Photo Credit: Katja Ruge
What’s nice about music that drops in December is that you can burrow away with it until the new year because really, who is putting their all into their job this time of year? With that said, it’s time to pop on the PJs and pop in ‘Shifting Signals,’ the December 2022 release from Terence Fixmer via Mute. It’s out now and with one of the most iconic sci-fi movies acting as his sort of creative muse, you know you’re in for a treat. To find out what movie we talked about and what to expect from Terence Fixmer’s latest out now, make sure to keep on keeping on and read what follows below…
Kendra: It’s been a minute since 2018’s ‘Through the Cortex,’ and with all the time that’s passed between then and now, I’d love to know what growth you felt was present in yourself when it came to writing and recording ‘Shifting Signals?’
Terence Fixmer: Difficult question – I realize instinctively that I have tracks that will fit together soundwise, while, as well, showing a different side of me. I produce a lot, and it is difficult for me to do an album, hard for me to choose the tracks. I can have maybe 200 tracks… and I must say no to some, but at some point, I find a logical coherence which becomes an album.
Kendra: You noted that ‘Alien’ served as a bit of inspiration behind your 2022 release. What song off of ‘Shifting Signals’ do you think would have been Ripley’s go-to when it came time to get down to business?
Terence Fixmer: Actually, there is not a track on the album for this purpose…when I speak of ‘Alien’ as an inspiration, I’m inspired by the travel to the unknown, the silence of space with the non-stop engine sound, mixed with technology. It is this atmosphere that inspired me. ‘The Passage’ defines this well.
Kendra: Space in general seemed to be the guiding light of the album, which how could it not? You know, it’s this massive thing – idea really – that we’ve really yet to uncover. For you, what’s the biggest mystery about space that you hope is uncovered in your lifetime?
Terence Fixmer: Well, I do believe in other kinds of life forms, from antiquity to the present-day people have seen mystery in the sky, so why not the Third type meeting? Would be fun, no?
Kendra: Now we’re going from space to the sea to talk about “Corne de Brume.” The visuals took me back to watching those sorts of underground, almost public access-like, music channels back in the day. Being someone who is so engulfed in sound, did you grow up also admiring the visuals of an artist AKA music videos?
Terence Fixmer: Visuals are important for the sound, but a different visual can come to mind from different people for the same sound. On “Corne de Brume,” the sound brought imagery of a boat in the fog, with its fog horn, but for someone else, it could mean something with a totally different vibe.
Kendra: Time for a side note: With the holidays being right around the corner I’d love to know what artist’s discography you consider a true gift to music as a whole?
Terence Fixmer: Depeche Mode – 100 %
Kendra: Lastly, with ‘Shifting Signals’ out on December 2nd, what’s on the horizon as we head closer to 2023?
Terence Fixmer: Probably a new EP from me on Planete Rouge, then maybe some remixes of the album, re-releases of some classic tracks from Fixmer/McCarthy, and I’m already working on a new album for Mute which I would like to finish in mid-2023.
