Colombian producer Faunes Efe, better known as Filmmaker, has carved a distinct niche in the electronic music landscape, earning recognition as one of the most prolific and vital artists within the EBM, Industrial, Synth-wave, and Electro community. His music possesses a unique allure, weaving dystopian electronics into a seductive darkness that has captured the hearts of devoted followers.

With a discography boasting over 20 records in a mere five-year span, Filmmaker continues his creative journey with “Machinations,” a captivating mini-album featuring seven tracks. This sonic adventure melds the realms of Electroclash and Minimal Synth, forming a captivating narrative through prominent square waves, robotic beats, and detuned atmospheres, primarily utilizing two instruments: a Syntakt and a processed guitar.

In this exclusive interview, Filmmaker delves into the fusion of his background in filmmaking with his musical pursuits, his early experiences in electronic music production, the creative genesis of “Machinations,” and what listeners can anticipate within the sonic landscape of this mesmerizing album. He also shares insights into upcoming projects and the diverse musical endeavors that lie ahead, including the launch of his own netlabels, RECS and Founts.

Join us on this sonic journey as we explore the mind of Filmmaker and the artistic tapestry he weaves through sound and vision.

Do you find any overlap or synergy between your work in visual storytelling and music production? How does your background in filmmaking influence your music?

I’ve barely worked in audio-visual stuff to be honest, most of my official music videos were originally fan-made but I hope maybe in some future I get involved more with filming as I’m formally a professional cameraman but never did that job after graduation. At the moment the only synergy I’ve found has been licensing for filmmakers that wanted to include my tracks on their movies. Sometimes I get asked “where are the films?” then I clarify that the moniker is an allusion, as many other music producers/bands with profession names that they actually don’t do. However my music which has been almost instrumental only, kind of resembles the imaginary of an original soundtrack for a film.

You’ve been described as one of the most prolific producers in recent years. Could you take us back to the beginning of your musical journey? What initially drew you to electronic music, and how did you make your first foray into production?

I was playing bass and guitar in Hardcore and Metal bands but I just got tired of depending on others to play and release music, it’s difficult to coordinate people that don’t have the same willpower and convictions that you. Then I started to record electronic music, started with experimental stuff, passing through Witch-house, Leftfield House, Techno and Ambient. At that beginning, I recorded all with software/apps, then gradually I moved to hardware and other music styles at the same time.

Your upcoming mini-album, “Machinations,” is generating a lot of excitement. Can you share some insights into the creative process and inspiration behind this project, especially the decision to blend Electroclash and Minimal Synth elements?

It started with my side project Psychick Wound, a more minimalistic approach which I released on the now discontinued Body Musick label. I was sequencing ideas for a new album when I reached something that was aiming more at the raw and hard-hitting sound of Filmmaker. Having so many iterations in electronic music makes it challenging to separate things, because “happy accidents” happen then the initial thing ends differently. In this case it was kind of a serendipity find, I shaped that minimal synth from Psychick Wound into a new Filmmaker that has essence of previous work however it’s still new sounding in the growing catalogue.

“Machinations” features seven unique tracks. Could you take us through the journey of the album and what listeners can expect in terms of the sonic landscape it explores?

Each side of the record develops in energetic and mechanical rhythms with melodies that are connected between tracks in a colorful composition that resembles the early Filmmaker stuff that had similar character of a retro videogame soundtrack, there’s also downtempo tracks that create a type of interlude between the stomping songs. As previous releases, I craft the album flow to be story-like but at the same time to be separate tracks that can be mixed in a longer piece like a DJ mix.

The use of Syntakt and a processed guitar as the main instruments for this album is intriguing. Can you elaborate on how these instruments shaped the sound and atmosphere of “Machinations”?

As all tracks were recorded with these instruments, it generates an uniform connection between the sounds in the tracks. Lots of metallic tones, FM synthesis and the mix of analogue and digital oscillators delivers that machine-made vibe then the guitar layering adds some ‘human touch’ and complements the palette of elements in the result. This process is also notable in other Filmmaker albums like ‘The Love Market’, ‘Wetwork’ and ‘Drainvoid’. These LPs, just like Machinations, were recorded live on cassette , which compresses and gives color to the mixdown. This also adds rawness to the compositions as its all performed in one take then gets mastered with little to no edition.

The album is set to be released via Wave Tension Records. Can you tell us about your collaboration with the label and how they have contributed to the realization of this project?

I knew about Wave Tension because of Minimal Synth/EBM artist Raderkraft, I followed it then my friend Glaring (who previously released my third album ‘Nocturnal’ on tape on her label) released an album with Wave Tension too. I had the opportunity to meet the label head Marc in The Netherlands, we connected because we met at an event with this kind of music. Afterwards we met multiple times to discuss this release, he was very open-minded to my style so gave me the freedom to contribute with this record as intended and after sorting all details  it is finally coming out. In general I feel a link with Dutch electronic music as I’ve worked with other labels and collectives there and it honors me to join this Eindhoven-based imprint with something that fits well in their catalogue.

Can you give us a glimpse into your upcoming projects and creative endeavors after the release of this album? Are there any specific directions or experiments you’re excited to explore in your future musical endeavors?

As Body Musick ended, I’m working on netlabels for self-releasing new aliases and different styles and aesthetics. One label for the modern and futuristic tracks is RECS and the other one is Founts which is yet to be released and will have old school and lo-fi dance music. For Filmmaker, there’s also plenty releases coming, it will have new mutations on Electro and Breakbeat. This is something that may also take form in a future release on Wave Tension Records as we both enjoy the Big Beat movement and it would be interesting to make a kind