Interview with . . . Attrition

I would be willing to bet that I have heard Attrition’s music while the horror channel is streaming in the middle of the night. They have done soundtracks for horror films and other movie shorts. Their music is dark industrial electronic so it’s a perfect fit for a horror movie soundtrack. Apparently, I go to sleep watching British castle documentaries and wake up with Attrition. So since we are awake, let’s learn more about Attrition. Please welcome Martin Bowes of Attrition to the blog!

Who is answering the questions?
Martin Bowes

Band/Artist Name: ATTRITION

Tell us about your latest project:
As part of our 40th anniversary, we have just had released a vinyl and digital
collection spanning ATTRITION’s mid-period…. “A Great Desire (1986 –
2004)” features 10 tracks, many of which have never been released on vinyl
before… it’s out on US label Sleepers Records in LA.
Listen to it on our bandcamp page here:
https://attritionuk.bandcamp.com/album/a-great-desire-1986-2004

Where was your first concert as a fan? As a performer?
the first show I ever went to was The Stranglers in June 1977… Punk had
changed my life.

It inspired me to create my own music but first I started a
music fanzine, Alternative Sounds, which ran from 1979–81, talking about
the local scene here in Coventry in the main but expanding on that later…

I finally started the band in late 1980. We played our first show on the day
John Lennon was shot, December 8th, 1980. We played bottom of the bill at
a new bands festival at The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry.

What is the secret to writing good music?
I would say don’t think about it… just do whatever comes from your heart. If
you are dedicated enough the skills will come along as you work on your
music. Then there is the business side to think about!

Do you have a bucketlist? If so, what’s on it?
I have toured a lot of the world with ATTRITION and recorded and worked
with many people over the years. There are always places I want to play
and people to meet there. Travel is so important. After the crash from covid
I am so pleased to be playing again. We have done a few UK shows
recently and are planning tours in places like South America and Australia…a
lot of these will be firsts for me, so yeah more from that bucket list!

What was the last thing that you read?
Actually, it was a technical manual on using the ARP 2600, an amazing semi
modular synth that I recently acquired for my studio!

What are you listening to at the moment?
I work here every day in my music studio, The Cage, producing and mastering
bands from all over the world. So I get to hear so much music, often
independent and often very good. There is so much out there that it can be hard
to keep up at times!

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?
I started out as an artist with painting and sculpture… was at art school back
in the day, so I think I would go back to that.

I have used that recently as during lockdown when we couldn’t tour I decided to start making my own
video. It has been an interesting ride. This is the first video I made, last year,
for a single from our upcoming album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-yAqSkzybE
The album will be called “The Black Maria” and will be with us by the end of
this year.

What do you want people to know about your music?
We have released a lot of albums over the years, including some film
soundtracks (almost all of them horror films or shorts) always a mix of
experimental electronics and vocals and more traditional instruments in
guitar, violins, cellos, piano. We have been on an amazing journey and look
forward to seeing where it takes us next.
For a cross-section of our history do check out our “best of” from 2015, “In
Dark Dreams.”

https://attritionuk.bandcamp.com/album/in-dark-dreams-1980-2015

www.attrition.co.uk
www.facebook.com/ATTRITIONMUSIC
http://attritionuk.bandcamp.com
www.youtube.com/user/attrition
https://twitter.com/attritionuk
https://sptfy.com/attrition
www.thecagestudios.co.uk
audio production and mastering