First of, just want to thank you for participating in this edition of Infidel Interviews. Could you start off by giving a little information about yourself to the audience? Whatever you feel comfortable with, but name, age, what instruments you can play, and where you live would be pretty standard?
No problem, it's an honor to be doing this interview with you, My name is Emilio C. Moreno (also known online as Aemilious Rival), I'm a writer/producer, I just turned thirty one on November 2nd. At a very early age I knew I had some type of rhythm in my head, I would always be thinking of some kind of drum beat so I always had a tendency to be tapping my fingers on any surface just play a beat, almost as if I could here the kicks, snares, and cymbals all in my head lol I guess you could say I had a very big imagination as a child, but I play a variety of instruments now, bass, Keyboards, I tried guitar once but I wasn't very good at it haha I do a lot of sampling and programming which I love to do. and I'm currently living in Lubbock, Texas.
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How do you enjoy where you live? Is there a vibrant industrial community where you are? Would you say you find that your local scene influences your attitude and/or creativity?
Lubbock has really grown on me, before I moved here I was very skeptical, I had never heard of Lubbock, even the name was odd to pronounce haha but over the past two years I have met a lot of good hearted and very talented people, I know it's going to sound corny but I met the love of my life here, and over the past two years he has shown me a side of Lubbock I don't think I would have found on my own in such a short amount of time.
As far as an industrial community or scene, if there is one I have yet to find it haha I think the whole idea of the Gothic Industrial scene here in Lubbock is still very new and has a lot of growing to do, and to add to that it really needs a chance to put it's foot in the door. I want to say I'm trying to do that here in Lubbock, but I have found it very hard simply because of the tight circle of people who are in and run the music scene here, you really have to know someone or have some type of connection to someone who owns a venue to get your foot in the door, I have had no problem finding places to perform outside of Lubbock and/or finding the industrial scene in the surrounding cities, I think it's just a matter of time before the industrial scene gets introduced to Lubbock, if it's not me it will be someone else.
I don't think the local music scene influence here is really a very strong faction in my attitude or creativity but I don't dismiss the fact the it's there and that there are some very talented musicians. I came from Los Angeles, CA so I would say my attitude and creativity is a little different from the current local music scene I'm living in now, I feel in a way I have more of a broad spectrum, and am more susceptible to trying new things musically, and though I'm finding it a little hard to join the scene here in Lubbock, LOKO5T4R is still going strong everywhere else and I believe it's only a matter of time before the people of Lubbock see that, just like the surrounding cities, states, and even other countries have.
Is electronic music where you started making music? Or did you have previous musical background or experience before hand? If so does/did your previous musical experience affect your electronic compositions?
Well, I have been in and out of bands with friends while in high school, mostly punk influenced but nothing that ever really turned serious, then it was just something we liked to do, it was fun, and then I was introduced to EBM by a very close friend. I loved the sound of electronic music with a touch of metal or punk or whatever it was, I was really intrigued by it, so I began to search and learn how to create electronic music by means of a software called Magix Music Maker for the Playstation 2 and a cheap Casio keyboard haha I have always loved metal and house music, so I think that's ultimately where I draw my creativity for my compositions.
What inspired you to create the particular sound of the Loko5t4r? What does your project name mean or where did it come from? What drew you to the original hard dance and industrial sounds that find so prevalent throughout your music?
Listening to a lot of house music and metal is one thing that inspired me to create the LOKO5T4R sound, another thing would probably be the introduction to Industrial/Electronic Body Music bands like FunkerVogt, Hocico, and Icon of Coil, and many more.
A long time ago when I was still in an industrial band called Killick Ensign, I was working on a song that I called LOKO5T4R which was never released, and still has not been released up to date. the meaning behind it was and still is that this world is crazy as fuck, we all live in a self proclaimed mindset that we deserve to be known for whatever given reason, privately or publicly, personal or not, we all want to be recognized for something, we all want to be stars in someones eye. I liked the song title and its meaning so much it stuck with me even after I quit my band with Killick Ensign, and when I was ready to create again, I knew I needed a new name, a new brand, and I immediately thought LOKO5T4R fits perfectly, so that's how the name came to be.
Attending alternative night clubs like Das Bunker, Perversion, BatCave, Klub Terminal... and the list goes on in LA haha going to all those places almost on a weekly basis probably drew me into this music even more, listening to industrial, powernoise, and synthpop, seeing how people really got into their Gothic or Cybergoth styles and how they were all really into this subculture of music had a huge impact on me and the music I make now.
