I've watched reakt[ion] grow over the last few years in a really brilliant way. I've thrown my cents at it here and there, but I can say that Wes definitely has his own idea about what he wants for his sound, and that is really important for a project to succeed. I am endlessly interested in seeing where this project will go in the future. The first demo took a million years to come out, but for good reason - It's a really fine tuned first demo and I would suggest it to anyone who likes HarshEBM
Current release: Attrition
Label: unsigned
You recently released your first demo, “Attrition,” after a long period of silence – What does “Attrition” mean to you, and is there a general theme to the demo?
The title “attrition” was meant to be representative of some common themes from the songs it contained. There is a lot of war in the demo. The songs from the demo were written over a couple of years, and there’s some evolution in the songs that kind of show my political evolution over that period of time. The beginning of the demo is very war and religion oriented, but by the time you get to Parasite, I’m talking more about domestic politics; the modern reactionary conservative movement, fear-mongering in the media, things like that. Soulless, which is a homage to Blade Runner, is an exception to the war/politics theme.
What are some of the major influences you had for “Attrition”?
Musically, I originally come from a punk background. When I started writing music in the early 2000’s, it was all political punk music, so I think my music tends to carry the more traditional verse chorus song structure. Distorted Memory has been a huge influence on my music, I really like the way he layers his sounds, as well as the hard trance influence he brings to the genre. I’ve also been heavily influenced by Tactical Sekt.
What plans do you have for a follow up demo?
A Christmas album! No, right now I don’t have any hard plans for a new release. I’ve been stuck in a lyrical dry spell for a while now, though I think I’m finally starting to push through that. Once I have something new, maybe a single with some remixes.
Do you have any live performances coming up, and do you have plans to expand to more than 2 people?
I don’t have any performances scheduled at the moment, but I’m always looking to play shows. I don’t have any plans to expand at the moment. Two people is fine with me.
What new releases are you currently listening to?
Knife Party’s new “100% No Modern Talking” EP. Its got some amazing beats. I’ve also been enjoying Aesthetic Perfections “All Beauty Destroyed”. “I Hope You Choke” by [product] has also been on heavy rotation.
If you could tour with any one band (current and in rotation), who would it be?
I’d love to tour with Distorted Memory or Aesthetic Perfection. Distorted Memory has been a big influence on my music, and I love seeing Aesthetic Perfection’s performances.
What are your top 5 albums of all time?
Oh man, this is going to be the hardest question. I think I’m going to have to bust this into two categories, top 5 in the genre and top 5 general.
1. Burning Heaven - Distorted Memory
2. Swallowing the Sun - Distorted Memory
3. Syncope - Tactical Sekt
4. Precognitive Dissonance - Manufactura
5. Harsh Generation - Grendel
Anything by Tom Waits
The Ziggurat - The Constructus Corporation
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West
Welcome Reality - Nero
Ain’t No Grave - Johnny Cash
What are some movies that your watching currently?
Contagion, 50/50, Hannah, X-Men First Class, and Fast Five are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. Contagion and Hannah both had really interesting soundtracks. I really liked Contagion, I think it was fairly accurate, both scientifically, and sociologically. Hannah seemed like Kick-Ass meets Jason Borne, and was a lot of fun. 50/50, no joke, made me tear up a couple times. Of course, X-Men and Fast Five are probably the greatest films of our generation. Both were works of true cinematic genius.
What video games are you currently playing, and what is your preferred system?
I just finished a Skyrim binge, I think I put in close to 100 hours there. I’m back to Minecraft now, peppered with a liberal amount of Modern Warfare 3. My preferred system is definitely the 360.
What are you most looking forward to in 2012?
Mass Effect 3. Die Antwoord’s Ten$ion. I am also tentatively looking forward to the election season. I really would like a crazy fringe candidate like Perry or Bachmann to win the Republican Primary so I can see them debate Obama, because that would be amazing and hilarious. I know Romney’s going to win, though, so this election season will probably be fairly boring.