DYM: Interview Part 1

I had the pleasure of interviewing Arc and E-n of DYM recently. They hail from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but are an international success. With a strong breakcore influenced sound, they are re-writing the way we think of Industrial music. Their latest release, "The Invilid," is an amazing album! I also got to see them play live at Kinetik 2.0 this past May, and thier performance was nothing short of amazing.

So, sit back an enjoy my interview with this dynamic duo.


Why did you start making music?

E-n: [I] think I started when I was around 18. I listened to ALOT of music I always had my Discman with me, a backpack full of AA batteries and a pile of CDs. I would even sleep with my headphones on most of time, and I guess after hearing something so much you just [want to] give it a try [you] know. It just grew from there really.

How long have you been making music?

E-n: [For] about 9 years now.

What is the significance of your lyrics? What message are you trying to send?

E-n: For me, the significance varies from song to song. Sometimes I’ll try to say a lot in a song with the words. Other times, I think the music brings out more meaning. It really depends on the track.

What kind of instruments/equipment/computer software do you use?

E-n: We have a bunch of hardware and software, and have pretty much a completely different set up for when we play live [versus] when we are recording. Some of our more important friends would be our Korg Triton LE, an old E-mu sampler, Cubase on my pc, some decent preamps, plus an endless ever growing sample library.

How would you describe your music to someone who’s never heard it before?

Arc: Hard crunchy glitched electronic dance music. Someone at a show who hadn't heard us before once said, “they sound like Nine Inch Nails on fast forward."

Who are your musical influences?

E-n: I’d say some of the bands that influenced me the most would have to be bands like Skinny Puppy, FLA [Front Line Assembly], Throbbing Gristle, and, [to a lesser degree], Download, VAC [Velvet Acid Christ], Wumpscut, Enduser, Haujobb, and Converter. [Basically], anything with a good beat!!

Arc: Skinny Puppy, Haujobb, Shape, Enduser, Velvet Acid Christ, and Rust. Our drums are influenced by breakcore, and our synths from ebm, [while our] general undertone [is] a spooky old school sound.

What’s on your IPOD right now?

E-n: besides listening to podcast of conspiracy radio shows I’ve been listening to Fractured, Famine, and Milianse.
Arc: Some new Fractured tracks, Enduser, and Trentemoller.

How did you come up with your band’s name?

E-n: “Death to your Modem” was a name that came to me [when] After a Friend came out with [the] great album called Death to the Processed, [which came out when] I was in high school. The ideology behind that statement really stuck to me and really was the root of DYM.

How long have you known each other?

E-n: I’ve know Arc since he was I’d say about 17-18 and I was like 15. We met through a mutual friend and we were into a lot of the same things (like being spooky), and just [kind of] always have been friends since. [Even] before the idea of us being in a band ever crossed our minds, we’ve been good friends, and after Tom left DYM it was just natural that Arc join the band.

What was your “big break”? Please explain.

E-n: I [don’t know] if we ever really had one. I think our rise to where we are now was never the result of a single event. Rather we just worked on our music constantly, played lots of shows and tried our best to get our name out there.

What’s the best part of being a musician? What’s the worst part?

E-n: I think the best thing about being a musician would be the free beer you get when you play a show! [Laughs] Actually, I’d have to say it’s a pretty rewarding pastime. When you play a show in front a big crowd and everyone’s into [your music], it’s the rush you get from that moment that I’d say is a pretty rocking part of being a musician. The worst part would be the [amount] time it uses up from your life. I’ve had many sleepless nights, and missed out on a lot of things because I’ve decided to work on music instead. I’ve had to say though, that’s it’s completely worth it!

Arc: Providing art to the rest of the world [by] representing Canada, and having a lot people appreciate it. [Also], meeting a lot of other great musicians and having the opportunity to share a stage or collaborate with [them]. Negative - maybe the amount of time it takes to do everything (but [it] also keeps us out of trouble).

Hope you enjoyed the first part of my interview with DYM. Stay tuned for the second part. It will be posted shortly.

You can check out thier music at:

http://www.enterdym.com/
http://www.last.fm/music/Dym
http://www.myspace.com/dym