Imperative Reaction

by Jourdan Turner


Imperative Reaction began in 1996 and has since then become a very popular electro/industrial group. In the studio the group is Ted Phelps and David Andrecht and for live performances they have Jason D.M on synths and machinery and Samuel P for percussion whom you might remember from Pulse Legion. In 1997 they released their first album "Eulogy for the Sick Child" on Pendragon Records, this is more harsh industrial with distorted vocals and heavy beats to carry their unique sound. Three years later after being signed on to Metropolis Records, a more distinct and softer sound has surfaced and in June 2002 they released "Ruined". This album is less harsh then the first one as the music is more rounded off and as opposed to their first album it is more accessible to the listener with clean vocals and catchy chorus'. Still the album holds a unique and a harsh sense of being as the tracks 'Beneath my Silence' and 'Rift' clearly proves this point. Going on tour to promote their album I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Ted Phelps. Here is an small portion of the man behind Imperative Reaction.



RAD
How old were you and how were you introduced to industrial music and where were you living?
IR
Let's see I was about fourteen years old and I was introduced to industrial music through Nine Inch Nails as at the time I liked heavy metal and I liked newwave so when I heard NIN and then Ministry it was a perfect combination of both so that's how I got into it. I was living near where I'm living now in a suburb of LA just right outside of LA.
RAD
So do you do any drugs?
IR
No I don't do any drugs I do drink though.
RAD
What's your beer of choice?
IR
I'm actually not into beer
RAD
Liquer of choice?
IR
Vodka anything with vodka is great(laughs) the other guys are beer guys.
RAD
What religion do you practice if not why?
IR
I don't practice any religion I have my own personal beliefs on things and I just wanna figure it out for myself I mean any theory's good you know what I mean. I don't think any religions theory or philosophy has any more barring on reality than any others to tell you the truth so I just wanna figure it out for myself.
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RAD
What city do you think holds a good industrial scene?
IR
Umm so far the ones we've seen it depends on what you mean by good industrial scene where people are really into it or where there's alot of people because there's alot of people in LA, but they just started becoming supportive of bands in the last year or two. Where as in Vancouver BC there doesn't seem to be many people that are into this style of music but their really really into it, their like rabib fans.
RAD
What's your favorite city to play in?
IR
It used to be San Francisco but uh we really had a good time in Vancouver. I'd say Orlando, LA and Vancouver right now maybe Salt Lake at the end of the night.
RAD
Who has most influenced your music and your life?
IR
This is a really unpopular answer but I really love NiN, I like Skinny Puppy alot, DepecheMode, Babyland is one of my favorite bands I don't know if you have heard of them their a great band out of LA. Pretty much I have wide range of influences alot of different stuff for music and for just my life I don't know pretty much personal experiences that's what I write about in my lyrics and that's what influences that.
RAD
Where do you see yourself in five years?
IR
(chuckles)Uhh I don't know hopefully at that point hopefully releasing our fifth album this is our second so I want to stick three albums in between by now and then.
RAD
With the success of "Ruined" are you impressed or surprised?
IR
At first I was worried because its so different you know its completely different than the first album but we've received nothing but positive feedback even more so then the first one it seems to be doing real well. We haven't received any kind of royalty statement or anything yet telling me how much its sold but as far as a reaction to it it's been awesome so I'm really excited about that.
RAD
What has been the most disturbing incident that has occured in your life so far?
IR
Disturbing incident hmmmm. its hard to say probably what "Eulogy for the Sick Child" was about. When I was teenager about fourteen I got sent to a Southern Baptist boys home in Mississipi for six months that was quite disturbing to say the least(laughs).
RAD
Have you had any female or relationship conflicts as your new album sounds more synthpop esque and softer compared to your previous album "Eulogy for the Sick Child" which was more throbbing harsh industrial?
IR
Yeah I was going through a tough time at the time actually I've been with Lisbeth Boada who sings 'Disoriented' on the album off and on for ten years now so at the time I was having a weird situation and our relationship was going downhill so that really contributed alot to the sound of the album. Also though situations with friends I mean the album is basically is a relationship falling apart but its not neccesarily a relationship with a lover if you will its friends, family, business whatever etc and I was going through alot of that at the time.
RAD
With the latest album are you trying to appeal to a more broader audience?
IR
Not really no, but I do realize that because the vocals are cleaner on it and there pushed to the forefront that it is a little more accessible although I'm definately not shooting for that I mean we're not gonna run out and become a future pop band or anything like that as its not our bag. I want to expand our horizons musically as much as possible and continue to finding our own sound I just didn't want to release the same album twice and I don't want release an album that just because the first one 'Scorpio' was the hit quoute on quote off that so I don't wanna release an album with Scorpios you know I mean there's barely anything like that on this album you know. I just wanna keep pushing the boundaries within myself to see what I can do right now as opposed to the first album I'm very into song structure and the craft of writing a song and seeing what I can do within the verse chorus, verse bridge type of thing and I'm fascinating with working within the restrictions of that rather than just going off going nuts with it you know and maybe that will change by the next album I don't know I just knew I wanted this one to sound alot different. If you listen to the lyrics and I don't want to say if you get it but if your able to understand where I'm coming from I think you'll see its a little more aggressive than it sounds at first. I wanted to write an album that was very diverse that had alot of different flavors to it because when we're reflecting three years of not doing anything supposedly I was working the whole time but I wanted this album to reflect those three years rather than just have a very uniformed sound. The next album I'm planning on having it be alot harsher but not in the sense that's its not gonna be like power noise or its not gonna be where I neccessarily go back to distorted vocals like I did on the first album but its gonna have more aggression to it I think we'll see though it could change between now and then.

After the interview a few hours later the show began and I watched as they ripped through their set with half of the new tracks including: Severed, Rift, Ruined, Diminish Me, and then they played older tracks from "Eulogy for the Sick Child" like Scorpio, The Longing, Flatline etc. My opinion: great music, but as for live aspect they didn't use vocal distortion on their older tracks so that was dissappointing. For further information on Imperative Reaction go to their website at www.imperativereaction.com


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