INTERVIEW WITH SPECTRA*PARIS

Well Elena, I guess everybody’s wondering….why did you decide to put out an album with christmassongs?

Elena Alice Fossi: it’s a old dream coming true. I guess that every Christmastime to come I’ll be re-issueing such an album, perhaps including some new things, kind of work-in-progress. I wanted to do a kind of “classic”, mainly for myself, as I’m a bit bored with listening to Christmas albums made by others which sound totally uninspired and commercial-only.

I always thought christmassongs are not that cool, you know…

EAF: I agree with you, as too many times Christmas songs are just a “job” for people to make some money. People whom are absolutely alien to certain atmospheres. That’s just the reason why I want to show my own interpretation of Christmas, which sound different enough to other stories, I think.

How did you come to that idea?

EAF: I noticed that Christmas is usually seen as a one-way thing... some love it and some hate it. Christians are often turning it into a sugary event and antichristians love to destroy this period’s atmosphere by means of blasphemy, grotesque images, and same old satanic boring stuffs. My Christmas is a magic event, filled with angels, monsters, killers, saints, demons. My Christmas is “Lucifer and the Archangel Gabriel playing chess in the lost night of another universe”. My Christmas is neither a good nor a bad thing. It’s just an unearthly thing.

The sole bad thing about christmasalbums is that you can only play them then….or do you think it’s okay to play it in summertime?

EAF: well, after all, my album is not an ordinary Christmas songs container. Many songs have not that much to do with Xmas: let’s say I found them fit to the project. So, 8 of the 10 songs can be absolutely listened at 40 degrees temperature... I guess they’d help in turning hot annoying summer into something fresher, with some help from a tasty ice-cream!

Are there christmas albumsout you like yourself?

EAF: Not exactly. Let’s say I prefer making compilations which include some songs I like. Globally, it’s rare that a whole album, whether including Xmas songs or not, goes to really fulfil my expectations.

If father Christmas comes knocking at your door, what will you tell him?

EAF: I’m dead. You arrived too late.

It can be me but I think Christmas can be quite depressive as well….

EAF: it’s possible that Christmas becomes a kind of a nightmare, sometimes. As for myself goes, I must say that in the last years I find that event more positive. It’s for me an occasion to celebrate the birth of a great person I totally respect the memory of.

Any special presents in mind?

EAF: a SAR-21 painted pink would be cool! But I guess I’ll gladly shift with a bottle of Louis Roederer...

Apart from the christmasalbum, what other plans are there in store from Spectra*Paris?

EAF: well, we’ve just released 2 new studio albums, so time has come to increase the SPECTRA*Paris activity on stage. Me, Alessia, Marianna and our collaborators are ready to go and in the beginning of January we’ll be doing a mini-tour Germany and Switzerland. It’ll be a mix of full-lenght shows and short showcases, then we’re gonna make a Eurotour around April, I suppose. Some of those concerts will be filmed, as we’re planning the release of a DVD/Blue Ray including live songs and special contents. Furthermore, a single might come out in Springtime.

Thank you Elena, any wishes for 2011?

EAF: I wish both SPECTRA*Paris and Kirlian Camera had a faboulous year, the best ever!

INTERVIEW WITH TWICE A MAN

Well, hello...thirty years in the musicbiz, thirty years in the underground...and still not giving up!
Where do you find the courage?

Music is our first expression, but there are many other expressions coming into the concepts of ideas, texts, pictures etc. If you want to express yourself its mainly a inner need... and though we might work underground we still have people out there who are interested in what we do, that keep us going and there are so many stories to tell, so many impressions to sort out, it will never end.

Without any question, you must be in love with music.
But hasn't that love changed with the changes in the musical landscape? (I meant from vinyl to the net)

I agree, we listen to music in other ways now... and to be honest the intensity you listened to music when you are in the vulnerable teenage years cannot be compared to later listening, but still with an open mind there are always something new and exciting going on. For myself i almost only listen to streaming music nowadays.

Sometimes you're labelled as synthpop, but it's definitely not the synthpop you hear every day!
Not to mention the fact that you are a synthpopband who mentions Lennon and Pink Floyd as their influences.

