First of all - could you introduce your band to the readers?
Yes, my name is Christophe and I compose, produce, perform and remix as FluiD.

How did things get started?
Things really got started for FluiD, in 2007. That is when I moved from Ca. to Chicago, IL. That move allowed me to grow and develop the FluiD persona. Since coming to Chicago I've had the pleasure of meeting a multitude of creative musicians and artists. I have the opportunity to perform live on a fairly regular basis, something I couldn't do in Ca. Things really took-off about six months after I had moved here.

What are your main influences - and how would you describe your music?
In a very broad sense, my influences would be No-Wave, Doom-Metal, Hardcore, Free-Jazz, Industrial, Hip-Hop and Dub. A more specific list would include Public Enemy, Distopian Sci-Fi, Godflesh, Lee Perry, The Melvins, NIN, Techno Animal, The Bug, Miles Davis, DJ Spooky, Detroit Techno, Black Sabbath, the NY Illibient scene, Wordsound Recordings, Bad Brains, Ornette Coleman, No U-Turn Records, My Bloody Valentine and Tricky.
I would descibe my music as combining the atmosphere and tempo of doom/sludge, the noise of industrial, the sensory enhancing properties of dub/psychedelia along with the rhythmachinery of hip-hop. There is definitely a feeling of distopia present in my music.

A practical question - why on Earth did you name your project FluiD?
I named it FluiD because they idea of being fluid or "fluidity" has been an underlying theme througout my musical life. I've played in all kinds of bands doing all kinds of music. I started out as a classical pianist, moved to jazz and eventually rock. I played saxophone is an avant-garde punk band, bass guitar in a thrash-metal band and keyboards in an electro/R&B group.
It's also akin to the idea of someone being fluent in a language. When we say someone is fluent in a language what we're saying is they understand it and can speak it. I think music is a language, a language I work to understand. The more fluid one is with the language of music, the easier it is to create something deeper and more meaningful with that language. You have understand, research and listen to what has come before you.

Your brand new 'The Simultaniety of FluiD' album has just been released as a free download MP3. What can people who download it expect of it?
What people can expect is a sonic overview of FluiD. With the upcoming tour, I wanted to give people who had not heard FluiD before a chance to hear what it is I do and for those who already familiar with FluiD, it is a chance to hear some of the new things that I've been working on. It's also the precursor to a forthcoming release called, 'Envisioning Abstraction: the Duality of FluiD'. 'Duality' will be out later this summer via Alrealon Music and I will be touring in support of it.

What are in your opinion the main difference between 'The Simultaniety of FluiD' and your older stuff - for example one of my fave DTM releases 'Unavoidable Abuses'?
The main difference between the two, lies in where the "focus" is. The focus of 'Unavaoidable Abuses' was on the sonique properties of the guitar and how I could integrate those properties into FluiD? How do I use the guitar to enhance and expand the soniques of FluiD? It was about sonique ghosts as well. My idea of how Godflesh sounded, how Tool sounds, how Jimi Hendrix, Page Hamilton or Tommy Victor approached the guitar. These guitarists, their bands and approaches haunted and informed 'Unavaoidable Abuses'.
The focus of 'Simultaniety' is much broader. It's focus is about the friction that happens when certain genres rub against each other. What happens when hip-hop, noise, drone, jazz, abstract electronics come in contact with one and other? It's not about seamlessly integrating them, I'm more interested in the friction caused by them being next to one and other. I'm interested in dis-ruption. It's also about the deeper idea of being an African-American who makes what many would call non African-American music. It's about broadening and refutiating the definition of "African-American". All of my work has a layer of cultural displacement and how do you reconcile that displacement, running through it?

What would you consider to be the best track on 'The Simultaniety of FluiD' and why?
That would be 'Sublimation In the Zero Hour'. The reason being is that is a track where I felt I had a sonique, textural and compositional breakthrough. With that track, I felt like I added something new my musical vocabulary. That track at the time, was FluiD in a new way. It's about collage, combinations and how you're able to communicate your ideas. With 'Sublimation', I heard bytes of my musical hard-drive system come out that I hadn't before.

I see you have a small tour coming up really soon... an interesting question for one man projects playing music like this - how do you manage on live shows?
Oh man, I love playing live! Nothing beats it... I love the energy of it, the spontaneity of it. I pretty much play anywhere and anytime. I have a pretty extensive live setup that allows me to really perform. With what is available now, there is no reason to be standing behind a laptop and just hitting the play button. My idea was to bring the studio onstage but in such a way that the physicality of performing would not be lost. You have understand, I grew-up playing in bands and seeing bands. I really like playing all-ages shows as well. The energy at all-ages shows is a thing of beauty. I also try to play shows with bands as well and not limit myself in terms of who I'll play with. Some breakcore show's I've played at were pretty intense as well. I'm a pretty big breakcore fan. I like doing noise/experimental/broken or fractured electronics shows. More and more I see people exploiting the possiblities that technology in all forms has to offer. Lo-fi gettin' busy right alongside Hi-fi and know one is complaining!

