Interview by Virus!

[Virus]: First of all, let me ask you about the heading "Our role models are machines" which can be found on both your site and the new album. Is it kinda motto?

[Sean]: Its a phrase thats meaning lies in a shroud of alcohol consumption. Machines keep the perfect rhythm. Drunk humans do not. Its an envy complex. The machines make the best noises. Whenever we listen to other bands with awe-inspiring sounds or drum programming -- its the sounds we are always talking about. The actual musicians become secondary.

[Virus]: How would you musically describe the Cyanotic evolution from the startuntil your current album "Transhuman"?

[Sean]: We made a good deal of progress concerning our self tutorials with mixing and recording. The sounds have always been the same -- just not featuring as much of a "polish" as we were wanting. We have been able to achieve that "polish" that our demo E.P. did not feature in this last year, through a good deal of trial and error sessions.

[Virus]: "Transhuman" features a varied sea regarding sounds, rhythms, and melodic colors. Was this your intention when you started with this record, or did it just evolve naturally?

{Sean]: We all find ourselves listening to a wide variety of styles, so the constant shifts between genres just came naturally. I couldn't imagine recording a full 12 songs of a similar sound. There needs to be a good deal of diversity to interest me -- something alot of current bands in our genre don't seem to care about. 10 tracks of the same sound just bores me after 15 minutes. I guess we could blame attention deficit disorder.

[Virus]: In my review, I mentioned the bands The Final Cut, Hate Dept., Minstry, 16 Volt, and Acumen to give a li'l hint for the readers regarding the music tendency. Do you cry when reading this?

[Sean]: Not at all. We fully embrace our love for mid-90s industrial rock. For us, we look at the music we make as a concoction of our favorite parts of the old school Wax Trax and Re-Constriction / Fifth Colvmn styles with the infusion of the drum 'n' bass rhythms and IDM glitchiness we all embrace. I have seen alot of people saying our sound is similar to "old schol by way of new school" ... and I couldn't be happier that people are understanding our prime intent, to mix the best of the new school drum 'n' bass / glitch styles with that brand of electronic aggression that seems to be all but almost completely absent from the current scheme of industrial music.

[Virus]: What's the most important thing in a Cyanotic song? And what's generally a must for a good song?

[Sean]: Electronics at the fore front and alterations in structure are the most important. We don't like assaulting the listener with repetition. I can't stand a song that starts off great and then just continues with the same monotonous loop for five minutes. I like to change it up as much as possible, to not bore oursevles AND the listener. A must for a good song? That cinematic appeal. If its something that sounds like it should be heard in a commercial for a film -- its most likely to sound good to my ears. That and a thick layer of sound. I like to keep as many sounds as possible going as to never bore myself or the listener.

[Virus]: "Transhuman" features the mixing and production talents of Jason Novak (Acumen Nation, DJ ? Acucrack) and Chris Cozort (lammynewt). How did this come up?

[Sean]: Chris has been one of my best friends since the release of demo E.P. (which he did a remix and mastering for). His ear for a great mix is near perfect and he's one of the most honest and friendly people I have ever had the pleasure of being in contact with. The entire Crackantion camp has been aware of the Cyanotic project since I began spewing word forth in the late 90s at all the Acu-shows in Chicago. Jason (lead programmer / vocalist for Acumen Nation / DJ? Acucrack) heard the demo and had interest in helping produce. Having one of my all time favorite musicians helping with the mixing and production was a true honor, as was the induction of helping co-release the CD via Cracknation's own label.

[Virus]: Let's dive into the lyrical sea of the album. Would you call "Transhuman" a concept album?

[Sean]: To some extent, but a very loose concept. The intention wasn't definite from the origins of the album though, it was just something I began noticing as we were delving deeper into the wiriting process. Ultimately, this album is about the melding of the organic with the syntheti and fear of death (something that causes excess panic at almost all times for me).

