I can’t immediately recall another joint project between father and son within the Electro/Industrial scene. This makes it all the more remarkable—and even more intriguing—when you learn that the father is André Schmechta, also known as Sevren Ni-Arb of X Marks The Pedwalk. Together with his son, Luis Maximilian Schmechta—who also produces music under his own LMX project—they released their official debut album this year under the name Duophonic Noise Construction.

The debut Duophonic Noise Construction album, “Distorted Reality”, was released on André’s own label, Meshwork Music, and was preceded by two singles. The music recalls the rawer sound of early X Marks The Pedwalk, combined with the energetic rhythms typical of LMX. It’s difficult to categorize Duophonic Noise Construction precisely, but it leans toward an experimental take on EBM. Ultimately, the genre is less important than the fact that it’s a fascinating record—so much so that it inspired me to interview father and son both together and individually. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

LMX: There was a very progressive and Techno-ish demo song I played to Sevren in December 2023 that I made just for fun. Sevren spontaneously thought that it might be exciting if we both started a joint project with a harsher and dark style. He came up with Duophonice Noise Construction as the project name and developed a first artwork for inspiration. About 8 months later I sent him the demo to our first single “Always”. And the story started…

LMX: As mentioned, we had already decided on the genre and style for Duophonic Noise Construction. We started a mood-board and collected themes and ideas to channel a specific direction for composing and production.

Sevren Ni-Arb: It was important to both of us to go in a new direction with Duophonice Noise Construction, something completely different from our current main projects and even different to old X  Marks The Pedwalk. Of course that would have been a conceivable way to simply pick up this original thread.

LMX: I took on the role of writing lyrics and wanted to address harmful emotions, thoughts and actions that you sometimes catch yourself contemplating. While they might not always mean it, there’s a lot of hateful things people say, feel or do all the time. Ultimately realizing that bad things happen and that you are part of them, whether it’s voluntarily or not, seems like a distorted reality.

Most of the songs are based on demos, loops, vocal lines I wrote and handed to Sevren. He worked them out to a song structure, polished and re-composed the elements and sound design, gave them life and character. Then I usually did the lead vocals. This was nothing we had thoroughly discussed or planned out; it just fell into place.

Sevren Ni-Arb: As mentioned before, it was important to us not to simply lean on old XMTP material, but of course we wanted to convey some of that original Electro-Industrial spirit of the 80s and 90s that shaped our sound back then. But it’s 2025, and nowadays I produce with a completely different background and significantly more technological options than in the past.

Accordingly, we wanted to set our own impulses with Duophonic Noise Construction, develop our own energy and identity for Duophonic Noise Construction. And I believe we’ve succeeded. Duophonic Noise Construction is an exciting new journey for the both of us, one that’s only just begun, with plenty of opportunities ahead. And anyone familiar with our two main projects, X Makrs The Pedwalk and LMX, or my side project, SNA, knows that we’re not standing still, but are continuing to seek out new challenges.

LMX: My mother is, of course, proud and thrilled that her son and her husband—with whom she is also musically active—have launched a joint music project and found this creative connection. She also follows the development of my LMX project with curiosity and joy, which, as we know, was co-produced by Sevren. Although she doesn’t enjoy the Duophonic Noise Construction-sound as much as X Marks The Pedwalk or LMX ;-).

LMX: We have a new album title, new demos and a concept -so yes, we will definitely be continuing this. For me, most plans and expectations for the future revolve around live shows…

Sevren Ni-Arb: I’m still working on the new X Makrs The Pedwalk album “Insomnia”; with Estefania at the moment, which is scheduled to release by the end of the year. After that, LMX and I will head back to my studio to focus on Duophonice Noise Construction. And yes, we’re also currently thinking about joint live activities.

Sevren Ni-Arb: While my brother was primarily involved in live shows at the time and wasn’t really involved in XMTP’s musical development, Estefania’s role in XMTP has, as we know, evolved significantly over time. Initially only used for a few guest vocals, she has continued to shape XMTP’s sound with her voice and is now an integral part of the band. Accordingly, we spend significantly more time together in the studio these days.

But with my son I have a sparring partner for the first time again in many years (similar to the time I had with Al/X/S in U-Tek and A-Head, or Heiko from ECO with our PAX project), who is involved in the entire creative value chain and is usually at the beginning of it.

