Interview with Syk2ne

Syk2ne`s podcast, Facebook and Soundcloud

Can you tell us something about the man behind the mask, where are you from and what do you do for a living etc.?

My real name is Michal and I`m from the Czech republic. Last year I finished the bachelor degree of Theory of Interactive Media where I focused on experimental electronic music. Besides my education I`ve been working in the medicinal drug supply for the last few years.

How did you start producing and mixing music?

My first steps with producing music where when I was 14 or 15. It was nothing more then creating some really simple hip-hop beats and layering them over sampled loops I took from other songs or video games etc. 
Later on two good friends of mine bought some turntables, which gave me the opportunity to try mixing with vinyl and scratching. In those years I became very fascinated with the art of turntablism. And although I haven`t used turntables for almost five years now, I can say I spent my adolescent years on them, mostly scratching. 
It was around then when I also got in touch with something what is now called mainstream hardcore. That would have been around 2004 or 2005 and the tracks that were released in that period by Enzyme, Traxtorm or Neophyte records were raw and full of energy. I got hooked by this style and so I decided to produce and play this kind of music myself. 
Over the years I started to focus more on heavy, dark, experimental and broken stuff and in 2011 I discontinued my hardcore project and began with Syk2ne because I felt I needed more space to experiment with my sound.

How would you define Syk2ne`s musical style nowadays?

I get this question quite often from various people. It`s hard to explain because people tend to get confused when I describe the whole spectrum that i try to cover with my music. To put things simple, I write dark, industrial, experimental and usually broken music on varying tempo`s. The name Syk2ne really speaks for itself if you think about it.

If you state it like that then you might best describe your style as a musical hybrid, can you say what role Hardcore music plays in your life and in your music?

I do not consider myself the gabberhead that I used to be but I have to say that hardcore had a big impact on my life. About ten years ago I was really into it, and you could even say that I was addicted to it for the first couple of years after I discovered it. It really was a lifestyle for me. I made a lot of new friends, who had the same passion for the music and I still have regular contact with them, also with the one`s that aren`t into the music that I produce now. I have to admit though that I am not watching the current hardcore scene closely, except for a few of my favorite producers. I do try to attend any local hardcore party because I still haven`t found anything more energetic than a proper hardcore bassdrum.

Your music and performance are both very dark, where does your love for the dark come from?

I don't know where it comes from, but I have always been more attracted by the sick and twisted stuff than things that are considered beautiful by most people. I don't mean murders, blood or violence, these things don't inspire me. What inspires me, and my work, is stuff that is somehow connected to dystopian future, apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic visions, cybernetics, natural disasters, diseases and plagues of the modern society. Basically mankind itself in many different ways.

When did you start using your iconic mask and what is the reason behind it?

I started using it last year, just one or two months after the Contagion album was released. I had been thinking about the visual representation of Syk2ne for a while and, because all of my releases are connected to sickness, I wanted something that could carry this concept even further. I remembered a drawing of the plague doctor which I saw as a child. This drawing fascinated and disturbed me at the same time. For me the plague doctor is one of the most frightening figures in human history. His purpose was to help and take care of people with the bubonic plague, but every time he appeared he brought death with him. 

Which artist have influenced you as an artist over the years?

A lot of artists have had an influence on my music over the years and the list is very diverse as well. But If I have to name some artists with a big impact on me and my music then I should definitely mention The Outside Agency/Dj Hidden, Access to Arasaka, Ophidian/Meander, Oyaarss, Tapage, WWW, Broken Note, Venetian Snares and Hecq. I should also mention the artists releasing under the Dark Industry label because almost every album that`s released there made my spine shiver. And if you want to know specific tracks which caught me lately, you should check my soundcloud for podcasts called Syk2nes, which I release every three months.

How is the music scene (and/or Hardcore scene) in the Czech Republic?

The music scene in general is still in bad condition here. I suppose the main reason behind this is that our country spent 40 years in communism and its “official culture“. Everything that was different and slightly provocative was forbidden, and the people involved would get prosecuted. I consider myself lucky because I was born a few months before the Velvet revolution, so I was able to travel and enjoy all the new things from abroad. But the marks of the former government are still very visible in our society. People still have problem with accepting new things for example. And because of that we don't have many progressive bands or projects here. Events or festival line-ups are repeating the same names more than a chorus in a pop song. But things are slowly moving forward now, you can really see a evolution if you look at the development on a year by year basis.

If I focus on the electronic and hardcore scene I have to say that the Czech republic was always very drum and bass oriented. I can clearly remember the first hardcore parties in 2005 with local dj`s. Those parties brought twenty people to the dancefloor, where DnB events were able to pull full clubs. But the early hardcore parties were very unique. A lot of people traveled very long distances for a party because there were just a few of them a year, and this created a real sense of family here. At that time me and my friends were admiring and visiting some Dutch parties as well, hoping that something similar would be possible for the Czech republic eventually.

So in 2006 I created a platform for Czech dj`s and producers called Gabber.cz, this platform isn`t active anymore, but we organized regular events back then and released some Czech hardcore tracks. It probably changed the Czech hardcore scene and definitely brought more people to the game.

Nowadays the Prague Nightmare guys really pull the hardcore scene here, and they took the events to a complete new level. Thanks to them the scene has grown up and we can now enjoy professional parties with hundreds, or sometimes even thousands of attendants. The crossbreed sound has also helped though, that sound has attracted a lot of attention from the hard DnB audience and pulled them to the hardcore events over here.

In the end you can say that the wishes we had back in the days have come true and as an addition we now have plenty of great events with raging hard DnB like Therapy Sessions, the Forbidden Society label night or Bassinfection. 

What can we expect from Syk2ne in the (near) future?

As a person I`m pretty cautious, I usually don`t say anything specific unless it is settled. At the moment I am working on some remixes of tracks from my favourite artists, so you might hear those in the near future. Besides those tracks I have also done some major studio upgrades in the last months, so I hope that those changes will be noticeable in my upcoming tracks as well.

And last but not least, do you have any epic last words for us?

Witness the sickness!