Crisis Interview - December 2010

SR: Tell us about the album “Reactor4”

CR: We began recording the album in the early part of 2009. We had this idea of creating a soundtrack set against the backdrop of the derelict city of Prypiat, we are attracted to derelict places. The recordings also had to include the feeling of what was going on within the Chernobyl power station when the disaster happened in 1986.

SR: The sounds on the album create a very dark atmosphere. They are very cold and raw.

CR: That’s how we envisaged the soundtrack – it had to sound like that. We recently had a review about the recordings. The reviewer seemed to be more interested in a polished orchestral sound, he totally missed the point. We used a lot of vintage analogue equipment like Moogs and old tape delays. We wanted to create a sound from that era. One of the field recordings is the actual recorded evacuation warning to the people of Prypiat.

SR: The track Prypiat seems to be popular, it has a different sound to the rest of the album.

CR: Prypiat was recorded with just a Moog and tape delay (Roland RE-501). It creates the sound of the dead city today; abandoned and lost amongst the trees and plants, long after the place was evacuated.

SR: What other equipment was used to create the sound of the album?

CR: A Doepfer A-100 was used for processing certain sounds, rather than a dedicated sound source. We have different filters and effects within the modular that we can use. We don’t use laptops and software, instead using certain guitar pedals and old analogue rack effects. It was a more organic approach to electronics, if electronics can be organic! We like to filter things out, so they are not too obvious or in your face. Some of the field recordings are very subtle and can be heard after a few plays - we tried to make some of the sounds abandoned.

SR: The city has a bit of a cult attraction today; it has been used in film and computer games.

CR: Yes, I often wonder how the city will end up. One day it may be lost forever, it is already becoming a tourist haven with travellers visiting and taking pictures; it has that attraction to people. It did for me, which was what inspired me to create the recordings.

SR: We liked the cover artwork, what was it meant to signify?

CR: It’s an x-ray, radiation!

SR: I see, obvious when you think about it.

CR: We like the grain of radiation photography. When you see old footage of the evacuation back in the eighties, you can pick out radiation flashes that affected the film. The levels of radiation were so high, people were not aware of that at the time.

SR: Will we see any more work from the project?

CR: We are planning to record some video and images in the Ukraine when we visit the site in 2011.