The makers of Dv8Fest and Carnival Macabre take over the “Other Side” of Whitby Goth Weekend with 4 nights of entertainment at the Shambles. This venue at the foot of the iconic steps to Whitby is a strong alternative choice for gothic revelry, having played host to a number of club events including a date at 2009′s October leg of WGW.

The Other Side - A Challenger Appears!

3 out of the 4 nights on the “Other Side” at the shambles play host to an array of bands including Luxury Stranger on the Saturday and Uberbyte on the Sunday.

Sundays event, at £4 on the door, or covered by a weekend long ticket at £14 sees Uberbyte unleash their Sturm und Drang noise upon the WGW crowds.

Uberbyte are a fast rising band, with two full length albums and a number of other releases under their belt as well as a strong live reputation, touring with acts like Hocico, The Cruxshadows and Combichrist. I caught up with Uberbyte’s own ‘Uberman’, Richard Pyne to ask what he makes of the way Uberbyte are headed and the constant references to his previous band, Killing Miranda in the press.

NecroMag: Are you looking forward to the Whitby date?

Richard Pyne - 'The Uber Man'.

Richard Pyne: It should be interesting. I didn’t expect us to be playing a mainly Goth event. I guess for me it will be like a step into my past. Whatever happens we’ll have fun.

NecroMag: As a separate entity to Killing Miranda, how do you feel about all the references to this band 2 albums on?

Richard: On the industrial scene which is where we do most of our business people we don’t really hear too much about KM. I think Combichrist were amused to dig out some old photos when we were on tour together but other than that. I couldn’t say really. At the end of the day when something’s run its course its run it’s course. I don’t tend to look backwards.

NecroMag: How would you describe the sound of Uberbyte and its position in the Gothic, Industrial and EBM scenes?

Richard: I consider Uberbyte a straight up Industrial sound. We’re probably too brutal to be considered EBM and I don’t see much gothic influence at all to be honest. Pretty much from day one I wanted to do something that was aggressive and dabbled with things like powernoise while remaining song based and accessible.

NecroMag: What does Sturm und Drang mean in the context of the band? Should I take it literally?

Richard: In terms of it being a classical German Aesthetic yes. By all means the dictionary definition is pretty much a neat way to sum up the way our music developed. For those who’re not familiar with it, “storm and stress” would be the accepted translation and it’s a form of expression more than anything, which has been applied as much to the literature of Goethe as it has to minor key based classical music. I felt it seemed right to use it as a way of expressing what we sound like to newcomers.

NecroMag: When I saw you perform alongside Combichrist the performance was quite visually striking. What would you say is the most important part of the Uberbyte live experience?

Richard: That we enjoy ourselves, basically. The live performance is a format for expressing the music directly to an audience and from the early days of Uberbyte I approached it quite differently to Killing Miranda. Instead of taking established musicians and fitting the band round them I took some guys who showed raw talent and appreciation and a fun attitude and shaped them into the band. In essence I think it’s given a much more unified and focused experience that we hope to improve on further over the years.

NecroMag: How important is the uniform to the identity of the band?

Uberbyte In Full

Richard: I expect over the years the uniform look will change and evolve. Charleen (Keyboards) developed it early on, but as thing stand we’re changing as people and I think this might be reflected in the look we use live.

NecroMag: What or who are the key influences of the band?

Richard: I could come up with a huge list here. I know we’re frequently compared to Combichrist and I’m not going to get tetchy and deny the comparison although I think it’s a lazy one. In terms of our more recent work I’d definitely see a subtle nod to Terrorfakt who I like a great deal and the likes of P.A.L.. There’s also the way our label Crunch Pod works and we’re more of a family than a group of bands. There’s definitely been allot of cross pollination from the likes of C/A/T, Cervello Electronico, Caustic and Alter der Ruine.

NecroMag: How does it feel to have an American tour coming up?

Richard: Pretty awesome. I personally have been working like a demon to get in shape for it. And I know the others who are coming are excited. We’re keeping realistic about what it will be like. We’re not expecting world domination first time out, but we’re determined to give a good account of ourselves.

NecroMag: Is it a headline tour or is it with other acts?

Richard: We’re supporting the Austrian Imperial Noise Mongers also known as Nachtmahr. Thomas is already a good mate and I can’t wait to spend serious time raising hell with those guys.

NecroMag: Who would you like to support or have support you?

Richard: We’ve supported a lot of bands with Uberbyte thus far. I’d kinda like to add Front 242 to the list at some point. Other than that I’m easy.

Uberbyte will be supported by A-FX and are just one part of a fantastic line up across the whole weekend on “The Other Side” with club nights and burlesque running throughout the event. Weekend tickets also provide a discount on food purchases.

Please visit The Shambles this weekend for more details.

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