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An Interview with Brad Vaccine of Torrent Vaccine
Posted: Monday, July 20, 2009
By: Trubie Turner

Though debuting his first full-length album only last year, Brad Vaccine is no newcomer to electronic music, and the rich and complex sound of his brainchild, Torrent Vaccine, should be more than enough evidence of that. The many years of remix work under his belt and the meticulous care in his composition as he strove for perfection finally culminated in 2008's stellar Tentative Response. Now with more work in the pipe, Vaccine was kind enough to take time out of his very hectic schedule to speak with ReGen and shed some light on the path his musical career has taken, his personal contributions to the Baton Rogue industrial scene, and the details behind his newly released remix EP, rEmiXUDE.

What was it that first inspired you to start creating music? When did the musical bug bite you?

Vaccine: I actually started out playing guitar when I was 13 or 14 years old. It's funny, though, because the edgy music that I found growing up on a farm came recommended with my Columbia House subscription, so there was lots of grunge and ghetto metal in the early days. A few years later, Seth Kelly (Torrent Vaccine Design) was shaking his Walkman at me and hands me a cassette case for The Downward Spiral. I think that was the first time I started paying attention to electronic-based music. Nine Inch Nails led us to Pigface, and Pigface led us to tons of bands, including Skinny Puppy. Once Skinny Puppy was on my radar, I shifted all of my focus toward industrial music and started writing my own songs. I've been hooked ever since.

You have a previous self-released demo and EP under your belt, and your first full-length album, Tentative Response, was released last year. How do you feel Torrent Vaccine has evolved through the years, and how much does Tentative Response differ from your previous work?

Vaccine: The songs were very distorted and raw in the beginning. At the time, I was focused mainly on creating 'industrial music,' and I was more pretentious toward which types of music that I would listen to. What I discovered was that as I continued to write and design, I was starting to appreciate other forms of electronic music, as well. I think that shows with Tentative Response. The industrial foundation is there, but it's surrounded by different genres. This album was also different, because it was the first time that I collaborated with someone. Jeff Dodson of Defragmentation flew in for a week to help out with the writing process. The work he did allowed me to approach the songs differently. He is a brilliant producer and a good friend.

How was the creative process different for you in creating a full-length album that was a bit lengthier than an EP?

Vaccine: When I was writing music for the EP, it was much faster. I would spend a couple of days on a track and move on to the next one. I didn't spend much time trying to figure out where or when to place sounds. It was something to get my foot in the door, and I was building an arsenal. The full-length was definitely more intense. Revision after revision, I spent most of the time trying to figure out how to tie all the tracks together. I would start a track, let it sit for a few weeks while I was starting on new tracks, and let those sit for a few weeks while I started on other tracks. Eventually, I went back to those tracks and mashed them together with new tracks. When I go back and listen to this album, it's like reading a diary: three years of sessions packed into a 53-minute recording, and each beat has its own story.

Your first demo came out in 2001, so you're not exactly a newcomer to electronic music. Why has it taken so long for your full-length debut to finally see the light of day?

Vaccine: Well, a few weeks after my demo came out I met up with the guys from Cut.rate.box. Soon after that, they asked me to come out and play back-up keys at a few of their shows, and from time to time I would open up for them. Those guys opened up a huge door for me, and the next year was full of shows and work on the follow-up EP. Cut.rate.box's Dataseed was released with the 'Restless' remix I did for them, and in 2003 I was able to use that to catch the attention of Invisible Records. As soon as Notes from the Underground, Vol. 5 came out, I was flooded with remixes and mini-tours with cut.rate.box., Meg Lee Chin, and Stromkern. After that, I started to take a more proactive role in our local industrial scene. I would book shows, DJ and perform as Torrent Vaccine to help keep the momentum going from the rush of tours we had moving through Louisiana. Give props to your local DJs and promoters; doing that eats up a ton of time as well as holding down a day job and whatever else is thrown at you. I was working on new material during this time, but there were so many shows to book and such a ton of remixes due that a full-length release just never happened. So from 2001 to 2005, I was constantly performing and pumping out remixes. Then Katrina hit and everything stopped. No shows, no DJ nights, no scene at all. A lot of people lost everything they had and were forced to move elsewhere. It was a terrible experience for everyone here. In early 2006, while New Orleans was being rebuilt and we were all readjusting our lives, that's when I finally found time to start working on Tentative Response. Over the years, the industrial scene has been rebuilding here steadily. We have weekly events here in Baton Rouge. Lafayette and New Orleans also host industrial nights, so it's a good time to tour through Louisiana.

