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FEATURED ARTIST

GANYMEDE


  

  Ganymede is the now-familiar American duo of David Friede and Patrick Runkle, who both grew up in Pennsylvania. They met while attending film school in Los Angeles, and after discovering a number of similar interests, including music, they decided to work together on their own musical project. They took the name Ganymede from one of Jupiter's moons; it's a name both David and Patrick thought would reflect both their music and in turn their interest in space-related matters.

At the end of 1999, Ganymede sent a copy of a demo they had made to Dave Richards from the now defunct American 80s/synthpop magazine Lexicon. Richards had set up the Ninthwave Records label and had released a number of compilations in association with the magazine itself. Ganymede made their first release with Ninthwave Records with the nine-track album After The Fall in mid-2000 (ten tracks if you include the remix of "You're my Passion"). Electrogarden ‘Single Of The Year' Neon Rain, a five-track single that included a number of Their blend of retro electropop quickly found interest in the synthpop scene, and likewise After The Fall became a firm favourite within that scene. Ganymede's further releases included the 2001 remixes as a first indication of their forthcoming second album. Ganymede released that second album, Euromantique, in June 2001, and it features ten tacks with remixes from both ElectroSquad and the Cruxshadows.

Euromantique continued to both raise the profile of the band within the synthpop scene and elsewhere. The album also featured their second single "Are You Falling In Love Again?," released earlier this year as the eight track Falling E.P. This release included remixes from B!Machine, Simulator and Soviet, and also included their cover of the rare Vangelis track "Don't Be Foolish." More recent appearances have included their cover of "Don't Go" for the Ninthwave Records Yazoo tribute Nobody's Diary and a collaboration with David Mahr for a track on the Synthetik Broadway compilation released on the A Different Drum label.

Patrick and David recently set up the synthpop label Cohaagen Music. The label takes its name from a character in the film Total Recall, a firm favourite with the band. The label includes the solo artists Simulator, Gary Flanagan and Nukleon on its books while first releases for the label itself included the hit Evolution compilation and Simulator's debut album, Enter The Unknown. Upcoming titles include the Fr/action debut album, Crimes of the Future (set for August 20th), and Gary Flanagan's first official album, Future Fashion, set for release in early October. The Gary Flanagan album has been produced by Ganymede as well.

For complete information on Ganymede, be sure to visit the official website at www.planetGANYMEDE.com

EN: I first interviewed you exactly two years ago for my synthpop fanzine Synthetic Vision. Within that time Ganymede have made four releases: two albums, and EP and a single. Do you think you have achieved what you originally set out to achieve with Ganymede through these releases and within the time they where released?        

Patrick: Insofar as Ganymede is the musical collaboration between the two of us, it's exactly what we set out to achieve. We wanted to bring our own (hopefully somewhat unique) ideas and influences to bear on the modern synthpop scene, and I think that we've established ourselves the way we wanted to. We can now make the music we want to make, and there's an audience there that will follow what we're doing. People are listening, and that's really all you can ask for as an artist.

EN: At the time After the Fall was originally released you stated that the album itself featured mainly analogue synthesisers and equipment and that the album itself featured no presets. Have Ganymede continued with that same policy with the releases that have followed After The Fall? And is it now just as important to both continue that policy and to use mainly analogue equipment?  

Patrick: For me, it's all about crafting a song completely from the ground up. There are no loops, no multi-samples, no software synths, and no canned pre-sets on any of our albums. If that sacrifices some of the immediate dance potential of pre-done tracks on ultra-modern drum machines and modeling synths, so be it. But I think it gives all of our tracks a unique and organic feel. I'm not against these sound sources per se, but I really, really like the sounds that I get on the vintage gear I have. Why play around with a digital imitation when I can have the real thing?

David: I'm not too hung up on gear, if a sound is good I don't care what machine it came from. The analog synths are certainly largely responsible for the sound that is associated with Ganymede, though I'm not so fast to discredit alternate sources of sound generation just because they're of the digital or software variety.

