Besides Wayne Hussey’s first part of his autobiography “Salad Daze”, and the successfully crowdfunded as well as highly anticipated “Paint My Name In Black And Gold” of Mark Andrews, which will hopefully see the light of day in 2021, last year also saw the release of the excellent “Waiting For Another War” biography, covering the first five years of The Sisters Of Mercy – from 1980 to 1985. The announcement of the book came pretty much out of nowhere, the first edition was gone within a few hours, and the world-wide response to author Trevor Ristow’s work couldn’t have been more enthusiastic. Trevor was kind enough to give Post-Punk.com a few insights into what led to the publishing of “Waiting For Another War”, background into his writing, and a small outlook possible Volume 2.

First question right off the bat: Were you surprised by the vast international feedback to “Waiting For Another War”, your book on the first five years of the history of The Sisters Of Mercy?

Yes, I was very pleasantly surprised. It’s easy to think of a book about The Sisters Of Mercy as an extremely niche thing when you live in the US, where the fanbase is dedicated but small. At first, my print run was going to be 100 copies, but the cost per book was prohibitive so I took a gamble and printed 200 instead. I put up a single, short post on a Sisters Facebook group, with no roll-out whatsoever, and they all sold within a few hours. Nearly every copy went to the UK or the Continent. That was my first inkling that I had underestimated the appetite for the book abroad.

When did you first play around with the idea of writing a book on one of your most favorite bands?

I started writing this book at the end of 1999 after I organized my sprawling collection of Sisters cuttings into binders. I sat down at my messy desk at the end of every day and read through interviews and articles and started layering the facts and quotes into a single, chronological document. In retrospect, I can see that the project was a sort of meditation for me. I was living in a tiny New York apartment on the 49th floor of a building in Tribeca. The entire view was dominated by the huge towers of the World Trade Center. My life wasn’t going so well in a variety of ways. My relationship was not great, I didn’t really have a career, and I had a crippling drug addiction. Then one day the World Trade Center came down outside my window. My building was completely enveloped in a cloud of toxic dust. It was perpetual night, pierced only by flashing lights and wailing sirens. All the power went out and to get to or from my apartment I had to walk 49 flights of stairs. Outside, fathers and children and wives were wallpapering the entire city with flyers, hoping for any sight of their sons, mothers, or husbands, all of whom, we soon learned, were already dead. People were openly crying on the street, everywhere. Even my dealer, who I met one night on 2nd Avenue just next to Stuyvesant Park, was in tears. It was an indescribable, desperately sad time for the city, and for me. I think the book project occupied my mind with something other than despair.

What was the initial moment you’ve encountered the Sisters like, and were you captivated right away?

Yes, I loved them from the moment I heard them in 1984 and I became a huge fan right away. I found them at the right time in my life. I like to say I was an early fan, but that’s by US standards. There are a lot of people, especially in the UK, who were into the band from the very beginning, and I do envy them a bit. Luckily for me, a lot of those guys are on Facebook and are generous with their reminiscences. Also, Nikolas Lagartija’s blog “I Was A Teenage Sisters Of Mercy Fan” has done a great job of collecting memories.

Before breaking through, the Sisters were pretty much an underground band mostly known in the UK. In your opinion, what were the first steps that led to the band being at least a little better known in the US?

Hard work and talent. A few people who’ve read my book have told me that I painted Eldritch in an unflattering light at times, that he came off as overly ambitious and autocratic. Maybe it’s my personality, but I never intended any of that as criticism. I admire those qualities in Eldritch unreservedly. I mean, my other great hero is Bismarck. Very little of value is created by committee; it’s almost always the vision and drive of a single man that creates great art. So I tried to present Eldritch as I understand him: serious about his work, unwilling to compromise it, and dedicated to getting it out in the world. I think The Sisters’ success in the US is attributable to these virtues, same as their success in every other market. At least in the period covered by the book, Eldritch made the right decisions with regard to labels, tours, and press. All of this hard work resulted in increased visibility and sales in the US. Of course, the songs had to be great too.

In the 80s, your TSOM fandom led to you releasing two volumes of a fanzine called „Romance And Assassination“. Do you think that these first baby-steps in publishing were the foundation for you becoming a full-fledged book author decades later in your life?

I guess so. It was satisfying to do those ‘zines. They were an expression of my passion, and – as anyone who publishes a ‘zine can tell you – it felt good to create something and put it out in the world. Even 35 years later I am proud of them, primitive as they are.

How would you describe the longevity of the Sisters up until today?

I think the music has the same appeal as all great art: it moves you. Beethoven has endured even longer.

Taking into consideration that their last full-length album was released 31 years and their last official single 29 years ago, what makes Andrew Eldritch and his hired guns so special that he could still, in pre-pandemic times, tour the world at least bi-annually playing in mid-sized and even big concerts hall internationally?

They don’t stand still. As much as I’d love to see them perform the album First And Last And Always from start to finish, they don’t do that kind of thing. They are an active band, writing new material, and reimagining the old material. Sometimes they’ll fuck up something that was perfect – the replacement riff for ‘First And Last And Always’ anyone? –, but at least they’re moving. Eldritch won’t put on the hat again because you can only really get away with that once and then it’s all over.

