AlterRed is the creative vision of one man and his debut release is a perfectly self-described 'electro noir' album. Each track is gothic music box of sounds, the juxtaposition of classic piano and distorted bass gives Mind-Forged Manacles a beauty within it's unpredictable darkness. 'Emily' is a haunting clockwork waltz while 'Amphetamine Chic' creeps and stalks before pouncing from the shadows - given a remix it would make a irresistable dancefloor track. 'Fleshbind' has definite club potential too with smooth vocals, synths and layers but without ever going too far making the album refreshing and new.

In an often repetitive scene AlterRed have managed to acknowledge their peers - Dresden Dolls, VAST and IAMX are the first that come to mind - while still creating something original. Founder and Vocalist AlterRed talks about relinquishing control, the problem with the music press and trying too hard.

DM: From AlterRed's formation at the beginning of 2008 it took until now to release a debut album. Why did it take that long? Do you just love touring or are you a bit of perfectionist?

"When we played our first show in 2008 we pretty much had the full album ready to go, but the sound hadn't really developed enough yet. I do love touring, and playing live is a great way to let a new song find its feet, so to speak. So it was very much a case of gigging the songs as much as possible while pushing them forward in the studio at the same time. The sound is still developing and evolving, too. I've just finished the demos for album two, and the progression in the sound is very noticeable."

DM: As a one-man band, so to speak, do you find it difficult to play with others when playing live or is it a bit of a relief not to be in charge of every sound?

"It's sort of a double edged sword as I'm so used to the songs sounding exactly as I've recorded them. Hearing the individual parts played ever-so-slightly differently really pricks my ears up, but mostly in a good way. We've just added a full time pianist to the band too, as previously Mark Red (our lead synth guy) was covering both piano and most of the synths by himself. This is giving Mark a lot more room to do more and expand on the live synths."

DM: In a scene that sometimes feels a little recycled and derivative do you purposefully try to produce a different sound or did it just turn out that way?

"I completely agree that the scene does get very derivative. I think much of that is due to a lot of the music being very style focused, making it less likely to evolve or crossover without being excluded from the scene completely. I have tried to find a mix of ingredients that make the sound unique, like having very Mike Garson influenced piano parts and then very Janes Addiction/Placebo-esque basslines, things not common in alternative electro music, but I think the actual songwriting is quite traditional. I often write a song just by getting the bassline or piano chords, or sometimes even on an acoustic guitar. The idea will pop in my head and I'll "busk it" from there."

DM: AlterRed's overall sound, although layered, is relatively clear and fresh (if that makes
sense) when working on your own is it hard to know when to stop tweaking a song? how do you know when enough layers are enough or do you have lots of different versions of your songs at home waiting for a remix album release?

"I used to have a horrible habit of adding too much and making the whole production way too thick and cluttered. Now when I record a song, I add as many ideas to the song as possible, trying various combinations of sounds and parts, then keep the one that works best dynamically and for the mood of the song. A remix album? Now there's a good idea!"

DM: AlterRed are signed to German label Ionium Records, do you find it easier to get attention and recognition from the continent than here in the UK?

"Yes, it does appear so. The UK scene is a fair bit smaller than in central Europe but it's also
a lot more tribal and territorial. I think it might be naïve to think that Germany is some sort of alt/music Utopia though. They have issues with music elitism and exclusivity too, but I think because it's a much bigger and more open scene in general, it's a lot easier to find an audience."

DM: What is it about the Continental crowd that gets them to respond to dark electro music more than the UK scene do you think?

"I think the mainstream music press in the UK has a lot to do with that. The music press plays a massive part in generating excitement and enthusiasm for artists and events. In the UK, however, music styles are treated as far more disposable than in Europe, and are subsequently discarded and seen as out of date the minute something else comes along. The result is that it gets far less exposure and reaches fewer people."

DM: Mind-Forged Manacles has an industrial man-made sound, rather than an organic natural sound, do you find living in a big and busy city like London helps and inspires or does it all come from inside rather than out?

"There's certainly a mechanical feel to living in a big city, where day-to-day life is quite like
being inside a very large machine.Hey, I wonder if that means we're the loose parts that cause the machine to break down from time to time?"

DM: You describe yourself as 'electro noir'. Are you a film noir fan or is it strictly a music
definition?

"Film in general is a huge influence on me, so much so that I would credit as many movie and movie scores as bands and albums for the music I make. As Mind-forged Manacles has a story to it I guess it could quite easily be a film score, if re-arranged that way. The imagery of the band largely taken care of by Vix Vain, the bands co-founder. When we first discussed AlteRed as a project idea we liked the idea of an music & imagery combined by concept . It's since evolved into the concept we have today... and it continues to evolve!"

DM: It's clear you believe in entertaining the eye as well as the ear with the black and red theme running through the album artwork and the band's look. Is this a 'red phase' and can we expect a change of name and outfits should you experience a blue or perhaps white one? Are you worried that if you establish a look it will be difficult to change it should you so desire?

"Haha, oddly that's something we joked about recently. AlterBlue! The name will stay the same I suspect but the image is already evolving towards album two, as is the concept and narrative. The image style is often very chiaroscuro and keeps to classic shades such as blacks whites greys and reds. There is a risk of becoming too tied to an image or style, especially if it's very successful. If I'm honest though, I'm kinda just doing what I feel I'd like to hear and see, so I expect the image and style will be every bit as changeable as I am!"

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