BDMM :: Ondarock's interviews

The day before the release of the “electronic” return of the BDRMM, as well as their third chapter, “micro -micotonic”, we chatted a little with Joe Vickers to find out more about the issues addressed in the work, between dystopia and introspection, and above all of this new direction undertaken at a stylistic level, waiting to see them again in Milan and to finally be able to hear the new live songs in late March.

Hi Joe! Tomorrow “Microtonic” comes out and the new tour will start in support of the album shortly, how do you feel?
I am really excited. Obviously there is always a long wait between the end of the recording of an album and then its actual publication, the people who listen to music and everything else. It is fantastic to have finally published it and I think the thing we like most is playing the songs live. It is really exciting to go on tour with the new album and be able to share the new songs with the public.

At the level of sound Have you approached much more dance territories, what were the influences that inspired you during the composition of the disc? Did you listen to artists in particular?
I think we have all listened to much more electronic music in general, whether it is Four Tet, whether it is Radiohead. I mean, there are influences that we have always had for many years: Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, that type of things have always been there. Ryan and Jordan, who also make most of the compositions, have both developed their skills in terms of creating electronic music. Conor and I work in a very different way. In a sense we work on theirs demo And we build the songs. In terms of external influences, only a lot of things that are happening in the world: it reflects a lot on terrible things that are happening in society, politically and also on daily anxiety. So it's a bit like trying to enclose a lot of themes in all this, and I hope you get to the listeners. In addition, I just finished reading a book by Philip K. Dick, the one who inspired “Blade Runner”, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”, Just a few weeks ago, and this is that type of dystopian idea of ​​the future that sounds like a theme throughout the album.

The most representative track of this small evolution can be considered “John on the ceiling”, written at the beginning of his career and completed long after, right?
Absolutely yes.

The song also intrigued me for the topics covered, namely those of confusion and doubt, can you talk about it?
What concerns lyrics is obviously more than Ryan matter; But I think that having to do with many of those continuous and doubtful emotions, for which we all have to work day by day and understand which is the best way to follow, much of this is somehow enclosed in the lyrics of that song.

There are also two collaborative tracks on the disc, “Goit” with Syd Minsky-Sargeant of the Working Men's Club and “In The Electric Field” with Olivesque dei Nightbus. How was it to work with them?
They are both artists that we respect enormously. As for Syd of the Working Men's Club, their first album was a great influence for me in particular. I loved that record and he continued to produce great jobs since then. So having it with us was a real honor, he is a fantastic guy. Much of this has been done by e-mail, like many things nowadays. For the actual recording of his voice, we sent him the track and he understood on the fly which idea we had. The first thing he said was: “That's exactly what we are looking for.” I think he cultures the atmosphere of the album in his interpretation and the texts adapt very well to that opening track. Olivesque dei Nightbus knew her from the tour of last year. He is an exceptional person and it was fantastic to spend time with her, it seemed that he adapted to what we were looking for for that album. And again, his interpretation, the spoken voice and then the entry into the epic refrain were so spontaneous, as if he had hit the target to the first attempt. His voice is absolutely incredible and, also from the point of view of the texts, in a certain sense catches the themes we are trying to deal. So it was a great meeting.

Listening to “Clarkycat” I found trip-hop references in the Massive Attack area and in the final tail something big beat in Chemical Brothers style. How was this track born?
This was one demo Ryan who, in a certain sense, did not play at all like the final version, really. Is another of those occasions when a track was taken like demo In the studio and then push, pulled and brought in all different directions. I think the last two minutes of that song, that long eutro That starts with that delicious synth, is probably one of the best pieces we have ever created. And then the way the guitars and the bass enter; We just learned to play it live Because obviously we had written it mainly in the studio. So learning to do it live was a really fun experience for everyone. THE'eutro Of that song is the kind of music that we are very proud of and that is the direction in which we want to go. The projects you mentioned in terms of trip-hop e big beat These are all things that we have listened for for many years. So it's nice to be able to use those studio influences and push in that direction.