When we formed the precursor to Twice a man, Cosmic Overdose, in 1978, there were a number of influences... the one you mentioned from the 60s, but also early electronic musicians, minimalistic music, Brian Eno and perhaps most of all the new feeling of punk and new wave music, as Magazine, Wire, Banshees and others. later also bands like Joy Division, Suicide and Fad Gadget. All this put together became Twice a man in 1981 and i dare say, we had something of our own too, formed out of other influences, the nordic soul, the somehow melancholic atmosphere from dark winters and the romanticism of the nordic summers.

Let's face it, over here you're not a householdname. How's that in Sweden?

People grown up in the 80s know us pretty well.

Sometimes I ask myself what the Swedish put in their water to get such a great popsound!

Vodka :)

Agree if I say that Twice A Man are in fact pop?

Yes, among other things its pop too.

With "Driftwood" you came to the attention of the musicfanatics. After all these years it's still a fantastic masterpiece.

Thank you, many things came together in this album, starting as an experiment in sampling technique. I am still proud of it, also the conceptional thoughts about the enviroment etc. Even more experimental was the liveperformance, only showed in Sweden. It was like a theatreplay and not a concert... at the same time, after the succesful popalbum Works on Yellow, it was commercial suicide to do a thing like that, noone understood what we were up to, perhaps not even ourselves.

But then you did some stuff which was more ambient. It looks like you never choose the easiest way.

No, you never know where ideas lead you into and its important to stay truthful to your dreams.

You also did musical scores for theaterproductions, I guess in some ways that is like working on a soundtrack.

Yes, its pretty much the same, but there are differences too. I would say its harder to work in theatre then in film. With film you can "see" the result immediality, but in theatre there is a more living process together with actors, lights, scenography etc. difficult sometimes, but exciting. I think that our theatrework influence our songs and viceverse.

With "Icicles" you made a sort of unexpected return. Why did you decide that?

It was not a calculation, it just seamed that we had some good "popsongs", why not make it into a record, easy as that. So, Icicles is in the line of the 80s Music for Girls or Works on Yellow. Another influence is new collaborative work through internet, for us a new way of developing music. Our producer, Daniel Kaufeltd has definitily made a big difference for making the album sound 80s.

I compared your album with "The Ideal Copy" by Wire, now I want your reaction to that!

Though we might seam far apart in musical expression we have a lot in common with these guys i would say. I have always admire their work, especially Colin Newmans songs and the lust for experimentation. When looking through my recordcollection i still have the three first Wire albums, but not "The Ideal Copy".

You soon will be part of our BIMFest, what can the audience expect?

We have two stage programs, one for clubs and one slighly more ambient for seated audience. We will play the clubconcert with material from Icicles, some older stuff and some totally new songs, all with beats. We will also use videoprojections as we always do the last years.

I ask this to everybody : please tell your fave record of all time and why....

As you understood, this is a hard questions, there are so many... if i must say one, perhaps Unknowned Pleasures by Joy Division. It captures the times of that period perfectly and it was a big step forward for a new generation of musicians. It is a dark record and knowing what happened to Ian Curtis a few months later after the release it has grown deep into my soul. I still listen to it.

An other fave question of mine : with who wouldn't you mind to be in an
elevator with for 8 hours and what would you do then?

I would like to spend it with Percy Byshe Shelley, talking about life, love, nature and spirituality... unfortunally he died in the 1820s so this will never happen.

What can we expect from you in the future and do you have a special message for our readers?

Our wish for Twice a man is to be able to play our ambient music also outside Sweden and have the good fortune to be able to keep evolving new projects, there are plenty in the pipeline...

Please be aware, of each other, of nature, of climate change and make good for the future of mankind and our fine planet, fight for human rights, equality and against the commercialism of cultural values.

INTERVIEW WITH PORTION CONTROL

HELLO JOHN, IT FEELS GREAT TO INTERVIEW A PIONEER AND A
LEGENDARY MUSICIAN. DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS ONE?

No. We were around at the beginning of the industrial/punk electronic music movement
and continue to create electronic music today - so we have a long history
and experience which means we are labelled as pioneers

IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE I’M GETTING OLD BUT EVEN IF I THINK THERE IS
TODAY TONS OF GREAT MUSIC, I GET THE FEELING THAT THERE’S
NOTHING NEW BEING MADE….
DO YOU THINK THAT TOO AND HOW COME YOU THINK?