I read you mentioning in another interview that you also have quite a soft spot for the live incarnation of the band from 1992 to 1998. So do I. What is it about those line-up(s) in this particular period that made you enjoy the Sisters performance?

After the “Vision Thing” tour Eldritch clearly reevaluated his band and its sound. The two-dimensional Rock’n’Roll band that toured in 1990-1991 was, in my opinion, a bit of an aberration for The Sisters, who were always more complex than that. Before 1990 The Sisters blended elements of rock with punk, new wave with no wave, Suicide with ABBA. After 1992 Eldritch returned to those more eclectic instincts. If you watch a video of, for example, the 1997 gig in Philadelphia, you can clearly see it’s a different beast compared to the band that did the video for ‘More’. It’s sleeker, with a more sophisticated, industrial sound that embraces rather than fights the drum machine. Even the band’s presentation had changed. The entire Vision Thing tour looked as if it had been conceived by the in-house production designer at Harley-Davidson. By 1992 all that was gone. The few new songs from the era – “Summer”, “(We Are The Same) Suzanne”, “Romeo Down” – are terrific. Adam Pearson was an outstanding guitarist. Eldritch was in fine form and the entire machine hummed. “Comfortably Numb/Some Kind Of Stranger” with backup singers? It’s hard to beat.

Have you already started working on Volume 2 of „Waiting For Another War“? And if yes, is your plan to cover the period from after the FALAA line-up split up until „Vision Thing“?

Yep. I’m not sure yet what the scope will be though. It depends on how long the manuscript is. However it ends up, it’ll take some time.

In closing: Do you have a favorite Sisters story, trivia tidbit, or anecdote that you’ve never shared before?

Everything I know about The Sisters went into the book, unless it was too personal to print. But there are some more great anecdotes for Volume II.

My traditional closing question: Your hopes, plans, and dreams for the future?

My hopes these days are mostly for my sons: long, fulfilling, happy lives on an unpolluted, clean earth where all modern architecture has been razed.

I wholeheartedly second that. Thank you very much for taking the time to do this interview, Trevor. Best of luck with all your future endeavors. Stay safe and healthy, please.

Thank you, Thomas.

Follow Waiting for Another War:

• Website
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The post A History of The Sisters of Mercy in “Waiting for Another War”: An Interview with Author Trevor Ristow appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

There are these certain kinds of gigs you will never ever forget, even though you’ve attended myriads of live shows in the last three decades. One particular concert that comes to mind personally, would be the first time I ever saw the French Goth legends Corpus Delicti perform live on stage, back in the early 90s at a little showcase festival, set up and run by their first label, Glasnost Records, in the old FZW in Dortmund, in the middle of the Ruhr area, which was the heart and soul of the German Wave and Electro scene in these days. Although the venue was far from packed, Corpus Delicti managed to grab the attention of practically each and everyone in attendance, at least that’s what I remember very vividly, just by their incredible musicianship and magnificent stage-presence.

During the height of The Sisters of Mercy- and Fields of the Nephilim clones, the four-piece from Nice was a breath of fresh air in a sea full of Gothic mediocrity. An anthem-like “Saraband” must be considered as a viable contender for a Top 10 spot in a “Best Goth Songs of All Time” list. The fantastic and complex drumming of Roma, the swirling and luscious guitars, the brooding bass lines and, of course, Sébastien’s distinctive vocals turn this hymn into a song for all eternity that for sure will never ever be forgotten in the history books.

When Corpus Delicti announced their return via social media on February 22nd, the online feedback couldn’t have been more positive and overwhelming. And – naturellement – I simply had to stick my feelers out to reacquaint myself with dear old friends from a shared past long gone by.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first and exclusive interview with Corpus Delicti since their reunion.

Madame et Messieurs, it is an absolute pleasure to welcome you back. The first question is, of course, the most obvious one: What led to Corpus Delicti reuniting?

Sébastien: There was infact a series of events. We never really lost contact, even if we were pretty much focused on our own individual lives. The signing in the summer of 2019 with Cleopatra Records for our back-catalogue was practically the starting point that allowed us to discuss more frequently. One day, when I went to Roma to collect photos to feed our new Instagram account, this special person, who hadn’t touched drums for 23 years, told me that, from time to time, she wonders if she would still be able to play. We started by discussing it a little jokingly, and finally decided to tell the others about it and get their opinion. Chrys and Franck were immediately thrilled.

I know for a fact that there were several offers in the past concerning reunion shows and in general in order to bring the band back together. What is different this time around?

Chrys: The main difference comes from the fact that Roma considered getting back behind the drumkit. We thought she had drawn a final line, and therefore it was, of course, not possible to reform Corpus Delicti without her.

What is your take on the online feedback you guys have been receiving since announcing your reunion? Must have been pretty overwhelming, oui?

