Featuring Nelson & Alex from LOKOMOTIV | Interview by Ruud Dreessen aka ebm-industrial.nl | 21 July 2009
Thanks Nelson & Alex that you have found time to give answers to these questions,
Greetings Nelson & Alex could you please shortly introduce our readers your music project LOKOMOTIV? Please fill also a biographical resume about how, when and where... LOKOMOTIV was founded? Tell me more about LOKOMOTIV.
Nelson: Well… LOKOMOTIV was a mutual idea. About three years ago, I had an EBM project called M|A|D, while Alex had another one called STOMPING HATE, we had the idea of combining forces and creating just one.
Alex: Ditto. I had the ease to create the music, Nelson had the voice, attitude and frontman pose an EBM band needs, so... I guess the sum really is greater than the parts. Lokomotiv only is Lokomotiv like this.
What and who are some of your influences in music?
Nelson: I get my influences from various sources. I love old EBM from the 80’s and 90’s, but I try not to copy and try always to sound more actual.
Alex: Honestly my main influences are probably Spetsnaz and Ionic Vision. The rest I guess comes from inside my head, and trying to create something that would make me move.
What are your top ten favorite EBM / Industrial Club Songs of all time?
Nelson: That’s a tough one…
Nitzer Ebb “Violent Playground”
Front242 “Moldavia”
Armageddon Dildos “East West”
Ionic Vision “Push”
Proceed “Kontrolle”
Elite! “Bomberpilot”
Spark! “Det Goda Livet”
DAF “Allen gegen Allen”
Spetsnaz “Darkling”
Kommando XY “Lyfta Skrot”
Alex:
Spark “Vi Vet Va Vi Vil”, damn i'm so in love with that song haha.
AD:KEY “I'm so Pissed Off”
EkobrottsMyndigheten - “Extremsport”
Frontal “Ein Letztes Mal”
Spetsnaz “Reign Of Wolves” or “Faustpakt”
Ionic Vision, Proceed, Elite! and Nitzer Ebb I have to say the same songs as Nelson. I guess we have a somewhat similar taste.
Tell one secret about LOKOMOTIV that you have never told to anyone?
Nelson: We don’t have any secrets. What you see it’s what you get.
Alex: I'm secretly an Alien. Yes.
So tell me a bit more about yourself, such as musical?
Nelson: I have a small musical background compared to Alex. I had various unknown electronic projects like C4 and [H]Stat and I participated on some bands from different genres of music like Poetry of Shadows as lead vocal and PsychoTekTrauma as a live drummer.
Alex: Well, I started studying music when I was a kid, my mother forced me haha then around 17-18 years old I discovered I wanted to do it for myself and started playing in bands. So I've been at it for 10-11 years, and since then I have had or played in around 30 bands or something like that, from metal to rock to folk to ebm. Recently I've been mostly into electro industrial and I never could quit metal, I guess...
What else inspires you to create?
Nelson: Most of the inspiration we get it from personal experiences. Life, goals, ideas and most of all, failures. I think that we tell a story on each song.
Alex: I guess I mostly create music... Because I have to. I have an intense inner urge to keep creating music I like, that's why I have so many bands. It's kind of a catharsis, for me. Through music I get everything out of my chest, good or bad.
Could you tell us a bit more about the origin of your band’s name?
Nelson: Well, I think the band’s name came from [H]Stat’s track “Lokomotiv”. It seemed to us that a locomotive it’s the perfect symbiosis between man and machine. And also, it sounds great! AHAH!
Alex: We wanted to do a band who would be able to keep a balance between melodic work and still be hard hitting EBM. When Nelson suggested “Lokomotiv”, I thought it was the perfect image for the band. As our personal motto says: “Lokomotiv... Get on, step aside, or be run over!!” YEAH!
Could you tell us more about you latest album? Tell us a few words about the concept of this EP? Tell me why this title "Steam"? Tell me about the labels?
Nelson: We don’t have a full length album yet. We didn’t have any approach from any label yet. There was an interest from Electric Tremor, but it was just it, interest. But they didn’t say anything yet. The principal idea behind the EP “Steam” was to promote our work. There are not many bands giving free EP for download, so we did that. The title “Steam” it’s just the title from one of the tracks on the EP. It tell us to not give in to pressure. To let off some steam to not explode and move on.
Alex: Honestly we mainly have kept our focus on making music we like, and have fun doing it. We haven't tried to sell it out to anybody or marketing it. We just enjoy it and go with the flow. Of course, if the chance presented itself, we wouldn't back down from it.
I am looking forward for your full length album.
Nelson: That could take a while AHAH! It depends on the interest of the labels.
Alex: Yeah, music-wise we're more than ready for that, but we'll see. In due time.
What are your views on the current state of this electro scene in Portugal in terms of creativity and audiences? And the scene in other countries?
