An Interview with Ilan Rubin of The New Regime, Nine Inch Nails

Photo by Oliver Halfin, you can find them here

So, as part of my class project, I was required to get two interviews with music industry professionals. I got the opportunity to interview none other than The New Regime mastermind, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, and Nine Inch Nails drummer Ilan Rubin. I recently received his latest release Heart Mind Body & Soul on vinyl and got in touch with Ilan to ask him some questions about his career. Ilan is the sole member of the alt-rock project The New Regime, and handles all of the songwriting and performing himself, and produces each record with his brother Aaron. Of course, I also had to ask a couple of questions about his new album, as it topped my best albums of 2020 list. Ilan was incredibly kind and gave me the "OK" to put the interview up here.

*This interview was conducted as part of the Hustle Your Career project for BravenX's Winter/Spring 2021 program, to get insight from people that work in the industry that we would like to pursue work in*

You’re most well known as the drummer for Nine Inch Nails and the mastermind behind The New Regime. For context, how did you get started in music?

IR: I started playing the drums at around 8 years old. My two older brothers started dabbling with music and something about our Dad’s drums must’ve called out to me. 

Would you say you ever had a “roadmap” for your career? What would you credit your success to? 

IR: I wouldn’t say I had a career roadmap but a strong sense of professionalism and always doing my best “because you never know who’s watching” was instilled in me. In hindsight, my career has had a pretty linear trajectory with one thing directly leading to the next.

Your brother Aaron is listed as the producer for all of your records, how would you describe your role when it comes to producing a New Regime album?

IR: Aaron has been the sounding board for most of my ideas as The New Regime. My music is always written before we properly record, but I’ve always shown him everything in the demo stages. Ideas to enhance the material are thrown around, whether they be sonically, melodically, or structurally. 

You’re responsible for a large portion of the production end of The New Regime’s albums. Do you have any formal training in music production? 

IR: I’ve never gone to a music school, so I’d have to answer “no”. But I’ve always spent countless hours obsessing over anything and everything that interests me.

Your latest release was Heart Mind Body and Soul. How was the process for working on this album? Were there any setbacks?

IR: There were no setbacks in the recording process aside from actually finding the time to record. I was able to find two periods of two weeks a piece in between NIN tour legs to record at Sonic Ranch studios outside of El Paso, TX. 

Would you say your use of electronics has been more prominent on this album than others?

IR: There has always been an electronic presence in my music but I suppose HMB&S has brought it to the forefront more than previous releases.

To follow that: where would you say your use of electronic instruments comes from? Was it working with NIN or were those seeds planted before NIN?

IR: NIN was by far the biggest influence in strongly adopting electronic instrumentation. By the time I joined the band, my love of select Radiohead music had opened the door to more experimental sounds and electronics. Being in NIN was the greatest crash course and resource for all things electronic instruments. 

You’ve mentioned not being particularly fond of doing demos for tracks, would you say that applies to this album?

IR: That is a stance that has shifted over time, but it depends on the song. I try not to throw ideas around for too long because I’m prone to getting sick of them. But my demos often have all the parts that make up the final version.

I’ve asked in the past about this, but you’ve mentioned there being specific tracks where a sound/new equipment immediately sparked an idea; Sweet Kind of Suffering comes to mind, but are there any other noteworthy examples?

IR: “A Way To Feel Again” would be another example. Programming the simplest drum loop while scrolling through samples gave me the vibe for the bass line that resulted in the entire structure of the song. 

Are there any unlikely influences to The New Regime?

IR: I’m not sure there would be a shocking influence, but I certainly learn a lot from different people. For example, the bridge of “Surreal Disaster” sounds nothing like Hall and Oates, but I know listening to them worked its way in there.

How would you describe the “working” aspect of The New Regime? Has it changed over the years? How?

IR: I don’t think it has changed much. I’ve always done The New Regime in and around other commitments as a drummer. 

To wrap up, what are you most proud of with The New Regime? What’s next for the project?

IR: I’m most proud of writing legitimate and authentic music. Quality and craft are sorely lacking from what is most popular these days.

Many thanks to Ilan for his time, you can find The New Regime here. Please go support his work, if it's got my seal of approval then you know it's worth checking out!