I believe it was about 5 or 6 months ago when I was browsing through illwillpress.com. I came across a banner for Collide and the artwork itself piqued my interest. The page wasn't fancy with all kinds of flash. It was real. Something that someone put time into and obviously cared for. How can you tell? That's what many of you are probably thinking. Well I make webpages, and I know the difference between pages I make for clients that want a generic template and pages that they have a hand in designing from first word to last. This was the latter. The group had put out a few CD's and since I go by the name Halo, of course I had to take a listen at that song. Let me tell you, that I gasped. Never before had I heard what I felt, without a lot of complex wording and stereo-typical structure. This was raw and beautiful and enchanting. Both feminine and masculine all at the same time. I could picture things in my head.

Did I lose you? I hope not. That was just my initial reaction. I browsed the site, instantly purchased the two CD's I liked most (there was a special; 2 for 25!) then closed the site and waited. When my CD's came, I was not disappointed. A small thank you note accompanied the purchase and I was instantly in love with the duo who put such a personal touch into their art, music..and fans.

Never before had I written a fan letter but now I had to. Doesn't every fan dream of getting a personal response? Even if we get a cold shoulder, we try. What I got in return is this gracious gift of time that I present to you now. A personal interview with Collide's KaRIN and Statik.

I'm not sure I could ever really do interviews all the time, but if there were some small hope inside me, they fed it with this gesture. Thank you both for your time.

___Halo


[ images were used from George Metivier & Chad Michael Ward (who kicks much ass as well) ]


1.) I was wondering if you believe or feel there is a difference in being a woman in this industry than being a man in the same business?

kaRIN: You know it’s hard for me to say, as I have only experienced the female side. As an artist, I do not really like to let boundaries influence me. I am pretty untraditional and see no reason to follow those roles.

2.) What advice would you give anyone who wants to put out their music and keep it pure like you have by keeping your own label?

kaRIN: Say goodbye to all your free time. Like any small business, you get what you give. The more work and energy you put into it, the more that will get returned.

Statik: Try not to put all of your eggs in one basket. No matter who you are working with, if something goes wrong with that one person (or company), you can’t let it pull you down. Distributors are a good example of where it’s easy to get burned if you aren’t careful.

3.) What has been the hardest aspect of being in the music industry for you?

kaRIN: The torturous artist side of wanting everything to be brilliant.

Statik: Learning that a lawyer would be a good person to have in the family.

4.) Who inspired you the most, musically, as you were growing up and into your own style?

kaRIN: Probably Kate Bush. I did not know it at the time, I worked in a record store and I saw this Kate Bush video, she was wacky…I began to love her music. I probaby did not realize until later how much of an influence she was. I think certain things hit you at more impressionable times.

Statik: Mostly any electronic band of the 80’s. Gary Numan and Kraftwerk were some of my early favorites. I was also a big fan of Queen.

5.) Is Collide working on anything new at the moment?

kaRIN: We are about to release VORTEX, which will be a double remix/cover CD. It takes songs from the last two CDs and brings them to different places. We had an open remix call and had people turn in some really inspired remixes from all over the world. Also we have some very special guests on the CD. I am really pleased with the results.

6.) How do you feel when you hear or see people comment on the "sexy goth" chic? Does it bother you?

kaRIN: No, I am flattered. Obviously, if I did not want to look good I could go that way. To do a great photo shoot takes a lot of energy and talented people around you. To me, it’s another art form that I enjoy…plus I get to play dress up. I love to collaborate with other great artists. We just worked with a new photographer Matthew Cooke, he is insane in that arty kind of way. Short of burning his house down, we did this crazy shoot with fire.

Statik: It doesn’t bother me. kaRIN is a sexy chic to be sure.

7.) When is Collide coming to Houston!? Ha ha, I have to throw this one in, we love you here!

kaRIN: Hopefully one day. We will go back to looking for some live members to play with. We are pretty much the exact opposite of what a live band is. The very elements that make our music different, also make it hard to translate live.

8.) If you couldn't make music anymore, what would you do?

kaRIN: I am also a designer and a painter and have always run my own business…so it’s always a creative thing and I am never at a shortage of things to do. I love to make things…the rest of my time I spend trying to support my creative life.

Statik: I’d be a lump. I don’t think there’s anything else I could do.

9.) When you put out your first CD, what did you hope to accomplish with it? And did you accomplish it?

kaRIN: I have always made music for my own personal expression as something that I love to do…so everything else that comes from it is a more than I expected. I will tell you one thing, music is extremely hard to survive at and you have to be very passionate about what you do. It gives me respect for any artists out there going after their dreams…it’s not the easy choice, but it is a fulfilling choice.

Statik: I didn’t really hope for anything. I don’t think we had any expectations, and were happy that anybody liked it at all. We just liked to make music, and at the time, we were happy that someone else was going to pay to put it out for us. We didn’t really think of any of the financial things at the time.

10.) Who would you like to work with in the future? And what final words would you like to leave your fans with?

kaRIN: We love to collaborate with other artists. Right now Charlie Clouser (NIN) is finishing up a remix for us, so that is really exciting to us. Other than that, I want to sing with Massive Attack…pass it on. As for final words -thank you- ultimately it is hearing from people and knowing that our music is reaching them that helps to keep us inspired.

Statik: Whoever it is, it would be nice if someday I didn’t have to do all of the tweaking. I think we spend 30 % of the time creating, and 70% of the time finalizing. Final words…thank you for everyone that spreads the word of Collide.