Interview: Tregenza

Born into fire...

“To be honest, the final Goteki album ‘Santa Muerte’ was a transition into Tregenza – I’ll perform some of those Santa Muerte tracks when we take the Tregenza show out live.”

Since putting Goteki on ice, composer, vocalist and sound designer Ross Tregenza has been forging ahead with his musical vision under the banner of his solo project Tregenza. After five EPs that encompassed everything from classical to modern dance influences Ross unveiled an impressive full-length début album in the form of 'Into The Void'.
We caught up with Ross to talk about leaving the Goteki name behind, his process and a certain other band he spent time in.

Intravenous Magazine: You've just released your first full-length studio album under the Tregenza name, 'Into The Void'. What has the reaction been like so far?



Ross Tregenza: It’s been hard to let it go! I’ve been working on it for over three years, and letting it out into the world is like ejecting it into space. It’s probably my least immediately accessible album – it’s dark, complex and emotional, so I’m please to be getting so many messages about people enjoying it. I’m incredibly proud of it, but you never know what other people are gonna make of it.

IVM: Prior to the release of the album you opted to release a slew of EPs. What led to that decision and how has that helped in the creation of the album?

RT: It was essential really. The album developed very slowly, which is never a bad thing. Each of the EPs I released shaped the sound, aesthetic and overall vibe of the project in a new way. It was like before the EPs the album was a lump of rock, and each EP was a barrage of chisel hits, shaping it into the final sculpture. It’s an exciting process watching it take form.

IVM: You'd had a very productive run with Goteki after reactivating the band. What led to the decision to finally put it to rest and continue on as a solo artist?

RT: Yeah the last days of Goteki were prolific! I think the change was primarily because the new project is so different. Anybody that knows my Goteki work will hear similarities, but in terms of instrumentation and tone, it’s darker, slower and more cinematic. To be honest, the final Goteki album ‘Santa Muerte’ was a transition into Tregenza – I’ll perform some of those Santa Muerte tracks when we take the Tregenza show out live.

IVM: How does your writing process typically work? 

Outside of your musical work you've had a long career in sound design. How has this affected the way you create music?

RT: I know a lot of musicians who jam or create loops to kickstart a new song. I find it impossible to write anything until I know what a song’s gonna be called and what it’s about – that defines the first steps of writing the song.

These days I write primarily on piano to start, then expand out to my ‘new song toolset’ after that – normally violin, two-three synth lines, two-three drum sets and then go from there. Even though I get a little experimental here and there, I like to try and write songs that could easily be played purely on guitar or piano – it makes them more durable.

My career in sound design has had a massive impact on my music. For the first few years, my music and sound design were different avenues and god knows why, but it never occurred to me to mix them. Now I see almost no difference – my sound design informs my music and vice versa. Crazy to think it took so long. You’ll hear in the new album a lot of cinematic design, dramatic scoring, big impacts sounds etc. – all stuff I’ve learnt from my crazy, awesome day job making video games.

IVM: There are a lot of influences at work across the album and EPs. Musically where do you draw your inspirations?

RT: I’ve always had two sets of influences – a classic core set and a more current set. My classic core set has been the same for most of my life – Bowie, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkle, The Beatles, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristopherson. Mostly Bowie though. Good god to I love a bit of Bowie!

My current set of influences are kinda diverse, but you can hear influences on ‘Into The Void’ – it’s all in there. The list would include Crystal Castles, Kavinsky, The Supremes, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Japan, Justice, M83, Hot Chip, Hurts, IAMX.

On top of that I’ve been heavily influenced by film scores over the last few years. Primarily the work of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (although obviously the phenomenal ‘Push the Sky Away’ had a big influence too). Also, Clint Mansel, M83 & Joseph Trapanese.

IVM: One of the most interesting tracks featured on the initial Tregenza EPs is the '86 Stadium Remix of 'Snowdrift', where did that idea come from and how did you execute it?