Sébastien: Very, very moving indeed, but that’s also why we ultimately came to this decision. We have realized over the past few years that fans are very attached to our songs, always with very positive reactions and comments. So, when the possibility of making them happy and making us happy also arose, we simply said to ourselves: Why deprive ourselves and themselves of it? Especially, given the situation in which the world is in right now, the main feeling should be sharing happiness and enjoying every moment with our fanbase.

Back in the day, when you were active with Corpus Delicti in the 90s, the band was already a well-known name in the international Goth, Dark Wave, and Post-Punk scene. My belief is, though, that throughout the years and thanks to the internet a whole new generation of listeners and followers has emerged throughout the past twenty years that led to Corpus Delicti nowadays feeling bigger than ever. What do you reckon?

Sébastien: This is exactly what is so incredible. Our music has been fortunate enough to having survived the past decades, and presumably to gain a bit more depth over time. We realize that people, who listen to us today, either knew us or saw us at the time, but that the vast majority may not even have been born back in the day and discover us now.

Roma: Even if in the 90s, our tours in Europe and the United States had brought us some international recognition, we can only note with joy that the band has grown bigger throughout the years.

Franck: For example, I was in a club in London last year, before we decided to reform, and a few fans, who were all about 30 years old, came to me and told how much they love Corpus Delicti, and that they were sad not being born earlier to see us live. When we reformed, it was the first thing I had to think of.

How has it been to be back in the rehearsal room together, dusting off all those old classics and performing your songs together?

Sébastien: It’s just… fantastic! From the first rehearsal, even if everything was far from being in place, we found an alchemy which, anyways, always worked by putting the four of us together in a room to make music. In our lives as musicians, there are always people you play with, and it’s nice. And then there are those with whom something else is going on, a different kind of chemistry which escapes us a little, and which lets magic play. This is what is happening between us and we think that is something that, maybe, some musicians will never have the chance to live and feel. We feel really lucky about that.

Franck: We also realize the happiness we feel in playing our songs again, how some have come back with such obviousness as if we had stopped playing them only a few months before. But there is still a lot of work to do before it is perfect.

The ongoing Covid-19 crisis must also have had an impact on your immediate plans if I’m not mistaken. Have you already felt any negative influence since the world-wide outbreak concerning your future plans for 2020?

Chrys: Yes, of course, we had just reached a point during rehearsals where we felt we made a significant, big and new step. Very recently, that is. Stopping rehearsals will necessarily shift what we had planned, but it is essential to protect ourselves and others.

Roma: At the same time, we hadn’t played for 23 years, so a few more months will hopefully not make such a big difference in the end.

Recently you also released a digitally overhauled video clip of “Twilight“, one of the biggest Corpus Delicti favorites, and — in general — you’ve started to be rather active on social media. What is it like to be faced with your old selves in such a vintage video as well as dwelling in your own band’s history via throwback photo posts etc.?

Sébastien: I think we like it, actually. It is always nice to find images of your youth, especially when it is attached to things a little exceptional, like those we have known with Corpus. Concerning said video, what was really moving is that we found the tape of the shooting in a cardboard, unopened for 27 years and in Betacam format, which we had to have digitized. It was an opportunity to finally present a better version of our only video ever, because the one posted on YouTube before was of very poor quality. Traveling back into the past at the time of editing, with all the false takes, miscues, laughs – yes, it was really nice and moving.

What are your upcoming plans for this year? Any exciting news to share?

Franck: Rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals. Apart from that, we hope we will have exciting news to share at some point concerning shows. The idea behind the whole reunion, of course, is to do a few concerts… but really and honestly just selected ones. We will only schedule live dates when we feel ready, and it’s too early for the moment. We still need some more time to find our automatisms.

Roma: You don’t go back on stage after 23 years to present something average. It has to be up to par, so it will take a little time.

Chrys: On the other hand, we have planned to release new merchandising, probably and hopefully after the current crisis. We also know that fans are eagerly awaiting re-releases of vinyl and CDs from our old albums, but that’s solely Cleopatra’s decision. It is something that, of course, will happen somewhere down the line, though. For the moment, all albums have been beautifully remastered and are available digitally. We have also released a compilation of 19 tracks called “Rarities”, that includes B-Sides, demos, covers, unreleased songs. OK, here’s a little exclusive news tidbit for you guys: It is very possible that a live album from the years 1992-1995 will be released in the coming months, containing previously unreleased material only.

The second to last question is also a quite obvious one: Can we expect also new Corpus Delicti material songs thanks to the reunion?

Roma: Right now, in this very moment, we honestly do not know. We have selected about 20 songs from our catalogue we are now currently working on. New songs? That’s something we have talked about, but only talked. We’ll see what the future brings.

In closing, your hopes, plans and dreams for the future?

Sébastien: Our immediate hopes are to get out of this global crisis as quickly as possible, with the least possible damage, and perhaps even something positive coming out of it. Regarding the band, we are simply considering the immediate future which is to resume rehearsals as soon as possible with the aim of going back on stage if everything goes according to plan.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to do this little interview in-midst these strange, crazy and dark times. It is highly appreciated. We cannot wait to welcome you over here and I personally cannot wait to see you again after all those many, many years.

