26 year old French producer, guitarist, and tech freak Rémi Gallego AKA The Algorithm has been crafting an aggressive mix of rock, EDM, metal, and synthwave ever since 2009. The trend for heavy, aggressive instrumental music has been growing in modern audiences. The Algorithm soothes fans needs by diving deeper into the electronic field, and his talent has not gone unknown. He has received the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Award for "Best Underground Act", has performed at festivals such as Download Festival and Big Day Out Festival, and has performed alongside Enter Shikari, TesseracT, The Qemists, and more. With his signing to FiXT comes his new record BRUTE FORCE, and with that comes an interview right here. Read on to discover more about The Algorithm, Remi, and his history.

Your roots as a musician began as being a guitarist in metal bands. However, after studying networks and computer science, you had an urge to create electronic music. What was it while studying technology made you want to fuse metal and electronic music?

Rémi Gallego: I've always been interested by new technologies and when I first got a guitar I instantly tried to plug it to my computer because I had no money for an amp. It all started from there.

While the Algorithm started in 2009, your first two demos were released in the following two years. Are those demos still available online? And, now that you've matured your sound and become more professional, what are your personal thoughts on those demos? Do you love them or hate them?

Rémi Gallego: They are still available on Bandcamp. I try not to listen to them with a too critical ear. They are part of the process of experimentation and are still an inspiration when I want to stop overthinking about what I'm currently writing.

Your first live show was at Euroblast Festival. Obviously you received positive reception as you got a label contract with Basick Records afterwards. Were you expecting such a welcome reception? How did you react not only to the audience accepting your music, but also getting that record deal?

Rémi Gallego: It was overwhelming. This was a huge thing for me and I'm forever grateful to these people for their immense help.

After your 2012 release of Polymorphic Code, you got the chance to play live with Monuments drummer Mike Malyan in February 2013. Did you ever communicate with Mike beforehand? How was playing live together? And do you still keep in touch with one another?

Rémi Gallego: The contact with Mike was made by John at The Euroblast Collective. He convinced him to make a drum cover, after what we decided to play the tracks live. It was an amazing experience at every level, we still keep in touch from time to time.

As you got bigger, you started traveling around the world to play more shows. Is there any country that you've been to that has a more lively audience than the others? If so, which country was it and what makes you say that?

Rémi Gallego: France and England are always a thrill. People seem to connect a lot with this type of experimental music.

You also wanted to bring a more human/musicianship element to your electronic music after the release of 2014's Octopus4. What made you decide that you wanted to include more of that into the Algorithm's sound?

Rémi Gallego: My own personal development, and the development of technology itself. I feel inspired by hybridism and the fusion of human and electronic intelligence. This is a consequence of the evolution of society as we're gonna enter an age of hybridism and transhumanism, I'm just adapting and creating from there.

And now we're here in 2016. BRUTE FORCE is released and is ten tracks long. Synthwave, metal, EDM, rock, and a lot of other genres all mix and match on the album. How did you go about writing the music for BRUTE FORCE? Where did you draw influences for this album?

Rémi Gallego: From the beginning on I draw inspiration from complex patterns in computer programming, and geeky stuff like hacking and cyberpunk culture. I had "synthwave-metal" in mind the whole time but I think it ended up being more than that, as I went along and added some post-rock and post-black elements along the way. This helped bring more feelings and authenticity to the sound and that's definitely a direction I will keep exploring in the future.

The media and press would have me believe that BRUTE FORCE is taking shape to be your most impressive album to date. However, now that the album is finished, what are your thoughts on it? Would you rank it as your best album to date?

Rémi Gallego: It's definitely the album I worked the most on, and also the more consistent. I can only say it's the closest I've been to reproduce the strange sounds I hear in my head all the time.

If you could choose any one song off of BRUTE FORCE and say that it's your favorite, which one would it be and why?

Rémi Gallego: Brute Force is probably my favorite, I didn't get any creative block at all working on this track, as it usually happens and then I need to stop listening to the track for a few days. For Brute Force, everything seemed natural and was a constant flow of inspiration. I always get that feeling back when I listen to it.

About a month ago, The Algorithm released the music video for 'Pointers'. What is the song about? Is there a story or concept behind it?

Rémi Gallego: I don't think there's a specific concept or meaning behind it, at least not that I'm aware of. For me it's a collection of sounds and ambiance that seem to work together and create this abstract story. It's music. The music is complex enough and doesn't need overthinking.

There was a little reference in the video to the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Do video games and the like influence your music? And, on a side note, what's your favorite video game franchise?

Rémi Gallego: Video games are an obvious influence. I've spent my entire childhood playing video games and I sometimes like to visualize my tracks as some kind of 2D platformer, the character jumping around through different worlds and atmospheres. But I'm not so big about franchises these days to be honest. I enjoy indie games more, like Undertale or FTL.

You have drummer Jean Ferry coming along for live shows. Where did you meet Ferry? And why did you choose him to be your live drummer?

Rémi Gallego: I met Jean during my first live show with the ex-drummer Mike Malyan in 2012! Jean was playing with Uneven Structure at the time and we eventually agreed that Jean could replace Mike from time to time. When Mike left, Jean was the obvious choice and as he left Uneven Structure, it became official. He's awesome.

When are you planning on touring for BRUTE FORCE? And where can we find information on tour dates and the such?

Rémi Gallego: I'm actually in the middle of our European tour right now! All the information is available on the regular social media profiles but not on MySpace.

Lastly, I would like to thank you for your time. You can use the space below to say anything more you would like. Cheers!

Rémi Gallego: Oui.

The Algorithm

Apr 2016

Metal, Synthwave