RT: Ha-ha yeah that was ridiculous. Kinda worked though! I always think it’s nice to let my sound design skill set bleed into my music stuff. I figured it was such an introverted, gentle song that it’d be funny to re-imagine it as a massive cheesy stadium rock song. Dumb fun, but I love it! It was just a case of building a reverb that had that massive stadium feel and then redesigning all the elements to make them feel like they’re coming from a huge stage. Hey ho, keeps me busy!

IVM: This time last year you released a cover EP, 'Stolen Thunder'. Is this going to be a regular series, and if so what songs are considering covering?



RT: Yep! Yep yep yep! I love Stolen Thunder, and I plan on doing a zillion others. I start cover version ALL the time – 80% of them will never see the light of day – they just don’t work (you don’t want to hear my cover of 'Ride On Time' – spoiler alert – it’s SHIT. ) So when I get five covers that get to a certain point – when I can sit back and think – fuck yeah, this is actually pretty solid – then I complete them and bundle them as a release. I hope to do 10, 20 collections as many as I can do before I get hit by a car or a meteor hits the planet.

IVM: As a solo artist, will you be more studio based from now on or will there be a chance of live performances in the near future?

RT: Yeah this is primarily a studio project now – studio music, video performances, music videos, etc. BUT I am starting to plan a tour. I need to figure out what how we’ll take it out live – what instruments, how to present the material. I’ll sing obviously, but I need to decide if I also want to play guitar, synth, or anything else. Difficult but exciting questions! On top of that, I want the shows to have a more organic, unpredictable edge – a little chaos. It’s make each show more unique, and more fun the crowd and us.

IVM: You've continued to give your releases away for free. What led to this decision and would you entertain working with a label again?

RT: Yeah it’s a tricky one. I’m lucky enough to have a day job that’s a creative outlet that I get paid for. With that in mind, I’d figured I’d launch each release for free, to try and get people to grab it. I would be happy to work with a label, not really for the money but more for the support. It’s hard work and time consuming promoting my stuff, and more people helping me would always be a good thing.

IVM: In addition to your own past projects you've previously been a member of synthpop pioneers Visage. How do you look back on your time with the band and how is your relationship with them today?

RT: It’s like a weird dream now. A really weird dream. For example – the first band practice I ever had with Steve Strange involved him going off for lunch, and not coming back for several hours. Eventually he re-emerged, and with no sense of irony said ‘Sorry guys just had lunch with Terry Wogan. He left me with the bill, the bugger!”. It was a great time, and I had the opportunity to play stadiums of 20 or 30 thousand people, and chill backstage with all manner of legendary bands from The Human League to The Exploited. Really great experience. As I’m sure you know, Steve passed away very recently, and it’s been harder to deal with than I’d have anticipated. I think that while we’d kind of drifted as friends, the idea of him not being out there somewhere, doing his crazy Steve things makes me very sad. He was a mischievous and chaotic character, a pain in the ass at times, but a powerful force of creativity, a happy and unforgettable character and he’s left an astonishing musical legacy. I’ll miss him.

IVM: Finally, what are your plans for the rest of 2015?

RT: I’m starting to get a few ideas together for the first songs of the next album, but I’d love to release some more covers and EPs before that. My next big project is definitely the live shows though, and I’m already talking to people around the UK about shows. I also want to release my first instrumental collection of more film score inspired work. After that, there’s some plans for music videos – kinda long format ones with cinematic elements. I also want to make two concept albums – one sci-fi and one zombie themed, with accompanying short stories. And another animated music video. Jesus. If I had the ability to freeze time, I still wouldn’t get everything done. I’ll do what I can, stay tuned!

Tregenza's full-length début album 'Into The Void' is available to purchase now through his bandcamp page. For more information on Tregenza including upcoming releases and live performances, please visit the official website.  

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Review: Tregenza – 'Into The Void'

TREGENZA
'Into The Void'
SELF-RELEASED

It has been a long time coming, but after a string of varied and exciting EP releases, Ross Tregenza has finally dropped his first full-length solo album. The former Goteki main-man has continued to dramatically expand upon the “death electro” sound he pursued with his former band's last album 'Santa Muerte', and brought in elements such as indie rock, blues, orchestral and dark ambient into the mix. The result has been a big jump in the scope and quality of his songwriter as he has pushed himself further with every release.

