Rhys Fulber interview

The producer and musician Rhys Fulber is known worldwide for being, together with Bill Leeb, a member of the mythical bands Front Line Assembly and Delirium. However, in just a few years this Canadian artist has managed to separate his work as frontman of these two bands from his solo career, a difficult task given the great magnitude of Front Line Assembly. We talked to Rhys Fulber about his current situation, his solo projects and Brutal Nature Redux.

We have seen how many EBM and industrial bands and artists that emerged in the 80’s are currently living a great moment after 4 decades, do you think this musical current has been revitalized these last years?

I think when a new scene of bands starts working with retro sounds their audience wants to hear their influences or at least similar sounds to the new bands. It’s a good thing for everyone.  Also the younger audience never got to see these acts live in the late 80s and early 90s. 

It’s funny how many of us who knew FLA’s music in the 80s thought you were European, in fact, your first albums were released on European labels. What has Europe brought to you as an artist?

Bill and I both have European roots, but initially, it was simply because there seemed to be more interest in this type of music there. The groups that influenced us were mostly British and European too, so you got this idea it’s a magical place where this music is popular.  Which was only partially true. 

Your solo project starts in 2017 and for the first 3 years you release exclusively on Sonic Groove, did Adam Mitchell have something to do with this decision or did you already foresee that you were going to release solo music?

It was somewhat accidental.  I had be working on the demos of the Realism EP mainly because I wanted to make some harder electronic music on my own (I had been mainly focusing on the more ethereal Conjure One project up until then) and I shared them with my friend Joey Blush (Response) who played them for Adam, who then expressed interest in doing a release. Adam also gave me a few small tips to make some minor adjustments on the material so it could fit in a techno playlist, and then it grew from there.

From 2020 you decide to self-manage your releases, although you released again with Sonic Groove in 2022, why did you decide to create FR Recordings, did the pandemic have something to do with it?

It was mainly so I could have more control over when I released music and total self curation as well.  I had also told Adam I’d make another album for him prior to this.  The pandemic just kept me inside writing music even more than usual, so there was a fair amount of material to choose from.

Many artists redefined their musical personality due to the confinement because of covid, as a music producer did the pandemic condition you a lot?

It gave me a bit more focus and variety than usual, and I also did a lot of work on a more small home set up than usual, which is kind of a good thing – having imposed limitations on your tools.

You are currently involved in several musical projects, from your project as Rhys Fulber to Conjure One, Front Line Assembly or Delirium, how and at what point do you decide that you should work on one project or another?

What I am working on is usually decided beforehand, but the lines in what’s FLA, Noise Unit and my solo output blurred a bit more the last few years.

Front Line Assembly and Delirium have always been two projects that have coexisted in parallel, can we compare these two projects with your work as Rhys Fulber and with Conjure One?

That is a fair assessment.  

Recently Roadrunner United released The Concert, do you have anything to do with this project?

Well, this is the first I have heard of this, so that is your answer!  I worked on one song with Dino on the initial album and was in the video for the song, but that was quite a while ago now.

Let’s focus now on an album you released in 2021 and which will soon have a second chapter, did you think at the time to give continuity to Brutal Nature?

I was very focused on this album so I have to say yes.  This was definitely my pandemic album.  The whole process of it was shaped behind that.

Brutal Nature Redux is an album with very different versions by various artists, how has this release been prepared, what criteria has been followed?

I like remixers to take things to different places, so thought was given to artists with different approaches to have a varied and balanced release you can play at home or in the club.

I must say that the artists that participate in Brutal Nature Redux have been chosen very wisely for each track, did you choose yourself which track each artist should cover or was it something agreed?

My agent Antonia Rangelova did most of the curation of the artists.  She is more up to speed on new artists and what’s current than I am, so she had some good ideas.  We also let the artists choose the tracks they wanted to remix, which I think always yields better results.

Without delving exclusively into each remix, once you listen to the six tracks the first thing you notice is that each artist has managed to add their own identity to their version, was this the intention of Brutal Nature Redux?

Absolutely!  I want to hear the sound of the remixers and where they could take it. 

Brutal Nature was originally released with 10 tracks, can we expect a third chapter at the expense of the remaining four tracks?

This is being discussed right now actually, so yes.

Will Brutal Nature Redux be self-released, or do you plan to release it on a label?

The Redux series will be self released.