By Brett Stephan

John and Paul Healy, collectively known throughout the world as Somatic Responses, are native residents of a small industrial mining community snugly located in the southwest region of Wales. Amongst the 20,000 inhabitants of the city of Ammanford, a sometimes-overbearing intimacy exists, where everyone knows everyone else, and where traditional Welsh lifestyle is still the common trend. The city's location alone lends to this rustic ambiance, as it rests in the middle of a rolling, quiet valley, suggesting a sort of refusal to compete in the technological race. This is all quite an interesting backdrop indeed, when considering it has been the environment in which the Somatic Responses have consistently produced some of the world's most abrasive and original electronic music for the past 8 years. As John Healy states, "Our lives are completely external to this environment and lifestyle... our sound has no deep connection to our surroundings. I think we care more about where we are mentally than where we are physically, with reference to our music."

This contrast becomes immediately apparent upon hearing the Somatics' actual material. While maintaining a consistent balance of the aggressive and the introspective over the years, their sounds have been shown to be extremely diverse. With over ten upcoming releases, a new, promising record label, and a present total of approximately 25 releases on labels spanning from Praxis to Drop Bass to Six Shooter, the Somatic Responses intend to push their own experimentation in electronic music further with every passing day. "We are currently into dislocated beats, by which I mean broken beats that still retain rhythm," says John. "These rhythm patterns are much like breakbeats, I guess, except that we're constructing the sounds and rhythms ourselves, as opposed to simply sampling someone else's breaks." This manipulation of unique sounds has always been a critical element in the musical endeavors of the Somatic Responses. With regard to this, John adds, "We do sample other material, of course, but at the same time we tend to stay away from it, as it tends to curve the creative flow."

Another consistent theme in the Somatics' music is their tendency to design, construct, and decimate complex structures of sound, while ranging the level of architecture from the most intricate manipulation to complete fluctuation of mood and theme. "Our sound could be labeled as industrial, but with complex rhythms and structures associated, along the vein of Autechre," explains John. "Another developed aspect that we're building on is the inclusion of more synths, in an attempt to boost the "vibe" of the track... to create a soundscape beneath, alongside, interlocked, or opposed to the rhythm sections." Although the Somatics display a consistent formula with their music, John adds that they are by no means stuck on one style. "We're also working on other styles like electro, ambient, tech-step, low beats, and god knows what else!"

Constant dedication to quality and apparent disregard for "limits" are traits mutually shared by the two brothers. Through feeding off of their similarities equally as often as their differences, the construction and development of their music is aided a great deal. "We both bring different aspects to our sound, encouraging experimentation and discipline," says John. "We're always trying to improve what we do with regard to quality of sound, structure, and situation." He adds, "We both know exactly what we want in the Somatic Responses sound, and we have a definite focus and vision. When you have this energy multiplied by two, this can, of course, bring some fruitful results."

It is obvious that the most important result of this camaraderie is a perpetual state of progression. "We get bored easily with the same old sounds over and over again... but this is not to say we're shallow people with no deep interest in sound. Actually, because of the fact that we are so much in love, or obsessed, with sound, we're always looking for that 'new' sound, continually attempting to progress while looking at new methods of creation."

It's not completely unusual for accomplished musicians to have come from musical families, but this wasn't the case with John and Paul. Rather, the two brothers, currently aged 26 and 25 respectively, grew up in a non-musical family, but at the same time lived in a setting very familiar to many kids from the 80s. Into their early teens, the two boys were busy playing Atari games and building BMX tracks and quarterpipes, and were also deep into hip-hop and the lifestyle it seemed to portray, including the art, the dancing, and even the attitude. It was this typical rebellious teenage demeanor that was the precursor to their need for self-expression. "This all gave us a sense of independence, something which is still heavily in our minds," says John.

Around this time, John and Paul began to spread their musical interests beyond what was available to them amongst their peers. "We were kind of singled out from the crowd then, as we didn't do the usual rock shit," John explains. "Instead we were absorbed by the first wave of Electro in all its shapes and forms. It was a new approach to electronics... notions of the future, man and machine."

