Machine Gun Orchestra by Julius Chua boldly merges symphonic orchestration with aggressive metal drumming. Exploring themes of industrialism, militarism, and triumph, it invites listeners to face inner and outer battles.
1. Machine
Gun Orchestra is a bold fusion of symphonic orchestral music and heavy metal
drumming. What inspired you to combine these two seemingly contrasting styles?
I learnt classical music and have had formal music training when I was younger
and then went on to listening to lots of metal bands. It was then that I grew
exceptionally fond of double pedal drumming, most notably blast beats. The
album "Machine Gun Orchestra" is an accumulation of my musical
journey from past to present.
2. Your
music delves into themes like industrialism, militarism, and imperialism. How
did these concepts influence the creative direction and sound of the album?
When it comes to industrialism, I find myself to be a robotic person. Doing the
same work and chores day in day out for weeks, months and even years. This has
got me fascinated with Industrialism as it entails with my character as a human
being. When it comes to militarism and imperialism, although such ideological
fascinations tend to be highly controversial, made me drawn to the history of
Prussia (and then the German Empire). The era in Prussian/German history from
the Franco-Prussian War (1870 to 1871) to World War 1 (1914 to 1918). It
was during this period that the German Empire experienced an era of rapid
industrialisation growth, giving rise to its own form of militarism and
imperialism.
With these 3 concepts in mind, the sound of my music tends to "straight to
the grid" and I made it a point to make my music have a robotic feel to
it. This is evident in the kick drums which serves dual purpose in the creative
direction of the album - it's straight to the grid to create a sense of
robotic-ness and it is made to imitate the sound of a machine gun firing when
combined with the use demisemiquavers (1/32 notes), you get a "blast"
of the machine gun firing to decimate enemies. Hence, this ties back to the
ideology of militarism and imperialism.
3. The
title Machine Gun Orchestra is striking and evocative. How does the title
reflect the musical and thematic elements of the album?
The key sonic element in the album is the kick drum which is used to imitate
the sound of a machine gun firing. The orchestral music is used to create a
sense of splendour and grandeur to invite listeners to be emotionally involved
in the glory days of what imperialism had to offer back then - For glory, for
king and country!
4. You
have a fascination with demisemiquavers and blast beats. Can you tell us more
about how you use these techniques to enhance your compositions?
I wanted to make use of demisemiquavers and blast beats to create a sense of
chaoticness amidst the backdrop of splendour and grandeur of orchestral music.
I was aiming for contrasting moods in the production of the album. You have
bits and pieces of orchestral music and then suddenly comes demisemiquavers
blast beats, this ties in with the use of Shock Troops countries employ in
times of war. This also gives listeners a sense of shock and to invite them to
ask themselves, "what will come next after those shocking blast
beats?"
5. Symphonic
orchestration and metal drumming require a high degree of technical skill. What
was the biggest challenge in merging these elements seamlessly?
Getting all the orchestral instruments, kick drum and snare to be in sync with
each other. Think "Systematic Chaos".
6. Your
music has been described as cinematic and aggressive. Do you envision your
compositions as storytelling pieces, and if so, what story are you telling with
Machine Gun Orchestra?
Yes, my
compositions are storytelling. We as human beings fight our own wars everyday.
Wars we fight against our own inner demons to wars we fight just to survive in
this cruel world. "Machine Gun Orchestra" wants listeners to know
that whatever wars we fight on a day to day basis as human beings, we will one
day come out triumphant bringing glory and honor to ourselves once the storm
passes.
7. As an
audio engineer as well as a composer, how does your technical expertise
influence your creative process in the studio?
I actually place a huge emphasis on production quality than composition
techniques to create the album. In fact, I would go on to say that I focus on
70% aiming for production quality and 30% composition techniques. Although I
aim for production quality, I still try my best to keep the production
processes (editing and mixing) as simple as possible while avoiding the concept
of "overproduction".
Our personal lives are already complicated enough, let's not complicate things
further by indulging in "overproduction". Keep the album production
process as simple as possible while aiming for production quality at the same
time.
8. The
album draws on themes of militaristic power and its effects. Is there a
specific historical or personal context that inspired this thematic
exploration?
Yes there is. Militaristic power draws from the Prussian ideology of "The
Army with a State" as opposed to most countries with "A State with an
Army". Higher proportion of government budgets investing in a modern
and strong military, thereby with the aim of achieving military power and
might.
9. Your
philosophy, "everything sounds good when you add blast beats," is
intriguing. What is it about blast beats that resonates so deeply with you as a
musician?
That's just a catch phrase I use to entice people to listen to the album. It's
a marketing gimmick.
10. What
do you hope listeners take away from Machine Gun Orchestra? Are there any
particular emotions or ideas you aim to evoke with your music?
The takeaway from "Machine Gun Orchestra" is that war never ends, it
only evolves. With regards to the personal wars we fight on a day to day basis
as human beings, stay strong, keep your head high and decimate all who oppose!
For personal glory and honor!
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