I agree that lots of music fails to take risks nowadays as sales of product diminish I think
this will only get worse. Groups have to rely on live performance and much music is
created with this in mind. It is certainly much easier and cheaper to create music now
than it has ever been which in turn creates lots of competition

IF I SEE PORTION CONTROL, THEN I AUTIOMATICALLY THINK OF ALL
THOSE OTHER ELECTRONIC BANDS WHO WERE SO INFLUENTIAL….
FROM CABARET VOLTAIRE TO PSYCHIC TV TO…
WAS THERE SOMETHING LIKE A SCENE IN THE SENSE THAT YOU KNEW
EACH OTHER?

Yes, certainly in the early 1980’s most bands were linked in some way or other. We had a
flat and modest studio at 319 Kennington Road, South London within a few miles radius
SPK, Lustmord, Nocturnal Emissions, Chris and Cosey and Funky Porcini lived...and we
all knew each other reasonably well

BACK THEN THE GUITARBANDS HAD JOHN PEEL.
I KNOW YOU DID A SESSION BUT WAS HE IMPORTANT FOR THE
ELECTRONIC SCENE?

John Peel was vitally important to the electronic music scene as well as the dub scene
he played our singles and we were privileged enough to record a peel session. I
discovered lots of music through his shows which i often taped and passed to my friends

BUT HOW WAS THAT FOR ELECTRONIC BANDS? WAS THERE ACTUALLY
ANY COVERAGE AT ALL? I MEAN YOU ARE LEGENDARY BUT IF YOU SEE
ALL THOSE OLD FOOTAGES…THAT ALL SEEMS TO BE QUITE OBSCURE,
NOT?

The whole industrial, wild planet electronic music movement was always small in
England with most bands playing across Europe for any recognition at all. The movement
was about obscurity the music was often difficult and never translated into any sort of
commercial success easily

YOU CALL YOURSELF ELECTROPUNK, SO I GUESS THE PUNKATTITUDE IS
OF GRAT IMPORTANCE, NOT?

We grew up out of post punk in the UK. The idea that anyone could form a group. This
doesn’t seem so unusual now at all but back then it took punk and post punk to really
open the floodgates to music creativity again

YOU’VE BEEN NAMECHECKED BY LOTS OF ARTISTS WHO HAPPEN TO BE
MILLIONAIRES NOW.
HOW DOES IT FEEL….I MEAN IN A HONEST WORLD, YOU SHOULD HAVE
BEEN HOSE MILLIONAIRES!

Commercial success has never been a driving aim and we do not profess to being
musicians. we have aimed to create uncompromising electronic music and single
mindedly set about this goal. Of course we would have appreciated being better rewarded
but we also took a long break to raise families etc

HISTORICALLY SEEN YOU INVENTED THE SAMPLING IDEA.
CAN YOU TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THAT?
I MEAN, WAS THAT FOUND BY COINCIDENCE OR….?

In about 1980 we heard about a sampling system called ‘greengate’ powered by an apple
ll computer and bought one of the first of these to be made commercially available. From
this we learned the basic principles of sampling and the technology was set to accelerate
We then progressed to the akai s900, s950 and finally our pride and main workhorse the
s1000.

YOU KNOW, JOHN? I MISS THAT IMPROVISING THING THESE DAYS IN THE
MUSICSCENE….
IT ALL SEEM TO BE SO MANUFACTURED NOW….

commercial pressure seems to apply automatically now. i think the naivety of the music
industry allowed real creativity to occur but with that learning process disappearing
creativity suffers. as was mentioned earlier taking risks is much harder now

SOMETIMES THEYSAY THAT WITH TODAY’S TECHNIQUES, EVERYONE CAN
MAKE MUSIC….
I SAY TRUE, BUT IS IT GOOD MUSIC?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?

i think having the ability to create music being so readily available is a good thing
it is the punk spirit - but of course the downside is that it floods the market with copycat,
manufactured stuff. good stuff will always be around it just takes more effort than people
are willing to invest

YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE DOWNLOADGENERATION…I MEAN YOU
BELONG TO A SCENE FROM WHICH THE RELEASES ARE WORTH A
GOLDMINE!

