Interview- Wraith

Ladies and gents all rise and praise the one and only wraith!

Zeph: How did you come up with the name of your band, wraith? Who are the current members of the band?

Will: the name kinda hit me when i was looking for a way to describe the artistic vision i was trying to put together.  its meaning has evolved over the years depending on the direction the music has taken.
i am the only member of wraith.  various personnel are taken on for live shows.  and having someone co-write a song or contribute lyrics isn't entirely unheard of, just really rare.



Zeph: When was wraith formed and what inspired you to create the band?

Will: wraith was started in 95 conceptually and in 97 officially when i signed to kathodik musik.  i think like many artists, we start creating because what we want to hear isn't out there so we strive to create it ourselves.  and somewhere i had it in me that i had something to express.  i think alot of artists, like myself, use art in place of therapy.  one of the things that interested me specifically with industrial and electronic music was that technology allowed me to create the music myself, without reliance on other musicians.  and getting involved in music in the socially isolated environment i was in, that concept was a great relief.  and since i had a very specific vision and concept, i was able to create exactly what i had in mind without having to compromise my ideas with other people who may not have been exactly on the same page.


Zeph: Tell us about your unique style of music and who are your major influences?

Will: i wouldn't go as far as to say my style of music is unique, but it is definitely mine.  i didn't set out to re-invent the wheel, just to do something personal and my own.  over the years wraith has been labeled all sorts of creative and interesting things:  abrasive ebm, nightmare synthcore, satanic synthpop among others.  but by traditional genres, wraith is coldwave industrial.

i've got lots of influences, some more evident than others.  my music is influenced by alot of the usual classics;  skinny puppy, leatherstrip, 16volt, nin, fla, ministy, skrew and the like.  alot of rock and metal i listened to before i got into industrial has most influenced me as well.  bands like alice in chains, megadeth, and sepultura.  lyrically, i've been inspired by skinny puppy and 16volt and by authors like clive barker, dean kootz, and william gibson.  quite a few movies have inspired me as well; death machine, the thing, and in the mouth of madness have been some of my favorites.  however, one could argue that everything an artist experiences has an influence on their work in a variety of postive or negative ways.


Zeph: What sort of equipment do you use in the making of your music?

Will: oh god, i've used quite a bit of gear to make music over the years.  hardware synths:  k2000, k2000vp, k2vx, x5, qs6, cs1x, an1x, orbit 9090, sqr, eps16+, asr10, vfx-sd, various analogues by moog, oberheim and roland.  software synths by refx, native instruments and various freeware.  guitars by jackson, esp and schecter.  fx by zoom, alesis, boss and dod.  and a metric fuckton of plug in fx.


Zeph: Does wraith play live? If so what are your favorite venues? If not then do you plan to do so in the future?

Will: atomic cafe in austin, tx.  gunter murphy's in chicago.  but i'm not picky, we'll pretty much play anywhere, though i prefer a kick ass promoter and great bands on the bill.


Zeph: What has been your biggest challenge with wraith thus far?

Will: well, there've been quite a few.  one of them has been keeping a steady line up of live members, haha.  another has been solid management, which i seemed cursed to never find.  but i guess then biggest is actually finishing an album.  i was midway one (the shadow inflictions) when an integral part of my gear died on me, so i had to start over and choose between 2 different collections of songs using different technologies that originally were going to be wraith's 2nd and 3rd albums. i went with the collection that has evolved into the album 'annihilation'. but most recently it's been about getting the music the way it should be done.  i was pleased with the songs, but not how they sounded.  so i put the album and wraith aside for a year or 2 and worked on other projects while i meditated on what direction to take 'annihilation' and wraith as a whole.  about a year ago, i found my voice again and have been reworking the songs and re-recording them.  the process is about 80% complete and i hope to finally have it finished this winter for release.
 

Zeph: What are some of the highlights of wraith and what are your goals for the future... such as where do you hope to be with wraith 5 years from now?

Will: some of the best moments i've had with wraith has been opening for some of my favorite bands like numb and fleshfield.  my personal favorite is a story a girl told me at a party years ago about how she paid more than 50 dollars to get all of her friends into a wraith show just because she could hear the music outside the club and insisted on hearing more, even though her friends were broke.  every time i gain a new fan is a highlight:)
i guess my goal for the future is to get my work out to the people as much as possible.  anything more is just icing on the cake, at the moment.



