Meet Reduction Plan

You may have heard of a backup plan — and made your fair share of them — but have you heard of Reduction Plan?

Helmed by Daniel Manning, this project carries a torch for the ’80s. All things synth and drum machine get swirled with noise and space to create an 80’s gothic-industrial-dreamy meditation.

It’s a TRIP.

Intrigued by his creative process, we chat with Dan about strobe light skin, the importance of being genuine, and his love of Member’s Only (long live the ‘80s).

Listen, read, reflect, repeat. :)

A Self-portrait by, Reduction Plan

Would You Rather

your skin flash like a fast strobe light, or be incredibly slippery? Why?

I would definitely rather have my skin flash like a fast strobe light, that way when we play a show we wouldn’t need to worry about whether or not the venue has a strobe light. I already wear long-sleeve shirts a lot of the time, so putting on gloves and a mask to deal with the strobing on a daily basis wouldn’t be too much of a hassle I think. It’d definitely make me seem more mysterious. Although I guess on the flip side it’d make it pretty difficult to sleep.

Some Questions with Reduction Plan

What is the creative process like between all of you?

So I (Dan) write and record everything on my own, and bring completed songs/compositions to the band to interpret for a live setting. With this latest record Lou, who plays guitar, recorded some parts for the first time. He also served as a sort of sounding board for a lot of the ideas I was coming up with, even though he wasn’t writing things explicitly I would bounce a lot of the ideas for the record off of him, so it felt very collaborative in concept mores than execution. The live lineup is the most stable now than ever before with the project, so I think that will conducive to a more collaborative creative process in the future.

What are your most important values as a musician?

I think it’s really important that you do everything with intent. It can take a long time to clearly define what a record or musical project should be, and sometimes the best projects are the ones without any definition. But I personally find that music is at its most engaging when it’s intentional, when you approach writing it with a purpose. For me especially, doing things with intent allows me to focus in on specific goals and ideas, which in turn further motivates me to create and reach those goals. It’s also worth noting that a lot of great creative moments happen entirely by accident, and those shouldn’t be dismissed just because they weren’t necessarily intentional.

I think it’s also essential to be true to yourself and honest in how you represent yourself creatively. You can almost always tell when someone is putting on a front or not being genuine in something they’ve created.

Who would be your dream collaborator?

We have a lot of incredibly talented friends who I’d love to collaborate with any time, particularly otay:onii, NGHTCRWLR, Grave Saddles, or anyone else really, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about doing a collaborative record with someone, I think it’d be a blast and a good opportunity to push ourselves creatively. In my dreamiest of dreams I’d love to collaborate with Justin Broadrick or Liz Harris.

Who are your favorite bands active in NYC right now?

Blu Anxxiety, LOTION, NGHTCRWLR, Statiqbloom, Dreamcrusher, otay:onii, Uniform, Pharmakon, Model/Actriz, and Liturgy all immediately come to mind. There’s so much cool weird shit happening around the city right now.

What three items do you never leave the house without?

My Member’s Only jacket, my Uniqlo Relaxed Fit Ankle-length Pants, and my grumpy demeanor.

What is the best pizza in NYC?

Prince St. is great but the line is always a pain - I’m really partial to Paulie Gee’s and Vinnie’s.

How do you translate your sound to a live performance?

We try not to overcomplicate things with our live setup - lately we’ve been using two guitars, a bass, two synths, and a drum machine, which is about as complex as I’m willing to get live. There are a lot of subtle moving parts on the recordings, and it would just be totally impossible to re-create all of that live, so we try to cover all the major sonic aspects as best we can. Sometimes that means songs come across totally different live, which I’m fine with.

Where do you feel at your most comfortable?

On my couch playing Death Stranding (only half-kidding). I do definitely feel most comfortable at home though - I used to feel more comfortable at home in Connecticut, but New York is getting there. I like where I’m at currently. If I’m not at home I prefer to be somewhere low key, I don’t like being around a lot of people out in public and I don’t like drawing unnecessary attention to myself. New York is simultaneously good and bad for that - it’s easy to go unnoticed, but there’s also an insane amount of people everywhere you go.

What is a phrase you can not stand to hear?

“I love Red Scare”

What motivates you to continue to make music?

Seeing our friends and peers continue to excel in what they do creatively is easily the most motivating factor for me. Art isn’t a competition, but there’s something to be said about the motivating force of being surrounded by people creating amazing art. You don’t want to be left behind, you want to contribute to the conversation, you want to be a part of something. All of those things keep me going. Also I’m not good at anything besides making and talking about music, so that’s a good motivator.

What would the title of your memoir/biography be?

Dark Souls & Darkwave

Was the way you approached your 2019 album “(Ae) Maeth” similar to what you have done in the past?

It was pretty similar in that it started with me recording everything at home, but beyond that it’s definitely way different from anything we’ve done in the past. For starters, the writing process was way different - I had a very definitive idea of what I wanted the record to sound like going into writing it. We also worked with Kevin McMahon at Marcata Recording to properly mix and produce the sounds I had recorded at home, which was an entirely new process for me. I think both of those factors combine really set this record apart from anything we’ve done previously. I’m really proud of it for that fact.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Support the artists you love directly - buy physical merchandise, see them on tour, buy their albums on Bandcamp, tell your friends about them. Also donate to Bernie Sanders (separate issue).

Reduction Plan