again we have always pushed for the progressive edge and so we certainly embraced the
software side of music production early on as we did with sampling etc. most recently
i’ve looked at using apps like nanostudio and beatmaker for music creation. however
many people, including many to young to have been involved at the time - still want to
own the original vinyl versions from the scene. i am happy with downloading although it
does undervalue the product

DO YOU FOLLOW THE MUSICSCENE YOURSELF?

not really although of course we meet other bands when we play

THE MOMENT YOU WENT ON A MAJOR, LONDON RECORDS, YOU WERE
GONE.
PURE COINCIDENCE OR DID THE MAJORTHING NECKED YOU IN AN
ARTISTIC SENSE?

the major label thing just never suited our personalities, we were just not confident
enough nor did we like the immediate concentration on commercial viability and profit
we had been independent and self contained for to long... this period was our unhappiest
and least productive. If you look back at the independent left field electronic acts that
went to major labels few if any succeeded

I ASK THIS TO EVERYBODY…WHAT’S YOUR FAVE RECORD OF ALL TIME
AND PLEASE STATE WHY…

the pop group Y, when this came out we hadn’t heard anything like it before. it was
produced by dennis bovell so had loads of volume spikes, low end, feedback and dub
reverbs and delays along with inventive dance oriented tracks and edgy intelligent
vocals. To top it all it came out of Bristol that, at the time, was a UK city smouldering
with unrest....

YOU SOON WILL BE ON THE BIMFEST. WHAT CAN THE AUDIENCE EXPECT?

we have been refining our live set [threat] to be as forceful as possible so expect pure
sequenced electronics with plenty of bass, deans vocals, a new set of visuals mixed live
into the output.... and a few surprises, of course

INTERVIEW WITH XMH

Can you tell us what XMH actually means?

XMH is the short term for Xenomorph which is the name of the alien from that same movie. Being a sci-fi fan I was fascinated by that name but having a look on the net we soon found out that there are already bands around who had the same idea.
I decided to take the first and last letter and the one in the middle and that’s the sole explanation XMH has….

You just have released your latest cd “State of muind” and this could be the cd that will make it….I only see positive reviews!

And that makes us very happy indeed! The big papers like Sonic Seducer, Zillo, Gothic, Negatief and so were all wild about our release. We put a lot of work in”State Of Mind” and the positive response is like a reward for the hard work that’s been done.
Of course it’s great for making our name a bit more known. I really do hope that our sound reaches as many ears as possible and that it will open new doors to us. The only way we see is the one forward!

But being part of the scene means working very hard….what motivates you?

I know it sounds like the biggest cliche there is but my biggest motivation is the love for music and my wish to become a better musician.
Of course it is really motivating seeing people are reacting on what we’re doing and for achieving that you have to develop yourself constantly. The hard work is something I accept, nothing annoying at all….

Just like every band in the genre I guess you have Germany and Belgium in mind…

Especially the reactions from Germany are positive, even more as we ever wished for. Belgium isn’t that great for the moment as things go rather slowly but everything we get is positive as well. You see we’re not complaining at all!

When I was looking at some information on the net about your band I noticed some local reviews who have to ridiculize the whole scene though…. Howx do you react to such things?

Most of the times I don’t care about such reviews. But I must say that it is a shame that it are those who are complaining that the scene is dead are also those who do anything to slash it down. All they do is complaining instead of bringing up some good alternatives.
It looks like they are looking for something to slash down as if they are looking for things to blame.

There are some bands from Holland which are very big from Within Temptation, Grendel to Clan Of Xymox…but it feels like there is no scene over there.

There is a scene in Holland you know. But comparing it with other countries, I tend to say the public is much younger. Honestly said it’s not that very well accepted by the big audience even if our country is famous for being open minded.
Maybe it’s because of that you think there is no scene, but there is one believe me…

XMH is compared quite a lot with Suicide Commando….

Of course I can’t say this isn’t true at all. Suicide Commando is in our genre such a long active band and of course they influenced us, so I am sure you will hear some comparisons too.
But we did it without wanting to but XMH is part of a scene in where such comparisons are inevitable.
Having said that, if they wanna compare us with acts that has been so long in the scene then that’s fine by us!

Where do you find your inspiration?

