Legion of Two are a band that take you preconceptions and kick the be-jaysus out of them. Somehow blending a style that sounds something akin to Trent Reznor in a threeway fist fight between himself, Burial and Pelican. This twosome are quite simply out of this world and way too good for it. Drop-d caught up as head honcho and world famous awesome producer Decal to get to know ‘the Legion better. We’re going to keep calling him Decal for the interview, Drop-d isn’t a fan of knowing the real name behind the moniker.

Drop-d: Well done on the record lads, it’s fairly fucking fantastic to say the least. How’s it all been since the release?

Decal: Thanks. Just been working on a few remixes for Cloaks and Patrick Kelleher. Started working on material for a new album too.

Drop-d: I was at the launch gig in Crawdaddy, you left most of the crowd with their jaws on the floor, any upcoming dates we can look forward to?

Decal: Gigs aren’t really a priority at the moment compared to writing new music. We’re both really busy with other stuff so getting caught up in playing loads of gigs would just eat into what little time we have to write. In saying that we’ve got a few live things in mind but more details when we confirm them.

Drop-d: How would you describe your music to anyone that hasn’t heard it yet?

Decal: Dunno really. It’s electronic music that would appeal to rock folk and vise versa. I guess it falls mostly into modern industrial. It’s been tagged as deathstep by a few reviewers but I don’t get the connection with dubstep at all.

Drop-d: So you’re known through-out Ireland as a fantastic producer under the moniker Decal, is Legion of Two a form of escapism for you? To get away from behind the desk and get the music that’s heard in your head out to the masses?

Decal: This is something I’ve wanted to do for years. It’s probably a better reflection of where I come from musically than anything else I’ve ever done. I come from a rock background so it’s good to be back playing gigs again rather than clubs. Makes a nice change.

Drop-d: How did the Legion of Two come about. Did one of ye have a vision for how you wanted to sound or did it come about by accident?

Decal: It was very deliberate. I’d had the central theme in my head for over ten years. I guess the track Self Storage (from the Decal album Lo-Lite) would have been my first attempt. David (Lacey) started playing gigs with Decal a long time ago and it became clear to me that the live drums fit the slower, heavier electronic tracks best. Once I started writing with that in mind it fell into place really quickly. Also I’d moved from a midi hardware setup to a DAW with multitrack recording so I suddenly had everything I needed at my disposal to do whatever I wanted.

Drop-d: Give us a list of influences?

Decal: Too many and varied to mention. When I was writing this album I was listening to stuff like Halo, Hyatari, Helmet, Meshuggah, Melvins, Unsane, Amen Ra, Neurosis and loads of old hardcore and old hip-hop because I was driving a lot and was bored with electronic music. The cds currently in the car are Cloaks, No-U-Turn Torque Compilation, Autechre, Drainland, Noxagt, Lee Perry and Waiting Room. I guess you can figure out the influences from that.

Drop-d: Would you think of putting some visuals to your music at gigs in the future? á la God is an Astronaut/ Godspeed! You Black Emperor?
Decal: That’s definitely on the cards. I’ve got a solid idea for what I want visually. It’s pretty important to me for the visuals to have a definite theme and with music like this picking one that’s not chichéd is pretty hard. Should materialise by the next headline gig hopefully.

Drop-d: Tell us who are yer favourite Irish bands that are gigging around the country at the moment. There seems to be a healthy post-rock movement around, also there’s plenty of indie and hip-hip is finally starting to get a look in too.
Decal: Drainland, Prince Kong, Whirling Hall Of Knives to name but three. Underground music in Ireland is really strong at the moment. There’s a lot of interesting stuff going on.

Drop-d: This is for all us music nerds, what software are you using when coming up with the tunes for Legion of Two?
Decal: I wrote all the music on hardware (old synths, effects and guitar pedals) – sequenced with an Akai MPC2000. Then dumped it all into Cubase 4 for editing and recording the drums. Then mixed and sequenced in Cubase. Everything is then chopped out of Cubase and into Ableton Live for gigs.

Drop-d:What’s next for you boys, will there be more gigs and will thee be another record down the line?
Decal: Some gigs and definitely a new record or two.

Legion of Two