By 1984, the first Electro-wave had spread throughout Europe, but as you could imagine, Ammanford, Wales, wasn't exactly a hot spot for cutting edge, underground music. John and Paul had to rely on the airwaves to catch the sounds that they couldn't find elsewhere. As John explains, "One huge influence was John Peel, a DJ from BBC Radio One. He turned us on to acid and techno-house, as well as some serious underground US hip-hop, including the likes of Eric B and Rakim, Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Ultramagnetic MCs, and Marley Marl and the Juice Crew." Some very critical influence in the electronic realm also came during this period. "As for the acid and techno, most of the stuff was unknown, although some was early Warp stuff... Sweet Exorcist, etc... and a lot of Chicago acid like Adonis, Fast Eddie, and material like Model 500, etc. Very minimal and bleak, but totally innovative at the time: Machine music!" Regarding this radio show on the BBC, John says, "I remember that we would record loads of shit off the radio and take it to local parties to totally freak people out! Even to this day, John Peel plays some of the newest, hardest, most experimental and purely fucked up shit on the air... something that is very rare in the UK, let alone a small town in southwest Wales!"

John and Paul Healy grew tired of hip-hop after a few years, for reasons of stagnation in the music that was coming out during the late 1980s. Hardcore had hit the electronic dance scene around 1990, and the brothers soon became vinyl junkies. "We were playing a lot of R&S stuff, and tunes from that whole Belgium scene," says John. "We were also into the stuff from the UK, which was more 'hardcore,' including Prodigy, Gee Double E, Moving Shadow, Rising High, Formation Records, XL Recordings, Swiftly progressing into the PCP, Overdrive, and Industrial Strength stuff." At this time, they also had early influence from the likes of Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno, (circa the 1970s.) "We listened to this stuff as the 'come down' side of our overindulging weekends. The totally tripped out soundscapes... the dark, alien, and unknown emotions and places... this all left quite a lasting impression on us." However exciting it all was at the time, the music once again began to stagnate. "We played clubs, free parties, and raves, and it was all a lot of fun, to say the least. But as time progressed, the music -and the 'raver'- didn't."

As a result, John and Paul finally decided it was about time they made their own attempt at making music specifically aimed at their own tastes. "Being bored of the state of the music, we decided to buy a Commodore Amiga, and with some sampling and sequencing software (long live OctoMed) and some analog synths, we began experimenting. Of course it was all trial and error at first... that was a very exciting time for us." Regarding their alias, John explains, "We were still experimenting with the sampler and synths when we realized that we would have to think of a name at some point. At the time, I was studying the nervous system in Biomedical Sciences at University. A somatic response seemed to justify our mentality and our aims to do what the fuck you want to do: You are in control!"

As most electronic musicians realize, certain steps exist in getting material "out there," regardless of the intentions behind releasing the music. However, this wasn't exactly an easy process for John and Paul. "We met no one really. If you saw where we live you would realize what we mean!" says John. "We slowly started to do the 'networking' thing -which takes time and money- and sent a few demos out to people, one of the first being Cross Fade Enter Tainment (CFET) in Hamburg." John adds that this isolation, of sorts, isn't completely negative. "This did and still does influence our sound, for the simple reason that we don't have any external influence, pressures, etc. We can keep to our sound and develop it at a rate that we both are comfortable with."

In 1994, CFET released the Somatic Responses debut, "Methods of Mutilation EP," which was a sinister hard techno record consisting of all Amiga-based samples from their analog synths. This release was shortly followed by the "Riot Frequencies LP" released on Shockwave Ltd. 04, this time still Amiga-based, but faster and a bit more distorted. "Soon after was the Agent Orange 7-inch... our first display of the broken beats," says John. "This was a taste of the future SR sound. We still like this one a lot."

Around this time, John and Paul began to get into the hard acid sounds being released throughout Europe and the United States, by labels such as Labworks, Force Inc., DJax-Up-Beats, "...building up to DBN, the epitome of hard acid." John adds, "We had been writing some hard acid tracks, kind of influenced by the deep grunge acid of Woody McBride, and the strange, far-out, ‘modular’ sound of Freddy Fresh. Subsequently we came across one of the first few Drop Bass records and noticed a telephone number on it. Several conversations with (label owner) Kurt and one or two demo tapes later, SixSixtySix 002 and Drop Bass 046 were produced. These are two EPs that we're still really happy with... the SixSixtySix release was important to us as it pointed out our intentions of further developing hardcore." Following the releases on Drop Bass, the Somatic Responses went on to explore how far their sound really could potentially go. Regarding the very well received "Axon EP" on IST, John says, "It showed our diversity in sound. Each track is a different style -something that we want to do more as time progresses- giving a true reflection of our complete sound."