A bit from everywhere in fact. Films, movies, news, personal things of course other music in every possible genre.

I read once that you started the band because of the love for Hocico and now you’re sharing the stage with Erk and Rasco. How does that feel?

Well, XMH came later and Hocico is a reason but of course not the main reason. I used to play in several metalbands but it was thanks to Hocico that I got into the electronic scene and so far I still have lots of respect for them.
Knowing that I will be with them on stage in both Antwerp and Rotterdam gives me a good feeling, yeah……

What’s your fave record of all time and please state why….

Really too many to come up with one. I love music no matter which genre. It really depends on my mood which record I will state as my fave.
If you should ask me now then I go for “Navras” by Juno Reactor.

What can the audience expect from the show you’ll be doing in Antwerp?

An explosive show at where you foot will command you to dance.

And the last words are yours….

Come to Antwerp at 12th November, be free, become fan, buy or music, send spam around the world that we’re genius…but serious now : please come and enjoy Hocico but be sure to be early so you don’t miss our show and we can drink a beer during Hocico.

INTERVIEW WITH HOROLOGIUM

Dear Greg, what does industrial music mean to you?

Hello! Industrial music stands for creative freedom and lack of musical borders. It allows me to express myself freely, to decide what is right and what is wrong for me from A to Z, be it musicwise, productionwise etc..

Everything seems to go away but industrial music seems to be standing for decades, how come?

Good question. I guess what you mean is that other genres of music usually have their five minutes of popularity and then they go back to their garages, their underground etc. Look what happened to punk rock for instance. But industrial music has always been here in the underground and has never become really popular, which is good of course. It’s the kind of art that is, so to say, immune to . And that is what makes it so strong and everlasting.

I always tend to say that industrial music is perfect for my imagination as I can create everything with it what I want….

I guess that depends on one’s own imagination, but I do agree basically. I’d say that classical music/film scores and dark ambient stimulate imagination a lot. Like I said before, it’s the music that deconstructs all borders, schemata and ‘being used to’ aspects. Long live industrial music.

How did you get involved with that sort of music?

In the mid-90s I discovered Cold Meat Industry through some metal magazine. Then a bit later I also watched a Merzbow video and that’s when I got hooked.

The industrial scene has masses of releases, there used to be a time when there was an overflood from tapereleases but now with the new techniques everybody seems to make stuff. How do you follow all this?

I don’t follow at all. I keep myself busy trying to listen to all the great bands I already know. I rarely find good music from new artists and instead of wasting my time I try to focus on some well-known bands/projects.

This might be less funny to say but if everyone is making music, it also means lots of crap comes above.
Isn’t that extra hard for serious bands to deal with it?

The crap is no problem at all for serious bands. Well established artists will always find it easy to release their music and get through. In my opinion it is more annoying for label owners. Imagine how time consuming listening to all this must be.

Does it interest you in which form (vinyl, cd, mp3, tape) music is presented?

Of course. A release is not only the sound, or at least it shouldn’t be. Artwork, packaging, the way you promote the release – all these factors count as well for the overall impression that you get. I love vinyls and I feel nostalgic about tapes, they were my youth. Mp3 is fine as an introduction to the actual release on CD/vinyl/tape, but I feel it’s not a complete release if without any tangible object.

You are the man behind Horologium, I guess that’s not the only band you are/were involved with….

Horologium is the only project that really matters to me at the moment. I have lately started working with Marcin of [haven] on a more idm/breakcore oriented band and I hope you’ll soon be able to listen to our music.

Poland seems to have a quite vivid scene with lots of bands, but I guess it’s better to keep my foot on the ground : I guess it’s rather very underground as well?

It is indeed. But is that bad? What makes me more anxious is that without few exceptions people in Poland tend to play the same stuff over and over again. Dark ambient that we all heard dozen of times or plastic sound of synthetic orchestra – that’s usually the case. However, I was quite impressed recently by Polish project named K.

Honestly said I tend to follow the scene (from pop to Indus) in East Europe for quite a while, but it’s only since recently (some exceptions not counted) that there are so many good bands around.

I don’t follow pop scene, but there have been many industrial artists that appeared in recent 10 years after the inception of Beast of Prey Records in 2000. This was a great impulse for young artists to start their own projects.