As mentioned, one of the common threads of the album at the level of themes is that of the dystopia applied to the reality we are experiencing. In “Snares”, for example, references emerge at a deformed time relating to pandemic and the changes to which he contributed in the lives of individuals. How has your personal life changed and as a musician after the pandemic?
In many ways. I think everyone has been struck by it, isn't it? Some more than others. From that moment, the world looks like a strangely different place. I imagine that the political panorama, with the things that are happening right now in America, Palestine, I think they have weighed on many people. And for us too, we had the issue of Brexit, which I think took place a few years earlier, but it is something that looms on this country, like the main problems that have been underway for a long time. And then I think, on a personal level, that social interaction with which we can sometimes all fight, to be overwhelmed, and in a certain sense to face those things daily. The interesting thing to be in a band I think it is all separate lives, we are not in a phase in which we earn a lot of money and we can not have a job. We all have to find a balance between these things in a certain sense. I think there are many pressures, as a musician at the moment, to try to make some money, enough to survive, live and be able to pay the rent at the same time. But at the same time we are so lucky because we can go on tour, meet new people and do exciting things, visit new places and things like that. I don't think some of us would change all this, not even for a second. We feel very lucky, in addition to the fact that it is quite difficult to do it. We are just fixing the tour at the moment and we are in a financial hole with all this. So it's a trying to go on the best we can.

One of the traces I prefer of your new album is “Sat in the Heat”, I appreciate the growth trend in relation to the text. Is there the search for a way out at least through the dream in this song?
Yes, and I think it's perhaps one of Ryan's best texts inside the album. I know that when he wrote it he was visiting his girlfriend in Spain. And it is a kind of strange atmosphere, which I think is throughout the album: sometimes this beautiful and edifying music contrasts with the texts, as you say, looking for the escape in it, with these dystopian themes that recur everywhere. I think there is a good contrast between that music and the dark issues that accompany it.

What is your favorite track of “microtonic” and why?
I think I have two that stand out for me. I really like “Snares”, the fourth song, which is a kind of Spoken Word with a truly edifying voice. I think it's a real synthesis of what we are trying to get at the moment. It represents all of us who contribute with our best expedients, where we are all able to experiment and push us as much as possible. And the last song, “The Noose”, which for text and vocality is placed among my favorites that Ryan has ever made. The album concludes really well and leads to this type of eutro Ambient, on which Jordan worked very hard, and also Alex Greaves, who was our producer, really supported the development of all this. These are the two songs that really stand out for me.

Are there bands or artists with whom you would like to work soon?
Oh, it's a good question. Yes, I'm sure there are. I don't think of one in particular at the first impact. I mean, it depends on where we will go in the future. There are a lot of electronic artists and people with whom we would like to be involved, to remix our traces and things like that. We are also very lucky to have made a tour with some really interesting groups such as Dive and Nightbus, we played with the Working Men's Clubs and such people. As a result, it was fantastic then to collaborate on this album. And it is something that we will surely try to do in the future albums, because it was nice to have the contribution and suggestions of other people. So yes, it is certainly something that we are eager to explore, but I don't think of specific names for now.

At the end of March you will return to Italy with two dates in Bologna and Milan. With these new sounds what should we expect from your live?
It is a great change. Obviously we are still playing a lot of old tracks, and those I assume are the favorites of the fans as such by first and from second album. But the songs of the new album are much more electronic. There are times when we play all the synths, following a slightly direction Kraftwerk. Conor is doing much more stuff from Drum padmixing the live battery and things like that. So there are a lot of news in progress. We are really excited to play that mix of old tracks that have the raw power of the live battery and guitars Shoegazebut also of being able to have more introspective songs, and having a sort of dynamics of passage between both is rather exciting.

I think it's all. Thank you very much for your time, Joe, good luck to you and the group for the release of “Microtonic”, see you at the end of March!
Thank you very much to you, bye!

(March 22, 2025)