What are your views on the music scene in your country/state?
I think it is in very good shape. DIY culture has slammed itself head-on into the music scene. Everyone is DIY! The power-brokers, the taste-makers, they're all running scared. The people, the arts and the artists are pushing back and that push-back is making the brokers, the makers two more things to add to the list of endangered species. We're all tastemakers, critiques and creators. Creative Commons is the rule of the day. Established channels are no longer the only channels. Resticted channels, how about NEW channels! Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, blogs. Globalization and what is happening gloablly is what I'm immensly interested in. You can't really think locally or even nationally. The proliferation of computers and technology is givng rise to a new music scene. A scene that takes place simultaneously in every part of the world. The EU bumsp the beats of Africa who bumps to the tropicallia of South America who bumps to the bass of the UK who bumps to the rhythms of Jamaica. Local, national? It's global.

You're an outspoken vegan like I am - for how long have you been vegan? What are your views on so-called direct action groups such as the ALF and Sea Shepherd?
Is not direct-action now the only action? Increasingly we our seeing the world and its' inhabitants sold-out to big business. Wall Street is taking direct action, it's called lobbying. We know it better as bribery. The politcal system is broken. Money and its' attendent power has corrupted and broken the system. The direct actions of lobbyists, politicians and coporations is leading us down a path that, we may never be able to turn back from. Direct-actions by people/citizens may be the only thing helping to balance the scales. Becasue we all know that those scales are not tipping in our favor.

One term I found in the biography that I didn't knew the meaning of was 'afrofuturist'... what exactly is it, and what makes you consider yourself one?
Afrofuturism - the intersection of black music with black science fiction. This intersection, the crossroads if you will is where I live and create. It's about re-thinking the futre as if it was the past. Was slave-trade not really alien abduction? Aren't black people everywhere but Africa considered aliens or at least alien? Africa is oft referred to as the "dark continent", what other continent is referred to like that? It's like it is some planet not a place here on Earth. But, I tell you this, AFRICA IS THE FUTURE!
Afrofuturism is also a way to make connections, to make sense of certain mutant strains of black music. It asks you to coneptualize and think much more deeply about what you create and lineage to which firmly part of. Sun Ra, Lee Perry, George Clinton, Herbie Hancock, Africa Bambaataa, Undergroung Resistance, Public Enemy, Kool Keith, Detroit Techno at its' inception along with jungle and electro.

Because of your outspoken activism (and because I saw Public Enemy among the influences in earlier interviews haha) for equal rights I'm eager to hear your opinions on both Malcolm X and Barrack Obama ;-)
Malcolm X suffice it say, HERO! The lessons taught the words spoken and dignity he carried himself with. Knowledge is wisdom and Malcolm was very wise. It was through Malcolm that I discovered Islam. Although I do not practice Islam, it is those teachings and those writings which I still read today.
As for President Obama, tears of joy on election night. Chills as he read his speech that night. He has a very tough road ahead. Our country seems to be splintering more and more each day. The left moves further to the left and right moves further right. President Obama is in the un-enviable position of reconciling a country that seems at times to be un-interested in reconcilliation. We're seeing imigration laws passed that have the potential to turn a free state into a police state. Each and everyday there is growing frustration with the decisons and policies enacted by the government. People are looking for someone to blame, they need an enemy. Wall Street, Big Government, Immigrants, Un-employment, Dems, Republicans, Tea Party. There's a lot of finger-pointing and lot of finger-waving as well. Solutions won't be easy. It's at these times, when his words, "Yes We Can" are never more important.

What can we expect of FluiD in the near future? Any special things planned for the upcoming tour?
Along with the upcoming release of 'Duality' on Alrealon, my ongoing collaboration with poet Black Saturn, Black Saturn vs. subduxtion will have a new EP out called 'Cosmic Karma'. There is also a couple of remixes coming, a split with Chicago harsh-noise group The Kremlin, a collaboration with spoken-word artist Jason Covelli and lots more shows.

The interview ends here, thanks for your time. Got any final words to share?
Thank you for your time. As always I appreciate the support you and Industrialized Metal have shown me. Also thanks to my Alrealon peeps, DJ Phys, LAX, Black Saturn and DJ Restless. Peace and Respect.

Interview by: Gerardo - April 2010