C-TEC
interviewsofrecordingartists.com
There's a revolution coming within the pop/rock music industry, says Marc Heal, computer programmer/visionary behind the techno band C-TEC. And, according to Heal, there won't be any room in the Brave New World that lies ahead for the majority of groups currently making waves on the international pop/rock scene. "It's undeniable there's a small shakeup going on within the pop and rock music scene right now,"Heal said. "I think there's going to be a big shakeup coming soon. Until recently, we've only had small tremors in the music business. But, it's all going to really come tumbling down. I think sometime this year, you're going to see quite a few people who have sold quite a few records, suddenly looking very silly this year. Because they're all of a sudden going to look like they've become twenty years older overnight." Heal points to the British New Wave movement which overtook the radio airwaves here in the USA during the latter part of the '70's, and blasted the Southern California rock and disco music right off the charts, as a good example of what he feels will happen this year. "In 1977,"he said,"in England with punk rock arriving here in the States, there was suddenly a tremendous change in the way things were. Back then during that major period of change, loads of people whose music was previously considered underground became mainstream virtually overnight. All the other people who had had tremendous success prior to the breakthrough of punk in 1977 suddenly seemed very redundant. I mean aside from these forty-something's doing shows on cruise ships, the time was up for these guys." Although Heal will be the first top admit that nobody has a crystal ball, right now, especially here in the USA, the pop and rock industry is at on all time low. Not only in terms of box office ticket sales and retail sales of albums, but in creativity as well. With the popular music industry facing some of the bleakest sales figures since the end of WW II, many executives within the music industry are actively searching for something, make that anything, that will possibly began the next new wave of pop sounds. Heal's group C-TEC, is at the forefront in Britain of a new generation of techno rockers whose computer generated music is surfacing as mainstream pop and rock. C-Tec is comprised of Heal and Belgium lyricist/vocalist Jean-Luc De Meyer, who also records with his own computer techno computer group Front 242. The debut C-TECH album is titled "Darker". In addition to C-TECH, heal has his own computer techno group called Cubanate,which will have a new album released here in the USA sometime this spring. " We're working on the same equation with different takes on each aspect of it,"Heal said of his working relationship with De Meyer. "Jean-Luc stopped working with Front 242 when things stopped working for him in that organization. When 242 feels that they can do things that will work well again, then they will work together again. Until then, it's best for them to just shut up and not say anything. I think that's a good idea, unless you've got something useful to say with your music, then shut up and let other people you can say something do just that. Unless they feel they have something new and exciting to contribute, don't say anything. The whole scene would be a lot more productive if they did that anyway." What exact direction the music within the pop/rock genre is going to take this year, Heal will admit he is unsure of. "I can't predict exactly how it's going to go,"Heal said,"but we're on the verge of a period in which we're deconstructing music and rebuilding it in a different way. It's part of a definite feeling. In a way that's the most exciting thing about it all. If it was going to be a straight forward, logical progression of the music, then it wouldn't be as interesting or as exciting. The thing is people will come along and throw things into the formula and change which we can't even foresee will probably occur." Does Heal see Britain's fave girl group, The Spice Girls remaining popular throughout this year? "The Spice Girls,"Heal said with a laugh," I wouldn't put in the same category as recording artists who make music. I mean The Spice Girls could comedians, clowns or actresses, or something like that."
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