For Dark Entries-magazine I did an interview with the very fine darkwaveband Andreas Gross.
Are they darkwave? Isn't it just beautiful pop?
Sadness meets beauty?
What the hell...Andreas Gross let your heart melt.
Here is the original version of the interview.
HELLO, THE BAND IS NAMED ANDREAS GROSS.
SO CAN WE STATE THAT THIS IS YOUR BAND?
Exactly. Because I released three albums at the same time on ECHOZONE in 2007, it was too late to give this musical project a different, more abstract name for further releases. In retrospect I think, the name is not so bad at all. Many bands have names of persons, for example “Silke Bischoff”, and “andreas gross” is accidentally my name.
AS FAR AS I UNDERSTOOD THE BAND GREW OUT OF GUEST MUSICIANS, NOT?
ARE THAT EVERY TIMES DIFFERENT PERSONS OR CAN WE SPEAK FROM A BAND NOW?
You are right. But since 2005, when we recorded “Borderline Poetry”, at least Thomas and I are fixed members. The last two albums and the mini-album have been recorded with the same people, so you can really speak of a band now.
YOU ARE MAKING SO CALLED DARK WAVE WHICH IT IS, BUT IN ALL HONESTY IF YOU WEREN’T IN GOTHMAGS I MORE GO FOR SHOEGAZING STUFF LIKE SLOWDIVE…
I think, you can always argue of what kind of music we make. I am still not shure if we really fit in this kind of magazines or even if we are on the right label. The so called “Gothic Scene” has changed that much, that our mellow and intellectual music is strikinlgy different from the music of other so called gothic bands. This fact is even more obvious when you listen to the samplers we're on. Our music is more like marzipan, either you like it or you really hate it.
I GUESS YOU AGREE THAT WITH TABITHA YOU HAVE A SINGER WHO HAS A LOT OF CAPACITIES, NOT?
HOW DID SHE END UP IN THE BAND?
She was planned to play the acoustic guitar live on our “Close To Home”-Tour in 2008. But she sang so well, that I sayd “I'm gonna record the next album with you!”. This album was “Hail To The Employee”. Actually we are recording her solo debut album.
“WE LIKE GHOST GIRLS” IS A BIT OF A WEIRD NAME, NOT?
Do you think so? I think it's merely a funny and ironic title. We always have some spooky elements in our videoclips for the songs, as you can see for example on my myspace site. The title is meant to be a reference to that.
YOU’RE GERMAN, YOU’RE ON A GERMAN LABEL. IF I MAY ASK YOU : HOW ARE THINGS FOR YOU IN GERMAN SUCCESFULLWISE AS HERE TO BE HONEST, I GUESS YOU’RE QUITE UNKNOWN…
Of course we are not so well-known as for example this ineffable guy called “Unheilig”. It's not easy to become famous when you don't play many live concerts. We all have jobs and there is not much time to prepare a gig or travel from city to city. At least we had some great reviews and articles in the established underground magazines and with our single “Stone Thrower” we actually have airplay on real radio, not only internet radio. And the last two albums sold some exemplars - not so much to earn some money with it... making music is an expensive thing.
IF I HEAR YOUR MUSIC THE FIRST THING YOU THINK IS THAT YOU MUST BE QUITE MELANCHOLIC PEOPLE…
This is half true, half not. I think, serious music must have durable elements, and you can't reach this by making happy-go-lucky party music. Life is no party and I want to reflect this in my music. The music and lyrics of a.g. are always deep and poetic, but still there are some ironic elements in it. I am melancholic and Tabitha also is, but we are not depressive...
SORRY BUT I HAVE TO ASK…
YOUR WEBSITE IS CALLED NOMOREJAZZ…
HATERS OF JAZZ OR JUST AS IT SOUNDS NICE?
In 2001 I recorded an album called “No More Jazz”, this was the year, my website went online. It was a good name for an URL I think and I din't change it since then. It is still a good metapher that we can't be put in any musical drawer.
ALMOST EVERY YEAR THERE IS SOMETHING LIKE A NEW RELEASE.
HOW COME THAT YOU HAVE SO MANY INSPIRATION?
Between recordings songs for an album there is always a break of more than half a year. I don't think this is too less time to start working on new songs.
In 2010 there will be no release of any new album; “We Like Ghost Girls” was in every way a too big thing to release another album one year after that. It still has to grow, you know.
I GUESS YOU MUST LAUGH WITH ACTS WHO ARE PREPARING THEIR NEW “MASTERPIECE” FOR 5 YEARS, NOT?
I don't care of other acts.
IF I HEAR ANDREAS GROSS’ MUSIC, I NEVER KNOW WHAT TO THINK…
BEAUTY OR SADNESS, OR ARE THE TWO SYNONYMS, YOU THINK?
Good question. Due to my music they are synomums, right! :o)
ARE YOU AWARE THAT YOU ARE MAKING PERFECT MUSIC?
I MEAN IT WILL PROBABLY BE ME BUT A SONG LIKE “STONE THROWER” IS PERFECT POP I THINK…
Oh, thank you!!! Maybye “Stone Thrower” is for me a little bit too poppy in retrospect. But after recording this song, it was totally clear that THIS will be the single of the album and there are many remixes of it and we even released a mini-album with the same name containing a radio version of it. I like the live acoustic version the most, maybe it will be a bonus track on the next album.
THE LAST WORDS ARE YOURS…..
Perhaps that going to work and having a house, a dog, a garden and wife ist not the goal in life. Not at all.
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