CausaliDox interview with Cyclical Magazine – May 2025
Interview: CausaliDox
Marcus Moonen, born in 1976 in the southeast of the Netherlands. He’s a photographer, writer, musician and filmmaker who has experience writing scripts, directing, filming and editing.
Tell us the story behind your last CausaliDox album "In No Memory". What were the production techniques and instruments you used on your album? How was the idea to create it?
The Story Of In No Memory
In No Memory was born out of a fascination I have had for decades with the idea of existing outside of all memory, be it in the memory of beings, or the memory of systems. Think of it like a photon emanating from a star and never being seen by any being or detected by any system, before it gets a chance to be seen or detected somewhere in the universe, it is absorbed by the gravity of a black hole.
It’s also about the impermanence of all things, it questions whether existence holds meaning if it never leaves an imprint on any system, being, or observing entity, and if such a state might be preferable. The tracks themselves highlight aspects of this idea.
‘Next Time The Sun’ contemplates the existence of consciousness, it’s fundamental experience, subject to the repetitive cycles of light and dark on perpetual rotating planetary bodies, governed by Newtonian physics.
‘The Net Worth Of Your Time And Existence’ questions the value of being, when there is no imprint of it on anyone or anything.
‘No Choice’ grapples with the oppression of unsought consciousness.
‘The Futility Of Existing (A Timeline)’ evokes the thought that time allotted for existence is but a speck on an expansive timeline. All is inherently ephemeral and eternally forgotten.
‘Something Is Wrong’ expresses a dissonance with the very essence of existence.
Finally, ‘In No Memory’ represents the ultimate state of never having been aware of at all, existing outside of memory.
The ‘In No Memory’ Photo Book
The photo book that accompanies the album (and is offered as a free download with the album) examines how patterns emerge from chaos, not as meaningful order, but as ephemeral constructs — temporary arrangements destined for dissolution. The images, born from photographs of nature, undergo transformations that progressively distance them from their origins, mirroring how memory fabricates rather than preserves.
Like consciousness imposing meaning on an indifferent universe, these images reflect our futile attempt to create permanent markers of existence. Each composition emerges through an organic process guided by emotional resonance, yet the resulting forms, like memories themselves, are but temporary constructs that will ultimately dissolve into the void.
In dialogue with the album ‘In No Memory,’ these images explore the space between perception and obliteration. They suggest that all patterns, all meaning, all memory are temporary impositions on chaos — constructs that exist only in the brief moment between creation and dissolution. This collection invites viewers to contemplate existence beyond the reach of memory or witness, where patterns dissolve back into chaos and meaning returns to void.
https://marcusmoonen.com/InNoMemoryBook
The Production Techniques And Instruments Of ‘In No Memory’
Over the past two decades I have built a studio in my home, focused on hardware. The immediacy of reaching out, pushing a button, twisting a knob, moving a fader and hearing the change is something I find very satisfying. I used to rely on a DAW for sequencing, recording and mixing, but in the early ’10s, I became very frustrated with using a computer while making music. It even led to me avoiding my studio altogether for a long period of time. Then I rediscovered hardware sequencing.
The next step was shifting from in the box mixing to mixing on a console, and eventually this became my new way of working. I use a sequencer (Sequentix Cirklon), a mix of vintage & modern synths and drum computers, as well as Eurorack modular equipment and outboard effect units. Everything is mixed on a 48 channel Soundcraft K2, with an SPL Stereo Vitalizer Mk2-T and a Thermionic Culture Culture Vulture 20th Anniversary Limited Edition on the Master Bus. The arrangements are recorded live from a live performance on the Cirklon via an RME Fireface UC into Steinberg Wavelab at 24/96.
