Band Interview: Attrition
Games, Brrraaains & A Head-Banging Life are pleased to bring you an interview with experimental electronica punk act, Attrition.
1. How did you get started as a band?
I was running a local punk/post punk music fanzine in Coventry (1979-81) and I always knew I had to make my own music. So I started Attrition with my then girlfriend Julia and her brother Ashley. We quickly went from a post punk guitar sound to the more electronic sound that we are known for!
2. How would you describe your sound?
It can be many things but based on electronics and experimenting… a mix of industrial, Post-punk, gothic, be-classical and dark soundscapes.
3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?
When I started Attrition in 1980 I was very much inspired by punk and then musically influenced by the post punk bands like Wire, Magazine, Banshees, Joy Division and the early electronic industrial sounds of Cabaret Voltaire, early Human league, Kraftwerk etc. As things have progressed I always discover new and old music that can inspire me. Even if not so directly in the sound any more, it just adds to my overall influences.
4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?
First the internet itself made it much easier to communicate and organise shows and promote my music. Eventually getting to YouTube and streaming… We have a danger of being swamped by so much new music these days but overall I think it helps massively so I embrace it. Any way to listen to music is a good thing….
5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?
I do music full time between Attrition and my work mastering and producing here in my studio, The Cage… but when I’m not, I love to explore new things. Travelling, seeing family and friends, working on my house or even the garden…. Sometimes it helps to recharge those musical batteries!
6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?
We have just released the new single, the Great Derailer. The first single from the upcoming album…you can listen to it on our official bandcamp site here. You can also check out the video below:
The album, The Black Maria, will be with us later this year. I am currently setting up shows worldwide for this…. And that will move on into Attrition’s 40th anniversary year in 2021 when we plan a lot of special events.
Shows so far confirmed are:
April 3rd- The Tin, Coventry, UK
June 13th: Woodgothic Festival, Sao Thome Das Letras, Brazil
June 17th – Gothic Ba, Buenos Aires, Argentina
June 19th – Producciones Mortem Collections, Santiago de Chile
June 20th – Tumbas Eternas Producciones, Lima, Peru
July – Manchester – tbc
August 20th– Feketa Zaj festival, Hungary
August 30th – Infest festival, UK
November 28th: Winter Ghosts Symposium, Whitby, UK
December 5th – Face Bar, Reading, UK
Links
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | YouTube | The Cage
