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The Peoples Republic of Europe

Winkelaar: I first got into music about 1986. I bought a punk record of the Dutch punk band Larm, and when I heard it I thought, 'I can do that,' and formed my own punk band. It turned out that making music was more difficult than I first envisioned, but it was fun to do, so we made a lot of noise and a lot of fun. When I learned to play an instrument – bass guitar – on a more serious level, I started playing in some metal/noise/punk-like bands, and ultimately my current New Wave band Fertile Reality. In those days I also got interested in electronic music, and I made some tracks with a friend of mine. I liked doing that and bought my own gear. I first started with my ambient project, Kratarknathrak, which I also still use, though a lot less since the success of tPROE. When I on a summer day in 2000 decided to experiment more with noise, I used the name 'The Peoples Republic of Europe' for it. I had that name for a project in my head for a few years. It's from an episode of – I think – Mission Impossible from the '70s where they tricked someone into believing a European communist state had conquered the USA.

You do the programming for the band, while Stefan Petrie and Puck Berghout are credited for the visual and 'live noise and static' aspects of the band. When did you first join with Stefan and Puck, and how much do they contribute to the overall direction of the The Peoples Republic of Europe? Will they be directly involved in the studio on future recordings?

Winkelaar: I've known Stefan and Puck for several years now. Both I met at the clubs I DJ at. In the Netherlands, I am a fairly well-known industrial and EBM DJ, and as a consequence you get to know people. Stefan gave me demos of his music, and Puck is a nice girl and great company. On stage, I like to be with more people, because it contributes to a more band feel. Live, Puck does the noise-scapes which I mix over the music. Stefan does visuals. During live shows, we have visuals on a big screen. As for the overall direction, nothing is impossible, but tPROE is mainly my project. Stefan also has his own project, called Statik Sky; he has already released some songs through BLC Productions, and he will be releasing his first album on Vendetta as well. I have had several other live members in the past, and I experimented a lot with what to do live. I started out with Einstürzende Neubauten-like percussion material, and later on went live with an MC, but I now feel I have a very competent live troupe to go touring with.

Your new album is entitled Singularity, and several songs, like 'Age of Machines' and the title track, concern themselves with the singularity, the moment in time when humanity creates a machine that's more intelligent than we are, thus displacing us as the supposed apex of the evolutionary ladder. When do you see this happening, and do you view it as a positive event or a negative one? Are you worried about being displaced by your own drum machine?

Winkelaar: I don't know if it's going to happen, because I can see quite a lot of technological difficulties there, but I like the idea of transhumanism and the technological singularity. If this happens it will be for the better. I do not have much love for humankind, since they do not seem to be capable of seeing the bigger picture. The machines or the man-machine hybrids will be much more intelligent and better prepared for the problems of now and the future. I like civilization, and if humankind is to die out – it eventually will – I'd rather leave the planet to a new civilization than to plants and animals.

Singularity also features a song called 'Drone Riots,' which is a reference to Sid Meier's PC strategy game, Alpha Centauri. Are you a big fan of computer games? Which are your favorites?

Winkelaar: You got me there. The title is indeed from a Sid Meier game I used to play a lot in the past. I am a very active gamer. I prefer good real time strategy like Starcraft and Red Alert, and first person shooters, of which the Half Life franchise is my favorite. The last two years I've also played a MMORPG game – not World of Warcraft, which I find to be an extremely gay game – but EVE Online, because of its transhumanist nature and the fact you can really fuck up people there. (No better tears than Carebear tears!) Chris from Coreline also plays this game. I am in an 0.0 alliance there, and we have massive fleet battles like the Star Wars stuff there. I've played it for two years now, and it still gets me going – absolutely one of the best out there. For those in the know, I am on the side of the Coalition, being a member of the Northern Coalition power block. On the upcoming album, there is an EVE Online-inspired track called 'Wolfpack.'

In addition to the preoccupation with cybernetics, you've also done some pretty provocative songs about religion, like 'Mecca Glacified' and 'The Blasphemy Challenge.' Have these outspoken tracks brought you any negative attention? Are you worried about offending possible fans?