Sébastien: Thank you so much too, Thomas, and to Post-Punk.com. We are true followers of your site.

Thomas Thyssen

Social Links:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Bandcamp

Additional YouTube videos:

Corpus Delicti on “Procession” tour throughout the US alongside Faith and the Muse, Das Ich etc. back in 1994 – video diaries (part 1-5)

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5

The post An Interview with Corpus Delicti appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Mark also worked as a sound engineer and managed Malaria!, and had Nick Cave stay with him when the Bad Seed moved to Berlin. Mark also was part of the group Die Unbekannten, which would later changed it’s name to Shark Vegas, and the band would go on to tour Europe with New Order.

There is too much to talk about involving Mark’s many adventures in the Music scene—so much so in fact, that a documentary about his life titled B-Movie: Lust and Sound in West Berlin 1979-1989 had to be made.

In our interview above, one of our Editors Thomas Thyssen spoke with Mark about his latest album Mauerstadt, which is the followup to his 2014 release Collaborator (a record which contain the original version of Crystal, that would later go on to be the New Order hit).

Mauerstadt contains 2 distinct reworkings of New Order tracks which include the The Game, and Academic, along with the fantastic In Sight featuring The KVB, along with collaborations with Inspiral Carpets, Ekkoes, Queen of Hearts, MFU, and  Maja Pierro.

Tracklist:

1.Mark Reeder – “In Sight” (with The KVB)
2.Mark Reeder – “Mmm Mmm Mmm Ahhh” (with MFU – Umm & Arrggh remix)
3.Mark Reeder – “United” (with Queen Of Hearts – Bonded By Sadness mix)
4.Mark Reeder – “Electricity” (with Ekkoes – Power Surge mix)
5.Mark Reeder & Maja Pierro – “Broken Hearts”
6.New Order – “Academic” (Mark Reeder akademixx)
7.The Inspiral Carpets – “You’re So Good For Me” (Like A Tonic remix)
8.Mark Reeder – “Giant Mushrooms” (radioactive Fall Out mix)
9.Mark Reeder – “Suicide” (with Queen Of Hearts – Killer Queen mix)
10.Mark Reeder – “Mauerstadt” (extended RIAS mix)
11.Mark Reeder – “Heartbeat” (with Ekkoes – Heart Throb mix)
12.Mark Reeder & Maja Pierro – “If You Love Me Tonight” (Mark Reeder Will Love You Tomorrow remix)
13.New Order – “The Game” (Mark Reeder Spielt Mit version)

Order Mauerstadt Now

The post Mauerstadt | An Interview with Mark Reeder appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Simon, thanks a lot for taking the time and granting this interview. “Born Into The Waves”, your 12th studio album in a career that already spans more than 35 years, has just been released. What’s the feeling like?
I’m pleased it’s finished and out there and pleased because, so far, people like it and understand it, and I have the feeling we might have created something of beauty or value. For me, there is also a kind of emptiness – because when we are working on an album I am thinking about the words or the music all the time. So when it’s done there is an emptiness. It’s strange how the cover of the CD/LP and the fact I can pick it up is important too. I like that. I need something I can hold and look at – and I find this record, its card and the illustration particularly satisfying. I’m not just saying that like an advertisement either – I personally seem to need the physical object to help it all make sense.

I wholeheartedly agree. Working on the new album took more than three years, which is nothing unusual for And Also The Trees. Since the band is spread out all over Europe, how do you guys actually collaborate on new songs? Is there any kind of procedure or routine you usually follow?
The fact we’re spread out doesn’t change much creatively – I always worked apart from the other members of the band. What is important is for Justin, who is the main composer, to be with Paul, the drummer, and Ian, or whoever is playing bass, in the same room and developing the musical ideas. Once they have something they are happy with, they send it to me and I start with the vocals and lyric ideas. I am guided by the music totally, it all comes from the music, although the music has to change to accommodate the vocal – so it’s quite a long process. It’s how I imagine it might be for an actor receiving scripts, I listen to the musical pieces and there are some, like “Bridges” or “Your Guess” for example, where I think I MUST have that part, nothing is going to stop me being getting this – and there are others where I have to immerse myself in the music for longer until I find my place. Sometimes there is no place for me.

“Born Into The Waves” is all about love, in its complex and different strains, light and dark, energizing and destructive. What has influenced you and the band, both lyrically and musically, while working on the new tracks, especially taking this everlasting and rather delicate main topic into consideration?
The theme of “the love song” came from when Justin presented me with the first four pieces of music – he just said “They are love songs, from different parts of the world” – so I kept that in mind – but it was more of a contemplation that strict brief, like an undercurrent. There are no traditional “love songs” on the album but it was interesting exploring the emotion and realizing the endless possibilities it suggests. We hardly scratched the surface but still, I think its presence is there and can be felt. The “different parts of the world” suggestion was actually equally important as we wanted to give a sense of place and distance. Of course you never know if your listening audience is going to pick up on these things, they are ideas, concepts, that we play around with.