Sevren Ni-Arb: My other son is more of a music consumer and isn’t creative himself. But he’s very open-minded and interested in his brother and father’s musical development. With LMX, it was interesting to see that he anticipated my early musical influences and preferences. I remember when on our vacations, as a little boy, he would play Depeche Mode on his headphones in the car all the time. And after all, he started composing his own music at a very young age—much like I did back then—and, like me, he completed classical piano training for a while. 

Sevren Ni-Arb: My son started out in the trap genre, which is still very evident on his first official album, “Dimension Shift”. But since I produced all of his albums, he naturally learned the entire production process. Musically, he matured incredibly quickly and he’s gone his own way from the very beginning. He is incredibly talented and managed to develop his unique style at a very young age. I admire his sense for melodies and harmonies, for creating emotional moments in a song – with depth and meaning.

Sevren Ni-Arb: It’s truly something special to be on a musical journey with your son. What I didn’t expect was that Duophonic Noise Construction would already have surprisingly routine dynamics from the very beginning. We’re fortunate to have two studios in our house: my larger studio, where all our productions are created, and a smaller creative studio from LMX. This allows us to work very efficiently and in parallel, refining and shaping the tracks.

Sevren Ni-Arb: Despite the enormous age difference and my certainly even greater experience in production, it’s a project on equal terms. We complement each other excellently, have a common understanding of where we want to go with Duophonic Noise Construction, yet each of us still contributes with their own individual strengths. This allows us to work very smoothly, creating a powerful dynamic and energy for Duophonic Noise Construction. As you know, my professional situation limits my time to invest in music production, since I have two companies and my label, Meshwork Music. I approach my projects with a strong focus and have optimized every production process in the studio, aligning them with my needs.

LMX brings the appropriate drive to Duophonic Noise Construction, pushing it forward with new ideas. This reminds me of my early years a lot, when I solely focused on music. It was my only profession. But my son also has to manage his time. He’s studying and has his own project.

LMX: I’d agree with the many people in the scene here (LOL). I’ve had the great privilege of learning so much about the industry and every stage involved in producing and publishing a record. Every stage of his own musical career bears a lot of inspiration for me and I’m so lucky to be able to share my passion with my father, best friend and mentor.

LMX: Actually, the exact opposite was the case for me. I started listening to Depeche Mode when I was about 7 years old and never really stopped. Apart from the usual suspects in early Synth-Pop and New-Wave (OMD, Erasure, Talk Talk,…) I’ve really enjoyed diving into the EBM and Industrial scene following my father’s recommendations and his old vinyl collection from when he was my age. Right now, I’ve got bands like Click Click, Cabaret Voltaire, The Klinik, Twice A Man and more in heavy rotation – although I have to mention I also do enjoy The Smiths very much at the moment.

LMX: I really genuinely love all things X Marks The Perdwalk, U-Tek, PAX, etc. -no matter if it’s Industrial, Future- or Synth-Pop. However, I do believe “The Killing Had Begun” as well as the upcoming “Insomnia” in particular were and are genre forerunners and very, very far ahead of their time. There’s no way I could pick one favorite song out of his discography and I think listing the things I’ve learned here would take forever.

You could say that after he produced my solo debut album my entire workflow changed drastically and I approached composing and producing very differently -and this has just happened with every new project we do. There’s always at least some tweak, idea or trick that I take with me from spending time in the studio with my father.

Q: What do you see as the biggest similarities and differences between how you and your father approach music creation?

LMX: I think because our taste and influences are very alike, we can almost always agree on musical decisions. However, Sevren is a much more tactical and analytical writer, composer and producer and works really efficiently. I’m more ‘dreamy’ and ‘artsy’ when it comes to making music, I guess, but also a bit more exploratory…

Q: You’ve already released material under LMX. How do you look back on those first years, and what are your goals and aspirations for the future?

LMX: Some of what I’ve done I still like to go back to, especially everything from “Habits & Addictions” on. I believe I have some quite unique stuff on these four records -if I may say so myself- and I eventually want to keep that going. I’ve got great demos for LMX waiting to be produced but at the moment the most of my attention is dedicated towards Duophonice Noise Construction, so we’ll see when that story continues.