From this point onward, the Somatic Responses had seemed to pass a breaking point musically. With their following releases, they strayed further and further from conventional techno and hardcore, producing very experimental tracks that resulted in such releases as "Passage EP" on UFO, Uncivilized World 05, and three releases on Six Shooter. As stated earlier, John and Paul cite their relationship as an influence on this diversity in sound. "We both like to experiment and embrace change, and hopefully this comes across in our music. We're both well organized but at different levels, again this helps to payer the sound in a track and create multiple layers of rhythm, melody, and noise."

Beyond work in the studio, live performances have provided an extension to their music production. Following their first release, CFET had the Somatic Responses play at a party they were throwing in Hamburg, Germany, alongside Eradicator, Jaguar, and Christoph de Babalon. However, John mentions that it was a bit more than a great musical experience. "This was also the first gig that we had to travel to which was an adventure in itself. Carrying a lot of gear around a country where you don't speak the language can be... interesting!" As time went on, the Somatics became better known throughout Europe and more gigs followed, including the legendary Dead by Dawn parties thrown by Christoph Fringeli and the Praxis crew, along with fellow scoundrels of the London hardcore underground. "Some of our best PAs were done I the basement in Dead by Dawn," says John. "Although the sound system was shit, the live PAs rocked, and there were never any problems with getting trashed. One incident that stands out is in Hamburg. We were listed to play after Jaguar (Alec Empire). His set was typical Jaguar: very slick hard acid, and very good! Anyway, he seemed to have finished his set. There was a long break of silence, and the crowd was restless. He signaled us as if to start our set, so of course we did. Next thing, he starts pissing and moaning like a spoilt brat, but we thought fuck it and carried on! I don't think that we're in his 'People I Love' book... oh well."

In late December of 1997, John and Paul made their long-awaited trip to the US, where they were booked to play at the DBN New Year's event "Teenage Wasteland." Without sounding cliché, the two had a great time absorbing the sites and sounds of the Midwest. "It was our first visit to the US and we loved it," says John. "Everyone was very friendly, and the venue was very impressive. We almost felt professional, until Paul couldn't be arsed to set the gear up, whilst I was getting a PC, lazy git!" Although many people at the event were expecting their music to closer resemble the material on DBN, John and Paul played all new, unreleased material. "This gesture was meant as a compliment... We're still not sure how well it went down, as with our releases, we tend to get no direct feedback. This is the trouble with living in the middle of nowhere!"

Currently, the brothers are working on their own new label called Photon Emissions, which will focus primarily on hard, broken, and dislocated beats and sounds. The first release of this label is a limited run slotted for the beginning of 1999, and will feature tracks from Somatic Responses, Discbootique, and others. This label is one segment of what will be known as the Grey Organization, which will consist of labels Photon Emissions, Codex Records, and Particle Audiometrics, while all being heavily visual-based, with the works of Richard Baskerville.

For now, John and Paul Healy will continue to explore and expand their perpetually evolving sound, and with the new label in the works, their control over production and ideology will be stronger than ever. When asked what can be expected from the Somatics in the future, the reply consisted of "more machines, more sounds, more experimentation, more styles, more beer and red wine, and John to star in a porn movie!" After all, we should not forget that behind the incredible Somatic Responses sound are two young Welsh men that share the same physical desires of all men their age around the globe. But to be sure, with these fellows, you can expect a lot more wool to be attached.

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Up -to-date information and their latest unreleased tracks can be found at http://c8.com/somatics. You can also explore the Human Architecture Project of the Grey Organization at http://c8.com/grey. These sites contain all contact info and news regarding Somatic Responses and Photon Emissions.