To me personally, you’re one of the most fabulous lyricists I’ve ever read and listened to in all of, let’s call it alternative music. And “Born Into The Waves” further cements that legacy, at least in my eyes and ears. I especially love “Hawksmoor And The Savage” and “Seasons And The Storms”. Would you mind to elaborate a little on said two songs?
That’s very kind of you, Thomas. “Hawksmoor And The Savage” is unusually surreal for me. One way of understanding it is as a kind of writer’s journey down the stream of consciousness, as close as I’ll ever get – I hope – to writing a song about writing a song or about the creative process. But, as is often the case, the words work in other ways – even, in this case, as a way of presenting strong, single images which the listener interprets in his/her own way. “Seasons And The Storms” was difficult for me, it’s an upbeat tune and I found that any contribution I made to it was having a negative, sombre effect. So I made up my mind to write some words that were uplifting and positive. About happiness or beautiful things. Everything is rising or shining or smiling. Almost. And then, when I tried it all out, damn it, it sounded melancholic. Certainly more melancholic than it was supposed to sound, a bit like an excerpt from a Virginia Wolfe novel in a way. But it works, I’m happy with it anyway.

AATT also played their very first shows in Eastern Europe, for e.g. in Ukraine, Lithuania and Romania, as well as their debut in Tokyo, Japan since the last album came out. How much of an influence did these concerts have on the new material, if any at all? How was the reception in those countries?
They are life experiences, and they have come about because of our music. They heighten our awareness of the cultural differences and similarities, our awareness of different music and art and landscape – and as a musician you are in the privileged position of being able to communicate with people though music. This is quite special and can create an emotional bond. I have a feeling this influences our work in some way. The reception was very good in all these places but different. For example in the Ukraine, no one knew our music, except the promoter and his wife I think, and the audience was made up of students who didn’t know what to expect. Luckily they approved, strongly, and there was a feeling of excitement – maybe even wonder as I guess they had never seen anything quite like us before. And then in Tokyo there were people in the audience who had been following us since our first album in 1984, who knew our music very well but who never expected to see us in Japan and this was great too of course.

None of your albums has quite been like its predecessor, you – as a creative unit – have always strived for something new, something fresh. Would you ever have entertained the thought of still being an active band in 2016 back in 1979 when AATT were founded?
No. We were a group of kids who formed a punk band without knowing how to play our instruments, who thought that maybe we might get up on a stage somewhere and make a noise. Funny how things turned out.

Apart from playing a small tour throughout Europe in March and April, AATT are also going to perform two shows at the huge Wave Gotik Treffen festival in Leipzig. Of course you’ve been linked to New Wave, Post-Punk and later on even Goth in the past, without actually ever fulfilling all the necessary – and very tiresome – genre criteria, but still quite a big chunk of your following stems from that specific subculture and has been very loyal since your early days, if I’m not mistaken. What will differentiate these two festival gigs? It’s going to be your first appearance in their line-up since 2005.
You are right, you can’t easily put us into a genre – it makes us very difficult to ”market” as no one really knows where we belong in the music world. The people from, lets’s call them “the Dark Wave crowd” who like us probably also like Nick Cave and Tindersticks, maybe even Tom Waits, The Doors, Portishead, Mahler, Savages, Scott Walker, Bowie, Miles Davis etc. To be honest, what I think is unfortunate for us is that while we get media coverage from “the Dark Wave crowd”’ we get little from the other, more fashion conscious, areas of the media, especially in Germany and England. This, I believe, is down to marketing and the often less open minded view of mainstream journalists. The support we’ve had from “the Dark Wave crowd” has been instrumental in helping us to stay in existence all these years. At the WGT we’ll play a traditional AATT live set and a “Brothers Of The Trees” set, which is a new project of mine and Justin’s where we mix improvised, experimental pieces with rearranged And Also The Trees songs. Essentially it’s just the two of us but we want to be open to guest musicians both from our usual line up and from outside, so every show will be different. It’ll be our second Brothers Of The Trees performance and I hope more will follow.

How do you actually pick songs for your tour set lists? Is there any chance, apart from the brand-new songs, that also a few of the not-so-often-performed songs of the past will be included? “Prince Rupert” immediately comes to (my) mind, for example. I’d also *so* love to hear “So This Is Silence” live on stage.
Haha, you never know what will happen with Brothers Of The Trees – and neither do I yet. As we have two new musicians playing with us for the next AATT gigs we are rather limited in our choice of songs as they have had to learn a lot. We are always reviewing our catalogue though and considering old songs to be re-introduced. It’s important for us to have the latest album as the dominant atmosphere of the set – this is part of our evolution.

“Born Into The Waves” is being released independently once again by the band. Don’t you think that in this day and age a proper label still can be helpful, or did you simply prefer to have creative control over everything – from A to Z – on your own?
All of our last five albums since 2000 have been released on our own label. This way we have complete control over everything and we prefer to have that independence. Having said that, at the end of the 90s – which I suppose is when the “crisis” in the music business began, there weren’t really any labels that wanted us – not under our terms anyway. It is a lot of work when the time to release a new record comes around and the financial rewards are, well, very, very scant, but if you want to make music, the music you want to make – when you want to make it, there are many difficulties you have to face.

