genCab Talk New Album, Recording Sessions And More

Eclectic US electro-industrial act genCAB have released their new album ‘III I II (THIRD EYE GEMINI)’ on Metropolis Records. Frontman David Dutton chatted to us about the album, recording sessions and more: 

Who is in genCAB, what do they play and how did you meet?

Right now genCAB is me, David Dutton, singing and plays some leads, Tim Van Horn on drums, and Alayna Rakes on keyboards. I met TVH around 2006 or 2007 when I first started this project and he played drums for me in 2008. Eventually we both joined Aesthetic Perfection and this project took a back seat for years. I’m glad we’re back at it together though. As far as Alayna, she’s my wife! It was very recent though that she decided to help out and be a part of the shows now. She’s usually at all of them anyway, and personally I think she’s a better player than I am. So I’m glad we have a lineup I totally love and respect.

When did you begin songwriting?
I started actually putting songs together around 2001. I moved into a small studio apartment with a friend and he taught me how to make tracks on tracking software. Modplug Tracker specifically. I wasn’t working at the time so I quickly became obsessed and started uploading tracks to mp3.com.

What is your earliest musical memory?

I have a few in stages. My mother is from Brazil and i remember her having me sing Jingle Bells to her family in Portuguese. But some of the music I remember earliest was catching the video for Hot For Teacher by Van Halen on MTV. Then also taking an interest in my mother’s Bowie records. Eventually I saw the video for Wish by NIN and it made music the main focus of my life.

 Your new album III I II (THIRD EYE GEMINI)’ is out now. How did you want to approach the making of the album?
I wasn’t actually planning on writing another album this year. I was on the phone with Athan Maroulis (Spahn Ranch, Noir) and he asked what I had thought about potentially remastering our first album. Unfortunately, the premaster for that album were long lost. I toyed with the idea of just rebuilding them all from scratch, thinking that it would be extremely difficult. However, it went surprisingly smooth. The songs that were recorded again were done in a matter of weeks, and I decided to throw a couple of new ones on as well. But those songs only came about because I was put back into the same headspace that I operated at in the early 2000s.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?
I produce all of our own music now that I have a rig that can handle everything I like to throw at each track. So this was recorded at my home in the middle of the Pennsylvania woods. The studio is a room that I built up in this 300 year old mill that sits on a creek. The loudest noises that ever happen out here either come from this room, the dynamite blasting the nearby quarry or that coyotes at night!

One of the tracks is ‘Perish The Thought’. What is the story/inspiration behind the track?
That ended up being the very first track from our first album, and kind of gave me the confidence that maybe I could actually write an interesting sounding album. As long as everything else was as unique as that track. Considering I really didn’t have an entire of body at the work at the time, I was basically lying about myself in the lyrics. It’s about presenting something completely other than yourself to everyone, looking back on the past and then regretting it. As far as the name, I had a friend that had this fake name for himself that I had lost touch with. I figured since that narrative reminded me of him, I’d throw his nickname into the title.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the album recording sessions?
One thing that had helped was that I had already had Perish The Thought and Siren Song mostly done. I wanted to play those songs live a couple years before and had to reprogram them so that quality wise they could compete with all the other new material. After I had finished Of Love & Death, I started remixing it. But that remix took on a life of its own and it became Seasons In Hell. When the album reached the mastering process, we realized that placing it before and having it bleed into Of Love & Death made for an interesting 4 minute intro. So that’s how it ended up like that on the album.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?
Live we try go as hard as possible. Usually are tracks are pretty diverse emotionally, but we like to keep the live setup fast paced and energetic. I like to move around a lot if we have the room, and I like to say if I haven’t hurt my neck on stage then we probably sucked. We go for it as if we were still in our 20s! But overall we just want everyone to know that we sound unique among a lot of the bands in this genre.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

I could go for days with this one. Right now I’ve been using a Quad Cortex for vocals, with midi controlling the effects on and off. Keyboard wise I was always big on the Nord Lead 2X, but recently since adding a new keyboard player, Alayna, she’s using a Sequential Circuits Take Five. And just because I like to stay busy, I’ve also added a Novation Bass Station II. It’s a simple mono synth but it’s somehow become one of my favorites since its small and versatile, especially with delay and reverb. Our drummer Tim is thinking of transitioning from a regular kit to Roland edrums, but unfortunately I don’t know the details of those

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
I live in Newtown, Bucks County right now and it’s quickly coming up on being the location that I’ve been at longest. But I grew up in Jackson, NJ, the home of Six Flags Great Adventure and Zakk Wylde. As far as Jackson though, I’d say sleepy, anonymous, dense, unforgiving & anonymous.

Which of the tracks on the new album hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Gemini TransMuter made me most happy because this new version is a lot closer to how I had first heard the song in my head, and I was glad it finally sounded right. I’m not sure if angry is the right word, but Appetence is the one that gets me amped up so much. I blame the tempo ramping! Seasons In Hell is most reflective, since it’s one of the newer ones made while I was in that old headspace, and it’s about my anxiety issues.

How do you look after your voices?
The thing that I find helps the most is a steam mask. You look like a psychopath while using it before and after shows, but it makes sure that everything stay malleable. Other than that, the standards. Making sure if drink plenty of tea. The one that also makes a difference is trying to not yell and talk too much after the show, which I have a real hard time trying to control.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

I have a couple for this actually. If I had the opportunity to keep it dark and moody with some organic elements thrown in, it would be great to do Blood Meridian. I was also a huge Douglas Coupland fan growing up, and if I wanted to stay depressing then probably Hey Nostradamus. Pure fun would be Imajica. I suppose you don’t actually have to wait for a real movie to come out though to do it, do you?

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?
From a long time ago I’d probably have to say that Nine Inch Nails was the biggest one. Others from when I began were Type O Negative, Chris Corner, NCC, Imperative Reaction, Conor Oberst, Daniel Myer, Jimmy Gnecco & Ours. Lately though the stuff I’ve been liking the most is Holy Fawn, Model/Actriz, Ethel Cain, Amusement Parks On Fire, & Wendy Carlos (who was the main inspiration for Spite Is Might)

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2024/2025?
So far confirmed we know we will be a part of Dark Malta, in Malta on April 26th. Other than that I’m pretty sure we have one other show in Germany (Hamburg I believe?) that hasn’t been confirmed yet. I’m actually going to be in Europe a bit next year because I’ll also be shows with Aesthetic Perfection. Hoping I can piggy back us onto a few more of the dates

Was it a difficult album to write?
As far as the old songs, the main thing that I remember being difficult was all the adjustments. I moved 3 times during the course of the writing process, which I think was about a year. After those were together, I ended up traveling from New Jersey to Pennsylvania on off weekends so that a friend of mine could help record vocals and mix the album. Back then I was definitely stronger at writing songs than making them sparkle. I also had no confidence at all singing and did everything about an octave lower than I should’ve. As far as redoing it all though, it went very smooth. I haven’t listened to the original that much over the years, but I was glad that when I dissected the songs that they still sounded like something I would write nowadays. Once in that mode of writing, the new songs came incredibly fast

What makes genCAB happy and what makes you unhappy?
Happy for me is a nice hazy but clean tasting IPA outside during the fall. Or playing Elden Ring with nothing else left to do in the day. Unhappy is making a long drive and not being able to park my car. Or being around anyone thats trying to make someone feel uncomfortable. Basically everyone should be nice to everyone. Unless its MMA, because paradoxically, I also really enjoy watching that too.