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What would you say are your favorite themes and topics to write about? What draws you to those themes?
I really like to keep what I write about close to heart, spirituality, dreams, life experiences, I generally like to stay on the dark side of topics because it's something not many artist like to write and sing about, and life isn't all pretty and pink, theirs a lot of dark, macabre, insane things that happen below the blanket of comfort. I guess it draws me in to write and sing or scream about these kinds of topics because it's provocative, and sometimes depending on the person, it really does scare some to hear, it's just enjoyable to open peoples eyes to something out of their comfort zone and seeing their reactions.
What sort of processes do you go through when making music? Do you have a formula(s) that you follow, or do you feel it out as you go along? Or is it more of a mixture of the two?
It really is a mixture of processes for me, because I'll start off knowing what I want something to sound like and then depending on the song I'm working on something might change here and there, and I'll have to change the process of a songs structure, sometimes even have to recreate something that will make the whole song sound completely different and give it another feel. verse, chorus, verse, chorus is just something I don't see myself sticking to a lot of the time.
When it comes to your musical self and your real world self, would you say that their is a separation? Do you find yourself getting into a character or mindset when you create, or do you find your music is a representation of your day to day self?
Oh yes of course I have to separate the music from my life, I can't be the LOKO5T4R persona all the time I think it would destroy my relationship and friendships, there's a time and place for both the music aspect and real life aspect. When I am in a creative mood and in the middle of recording or performing live, I feel I have to get into that persona because it's essential to the atmosphere that I have to bring with the LOKO5T4R act, my daily life is of course almost routine, my boyfriend and I do work, we have a house to take care of, I just have to make time for all of it.
Do you ever find it difficult to balance the creative and technical aspects of musical creation? How do you strike the balance for the need to craft and tweak your effects and sounds, in contrast to actually just getting the song itself created with structure and melody? What sort of element of creation do you prefer, the sonic shaping or the song creation?
There's times when I do get stuck and I can't go forward with a song, and I can't go back too much because then I'll change the song altogether, so yeah there is times where I do find it difficult but I always find a way to make it work. It's all about feeling and hearing with me, I don't automatically know if I want this sound to sound a certain way or the other, when it comes to tweaking sometimes it take hours to get a specific sound I think will go great and other times it might take a few minutes, but I usually don't do any tweaking right off the back, I usually already have the song structure and the melody ready and then go into adding additional sounds and tweaking them to perfection or far from it, sampling instruments is a big part in the creative process because to me it's essential to have good sounding instrument samples otherwise everything just ends up sounding really muddled, and that's just not something I think would sound good for anyone unless that was the intent of their music.
How would you describe your relationship with musical technology? When you make music are you primarily a hardware or software oriented musician? Or do you do a fusion of both? Are there any particular instruments, programs, or effects that you would say are vital to you making music?
I love it all I don't discriminate, instruments are instruments to me and you can make a whole lot of noise using either hardware or software, or mixing them both, I'll do both when and if the time is right, for now LOKO5T4R is mainly more on the software side, it offers such a wide range of instruments to choose from, I'm currently fond of programs like Native Instruments and Korg drum machines. That's one of the beauties of this genre of music, you can do so much and you're not stuck with the same instrument, over and over, I'm not discrediting acoustic instruments I love them and will use them when possible, what I'm saying is that your musical palette is in a way more broad.
What would you say would be you short term, and long term, goals for the band? Do you find that you two have to find a balance between your direction and goals? Or do you work together fluidly?
Short term goal right now is getting the next album ready to be released by mid 2017, long term goals are to really just start touring on a bigger scale, slowly but surely it's happening. I don't have to worry about working with anyone as it is a solo act, I have full control of what my goals are and also the direction of LOKO5T4R and where I want it to be, every band/artist has a starting point and being a solo artist is where LOKO5T4R is at this point and may very well be where it will stay, although I have thought about possibly having live support in the future but nothing is certain yet, we'll just have to wait and see haha
What sort of new bands have come out in recent years that have caught your attention? Is there any bands out there you see yourself, or would like to, remix or collaborate with in the future?
There's quite a few of them actually, Hasswut, Mordacious, Mind Driller, 3teeth, Lord of the lost... and the list goes on haha there's a lot of good stuff coming out, I would love the chance to be able to perform along side a lot of these artsts. I have always been a huge fan of Hocico, FunkerVogt and Combichrist, I would love to at one point be chosen to remix some of their music.