When I heard Horologium’s latest offering, I got silent inside as it was rather morbid and creepy.
Do you feel as such too?

I assume you mean “A Handful of Dust & Ashes”? This is actually a reissue of my music from 2005 with some additional live tracks. Everyone perceives music in one’s own way, so it’s kinda hard for me to relate to your feelings. As a matter of fact, listening to “A Handful of Dust & Ashes” makes me nostalgic and serious.

What’s the most important thing for you : the story behind the music or the music itself or are the two not to be seperate?

I can listen to, say, End.user without thinking about the story behing the music, and that’s just great, but for some artists, including Horologium, these two fields are not to be separated. So if you mean my own music, I’d say both are very important.

Apart from being musician, you also do run Ur Muzik-label. How would you describe this label?

I run Ur Muzik with my wife Olga. We release music that we enjoy. We hope people will enjoy our releases too. Let the music speak for our label. It speaks best.

How does it work. Are you in search of musicians/releases or come they knocking to your door?

It’s 50/50 actually.

Is anything possible on the label or is there stuff you absolutely do refuse?

On the one hand, I would say that anything is possible. Anything that I find interesting. On the other, it’s less probable I would publish some christian pop crap instead of some interesting neofolk release.

Who has a record company in times where the musicindustry is in crisis?

If it’s not about making money, what’s the problem? People like me still enjoy listening to CDs and some other people enjoy releasing them. Who cares about the rest? Again, it’s about fun and passion, not business. Financial crisis doesn’t have much to do with it, at least in my case. Some other labels might find it difficult, though.

Is there anything special in mind you would like to release?

There definitely are some bands and albums that I would love to release, but let’s not talk in vain. I think that dreams are supposed to come true and I hope I will one day release what I intend.

What’s your fave record of all time and please state why…..

Sorry, but there are so many of them it’s really hard to pick up only one. It would be unfair.

We leave the last words to you…..

Thank you very much for the interview, which I enjoyed a lot!

INTERVIEW WITH QNTAL

Hello, first of all thank you for wanting to do this.
What’s in fact the difference between Estampie and Qntal?


Estampie is an acoustic project that was originally based in the “authentic” Early Music scene. QNTAL was a crossover project between electronic somewhat “dark” music and original melodies and instruments. The music of ESTAMPIE is created in the rehearsal room, Qntal is a computer project.


If you compose a track, how does that work. Recording something and then decide if it’s going to be for Qntal or Estampie, or do you have that in mind before?

No, no….from the beginning it is clear which project is on: practically is Estampie a band gathering in a room and rehearsing. Qntal is in the beginning Syrah, me and the computer , although at the end on stage Fil plays the synthies.


If I’m right you were noticed by Alexander Veljanov, right?


It was not Alexander, it was Ernst whom I met at the Munich theatre. We both love thatre and used to work a lot for it. He was the expert for Electronics and I for the medieval music. At that time (late 80ies) this was a very new concept. We had quit clear musical ideas and the work was rather exciting.

I guess you don’t mind if I tell that your music can be classified as classical music.
How did the fascination for that genre started?

Well, the classification changes constantly. There were times in the beginning in which we were regarded as revolutionary, even as traitors towards the “authentic” interpretation. Now since we have this movement of medieval rock as well as the Easy Listening Medieval Music our interpretation is seen as more classical again.
I was classically trained and so I was always in a very close contact to any forms of “serious” music. Only the Opera I never liked.


Qntal and Estampie are “specialized” (if I may say so) in medieval music. Is that a choice that’s been made for always or can it be that you do something completely different?


We already combine medieval music with a lot of different styles: Qntal with Electro, a bit of Rock and Pop. Estampie with Arab Music (Al Andaluz Project), Mongolian Music (Marco Polo) and many more. In the moment we work on a program abut Scandinavian Music)


I understood that your music is based on lots of traditionals. How do you find these?

This is just a lot of research, but everything we play is published and everybody can do the same work. There is no secret behind.

I guess you must laugh with people like me who have no idea what’s been made all these centuries ago.
I guess you’re kind of archivarists, not?

No , I´m much too chatic for that. What drives me , is the creativity. I develop always new ideas. What else can you do with medieval music. That´s my main talent. Many other band just follow the road that their predecesors prepared. I´m constantly building new roads.


