Now for a serving of angry political post-punk industrial. Welcome to the world of Cyph_on and their first album Precipice. This album touches on some very important issues in society and does it with a damn good sense of style!
Dark post-punk / industrial music from Bedfordshire, England.
Born out of a number of previous electronic, industrial and neo goth projects, the band were founded during the lockdown years with their debut performance following in September 2023.
First ep - Money for Chaos was released on 20th April 2024 with its follow up - Chaos for Blood released on Friday 13th September 2024. The debut album, Precipice, followed on 8th October 2024 along with gigs in Nottingham, Luton and Northampton with the Venus Fly Trap, Attrition and Chaos Bleak.
All releases are available now on Spotify, Apple Music, i-tunes, Amazon Music, YouTube Music and Bandcamp.
The band members are as follows:
Alan Smith: guitars and mixing
Jamie Wyld: Programming and percussion
Tim West: Vocals and arrangements
Contact via: cyphonband@gmail.com
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Interview
Q. For those who have not heard of Cyph_on could you please tell us about your sounds and artistic style?Â
I would describe it as post punk industrial the reason being is that there are a lot of influences from the early post punk moving into goth territory as well as the more recent electronic and industrial elements. A recent live review described us as the
love child of Bauhaus and Godflesh and I am delighted with such comparisons. Two fantastic bands to be compared with.
Primarily we are an electronic band with live vocals and guitars with electronic percussion also being played live on stage. However, the electronic element is fundamental to the whole songwriting process and underpins all of our tunes. We have more of a punk element then a lot of the industrial and electronic music about at the moment and the music is probably more of the Killing Joke type lineage.
Artistic style, all I will say is that black clothing and big boots are good.
Q. Your music being post punk industrial has noticeably political artwork and tracks so could you please tell us about what your music and artistic message represents?
As a politics graduate, I've always been interested in what's going on in the world and had healthy cynicism of the motives of anyone who has sought power. However, in recent years the bizarre state of the United Kingdom, America and the world in general gives a great source of subject matter for lyrics. The rise of populism and also non democratic countries becoming more and more economically powerful obviously unsettles the status quo to which we've been used to for a long time. Where this will end up who only knows but liberal democracy as we know it is failing so many people that change is on the horizon and not necessarily for the better. I’m
also fascinated with the collapse of the European Empires and the fact that so many people out there think we still rule over big chunks of the globe. The reality of Empire overload is hitting home here and in many other European countries as we have to pay for the actions of our forebearers.
The album was entitled Precipice partly because I think that's what we're standing and looking over, a chasm into which the Western world could quite easily fall. Although ironically, the song Precipice is about relationship breakdown and suicidal
thoughts. Maybe life and politics go hand in hand after all.
The artwork has been designed by my daughter, Amber, which originally came from a piece she designed at college, and it caught my imagination so much that I thought it matched the message of our first single Money for Blood. The subsequent designs were in the same style and came from her listening to the songs and designing in
accordance with her view of what we were trying to say. I think she did a bloody good job.
We started as a band during lockdown which was obviously a very interesting period in which to develop. Jamie, our percussionist and programmer sent me a few songs to put lyrics to which given what was going on in the world at the time gave a great sense of reflection and songs like BLM which was my observations on the rioting going on after the murder of George Floyd gave its own political dimension. I found that lyrics naturally became more introspective because during lockdown periods introspection was one of the few things you were allowed to do, therefore non- political lyrics such as Black Fog and Somebody's Children came out of this. These songs reflected the difficulty in which I coped with restriction of movement. Some people thrived on it, I hated it!
Q. Who are the members of your band and what backgrounds do you each have before Cyph_on?
Jamie Wyld, the aforementioned percussionist and programmer was the ideas person behind the band. He's one of those people who will always be in a studio tinkering altering remixing changing things and has done this for the many, many years that I've known him. He's a proper technology geek who is always looking for new ways of creating sounds and for many years has been creating his own music
under the name of Parasite Unit. Jamie does amaze me at times with the amount of music he is able to create and still keep fresh in his outlook.
Initially he was programming and playing keyboards within the Cyph_on setup but
this quickly transitioned following the acquisition of an electronic drum kit.
