Let's start right to the core: I think your debut album is one of the best things happened to "Our Thing" in 2013. In fact, in the past few years. I say this while I acknowledge that there's not a single ounce of originality in The Aesthetics Of Failure: bands like Imperative Reaction or Aesthetic Perfection done it already. But there's a sense of "maturity" in your music, especially given your young age and the fact this is the first music you release officially. So, where does this maturity comes from?
Séamus Bradd: - ''In all honesty yeah, while I've tried to put my own mark on the album, making something truly groundbreaking wasn't at the forefront of my mind when I was writing this album. It's unabashedly a total love-letter to the industrial music I spent my teenage years listening to. And whilst I realise that's something totally outwith the original, pioneering spirit of the genre, I don't think it's worth getting bogged down in the politics of this kind of thing. I had a lot of fun writing it. While I'm flattered that you think my stuff has a "maturity" to it, I don't think that's really for me to say. All I can say objectively is that I've been writing music for a good little while now. I just spent a lot of time trying to hone my craft until it got to a point I was satisfied with it''

Some critics tried to downplay the album by saying that you sound like "Industrial AFI". Is Davey Havok's band really one of your major influences? What would you say if I replied to those critics saying that The .invalid is what Blaqk Audio should have sounded like?
Séamus Bradd: - ''"Industrial AFI" is totally a compliment to me! I've loved AFI for years now, and while I've never really made a conscious effort to emulate that style, I don't think I can really help being influenced by the music I enjoy. Honestly though, I get the impression that Blaqk Audio is trying to be something quite different from where I want The .invalid to go. They've got a different set of objectives. I don't really see The .invalid as being "Two boys in love with synthesisers and software". "

You teamed up with DWA to release the album, a very small label with limited resources. They stated that your album is the fastest selling pre-sale in the history of the label: who do you think this relationship is benefiting the most? Does newcomers really need labels nowadays? I'm referring mostly to the points outlined by Matt Fanale in one of his Caustic's blogs ( http://vampirefreaks.com/journal_comment.php?entry=8199998 )
Séamus Bradd: - ''Yeah, being signed is much more of an optional thing than it used to be, and I think it's been that way for a few years now. Hell, over here in the UK we had Enter Shikari break the charts years ago. In many ways it's a great time to get your music out there of your own accord. On the flipside though, a lot of artists, myself included, just aren't good businessmen. I fucking HATE the business side of things. I have no fiscal acumen. I can't promote myself for love nor money. I can't afford to take yet more time out of my day job in order to sink money I don't have into an album that while relatively successful, is part of a cripplingly niche market. I'm fucking dedicated to my music, but myself, and many in my position simply cannot afford to front the resources for this kind of project ourselves. Without DWA I simply could not have afforded to print CDs, advertise, or afford mastering or artwork."

What's the song your are most proud of so far, and which is the one you hoped you didn't release in retrospect? My personal favourites are Blind Myself and Overstep, along with the intro Deletion (which, again, could have been on Sing The Sorrow, the most iconic AFI album): which songs do you think DJs will pick up for their dancefloor sets?
Séamus Bradd: - ''Ha, that's really cool you picked up on the Sing The Sorrow vibe with Deletion, the song basically started out as an experiment as to what would happen if I stuck Miseria Cantare by AFI and Chrometaphor by Gridlock in a blender and kind of added a bit of my own sensibility to the mix.
I don't think there's anything I would have omitted in retrospect in all honesty. Not to get too brash, but I basically zeroed in on the 11 tracks I was going to use about a year beforehand and then worked on them until I was satisfied. I'd certainly like to go back and re-record some of those vocal parts though. I'm really self-critical when it comes to the vocals. As far as I'm aware, the most popular DJ tracks so far have been Breaksequence, Quantify and Blind Myself, probably owing to the fact they all have a fairly dance floor-friendly tempo"

