Intro: One of the elite female heroines of the gothic industrial dance scene over the past 7 years. Her self created project started back in 1998. She started out power noise and evolved to incorporate a more ebm dance theme into the act. Signed to Alfa-Matrix(a belgian label, with other acts: front 242, Leæther Strip, Ayria, Hungry Lucy) in 2005. With 3 lps under her belt, she has proved to be very relevant in the EBM-GOTH-INDUSTRIAL-DANCE scene. Click Here to check out their myspace page.

VAC: How are you doing?

UN: I’m doing really well! I’m in a great state of mind these days… The past year has been extremely rough and it’s nice to finally see a bit of light at the end of this long and dark twisted tunnel.

VAC: What are you working on currently?

UN: Right now, I’m working with my live band members for a huge show we have coming up next week with Nitzer Ebb. It’s a pretty big deal for me, because it’s in my home-town, and, well, it’s with a band that has been so influential to electronic music, so it’s quite an honor to be playing with them. Besides that, I’m wrapping up my next Unter Null album “Moving On”, which I’m very proud of, some of my best work to date… and I’m also finishing up the next album for my Stray project, which is going to be all kinds of epic. I’m also starting to book a tour in Europe for 2010- it will be REALLY nice to get back overseas, I have missed Europe dearly, especially Italy.

VAC: How did you come up with the band name?

UN: Years and years ago… I thought “Unter Null” would be a funny self-detrimental title – literally translated it means “Below Zero” but I also interpret it as “Below Nothing”. The name stuck and just kinda rolls off the tongue easily now.

VAC: Are you excited to be opening for Nitzer Ebb?

UN: Ha, as stated above — very much so I’m a huge fan… And luckily I’ve seen them play before over in Europe and it was just an incredible experience to see these legends perform.

VAC: What other acts have you played live shows with?

UN: Oh, God… A lot I’ve toured in Europe with good pals XP8… Other bands in Europe I’ve performed with (as either opening band or headliner, that is) have been Suicide Commando, Reaper, …and of course some festivals where there were numerous acts on the bill. In the states, I did a US tour last year with C/A/T.

VAC: Do you like performing live?

UN: I love it – it is the ultimate catharsis for me…. As my songs are all quite personal, being able to perform them live and let all that rage and emotion out is just awesome for me. Being on stage brings out a whole other side of me that I can’t really channel in my day-to-day life; I become fearless and ready to take on anything. It’s especially great when you have an audience that is right there along with you and you get so much energy from their enthusiasm. I love it.

VAC: Of all the shows you have played, what town was the best?

UN: Some of my favorite places to perform have been: Russia (St. Petersburg, Volgograd, and Moscow); Copenhagen, Denmark; New York City… those are the places that really stick out in my mind..

VAC: What is the worst pick up line you have gotten from a groupie?

UN: Oh, god. I once got this weird long rambling email about someone who wanted me to take photos of my feet for their boyfriend because they both had a foot fetish and it would be ‘an honor’ to have pictures of my feet. Uh, what?!
I don’t really have ‘groupies’ though… And how do you distinguish groupies and fans? It’s kind of a fine line, isn’t it?

VAC: Most memorable tour moment?

UN: Just one?
Ha!
Let’s see…
Getting 50 drink tickets in Champaign, IL…That was pretty amazing.
Actually, the entire US tour last year is what spawned the parody project I have called “Afterparty”…

VAC: Is it true, you are going to be the female Gordon Ramsey?

UN: Well, my day job is cooking… It’s my other passion besides music. I attended culinary school and all that… I love to cook, and evetually I’d like to run my own restaurant where I call the shots. I don’t know if I have it in me to be a total asshole to fellow workers though… But I can be pretty demanding for perfection. We’ll see =)

VAC: Will you start a restaurant called “Below Freezing” ?

UN: That’s a brilliant idea, Bryan… If I use that name, I will so credit you on that. I still haven’t come up with a good name for a restaurant… I was kind of thinking of “Uber Noodle”. Where I sell really cold noodles…

VAC: I heard you had a studio fire, was this because of cooking school?

UN: HAHA!!! No. I had a fire last year on Christmas, it was completely devastating. Took out my entire music studio, and the entire upper floor of our house… I lost so many things. Luckily all material items and we were safe, but we had to live in a hotel for a couple of weeks while they rebuilt the upper floor. And thank god for homeowner’s insurance!!
What had happened was, earlier that evening I was recording the vocals on the collab track I did with Leaetherstrip, and had some candles lit. Before I finished for the evening, I blew out the candles… well, they were those little tealight candles, and supposedly they have a tendency to fucking relight. Amazing what one stupid candle can do. The weird thing was, the candles weren’t even near anything flamable..

