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Interview conducted
in July 2002
LATEST RELEASE:
"Mistrust The Angels" |
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| |  | |   | | By Stéphane Colombet | | Photos all rights reserved |
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Two years after their previous album, "Love Kills!", the German trio In Strict Confidence delivers the goods again with "Mistrust the Angels", their fourth, both angelic and demoniac, opus. Between electro-indus, EBM, future pop and dark ambient, the band delivers their richest album so far, a record promised to a world-wide success in the underground electronic scene. Premonition met with frontman Dennis Ostermann for an interview at once realistic and spiritual.
You've met with an increasing success since your beginning. How do you expect "Mistrust the angels" to be welcomed by the audience, considering it seems even more accessible than your previous record?
Of course we hope that the new album will be accepted as well as "Love Kills", even a little better ...we seem to have partially reached this aim by entering the German top 100 album charts and we're hoping to take things a little bit further with the upcoming tour, and see what will happen then.
Your songs are getting richer and richer, and your sounds are getting more complex. Is it intentional? Is combining very dark ambiances and pop structures the key to your success?
The key to success is about work and about growing over years and never giving up. I do not think of success while composing new songs, this would make me deaf for the things I could play. I just do the sounds I like and this seems to sell.
Since the release of "Love kills!", what a work you accomplished within only two years! A new album for Controlled Fusion with the bombastic cover "Hit that perfect beat", three maxis ("Zauberschloss", "The truth inside of me" and recently the amazing "Herzattacke") with many previously unreleased tracks, plus many great collaborations notably with Melotron and Daniel Myer on HMB project. Where do you find all the inspiration for such a perpetual renewal?
I need output...I got too much input sometimes, so there is need for expression. an album is the big thing in our life, that's for sure. Maxis are a little bit more simple, if some people are helping to do the remixes, etc. But you are right, it's been a very productive period over the last two years.
Could you tell us a few words about such collaborations? Why and how? Do you have other similar plans for the near future? Which musical artists would you like to work with?
My favourite artist for a cooperation is definitely Alan Wilder, I love his works, especially his post-Depeche Mode work. Melotron have been very good friends for years; I've worked and tried to support them since their first cd production.
Talking about collaborations, one of the main differences on "Mistrust the angels" is the strong presence of female voices on several tracks. How would you describe this "angelic effect" (not really heavenly in your case...)?
I've always loved working with female voices, as singers or just spoken words artists. They give the songs a complete new aura and harmony.
Talking about angels, these "human birds" are everywhere on your new album. What is their message, if any? They seem to come from hell, which is quite unusual for angels... Do you believe in angels and more generally in spirits who could watch over us?
Angels are something like the hope in your life. It is not too important if angels really exist, but it is important to think that they could.
Your lyrics have been written in Dutch, English and even French, which is unusual too. Why this choice?
We want to speak to as much different people as possible. Sometimes it is just the music of a language that makes the tune sound right. We wanted to do some experiments with "strangers". If an English-speaking person listens to French words, he might feel even more sensitive to the concept of alienation. It is another image to explain loneliness, maybe.
Minuswelt seems to be a division of Sony Music in Germany. Why did you leave Bloodline to get signed up on a major? Anyway, regarding your last art covers and packagings, your new label seems to believe in you a lot...
Minuswelt Musikfabrik is my own label. Sony Music, together with Soulfood, is the distributor for Germany.So it was my decision to blow up the whole artwork concept and packaging. We split with Bloodline just like with Zoth Ommog before, cause they didn't pay us in due time, we didn't get any advance and hundreds of other reasons... so it was time for a change and the decision with the own label was one of the best we did with isc.
I'm sure you already know a part of your future works. What could be your next musical orientations?
No, nothing special. We are happy that the album and single release is finished, so we are preparing the German tour. It's just planned a new single-ep release for the year, plus maybe some back catalogue.
Many fans would like to know if you will re-release (and remaster) your first tape productions on CD.
Yes, we are thinking of re-releasing some old stuff of the tapes plus unreleased stuff. But there's no planned release date yet.
You are one of the leaders of the electro-industrial scene. What do you think of your other "competitors".
Some we love and some we hate…
Any chance to see you on stage in France, maybe in autumn?
We are thinking of playing some shows this year in France. It´s not very easy regarding the production costs of a tour, but we try our best!
Final and personal question: who are "the prayers of the mute" (my favourite song)? Don't you think that the world suffers from our silence?
I can hear words of revolution! Hmm, sometimes I think one must open their eyes and ears and then react or act. But in this song, the concept was more about empty words and promises, too many bad experiences with the wrong people... Fuck you all, you know who you are. | | | | | | | |
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