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Halo in Reverse

Steffen: Honestly, I just picked the lyrics because I liked the sound of it, and it's my own little personal homage to Depeche Mode. I didn't really think about it as a thematic expression of my music. Just thought it was a neat lyric. If you think about it, a halo in reverse means what? I just thought it was a witty lyric.

You've done two remixes for Leæther Strip, although those were done under your real name, Joshua Steffen. What was the reason for not crediting them under the Halo in Reverse moniker? In other words, aside from the tracks being remixes of another artist's work, was there a conceptual difference between the two projects?

Steffen: Nothing due to conceptual differences. I just happened to use my regular name on the remix; not exactly sure why I did that. I think it was just done on a whim.

Halo in Reverse originally began in 1995, and in that time, you've released your music through various outlets such as MP3.com and MySpace. How has your music developed over time since the original inception, both lyrically and technically?

Steffen: Oh god, since MP3.com it has developed exponentially. Everything I had up on MP3.com was all demo material of the current releases. Just in terms of audio quality and mixing, there is a huge difference between the two. Lyrically, nothing has changed between the demo material and the final mixes you'll find on the CD. I just didn't really want to release the music officially until I had my mixing chops down and I was satisfied with the mixes.

On your MySpace profile, you've written several blog entries reflective of your views on politics and society in general. As these themes and subjects often play a large role in underground goth, electro and industrial music, how significant are these themes in your own music and lyrics?

Steffen: My views on politics and society haven't quite made it into the music yet. I'm not quite sure they will; I'm still debating that. I have some ideas, but all in all, I'm leaning towards keeping politics out of the music. There is nothing I hate more then going to a show and having someone's political views force fed down my throat when that's not the reason I went to see their concert in the first place. I was most pissed off when I went to Skinny Puppy here in Philadelphia, and the entire theme of the concert was basically 'America sucks and you kill people,' so I walked out after about 6 songs. That wasn't what I paid to see. I felt like I was watching a Michael Moore propaganda film to Skinny Puppy music.

Also in your blog, and especially in a song like 'Pop Icon Puppets,' you've made statements against the growing use of image and sex appeal in modern music in favor of songwriting and musicianship. What do you feel could be done to combat this problem as younger musicians have greater access to music-making tools and outlets for exposure?

Steffen: The way to combat this problem is simply not to do it. The bands out there that have an influence on the younger crowd, i.e. Marilyn Manson, can just simply stop doing it and focusing on the musicianship and songwriting. I'm sick of shock value carrying music; it's like watching the obnoxious kid on the playground at school scream and whine for attention because he can't get it any other way. I believe it was Maynard that refused to do that crap because he said specifically, and I'm paraphrasing, that Tool's music should carry the concert; it's about the music, not about anything else. I'm personally just sick of the gimmicks carrying the popularity of the band rather then what it should be: the music.

You've listed quite a large number of influences in your bio, though in the past, some of your listeners have made comparisons between Halo in Reverse and Nine Inch Nails. What is your reaction to these comparisons, and how do you feel your music reflects or doesn't reflect such comparisons?

Steffen: My reaction to these comparisons is if they don't like it, they simply don't have to listen to it. I do my own thing; regardless of the NIN influence, I do my own thing. If people can't pick that out upon listening, that's their problem. NIN doesn't even sound like NIN anymore, so they can go blow. I met Chris Vrenna ages ago while working at Sam Ash. He said to me, 'When I left NIN, my asshole felt this big,' and opened his arms up real wide. He said he did 50 percent of the music on those albums and never got a dime's worth of credit for it. After The Downward Spiral was released, I read an article with Alan Moulder, who produced the album. He said there were little rooms set up for everyone in the band, each with their own Pro-Tools system. They would all write music, their own parts, and upload it to a main server. From there, Reznor would then take what he liked and piece it together. I was like, 'What?' How lame is that? Of course, after The Fragile, he got rid of that band and got a whole new band, and all of the sudden, the sound changed. Gee, I wonder why? So for the record, I actually write the music myself, record it myself, program it myself, and mix it myself. I don't have kiosks set up with musicians writing the music for me. So again, if people don't like my music because of the NIN influence, they can go blow.

Besides your work in Halo in Reverse, you've also done scoring for some independent films. What can you tell us about the films you've scored and how making music for a film compares to working in Halo in Reverse?

Steffen: Scoring for a film is completely different from writing a song. There is no formula to follow. I generally have a few different formulas I follow while writing a song. When writing for a film and specific scenes, you need to sculpt the music around the scene and what's happening in the scene to convey the message in that scene. So there is no concrete formula. You can come up with a theme that you want to follow, but there is no specific formula. It's a whole different thing all together.

Jamie Myerson is your manager, as well as a musician in his own right. I understand you played electric guitar for his live show, which brings up the question about Halo in Reverse performing live. Are there any plans to do so? If so, what would such a show entail in terms of the visual components and how they would complement the music?

Steffen: Actually, the live show for Jamie never hit the ground, so I never wound up playing the live guitar for his show. I just went into his studio with him and laid down a few guitar parts here and there for his album. We had all sorts of ideas, too, for the live show that would have been great, like clear triggers for triggering samples, all sorts of stuff. Yeah, I have plans of playing live; however, not as of yet. I need the financial backing to do a live show, which means I need a deal with a label. There is just way too much I need for a live show in terms of gear, rehearsal space, money for travel. It's just not financially feasible for me to do so until I have that financial backing.

Now that your album has been released, which contains songs that have been several years in the making, what's the next step for Halo in Reverse? What are your plans to take the project to the next level?

Steffen: Oh the second album is in the works as we speak. I already have six songs finished for it and am working on another six or seven. This album should go much, much quicker. I have my work method down and everything. As far as taking the project to the next level… I guess you'll just have to see.