Ivan Smagghe leaves Black Strobe

The DJ says that this is how he settled scores with the Parisian electro project. The split occurred because Black Strobe preferred creating a full live band with guitars, drums, and Arno Rebotini as the vocalist rather than working on remixes. Smagghe refused to participate in the live project from the very beginning, stating that he would rather observe from the sidelines. 'My work as a DJ had no influence on Black Strobe at all,' a disheartened Smagghe said. 'I am trying to perceive what was before and what is happening now as completely separate.' The reason for the break was announced as the album 'Musical differences.' It held no surprises for those who had followed the collective's work - Smagghe adhered to electronic dance music, while Rebotini succumbed to the influence of gothic rock. 'It's not easy to hold back all these new trends,' Smagghe said about the album. 'I suppose we've matured, and electronic simplicity was no longer enough. But maybe we'll return to it someday...' But that was not the case. In his interview with Richard Brophy of DJ Mag, Rebotini has already announced the official split. 'Smagghe has left the group and is fully focused on his DJ career,' Rebotini writes in the Test Industries blog. 'The shift in Black Strobe's format to live sound proved to be insurmountable for him, as he is an excellent DJ but not a musician at all. Black Strobe always tried to maintain a balance, Ivan created a dance atmosphere, but perhaps my influence turned out to be too strong.' The split happened on the eve of the release of Black Strobe's debut album 'Burn Your Own Church,' expected in June.