Tell us about your beginnings as a duo/group.

dM: Back in 1998, our 4-people "analog" gothic act broke up, and me and The Maze remained with no band and a great passion in making music. We both followed the electro scene since the beginning of the '90, and the transition from gothic to electro was quite natural for us, though in Italy, at that time, there were not many young electro bands around. So, we bought a few synths and began this all, with the great support of our sound engineer - the mysterious EdM.

There appears to be a profusion of electronic bands coming out of Italy recently, but since this is only a skin-deep observation without real proof, could you please enlighten us as to what's really going on over there.

TM: Good question. In Italy there is absolutely nothing going on! The scene is extremely small, and there are only 3-4 clubs which host this kind of music. People has only started to notice electronic music here. But the best bands are usually born in difficult situations, so that must be why there are so many good electronic projects coming from Italy these times. They will probably get more recognition in foreign countries, but let's hope this will increase the popularity of electronic music in Italy, too!

In your history of manipulating sound together, did you ever see this coming, playing as an EBM outfit? Do you think it's an essential aspect that you started out as gothic musicians?

dM: With no doubt, Gothic taught us to appreciate that sort of approach in composing music, and we still consider it one of our basic pillars. But we also dig so much EBM, that, when we started playing electronic music, everything that came out from our synths was some sort of EBM. I think it's a natural consequence of our musical taste.

What's the story behind the name BLANK? Is it just a random word you decided to pick up along the way?

TM: Oh no, there is a meaning. After playing for years in a goth/rock band, we started this project and it was like a new start for us: so we had some "blanks" to fill. The concept was interesting and the name sounded nice... and we kept on thinking about deeper meanings beyond the word "BLANK", like, how music is that special something that fills the "blanks" in our life, and how everything you write down starts with a "blank" page, and so on. Lots of meanings (some secret ones, too!) and a short, good-sounding word.

I noticed that the song "Epilogue" (which happens to be my favorite as of yet) is included on your promo CD, but not on the other albums. What do you plan to do with this track?

dM: At that time, the song worked, but if I listen to it now, I can say it's awfully produced. I know The Maze really loves it and he's currently working on it, trying to recycle the basic ideas of that track for creating a new and improved one... we'll see.

What musical gear/equipments do you use to create your sound? Does your sonic composition follow other standards/templates in EBM music?

TM: Almost everything is done with an Access Virus. No big deal: it seems everybody's using it and that's because it is a fantastic piece of gear. We also use an Alesis DM Pro drum module and a Yamaha CS2X keyboard. That's all we use when we create our tracks... I really don't know how other EBM artists work: we write our own songs, then exchange CDR and ideas, then derMate finishes the arrangements and I find the vocals. Then, when we're ready, we record everything on a full Digidesign Protools system at Downstairs Studios, by our sound engineer EdM, and there we mix our songs until they sound nice enough.

I coincide with the other commentators when they regarded your music as a standout. The melody and fluidity is ever present, both danceable and catchy, the perfect drug for fuelling dancefloor madness.

dM: When we started our project, we also identified a few guidelines we wanted to follow as strictly as possible. One of those was that we'd just and only make the music we liked - and that was dancefloor oriented, straightforward, fast and melodic EBM - with no compromises. The result is "Artificial breathing", which, you can hear, is solid as a rock, with no slowdowns - we wanted it to be like that. The tracks for the new album are quite different from the ones you can hear in our debut, though they're still SO dancefloor friendly.

I know this is an overused request, but could you kindly name your musical influences, past and present.

dM: We could talk about this for hours. In brief, ten years ago we loved wave and goth, from Killing Joke to Fields of the Nephilim, but we already were into cyber and industrial. Then, we discovered the label Zoth Ommog, which really shocked us. Leather Strip, XMTP and everything else. Let's say that when "Hard Wired" by Front Line Assembly came out, we went into electronic music and never looked back. Anyways, we listen to (and are influenced by) lots of stuff, from MTV bands, to trance/GOA, to Japanese noise, to classic new wave and gothic. We have the most different roots.

Tell us more about the latest issue from Artoffact Records, "Uturn 3: the dark side of the beat" and how is this project different from the earlier albums.

TM: The "U-Turn" series was created by Artoffact to release split-CDs aimed at the dancefloor. Ten unreleased club anthems at the price of a CD single, featuring two bands. The first two volumes featured Massiv in Mensch plus Negative Format and Headscan plus Implant, and both releases were incredibly good. Artoffact contacted us and Sebastian Komor from Icon of Coil to do this third installment with his side-project Moonitor, and of course we were interested. The main difference between this release and our previous stuff is that this is meant to be more techno-flavoured, but in fact there are basically more recent songs, a couple of great remixes and impressive tracks from Moonitor. To be totally sincere, I think this is a killer release and everybody should get a copy!

What are the themes you like to write about in your songs? Is there a specific scope or focus that identifies your reputation, or is it otherwise a mixture of varied concepts/ideas?

TM: I write about personal stuff. Emotions, feelings, situations I lived or may have lived or may live one day... my aim is to communicate and transmit feelings through our songs, so whatever I write about has that purpose. Very human themes, that try to reach other people's hearts and minds.

Do you have side projects/collaborations/remixes or even alter egos you might want to share with us?

dM: Indeed, at the very beginning of it all, we had a secret side-project of sound manipulation and raw noise - two of its tracks found their way at the end of our first two demos. Nowadays it's all suspended, and we try to concentrate all our efforts on our main project bLANK, though we're still attracted by experimental electronic music. Regarding remixes, we always have some in the works, we love to give our touch and style to someone else's songs. You can hear some of our most recent remixes in releases by Neikka RPM, Blind Faith and Envy and the forthcoming single by XP8.

What do you think is the future of EBM music?

dM: We are very optimistic about it, as usual. In all these years we've been following the scene, we've seen so many bands rise and fall, and electronic music changing continuously with technology and society. There are darker and brighter times, but the scene is always exciting - and exciting is to be in and to make some noise!

Do you believe that the scene in Italy will flourish in the long run? Can you also recommend other EBM artists from there?

TM: Who knows? In Italy everything happens almost ten years late! But it would be great for italian bands to get some good and respected recognition. There are a few bands which are already coming out: Blank, Pulcher Femina, Syrian, XP8... You should also keep an eye on Bahntier (very nice noise project), Narr! and First Black Pope. Lots of nice stuff from Italy these days!

Inform us of your touring schedules and appearances for this year.

TM: We still haven't any live date set right now, but we're working hard on it. We'll hopefully play some shows this next fall, when our album will be officially distributed in Europe. Keep an eye on our website http://www.mechanoid.it for all the news about us!

Your final words. Thank you.

TM: Of course thanks a lot for your interview and greetings to all your readers! Feel the beat!!!

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