Ionic Vision

Ionic Vision isn't that famous in Sweden, please tell us more about Ionic Vision.
- "Ionic Vision was born in 1992. Three friends decided to create the music they have been listening to for so long. The music was called EBM and was being betrayed by so many bands doing crossover. After a period of demo-tapes, CD-R's, cassette singles etc, we got signed to Celtic Circle Productions (CCP) in Germany, and released two maxis and a full-CD. Due to mismanagement CCP went down and so together with many bands Ionic Vision was wandering in the dark and shortly after Kurt decided to leave the band. Then after some time we got in contact with DSBP and thanks to friendship, collaboration was founded which saw the release of 'Homo Sovieticus - ION004' (a compilation for the US market only, with some exclusive tracks) and a remix album 'Maschinenangst - ION005' with remixes by bands such as Suicide Commando, BuroPolitik etc. We both were in turmoil suddenly, because we were losing grip of our musical intentions and decided to go back to our roots, old-school EBM. This resulted in 'Neumaschinen - ION006', our 6th official release. This release can be found in two editions, one being a 10 year anniversary. Each edition holds exclusive tracks and remixes by bands such as Pouppee Fabrikk, CAP, Black Wedding, System Syn and Panzerlab. For now we are working on new material for a next album and we try to perform a lot, to get some exposure of our products."

What's the EBM scene in Belgium like?
- "Concerning an EBM scene, there is none (was there ever one?). We do have some bands in the electro genre left like Suicide Commando, Nebula-H and Implant. The country that once had the pioneers of EBM is bleeding to death in the electronic scene. Sad, but it must be evolution. That's why prefer not to focus on Belgium."

Have you ever played live in Sweden and have you any plans playing in Sweden with the "Neumaschinen Tour"?
- "We have never played in Sweden, no. Sadly though, we always had good response from there. But we are in close contact with other EBM bands in Sweden and who knows what might follow."

How would you describe your latest album 'Neumaschinen'?
- "A back-to-the-roots album, kicking a lot of old-school body tracks right in your face with topics on Angst, War, Love and Life in general. Someone said that it even holds songs to have sex to. And another said that it's not a CD to play as background. For us it's a step back in the right direction. We are very pleased with the result and seeing the response we are getting we are not alone. It is far the best release we have ever done, and prove of that can be found in the fact we even reached the 12th place in the German Alternative Charts! It is back-to-the roots EBM, but it has got a modern look and feel."

What do you like most; release your own tracks or remix other artists tracks?
- "Release own tracks, definitely, because you can start from a feeling, an idea and you go with that. Remixing is a tough job, we can tell you. You not only have to please yourself, but the band you're remixing for. It's especially hard when the song to remix is not really your choice. But along with getting back to out roots, we more or less decided to stop remixing other bands, it takes too much input for nearly no output. We prefer to focus on our own stuff, which is already hard enough."

You made a couple of songs for the Neumaschinen album, but dropped them and started all over, how come?
- "It's more than a couple of songs, to be honest. It was almost a complete album. The reason they were deleted was that we were not 100% pleased with the result. They did not sound like Ionic Vision at all. So the only option was, instead of reworking and remixing, just delete and start from scratch. It almost felt as if we were starting with Ionic Vision again. That's why the title Neumaschinen is truer than you'll ever know. It is a milestone for us. A fresh breathe! We needed it and it feels really good, we never felt, as close to one another as for this album, Neumaschinen is the perfect blend of our ideas, our feelings, and our musical efforts."

You have released a large numbers of albums, which one would you say be the most successful one?
- "Without a doubt 'Neumaschinen', although 'Rage Against The Acoustic' is much sought after by our hardcore fans. Recently in Dessau, East Germany, we sold the very last copy, so now the only option is E-Bay and the likes."

How do you come up with and get inspiration for your lyrics?
- "That's hard to explain. Sometimes one of us has an idea for a baseline or sometimes we hear a great sentence in a movie on TV and a new idea is born. Sometimes we have a new baseline and the lyrics just come like in a flash, because they fit and sound nice. We never spend that much time on content, because we feel that lyrics are a part of a song and should not be the body of the song, but don't get it wrong, no sound without lyrics and no lyrics without sound."

You have worked with Bio-tek, Suicide Commando along others, who would you say were the most fun working with?
- "They all have their own charm. There is no band that jumps out, I guess. It's always nice to work with other bands, in studio and on stage as this adds new ideas to your own vision on music."

You are aware of the Swedish groups Pouppée Fabrikk and C.A.P., any plans working together with them?
- "Well, we contact each other regularly for all kinds of matters. There are no plans at this moment, but never say never."

Any plans for a new album?
- "We always have plans for more material (and yes, we started to work on a new album already, few arrangements are in the pipeline, and several ideas have been discussed already), but nothing solid yet at this moment. Let's just say that the electro world will be stunned with our next release (which we hope to have ready end of April). You will have to wait for our next rage against the acoustic! And in the meantime you can try to see us on many occasions and we hope that Sweden is part of that very soon."

This interview was made 2003 an initially published on Neurozine.com