Rockezine.com interview with Dismantled on Sep 06, 2002

with Gary Zon on Sep 06, 2002

Gary Zon ís DISMANTLED, period. His debut album is filled with industrial music you might expect from Front Line Assembly, but… DISMANTLED is one of those acts that get away with it. Why? Because the music is so intense and real. No copycat, but a real threat… And DISMANTLED has the future, because he proved to be more than an FLA adept. Gary Zon creates his own music, even if it’s from others. That’s why we find remixes of :Wumpscut:, NIN and Madonna for instance on his website. It’s time to let Gary do the talking…
		DISMANTLED was formed in 2000 in an attempt to create something similar to the sound of Front Line Assembly. Why this passion for Front Line Assembly? Front Line Assembly is the only band that really captured my imagination and inspired me to create my own music because I`ve never heard anything like it before and the totally synthetic and aggressive style of music was something that was a gateway for me into other electronic music. No band tops Front Line Assembly in terms of the quality and quantity of the releases.
		You made it easy for critics to compare your music to FLA, but you made it difficult because you proved that you could create similar music without really copying it. When did you realize that you had more to offer? I always like listening to many different types of music and lately, rock music so I am always influenced in many different ways in terms of melody and structure. I definitely will not follow a pre-defined formula every time and I think that there`s a lot of room for growth in the music, you`ll just have to see how it evolves over time.
		What`s typical for the music of DISMANTLED if you compare it to other bands? It`s impressive to hear all the different layers in your music. The most important aspect of the music is that I try to make it very melodic and catchy while at the same time aggressive and moody. That`s the first thing that I look for when I hear a new song, is if it has a good melody. Everything else is secondary.
		What`s your inspiration? What issues are important for you to put in your music? Inspirations just come naturally, it`s whatever is going through my mind at any given time. At the time I wrote the debut, I was heavily influenced by science fiction and apocalyptic themes and now I`m focusing on more of my own personal issues with the music. The most important part of the music for me is to make it that outlet for the themes I`m trying to convey and the lyrics are the most important part of that, I wish more people would read them instead of discarding them just because they are distorted.
		It all sounds so oppressing, like you could use it in any barren science fiction movie where machines take it over from (feeling, thinking) human beings. Could that be an option for you, writing music for a movie? I wouldn`t mind writing music for a movie, I actually have quite a few ideas for my own movie. If I was very into the theme of the movie then I would definitely write something for it but movies take a monstrous time to complete and get scrapped more often than they get made.
		You`ve won the :Wumpscut: "Wreath Of Barbs" remix competition, can you tell us more about that? What did it mean for the launch of Dismantled? Personally I think that the "Wreath of Barbs" track is the best track Rudy has ever written, it has a great appeal even to people that don`t normally listen to electronic music. When I heard about the remix contest on the Wumpscut website I just had to make a remix and then it got selected along with some other tracks to be on the single. I can really identify with that song personally and that`s why I did my own vocals for it. I think it was a great way for me to get the name out and I really try to do that whenever I can with my music and remixes.
		You seem to be busy with a lot of (re)mixes as well, like for The God Module recently. Do people ask you or how does this work? God Module asked me to do a remix for them and that`s what I did, I always look for ways to improve songs or make them sound the way I want to and that was my chance. Other times I just listen to a song and think about how I can make it sound my way and if there are parts that I can use. Then I just cut it up and remix it, I don`t really think about the consequences or whether it`s legal or not. That`s exactly how the NIN remix came along.
		When is the release of the PostNuclear EP? What can we expect musically? The sound is going to be more organic and personal and much more raw and intense than the debut, especially vocals and percussion. There’s songs that I`m working on that sound like rock songs with an electronic edge, then there are others which are very moody and organic but in general it`s going to be quite a leap from the sound of debut.
		Are there any plans for touring? No plans for touring until we get our shit together which hasn`t happened yet so I`ll just shut up until I can safely say we`re ready.
		Have you heard about the Wave Gotik Treffen incident with Bill Leeb? He didn`t appear and he just sent a lookalike. How do you feel about such a thing? It was very arrogant for him to do that because I did see them the show before in Vancouver May 11th and Bill Leeb was great at that show. That was my first and probably last Front Line Assembly show. Then I hear about the incident and it really puts everything to a different light. I guess he just doesn`t care anymore since the focus is on Delerium.
		How important is your website for you? Because you keep it pretty up to date. Web design has always been a hobby of mine way before I wrote music so I always like to keep that updated since to me it`s the only way of seeing how the project is doing, the real world doesn`t see much of Gary Zon anyway.
		Something you always wanted to say, but never have been asked. I`m a horrible social animal.
(Beautevil )