VAC: Forgive the bad joke.

UN: Just try to offend me.

VAC: What gear did you lose in the fire?

UN: Luckily, my harddrives WERE refurbished… amazingly. I lost 2 MIDI controllers, an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, an Alesis Ion, my external audio card, all my cables, 4 microphones (3 condensors, 1 dynamic), 3 books full of lyrics that can never be replaced, fuckkk… a lot of other stuff that I had listed down for the insurance company but can’t recall off the top of my head. I think it’s something I try to block out.

VAC: What is your favorite synth?

UN: Right now I’m drooling over the Roland Juno D… What a sweet, sweet synth that is. I still love the Alesis Ion; it packs a serious punch. These days, however, I’m using mostly virtual synths. One of these days I will rebuild the hardware part of my studio

VAC: What do you use to make music?

UN: Currently: I use Logic Pro 9 as a DAW, an M-Audio Axiom 61, AKG Perception 420 condensor mic… and a fuckton of AU plugins I still have a huge crush on all the NI instruments…some of the best for virtual instruments. NI Massive is on my favorite lists these days, as well as Kontakt.

VAC: You are classically trained, do you ever play more organic instruments like piano or cello?

UN: I’ve played piano since I was 3… I also play cello to some extent, viola, guitar, bass. I would LOVE to someday become more coordinated so I can play the drums. I have a hard time with the feet-hands thing. I also would love to learn to play the Oud… But according to a friend it’s one of the most difficult instruments to play, and he’s been playing for 5 years..

VAC: Despite your antzen and noise influence, you seem to have a ton of melodic musical talent. What makes you like Noise?

UN: My love for noise has died down a bit in my old age… But I still just love the power and harshness behind some of the good tracks. Just complete, utter rage… At least that’s what it sounds like to me. I love the extremes of things. I took Unter Null in a more melodic direction, though, because of my love for melody… and it’s a tricky thing to combine melody and noise, but I’ve tried.

VAC: I love some of the acts like Immanent Starvation. I love synapsescape and Asche, I often beat mix that stuff in when I dj. But honestly, I think a lot of that scene is umm, un listenable, not musical enough for my tastes although when it’s totally kick ass rhythm I dig it though. Who are your favorite noise acts and why?

UN: Well, my introduction to the whole ‘rhythmic noise’ genre was via Noisex, and I still have a soft spot for them I absolutely LOVE Winterkaelte… their programming is brilliant and they have some amazingly harsh tracks. What ever did happen to Asche? I really did like his material. I haven’t kept up on current noise acts, unfortunately, as it just doesn’t grab my attention anymore. We need more stuff like Gridlock – they were brilliant at combining harsh elements with lovely melodies…

VAC: List your top ten favorite bands.

UN: Oh this is cruel…
In no order, really:
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
The Flashbulb
Junior Boys
Spiritual Front
Lustmord
Dimmu Borgir
Apparat
Venetian Snares
Telefon Tel Aviv
M83
and, Skinny Puppy

VAC: List your Top ten Favorite Lps.

UN: Skinny Puppy – Vivisect VI
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Henry’s Dream
The Flashbulb – Soundtrack to a Vacant Life
Kattoo – Megrim
Venetian Snares – Rossz Csillag Alatt Született
Spiritual Front – Armageddon Gigolo
Nitzer Ebb – That Total Age
Halou – Wiser
Beefcake – Coincidentia Oppositorum
Junior Boys – So This Is Goodbye

VAC: Who have you collaborated with, what remixes have you done?

UN: I’ve not collaborated a *whole* lot. I tend to be really solitary in my creative endeavors. I’ve done a few guest vocal appearances – Leaetherstrip, Implant, E.S.A. I’ve done remixes for Glis, GenCab, Inure, Suicide Commando, Tamtrum, Autoclav1.1, C/A/T.

VAC: If you could change one historic event in history what would it be?

UN: I wouldn’t. I’m a believer of that everything happens for a reason, be it good or bad. I wouldn’t change anything, who knows what the outcome would be? I prefer to let go of the wheel when it comes to things that are out of my hands, out of my control. There’s no use in trying to change destiny.

VAC: Anyone you would like to see in prison or worse?

UN: Every rapist, every murderer, every child molester, anyone who has brought horrible harm and grief to innocent people. Let the pot smokers out, they’re not hurting anyone but themselves. Take care of the really really bad guys….

VAC: How do you view the modern club scene?

