Hi Ewin,First of all, I've seen your name on the first LDOH album and it said that you were playing the bass guitar, then again on the interview at your webpage you said that you were the vocalist in LDOH. What is the reason that LDOH changed the line-up so often and what was the reason that you (I guess) left the band?
I understand the confusion. Well, there is an easy way to explain that. There were 2 Erwins in LDOH. Erwin de Wit was the bass player from the start, but he left the band a couple of months ago. He was replaced by Bas who is doing a great job. So now I am the only Erwin in LDOH, and I plan to stay in there for a while coz its lotsa fun! Line-up changes appear for all sorts of reasons, and since L.D.O.H. exsists for about 11 years now, its not strange the line up changed a couple of times.
How did you come up with the idea to start a one-man band, and explain the meaning of SMES.(I'm a pretty boring dude ay?) (you know the only one-man bands so far that has been worth checkin'out in the past was Albini's Big Black at the very early days, I don't know maybe you heard about that band, and the later Beherit maybe but truly, apart from those two I can't think of any other names that really kicked ass until I heard SMES stuff on that 3-way split Cd)
I always wanted to make my own music without having to think what other people thought of it. this started in my childhood and when the computer became availlable to me I could finally start composing my own music, the way I want it. But it realy started off as a joke, and to be honest, to me it still is. S.M.E.S. is short for "SCHIJTEN MET EEN STIJVE", which means something like: Taking a shit with a hard dick. Yeah I know BIG BLACK ("Hang with me Joe!!!") I still like it a lot.
What equipment do you use for creating the music (where do you record, what is the procedure and other stuff)?
I use the computer to line-up my samples, after composing I grab the vocal effects out, and sing to the songs. I record that on a cdr and then start mixing, producing and master the stuff. All this happens in my livingroom, so it is completely D.I.Y. Maybe I will use a studio or something later on, but for now I am satisfied with the sound, so why change. And like I said, I like to do all the stuff myself.
t is your personally favorite SMES release so far?
My personal favourite is the split cd with LYMPHATIC PHLEGM. It is the latest release so far. I think I wouldnt release any stuff that I think isn't just as good or better then the previous stuff.
What are your influences that made you wanna play music in general?
Ive always been interested in any kind of music, wether I like the music or not. I am always looking for new sorts of music. I use all sorts of music in S.M.E.S., like reggea, techno, jazz, disco and anything else I can get my hands on. But the main stream of S.M.E.S. will always stay goregrind. With most pop songs I think: "shit, thats as simple as taking a crap, I can do that". But most people say that from gore bands too, thay say "what a noise, I can do that." Then I say they should and make a cd. So its only fair for me to do it, when I say something like that.
What are the main influences for SMES.
Like I said, it comes from different areas, like PINK FLOYD, DJ JEAN, SCRAWL, and ORFF just to name a few. And then offcourse there is the goregrind scene, with the usual bands like GUT, MUCUPURULENT, DEAD INFECTION and stuff like that.
How are you satisfied with the sales of the promotions of SMES aswell the reaction from the public?
So far it has always been different. But I like the promotion Fernando (BLACK HOLE PROD.) and Roman (BIZARRE LEPROUS PROD.), thanx guys! The publics reaction sofar has been better then expected. I thought people wouldnt like the experi-mental side of S.M.E.S. But then again, I also dont think people will write you that easy when they think the stuff stinks, hahaha.
How do you see the future development of goregrind in terms of more "electronic grind bands" such as SMES and LIBIDO AIRBAG for instance. I mean, do you think that grind will split into two subgenres by the end of the decade?
I think it is all a matter of taste, so far it has only been a couple of bands that make the "techno gore grind. For now they can go together and that will stay that way. But maybe when there is more electronic bands, some people will get bored with that and stick with instrument bands. And the other way around it could be the same. No one can see the future and it could go either way.
How do you see the future of goregrind in general, there are more and more bands into goregrind, is the genre heading towards the "big-selling"-era like that black-metal thing after 1993?
Well, nowadays you see a lot of deathmetal coming up. Especialy in the U.S.A. this is a big hype. I dont think its bad if that happens, just as long as the real underground mentality doesnt go away. But usualy money will ruin the scene, getting more and more commercial.
What do you plan for the future of SMES? (releases,sound,maybe real members...)
I'm currently working on new songs and I will take my time for that. In the meantime some compilation stuff should be released. About the sound it is hard to say which way it will go, its just how I feel the time Im making the songs. But offcourse there will always be brutal effected voices, and a high speedometer on the drums. There wont be any real other members besides me on S.M.E.S. also coz I have a great band around me with L.D.O.H.
What are your current favorite bands?
I realy like UTOPIE, GOREROTTED, HAEMORRHAGE, SCRAWL and bands like those.
List down your favorite albums/ep's...ect from the last 10 years.
Ok, but this is a hard question....
UTOPIE- instict of existance
REGURGITATE- demo's
HAEMORRHAGE- Emetic cult
GUT- Odour of torture
They are in particular order and offcourse it isdependant to my mood and stuff like that.
Add anything for the crowd.
First of all I wanna thank you Dave, for the intie and the support! To the rest of the people I would like to say, don't hesitate to write me about S.M.E.S. or L.D.O.H. if you have any questions at all. Gore some more! Houdoe en bedankt!
Thanks to you, Erwin
SMES contact :Erwin de Groot,Krajenhoffstraat 54, 5612 PZ-Eindhoven, Holland
HIER STAAT EEN ANDER INTERVIEW MET HEM:
http://www.bloodcifery.com/musica/engli ... s/SMES.htm