Thanks for joining us for the interview today. We sometimes like to get the artist to give us a bit of a background on their project. Can you kindly do that?
hEADaCHE is really only remixes. I picked up this moniker in a band I had, way back called CEOXiME. This band ended up on the Notes From Thee Underground by Invisible Records. The band dissolved and I kept the moniker doing remixes – some from that group of artists on the 4 volumes of “Notes”. Then branched out to various artists, some big name artists on Invisible like Pigface and Rx. I started putting out compilations of these remixes now on volume 6. The first 3 were up to 20 tracks, lately I have pared it down to 5 for volumes 4-6, mostly because the format of delivery has changed – they used to be CDs and now they are streaming/downloads only.
My other project, Secant Prime, does originals, in dark ambient, dark techno, DnB and Glitchhop. This will be my focus in the new year.
Your latest release is ‘Remixes Vol VI’, right? Were there any special reasons why you chose those artists and tracks to remix?
These are tracks that I have remixed over the years, and these 5 are tracks that fit most well together, a harder more classic industrial sound for most of them. The artist are also focusing on goth/industrial.
In your opinion, what makes a successful remix both from the perspectives of the original artist and the remixer?
A successful remix really needs to take original parts and sounds and rework them into a new tune. A 4 on the floor beat really can’t be remixed well as a 4 on the floor beat at the same tempo – its just not different enough. A remix that strips everything but the vocals away and replaces the entire backing track, well, I don’t think of that as a remix. So needs recognizable elements of the original but be far enough away in sound/beat/tempo to be a remix.
Have you got any plans for Vol VII?
Not at this time. I am refocusing energies on Secant Prime – mostly focusing on live, unscripted DnB. I am hoping to get out in Chicago and do some shows. Now I will potentially do an occasional remix, and maybe that will turn into V7.
Could you possibly give us an insider’s view to your studio? How much is hardware equipment and how much do you use in the way of software?
For remixing, I do 90% in the box. I do have a set of samples I have collected over the years, some from hardware sources in my studio. Lately I have a Roland system1, a Novation bass station, a Behringer crave, a West Pest, and most recently added a Moog Mavis. But for the most part, none of these are used for remixes – Mostly used for the Secant Prime live work I am planning. For software, I recently had to re-ghost my machine, lost a lot of really old plugins that are kind of impossible to replace. So that is still in process. Might make my remixes turn out different 😊
There’s some intriguing cover art for this release. What inspired that?
For volume 4, I asked Josh McAlister to come up with something – I really gave him a clean slate – there may have been a bit of back and forth, but this is really all his work. For V5 I asked for a variation, a remix so to speak, of V4, which I asked for something darker, to fit the remix work presented. You’ll see its darker, has a metallic skull and dead foliage. V6 was a remix of that. I think it all turned out perfectly.
Will you be doing any studio originals in the near future?
Well, hEADaCHE has always been a remix project – the main project with originals is Secant Prime. Definitely check that out at www.secantprime.com or http://linktr.ee/secantprime
What recommendations do you have for something seeking a remixer? What should they take into account other than budget?
Hmm – I haven’t recently tried to get a remixer, but recently a group called Arrogant Myth came into existence (ARROGANT MYTH). I recently joined as part of the remix crew – they do provide access to many remixers. It does come at a cost. I have other names of remixers I’ve used, in trade or just straight up do remixes for fun. And they are really good. So I suppose hit me up, Facebook messenger is usually the easiest way
What plans does hEADaCHE have for 2025?
For 2025, I want to work out the Secant Prime live, unscripted DnB work. I have a few irons in the fire, stay tuned!
Thanks for your time. These last words are yours.