Winkelaar: I don't think the religious-crazed have noticed me yet. I am too small a fish to notice. Even these people know they only score with the bigger fish. I do not like religion, and I find it inconceivable that people are willing to put their trust into an imaginary father (or mother) figure, so I like to mock it a lot. As for possible fans who get offended, I do not care. The concept of tPROE is very clear. If you are religious and like the music and go to the shows, that's cool, but my ideas are my ideas, and I am not going to soften them up to please a certain group in the fan-base. Say what you mean, and say it mean!

Musically speaking, your music is a lot harsher than many of the power noise artists who are scoring big club hits at the moment, drawing more on many of the classic Ant-Zen acts. What is your opinion of the current rhythmic noise scene, and who do you consider to be your biggest influences?

Winkelaar: I see a lot of good things happening. I used to think Ant-Zen and Hands were losing their edge, but they did get it back very strong with new acts like 100blumen and Maschinenkrieger KR54 vs. Disraptor. I also like the more club-oriented stuff like FabrikC and Noisuf-X. To me personally, industrial, whether it's harsh or more club-friendly, has to have a groove. I am more into the 'distorted disco' side of the scene. I do not like most breakcore. There is a lot of experimenting going on, but I find experiments that do not incorporate things like groove and catchiness into the music very tiresome. I also like what is happening in the United States – lots of good bands – and I like the more dubstep and techno influences I see there. As far as I am concerned, industrial is now happening in the USA, and we have only seen the beginning of it.

In general, I like stuff to be dance-like, so if industrial is influenced by dance, I tend to like it. This I also incorporate into my own music, drum & bass, techno, funk, disco, dubsteb, house, you name it. Definitely my DJ experience was a benefit. I've spent years watching crowds dancing and reacting to music to the point that I can hear a new track and know how they are going to react to certain elements. Eventually it becomes innate; you just know when something needs more cowbell.

Although a lot of your music is sonically harsh and intellectually heavy, you've found time for fun with tracks like 'Bionic Funk' and 'Female Domination.' How do you find a balance between club-friendly dance tracks and more intense and abrasive industrial compositions?

Winkelaar: I do not try to find balance. There is a lot of hidden humor in tPROE tracks, even the serious ones. For 'Lubrication,' I used a lot of samples from porn movies. After intense sound programming, one is not able to hear it anymore, but I still find it very amusing that the main atmospheric sound-samples on 'Demolisher' are made of the panting of a French girl stuffing a huge dildo up her ass. Although I think my stuff is not as funny, I am in this respect very influenced by Frank Zappa – not musically, because that man was a genius I will never ever best – but I do agree with him that humor belongs in music.

What are your live shows like? Have you done a lot of touring?

Winkelaar: Live we are hard. We crank up the volume and get the peeps dancing. What's funny is that we also get the non-industrial peeps dancing, which is something I like, but basically it comes down to Puck and me twisting some buttons, Stefan doing the visuals, and the occasional funny faces. We try to get a party going and get everyone into booty-shaking, and we manage to do just that on many occasions. As for touring: we have done quite a few shows and some good openings. We even opened for Alec Empire once, which was a great experience, since I've liked his stuff even from his first records from 1993, and then to finally meet the man and find out he is a great guy! But anyway, this year we are doing our first proper tour, which takes us into seven shows into the Netherlands and one in the UK. We are ready to do more, so promoters interested can always contact us or our label.

You're already nearly finished with the follow-up to Singularity. What can you tell us about it? Apart from that, do you have any other upcoming plans you can tell us about?

Winkelaar: The new album is finished and the tracks and artwork are now at Vendetta for further processing. The new album will come out in the beginning of March on CD and iTunes. As for the music, the new album is more diverse. There are definitely harsh club-stompers on there, but I also made more dubstep-like tracks and even one dancehall track. I know a lot of people liked the 'Bionic Funk' track on Singularity, and you will get more of that. I am experimenting a lot with influences from other kinds of music without losing sight of what really counts: the groove and the funk. The new album is called Babylon, and I think it's the best album I have ever made, but that is something every artist says about their new album. Anyway, for those who want to get the hang of it, there is a promotional movie on YouTube, and as a free download single to promote the new album, you can go to Last.FM and get the album track 'Nicolae Carpathia Died for Your Sins,' two remixes, and two Babylon outtakes for free. Enjoy! And don't forget to pick up a copy of Babylon on CD or iTunes if you like what you're hearing. As for future plans? Try to get the tour going, and after that I start writing the next album. Pretty standard, all in all.