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Orkus Musikmagazin 06/2000
Love is the biggest power
"Love shall be what we sing about", even our often quoted Goethe recognized this already. Beside death, love has always played a significant role in art. Especially in the music business, love related issues - both positive and negative - have always been a subject. So it shall not be surprising that the new In Strict Confidence album (to be released June 26, 2000) courts love. The title "Love Kills" doesn't imply that at first sight. Right at the beginning of the following interview Dennis Ostermann, singer of In Strict Confidence, will explain the deadly power of love...
Dennis Ostermann: The album title reflects the power of love. "Love is the biggest power that manages everything". We knew that even before Laibach. "...Kills" in this case does not mean "to kill". It stands for an extreme act. "Love Kills" is like a concept album that is focused on love. The community often underestimates love. What other element has such an impact on people? We should become much more aware of this...
Orkus: One of the catchy songs off of your new album is called "Zauberschloss" (Magic Castle) with the subtitle "Tausend Jahre sind ein Tag" (One thousand years are one day). What would be your association with a magic castle?
DO: It should not be too big - but it must have a lot of nooks and towers. A moat and drawbridge would be nice...and if I would have one more wish: the matching princess.
O: Are one thousand years like one day for you when you are in love?
DO: It depends on if I am happily or unhappily in love. When unhappily, one day is more like one thousand years...
O: As you already explained, love is very dominant on this album. Are you currently in love or are your songs about memories and dreams?
DO: Memories, dreams, fears, hopes and fantasies were processed. Love is one of the very few topics that contain so many different things.
O: Do you believe in THE one and only love of your life? Or do you rather believe in many loves of your life?
DO: I think you can find THE one and only love of your life over and over again. With every new partner I was sure it would be the love of my life. Which was always true, for a while anyway. I do know by now that relationships come and go. But a serious relationship for me is when I could plan spending the rest of my life with this person. It makes no sense to me to start a relationship to just be together for a certain time and be aware of it. Even though I might be very confident about a relationship at one point, I do realize that it can be over at any minute.
O: Some of your song titles are about fleeing reality. "Zauberschloss" (Magic Castle) is one of them, but obviously "Heaven Is The Place To Be", "Stern" (Star) and "Spread Your Wings" as well. You are a very happy, cheerful person, why these songs?
DO: The songs are supposed to be magic and visionary. Besides, the songs you mentioned are all full of hope. That doesn't necessarily exclude happiness. In addition to the earlier mentioned quality (my cheerfulness) I have some less pleasant features.
O: Do you associate the song "Heaven Is The Place To Be" with suicidal thoughts or is it more like a romantic transfiguration?
DO: The romantic side. We are not ready to leave the earth yet, unless we would land on another planet.
O: One very obvious change to older In Strict Confidence records is the very dominant female voice. Who is the singer and how did you meet?
DO: There will be two songs with the female voice on this album, as well as "Love Will Never Be The Same," which is on the 12" "Kiss Your Shadow". I met Nadine at one of our concerts. I had no idea then that she was taking classical singing lessons. A couple of days later I learned that she was recording a song in the studio of our old record label. This is how we came to work together, especially since I had been looking for the matching female voice for a long time already. And she is a big fan of our music style.
O: Why does the female singing play such a major role on this album?
DO: It is actually not such a big role. So far it is three songs. It was a new challenge to work with a female voice, and we are very pleased with the result. The female voice gives a song a completely new atmosphere, which cannot be foreseen or planned.
O: In addition you placed some guitar sounds on the new album. Couldn't you create these effects with more, for your music style, typical resources?
DO: That's what we did, more or less. We use the guitar in a way so that it sounds as if we are using the "effects typical for our music style". It was important to us to use the guitar as discreetly as possible but at the same time very effectively, to use the sound as a special effect or additional power. Many people won't even notice the guitar. We only used it in two or three songs and then, very scarcely.
O: The guitars remind me of something you once told me. You said that sometimes you would rather make guitar music like Clawfinger. Remember? Is that still true?
DO: I have liked guitars for quite a while already. And its no secret that I like bands like Clawfinger. Their rhythm and concise singing always fascinated me. I think the reason why we don't sound like a guitar band is because our roots are electronic music, plus we don't know how to play guitar very well. We grew up with electronic music in the 80's. We always preferred the variety of sounds you can produce. It lets you work quite independently without having to deal with all kinds of different musicians. Especially in the beginning, that can be very hindering. By now we feel comfortable to face the challenge of integrating more people into our music. Like, for example, live musicians. Live drummer and additional keyboard players, like Marco and Daniel, or studio musicians like Nadine, the singer, and Heiko the guitar player, plus the producers.
O: Please tell us a little bit about how your songs are written…Do you develop the music first and then the lyrics or is it the other way around?
DO: First the music. You start with a little idea that you build upon. The initial idea might be very small and it might not end up in the final song anymore. We often work on a song for several months. We get interrupted and don't continue working on the song for a long time. By then we have new ideas that we didn't have when we first started. While composing we sometimes even have first lyric ideas.