[Virus]: The record was released on your own Glitch Mode label in cooperation with Digital Brothel Recs. and Cracknation Recs. Where do you see the advantages/disadvantages regarding this? And how did this cooperation come up?

[Sean]: Labels helping with the funding and promoting of your product is NEVER a bad thing, unless said labels are taking a large chunk of your revenue and forcing you to comply to a set image standard. That wasn't the case with Digital Brothel or Cracknation. DBR gave us some cash and just let us record whatever we saw fit. Cracknation came aboard closer to the final mixes of the album in late March or so. Jason and I were talking about possible distro and promotion options, and the idea to release it with the help of Cracknation just fit.

[Virus]: You've done several remixes for bands like Chemlab, Acumen Nation, The Aggression etc. What do you like/dislike about remixing?

[Sean]: As an answer to both questions -- infusing our own style. Its always a strain trying to incorporate our signature sound into the mix. Most songs we just end up starting from the ground up and creating a completely different version of the song entirely, so was the case with the remixes for Acumen Nation and The Aggression. With the Chemlab remix, we made the attempt to retain the song's original strucutre (a concept completely new to us) AND infuse our sounds. As a result, I think our Chemlab remix is the most competent yet.

[Virus]: You've shared the stage with loads of bands, like Dillinger Escape Plan, Andrew W.K., Bile, Zao, Cruciform Injection, Acumen Nation and Nocturne amongst others. Any specially bad/good (backstage) experience you can tell us about? How was the reaction of the different audiences, any gig that went specially good or bad regarding the response?

[Sean]: So many different crowds and so many different reactions. It all depends on the show and if we get a sound check. No sound check for a certain show equals no indiciation of whether our vocals or keyboards our not working, hence why we always ask for a sound check now-a-days. There's just too much going on with four live members to NOT manage a sound check prior to the show. The shows with Bile and Nocturne in the southern portion of the U.S. were especially great. The shows with Dillinger Escape Plan and Acumen Nation / DJ? Acucrack SHOULD have been grandiose, but alas, bullshit mixing put a death to as quality of a show as we were hoping for.

[Virus]: You're going to tour with Dismantled soon. A very cool package! How did that come up? I ask this, cause Dismantled's music is quite different from yours.

[Sean]: Our good buddy Chris (from Iammynewt) got the two of us in touch. I guess Gary Zon (from Dismantled) heard the sounds and thats about it. We got the offer to open for all the east and midwest U.S. dates two days after the initial conversation. We would have done more shows, but a previous engagement invovling my wife and immigration services made that impossible. As for our sounds, I guess I see the differences, but at the same time, I see the similarities. Dismantled and Cyanotic both seem to share a dislike for the monotnous and infusing a good deal of different sounds and infuences into our projects.

[Virus]: Whom would you like to tour or cooperate with if given the chance?

[Sean]: Ministry. FLA. Skinny Puppy. Acumen Nation. All amongst my favorite acts. Bands that bring a diverse approach to music-making. Bands who don't feel the need to adhere to a praticular sub genre of a sub genre. If there's anything thats killing the "industrial" scene -- its the segregation.

[Virus]: Any plans or hopes to release your record outside the US?

[Sean]: Most definitely. I am already in touch with Music Non Stop U.K. and a variety of other overseas distributors who are planning to help with the promotion and distribution of "Transhuman". Overseas fans have been very generous in compliments. Its great to know the sound is gaining acceptance, as I was expecting a certain backlash from the Europeans for usage of the guitar, but our music is almost 100% electronic. People understand guitars are just another instrument in the mix and not a main focal point. We aren't a heavy metal band with a sampler like so many other "industrial" bands who use guitar.

[Virus]: Further hopes, dreams and plans you'd like to disclose?

[Sean]: We really hope to complete a full tour of the U.S. within the next year, then moving onto playing overseas, as we have been receiving a good amount of very positive word of mouth in many non-U.S. areas. We have big plans for our upstart label, Glitch Mode Recordings, and are planning to release various compilations featuring the best up-and-coming hard electronic acts from around the globe.