'Into The Void' filters these elements into something that blends cinematic power with pop simplicity. A few of the songs here will be familiar to those who have already downloaded the free EPs, but as with any good début album they have been given an overhaul and built up into a cohesive unit, with tracks such as 'Born Into Fire', the brilliant Leonard Cohen cover 'The Partisan', 'Last Light', and 'Wolves' in particular providing the backbone of the track list. While the new offerings 'Exhordium', 'Release', 'Disquietude', and 'The Void' blend atmospheric textures with elements such as mournful vocals and melodies, strong dance beats and delicate piano lines and warm orchestration to create compelling yet atmospheric style of dark synthpop that could be likened to Nick Cave and Warren Ellis collaborating with Depeche Mode.

The production walks a fine line between the cinematic and the pop-friendly sides of the album's sound. It definitely works though, especially with the orchestration complimenting the synths as well as adding some warmth to counterpoint Tregenza's cold futuristic vocal effect.

'Into The Void' has taken it's time to appear, but it has been worth the wait. Trengenza's skills as a solo artist are now beyond question. The song writing here is strong and memorable, the production is excellent and maintains an experimental edge that belies the ever-present pop slant of Tregenza's approach. This is the strongest and most confident release that in his varied and expansive back-catalogue and should provide Ross Tregenza a very solid platform for a long solo career.  

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Review: Tregenza – 'Last Light'

TREGENZA
'Last Light'
SELF-RELEASED

Former Goteki mastermind Ross Tregenza returns with his fifth solo EP 'Last Light' following on from the 2013 releases 'Snowdrift', 'Wolves' and 'Born Into Fire'. The credentials of the composer / vocalist / producer / sound designer's body of work since retiring Goteki for the second time has seen a rapid diversification of his sound, the results of which have been some of the best work in his career.

'Last Light' certainly carries this tradition on. The title track opens the EP up with Tregenza's trademark mournful dark electro that was initially pioneered on Goteki's 'Santa Muerte', but has since been refined to an opulent blend of melodic electronics and slow but danceable beats on his solo outings. The two remixes of the track 'Tregenza's Magic Hour Remix' and 'Piano Mix' take the song in different directions with the first feeling a lot more bouncy and playful, while the second unleashes the songs raw emotional content. The other original track 'Realization' is a great neoclassical meets martial instrumental track that, just as with 'Moons Of Saturn' on the 'Born Into Fire' EP begs to be on a film soundtrack.

This is another solid EP from Tregenza. Although it is a little more focussed on the title track this time around, it nevertheless still displays that sense of experimentation and diversity in its construction. The production is excellent once again, and the atmospheres on the songs, particularly 'Realization' and 'Last Light (Piano Mix)' sound simply cinematic in their execution.

Ross Tregenza has shown his prowess as a songwriter and producer over the course of the EP releases. But it is time now for the big test with his début solo full-length album due out later this year. Yet if this is anything to go by, he should be able to pull it off with ease.  

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Review: Tregenza – 'Stolen Thunder'

TREGENZA 

'Stolen Thunder' 

SELF-RELEASED

Continuing what he started with Goteki, Ross Tregenza returns with a new covers EP under his solo moniker. Utilising the same title as his former project. Goteki's 2011 'Stolen Thunder' EP, was a lot more geared towards the band's traditional crowd with covers of artists such as Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy and Covenant. 2014 however, sees Tregenza focus on more mainstream cuts from Madonna, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and Haddaway.

Leonard Cohen's 'The Partisan', which was previously covered on the Goteki 'Stolen Thunder' EP, gets a lush reworking to open the new album. A more expressive and mournful approach to the song makes it a stunning opener. 'Love Missile F1-11' is next to get the Tregenza treatment with a juxtaposition of strings, pianos and computer game samples in the intro set the tone for this sound-effects laden homage to the most futuristic of retro bands. 90's club classic 'What Is Love?' is next up for reconstruction. Still retaining it's dance credentials, Tregenza remakes Haddaway's original in his own “death-electro” style for the EP's stand-out offering. Madonna's 'Frozen' rounds-off the EP in minimalistic electro style with deep house embellishments for some extra sensuality.

