Interface (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Interface


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Img_size = 200
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Background = group_or_band
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Origin = United States
Genre = aggrotech
futurepop
electro-industrial
Years_active = 1993 -
Label = Tinman Records (1999-2005)
Nilaihah Records (2006-)
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.interfacemusic.net Official Site]
Current_members = Eric Eldredge (1993 - )
Jon Billian (1999 - )
J. Joseph Dobise (2007 - )
Justin Parker (2007 - )
Past_members = Michael Anthony Cummings (1997 - 98)
Joseph Destry (1997 - 98)
Evan Eldredge (1999 - 2006)
Notable_instruments =

Interface is an electronic music group based on Long Island, New York. It was founded in 1993 by Eric Eldredge (keyboards, sequences, and vocals). Its career has been lined with a steady output of songs and dance remixes for other artists and several lineup shifts. Each of its three albums to date display a blend of various styles of electronic music, most notably trance, synthpop, electro-industrial and aggrotech, with a strong sense of melody and songwriting.

Band History

The project became a serious entity when Eldredge left another group, Valve, in 1997. The band's inaugural lineup also included Joseph Destry (guitar, vocals) and Mike Cummings a/k/a DJ ANGZTEK (drums). In total Interface released 4 demo tapes between 1993 and 1998, with little interest from record labels or the music press. DJ ANGZTEK (Cummings) and Destry left Interface in 1998, leaving Eldredge as its sole member.

Interface self-released the first LP THE ARTEMIS COMPLEX in January 1999. New Brunswick, NJ based label Tinman Records signed the group, picked up the album and released it that summer. A rather ordinary sampling of Industrial and EBM aesthetics of the time, it did win Interface a small cult following, helped immensely by the mp3.com music website. The onstage lineup expanded to Eric's brother Evan Eldredge (guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Jon Billian (keyboards) that summer.

The second release, July 2002's ANGELS IN DISGUISE, proved to be Interface's breakthrough into the dark electronic world. Besides a vastly improved overall sound, singles like "Wasted Time" and the title track saw heavy club, indie radio, and webcast play throughout North America and Europe. The higher profile landed them better remix work and live support slots (such as a 2003 show with The Human League). Despite the album's runaway success, Tinman fell into financial trouble, washing out a followup remix companion to ANGELS. Tinman finally shut down in 2005, just as the group announced a new album was in the works.

In 2005, after recording the album, titled BEYOND HUMANITY, Interface began an exhaustive search for a new label, finally landing with Nilaihah Records, a Columbus, Ohio-based label founded by Kristy Venrick of The Azoic. Finally released in March 2006 as the BEYOND HUMANITY EXPANDED EDITION with extra tracks added on, the album once again solidified the group's songwriting and production ability. The album's tracks "Age of Computers" and "Doubts and Fears" found their way onto top compilation CDs (Cryonica Tanz 4 and The State of Synthpop 2005, respectively).

Evan Eldredge left the group in 2006 to pursue other interests.

In 2006, the band collaborated with fellow New Yorker Viral Consciousness on a remake of Depeche Mode's "Aggro Mix" for the Cryonica tribute album "Bright Lights, Dark Room".

2007 saw the debut of the band's most current touring lineup at the Black Sun Festival in August, now adding J. Joseph Dobise as an additional keyboard player and drummer Justin Parker. In addition, they finally recorded a cover of "Land Of Confusion" by Genesis for the Sigsaly Media compilation "Machines Against Hunger" (according to the Interface website, they have performed it live since 2003 and it was a fan favorite at concerts).

On a Myspace blog on December 24, 2007 the band announced that a new album "Destination Focus" will be out in 2008, preceded by an EP called "Modern Life". No specific date has been given for either release. The Cryonica Tanz V5 compilation was announced on March 28, 2008 as including a new Interface song called "Destination", as remixed by Mindless Faith.

Members

* Eric Eldredge - lead vocals, programming/sequencing, production, keyboards
* Jon Billian - live keyboards, live guitar, programming/sequencing, sampling, vocoder
* J. Joseph Dobise - live keyboards, additional production/programming
* Justin Parker - live electronic drums

Former members

* Evan Eldredge (1999-2006) - guitars, keyboards, backing vocals, additional production
* Joseph Destry a/k/a DJ CYN (1997-1998) - guitars, vocals, keyboards
* Michael A. Cummings a/k/a DJ ANGZTEK (1997-1998) - drums

Discography (Albums)

* "The Artemis Complex" - 1999 Tinman Records
* "Angels In Disguise" - 2002 Tinman Records
* "Wasted Time EP" - 2003 Internet limited edition
* "Disguised As Angels" - 2003 Internet limited edition
* "Beyond Humanity" - 2006 Nilaihah Records
* "Modern Life EP" - 2008 Nilaihah Records (projected)
* "Destination Focus" - 2008 Nilaihah Records (projected)

Discography (Compilation Appearances)

* "Ringworm V1" (1999, Tinman) - "Frantic"
* "The Art of War: Divide" (2004, Remixwars.com) - "Age Of Computers 2.0"
* "The State of Synthpop 2005" (2005, A Different Drum) - "Doubts and Fears"
* "Cryonica Tanz V4" (2005, Cryonica) - "Age of Computers (Club Version)"
* "Bright Lights, Dark Room: A Depeche Mode B-Sides Tribute" (2006, Cryonica) - Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix) (collaboration with Viral Consciousness)
* "Fourplay Vol.1" (2006, Nilaihah) - "Stranger In A Strange Land (Club Rapture)", "Escape (Momentum Mix)", "Stranger In A Strange Land (Blueliner Mix by Fiction 8)", "Doubts and Fears (Gold Paralax Mix)", "Beyond Human (Lukotyk Mutation)".
* "Fxxk The Mainstream Vol. 1 Box Set" (2007, Alfa Matrix) - "Nobody's Hero (Vengeance Version)"
* "Machines Against Hunger" (2008, Sigsaly Media) - "Land Of Confusion"
* "Cryonica Tanz V5" (2008, Cryonica) - "Destination (Mindless Faith Remix)"

Other "Interfaces" in Music

Due to "Interface" being a rather common word, especially in electronic music, other artists have used the name in the past, posing a potential element of confusion amongst music collectors.

* Hollywood, California based producer/remixer/sound designer Julian Synne contributed several remixes to Cleopatra Records throughout the 1990s, with many of them being called an "Interface Remix". Many of these are available on the label's extensive line of tribute compilations. Several websites, most notably [http://www.discogs.com/ Discogs.com] , incorrectly attributed many of these tracks to "this" Interface (although it seems to have been corrected on that site).
* A jungle DJ/producer in England goes by the name Interface.
* Interface was the name of an Italo Disco group active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They produced 2 notable singles, "Plastic Age" and "Human Cry", among a few minor others. The [http://www.last.fm/ Last FM] website has mistakenly merged them with the above incarnation.
* The website [http://www.discogs.com/ Discogs.com] lists no fewer than 20 artist listings under "Interface". It is unclear how many of them are duplicates, or how many were one-off acts or projects that are currently still active.

External links

* [http://www.interfacemusic.net/ Official Interface homepage]
* [http://www.nilaihah.com/ Nilaihah records page]
* [http://www.myspace.com/interface Interface's MySpace]
* [http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/interfacemusic/ Interface's Yahoo Group]
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Interface+(5) Interface on Discogs.com]