Our friend, DJ Cheezus, the Master of Cheeze, all around badass, Mike Goosens interviewed Dan Ternimus after reviewing NeuroVoider for us, in which Dan did the soundtrack for. You can read his interview below it all of it’s glory, just make sure you have some cheese.
What is your history in music?
I have been making music for a long time. I took European solfège and violin lessons when I was very young. I played in a few metal bands as a guitar player, then started my own metal band in which I played the guitar and sang. I also made electronic music on whatever machines I could lay my hands on. The music I made mostly used trackers with samples from floppy disks.
What was your first band/music project?
My very first band was a duet. There was a drummer and myself, singing and playing. We rehearsed in his bedroom where he kept a minimal drum kit. All I had was my guitar, a small Dean Markley amplifier and a distortion pedal. I had to sing at the top of my lungs.
Who introduced you to Synthwave, and what artists influenced your music?
Just like a lot of people, I discovered this electronic music genre via Perturbator on the Hotline Miami soundtrack.
In terms of influence, Bathory, Type O Negative, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Carcass, Celtic Frost, The Misfits, J.S. Bach, Domenico Scarlatti are very important musical figures to me.
What kinds of music are you into?
I like any kind of music, as long as it strikes me as unique and expresses a voice of its own. I easily and rapidly get bored listening to music. Even though a lot of my friends send me new music on a regular basis, I always end up listening to my old classics: performers like 4AD, Type O Negative, early Bathory, Depeche Mode.
Are you a gamer? If so what do you play?
I am, but my free time is a hot commodity.
Unfortunately, I don’t play as much as I’d like to. Therefore, I make a drastic selection of games.
I am into From Software and Grasshopper Manufacture games, which will immediately give you a precise idea of what kind of gamer I am.
Some of my all time favorites are Rez, Panzer Dragoon, Killer 7, NieR Gestalt.
You have a cyberpunk theme. Is that why the NeuroVoider team approached you?
Thomas of Flying Oak Games contacted me because he enjoyed listening to my music, and he also happened to be a game developer.
As Neurovoider was being developed, Thomas and his co-worker, Florian, were listening to The Wrath of Code album, and they felt it was the perfect OST for Neurovoider
so they contacted me and Blood Music, and we made it.
Not blowing smoke up their ass, but I really like Neurovoider, although the boss will fry my ass almost instantaneously.
How do you feel about the marriage of Synthwave and video-games?
It seems that synthwave sounds more appealing to the videogames world, because it sounds less organic and more electronic.
It brings back memories of when videogames music and sfx were processed through 4 mono tracks only and imprinted on an EPROM.
That is something you can’t go wrong with.
What is Dan Terminus like when he’s not being Dan Terminus?
I ride my motorcycle in the countryside, through valleys and mountain passes.
Where do you see the future of Synthwave going? And how about the future of Synthwave and videogames?
I can only give you a self-centered answer: I do not really care about being labeled synthwave, and I don’t really care about having my music sounding as «synthwave».
I just make music that sounds good to me, and I try to get better at what I’m doing.
If you could work with any artist who would it be?
Peter Steele or Quorthon, but both are dead.
Do you have any upcoming projects/Live shows etc you would like to promote or talk about?
I will be playing my first live shows in the United Kingdom pretty soon (April 2017),
then a few more concerts elsewhere.
Who knows?
What is your favorite cyberpunk Book/Movie/etc?
Book: NECROMANCER, by William Gibson.
Of course,
because it’s the first one I read and I was hooked instantly.
Movie: I’m not gonna name the most obvious one, so I’ll name the one I just saw last week: GHOST IN THE SHELL with Scarlett Johanson.
And yes, I enjoyed the movie.
I see it as being inspired by the original GitS, and I have absolutely no problem with that.
Do you have a favorite synth? If so which one is it?
The Korg M1 is my favorite synthesizer although the UI is nerve-racking, but hey, it’s typical from the 90s menus: menu > submenu > submenu > submenu etc…
The Wrath of Code was produced with mostly heavily modified M1 sounds (the digital version).
I also have a new favorite synthesizer: the Korg Minilogue. I’m a Korg guy, as you can tell.
The Minilogue is a great synthesizer. It packs a punch and it fits perfectly into cabin luggage, which is great for flying it abroad.
(And that’s usually when the joke about Kylie Minogue fitting into cabin luggage comes around.)
Check out Dan Terminus collection of work at https://dan-terminus.bandcamp.com/ & purchase Wrath of Code at https://blood-music.bandcamp.com/album/the-wrath-of-code