Featuring enrico |from SCHALGKRAFT Interview by Ruud Dreessen aka ebm-industrial.nl |27-10-2009 19:39
1- Thanks enrico that you have found time to give answers to these questions,For the first question will be - do you know the netherland? enrico could you please shortly introduce our readers your music project SCHLAGKRAFT
Of course, I know where the Netherlands is but I have never been there. Have you heard of the rumour that Amsterdam has got more bridges than Venedig? I didn’t believe that! Anyway...
At first I have to thank you for your interest in my music project and for doing that interview! SCHALGKRAFT is an EBM-project from Frankfurt, Germany and currently I am the only bandmember.To my girlfriend, family and all EBM listeners around the world. EBM-united!
3- Please fill also a biographical resume about how,when and where... SCHLAGKRAFT was founded in ..... give us a more background information?
SCHLAGKRAFT was founded in November 2007 and the first song I made was “Der Verführer”.
4- How did you start to make EBM and what is EBM for you?
I started with making music when I was 14 years old. I used a Commodore AMIGA 500 and the old venerably sequencer Noisetracker. Those were days!!! At the same time I started learning to play drums. But one day in the late nineties I sold my drum set for my first PC and a Yamaha synthesizer.
5- What and who are some of your influences in EBM?
The Music of the eighties is my biggest influence and the sound of the old C-64 games is one of my favorite music styles im listening to. I am a big fan of that 8-bit chip music scene.
I grew up with bands like F242, FLA, Skinny Puppy, Nitzer Ebb, Leaether Strip or 16-Bit.Those Bands are big influences for me.
6- What are your top ten favorite EBM / Industrial Club Songs of all time?
Front 242 – Quite unusual
The invincible Spirit - Push
Front Line Assembly - Target
Ministry – I prefer
OFF – Be my dream
Psychopomps - Godshit
16 Bit – To fast to life
Manufacture – Armed Forces
Dupont - Behave
Shift- Electrofixx
7- Tell one secret about SCHLAGKRAFT that you have never told to anyone?
Actually I didn’t want to tell it to anybody but my music is electric too ;-)
8- So tell me a bit more about yourself, such as musical?
I just started with a re-aducation after ten years in the German army and now I hope to find more time to work on my music.
9- By the way do you like my questions? tell me what you think about it! ;-)
I like your questions, good mixture of musical and general questions concerning our music scene. The support for unknown bands like SCHLAGKRAFT is just great.
10- What is the main idea, the message you want to leave to people who listens to you? What is your motto?
There is no special message behind my music. Each song has got another background or another story. SCHLAGKRAFT is not a band with one slogan.
11- What’s the name of your band? What’s the origin of that name? Have you changed the band’s name before?
Never had another name for my project and when you try to translate the name “SCHLAGKRAFT”, then “Impact-Force” is suitable.
12- 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 "Harte Zeiten / Harte Herzen"? Tell us a few words about the concept of this?
“Harte Zeiten / Harte Herzen” means “Bad- Times / Brave-Hearts”. The titel stands equally for friends and comrades standing up for each other in bad times.
There will be a song of the same name.
13- Are you a member of any music organizations?
No.
14-How is the current promotional tour going for supporting this album?
There is no tour planed yet.
15- What do you think of a modern EBM and about EBM scene?
Modern sounds are always ok, but when it results in TBM or HELLECTRO or something, my understanding comes to a quick end. I can’t listen to that stuff. That is my opinion!
16- Our usual question - what is EBM for you?
In the musical way it means everything to me! I have never listened to any other music and that makes me proud. I was at the age of 12 when I heard about that EBM music, I borrowed two CDs (F242-Front by Front and Click Click-Wet skin curious eye) from my neighbour. Since that day I could..nt stop listening to EBM.
Sometimes I even felt compassion for people who don’t know about EBM ;-) hahaha....
17- What was your best live experience so far?
No tour and no experiences so far...
18- Please list the name, age, school, and respective instrument of each band member
Enrico, 29, (lyrics, vocals, synth, drums and programming), school ....äääähhhhh
19-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?
Can’t tell you anything about the music scene or the audiences in other countries.See number 24....
20- you have very nice album..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?
Creating a song is always slightly different, especially at the beginning. Sometimes I first have the lyrics in my mind and sometimes I know the music first. But when I start to work on the music, the bassline with a basic drum-rythm, is always the first part in order to check whether if the lyrics fit into the beat or not.Afterwards I fill in the percussion and my favorite drum-sounds. In the end I create an audio-track from the song and add the vocals.
21-What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Electronic Body Music
22-What do you do to chill out?
Listen to the great music of the eighties. I just cant get enough of that!
23-So what are their main influences as a band at the moment?
The will to make my own music!
24-What is currently inspiring your material as an artist? tell me all about the EBM scene of Germany ?
Unfortunately the EBM scene in Germany is divided today. In East Germany you get the old-school EBM listeners, whereas in West Germany people rather listen to the modern stuff like TBM and Hellectro wanted. Frankfurt and the well known cd-label of the eighties were the center of German EBM but today nobody here wants oldschool. Can’t explain that!
25-Do you think that people from the music press didn't expect you to grow up musically?
I didn’t have experiences with the music press so far, but I am not afraid of it. There will always be people who like the music or not.
26-what is the key to making music from SCHLAGKRAFT and what inspires you to keep growing as a musician?
2007 was the first year we went to the “Familientreffen” of Electric-Tremor. I was amazed by the EBM peopel in East Germany, they really have EBM in their blood, heart and mind!!! That weekend in Sandersleben has given me the last push to start working on a real project, and SCHLAGKRAFT is the result!
27-How do you see the future of download / Copyright in area of goth-EBM industrial music ? What are the best ways to develop it in your mind ?
I think the music download is gaining importance, more in the mainstream than in the independent sector. It’s a good opinion when the listeners don’t collect CDs. They can pay for the prefered song or album. The EBM-Industrial scene couldn’t work with download only, think of all the limited editions and digipacks. Tell me any other music scene which have such great limited editions! I am collecting EBM-CDs since years and I want to have the finished product in my hands. For me music downloads are only interesting when the songs aren’t published on CD.
28-If there was one thing you want people to know about your band what would that be?
There is no other secret!
29-Please let us know about your upcoming plans, some new releases you like to confirm here
There will be a new sampler from Electric-Tremor out in December named “THE WORKING MAN” and SCHLAGKRAFT is a proud part of this release.The double CD is limited to 150 copies only! Take a look at the Electric-Tremor shop!
Have to thank Electric-Tremor for their support and what they did for EBM in Germany.I hope they keep on working for a loooooooong time! The next step is a mix for my friends from Tech-Nomader.Jordi had that idea to remix each other. We just exchanged our samples! And there will be new demo songs uploaded to MySpace soon!
30-It has been a pleasure to interview you on your musical activity,Well,any last words to your ebm-industrial fans?
If your heroes from eighties dissapoint you with thier sound during last decades, listen to the new EBM-bands because they won’t! We don’t ruin our music style in any self discovery process. And there are fortunately good comebacks too :-)
31-and what is next on Germany agenda
To visit concerts and festivals as often as I can.
32-thanks for your time! great work on the albums and good luck with everything.How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
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