The question might appear a little naive and bland, but I’m always interested in getting to know which song of a current album is the personal favorite of the musician I’m talking to…
For a song to get on the album, we must have loved it at some point, people argue that we take way too long to write our music and we should be more easy going and free about what we put out. And they have a point, but we just can’t seem to go with that way of working. I think my favorite is “Bridges”. For where it takes me.

Let’s end our interview on a rather traditional note: Your hopes, plans and dreams for the future, Simon?
It would be great if we can survive as a band for long enough to write another album.

Thanks once again, Simon. Looking forward to seeing you perform in Leipzig immensely. Fingers crossed for the new album and the tour.
Thomas, thanks to you. Berlin has become a special place for us in the last few years, so I really hope we can play there again soon.
www.andalsothetrees.co.uk

Pick up Born into the Waves Here

TRACK LIST

1 YOUR GUESS
2 HAWKSMOOR AND THE SAVAGE
3 WINTER SEA
4 SEASONS AND THE STORMS
5 THE SLEEPERS
6 BRIDGES
7 THE BELLS OF ST. CHRISTOPHER’S
8 NAITO-SHINJUKU
9 BODEN
10 THE SKEINS OF LOVE

See our previous interview with And Also the Trees here

The post Still on the hunt | An interview with And Also The Trees appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Gentlemen, thank you for granting us this interview as well as your precious spare time. Over here in Germany, it seems as if the Ritual Howls train has been slowly but steadily reaching full steam within the past two months or so. The feedback and response to your wonderful “Turkish Leather” album has been thoroughly positive and sometimes even overwhelming. So my first question is: How are you guys feeling right now?

Great! We appreciate the kind words.

Let’s push the rewind button a little bit and talk about your s/t debut from 2012. How long did it take you to put said record together? And where do you see the biggest differences but also similarities between albums number one and two?

The first record was a combination of Paul bringing songs he was already working on and songs we wrote as a band. We recorded it ourselves and Urinal Cake Records mastered and released it. With “Turkish Leather” all of us collectively wrote and arranged the songs resulting in a more unified sound or I guess you could say; a Ritual Howls sound. We went to High Bias, a studio here in Detroit, to record “Turkish Leather” as oppose to doing it all ourselves.

To me personally, “Turkish Leather” sounds more mature, but also edgier and – in the most positive way imaginable – more “weird”. I wholeheartedly contract a lot of the reviews I’ve read online who claim that Ritual Howls are a Gothic Rock band and “sound a lot like The Sisters Of Mercy”. Deep male vocals? Okay. Drum machine? Check. Swirling and sinister bass lines? Yep. But, and this is a big BUT, there’s a lot more to your sound than this. To my ears, there’s a big cinematic influence to it as well as a lot of neatly mixed Industrial and even Cold Wave-ish elements here and there. How would you personally describe your music? Is there any particular artistic lineage you’d consider yourselves a part of?

Wow, you hit it, Thomas! We feel the same way. Our sound has deep roots in cinematic scoring, but we also love everything from Leonard Cohen to Brain Bombs to Coil to Pharaoh Sanders.

Please be so kind and give us a little insight into the composing and production process of “Turkish Leather” as well as the lyrics. What influenced you while working on the album? And how long did you work on said longplayer all in after releasing your debut two years before?

A lot of the “Turkish Leather” songs began as jams during practice. Once we decided the jam was going somewhere we would record and begin refining it. We create the outlines of songs quickly but spend a lot of time working out the details. The lyrics are written in a similar fashion. Paul gathers a collection of ideas from books and films and then elaborates on the ideas to fit the songs personality. He likes to find characters he identifies with and writes from their perspective, rather than writing from his own. We wrote the record in about a year.

How did you get in touch with your label Felte? And how has your working relationship been so far?

Our friends in the musical community of Detroit kept pushing our music towards Jeff Owens at Felte. He finally saw us play at Glass Lands in New York and decided he was interested in releasing our music. Felte has helped bring awareness to our band and provided immense artistic support. It has been great working with them.

Unfortunately I’ve never had the chance of seeing you guys perform live, but friends of mine from NYC raved about your gig in the Big Apple at the end of 2014. What can the audience expect from Ritual Howls on stage?

Visuals are a large part of our live performance. We use a combination of projections and lights to create an environment to accompany the music.

“Zemmoa” and “My Friends” have become instant crowd favorites at clubs of the cool kind in Germany. Would you ever have thought that people would actually dance to your music?

We always hope people will dance to our music.

Any ideas if Ritual Howls will make it across the pond to the Old World rather sooner than later? I’m pretty sure you could easily book a couple of neat shows across Europe’s bigger towns in an instant.

We are working on something for 2015. We don’t have anything booked yet but are working hard to make it a reality.

What’s next for the band? Are you already working on new material?

We are currently taking a break from playing live in order to focus on writing new songs and filming videos for several songs from “Turkish Leather”.