Alan Smith, our guitarist, is the most technically gifted of the band members. A guitar virtuoso who worked for many years as a music technician, Alan was the final member to join. We went to see the Killing Joke gig at the Royal Albert Hall together which was the first time we'd met up for a few years and talked about doing something musically together, I described Cyph_on to him and the next thing you know he was on board and bringing a harder element to the sound, Alan was really the glue that stuck the sound together enabling us to move from being a studio project to being a full live band.
He brought in to the band a studio craft that enabled us to mix and produce our songs successfully and professionally and also a really creative way of playing the guitar, adding depth and resonance to the sound. The further that Alan gets involved in the song writing process, the more interesting the outcomes are becoming.
As far as I'm (Tim) concerned, I do the vocals, write the lyrics and mess around with the odd guitar line in writing phase to try and convey the musical ideas I have sitting behind the lyrics.
Previously I have sung in an industrial / Goth band based in the West Midlands which was my introduction to songwriting and life performance. We're called PCD and with hindsight I think we were on to something pretty good however the tempestuous nature of youth probably saw to the end of that.
Q. Which bands inspired the music that you make now?
When we were starting Cyph_on the idea was more for an EBM type band
comprising just Jamie and myself with the likes of Front 242, Skinny Puppy, Nitzer Ebb, Cubanate etc as primary influences.
That influence still sits at the forefront the sound, and if you listen to tracks such as Money for Blood, BLM and Chaos you can hear the repetitive nature of the electronic drums and bass playing through in this style.
Alan's involvement however, meant that the sound was able to evolve. It's interesting as most bands bringing electronics to evolve their sound, we went the other way around and brought in an analogue instrument which enabled a whole new sonic dimension to be unlocked. Tracks such as Misery Cycle and Precipice which were written after he joined show how he was able to bring his own stamp on the basic Cyph_on sound very quickly.
Influence wise apart from the aforementioned bands, we are all huge Killing Joke fans, I love Skinny Puppy, Bauhaus, Die Krupps and New Model Army.
Jamie is more from the electronic element of life with Aphex Twin, The Prodigy and Kraftwerk three massive influences on his sound.
Alan is a huge Godflesh fan along with the likes of Prong, Rammstein, the Damned and Fear Factory, a fantastic copybook for any potentially great industrial guitarist.
Q. What do you feel are some of the most important issues in the music scene at present?
Free streaming services have had an interesting effect as it’s made the release of music far easier, but also the opportunity to make a living from music very difficult. I think it has also shortened people's concentration levels in so much as an album used to be something crafted that you would listen to from start to finish to pick out the gems, I'm not convinced that a lot of listeners get past the third track nowadays which is quite a shame.
Finding places to play can also be difficult. There used to be a good network of goth and industrial clubs up and down the country, but it now seems harder to find what’s on and who to contact, which is ironic given the age of information we are in. We are keen to network, to make contacts, but it doesn't always seem easy to find out who’s best to get in touch with.
Apathy within the live environment is also an issue, people can be too comfortable with Netflix and takeaways to come out and give new music a listen. It's a shame really because live music to me, is the best way of hearing and understanding a band. I'd implore people to go out and listen with an open mind to any band who may
be on stage whatever the genre, you never know you're my love it!
Q. What is an important life lesson you've learnt in the music scene?
Don't ever expect to make any money from it. If you want to be rich choose a different career.
Q. What's next for Cyph_on now that Precipice has been released?
We are looking for gigs for next year and anyone interested in booking us, please contact us at cyphonband@gmail.com. We are keen to expand our audience as much as possible through the sheer love of playing live.
We are also busy in the studio writing the second album. We have five songs almost completed, apart from the final production. This has proven to be a pretty quick process, following the release of Precipice and completion of our mini tour with the Venus Fly Trap, Attrition and Chaos Bleak in October. I think the frustration of
producing the album and preparing for the tour has meant that we have had a stockpile of ideas ready to burst out.
Q. What are your favourite things about the industrial scene?
The fact that the music holds no limits, look at the variation within the bands who could be classified as being industrial. From the more synth pop elements, through more traditional industrial to out and out experimentation, nothing is off limits!
The opportunity to creatively use different sounds whatever they may be is unrestrictive and there's not a lot of music scenes you could say that about.