EN: In an interview with the Lancaster (Pa.) New Era in October 2000, just after the release of your debut album After the Fall, it was stated that Ganymede had an expected sales target of 1,000 copies for this album; did Ganymede reach that sales target? :-) And two years on from that release what would be an expected sales target for a new Ganymede album?

Patrick: We've never really counted our total sales, but we're getting there. Euromantique has done better than After the Fall, and that encourages us because we think each album is reaching more people. This genre is quite small at the moment, but we think the Ganymede albums have sold very well for indie releases in this genre, and we're happy about it.

EN: Is there likely to be more releases from Ganymede like the Falling E.P rather than a standard new studio album? Especially in regards that more can be done with an E.P like Falling between its new tracks, remixes and cover version?

Patrick: We're planning something really special for our next single, which will precede the new album by a few months. We're planning on doing a double-CD single, with two singles from the album in one package. I've tossed around the ideas of doing videos for those singles and/or releasing them on vinyl, but we'll see whether those are feasible in the coming months. We're always trying to find new ways to appeal to new audiences.

EN: With the release of four Ganymede CDs in just two years, are Ganymede likely to step back for the remainder of this year and not release any new material? What plans (if any) do Ganymede have for future new material, especially that third album? Is there anything that you've not done with the two previous albums After the Fall and Euromantique that you would like to do with this third album? 

Patrick: We're hard at work on new material. We're just finishing up the master for the Gary Flanagan album, which we've produced, and after that it's new Ganymede material all the way. We'll get the double-single out either at the end of this year or early next year, with the album to follow before next summer. At that point, it will have been 2 years since Euromantique, and we think it's time for some fresh Ganymede material. Again, in this genre, it's publish or perish, and you've gotta keep putting out good material to have your name out there.

Speaking of which, our new album now has a title: Space and Time. The songs are a bit longer and more developed than what we've done before. Basically, I think I've gotten some incredible sounds on the new album, and our songwriting is always improving. We looked at our favorite moments on Euromantique and took it a step farther from there.

David: The idea is for our third album to be the culmination of everything that people have come to expect from Ganymede, while at the same time incorporating some exciting new ideas into the mix.

EN: I know Ganymede have performed a number of gigs around California, but are there any plans or at least intentions of playing some dates in Europe? If so, would you prefer for Ganymede to perform solo or possibly as a ‘package tour' with a number of other American synthpop bands? If so which bands would you most like to see support you on this tour?

Patrick: There's a new set of American synthpop festivals being planned now by the label heads that will happen several times a year, as sort of a replacement for the money-losing festivals like Synthcon and Synthpop Goes the World. Those shows have had varying degrees of success, but if promoters can't make money on synth festivals like that, something else needs to happen. We're definitely going to play one of these new festivals either this year or next, and we hope to do a small tour in support of the new album when it comes out. My desire is to do an east coast tour, starting in Toronto and working our way through Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and then Baltimore/Washington. Whether that's feasible and whether it happens are still up in the air. A European tour is more of a fantasy at this point; unless some European fans get involved and book some shows for us, it probably won't happen anytime soon. To answer your other question, I think we could do some great shows with the likes of Freezepop, Soviet, or Gary Flanagan. I've also always wanted to do shows with ElectroSquad. 

EN: The American synthpop scene has had a number of bands who remain both fondly remembered and well liked by American synthpoppers, bands like Information Society & Red Flag, do you think that in future years Ganymede will be looked upon in the same way as these bands or do you think Ganymede are already been looked upon in that way and if so do you think Ganymede deserve to be remembered as one of ‘the' American synthpop bands?

Patrick: Obviously, we hope Ganymede is thought of fondly in and out of the scene, but we think we have a long ways to go before we're on the level of the bands you mentioned. We have lots of enthusiasm for the scene and for Ganymede, so we hope to grow in the future.

EN: Do you think the retro electropop sound of Ganymede has played a part in the past two years in being a major influence on the present American synthpop scene, especially to the extent of giving American synth that retro electropop trademark sound?