Since 2014 is about to end in approx. three weeks, what were the Top 5 albums of this year for all three of you? And, in addition, what are your respective Top 5 albums of all time?

Top 5 lists are very difficult, especially because we have three members. Mostly we’ve been jamming a lot of radio Rap, old Industrial, spiritual Jazz and all of the music our friends make, for e.g. Shigeto, Adult., Siobhan, Jamaican Queens, Clay Rendering, Marital Vows and YOU.

Keepin’ it traditional: Your hopes, plans and dreams for the future?!

Keep moving forward. Make it to Europe. Make it to Asia.

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/ritualhowls

https://www.ritualhowls.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9quzC017Kg

The post Raise the Vibrations | An Interview with Ritual Howls appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Bonjour Mesdames, and thanks for granting us this interview. Within a mere twelve months, Minuit Machine has become one of the most talked about Synth Wave acts around. What do you recall from the first meeting the two of you had?

Amandine: Hi, Thomas, you’re welcome, it’s a pleasure for us to answer. Well, we actually met a few weeks after I answered Hélène’s online ad. I had already sent her “Agoraphobia” and we wanted to meet each other to check our, well, compatibility. We had a glass of wine in a bar and I remember we couldn’t stop talking. We had many, many things in common, so obviously, we bonded. I believe we both knew it would work out after this first meeting.

Hélène: I remember, I was really frustrated after this meeting because when I left her, I couldn’t stop thinking “I didn’t tell her this, I didn’t ask her that”. But actually, it’s still like that now, it’s really hard to stop talking to Amandine, even by e-mail we talk every day.

Prior to Minuit Machine getting together, both of you have already been musically active. Hélène, correct me if I’m mistaken, you lived in London for quite some time and were of course part of the wonderful band Phosphor, who delighted us with a couple of superb records. What led to your decision to leave the band and start your own project?

Hélène: I lived in London for two years and moved back to Paris at the end of March 2013. I knew since December 2012 that I wanted to leave London and talked with Nathalie and Jake, my former band members in Phosphor, about my decision at that very moment. But we decided to find a solution, so that we could go on playing together, even if we were in two different cities. And it worked out pretty well! Before each gig or mini-tour, I went to London to practice together, but I still had spare time to have another band in Paris on my own. So I decided to start my own project in June 2013 – and Minuit Machine was born!

Did Phosphor actually also split up because you left London and the band?

Hélène: No, actually it was quite a shock! At the end of October 2013, Jake told Nathalie and me that he decided to leave the band for personal reasons which we totally understood. We didn’t want to go on without him, so it was the end of Phosphor, and I think that it has been really painful for the three of us.

How did the two of you actually meet for the very first time? Isn’t it rather hard nowadays to find a singer for a Minimal-Electronics-meets-Synth-Pop inspired band sound?

Hélène: Yes, it is! And, as I didn’t know anyone in Paris with whom I could have worked, I decided to put an ad online. I didn’t have anything particular in mind. Male or female, it didn’t matter, I just wanted to be moved by a voice. And I have been very lucky that Amandine answered! When she sent me her test vocals on “Agoraphobia”, I cried, because it was the perfect match. I couldn’t believe it, everything became real.

Amandine: I was looking for a new project, and I saw Hélène’s ad. Before I listened to her demo, I had never listened to anything like that. First of all, because I was more involved in Alternative Rock in the past, and also because her sounds are very specific. That’s what I liked instantly, and I felt like it was the perfect fit for me.

To me personally, Cold Wave influenced Minimal sounds appear to be rather timeless. When listening to your first songs and your inaugural “Blue Moon” EP, which led to the release of your debut album, I was amazed by your feel for great melodies, fantastic hooks and a very distinctive style which is usually something that needs to develop over time. How have both of you gotten in touch with Synth- and Cold Wave-music in the first place?

Amandine: Until I met Hélène, I was not even aware of this whole Cold-/Synth-/Minimal-Wave scene. I always loved bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode, Roxette, but I never knew that there was a new generation of bands, influenced by the 80s originals I was listening to. After I met Hélène, I started to listen to Cold Wave bands, and now some of them are in my regular playlist.

Hélène: Like Amandine, I always loved 80s music; Depeche Mode, The Human League, Tears For Fears, but I truly think that often you need to be initiated by someone to a certain style of music For me, it has been Metal. I was in a Metal-Electro band for eight years. I went to a lot of underground parties and danced to a lot of different music: Metal, Electro, Industrial, Cold Wave, New Wave, Batcave. And when my band split up, I realized that I had moved away from Metal for a long time already. I started listening to Synth Wave- and Synth Pop-bands, totally digging 80s music. I moved to London, and when I started to play in Phosphor, I discovered a whole new scene, so many fantastic bands. I finally felt that I was in the right place.

How is a Minuit Machine song composed? What is your working process like? Do the musical ideas always come first? Or is it bits and pieces of possible lyrics that eventually lead to composing a new track?

