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Akron

Gedeon: Well, 'Akron' in Greek signifies two exact opposites. It is originally spelled with the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, but as you can imagine, there is a problem with the Greek alphabet on the Internet, so you will find us as 'Akron' or 'Akrun.' The letters A and W mean the beginning and the end, black and white, good and evil, etc. In our case, it began with the combination of two completely different music worlds, the orchestral and the electronic.

Tell us a little about how you started Akron. How did the two of you meet and decide to do a project together?

Gedeon: It was in December 2002 when I met Simon accidentally, in a friendly house celebrating New Year's Eve. We both had a music background, being involved in various projects and bands, and we discussed the possibility of cooperating to create something unique. I talked to him about mixing up electronica and orchestral music. I remember my exact words: 'Classical soundtrack music of the year 2050.' Two weeks later, we met in the studio, and that is how Akron began. Of course, a lot of things changed during the recordings, but our song 'Hermit' is the song that approaches most of what we were thinking back in 2003.

What is the division of labor in Akron? How does the creative process between the two of you work?

Gedeon: It all began with me being all electro and Simon orchestral, but by the end of the album I found myself fascinated with orchestral instruments and Simon with the electronic world. There is a very good chemistry between us in our ideas, and a lot of experimentation. Most of the time, we work separately at home and meet up twice a week to exchange ideas and arrange the final instrumentation. The Internet helps a lot, since we exchange MIDI files via e-mail and talk on the phone about it. I even remember myself singing melodies with my voice and a bass guitar through the telephone, and Simon composing from the other side of the line with his MIDI keyboards.

Tell us a little about the themes behind your new album. What made you decide to do an album about the seven deadly sins? Do you have a favorite of the seven? Which one is it, and why?

Gedeon: To be honest, the original album title was 'Naevus,' but it was only two months before the official release when we decided to change it. As in most cases with art, this album has to do with personal experiences we went through. As it happens, when people experience difficult or unpleasant situations, in the end of the day they all have a common denominator, which is a sin involved somehow. There is no such thing as a 'favourite' sin, of course, and I truly hope they stay away from peoples' lives, but if I have to distinguish one that would be Envy—we have made a photo shoot about it—that stems from our egotism, which is the true origin of all sins. It is amazing how people demand other people's blessings, but the most dramatic of all is what are capable of doing in order to achieve them. And that is the effect of the true sin. One can find a mathematical calculation in the CD booklet which is exactly how things work with the seven deadly sins. I can go on talking about this for ages, so I'd better stop.

Your music is very cinematic, incorporating lots of orchestral and soundtrack elements. What are your favorite films?

Gedeon: Funny Games by Michael Haneke in 1997. Totally different compared to anything I've ever seen so far; for about half the movie I strongly believed it was a true SNAFU. 100 percent violence without a single stain of blood or physical violence. Haneke secures control over the film's outcome with numerous dialogs and an extraordinary scene that makes you wonder 'Why?' when the obvious answer is 'Just because.' A truly powerful offensive film! I don’t wish to say more in case some of your readers haven’t seen it yet.

What composers have been the biggest influences on your orchestral arrangements?

Gedeon: Our most important influences from classical music are Vangelis, Lisa Gerrard, Howard Shore, Klaus Badelt and James Newton Howard.

What about more modern influences? The album seems like it would appeal to fans of both EBM and trance music. Do you prefer one genre over the other?

Gedeon: Well, you are right, but that just happened. We like both genres—and a lot more—but to be honest with you, we do not consider ourselves EBM or trance. If I had to pick a genre, that would be 'electronic soundtrack music,' as a supporter baptised us. As for bands of our age, we have been in the music industry for more than 12 years, so Jean-Michele Jarre, Astral Projection, Gridlock, Future Sound of London, and from the old times Test Department, Skinny Puppy, Clock DVA, and In the Nursery, just to name a few that come to my mind right now; the list can go on for ages.

Only one of the tracks on Origins of the 7 Deadly Sins includes vocals. Do you have plans to incorporate singing on future releases?

Gedeon: Well, this is a subject that has made us ponder for quite some time. Alkisti is a very good singer, but her personal time for now is very limited. Neither voice samples nor guest vocalists are a solution. We have some ideas on using vocals, but we do not want a typical singer. We try to make our music as cinematic and orchestral as possible, so it is more likely to add experimental vocal effects, whispers or two or three voices at the same time, keeping the music as it is, rather than just a typical singer with two MIDI lines and some good drums and bass. This is of course a theoretical approach we discuss. I am not sure what will happen in the future, and I am saying this because we just finished a cover mix for Helalyn Flowers with N0emi's voice fitting perfectly to our music. To our surprise, we loved the end result, so I am not ready yet to give you a solid answer. We will see.

Have you played live yet? Are there any plans for that?

Gedeon: Of course there are plans, but we do not currently have the resources to perform on stage. Maybe after the release of our second album. Our idea is to do a true electro-orchestral show with classical instruments and electronic MIDI keyboards performing together on stage. We will change the songs, of course, and we want this to be accompanied by a video presentation, like a live soundtrack. Based on our estimates, we need at least six or seven people on stage in order to perform the minimum, so this will be on hold for a bit, but I promise you once we go up there it will be something different and unique to present.

Now that the album is out, what are your plans for the future? Can you tell us what you're working on now without spoiling any surprises?

Gedeon: Right now, as I mentioned, we just finished our first remix for Helalyn Flowers, a new band signed to the Belgian label Alfa Matrix. It is the song 'Voices,' and I can say we enjoyed doing our first remix and composing with vocals a lot. The result is a powerful melodic club-oriented track. We are not sure if it will eventually be included on their debut release, as there are many bands out there who will participate; nevertheless, it will be released somewhere anyway. We will release a second CD, most probably by the end of this year, which will have some differences from our first, but I will not spoil the surprise. There are a lot of things we have to present, and above all we have a huge appetite for music, so stay tuned.