Zeph: Are you currently working on or planning any new releases?

Will: in addition to 'annihilation', i'd like to release a remix album and maybe a couple EPs with the songs that didn't make it on the album.  i've also got a few treats in store that i've been working on for awhile just for fans on my
myspace page.


Zeph: What are your views on the current industrial/EBM scenes?

Will: in all honesty, i'm not very familiar with the current state of the 'scene'.  i stopped going to clubs due to lack of quality music the DJs were playing.  however, it's my understanding that the elements of industrial/ebm that were common in many bands that i enjoyed have been replaced with elements of futurepop or some techno derivative.  not that i've got any problems with bands exploring new territory, but when you've come to expect certain vibes, namely aggressive and hard rhythms from artists and then they totally change their sound, it's pretty disappointing.
on a similar note, i think many people today are less interested in writing kick ass songs as they are in writing something that'll end up on the dancefloor.  so many 'artists' seem either too caught up in the technology or in having club hits than what's really important:  writing a song that's worth listening to repeatedly.  or at least that's just my opinion.


Zeph: What are your views on collaborations/side projects and do you have any collaborations coming up?

Will: i love side projects and collaborations!  wraith being what is it and isn't, extra projects give me a chance to pursue artistic avenues that i can't really delve into otherwise.  i've got quite a few in various stages of completion and i hope to have some finished soon.  when demos are available, they're rotated on my studio myspace page (https://myspace.com/tortureresponse)
the complete right now of projects i'm involved in is as follows:
temperfuse:  electro-industrial
coderabies:  industrial rock/ebm
hydromancer:  triphop/industrial
wintermute:  electro rock/synthpop
severedvein:  electro rock
wetwire:  ebm/cyberpunk
v4:  trance/industrial rock
necrotasia:  undefined electro
sirens in vein:  industrial metal (programming only)


Zeph: How long have you been in the music industry and how has it changed over time?

Will: roughly about 12.  a few years after i got my start, i saw the rise of the internet and how it became a medium for music and it's effect on the industry as a whole.  not to mention all the trends in music and in the underground over the years.  those are always amusing to watch and see how they affect 'artists' and fans alike.


Zeph: Where do you typically get your inspiration for songs?

Will: that's a difficult question to answer for the most part.  i think the majority of my inspiration comes from life experiences and dreams the leave a particular scar on my psyche.  on occasion, books and movies give me ideas as well.


Zeph: If there were one thing you could change about the music industry today what would it be?

Will: i would change the pace of the industry.  i think artist development is really important and not enough bands are given the chance to grow.  who knows, maybe if that shitty band that didn't get very far had had more time to grow as songwriters and develop their sound/style more, they would've had more to offer.  look at Imperative Reaction for example, every album they do gets better and better.  how many bands could've been that good if they'd had the opportunity given to them by their labels to evolve a bit more.


Zeph: How do you feel about the issue of people downloading music and sharing music on the internet?

Will: i think it's amazing and i love it.  i feel like it's a great way to gain exposure and to find new bands without spending all your cash.  as a fan, i'm very picky about what i like to listen to and i'm not gambling my hard earned money on whether or not i'll like a band or not.  i think alot of other people feel the same way.  as far as the money issue goes, everyone in the music scene knows that album sales only make up a very small part of an artist's income to begin with.  and most people i know will happily buy an album they download and love.  a true fan of a band will financially support them when they can.  i think it pushes bands/labels/artists/etc. to create music that people actually want to buy.  not only music, but other products that can't be downloaded that fans would love to have.  like wumpscut's limited edition box set.  that sold out, didn't it?  lol.  i just think that we need to be more creative on our end to offer people something that gives them their money's worth.


Zeph: How is wraith being recieved by the public? Has the response been good?

Will: response has been VERY mixed at shows.  we get people that swear up and down how much they love the music, but they don't come to more shows or hit up the websites.  but online responses have been fairly good overall.  i'm pleased with it so far given that all i have right now are demos.


Zeph: Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview with me. It is very appreciated and I hope to speak with you again soon.