Hélène: We always start with the music. First, I compose the drums and a bass line. After that, I try to find some melodies for the verses and then the chorus. I need the impulsion of the verse to find a powerful chorus. When I find the right melodies, I spend a lot of time looking for the perfect synth sounds. Everything is about emotion, when I feel really touched by the music, I know that I’ve found something special. When I’m done with a first draft of the song, I send it to Amandine.

Amandine: When I receive a new track, I listen to it carefully, over and over again. It’s actually the longest part of the process, because I need to feel the emotions of the song, so that I can translate them into lyrics. When I’m done, I start to compose the melody, and finally, I write the lyrics.

Hélène: Then she sends me her voice recordings, and I mix the song until we’re both satisfied with it.

The feedback to your full-length debut “Live & Destroy” has been thoroughly positive. What are your personal feelings about the way people have reacted to your output so far? And what are your personal song favorites of the album?

Amandine: We received many positive comments and reviews, both from professionals and people. Who have been following us since the very beginning, so we feel really grateful and confident about the future of Minuit Machine. It’s hard to tell you my favorite song as a listener, but when we’re on stage, I love singing “Alienation”. I think it’s a very powerful track, and even more so when it’s played live.

Hélène: My favorite songs are “Love Is God” and “Ego”, but I really can’t explain why!

You also just returned home from a rather extensive tour in order to promote the album. For e.g. you played in Spain, Germany, Poland, Italy and of course in France. Isn’t it fascinating to a certain degree that, already with your first album, you’re already able to play in so many different countries and cities?

Amandine: It is fascinating indeed! I still can’t believe that we got the chance to play in so many different countries. If someone had told me years ago, I would be traveling all around Europe, for music gigs, I would have laughed a lot.

Hélène: I think it’s a particularity of the genre. A lot of bands start to play in their city, then in their country and only after that in other countries. But it’s a small scene and it’s rather easy to begin to be a little known in other cities, especially in Europe. We always thought that we were a European band instead of being a French band.

What are your most memorable impressions of the tour? And which shows were your favorite ones?

Amandine: Being in three different cities in Europe every weekend was both fascinating and confusing. There were moments I didn’t even know where I was. All in all, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I can’t wait for our next tour. Being on tour is very addictive. I think I will remember forever our first show in Barcelona, because the organizer is an amazing person and made us feel so comfortable. And the last show was awesome, too, because, surprisingly, I fell in love with Zurich. Also the organizers were adorable and I feel like we gave all of our remaining energy during this show as we really wanted to please them. When we finished the show, I was so exhausted!

Hélène: Exactly, exhausted! Haha! We were sick at said last show and we gave everything we had on stage, but it was absolutely awesome! The venue was full and a lot of people in the back couldn’t see us. After the gig, a guy showed me his phone, speaking to me in German and I thought he wanted to take a picture of us but no, he wanted me to take a picture of him and his friends. That I did, and he realized I didn’t speak German, so he asked me if I was in the band that just played. I said yes and they congratulated us, they didn’t see us because they were too far away from stage! But we laughed a lot with Amandine, and I think it was the best part of the tour, we laughed a lot! The first show, and of course this last one, were truly magic but we have a lot of strong memories of each gig and of all the people we met. Each date was unique.

My biggest fave of the album is “Comedown”. Would you mind telling us a little bit more about which topic the song is dealing with?

Amandne: “Comedown” deals with addiction and self-destruction. Moments of pure happiness followed by despair and pain. It’s the way you feel after spending a night out trying to forget reality – no matter what you do to forget it –, when all of the emotions you were keeping inside start to come out of yourself, and it’s simply overwhelming.

Hélène, furthermore you are even running a solo-project nowadays called Hante. Your debut EP “Her Fall And Rise” was just released on Stellar Kinematics. What can the listener expect from said EP? And where do you see the biggest differences between Minuit Machine and Hante.?

Hélène: There are no huge differences between Minuit Machine and Hante. at first sight: they are both Synth Wave with a female voice. On paper, it’s kind of similar, but I can feel a real difference between those two projects. It’s really hard to explain, but I know exactly when I’m composing a song for Hante. or for Minuit Machine. Actually, I’m not using the same synths or sounds. At the beginning, I wanted to make something more electro and minimal with Hante, a more dancefloor oriented music. Then I composed “Damages” and I failed, haha! Let’s say that in the end, the biggest difference is the voice. And not just because they are not the same, obviously, but because in both projects the voice melodies and the lyrics are really important and give the songs their identities.

Are you guys already working on new Minuit Machine songs as we speak?

Amandine: Yes, we are. We have many projects in the pipeline for 2015. And we started working on new tracks a few weeks ago.

Your hopes, plans and dreams for the future?!

Amandine: I feel very enthusiastic about 2015. I believe it is going to be a great year for Minuit Machine. A tour outside Europe would be great, and of course a second album as well.

Hélène: We have so many hopes, plans and dreams, all those you can imagine! And it’s what pushes us forward.

Links:

www.facebook.com/minuitmachine

www.minuitmachine.bandcamp.com

The post A Minute ’til Midnight | An Interview with Minuit Machine appeared first on Post-Punk.com.