Interview: Microwaved - Save Me
Elektro Vox spoke to Gabe Wilkinson about the new release 'Save Me' which has some incredible remixes, including one by I Ya Toyah, a new favourite of ours! This is an EP I very much enjoyed listening to with its real playground of different styles to keep me entertained throughout. Gabe has played alongside some giants of metal rubbing shoulders with the likes of Slipknot, System of a Down, and American Head Charge.
June 6, 2021 - Electro-Industrial band MICROWAVED has just unleashed their new EP, Save Me. The video for the title track featuring BOW EVER DOWN made its premiere on ReGen Magazine HERE.
The EP contains 16 tracks, 14 of which will be available on streaming platforms June 12th. The Bandcamp release will contain two bonus tracks: a collaboration with LIEBCHEN on a cover of Pink Floyd's “Comfortably Numb” and an additional remix from the talented and outstanding remix artist Steven Olaf.
'Save Me' refers to the album's theme of loss. Gabe Wilkinson, the founder of MICROWAVED says: "All of my songs seem to be about loss, addiction or monsters. These songs fall into the loss of love category. This record for me is also about taking these songs and expanding my musical vocabulary. It's about stretching some mental muscles and playing with ideas I may not have been very comfortable with."
Interview
Q. Gabe you have mentioned before that ‘Save Me’ relates to the theme of loss in the EP, can you elaborate upon how each main track reflects loss and how it ties into the overall theme?
A. That’s a tough question since I didn’t write the lyrics. I write the music from a place in my head that is filled with dark stuff. I’m an addict. I’ve been dumped by people I loved dearly. My kids don’t live with me. My brother died young. My life has been filled with drama and loss. My father didn’t want me, my mom took off on me. I’ve been alone most of my life to an extent. But when I’m writing I draw on those themes to help make the music dark. Angry. My life hasn’t been as bad as other people’s lives that I know but my experiences are mine, so they inform my art.
Q. How does this EP differ from previous releases and do you feel this is the direction you will carry on with in the near future or will the sound perhaps change even further with future releases?
A. This is the first release where I didn’t incorporate guitars from my friend Dave from The Derision Cult. I programmed all the guitars for a change. I was also experimenting with drums. My drums have always been pretty four on the floor dance beats. Very coldwave industrial, but I wanted to branch out into more metal sounding drums. I’ve been listening to a lot of metal lately and I feel like the double kick was really inspiring these new songs. I’ve always wanted to write a song like Fear Factory, this was probably the closest I’ve ever got to writing a fast metal song. I’ve written other metal like songs..
(“Worthless” is a great example of a slow burn metal song)