What was your inspiration and driving concept behind Tentative Response?

Vaccine: There are a ton of artists out there whose entire catalog is an inspiration, but I've found that most of mine comes from things in my day to day life. There are no lyrics on the album, so I was trying to capture those experiences through sound design. The title Tentative Response gave me room to really dig in and experiment without having a concept. I knew I didn't want to limit myself to one specific genre, but I was listening to so many different types of electronic music that my sessions became unpredictable. I also didn't know how people would react to the recordings, so I decided to let the album progress naturally. It allowed me to write songs that I like to listen to.

You recently announced the winners of the worldwide Torrent Vaccine remix contest. Were there any specific criteria you were looking for in your winners? How did it feel to hear all these other interpretations of your work?

Vaccine: That was a great experience. I was looking for artists that would tap into the song and make it their own, but the submissions were overwhelming. There was so much talent in the contest that I spent weeks trying to figure out which ones I liked the best. All the tracks were delivered to me as numbers so I wouldn't know who did the remix, and every day I would hit Bit Riot up: 'Did you hear number 43? That shit is bad-ass!.' I had such a good time with the contest that I contacted a few of the re-mixers and started assembling a remix EP. It has eight remixes on it that are all from the contest, and it was mastered by Chris Cozort from the Trozoc crew. The EP is being hosted as a free download at Vampire Freaks, FiXT, or any of my Web sites. I hope we get to do that again. I had a blast!

Have the creative juices already started flowing for the next release? Can you offer any insights as to what we can expect from it?

Vaccine: They have; in fact, we may be upgrading to a full-length. We are still working out the details now, but I know the title of the album is Roach. I have about 10 demos I'm working with now, and so far, the tempos seem to be a bit faster, and the tracks are more aggressive. I'm curious myself to see how they evolve, and we are shooting for a release in the second half of 2010 or early 2011.

Your Web site mentions that you had considered stating a label for yourself, but thought it would take away from your creativity. Can you elaborate as to what difficulties you foresaw and what exactly led to your signing with Bit Riot Records?

Vaccine: I have always kept in touch with the labels I've done remixes for and a few others through booking shows, so when I had a few solid demos for Tentative Response, I started looking around and would always hear the same thing: 'Well, we like your remixes that we released for our artist, but your industrial music doesn't really fit at our industrial label.' It was funny at first, because most of my remixes sound like Torrent Vaccine. After a year of this, I was bent on the idea of signing to a label and started looking into building my own. The problem with that was now I had a finished album that was way overdue, and I would have to stop everything to do research on running a label. Then I thought, 'Wait, I barely had time to finish my album, how am I going to start a label and continue writing music?' At that point it was looking pretty grim. Eric from Bit Riot and I had kept in touch over the years since I did the PTI remix, and I would tell him about all the responses from other labels. Eventually, I started talking to the Bit Riot team and ditched starting my own label.

With Torrent Vaccine being a solo project, have you had any desire to venture into any collaborative side projects?

Vaccine: I love working with other artists, so I'm always ready to sling some tracks back and forth. One thing that I've been involved with lately is a series of live shows called Synnack vs. Vaccine. We are basically mashing our songs together and remixing them live, so every show is original and unpredictable. We have a few live recordings that we may release soon, and we have also talked about releasing an EP of new material. I've also been talking to both Deadliner and Mangadrive about co-writing a track or two.

You've previously done remixes for several bands, including Architect, PTI, and Cut.rate.box. Do you have any other remixes in the works, and are there any bands you'd love to do a remix for?

Vaccine: I'm currently finishing up remixes for both Iammynewt and Synnack, and I would love to get my hands on some Meat Beat Manifesto or Download material. I'm pretty much willing to decimate anything that comes my way, and why not?

What's next for Torrent Vaccine? Is there any touring in your near future?

Vaccine: When the remixes are complete I'm going to dive back into the production of Roach for a while. As for touring, it seems much easier for me to fly around and hit one city at a time instead of doing back to back shows. We have a confirmed Synnack vs Vaccine show in Chicago on July 26, and we are working on some California dates to follow, so if you want us to come play in your city, let us know!

Any parting words of advice, thanks, or condemnation?

Vaccine: Support the music you love and make fun of the music you hate.