Remixes: there's a lot of them in the 2CD limited edition of the album. Which one is your favourite and why?
Séamus Bradd: - ''Oh god, that's like asking me to pick my favourite son or daughter, haha! There's some absolutely fantastic cuts on there. Really, really pleased that most of the artists involved absolutely brought their A-game when it came to the mixes. What I will say is it was a huge honour having a Die Sektor remix on there, as I look up to Scott immensely as a producer. I was also really excited to have the remixes by V▲LH▲LL, V▲LH▲LL and Outsight on there, as those guys are all super talented and deserve a ton more exposure. But yeah, no favourites"

On your Facebook page you recently said that you find weird that some of the more established bands out there charge their fans for "Meet'n'Greets". Do you really find it so weird? Do you think that you'll always be able to retain this purity and naiveté?
Séamus Bradd: - ''I'm just a nerd with a Macbook and a couple of synths. Why the fuck would I want to charge people to speak to me? I'll leave that sort of thing to the superstars, haha. I don't really consider that to be naive or innocent. I'd just rather stick to principles and try and see myself as not being too separate from my audience. Having said that, it's all a matter of perspective. I'm sure it's an entirely different perspective for bigger artists, but I can only really speak for myself."

You also play with Cease2Xist, another fine UK act. How that collaboration came into being, and have you guys ever thought about doing a tour together? How was your gig at Resistanz 2013?
Séamus Bradd: - ''C2X came together one very drunken night when Dayve and I were chatting shit online. He jokingly suggested I should come play synths for C2X and in spite of knowing full well that we live in opposite corners of the country, I said 'fuckit, yeah, let's do it!'. Doing a tour together would be awesome, but chances are I'd utterly destroy myself in the process! We're doing a one-off gig at Slimelight in September doing exactly that though, it's gonna be a fully back-to-back set. And yeah, Resistanz was obviously fucking awesome. Fantastic weekend. Looking out off that stage and seeing so many people staring back was pretty awe-inducing!"

Speaking of the UK, it really seems like a storm of talent is brewing in Great Britain in the past few years: does this also translate in a sense of camaraderie among the various acts who are slowly, but surely, gaining popularity, or is it more a backstabbing scene? Do promoters and DJs support you all or still prefer to give space to the usual suspects from Germany?
Séamus Bradd: - ''There's been a ton of talent sprung up in the UK within the last eight years or so, and it's freaking fantastic to see. Although I'd call it a resurgence more than anything. The UK had some absolutely phenomenal and influential artists back in industrial's heyday - TG, Coil, Test Dept, Cabaret Voltaire, KLF, Portion Control, Nitzer Ebb, Cubanate, etc, and then for some reason the whole thing completely lapsed at the turn of the century. Everybody gravitated towards the more club-friendly Euro sound right about the time I got into industrial as a teenager, and as a result, I wanted to start making music myself because it felt like there was almost nothing else out there. I must admit, it does at times feel like an uphill struggle for the UK bands, but luckily, all the influential promoters and DJs in the scene here are incredibly enthusiastic and supportive - it's just a case of keeping on pushing."

Do you consider yourself to be part of the "industrial scene", do you know/care about the industrial subculture, or do you think it's something that has no place anymore and that we should move away from it? This could be an interpretation of the title of your album, after all
Séamus Bradd: - ''Scenes are funny things. I've always been fascinated by industrial as a subculture, and in subcultures in general, and how they change and evolve over time. There was a time maybe seven years ago or so, when I partied every weekend, wore loads of crazy cyber-clothes, DJed at clubs and generally had a riot. But then after a while, you suddenly find yourself needing to fend for yourself, working a full-time job, and you can't afford the clothes and the lifestyle anymore. Anyway, by that point I was focusing most of my energy on making music. It's like I find myself in this situation where I'm still really passionate about it in one respect, but in another, I find it really hard to relate to. I can appreciate that scenes provide lifeblood for the music, and in that way, it's great; but in another respect, I can walk into a room and immediately attract glares because I'm not wearing the right clothes or whatever. I certainly don't think it's redundant, but cliques are naturally wary of those they deem outsiders, and that aspect I find a bit difficult."