David: I haven't been aware of our work influencing any other American acts. However, if you mean that our work has largely contributed to what is considered the "American synthpop sound," I'd find that very flattering indeed. 

Patrick: I wouldn't say that I think we've had a huge effect on that sound. The American synthpop scene is still too fractured and doesn't have enough of a following to make a very coherent statement, in my opinion.

EN: With the recent setting up of the Cohaagen label and your future-pop project Fr/action, will (the work you do with) Ganymede indirectly be taking a back seat to both the label and new projects or will Ganymede remain a first priority for yourself? 

Patrick: Nah, we're still working really hard on Ganymede material. Fr/action is really Dave's project, I just helped out recording some vocals and assembling the artwork. With Cohaagen we want to present artists and releases that we can be completely proud of, and I think so far we've achieved that. Ganymede is a part of Cohaagen, and there will be new Ganymede material soon.

David: I see Cohaagen as being our top priority, with Ganymede being one of our primary assets. We've been continuing our work as Ganymede as we would have without Cohaagen, yet now instead of Ganymede being a means to an end itself, it now feeds into the greater interest that is Cohaagen.

EN: Do you think in setting up your synthpop label Cohaagen Music that it will restrict in anyway what you do with Ganymede, in both deflecting any ideas away from the band and towards both the label and the acts & artists on the label itself?

Patrick: We're not really worried about that. We're thrilled to be running our own label, and we're happy to be on it as Ganymede! Dave has been able to explore his futurepop addiction with Fr/action, which we're really excited about, and we've both been able to stretch into the past with the Gary Flanagan album. Dave did the programming last year for the Gary album, and I've been doing all the physical production, so we've essentially each had our own projects going here for a little while. I loved blasting away with my old synths on the Gary album, and I think people are going to love it. There's one track in particular, a sort of French rap called "Metro Boulot Dodo," that we can't wait to see hit the clubs. It's gonna be huge with electro people.

In addition, I think all the artists on Cohaagen embody a certain feel, and that's part of what our intention is. I also think the scene is going to be blown away by the NukleoN album when it comes out early next year. In the end, Cohaagen is an extension of what we're doing.

David: Cohaagen is our way of exploring ideas that fall outside the boundaries of what we could do as Ganymede. In that respect, no ideas will be deflected from Ganymede, but rather Cohaagen enables us to achieve so much more through our work with other artists and projects in addition to Ganymede. What's good for Cohaagen is good for Ganymede, and vice versa.

EN: Is your label Cohaagen Music a long term project, to the extent that you plan to build the label itself up to the same or similar level as fellow American synthpop labels like A Different Drum & Synthphony Records and achieve the same or similar results as these labels have done and without unintentionally becoming a competitor to these labels?

Patrick: Funny you should ask, because we were just discussing this. We could never compete with the scope of A Different Drum, and we don't really want to. We have a promising slate of releases now, one coming out every 2-3 months, and we're going to stick to that for the foreseeable future. In terms of the rabid following that Todd has amassed for his label, we hope too that a certain set of people count on Cohaagen Music to deliver a quality and exciting musical product.

David: I'd hate to think of us as a "competitor" to other synthpop labels, since we're all on the same side in trying to bring this music to the masses. Our plan is to devote 100 percent of our attention to one release at a time, which would preclude us releasing material in the quantity that A Different Drum does.

EN: You recently started your own Future Pop project Fr/action, did the idea for this project come from the Future Pop influenced ‘Legacy' track on the ‘Euromantique' album? And is the forthcoming Fr/action album a ‘one-off' or are there any further plans for future releases under the name Fr/action?

David: I wouldn't say Fr/action was inspired by "Legacy," but rather it came from the same set of influences that inspired that track. I'd love to continue recording as Fr/action should there be the demand for it, as I have plenty of new ideas. Reaction to the project has been great so far, so I have high hopes for the release of the debut album, Crimes of the Future, on August 20th.

FEATURE WRITTEN AND CONDUCTED BY: Danny King