Cincinnati, Ohio based electronic/progressive duo Phoenixcode is Leo///38 (music) and a/SCO (vocals, lyrics, concept). Both mates come from a background of hardcore, progressive, and math metal. However, when they decided to move forward and create a new project they wanted to inject their love for electronic aesthetics into the mix. That alongside their enthusiasm for storytelling made Phoenixcode possible. To discover this outfit more, I got an interview with the band as well as an exclusive stream of the first track 'The Phoenix City' from their self-titled debut. Click play and read along to discover more about this band.

Hello Phoenixcode and welcome to the site! You have a wide array of influences from The Black Queen to Perturbator to Nine Inch Nails. But, before we get into that, lets get a little introduction. Who is in the band, what type of music do you guys play, and what's your all time favorite record?

Scorpio: Hi guys, thanks for having us on here! We appreciate the opportunity you’ve given us to connect with your loyal readers! The band consists of myself, α/SCO or “Scorpio”, and my partner LEO///38 or just “Leo.” I do all vocals, lyrics, & concept writing while Leo does everything else. We play a form of electronic music that is somewhere between industrial, synth-wave, and progressive rock/metal-- I’ve been calling it Progtronic hoping that it will catch on somewhere haha. And my all-time favorite record would have to be “Solace” by Jakob. Every time I spin it, it takes me to some new and beautiful place.

Most of the time, someone's musical journey began when they were a kid. What was the first instrument you picked up and played? And what made you want to continue forth playing more than just that?

Scorpio: Yeah that’s very true. My experience as an actual musician didn’t start until I was 14 when I picked up bass, but I had always had a love affair with music. It was certain bands I grew up with from childhood that had planted the seeds—U2, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, etc., but it was bands that I discovered in my teenage years that ignited my passion for music and made me want to emulate them in some way—bands like RATM, Tool, Dillinger, SOAD, etc.

I already touched upon who influences your style, but if you could pick five bands that had the most impact on Phoenixcode's sound, who would they be?

Scorpio: That’s hard to say! Leo is a wizard who is as truly original as anyone you’ll ever find, but I think he would give props to Nine Inch Nails, Telefon Tel Aviv, Deadmau5, Aphex Twin, etc. And vocally I’m a poor, angry man’s Chris Cornell haha.

From what I understand, there are two of you in the band. When and where did you guys meet?

Scorpio: Yes, that’s correct. Myself & Leo went through high school together and joined up in a band where he was on guitar, and I was the bass player. Then we started getting into stuff that was too far-out there for the core of the first band, so we branched off during college and started a new group. I took over vocals in the new Progressive Hardcore band, and we kept that going until last year.

And how exactly did Phoenixcode begin? And where does the name come from?

Scorpio: It began on the 4th of July 2015. Our previous group was coming to a close due to extenuating circumstances, and we were both frustrated with the slow death-march it had taken. We just vented about everything that was wrong with the traditional “band” model and expressed everything we wished we could do with a project but couldn’t up to that point, and by the end of the night I think we’d resolved to make it happen. Regarding the name, PHOENIXCODE, it ties in directly to the concept & theme of the serial novel (more about that later). You’ll have to follow along to “decode” it 

Do you two work well together in the studio or do your ideas collide every once in a while?

Scorpio: From being in two previous bands together, we have built a really strong working relationship. Every now and then a collision is good, but we’re pretty much on the same creative wavelength and have a lot of respect for what the other is doing in their area. Just about anything that Leo comes up with is 10/10 in my book, and it’s always been a challenge to try to figure out how to best express the emotions that are coming through in a complex track.

You've a self-titled, debut album coming out soon. Explain to me what sound you were going for on this album. I read that you're progressive electronic, but what does that entail?

Scorpio: Yes, the album will be out November 3rd on Bandcamp & the other digital outlets! Regarding the sound, we wanted to shock some people who thought they’ve heard everything. We wanted to prove that there are still uncharted waters out there for music. Hopefully we have accomplished that in some way… I think “Progressive Electronic” basically gives us the freedom to do whatever the hell we want—kind of like a Between the Buried and Me uses “Progressive Metal.”

How did you go about writing the music for the album? Did you listen to a lot of other musician's work before writing your own pieces?

Scorpio: Leo goes into these creative spurts where he just writes prolifically, and that’s where most of the compositions came from. One or two may have been pulled from his backlog of material, but most of them were written together between August and December of last year. Vocally I don’t listen to anything specifically for influence, but I’m sure that whatever has moved me finds a way to manifest itself in my own work. That’s really a beautiful thing about art and the free exchange of ideas. One goal of this project is to give the listeners something they CAN take with them into their own creative endeavors.

I also read that you like to tell stories and that each song on your album is its very own concept. Do each of the songs tell a different story or do they all stick with the same theme forming an entire and complete album?

Scorpio: Yes! The entire album is telling one continuous story which will be released as a serial novel. If that interests you, learn more about it here: https://www.patreon.com/phoenixcode

When you finally put the whole album together and heard it for yourself, were you proud of what you were able to accomplish?

Scorpio: Since it was 90% DIY, it was difficult to tell when we had reached the finish line, but there was a point where I knew I could sleep easy with what we had done and the rest was icing on the cake.

And what's in store for the future of Phoenixcode? Do you have any tours, gigs, or future music in the works?

Scorpio: There’s a lot of writing in my future between now and July of 2017. I’m determined to give our fans and patrons something they will be proud to have been a part of in the early stages. In the meantime, Leo will be prepping for album number two as well as dripping out some B-side material and/or remixes. Touring and gigging is possible, but only after we have established a strong enough base to support the kind of show that our music requires.

12. Lastly I wish you the best of luck in your musical career. I leave the space below open for you to say anything you wish!

Scorpio: Thank you again! I hope you are intrigued by “The Phoenix City!” For a solid overview of everything we’ve got going on, check out our website http://www.phxcd.com/

EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Stream the First Track From Phoenixcode's Debut Album

I already touched upon who influences your style, but if you could pick five bands that had the most impact on Phoenixcode's sound, who would they be?

From what I understand, there are two of you in the band. When and where did you guys meet?