Q. Is there anyone you'd like to collaborate with and how so?
In an ideal world I'd want Jaz Coleman to do string arrangements and Youth to produce our albums. Although at this stage that is unlikely to happen, it's always good to have dreams.
As a band we are keen to collaborate with any like-minded individuals be it on remixes, joint tracks or in live performances. Collaboration is really interesting way of pushing your mindset and opening you yourself up to a whole new world musically.
Q. Is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?
Thank you for the support to date, its massively appreciated. Please stick with us, I think it's going to be a really interesting ride as the new tracks are bringing about even more fascinating soundscapes.
Please tell your friends and like-minded individuals about us as we would love to reach a greater audience out there.
Review
Listening to the instrumental introduction of 'Precipice' had quite an unexpected meditative effect on me; The ringing analogue metallic percussion and deep bass electro beat that compliments it are quite relaxing, how strange but cool for industrial! When the guitar kicks in around 0:45, it's reverb effect adds to the overall feel making it seem like a closed in, intimate gig, it's encompassing, high quality, and feels like an audible hug.
The influences of classic industrial bands can be heard quite easily and yet this has a very unique and distinct flavour of sound. The vocals of 'Precipice' are that of seemingly hopelessness yet with an unshakable sense of resistance underpinning it.
A poignant track that finds quite a distinct and effective footing in melancholy as opposed to anger and it makes the track, thoroughly enjoyable.
'BLM' is of course about the Black Live Matter movement and the lyrics are that of empathy and understanding towards the anger and pain that was, and is, rightly felt by the black community for not only recent events but the events of history in general.
The track starts with a really bouncy and upbeat set of keys, with the lyrics quickly throwing in the stark reality and seriousness of the content. The guitars that come in to accompany it are retro with their post punk anger. This track is a burning of the flag of empire, a revolt against slavery, and a cry of standing with those who have been wronged. 'Post Millennial Dream' Has a great tempo of 'bounce' to it, an ideal one to jump around a punky dancefloor to. Another song full of anger and political criticism for the collapse of society. The track has an odd sense of sounding a bit underwater or muffled - yet oddly, it adds some extra depth and ambience to the track that really plays to the strength of the song's bass, and sense of urgency.
'Black Fog' is a lyric heavy rant of emotion. The instruments throughout have some great parts, with some quieter guitar notes that peak my curiosity that soon get covered by vocals sadly, and make me delve my attention deeper into the notes. Some guitar parts have a touch of 'The Cure' about them. Definitely one for fans of lyrics heavy post punk, but I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy the guitars that I mean, especially at around 4:50. The song also ends in a very euphoric choir like manner.
'Money For Blood' starts us off with a fantastic club like vibe to it that I wish carried on a little longer or stronger in the track. A bit heavier in riffs and drums than the previous tracks, the vocals compliment that with shouted spoken lyrics sticking with the political theme of corruption.
'Chaos' is a nice electronic power house to stomp around with. The lyrics point out so many of the things wrong with the world whilst the drums pound out a war dance, all the while, electronic synths pull at your senses. A nice angry dance this one!
'Misery Cycle' throws a touch of the electric exotic at around the 1:30 mark, playing around with some interesting sounds in amongst the angry drone of the track's main body and lyrics. With 'Somebody's Children' - strings like that of a double bass or cello (I think) start the track off much to my absolute delight! These are joined by some retro computer game style beats and synths. It feels like you're suddenly playing a Gothic platform game and I love that! This vibe carries on throughout.
The guitars have a brutal flurry of riffs in the song that are also really well played and thought out. The lyrics are careful to make the most of complimenting the melody without drowning anything out; these lyrics also reminding us that EVERYONE is important and equal. A juxtaposition of joyful melody amidst important lyrical gravitas, makes this my favourite track on the album!
Conclusion
Precipice by Cyph_on is an intriguing and enjoyable take on musical politics, almost to the point of activism. This album stomps around with some juicy guitar work, some wonderfully unique little synth sections, and gets the blood pumping with good old fashioned angry EBM style vocals.
Cyph_on have made a solid start to the scene with a strong album and a clear determination to be heard, and letting others know that they have BEEN heard. Bringing the good fight to a dancefloor near you, Precipice is great bit of stomp worthy anarchy.
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