PromoFabrik Webblog: PORN in interview about their new CD

Lucy asked Philippe D. from french industrial-rock band PORN about the new stuff, dangerous things and his experiences.

Hello Philippe, nice that we can steal a bit of your time to get our curiousity satisfied for a while...Ok, let’s jump right in the middle: How did you start in 1999?

Philippe D: I all started back in 1999. I was studying psychology and sociology at the time, in Grenoble. I had been singing for a few bands, none of which had me convinced, musically speaking. I had a lot to tell, lots of feelings. I was just out of teen age, overwhelmed by a stream of emotions. I was listening to The Cure a lot, Bauhaus, Nine Inch Nails... Then I bought a guitar so that I could write my own songs. We played our first gig in late 1999 in Marseille ( L incassable celluloïd ). We recorded our first demo the next year, with songs like « Soft machine -Porn machine » , « Recycle » et « Still ». Our sound was pretty much influenced by NIN, and the whole Noisy-Industrial trend ( SPK, Esplandor Geometrico … ), but we wanted to keep The Cure's "pop" legacy. Francis ZEGUT, who discovered and supported bands like Venom and Metallica in France, spotted Porn and played « Soft Machine -Porn Machine » for the very first time in 2000, on RTL2. The machine was in motion.

Do you regret some steps you made in the past? Something you would not do the way you did back then?

Philippe D: Absolutely nothing.

How did the scene develop in the past decade in your point of view?

Philippe D: In my opinion, there hasn't been any development in a positive way, meaning going beyond or reinforcing the basis. The so-called "dark" scene, has been decreasing considerably. Some bands disappeared, others turned to something more clubby in the Electro style, or strass-hard-rock for the Rock style. I regret this, but it's a lot like our whole society: you have to faster all the time, never do things thoroughly, touching things without embracing them. Being part of the wave, the mold, being cool. Dreaming of American beaches and over made-up blondes. I'm glad that Zeromancer are still there. They are sincere, which makes their artistic reach greater.

How do you preceive the progress of the internet in regards of its effects on PORN?

Philippe D: There are more and more tools available on the Internet for developing bands. That being said, I feel that this is just an illusion. Internet didn't really evolve, people did. It is the faith that they put in it that grew. Internet, as much as Capitalism, are an incredible dreaming machine. We just feel like making our own way, with or without Internet, without a rush.

Internet opens up the possibilities to piracy a lot. Do you feel betrayed or do you have a more positive attitude towards it? E.g. that people can hear your music even where they cannot physically buy your CD?

Philippe D: I don't feel betrayed at all. First, a lot of kids can't afford buying records. Trust me on that: as a kid I couldn't afford a stamp ! The only way for me to come across a record would be to borrow it from the library, or steal it from the store. Those who betray and steal us, are for instance the Internet Providers, or those who own the streaming websites. They handle millions of Euros, none of which is being shared. Internet users can't be asked to pay again. We have to tax the companies which make huge profits because of Artists and Internet users. We've come to a whole new economic model in which "everything for free" is a norm. But I feel like it's those who gave birth to this norm and the advertisers who should be redistributing a share of the money that they win. Take Myspace for example: on every Myspace page there's advertising. The money made out of this advertising should be given to the Artist who created the page, because the Internet user connected to the page to listen to the Artist. No Artists, no Myspace. On the contrary, Myspace has become impossible to avoid, so has Capitalism. Which is all coming down to Marx and Proudhon: The privatization of the production means leads to the exploitation of those who create wealth. In a way, Myspace has been stealing the means of production from us, our tools to develop ourselves as a band. There will always be someone to tell you that you don't need Myspace, which is true. If we consider the world as a geographical space, Myspace is a big city. I can chose to move there, or to go to the country. But in the country, I'm not going to see a lot of people.

Let’s talk about the bandname. PORN is a very common term that opens up some imagery in mind. What is the connection between porn and your music?

Philippe D: There's no direct link. At the beginning there was obviously a will to disturb. It's a powerful word, it is also an homage to The Cure's Pornography. It is also a way of thinking, to be thorough, a 100%. Not hiding anything, naked. Our music is also a lot alike human sexuality: sometimes smooth, sometimes rough and destructive.

In your shop you even offer condoms and other stuff. Very genious! Who did come up with that idea? Is your music that fertile, that you need to use contraceptives while listening to it?

