Over the weekend I posted my interview with Mark Spybey and it represents a fairly good chunk of what he and I have been discussing over the last month or so. Mark is a very engaging guy, quite honest and up front. But occasionally we’d cover a subject and he would ask I not publish it. He’s extraordinarily thoughtful even as he’s willing to voice opinions that the younger types might read and think, “Out of touch.” I would beg to differ. Regardless of whether you agree 100% with some of the things he says he’s been around for quite some time and knows the industry quite well. He’s seen what works and what doesn’t. He’s seen what brings “success” and he’s seen what brings a dignified career. And considering how he’s planted himself quite firmly in that latter camp you may not wish to dismiss his words in a cavalier fashion.

If for some reason you’re entirely unfamiliar with Spybey’s work hopefully you’ve been able to adjust to the rest of the world after being freed from the closet in which you’ve been locked most of your life. Here’s a little refresher;

Download. Spybey worked on the first two albums of this post-Industrial act. While Cevin Key kept going after Spybey left the project Furnace and The Eyes Of Stanley Pain were the best offerings.
Dead Voices On Air. Whether moody and atmospheric or noisy and experimental; whether fully improvised or well mapped out; this has been Spybey’s main project for about seventeen years.
Zoviet France. Dissonant, Ambient Industrial pioneers, Spybey cut his teeth in this act which provided the springboard for the rest of his prolific career.
Beehatch is a collaboration with fellow Download veteran Phil Western where pretty much anything goes. This is great stuff you really should check out.
Reformed Faction is a collaboration with fellow Zoviet France alumni Robin Storey and founded on the premise that “over-reliance on the detached and distant excesses of technology creates stagnant and purposeless music.” RF is anything goes, improvisational, hand-tailored emotion transcribed as sound.

Sybey has also worked with Eric Pounder , Jean-Yves Theriault, Jarboe, Mick Harris, James Plotkin, Mark Nugent, Orphx, David Wright , Zev Asher, Darryl Neudorf, Ryan Moore , Niels van Hoorn, Kinder Atom, Evolution Control Committee, Chris Connelly, Martin Atkins, Can, Sofortkontakt! and…I dunno, just about every other artist/musician on the planet, I guess.

Read the interview and check out these links. The man and his work are deserving of your attention.