In the past you made some tracks that had an uptempo beat but I guess you definitely have skipped that part, not?

Our aim , in both the bands , is to show a wide spectrum what medieval music could be.
So it can be romantic , hard, party and dnnce , folky, intellectual, simple or complicated.


Qntal and both Estampie are here popular among the gothpublic.
Is that the same in Germany?

Yes, but not exclusively. We are known , but still not always liked, in the classical scene. The more progressive part likes us and invites us for festivals and so on, the more conservative not so much. The same is in the Gothic Scene. A part is curious to new things and interesting approaches, but not everybody.


In that perspective, hasn’t it been kind of difficult for being taken seriously by the classic audience?


I always thought : music is music, there’s only good and bad music…


Never happened that you listen to your own music?


Sometimes yes, but years after I have made it. Sometimes it´s quite interesting.


I ask this everybody : what’s your fave recotrd of all time and please state why…

That´s really hard. King Crimson , The Incredible String Band, Bruckner and Beethove,n Bach, Monteverdi, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa and thousands more.


In Gent you are part of Festival Van Vlaanderen which is a prestigious festival for classical music.
How does that feel?

It is not sooo extraordinary for us. We have played in Brügge years ago. We sang with our new classical project VOCAME at the Early Music Festival Stockholm, at the Rheingau Festival and so on. I lov e the athmosphere of Classiical Festivals!!!


What can the fans expect in Gent?

A quite new experience: Estampie and Qntalin one show.

INTERVIEW WITH THE BOLLOCK BROTHERS

FOR SOME THE BOLLOCK BROTHERS ARE AN INSTUTION, DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS AN INSTITUTION?

Us an institution, really, do some see us this way, should I ask ARNO to answer this, no, not really Mr D


YOUR FIRST ALBUM HAS BEEN THE ONE WITH THE SEX PISTOLS.
WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN THIS ALBUM?

Our first album was the Last Supper, followed by the four horsemen of the apocalypse, never mind came later, we choose this as we felt the bite coming from our Electro Influence, some say we were the very first, done at the studio of John Komgas, cc happy mondays etc


I RECENTLY SAW JOHNNY LYDON WITH PIL. APART THAT IT WAS A GREAT SHOW, I FELT SORRY FOR HIM…I MEAN, THIS ICON HAD TO BEG THE AUDIENCE TO LISTEN TO HIM.

John Lydon remains a genius, but living in the USA has done whats left of his nut in, and being married to NORA whos edad is the ass Chef of Der Spiegel mag in Germany, we we’re mates untill my brother smacked a polieceman in Dublin(off duty guard) rotten got caught, and banged up in Mountjoy prison


TALKING ABOUT PUNK. WHAT DOES PUNK MEAN TO YOU?

Punk means seeing the kids at Bim fest and Peter flogging his cds with his lady, and me in the bar with a nice lady from west Flanders laughs


TECHNICALLY SPOKEN YOU’RE NOT A PUNKBAND BUT IN SPIRIT I THINK YOU ARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST PUNKBANDS EVER, AGREE?

total agreement


YOU WORKED WITH MICHAEL FAGAN, I AM SURE THAT MUST HAS GIVEN YOU SOME ENEMIES….

Michael Fagan, god save the queen, wow enough said here Mr D


NOT TO SPEAK ABOUT MANY RELIGION-SUBJECTS YOU MAKE PARODIES OF…
JUST BECAUSE IT’S FUNNY OR IS IT A REAL HATE TOWARDS CHRISTIANITY?

Ever thought that I LOVE christianity Mr D, I do, the old testament in the bible is fabulous, Abraham with his son, Joseph in Egypt, Moses parting the red sea, Joshua, where can one read anything like this



IN ALL HONESTY I DON’T KNOW IF I BELIEVE IN GOD OR NOT, BUT IF THERE IS ONE HE CAN NOT LET AN EX-HITLERJUGENDMEMBER BE THE LEADER OF THE CHURCH.
I KNOW YOU CRITICIZE IT, BUT DO YOU EVER THINK YOURSELF IT COULD HAVE COME SO FAR?