Philippe D: For the release of the record, we wanted to make a limited series pack, a nice object, to please our fans. We've been asking ourselves what could be in that pack. I thought about the condoms because I saw a site selling condoms for night clubs, bars. I thought about it, it kind of imposed itself. I didn't want to disturb anybody. I didn't think that offering condoms could be an act of subversion. In every high school, they give them for free.

These days, your newest release „A Decade In Glitter And Danger“ as a best of. Is the title a summary of your past career?

Philippe D: From the beginning, Porn was about playing an attractive yet dangerous music, combining the shiny with the subversion. To create a universe that's dark and dangerous, but attracting and intriguing too. Looking back at it, those two words ( Glitter and Danger ) have been pretty similar to this first decade of Porn. There were moments of intense joy, great gigs. The story of a bunch of kids coming out of nowhere, hitting the road, playing throughout Europe. A homemade record released in several continents. Then there was the dark side: the destruction, intensive care, detention cells, lawcourts. Chaos.

On the new album, an essence of your best known tracks is released. Did you rework the songs or change anything?

Philippe D: We didn't change anything.

What criterias did you use to select the fourteen songs for the album?

Philippe D: That of coherence. We also wanted this album to reflect these last ten years.

If I am right, there are some new tracks on the album, too: Title 1 „All That Glitters ...“ and Title 14 „... Is No Gold“?

Philippe D: Yes.

Let’s take a closer look onto these tracks mentioned. Did you change something in the approach of writing or composing the songs?

Philippe D: No. These two songs are apart in our discography. They have some kind of "ambient" feel. « … is no gold » has even a Noisy-Indus feel, not unlike what you can hear from Ant Zen.

What is the most dangerous thing you ever did?

Philippe D: Fighting a Police Officer while in handcuffs.

If you were forced to jump out of an airplane without a parachute, what were the last things you want to think about and remember in the last minute until you hit the ground?

Philippe D: If that happened today, I would think of this quote from Darwin : « So much beauty for so little purpose ».

Talking about lyrics. The titles sound interesting, sexy and thrilling a the same time. What topics do you reflect in your music?

Philippe D: At the time, the idea of reality already intrigued me. I was thinking a lot about the importance an reality of free will. I read Philip K Dick a lot, Burroughs. You find a lot of that in Soft Machine Porn Machine. I was rebelling against the world's order. I could feel the weight of the Jungian archetypes. I was trying to resist the machine, I didn't want to be any part of it. There's a lot of that « Don't be a Lady » ,« recycle » or Borderline. There are also lighter songs like Baby Smack and Toyboy. Those songs are references to experiences, sometimes sexual, or affective.

Let’s talk about the remixes. What can you tell us about the bands that contribute? is there anything funny or confusing that happened in the process of remixing?

Philippe D: French guys of Dexy Corp remixed "The fee". I'm glad of the result. They created a very loud and metallic version. We toured with them recently. They're truly great people. The Australian bands Craig Sue and Manek Deboto brought a very rhythmic and powerful version of the song. Soft machine/ Porn Machine has been remixed by LS 201. This band may not exist anymore.

Are there any more remixed that have not been released yet?

Philippe D: No.

Do you make plans for a new album to be released in the future? Can you tell us something about it already?

Philippe D: The album that I'm working on is darker than everything we've done so far. It's just hopeless. Just a will to make do. I'm a more peaceful person now; but when it usually brings calm, it turned me into a more extreme being, absolutely embracing the absurdity of the world. The flame lit out, giving birth to something else. I recently discovered TS Eliot. The reading of « The hollow men» was a great influence to making the album. Porn's first concept finally took again a whole lot of sense. Let's go all the way, or just step aside. Céline said that in order to write a good novel, one has to put their guts on the table. Give everything. I decided to live my life in order to go all the way to the bottom of things. I gave up a lot of things, sacrificed essential elements of life in community. I guess it's just the price to pay, the only way to touch reality.

Where can we see PORN live this year?

Philippe D: I'm not sure of what the future holds for me. So far, I'm focused on the new album. However, I'm open to propositions. We should be touring again in France this fall. I'd very like to tour in Germany and East Europe again. We'll see.

Many thanks for ansering our questions.We want to wish you much success for „A Decade In Glitter And Danger“. The last words we leave up to you...

Philippe D: Thanx a lot .

PORN @ www: