Featuring Alexander Marco / SaturmZlide Interview by Ruud Dreessen aka ebm-industrial.nl 01 December 2009
Album Trailer of the Industrial/Noise Project SaturmZlide - "smiling children". Out on Fich-Art. Video by Heidi Krause
For the first question will be - do you know the netherland?
No, not really, but in 1992 I attended some crazy computer party close to Tilburg. We were 3 people, carrying through the country an Amiga, a screen plus some beer and actually went there by public transport, that was a real adventure. At that time people formed groups within the Amiga scene, our group was called ‘Damian’. Actually, it’s a funny question, many musicians presented their protracker songs over there. I think, during those times I started producing Electronic Music. Maybe i will put some Photos in my Gallery *lol*
Greetings Alex could you please shortly introduce our readers your music project SaturmZlide
SaturmZlide is the result of my odysseys and experiments in the world of Electronic Music. I would call it Industrial Fusion.
Please fill also a biographical resume about how,when and where... SaturmZlide was founded in ..... give us a more background information?
Besides my other musical projects in approximately 2002, SaturmZlide was just some kind of attempt.During those times, I seemed to dive into the black scene, more or less and I stumbled upon an ad in the paper by a female vocalist who was looking for a producer of Dark Wave Electro.Without any experiences with this kind of music,I took on the production and created some tracks.This project was named after the vocalists band which was Corona X and was rather settled in the field of Future Pop and TBM.Actually,this was not really my preferred kind of music and thus the co-operation came to an end after a short while.I continued the project instrumentally and recorded the album Invasion Sun1 under the name SaturmZlide.Well, Invasion Sun 1 was buried in the cupboard shortly afterwards….which was actually okay (LoL).In 2005 I started to experiment again in this direction and had a first attempt on industrial tracks with the Frozen Clones EP. The name Frozen was quite suitable as the entire project came to a halt quickly and the CD is now in my freezer among deep-frozen vegetables, where it shall remain forever ;-) About two years later I restarted SaturmZlide. Invasion Sun 2 was created – this album was much more geared to Industrial and EBM than the first recordings. Anyway, the digital sales bombed and I wanted to quit SaturmZlide for good. However, in 2007 I met a very special person, FrlLinientreu from Wilhelmshaven. FrlLinientreu quickly took me by the hand and introduced me to a scene which had been concealed to me, somehow. Up to this point of time I had never heard of events such as ‘Maschinenfest’ and ‘Elektroanschlag’ . Presumably, I would have been more successful with my experimental soundscapes and ambient projects I have been doing since 1994, within that scene.I owe her a lot and after being welcomed and supported by so many great people it just feels like home. Meanwhile, FrlLinientreu has not only become a good friend but also my musical companion with who I launched the Industrial Project Schlauch 2 Elf. We already had 2 gigs which went very good and now we are looking forward to the album which shall be released in 2010.Meanwhile, SaturmZlide is settled in the Industrial and Rhythm Noise Field. The album Smiling Children was released in 2009 on Fich Art and (hopefully) there will be some gigs in 2010. Regarding the musical direction I would rather speak of Industrial Fusion as I plan to include Rock elements in future. SaturmZlide will remain a project with changes.
How did you start to make Industrial / Experimental / Live-electronica and what is gothic for you?
Regarding the first question I can’t say much more than the above but Gothic to me is just a masqued ball I do not really know what to do with.
What and who are some of your influences in Industrial / Experimental / Live-electronica?
Well, meanwhile that’s difficult to answer. I think that rather the 90’s had an influence on my development, to give some names….Ralf Hildenbeutel, Richard David James, Richard Bartz, Jeff Miles, Tricky. From the year 2000 onwards Cevin Key, Coil and especially the King Crimson Projects had a great influence on me.
What are your top ten favorite Industrial / Experimental / Live-electronica Club Songs of all time?
I still do not know enough of them. Actually, there are no specific songs to me. There is simply too much and I rather listen to music from the Progressive and Jazz Rock Field. To name just a few I would regard as some of my favourite of this style….Skinny Puppy, Coil, NIN, Asche, Synapscape, Monokrom, S.K.E.T., FrlLinientreu, Oszillotom, Triebwerk, Mandelbrot, Matmos, Xabec…there are several more.
So tell me a bit more about yourself, such as musical?
Well, SaturmZlide is just one out of several projects/bands I have. Since the early nineties I am engaged in Electronic Music productions whereas I have never committed myself to a specific style. During the first few years I dealt with music varying from Hardcore Techno and Hardhouse to Trance and Ambient. I was on stage with projects such as Haloid, Panic T., Spaceflake and Kwanlon.I also used to be a DJ. By-and-by my sets became more experimental, as well as my productions. There have been releases under Optophone and Organic Records. In 1997 I stopped making club-suitable music- at least with regard to my productions – and entrenched myself in my sound laboratory. While many creative pieces had been made in the following year, I was drawn to the bass guitar again after a long pause. I’ve been playing bass guitar since 1989 and in 1997 I started playing with the Grunge-Rock Band Transitional Living, with who I had several appearances before the band split up three years later.
In the same year I widely stopped my activities in music. On the one hand there was no label for my sound experiments, on the other the search for a new Rock Band wasn’t successful, in spite of several jam sessions. Most of them just played the same as all others did. As the club scene wasn’t anymore what it once had been, I no longer worked as an DJ either. After this creativity break I was searching for a band which would combine Rock and Electronica, for about a year already. I found the Hamburg based Fusion-Rock Band Dildo?Prego! who changed my musical thinking completely. After about three months of sessions, exchanging band members and settling in the Hamburg rehearsal room quarter Billstedt we started creating structural Progressive Rock under the name Hawking´s Ahab. While I enjoyed more and more playing keyboard, I additionally started working on Ambient and Electronica Projects again. There were gigs following in Hamburg and environs with Hawkings Ahab until the band finally split up in 2004. Thereupon, I formed several improvisation projects with former band members, FreeJazzers and Rock musicians and had several recording sessions. Projects with the names zOUNDTOLOdhGY and lavakiYno were born. During this period of time SaturmZlide was created as well. In 2008 I established the CD-R label aZtralcaZino. In the course of time I plan to publish under this label, beside others, the zOUNDTOLOdhGY, lavakiYno sessions as well as many of my exp tracks and bootlegs.Christmas 2008 Hawking´s Ahab reformed and every then and now I play sessions and on recordings. We will see what’s coming in future.
By the way do you like my questions? tell me what you think about it! ;-)
It is many questions….so many memories are just crossing my mind. Right now I am very grateful thinking about so many special moments.
What is the main idea, the message you want to leave to people who listens to you? What is your motto?
Nowadays, I don’t think about these things anymore. There’s actually no message or motto. During those years I learned to act without any kind of definition and without thinking about it too much. Neither I do go on stage in order to show how super my music is, but to just live those moments. A gig is important, but I almost rather enjoy the things around a gig…travelling, backstage, assembling equipment, to meet new people. The experiences you have backstage are always amazing. You could write a book only on backstage coffees. No, really, to be serious, I don’ know how my music is being received, as SaturmZlide is not so popular, but it’s possible that I am wrong with this. I just keep on going and wait for what happens in future. So, regarding this I could say that my motto currently is: do it! The more I plan or the more I want to do something, the less happens.
What’s the name of your band? What’s the origin of that name? Have you changed the band’s name before?
The name SaturmZlide is an art name which I can’t really explain. It has something to do with cosmic energy and surreal philosophy of life. Well, I divulged the story of SaturmZlide already ;-)
where did the concept come from? and whats planned now that your album is finished? or anything else you're working on? Tell me why this title "First Demo"? Tell us a few words about the concept of this
Regarding the production, the process is always different. SaturmZlide is a progressive project which is making an intermediate stop in the Industrial and Rhythm Noise Field. I only mention it like this because I plan to try out a couple of other phases of music. Where this will lead me to is uncertain. To me it’s a fact that I won’t leave it to Mechanical Dance or Club Music. I rather wait to let my preference for sound journeys and surreal world view flow into this project. Spiritual philosophy and my artistic way of thinking will have a stronger influence on the next album. I am working on videos, artworks and other interesting things which shall be added to the next project. I want to tell a story, but this process will take a bit time. While Smiling Children is rather Industrial with a hint of Disco, the successor album will open up different worlds, even though Industrial will play a certain role. Schlauch 2 Elf, however, is and will rather be based on Dance and Party, although there will be included a good portion of Comedy.
tell me about the label Fich-Art, aZtralcaZino?
aZtralcaZino is some kind of self distribution and the name of my studio. There are some more pieces of information available on my page
www.myspace.com/aztralcazino . Fich-Art is the label of Asche. I am very happy about this co-operation and I am grateful for his support. You should really have a listen at Fich-Art, they have some super acts over there!
How is the current promotional tour going for supporting this album?
There is no real tour planned at the moment, I generally rather take little steps but do this thoroughly. My music is rather not destined for a great bulk of listeners.
What do you think of a modern Industrial / Experimental / Live-electronica and about gothic scene?
As I said, Gothik is not my field and the Industrial Scene has meanwhile become a kind of family.
Our usual question - what is music for you?
Life – Motion – Therapy. Here, I have the possibility to realize my artistic ideas. First of all I love the equipment, means Synthesizer, effect devices, etc. While others spend their money on automobile parts or PC tuning I do collect mostly small devices and love to cable them and to experiment. Playing keyboard and bass is also a wonderful way for me to conciliate myself with the world.
What was your best live experience so far?
Oh, there have been many nice and above all crazy moments. The most recent is actually the last gig with Schauch 2 Elf.I was on stage with FrlLinientreu, completely dressed as firefighters and sweat started running down below our helmets on the second piece of music.Already after a short time I noticed that most of those people in the audience stunningly stared at those two lunatics up there and I just thought of how much I was making a fool of myself right that minute. However,it was great fun and people really started partying then.Anyway,the most important experience so far was a gig with my Progressive Rock Band Hawking´s Ahab on a festival in 2002.We played in the forrest on a large stage with psychedelic video animation in the backround.In front of us were Hippies, campfire and colourful busses.There was no roof above us, but only the view to the stars.On the stage there were carpets and lamps from living rooms.At 2 a.m. we played a structured 90 minutes piece with 156 parts of Progressive Rock-Avantgarde-Jazz-Funk-Metal-Fusion, so that some of the people down there were just blown away.That piece of music had really no break and when some called for an encore others started getting scared. Actually,we as well! Some completely crazy experiences all across the festival made the whole gig perfect.The beds were in the small food and beverages room,there was a falafel trader who looked like Jesus, inclusive his clothes and a guy who did the wine-tasting all by himself due to lack of interest, etc.Another unforgettable experience was the gig in the ‘Logo’ in Hamburg. When plugging in something exploded in my keyboard.The funny thing…it worked though.Additionally,I had to go to work the following day.
What are your views on the current state of this electro scene in Germany .in terms of creativity and audiences? And the scene in other countries?
Well, as I am actually a newbie in the Industrial Sector I can’t really say much about the deeper philosophy or the driving force. By affiliating to this group I travelled a lot in the past year, met many nice people and I am astonished and glad about how much support you receive there as a musician. Due to the fact that I used to lump together everything which had to do with Industrial and Electronica, I never had the chance to really become acquainted with this field as it is settled on the so-called black side. After all these years and above all after the 90s where techno was the main thing, this was the most superb experience in music.Many people there are just theirselves and don’t wear masks as in other fields of music. That’s my first impression, anyway. I think I will need more time to really familiarise there.
you have very nice numbers`and many many more tell me about lyrical compositions what you can tell about the done work? How does your music creation process work? How do you create a song?
That’s always different. Songs emerge from ideas when I am on my way, when I make experiences and they result from experiments.
The current album is a little step towards Industrial. You live and learn.
What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
The genre of music: always Fusion. Research in sound and the merging of different styles of music I regard as my destination of making music.
What do you do to chill out?
Sleeping, breakfast and evenings with watching DVD with my girlfriend.
So what are their main influences as a band at the moment?
The world. The cosmic energies, which are full of information and the things that happen around us. My aim is to visualise things that are being overlooked.
Do you think that people from the music press didn't expect you to grow up musically?
There are many things I don’t think about anymore.
27 – How do you see the future of download / Copyright in area of goth-Industrial / Experimental / Live-electronica music ? What are the best ways to develop it in your mind ?
Most of the people think that the download sector is the future. That means nothing to me. I much rather sell 3 CDs on a gig than 10 downloads. All this is nothing compared with a human being who after a gig says that he liked the set.
Please let us know about your upcoming plans, some new releases you like to confirm here
I can say that I will stick with Fusion and experiments, but video art will definitely play a role in the near future.Furthermore, the next album could be quite interesting, the fragments are already developing.
It has been a pleasure to interview you on your musical activity,Well,any last words to your ebm-industrial fans?
Thank you, amazing how much you can find out about yourself *lol*.Last words? Hmm, be prepared for anything with SaturmZlide!
and what is next on Germany agenda?
To finish two albums. SaturmZlide and Schlauch 2 Elf :-)
thanks for your time! great work on the albums and good luck with everything.anyHow can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
Thank you to.
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