Intro Interview with Lazrs3

Lazrs3

Hi Patrick and Gaya, it really is great to hear you working with each other, finally. I know you’ve both helped each other with the other’s projects in the past in a live context and done split releases. Tell me about the lyrical themes and inspirations behind Hexas.

Thank you Lazrs3

We have decide to do interviews as HEXAS as an entity, so our answers will be in a mix of third & first person form or as near as.

There are no specific lyrical themes inherent to HEXAS, we’ll both continue with our individual obsessions which really aren’t that different in subject matter from one another’s rantings of the past. Life & the Worlds offerings are more than enough for inspiration. We don’t want to be preacher musicians, nor self proclaimed enlightened art teachers with something to teach the listener, there are enough of that sort of people.

Perhaps our lyrics are more than likely to be against such peoples. The World is as it is, it doesn’t change in its attitudes, we reflect that World, both the good aspects & the bad or indifferent, depending on one’s views.

HEXAS is more of an intrusive observer, voyeur, taking delight in our luck to be born & reside in a time & place where we are able to indulge in such trivialities as art /music when much of the World is in turmoil, polarised but no more or less than usual.

We agreed to specific template when we decided to form HEXAS. After knowing each other for over ten years now, we decided on simple rules for this specific project. Firstly, no ambient soundtrack type music, which we have both delved into in the past. Secondly, each track should be rhythmically charged in some way, with tracks being usually of a short period of time 4 to 5 minutes max. The music has to being quite vibrant and the mixes hard & unsubtle. Also a priority was that we should be able to perform the material live if we decide to do so in future.

Much of 6comm’s past music was too complicated to perform live. There are inherent artistic and technical problems when trying to perform live using music which was created by one person playing many instruments. Patrick’s latest work under the name of GODLESSTATE is even more of an example of this difficulty. How do you interpret on stage tracks where one individual has played perhaps twenty different musical parts, multi instruments like live percussion & wind instruments, you can’t, its not possible.

The music will increasingly become more electronic in nature. “Liberty Nest” does have a fair amount of live instrument work such as drums, zithers, bass guitars etc especially on the first two tracks. The next work in progress “Folie a deux” is entirely constructed using our ageing synths, machines & software, some of which were used as far back as Patricks work on DIJ’s NADA album in 1984.

To your observation about our past work together. It took along time to get to that point. We have retained our own identities, only helping each other on stage as there was no other option. ACL has been working on a lot of collaborations this last year and has three more collaborations to complete with various artist, between now and the end of the year. Since the retirement of 6comm and that 80’s era of recorded work, only performed for the first time & made flesh on stage in the last few years, Patrick has released an album as GODLESSTATE, in which he continues his old interest of World mythic themes using percussive soundscapes and soundtracks. Another GSS work will eventually surface or perhaps something from SCHRAGE MUSIK  but HEXAS now becomes his main outlet, enjoying the mixing & technical aspects of music, not wanting to be a solo front person but part of something collaborative, a folie a deux.

Lazrs3

 I really homed in  on the percussion aspect Liberty Nest whilst listening to it. I know in both of your current and older projects percussion features heavily with aspects of both artists use of percussion featuring heavily. On the recording it goes from ruthless repetition (ACL) to almost electronic dance rhythms (Patrick) and in other parts verging on an Industrial feel (both) . I can see the project becoming more electronic as that’s where it delves into newer territory for both of you. I am also keen to know about your past relationships with electronic dancier beat driven music, is electronic dance orientated music important to you both generally?

Hexas

We are both drummers, to different degrees of course. Patrick’s work throughout his history has been very rhythm orientated, listen to his work as Mother destruction and on the 6comm Headless albums which was quite different from the mono rhythm darkness of his Death in June drumming and programming. The work of either that or ACL cannot be precisely put into a category or even several categories.  The work remains individual to the artists. It is for others, the listeners, the reviewers, to categorise the music if they so wish. Quite often music is partly formatted by the technology of the times. For instance Patricks use of, what were back then, acid house machines on his last DIJ works NADA / Born again 3 track vinyl, was an example of using something contemporary in an entirely different way to the norm. Those same ageing instruments are again used by HEXAS in a more contemporary manner. In our new recordings for Folie a deux  all of the rhythmic elements are made by sampling audio segments form some very old keyboards & an almost deceased Pearl Syncussion unit which has a very distinctive palette.

Each of the tracks within Liberty Nest are a different entity in themselves but as you say the next recordings will find more of a space & identity of their own. We do what we do but we would agree with you that Industrial would cover the feel of HEXAS in general. As we previously said, it would be pointless to make music as a different project that was the same as our usual music but our heritage is plain to hear on Liberty nest.

HEXAS will find a place of its own in time, we have no plans or agenda, just what comes within our means. Our music remains as hard edged as ever, we’ll never make music for the reptilian or insect culture.

Lazrs3

I feel Gaya's vocals are really put through the mixer on ‎this recording until multiple personalities emerge in the same song. It is as if there are strong contrasts between human and inhuman sounds occurring. Was duality and contrast a deliberate theme? 

Hexas

Yes of course, both of our vocals are heavily processed at times with Gaya taking the lead part on four tracks and Patrick on two, sometimes sharing or backing each other, sometimes not. There is nothing unusual about anything in the mixing. Hopefully another worldly feel is produced, mechanical, the human/insect & ungodly, familiar to anyone listening to hard electronic music, little devils appearing at times in a headphone mix.

All pretty normal in many a genre’s music. There is an obvious contrast with there being two lead vocalist in HEXAS, especially for the listeners of their other solo projects. This shall be developed to a finer degree on the next recordings.

Lazrs3

 I think the vocal mixing is great, I was impressed at the state of otherness the album reaches. Putting in work from your other projects adds an anchor to the work, I can hear parts of the other projects beaming through and simultaneously merging. ‎The album has the 'what?' factor you both have in that it can't be pigenholed, which is a strength in itself. I also get the feeling of continuation straight away which is exciting, I know thing rapidly change with time and process, but right now do either of you have ideas or hopes as to where you want to go with Hexas? 

Hexas

We have an open mind. We have only just started with the project. At least one more work is for certain, as that is already underway.

Plans are for Generals & fools, we have no plans as such and as to where we would want to go? We are already at that destination. Its enough that we are able to produce & release music.Both of our other projects have relied heavily on a certain symbolism, a certain look, both an obvious & a perceived ideology & a history.

HEXAS relies more upon its music, in the sense that the overall work in itself, a track, whatever you want to call it, must work immediately as a whole. Either a person will like the sound & style & content of it or not, regardless of a cultural aspect, type of clothes, social uniform or dogma of genre.  Hexas is music first & foremost.  music & observation, not manifesto. I think the World is tired of manifesto’s of all kinds. But expect some ranting. Audio ranting is the holiest enema there is and if we can shit on some godly humans, then all the better.

We thank you very much for your time & questions Lazrs3!  The spider awaits at liberty’s nest, and as Davy Crockett said “ You can all go to Hell , I am going to Hexas ! “  well, something like that.

Hexas July 6th 2017