Před páteční Therapy Sessions CZ v pražském klubu Storm jsme vyzpovídali Noëla a Franka aka The Outside Agency. Českou verzi rozhovoru najdete exkluzivně zde na Techno.cz.
YOU NEED THERAPY!!!
ENGLISH VERSION:
Interview with The Outside Agency for Therapy Sessions CZ Prague 2024, 10 May Storm Club Prague: "Experimenting with sound and looking for extremes is right up our alley."
1) Hi, guys. How would you introduce your project to someone who doesn't have a clue who you are?
We're Frank & Noël, aka The Outside Agency. Since 1996, we've defied genre norms, pioneering industrial hardcore and coining crossbreed. If you look us up, others will claim our music consists of "relentless beats, dark atmospheres, and innovative sound design" which nicely sums up what we do so we will leave it at that.
2) You've been The Outside Agency for 28 years already and your tunes are still ahead of time. Where do you get inspiration?
Inspiration for our tracks can come from anywhere and with each song, it is different. We're inspired by events, persons, things, sensations, music itself and the process of creation and sound design and manipulation. We aim to make the music that we would like to hear and buy ourselves. As we have high standards, this mentality also serves as quality control.
3) Your music remains underground. Is music what you do for living?
Underground music is not exactly a cash cow but we have somehow managed to survive its ever changing climate. And yes: we both do this for a living.
4) Noel, with so many aliases and projects (DJ Hidden, Semiomime, Disistor etc.), what is your main focus at the moment?
Noël: "My main focus is to write music. The projects are ways to get it out in the world and hopefully avoid some of the confusion that would arise if I did it all using just one name."
5) Frank, can we expect some new Eye-D stuff from you? Or any other music activites than TOA?
Frank: This is a fantastic question. I think I love drum & bass more than anything. The hardcore and techno projects eat up most of my time and they're little more successful than Eye-D so I had to prioritize those or get a job. I'm also a slow producer. Counterstrike likes to call me Old Slow Hand. I had to let go of drum & bass as my main focus, but even casual listeners can tell that I put lots of drum & bass elements in all of my music. You know what they say, drum & bass will never die. Love it, and the answer is yes.
6) What kind of gigs do you mostly get? Is it more international events or mostly Netherlands with its great hardcore fanbase?
We have played at events all over the world. During the summer, you can often find us at Dutch hardcore festivals and parties in Europe. During the cold months, we frequently perform in clubs across Europe, the United States, Japan, and wherever else we are booked. Our repertoire is quite dark in nature but is not bound to a specific location and we both like the variety our bookings usually bring.
7) How was it to perform in the Czech Republic in 2019 at Let It Roll? Do you still remember your last Therapy Sessions Budweis with us in 2011?
Playing Let It Roll is always a fantastic experience. It's always great to see our international drum & bass family and it's equally great to feel that we're accepted as "hardcore" artists. We're very excited to return there. We remember our performance in České Budějovice because it was also our debut there. It's been a while but the memory is definitely a good one!
8) Neurofunk is the hot stuff at the moment. Would you say that harder drum & bass like crossbreed or skullstep is also coming back strong?
Usually, genres experience "waves" during which they are more popular. Since there are plenty of drum & bass heads who like their music a bit harder than some neurofunk, we are sure that both crossbreed and skullstep elements will continue to appear. It is even possible that these harder elements will dominate drum & bass again in the future... but we will see what happens. Time will tell.
9) What does the party Therapy Sessions mean to you as an artist?
Therapy Sessions for us are events that focus on the aforementioned. Therapy came into the light, or darkness rather, when hard drum & bass was really having its first prime moment so the events were very, very important for our scene. There seems to be an increase in these types of parties which might mean that people are once again ready to turn things up a notch. We have always liked both the idea of experimenting with sound and looking for extremes so this is right up our alley.
10) What can we expect in your exclusive two hour set as you return to the Czech Republic after five years?
Sometimes it's best to not expect anything and just let it all happen. When we perform, this is our modus operandi as well: we do not prepare our sets and simply play what feels good at that particular moment. Our set will be filled with new music and we are going to play and mix this music using the available equipment to the fullest!
11) Why should everyone be at Storm Club Prague on 10 May, 2024?
This Friday Storm Club will be the best place to experience everything we have talked about in this interview. This will be a diverse, fun night with an excellent line-up... and if you decide to show up, we are going to do our best to make sure you will not regret it! So, ultimately, deep regret is the main reason you should absolutely go.
Thank you, we're looking forward to ripping it up with The Outside Agency!
Listen to the exclusive mix by The Outside Agency for Therapy Sessions CZ on YouTube or Soundcloud.