Ross Tregenza's solo output goes from strength to strength and it's easy to hear just how far he has come since Goteki's 2011 EP of the same name. Comparatively the 2014 EP is superior in terms of execution and production, with even the more minimal tracks sounding fuller and more dense in content.

Tregenza has proved that his solo work has moved beyond the confines of what Goteki achieved and begun to carve a more impressive nice for himself. With this being the fourth EP under his belt, it remains to be seen what he will offer us in the way of a full-length release.

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Review: Tregenza – 'Born Into Fire'

TREGENZA 

'Born Into Fire' 

SELF-RELEASED 

Ross Tregenza certainly has a fire inside him. The third in a series of solo EP releases since January, 'Born Into Fire' shows of the composer / vocalist / producer / sound designer's diverse skill set. He has, since putting Goteki on ice, showed that he can pretty much turn his hand to any genre and add his unique mark to it.

This time round the focus is very much on a blend of dark electro augmented by decadent neoclassical strains set to a martial drum beat, which sets 'Born Into Fire' apart from his previous offerings in a big way. There is always a melancholic strain to Tregenza's solo output, but no more so than on the opening version of the title track on the EP. The second 'Electronic' version is more in keeping with his previous output by juxtaposing the sombreness with a catchy drum beat and infectious lead synth melody. 'Burning In The Dark' continues the dark atmosphere of the opener but once again some more playful sounds to create a nice mellow centre-point. Visage's Logan Sky provides a minimalistic remix focussing on deep percussive sounds and exhibiting a fine balance between the electronic and orchestral elements. 'Moons Of Saturn' is a decadent instrumental in the vein of an opening credit score to an, as yet unreleased, sci-fi blockbuster. It's expansive sound mixes all of the elements heard so far on the EP and reworks them into something rather grand. The final track is another instrumental, this in the form of 'Temple Of The Sacred Heart', which returns to Tregenza's tried and tested formula of addictive, dance orientated electro.

The EP releases get better and better. The production is excellent and the song-writing and composition continues to evolve in unexpected but very pleasing ways. This is the strongest and most confident release to date, and if Tregenza continues along these lines, the inevitable full-length début is going to be something to watch out for.

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Review: Tregenza – 'Wolves'

TREGENZA 

'Wolves' 

SELF-RELEASED 

A mere seven months on from his first post-Goteki solo outing, Ross Tregenza returns with the follow-up EP, 'Wolves'. His previous outing, 'Snowdrift', showed off a diverse range of styles that retained some of the playfulness of the Goteki back-catalogue but seriously built on the indie rock and blues influences that were becoming apparent in the later material. And its hear that 'Wolves' picks up from predecessor.

The title track 'Wolves' made a brief appearance in an instrumental form at the end of the previous EP and immediately stood out with it's bleak atmosphere that evoked the likes of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, as well as The Sisters Of Mercy. Throw in Tregenza's distinctive android-like vocal style and it creates a very haunting song. The first remix of the title track is chopped up and glitchy affair that transforms melodies into rhythms and completely turns the track on its head. Where as the second, 'Speed Of Light', remix takes the song into more familiar dance territory with a markedly upbeat feel and combination of vocoded feminine vocals. The third remix, 'Speed Of Dark' gets a bit more experimental, retaining core elements of the song, but overlaying them with strange sounds and samples. Finally there is another instrumental preview of the next EP in the form of 'Christ The Redeemer' has an electronic-orchestral feel which creates a wonderfully blend of pop-orientated dance with neoclassical ambience.

It's nice to hear Tregenza continue to acknowledge his previous projects but still continue to move away from them, playing around with other genres and styles to great effect. With another EP announced for the end of the year he looks like he won't be stopping any time soon, but it will still be interesting to see how he ties everything into a full-length album.

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