UN: Eh, it’s not really my thing anymore. I go out once in a while to support my friends’ nights, but it’s just socializing. As I get older I’m more apt to stay at home and be entertained that way I don’t have the energy to go out as much as I used to. If I do go out it’s usually to catch a gig.

VAC: If you could win any piece of musical gear in the world, what would you pick?

UN: Probably the ARP 2500

VAC: Who are your influences?

UN: Musically, I gather influences from… god, so so much. I can’t even begin to list them all. Otherwise, I take in everything around me, all life events, what I see and what I experience… and that’s channeled into my music. I don’t try to emulate other musicians, I write what pleases my own ears. I’m probably totally unaware of a lot of my influences

VAC: TV?

UN: I don’t watch a whole lot, but lately I’m hooked on NCIS! I love that show! Also, The Whitest Kids U’ Know is the funniest damn sketch comedy I’ve ever seen. It makes Kids in the Hall seem like a soap opera. A bad soap opera. Brilliant comedians. I highly suggest people go to YouTube and search “WKUK Grapist”. Your life will be impacted by it forever.
Also, props to Dexter.

VAC: Movies?

UN: I’m a zombie fans… so bring on the undead, I love it. I love French horror, as it seems they really know how to make a truly terrifying film; see “Inside”. I am totally desensitized these days but that movie scared the hell out of me. So disturbing. I love Se7en still to this day, and pretty much anything Kevin Spacey does. Christopher Walken, Robert Deniro, Christian Bale, and Crispin Glover are some of my hands-down favorite actors. I’ll watch any movie they’ve done. I’m more a fan of independent cinema, and think Hollywood has put out some of the worst movies ever. I was really excited for 2012, for instance… and I walked out of that movie totally pissed off and disappointed. Way to go ruining the apocalypse, guys… I love apocalyptic films and that just totally got trashed.

VAC: Books?

UN: Well, I read a lot of books on food and cooking and culinary geek stuff I also love a good horror book. I have way too many books on audio engineering and general music/audio geekiness. I loved House of Leaves. That book was amazing. Also really like anything zombie-related, once again..

VAC: Authors?

UN: My guilty pleasure is Dean Koontz. I also really like Christopher McCammon. Swan Song was such an amazing read, and even at ~1000 pages I’ve managed to read it almost 10 times. I also really like David Sedaris.

VAC: What is your favorite food?

UN: Another cruel question!
I’ll eat anything, pretty much – at least give it a go. I kind of have to! But I LOVE good sashimi, a good steak, I love gnocchi so much… especially gnocchi alla sorrentina. Good Indian curry. Bruschetta done right. ANYTHING with fresh basil. And… the pizza in Naples. I’d go back just for the pizza there. I generally eat healthy, organic, and fresh foods. I tend to crave vegetables and fruits rather than sweets. I hate fried foods.

VAC: who is your favorite artist? art not music.

UN: I honestly don’t have one. I can appreciate visual art, but I’m not a painter or drawer (seriously, I suck so bad) so while I can say “wow that is awesome”, I don’t keep tabs on artists, really..

VAC: Do you like where you are currently living?

UN: I love Portland, there’s a lot here for me. I live in a rad house with tons of space, and have some great friends in this city. So yea, I like this a lot more than other places I’ve lived.

VAC: What can we expect next from Unter Null?

UN: Well, the new album definitely… And hopefully a tour in 2010… and of course more and more albums

VAC:I myself make a lot of food, but mostly raw vegan stuff. I have considered writing a recipe book, how about you?

UN: I definitely have. I keep a journal of my own recipes, and someday maybe I’ll throw it into a book. I’m very knowledgable on different diets and nutrition, so that is an angle I’d probably approach with a book. I was vegetarian for 7 years myself My downfall was cheese when I went vegan, and then eventually I craved seafood again and the veg*an period of my life was over. But I cook mostly vegetarian meals at home. Hey, we should collaborate!

VAC: Krztov says high, he is working on his new music and expecting a kid! He told me he hung out with you a while back and you guys had fun joking around.

UN: Hah, yea. We hung out at a show in Seattle once YEARS ago. He’s a nice guy.

VAC: Thank you for your time, is there any thing else you would like to add?

UN: Thank you for the interview! I can’t think of anything else I’d like to add… But I think 2010 is going to be an awesome year and I hope it is awesome for everyone.

VAC: Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview, we hope to help get you some more exposure in the music world. Take care..

UN: Thank you!!

If you like what you hear on the youtube vids, go buy some unter null: Click Here to buy Mp3s from Unter Null.