Playground magazine

*Download the mix here

Sinner DC is a Swiss trio made up of Julien Amey, Manuel Bravo and Steve Mamie, which has been active since 1998. But there is clearly a before and after moment for them, marked by their signing in 2006 with the label Ai Records, which was then at the head of the revival of intelligent techno in Europe, along with other prestigious labels like Modern Love (associated with the shop Boomkat) and Touchin Bass (headed by Andrea Parker). Sinner DC’s bursting onto the continental electronic scene with “Mount Age” (2006) was indeed a distinguishing moment; they were three people who not only handled electronic devices, but also played instruments like the bass, the guitar, and sang. Their language had one foot in pop and post-rock and they chose to put the accessibility of a good melody ahead of a complex groove. To put it simply, Sinner DC found a middle ground between bands like Autechre and Tortoise, although with a more definite tendency towards the robotic.

Later came “Crystalized” (2009), another album in a very similar line that delved more deeply into Sinner DC’s IDM roots; for now, it’s their last one. That is particularly relevant as it was among the last titles that Ai Records would release, as the label was already in its home stretch—only three more titles were to come afterwards: the mini-album “Burning Decay” by Plant43 and the compilations “Travel” and “Time To Exit”. For the last three years, the band has been looking for a label, and it has finally found one—and one that is close to home, too. Mental Groove, a legendary Swiss techno label whose first title dates back to 1989, and which has released names popular today such as Luciano, Quenum and Kate Wax. Our trio fits in there perfectly thanks to their usual style, a solid mixture between experimental synthesis and fragile pop. Their new album will be titled “Future That Never Happened”, a sort of conceptual work about “a girl that runs away from home”, which will be released on 1st October. Before that moment arrives, the group wanted to offer a foretaste of the tone and aesthetic of the LP with two pieces. The first was the EP “Endless Valley” (which broke a two-year silence on 20th June with a new song and two Gordon Shumway and FDF remixes) and the second is this “endless podcast” that they have mixed for you to download, which includes names that they confess have influenced their current sound, like Andy Stott, Plastikman and Loops Of Your Heart (one of the parallel projects of The Field). Are you ready for the trip to begin?

I understand your new record is built around the story of an imaginary teenage girl running away from home. Can you expand a bit on this? What led you to write a concept album?

When we began to write the album, some lyrics of our best demos made us think about this runaway girl... especially the track “Where She Goes”. We even wanted to make a road movie about all this. Finally, some videos have been done around this story; you will see them soon!

“Endless Valley”, the first single from the album, shows the darker and deeper side of your sound. Is it representative of the whole album? In other words, what can we expect sound-wise from this new album, are there any drastic changes in relation to “Crystallized”?

We hope the album is like a real runaway, with lots of different emotions. “Endless Valley” is the first track of the album, when the girl decides to leave home, so quite a dark and confused feeling. But after that there are hope, euphoria, liberty, deception, fear, renaissance, dreams, freedom, loneliness and even love... We could perhaps say that this album has a deeper feeling than “Crystallized”.

Can you briefly describe the creative and recording process behind the album?

Well, we listen to the first recorded ideas that we have, and it's magic! We all always agree which tracks we think are the best, and these tracks give us the direction to follow. Then we work a lot on recording stuff as naturally as we can, and finally we spend a lot of time choosing and selecting the best tracks.

Although your work dynamics seem closer to those of a band, you have always been considered a part of the electronic music scene. In this respect, do you see yourselves more as a band that makes electronic music or a trio of electronic producers that work as a band?

Definitely, a band that makes electronic music, and even more: friends making music and inventing our own little world...

Your sound has always given special importance to emotion. Where do you get the emotional inspiration to write your music from?

Life is so emotional, but we also have this special power as people passionate about music. To transform sad and bad feelings into what we hope to be a good track, music to heal.

The mix you've made as a companion to the first single of the album seems like a kind of extension of your own music. Would you say it is sort of an influence mix?

Yes, for electronic music, this mix is what we could call our influences. Less electronic and more deep stuff.

Besides the ones in the mix, what other artists have you been listening to while conceiving of and recording the album?

Ocelote Rojo, Spacemen 3, Christophe, Chassol, The Beach Boys...

You were one of the most prominent acts at Ai Records. How have you experienced their ceasing of activities?

It’s sad that such a good label (respecting their artists so much) has to stop, but Jason Smith, the Ai big boss, still is our artwork producer, so we are very lucky!

You're now part of Mental Groove, which is a really long-lasting, consolidated label. To what extent do you think the label has been important in the development of electronic music in Switzerland, especially in Geneva?

Without a good label, a good scene can't exist, so Mental Groove is a very solid base for every artist to develop their craziest ideas. For example, the cover of our new album is made with aluminium foil, a crazy, unique and expensive idea that Mental Groove made possible!

The Swiss scene used to be large and fertile—a lot of groundbreaking electronic music came from there some years ago. Do you see the electronic music scene in Switzerland (and especially Geneva) in a different way today?

Well, perhaps because we were on Ai Records, we never felt that we were part of a Geneva scene. So it’s hard to say. We feel more a part of a worldwide community of musicians sharing remixes, concerts, inspiration...

What are your plans after releasing the album? Any tour planned?

Lots of remix EPs are on the way. A vinyl with Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3 / MGMT producer) will be out very soon. And of course, touring!