List Of All Equipment Used On ‘In No Memory’
Sequencers: Sequentix Cirklon, Intellijel Metropolis
Sound sources: Behringer RD-9, Elektron Digitone, Elektron Machinedrum, Roland TR-808, 4ms Stereo Triggered Sampler, Michigan Synth Works SY0.5, Mutable Instruments Elements, Noise Engineering Basimilus Iteritas Alter, Noise Engineering Loquelic Iteritas Percido, Omsonic PixelDust, Steady State Fate Entity Bassdrum, WMD Crucible, Cyclone Analogic TT-303V2, Doepfer Dark Energy MkI, Dreadbox Nyx, Elektron Analog Four, E-MU Systems Proteus3, Korg Minilogue XD, Korg Monologue, Korg PolySix, Roland D-05, Roland Juno-60, Sequential OB-6, Sequential Pro-One, After Later Audio Typhoon, Industrial Music Electronics Hertz Donut MkIII, Industrial Music Electronics Piston Honda MkIII, Intellijel Atlantis, Qubit Nebulae V2, Rossum Electro Music Panharmonium
Effects & Filters: Death By Audio Reverberation Machine, Ensoniq DP/4, Eventide H3500BDFX, Haunted Labs Dark Aura, MXR Distortion Plus, OTO Machines Bam, Strymon BigSky, Strymon Deco, Strymon TimeLine, 4ms Dual Looping Delay, AJH Synth Industrial Music Electronics Entropic Doom, Dreadbox / Crazy Tube Circuits White Line Splash, Erica Synths Pico VCF1, Happy Nerding FX Aid, Happy Nerding FX Aid Pro, Intellijel Rainmaker, Noise Engineering Desmodus Versio, Noise Engineering Polydactyl Versio, Noise Engineering Ruina Versio, Qubit Electronix Data Bender, Roland 505 VCF, T-Rex Effects Replicator, Xaoc Devices Belgrad, Zvex Effects Instant Lofi Junky
See the track and gear list for full details per track: https://marcusmoonen.com/InNoMemoryGearList
How do you compose your music? What do you consider as the essential elements of your music?
Most times my music originates in a feeling. I’ll be in a certain mood, or experience a particular emotion, and from there all things proceed. I try to work very intuitively, which is possible, because there is barely any setup necessary before I can start work in my studio. Everything is wired, connected, ready to go.
Sometimes at the start, there will be a timbre, tonality or melody, other times there is a rhythm, often there are just sounds. From there it is an exploration of what elements, what sounds fit, what feels right. And usually structure emerges from that. If it doesn’t, then I’ll explore the soundscape and see where that leads me.
I am aware that many believe and use the maxim "less is more", and I can understand why. For me, having many sound sources to choose from in my studio is an essential element of the way I create music. I like to layer sounds, and hopefully succeed in creating depth. I really enjoy having a large palette of timbres at my disposal for this.
In the end, what I am looking for the most in my music is its ability to make me feel something. If I can make my music make me feel something, then to me it has worth.
You produce electronic music in various projects like CausaliDox, sonOnos, TriggerRat and Bob Knutton. Is there a point of connection between all of these?
They are all me. Different aspects of me, perhaps. I would say that these projects are different ways to allow myself the freedom to experiment and not feel restricted within the confines of perceived (or self-imposed) expectations of one project.
CausaliDox is the oldest project. I started CausaliDox in 2005, marking its 20th anniversary this year. I think I would consider CausaliDox my "main" project. More serious, deep and perhaps even more ambitious than the others. I’ve released albums with labels such as Kaos Ex Machina, Shipwrec, Diffuse Reality, as well as a number of self-released albums. If I counted correctly, ‘In No Memory’ is my 21st album.
Bob Knutton was the second project to emerge, a way for me to be playful, experimental. This allows me the use of vocals, song structure, more mundane themes, whenever I feel like it. I guess Bob is a character I can hide behind a bit, use as an avatar to be a bit more wild. After self-releasing a number of albums, in 2020 the Bob Knutton album ‘The Code’ was released on Diffuse Reality Records’ Periphylla Series.
sonOnos was a project that came into being because of my love of acid. About ten years ago, I bought myself my first 303 clone, as a reward for surviving a long, somewhat serious period of being sick. I’d always enjoyed acid, but never thought of making it myself. sonOnos was the vehicle that allowed me to go on that journey. I think I have performed live more often as sonOnos than as CausaliDox. There have been no album releases yet for sonOnos.
TriggerRat was the last project that came to life. In the summer of 2019, a year after getting into Eurorack, I decided I wanted a project dedicated solely to modular experimentation. The only requirement for work to be filed under TriggerRat was that it was created using modular gear only. There also haven’t been any album releases for TriggerRat yet.
I enjoy creating work for all of these projects, but many months, if not years can pass before I produce a new track for Bob Knutton, sonOnos and TriggerRat. It has to feel right.
What are your future plans?
To be honest, I haven’t really given it much thought. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of producing and releasing ‘In No Memory’ with EC Underground. They encouraged me to make it a multidisciplinary release, to interweave it with my art.
Over the months we worked on the release, I shot a video for ‘No Choice’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDHXize9EVU) and produced the new photo series and book ‘In No Memory’. In effect the release has yielded even more work, more art, expanding upon the concept in different forms.
I have a lot of unreleased material, both older and new, for which I would love a chance to share it with the world. I don’t know if I have another sprawling concept like ‘In No Memory’ in me anytime soon. But as this process has proved, one thing begets another. So I am curious about the future and what it will bring.
Bandcamp: https://causalidox.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CausaliDox
Website: https://marcusmoonen.com
Album: https://causalidox.bandcamp.com/album/in-no-memory
Cyclical Magazine, May 2025
