blows, Bushido.We met the Pink Dots in 1983 and toured with them in Holland soon after that and ended up living in London in the same house for a while. It was a very creative time but the music was much better received over in the rest of Europe where we started to tour more and more and many of the musicians ended up living there…
I think the UK was all the poorer for that but these day’s music is much more universal than it was then…it doesn’t matter so much where you live…

JK
With a catalogue so wide ranging not only in style but also in terms of material. How do you approach the re issue side of things. There is an immense amount of material to consider.

MB
Yes. I didn’t realise when I started out that 20 years down the line it would be a massive part of your work as a musician just keeping your back catalogue alive!... but it’s a very necessary thing. We have done pretty well at keeping the albums in print over the years but there are titles that are unavailable now and I have decided to re-issue many of them as 25 year anniversary editions, re-mastered with extra tracks and new artwork. I’m also working on some very rare early recordings that haven’t seen the light of day since the early 80’s cassette boom where we appeared on lots of compilations and some live recordings over the years. All these are on our new label “Two Gods” so there is a lot to do…

JK
You had a collection entitled Recollection 84-89 and this covers just five years how much more difficult was it to compile this album. Common sense dictates that it would possibly be five times more difficult is that so?

MB
That album was our first CD release and compiled the first 4 albums and
singles…mostly for the USA as it was released on our old label there, Projekt.
Obviously “Tearing arms” required a lot more thought and took me a lot longer but at the same time it was easier in a way as I had so many tracks to choose from I and it was easier to find a selection that best represented us and that I was also pleased with as final mixes etc. I also pretty much filled the CD space with the new one. I could almost have gone for a double album…

JK
Attrition could be seen to be at the vanguard of what is termed “Underground” but is it any easier to work outside of the mainstream than inside or part of the mainstream.

MB
Well we have always been somewhat outside the mainstream. We don’t write pop music and I don’t really think I ever will. It’s not that Attrition’s music is that inaccessible in fact I think it has been more accepted as the times have caught up with us.(We don’t get told to get a drummer and a guitarist any more!...as we did and many electronic bands did in the early ‘80’s!) There is a certain acceptance…
It’s never easy being a musician or artist in any scene mainstream or otherwise… but if you care about the music I think it can help you get through the difficult times. We all want to be more “successful” in whatever we do and that’s in a creative way as much as a financial way and I am no exception but at the moment I am pretty happy with things as they are…

JK
Your recent album Dante’s Kitchen took some time to see a release which begs two questions First of all was there a deliberate decision to leave almost four years between Jeopardy Maze and Dante’s Kitchen and secondly does this album mark a return to regular activity from the band.

MB
Oh yes…I think we are busier than ever at the moment. It certainly feels like that. There were some personal reasons for that 4 year gap…some technical…I felt like spending some time taking on board the massive advancements in music technology that have happened over the last few years and experimenting with that…to come up with a next stage in my music. I never want to keep re-treading the same ground… well not too much…maybe occasionally to see if there’s anything I’ve missed… but the more important reason was a major life crisis as I split up with my long term partner and had to rebuild my life. I had to fight through the courts to get to see my lovely children. I went through 2 years of hell and I found out a lot about how the English justice system treats single fathers…. Things have worked out well now and the album “Dante’s Kitchen” is a very dark album as a result but it’s there as a reminder. I don’t want to forget that…

JK
You have worked with a number of female vocalists over the years. Could you tell us something about some of those and who are you working with presently?

MB
I worked for year with my original vocalist Julia, although about 10 years ago she decided she didn’t want to perform live any more…which meant I had to approach the band in a different way, and since then I’ve worked with a number of different singers…and still work with Julia on recordings… for the last year or so I’m working with Laurie Reade…I was recommended her by my old US label… she’s based in Minneapolis and I’m in England!... but it works…we do a lot more touring in the USA so it works pretty well… I’ve just come back from a fantastic show with her in New Orleans at the Convergence gothic festival there…

JK
This may sound like an obvious question but perhaps a necessary one with any band. How does the predominantly electronic sound transfer to a live setting? What are your touring plans?

MB
It’s always been a problem for electronic musicians of any genre…how to do this thing live…I look at It that, with the exception of the violin parts, almost all the music is created by me on machines…and they really don’t play live!...so I prepare drums/bass/sequences…very much the machines part as backings …and as they are pre-programmed I allow a lot of improvisation over that from the “live” musicians…synths/keyboards..And mine and Laurie’s vocals…There’s a lot going on. I think it works…
We also work in a strong visual presence to the show… which is just as important and I think that side is often overlooked by more traditional “rock” bands…
We’re working with an artistic statement rather than a “show”…

We have offers to tour the USA this summer and to return for two more festivals after that…Laurie will be bringing her own musical project High Blue Star with us on that tour.We are also planning our first trip to Mexico and working on a UK and European tour in the autumn… you know how it changes all the time…but there’s a lot of possibilities for us this year…

JK
In summing up what can we expect from Attrition in the future? I believe you are readying further albums for re issue in an updated style in terms of re mastering and possible bonus tracks

MB
Well I am working on those series of re-issues and two new soundtrack works. I have been getting increasingly involved with film work and I’m also working on production for a few other projects and am well into writing the next Attrition album proper which I’m planning for a 2007 release…
We’re busier than ever and I’m pleased with all this. I do invite people to check out our website for all the latest information…
www.attrition.co.uk
and also our mysace.com page…which is getting increasingly important…
www.myspace.com/danteskitchen


© Jon Kirkman 2006 and 2011