The music produced by the Somatic Responses has always relied heavily on the use of unique and original sounds, with minimal reliance on the use of samples... At what point did you first start collecting equipment, and what were your first couple pieces of gear?
The first bit of gear we used was a CS15... one hell of an intro to the world of analog gear. It's a monosynth which has three voices, which gives quite a rich and complex sound - (dirty little fuck!) We won't go too much into the VCO < VCA architecture, etc.
The first synths we bought were the Roland MC 202 and the Moog Realistic. Both were great machines for different reasons: The 202 had a cool sequencer on board which was a pain in the arse to program at first, and the Moog had some unique, and in comparison, totally opposite sound to the 202. You could write (and we have written) whole tracks using only these machines. From this point (1993) we were hooked on buying equipment and still are!

A list of equipment that the Somatic Responses currently use:

Emu ESi-32 sampler
Mackie CR1604 mixing desk
PC (Pentium 75) running Cubase
Yamaha CS1X poly synth
Yamaha CS 15 mono synth
Moog MG1 Realistic mono synth
Korg Delta Poly Synth
Roland MC 202 mono synth
Casio CZ3000 poly synth
Roland TR 606 drum machine
Control Synthesis Deep Bass Nine mono synth
Boss SE-70 effects processor
Alesis midiverb 3 effects processor
Echoman Analogue Echo machine
Casio DA-R1000 DAT machine
Siel Opera 6
Zoom Studio 1201 multi-effects processor

15 Undisputed Welsh Facts!!
1.  Like most Antipodeans, they shag sheep.
2.  They have no jobs since the coal mines shut down. (This is one of the few things that Margaret Thatcher did that is generally accepted as good. It is also amusing.)
3.  At a young age, all male infants are taken deep into the valleys to be inducted into what is colloquially known as a "Male Choir".
4.  They can't play Rugby.
5.  They can't play football.
6.  They can't.
7.  Tending to the daffodils and trotting aimlessly on their oddly obese legs are the second and third unofficial national pastimes (see 1.)
8.   Darts is the official national pastime, but rumor has it that they can't throw darts either.
9.   They live on a diet of Leeks.
10. They think Max Boyce is funny.
11. They have no sense of humor (see #10)
12. They sound like twats.
13. They have their own language, but none of them can speak it.
14. Those who can speak it don't, because no one can understand it.
15. They sound like twats.

CURRENT RELEASES
METHODS OF MUTILATION - CFET (hamburg)
RIOT FREQUENCIES - SHOCKWAVE LTD (frankfurt)
AGENT ORANGE #2 (frankfurt)
SUBSPACE DISTORTERS - DROP BASS NETWORK (milwaukee)
SINISTER MOVEMENTS - SIXSIXTYSIX (milwaukee)
AXON EP - IST (new york)
POST ORGANIC - PRAXIS (london)
INCUBATION - PRAXIS (london)
AGENT ORANGE #4 (frankfurt)
XYNOMORPH - ANODYNE (frankfurt)
DARK LSD - DARK MATTER (newcastle, uk)
MISSILE TEST - CFET (hamburg)
GALE OF FUNK/CHROMOPHORE - LAND SPEED RECORD-CFET (hamburg)
MALIGNANT EARTH - NETWORK 23 (paris)
PASSAGE EP - UFO (london)
SOURCE OF DISTURBANCE - FUTURE GALACTIC (brussells)
ACUTE EP - SIXSHOOTER (brussells)
CEREBRAL DOMINANCE IN 3 PHASES - TECHNO TRASH CAR (POLYGRAM- paris)
SURVIVAL EP - SIXSHOOTER (brussells)
UNCIVILISED WORLD #5 (paris)
THE WORLD UNSEEN EP - SIXSHOOTER (brussells)
THORN/JUNKJAM - KILLOUT RECORDS (london)
HITASHU - NATURE RECORDS (rome)

FORTHCOMING RELEASES:
PRAXIS - COLLABORATION WITH CHRISTOPH FRINGELLI (london)
PRAXIS - SR LP/CD (T.B.C) (london)
DROP BASS & SIXSIXTYSIX (milwaukee)
LOOP RECS/ATMOSFEAR (vienna)
VVM/LEAF (manchester/london)
CFET (hamburg)
PHOTON EMISSIONS (wales)
SIXSHOOTER 007 (brussels)
SEROTONIN RECORDS (new york)
SUCTION (toronto)
HYMEN CD (germany)
RELOAD AMBIENT/LIMITED (belgium)