The Geneva band, Sinner DC, has released an intriguing new album called "Ursa Major", which combines rock and electronic music.

The album, named for a constellation, developed after the band got a new drummer two years ago, and took the time to go deeper into its music.

Sinner DC was founded by a group of friends in the mid-nineties. Its members, all in their thirties, are Julien Amey (bass, piano, samples), Manuel Bravo (lead singer, piano, guitar), and Michel Blanc (drums, piano, vocals).

"We started using new machines, including sampling and sequencing," said Amey. "We also set up a sort of home studio, which gave us more time to achieve the work than if we had been in an expensive facility."

Sinner DC enjoys spontaneous and innovative sounds that originate from mistakes, or sounds drawn from the band's surroundings. The new album features sirens, computers and a sequence, played backward, of guitar playing.

Band members have avoided Internet sounds, and music produced by other groups, mainly to prevent copyright problems.

In six years, Sinner DC has produced five demo-CDs and three complete albums. The band also filmed video clips for the songs "Circle" and "Fifty", which are broadcast on M6, M.C.M, Viva and X-TV.

"Fifty" was elected single of the week on BBC1 in 2000.

Melting pot of ideas

Ursa Major can be described as an experimental product and a melting pot of the musicians' various influences.

"It's a mirror of my life," Manu... the singer of Sinner DC, explains. "It talks about friendship, love, hopes, disillusions."

Sinner DC chose to sing in English because as Manu explains, most of the music he listens to is in that language. However, Manu says he's more interested in the sound of words.

"I see words rather as an instrument than just a means of communication," he said. "Singing in English also allows me to keep a distance between myself and what is being said."

The band was initially called Sinner, because its members enjoyed a comic book character called Alack Sinner. However, a German group had already taken the name, so the members added the letters DC, which is a pun in French meaning "from here".

by Jeff Nottage

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