Total belief in God, absolute, might be a wild lad, but this will NEVER falter, Dieier, my dad was FIVE yrs in a camp in Poland, taken at Dunkirk, they were the poor sods that had to hold up Rommel, the French in total dissarray, he was freed by the yanks, belief in god and Churchill was got him through, Ill get to you pope question in a min




YOU WERE CONTROVERSIAL AS THEY SAY, BUT IN ALL HONESTY : I THINK THIS WORLD HAS BECOME SOOOOOOOOOO SOFT.
I MEAN IMAGINE DOING NOW A SONG ABOUT ALBERT SPEER.

Albert Speer, the first person to enter Hitlers bunker after the russians had a field day there was a Irish Ameriican called J P Odonnell, related to us by Irish ancestory, got the chance to speak to him, saw his interview with Speer, that’s what made me write the song, Albert is back laughs



GREAT YOU CAN ANSWER THIS QUESTION…SO MANY BANDS ARE LAME T0DAY!!!!!!!!!

Yes the bands are lame today, why, so much drugs available, once u guys clodes the borders the cartel had a field day, no more Bollocks left in the musicians, its lets say getting like football shite


AND AS UBERPUNKS, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE RECORDINDUSTERY THAT IS ON ITS KNEES AND FREE DOWNLOADING THAT IS RISING?

Well on the industry let me say this, Im suing our record company at the moment, ca va, on downloading, not such a bad thing


ONE OF YOUR ANTHEMS MUST BE “HORROR MOVIES”. SO SIMPLE AND SUCH AN ADDICTIVE SONG.

Horror movies, yes so simple true, but effective, the Dewaele are shortly re mixing it for me


YOU ALSO COVERED “HARLEY DAVID” BY SERGE GAINSBOURG, A TRUE HERO OF MINE.
IF I HEAR THE BOLLOCKS I OFTEN COMPARE HIM TO YOU, NOT MUSICALLY ….BUT IN THE SENSE OF LIVING AT A MAXIMUM…..

Gainsbourg, simply this Mr D, when I needed a friend and a break in the business he was there, I reamin the ONLY person to rewrite one of his songs, the rest only re recorded, find it strange that the girl who plays Jane Birkin in the new movie Gainsbourg Killed herself after having a row with her boyfriend in Paris, wonder what Serge would have made of this???



I USED TO BE A DJ AND PLAYED “HARLEY DAVID” A LOT AND IT WORKED WITH PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T UNDERSTAND A BIT WHAT WAS ABOUT….

Harley David, a monster seller on PIAS, that made there company



I UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS SONG HAS BEEN REMIXED BY THE FAMOUS THE BROTHERS DEWAELE, PLEASE TELL US ABOUT IT…

working with Stephan and David will be a honour for me, those dewalle brothers are the Guvonors, they have also been so Kind to my son Kilien, we met up again in Lyon with the belgie cook Piet Huysentruyt, what have we learned today Bollocks, laughs, soon in ghent recording and remixing Pgod



THE BOLLOCK BROTHERS ALWAYS HAVE HAD A SPECIAL LINK WITH BELGIUM, I UNDERSTOOD YOUR DRUMMER WAS EVEN BELGIAN…


Drummer Patrick Pattyn is from Oostende, formely NAUCHTU NEBEL beats of love, which we will do live in anvers for Patrick Nebel



HMMMM, RIGHT IF I THINK THE UK WAS NEVER OPEN ENOUGH FOR THE ARRIVAL OF THE BOLLOCK BROTHERS?

re the uk now it begins to open, as u said inone of your questions we got into a lot of trouble re Michael Fagin, recently we played Camdens purple turtle fab gig, full house fabulous


AS A BAND YOU TRIED ALMOST EVERYTHING, ARE THERE STILL THINGS YOU THINK YOU WANNA TRY OUT TODAY?

As a band yes, make love to Kim Clijsters in the ladies toilet at Wimbleldon,



I ASK THIS TO EVERYBODY : WHAT’S YOUR FAVE RECORD OF ALL TIME AND PLEASE STATE WHY…

Fave record wow what a choice if I was a rich man by Topol, or baby your a rich man by The Beatles



WHAT CAN THE FANS EXPECT FROM THE BOLLOCK BROTHERS AT BIMFEST?

Bim fest, wow, we show what we can really do on this one, total