O: How exactly does this work? One has an idea, the other one joins and then you both work on it. Or does one of you work on the song from the first idea to the "arrangements" - in the past, "the final mix?"
DO: It's easy for us to work apart because we are very independent with our equipment. Towards the end one another's ideas are worked into a song and we start producing and writing lyrics.
O: For the first time in the In Strict Confidence history you worked with producers, none other than Bruno Kramm and Olaf Wollschlaeger. How did this collaboration come about?
DO: Until a while ago our possibilities were very restricted. One of the reasons was the limited space, respectively, the lacking equipment for a production matching our requirements. Working with a co-producer proved to be very helpful. We could use his objective opinion in some situations where we just didn't get any further.
O: How would you describe working in the studio under these, for In Strict Confidence new, circumstances?
DO: We produce the major part ourselves. You prepare the songs as far as possible, then add additional elements like the singing. After that the songs often sound very different, which means you might have to change the arrangement. That's what was done in the two "external" studios - I provided the pre-produced version with the singing. All that needed to be done then was the mixing.
O: Did Olaf and Bruno give you some ideas and input regarding the songs? How do they like your songs?
DO: Sure. The producer must be into your music, otherwise the cooperation wouldn't make any sense. Both Olaf and Bruno are very experienced producers that have this objective approach. In some cases they were able to point out the essence that already existed in a song but was hidden. Since both are musicians, in a classical sense, they know the basic music rules that you can use when you are uncertain. This work gave us a lot of new ideas and fundamental knowledge regarding working in a studio.
O: Something else: once you told me you don't like cities, you are a rather rural type of guy. But at the same time your music style is more urban or modern. Would you say that you, or your whole band, is old-fashioned maybe even nostalgic? Especially regarding the topics of your songs. Or are you rather modern - like your music would indicate?
DO: I do stay in cities quite often because I am traveling a lot. For these short periods it's very nice. But I am always glad to be back home, where I can enjoy the silence, until the stress hits again. We see ourselves as very modern; looking to the future and open for new challenges.
O: Your lyrics became very pictorial, you are using many metaphors, which seem to attract a rather gothic-oriented audience. Is it your intention to attract a more "black" following?
DO: Our lyrics have always been pictorial. Looking at the feedback we get, that probably attracted a rather "black" audience in the past already. The main part of our audience is people that are interested in lyric. And lyrics have always been a major part of our music. The gothic people are mainly interested in lyrics, that's what they are all about. Other than, for example, the EBM audience, which has completely different interests. Just the sentence "Jesus Christus legt dir Fluegel zu Fuessen" (Jesus Christ lies wings at your feet) in the song "Become an Angel".
O: We have talked a lot about your lyrics, but not about the fact that there are more German songs than in the past. Why is that?
DO: It's nice that you are asking this way, and not just: why are you singing so much in German? I am tired of having to justify myself for writing songs in German. Isn't it weird that German bands have to justify singing in their mother language? I don't think anybody ever asked Depeche Mode why they sing in English. Some of the words I wrote together with Edgar from Melotron, who supported us on our US-Tour as a live musician. His writing is fantastic and he often helped me with the lyrics when I was at a dead end.
O: What sector, category, etc. would you say In Strict Confidence fits in?
DO: We never wanted to fit in a category - I don't like defining things. A definition always restricts you. We are making electronic music with soul.
O: The songs on the album are all very different. Starting with good dancing songs ("Zauberschloss" (Magic Castle), "Kiss your shadow"), over to more experimental drum and bass like songs ("Spread your wings"), then to a ballad ("Stern" (Star)). Everything is there. Was this intended?
DO: It was certainly meant to be this way. Nothing is more boring than having 10 songs that all sound the same. It should be special when you listen to the album. It's supposed to induce many different feelings but be conclusive altogether.
O: What is the story behind the samples in "Spread your wings" (Part 1 and 2)
DO: This song was a real challenge. A kind of multicultural project with people from various different countries. I had people record and send me the same sentence translated into their own language. These samples were worked into one song, which is divided in two parts on the album. We are working on part III already. I am still looking for languages we haven't used yet. The sentence is ""…we are angels with only one wing, in order to fly we must hold each other". It's from the Italian author Luciano de Crescendo. This worldwide cooperation, incl. Japan, Russia, Brasil etc., gives the song, and above all, the actual message behind it, a deeper meaning.
O: What was the most important incident for you this year - beside Aha's reunion and working on the new In Strict Confidence album.
DO: Hope for whatever might come.
O: What was the worst?
DO: Fear of whatever might come.
O: What is the most pleasurable aspect in the life of a musician?
DO: You can create something yourself. Nobody can take it away from you and you can even inspire or bewitch people with it.
O: Any last words for the dawn?
DO: The dawn? Sleeping in is sacred for me. I can be very grouchy in the mornings. It's sometimes so bad that even the dawn gets scared of me...
Anja Lochner (2000)
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