Nelson: The electro scene in Portugal was better a few years ago in terms of audience. When there was a electro concert with big bands, there were about 300 people tops. A concert with a Portuguese band there were 60 or 80 people, and I’m being optimistic. LOKOMOTIV has had better critics from countries like Germany, Sweden and Italy than from our own country. So you see
Alex: If we take out a handful of people that consistently go to concerts and try to support bands, there is close to nobody, nowadays. It's frequent to play for 10 people, here. We also suffer from a typical problem from around here: the public mostly supports their friend's bands. Well, that goes for any music genre, actually. And since Lokomotiv doesn't try to kiss ass or play coooooool, we're not in the club!
Tell me about lyrical compositions. How does your music creation process work? How do you create a song?
Nelson: The lyrics just come naturally. On some cases, there are lyrics that I make in advance. I just write them and then adjust them to the song. In other cases, Alex makes the music, I listen to it and I make the lyric in a instant.
Alex: Usually I'm the one creating the music and Nelson creating the lyrics. Like I said a moment ago, music is a catharsis, for me. So I think when I'm creating the music there is a dose of “feelings” that get injected into it. Nelson has the ability to capture the song's feel instantly and get it into words. Sometimes, also, Nelson comes up with a kicking bass line or general idea for a song and from that I grow it into a full song. Anyway you put it, I think Lokomotiv works because we are aimed at the same target in this, so things always feel natural when creating the songs, and as such are usually done very fast!
What inspires you to keep growing as a musician?
Nelson: The wish to grow and to make tracks with better quality.
Alex: I have fun making music. My objective is to get better and better and, of course, play live as much as I can, since that's one of the most fun things there are.
What ideas, movements and personalities would you say were crucial for the definition and development of LOKOMOTIV as a creative entity?
Nelson: First of all, EBM is non-political… and so is LOKOMOTIV. The only movement that we care about it’s the EBM scene. Our ideas are of friendship, creativity, hard work and good times.
Alex: Politics, religion and all that are things we keep outside of the band. They influence the band, of course, as they influence ourselves, but there is no direct reflection of them in our work. I think the only factor that really comes into play as an influence of this band are our personalities. We both are extra resilient, want to have fun in music and are driven to do our best when people mostly expect the worst. So I guess we both work on the same wave length, as far as that goes.
If there was one thing you want people to know about your band what would that be?
Nelson: Our good looks? AHAHAH! No. Know our work. And then know us.
Alex: We're in this for the fun, not the fame haha
What do you do in your spare time?
Nelson: I try to stay fit. Lots of exercise and I work as a IT Tech, actually, I’m looking a new job.
Alex: With all my bands and music work in general, I have almost no free time. I really have to get a life, yeah.
What do you think of its intermingling with the electro, Darkwave and EBM scenes? While electro is your main musical pallet, what other music do you listen to?
Nelson: I listen to various types of music. But mainly I listen to EBM and electro stuff. Even when I do my physical workout.
Alex: I try to be as eclectic as I can. The more music I digest, the best I will be able to understand it as a whole, and therefore create my own without just falling into the same set of rules.
How long have you been in the music industry and how has it changed over time?
Nelson: I the only got direct contact with the music industry, since I was involved with [H]Stat and PsychotekTrauma about three of four years ago. Before that, just sporadic contact through bands.
Alex: Well, myspace was a major improvement as a way of getting your work across. In “old times” it all went very slowly, mostly on mouth-to-ear and bands had to play a LOT before even getting the word out of their own country either to the public or even to organizers. Now it's a lot easier.
Please let us know about your upcoming plans, some new releases you like to confirm here. Tell us about your unique style of music. Where do you typically get your inspiration for your numbers?
Nelson: Our upcoming plans are simple. Playing live outside Portugal and releasing our first full length album, but, like I said earlier, it all depends of the interest of the labels. Our syle of music it’s very simple: EBM. You can call it Anhalt EBM or Old School EBM, or like some people already called it Anhalt Combat EBM (!?!) because it seems that when I sing, I seems that I’m going the beat everyone to a pulp ahahah! In our concerts we just want to have fun and give the best we have. Blood, sweat and no tears for everyone!
Alex: The plan is the same since day one of the band: do what we do, go as far as we can with it, for as long as we can, and above all, have fun doing it. That's the main point.
One question about influences and inspirations about Germany?
Nelson : The German scene it’s always a good place to start with. Good bands, good people and food and beer! But we try not to focus our attention just in Germany. Sweden has good bands and people as well. Spetsnaz, Spark!, Body Pleasure… all good bands with great sounds
Alex: I think targeting Germany as a market is something no band in the genre can ignore. It is, after all, the biggest market for this music. And from my experience, it totally pays off. Great people, great public.
And what is next on the Portugal agenda?
Nelson: Confirmed, for now, just two dates. October 2nd, we will be the opening band of the LOCK THE TARGET FEST in Porto (our hometown). The LTT Fest will have great names of the electro scene this year. And on October 10th, we will be in Lisbon for the second edition of the MIPPH EBM FEST with UMM, Tech Nomader, ourselves, Spark and EkoBrottsMyndigheten . It will be great!
Thanks for your time! Great work on the albums and good luck with everything any closing remarks you'd like to say to the ebm-industrial.nl?
Nelson & Alex: Keep on listening to EBM, keep your eyes open for new LOKOMOTIV!
And good luck and keep on the good work EBM-Industrial.nl! Cheers! EBM UNITED!
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