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Other than what you currently produce, what other sorts of genres, instruments, and sounds would you like to use in the future? Are there any people you would like to collaborate with in the future artistically, musically, or socially?
For LOKO5T4R I think I'm happy with the sound I have found and will probably stick to it, it's to early to really decide any changes in the style that I'm currently producing. I am currently collaborating with a band called Zogthorgven based out of Midland, Texas. I'm doing some vocals with them so there's that to look forward to, as for me at the moment I'm not necessarily out looking to collaborate, but if I'm approached about it, and it sounds interesting and real enough then I may consider it.
Would you say that your choice to pursue music has changed your life since you started? Would you say that creativity has evolved you spiritually, emotionally, or logically? What would you say would be you short term, and long term, goals for your musical career?
I wouldn't necessarily say changed my life, but it is another medium to release myself into the art of making music, and be a little more calm, I've always been musically inclined from childhood so it's not something that's per say new to me. short term goals for me at the moment are just simply to continue doing what I'm doing, pushing out new music and perform anywhere and everywhere I can. long term goals would probably be to build a bigger audience that will want to keep hearing and supporting future LOKO5T4R albums and shows for years to come, I have such a strong passion for this solo act and I don't believe anything will ever deter it, save death..
When it comes to non-musical media, what do you find yourself most inspired by, and what about it draws you to it as a source of inspiration?
If I'm understanding your question correctly, it has to be film, I love film,. watching and editing film, new and old, and or editing pictures, creating fliers, I love it. there's just so much one can do, it is very time consuming so you need to have a lot patience but in a sense it's almost like editing music, except it's more of a visual “soundscape” for me at least, and I admit I'm not the most professional person when it come to designing fliers or images, but I do aspire to learn as much as possible because it simply very beautiful to me, I see graphic designers work and sometimes I'm just like wow I wish I could do all that haha
In an industry that is driven by sales, and consumerism, what are your thoughts on digital downloads (legal and illegal)? Do you feel that streaming and digital download stores aid the accessibility of music? How bout music piracy? It obviously hurts sales in some regards, but it also boosts the access and distribution of the release which could lead to potential fans who do come to shows, buy physical copies of music, and get merchandise? Do you feel there would be enough turn around in that sort of system or are you firmly against file sharing?
I'm all for digital downloads because it's easily accessible to the fans, when a potential fan goes as far as making a purchase it really shows you that people are that much more interested in your music, your brand, your art, but with that it also becomes easily susceptible to being pirated, yes it's much more convenient to download the music illegally, because lets be honest a lot people don't have tons of money to be spending,but I still don't agree with it, I don't think it's the right thing to do, people spend a lot of time working on all their music, a lot of money goes into making it all happen, from the production aspect, you buy tons of equipment, mastering, having cds made, and for someone to just come and say hey well I'm going to take this and not pay a dime for it, it's like going into a record store and pocketing a cd and walking away, it really sucks, but it is also probably one of the fastest ways of getting your name out there, because people will download it and be like, hey this sounds pretty fucking good and go and tell their friends, and their friends will do the same, and once in a while some of those friends will actually take the time to make a purchase and even message you and tell hey I love your music, and that to me is really rewarding because that tells me I'm doing something right. I'm an album guy, I don't like to release singles because to me that discredits the whole concept of a song and it feels kind of empty without the whole spectrum of an album, with that said, I also do like printing physical cds because there is always those people who are into having that physical album in their hands, I for one am one of those people, ,I love to buy cds, if I can get them signed in person that makes it even better because then you have that contentment of thinking, hey, I supported this band, I went above the norm and gave that little bit of respect for their art.
Thank you so much for participating in this episode of Infidel Interview. Any parting words for your fans, or my audience?
It was a pleasure, thank you for reaching out.
Come out the live shows everyone!!! buy our merch, get it signed, or get it online, stay up to date, follow LOKO5T4R on facebook, Instagram, Youtube, ReverbNation and BandCamp. I have a couple of shows coming up in California, hitting Sacramento Dec 2nd and Los Angeles Dec 3rd I'm looking to book more shows across the U.S. So if you want LOKO5T4R in a city near you talk to your local promoters and lead them my way, we'll see you all soon, keep listening and as always, StayLoko ;-P
-Emilio C. Moreno (LOKO5T4R) aka Aemilious Rival
Upcoming Shows:
12/02/2016 @Club Respekt - Sacramento, CA.
12/03/2016 @Klub Terminal - Los Angeles, CA.
Follow/Listen/Buy Everthing Loko5t4r: