Interview by John Wisniewski
Bandcamp:
https://tradesecrets1.bandcamp.com/album/escaping-history
Trade Secrets recently returned with the album ‘Escaping History.’ a diverse new work riddled with complex tales of love and loss that was recently released by the Distortion Productions label. Smoother, deeper, and musically more dynamic than their previous efforts, ‘Escaping History’ redefines the established Trade Secrets sound. The Los Angeles-based ensemble first took flight in 2017 and have consistently and prolifically charted a cinematic future synth course that is led by F.J. DeSanto (Hypefactor, the aggression) alongside Mike Venezia (Baye, 4th level) and multi-instrumentalist Charles LaBarbara. In a unique twist, we were able to have a chat with both Charles LaBarbara and Mike “Ash” Venezia about all things related to the highly underrated Trade Secrets.
John WisniewskiL: How did Trade Secrets originally form?
Charles LaBarbara: Trade Secrets started as an outlet for remixes of other bands by FJ and John. The rest of us started getting pulled into it here and there to the point where new original material started to emerge organically.
Mike “Ash” Venezia : When FJ was first diagnosed with cancer and his future felt uncertain he said he wanted to create one more body of music with some of his closest musical homies. The name Trade Secrets existed before Golden Life, but as I recall was just an idea for a name for a production/remix team with John. I think it was me who suggested we use that name for the new project FJ was putting together.
JW: Can you tell us about the recording of the new album?
Mike “Ash” Venezia : There’s so much to say about the recording of the new album. During the COVID lockdown I began upgrading my home studio – new audio interfaces, tuning the room acoustics, etc. That happened for the TOL releases. THEN I got a pair of speakers I had coveted for years from Charles’ brother Franklin. That changed everything. My mixes and masters improved dramatically. All I needed then was more horsepower from my dying 2012 MacBook Pro. The band helped me pull off that upgrade while we were making Escaping History, and then shit got really serious. I could record, mix and master super fast with a modern machine. I think the results speak for themselves.
Charles LaBarbara: Since we’re all scattered, the way we work is by sharing everything from basic ideas to almost fully fleshed-out songs online. Then we develop them further individually, each of us contributing our own ideas and performances to the material. We all had a lot going on in our personal lives this time around, so it took longer than usual, but we’re all very excited by the outcome.
JW: Are you influenced by film scores and soundtracks? If so, which are among your favorites?
Charles LaBarbara: Yes, very much so. It seems cliché at this point to mention Blade Runner, but that score in particular has had an enormous influence on me personally since the first time I saw the original movie as a child. I also enjoy finding new and interesting music and composers from watching anime (a lot of anime).
Mike “Ash” Venezia : I’m not a huge film score guy, but I will say that FJ turned me on to Doubting Thomas’ The Infidel when I was still in High School and that was musically life-changing.
JW: Could you name a few artists that you admire or were influenced by?
Charles LaBarbara: This is tough, because there are just so many artists that have had an impact on me in one way or another. That said, I’d prefer not to cite any direct influences, rather I try to evoke the emotions and feelings I experienced when first hearing music that stuck with me.
JW: Do you like combining different genres in creating your music?
Mike “Ash” Venezia : I love meshing genres. I’ve always said it’s hard for me to write anything in a strict genre/subgenre, including the electronic music I make as baye. Sometimes that makes it tricky to market, I get that. However, I think that some of the most timeless music is non-genre-specific.
Charles LaBarbara: For me, it’s about finding interesting chord changes, melodies, basslines and rhythms not necessarily tied to a specific genre, so it’s not intentional.
JW: What sort of projects were you involved with prior to Trade Secrets?
Charles LaBarbara: A few of us worked together previously on various projects ranging from industrial and electronic to indie rock.
JW: What are your live shows like? Will you be playing any live dates soon?
Charles LaBarbara: Trade Secrets has never played live and there are no shows planned at this point.
JW: Any upcoming releases or projects you would like to mention?
Charles LaBarbara: We are already working on new material, including a track for the next Electronic Saviors compilation, as well as various remixes.
Mike “Ash” Venezia : I have releases, live sets and DJ gigs as baye in the pipeline and I’m working on an album with my other band I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying.