Tips for creating an Industrial music project

The industrial genre is a difficult scene to break into to become a popular musician. However, there are some guidelines that will help you earn a spot on Metropolis's roster and develop a god-status amongst those like Genesis P-Orridge.

Choosing a band name:
A good name makes reference to either technology, chemicals, something you can kill someone with, or otherwise suggests an experiment by a mad scientist. Good words to use are: radioactive, project, panzer, and terminal. German words and phrases are perfectly fine even if they don't make any sense. Actually, the absence of sense is advisable. Adding a number to the name is suggested. A word of caution: the number '23', while ensuring sales of your album, will cause hundreds of angsty teens, often androgynous and wearing more metal than the Eiffel Tower, to worship you as a god. Replace all C's with K's. This leads people to thinking you are German even when you are not. It is a commonly accepted fact that industrial music sounds better when German. In addition, a name should suggest the blending of computers and humanity.

Music Style:
You MUST distort your vocals. The more effects on your voice, the better. The moment you fail to use at least a distortion pedal on your voice you will instantly be known as a sellout. It is also required to use a sampler. Include in your sample library a quote from at least these movies: Brazil, Tetuso: Iron Man, 12 Monkeys, A Clockwork Orange, and Bladerunner. It doesn't matter that Bladerunner has been sampled by hundreds of bands, and in fact it is a de facto requirement to have at least one song based around samples from this movie. It is recommended to sample the German translations of these movies rather tahn the English. This reinforces the idea that you are from Germany, even if you are not. Instead of using a drum set, you should use random objects from around the house, with a sampler playing the sounds of explosions for percussion. Distortion, again, is mandatory.

Lyrics:
Contrary to popular belief, your lyrics do not need to hold any meaning. Rather, you can get away by merely sounding like you have deep lyrics. If you can't do this, just using a lot of cool words will suffice. Remember: medical dictionaries are great sources of inspiration and the Periodic Table of Elements is your friend. If all else fails, choose random german words to distort your voice beyond intelligibility. While you might be saying, "Pictures of kittens make my heart melt," with the German words, "Bilder von Kätzchen machen mein Herz zum Schmelzen bringen," your fans do not need to know this (thanks to overusing guitar effect pedals on your voice). Later on, you can tell your audience it means "Plutonium grafts on skin are standard."

Choosing your instruments:
An important aspect of industrial music, like any genre, are the instruments used. A general rule to follow is 'the noisier it sounds, the better.' In additoin to the standard synthesizer and/or sampler, power tools, broken guitars, and sheet metal are popular instruments. A crowd favorite is the air conditioning unit. While easy to use, it's difficult to master. A rule of thumb is to kick the A/C so hard your toes bleed. The washing machine, as amazing as it sounds, is inadvisable as many fans of industrial music find it overly erotic, and will commit in sexual acts during your live performance rather than worshipping your elitism. Also, invent an instrument and give it a German name.

Performing live:
While it is difficult to find venues willing to accept you, there is still hope. Claim you have toured Germany about a decade ago, even if you have not. This will help your credibility and attract fans. Make sure to rarely perform. This makes it seem to be very special to attend your performances. Show videos of grotesque images in the background. Rotting animals and autopsies are crowd favorites. These techniques will be sure to boost the number of people wanting to attend your performance, so maybe, just maybe, the venu will let you play.

The genre of industrial has a very picky fan base made of elitist rivetheads, hence making it difficult to break into the scene. However, if you follow these tips properly, you should find it rather easy to achieve the praise of many, no matter how elite they are.