I sat down with Junkie XL in his Venice Studios to talk about his new record... "Booming Back At You"

Dutch-born musician, producer /composer and remixer Junkie XL (Tom Hokenborg) has finished his Fifth Studio Album. "Booming Back At You" is a record that serves as a bridge between traditional club music and the Fresh Electro Punk Music Scene that is emerging in France and England, intermixed with elements of Industrial and his previous Dance- Rock Roots. Due out March 11, 2008, the album will be released as the first offering from Artwerk Music—the record label started by Electronic Arts (EA) in conjunction with Nettwerk Music Group.

As a versatile producer and famous club remixer, Junkie XL has remixed for the likes of Britney Spears (most recently his remix of "Gimme More" appears on her album Blackout), Coldplay, Justin Timberlake, Scissor Sisters, Rammstein, Fear Factory, Bloc Party, Sarah McLachlan and Avril Lavigne. He also keeps extremely busy creating the music for video games contributing music to "The Sims 2: Nightlife,"

Xbox games "Forza Motorsport" and "Quantum Redshift," as well as Electronic Art's "Burnout," "SSX Blur" and "Need For Speed" series. I met with Tom at his Venice Studio to discuss the new record and his concept for "Booming Back At You"

How did your career begin?

I've been doing this for almost 23 years, but I started to become semi-pro when I was 16 in 1982-83. I was in a band called Weekend at Waikiki that had a record deal in Europe . In 1987 we were one of the first bands to use a new sampler called the fairlight to record a complete acoustic band. Other people like Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush had used it as a sampler/synthesizer, but I don't think anyone had ever taken an acoustic band and recorded an entire album into it… we used it as a digital recorder. That process was very influential for me and from then on I continued to use sequencers and computers to create music…. that was it for me... Synths/Computers and Live Instruments.

Before we talk about your new record, I want to ask you about Blade, one of my favorite movies, how did your music get selected for Blade?

Wesley snipe was very involved in selecting the music for Blade and he was the one that picked my music. The Soundtrack was very Underground Hip Hop driven and my first Junkie XL Record was a mix of breakbeats and hip hop elements. I had collaborated with Rude Boy from Urban Dance Squad,

he was considered very cool in the States among Hip Hop people. Rude Boys friends included afrika Bambaataa, Public Enemy, Cool Keith and others.

Your new record "Booming Back at You" seems like a reflection of your earlier records yet very electronic... what was the concept behind it?

This is the most electronic record I've made. I've made a lot of conceptual records in the past that delve into studio production but I wanted this record to reflect my live gigs which is full-on fun, in your face energy. At the same time, this record reflects back on earlier Junkie XL records so it includes punky guitars, screaming vocals etc. I've been playing these tracks to death in front of audiences for the past 6 months an they've been properly tested, so now I can turn around and give them back to people and say… Here ya go.. here's that club record you've always wanted and that's why its called "Booming Back at You"

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