“In the past I was a total trouble maker, a rebel, a kid with so many frustrations…I was lucky to overcome those problems thanks to my parents and become a better person using music as a foundation to express my emotions.” Milton C SancheZ Vocalist/ founder member of RETRACTOR.
It’s no secret at Spittingflower Productions HQ that we’re pretty big fans of Retractor, so it was only a matter of time before we caught up with the man behind the machines Mr. Milton C SancheZ a.k.a. Milton Morphklan/Dj Hermonic. With his latest release ‘The Moonslave Project’ storming up the Industrial charts in both Europe and the United States. Here, we talk ‘Space Age’, ‘Moonslaves’, and what it means to be ‘Industrial for life’.
Hello Milton – Firstly congratulations on your latest release Retractor ‘The Moon Slave Project’ which has been well received by fans and the Industrial music scene storming up the charts as we speak. How does it feel to finally see the successful fruition of all your hard work with this your sixth album release?
I’m extremely happy and flattered that many people like the new album, but more recently I have been enjoying myself with a little break to celebrate. I am due however to be heading back into the studio again very soon. I’m always producing music and recording ideas according to what I like and what feels right with my gut instinct. I’m very happy with the reviews and feedback for ‘The Moonslave Project’ so far. I really like the fact that many Radio stations such as Communion after Dark, Radio Virus, and La Trasnoche have picked up and promoted the album and continue to play Retractor’s music without my having to request this, or indeed make payment for this promotion. That tells me I’m on the right track of producing more albums that satisfy my fans and my personal creativity. On the other hand I was disappointed that Amazon didn’t want to release physical copies of all ‘Retractor’ albums. Their explanation for this is that there is not enough demand for the production of physical copies/C.D.’s due to the popularity of torrent sites.
‘The Moon slave Project’ has more than a touch of the extraterrestrial, can you tell us what inspired the title of the album?, and how does this relate to your previous body of work?
In the past I had a project called ‘The Moon Slave’. This project originated from retro hypnotic sounds with an analogue field. Ideas however never really materialised regards this. After I wrote ‘The Duplicator’ track for the recent album I felt inspired to write something relating to concepts of ‘Space’ and the ‘Moon Mission’. Following this ‘The Moon slave Project’ evolved. It became very easy to create the ambience I wanted since I had the analogue gear and the right lyrics and mindset. ‘Retractor’ has been challenging on many aspects of production and originality, but I think I have finally proven what it takes to create something great! ‘Retractor’ previously was just another ‘Dark Electro’ or ‘Hell Electro’ band format, but I took the opportunity to step up and change that format to something unique. So many bands are doing the same thing as great bands like ‘Hocico’ or ‘Suicide Commando’. ‘Genetic Perfection’, ‘Fractal Heads’ and ‘Retrieving Time’ mark the new transition phase of what Retractor is today – a new breed of modern EBM and dark wave concept!
There are some great stomping dance floor tracks on this album ‘Com3 Out’ ‘Klinikal’ ‘We Are The Moonslaves’ which are sure to become club classics. Do you have a personal favourite track from the album? Do you create your music with the club scene in mind?
Yes my favourite track in the new Retractor Album ‘The Moon Slave Project’ is ‘I’m Reserved’. For me this is as close as you can get to real Industrial Music, acoustic drums great vocals, texture and real analogue synthesizers. I try not to be too club oriented, however that’s my ground foundation since the old days of techno, EBM and Trance. It happens without effort and the results are great. In the past I know ‘Retractor’ wrote albums to be club oriented and I did not get the response I was looking for apart from for the first release ‘No Resistance’ which was extremely club oriented.
Concepts of ‘fate’ and ‘time’ often feature in your music, as well as themes of ‘regret’ and ‘hope’ – Do you draw upon your own experience of the world around you for inspiration when writing and composing? or purely from events happening on the ‘world stage’?
It is my ‘fate’ and ‘time’ and also ‘regret’ and ‘hope’ that is what inspired me in the first place to write and produce music. It’s the only way I can express myself without having other issues. In the past I was a total trouble maker a rebel, and a kid with so many frustrations. Also I had big challenges and lots of ‘issues’. I was lucky to overcome those problems thanks to my parents and become a better person using music as a foundation to express my emotions. Fate has surrounded me with better people now and I’ve been able to spend time doing things that are worth doing! Also I regret investing my time with people in the past that took advantage of me, and hope that Karma will pay back in good favour towards me.
‘Capitalism’, ‘Consumerism’ ‘War & Subjugation’ are other themes often revisited in Retractors music. Do you foresee a future in which humanity has reached a state of balance and peace? Or does the dystopian futurology so often featured in the Industrial music scene reflect your own personal point of view?
I foresee a future of peace and balance which is the whole point. I would like to see a world without war and a planet earth that has one goal to overcome all the problems and issues on a daily basis. At the same time Industrial music is a source of criticism for me to express my point of view and express judgement of the wrong doings I see in the world around me, and beyond.
You have been releasing music as ‘Retractor’ since 2004 and have previously been signed to Polish record label ‘Black Flames’ and later German label ‘Infacted Recordings’. How does your experience of releasing music with a label compare to self releasing your own albums?
It’s a big difference since I’m in the USA and my previous partner labels were in Europe. I can tell by experience that if I was living in Europe things would be very different for ‘Retractor’. There would be more gigs/shows, more promotion and more opportunities to go further with the music and gain greater exposure. Being a USA based Artist within the industrial scene can be very slow and disappointing. Not too many shows/gigs and not that much support around, since everybody in the USA is mainly focused on European bands. On the other hand I like the fact I have my own self label ‘Morphklan Music’. I have control over all of the rights when it comes to ownership. Also I have the freedom to release whatever I like whenever I like. The big labels do tend to view you as competition however, and they can try to ruin your career as an Artist by not letting you to participate in their festivals and special events. This does not deter ‘Retractor’ however.
Is the plan to continue self releasing under ‘Morphklan Music’ or would you prefer to get signed by another label?
I ‘m happy now because I’m on my own label. I want my fans to like me because they like my music. I don’t want my fans to like me because I’m with a big label. I will not deny I had a good run for seven years making music for myself and even as a ghost-writer for other bands and the fun part is that I made a living out of it with Infacted Recordings. However, I was single then and many things have changed for me. Now as well as being a musician, I am also a family man with kids, house, dogs, and am self employed. It’s a big maybe however. If I were to get the right contract with a big label, things could possibly change again!
Are there any plans to tour ‘The Moon slave Project’ beyond the United States? Would you be interested in playing some of the European festivals (or better still) the UK Infest or Resistanz?
I have currently no plans to tour right now, but I’m open to the idea of gigs/tours here in the USA, Europe and the UK in the not too distant future.
Finally Milton, please tell us are you still ‘Industrial for Life’?
Steph Yes! always Industrial for life! Thank you so much for the opportunity to chat and all of your support over there in the UK.
Photo/Video Credits: Milton Morphklan
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