Interview with Albin Julius was done in late 2005.
:: I want to start the interview with questions about your exchange of remixes with Rudy of :W:. What do you think about final result? Do you like the way tracks worked out?
Yes, I am satisfired with the result..either mine for Rudy as well as Rudy`s for me.
:: Working on remix for :W: was. hard? challenging? fun? just a work like any other else.
It was challenging...simply becuase :W: makes totally different music I do, and I like to work on other people`s music - especially if it is another type of music.
:: And what do you think about electro in general? Do you like club-oriented music? Personally, I have discovered a couple of really interesting bands recently, for example PANZER AG - great mix of military stuff and electro rhythms.
Depends what you mean with Elektro. I hate allt his shitty new EBM music a lot...don`t want to name some bands, but guess you know what I mean. I like club-oriented music if it is good dance or even tekkno. I.e. I really like some Euroclash bands, maybe because they use a lot of "old style" sounds. Have to check out the Panzer Ag you mentioned.
:: What do you think about remixing in general? Personally I can name just a few cases when a remix was as good as an original or even better. Do you like to play around with someone else's works?
I like some remixes I heard - there are some really good remixes out there..i.e. one of the best remixes I heard (and even much better than the original song) was a remix done for David Bowie by AIR. But as well, some remixes add a lot of the remixer to the original music. What I dislike are remixes where people just add some beats or stupid noises..but as soon as the remixer adds his personal note...it can turn out a good thing.
I really like sometimes to work on other people`s music..simply as it is something totally different from what I normally do with music. And on the other hand it is as well a really good training for myself, i learned quit some new things through remixing.
:: I recall that a couple of black metal bands released a vinyl with covers of DB songs. I had no chance to listen to the release. What do you think about their interpretations of DB material? Was it serious work?
I like it. Although I didn`t know if it was good B.M - therefore I asked Jorg, our Guitarplayer who comes from the BM szene, and he told me that the songs were really good. It for me of corse was very interresting and funny somehow to listen the final result. It was as well interresting to see that the songs work as "songs"
:: This year you have released first DB acoustic album. What do you think about final result? Everything came out as planned or there are things to improve?
Yes...well, I have to mention that it was not a studio recording but a recording of a life concert we performed. I am really satisfiied with the result, and the work and rehearsing for this concert was allready a lot of fun...of corse as well hard work but it was as well a good and productiv time. It was interresting to reduce the songs onto a few instruments, but I think it worked out really well. We as well learned a lot for the future, conserning performing life without backing...good for the next tour.
:: Do you plan to continue development of "acoustic" side of DB in future?
No. For the next tour we plan to perform without backing tapes - but not accoustic..we use electric guitars and el. bassguitars....and keyboards as well...but it will be performed 100 % life.
Maybe one day, if we get the offer to perform accoustic at a very special place, we will redo this concept, but not on tour.
:: Does this mean DB comes "back to roots" and it leaves industrial music for rock-oriented stuff?
We are a rock band nowadays.
:: The sound of DB changed quite noticeably over the years. How do you see progression of DB in future? Are there things you would like to try in your own sound?
I allways try out new things....and as I am just finishing my new CD, I can tell that people will be surpriced about what direction we did choose for the future.
:: One of your albums was released in Israel, and it caused quite a storm of opinions among your fans. Why have you decided to release the CD in Israel? Is this a form of cultural terrorism or you just do not care where and how your records are made?
I find it more interresting to get my music into new territories - and into other cultural surroundings. Probably we will release a "best of" for the Indian market next year...we have some serious offers. It for a musician somehow might be a little bit important to get the music arround in the world.
:: What a surprise! Indian market? Do they really like DB stuff? As I understand, the country has totally different cultural background.
It is a strange country...and some parts are very European, think it is the influence of the empire. When I travelled there I discovered that there are many different and parallel worlds in India. You can change from high tech into 3rd world just by walking some streets.
:: Your band and your label have influenced and even formed quite a number of followers. As a rule this kind of music (military pop/ martial/ neofolk) deals not only with sounds and melodies, but with ideologies and philosophies as well. European Empire, ancient gods and paganism, Tradition and Conservatism - all those subjects are pretty popular among new wave of bands. How important politics/ ideology for you as a person? Do you really care? How deep your music expose your own views on this world? Or in other words, how abstract is your Art?
Politics/ideology for me is very important - on a personal level. I do not really care on an artistic level..For me there is only good music and bad music...evertheless which message is transported with it...but this is as well due to my working philosophy...for me allways the sound and music has been more important than the message.
But the best is, nevertheless the ideology behind a project might be, is that people are open and accept other point of views.
:: EU goes through hard times these days. France, Netherlands and even Italy seem to reject 'one happy European family'. What are your views on recent events? Don't you think that terror acts in London could be somehow linked to crisis in EU - now people may change their opinion about EU and new constitution?
I don`t think the terror acts will change anything....unfortunatelly. But I am really happy about the French and Dutch votes....I am totally against the EU and hopefully now it will go backward again. More a dream of mine, but if we have no dreams anymore....
:: You have visited Russia quite a number of times. As a guy from Austria you have grown up in atmosphere where all Russians and a Russia had mostly negative image. How much your first impressions of Russia were different from the ones you imagined before visiting Moscow.
Russia the last decades in Austria never had a really bad image. more or less an exotic tuch. I have been in Russia the first time in 1987, and really enjoyed it then. When comming back to St. Petersburg - I een enjoyed it much more. I really love the Russian people, their attitude and life style. Still i think in Russia other things are more important to people than here for "westerners". I think Russian people are more tough one one side, but in the other much more melancholic, which makes an interresting mixture. Besides that, I think materialism is still less important as well.
:: What has surprised you in Moscow most? In positive and negative cases.
Negatieve: too big for me....=)
Positive: everything besides the negative fact....
:: How different your Russian fans from their European comrades?
They are more pure, and much more interrested in the music than the "image" of the band, I think...very same as the Italian audience, I noticed that the Russian audience is more mixed as well as very interrested in the music. Very heartfull and very polite.
:: Do you have favorites among DB/TMLHBAC songs? The most important/ special ones, you are most proud of?
Yes, my favorite is "untitled".
:: Let's talk a bit about your label. What do you consider your main achievement as a label-runner so far? Are there any releases you are most proud of?
Well, in the end every release. HR! 1 allways will remain very special...simply because it is the one who started the whole story, but as well as it is C.O.Caspar, which I love musically as well as on a personal level. As well - I was very happy when CHANGES signed..as they are a group I loved since ages...but, as I said, every new releasw is a special one.
:: What is harder for you - to make music or to release albums?
To make music...definitly.
:: Could you reveal HR! plans for future? Do you plan any special/ surprising releases?
Not yet....right now I am waiting for the new Bain Wolfkind CD, which should arrive tomorrow and is a groovy dark release...I have allready 8 new releases planned till end of the year, let`s see if we manage to get them out in time.
:: Are there any records you would love to release but they were already released by someone else?
Ha! Of corse...some of DEUTSCH NEPAL`s CD`s - and maybe one or two of the BEATLES or The King ....
:: Would you ever release on HR! a band that has opposite political/ ideological views? How much non-musical stuff is important for HR! rooster?
I have...i.e. TERRORITMO comes from the left wing anarchist scene...and I am sure that not every one on HauRucK! has the same political view, but for HauRucK! this is not important.
:: I forgot to ask you about your pre-TMLHBAC musical activities. When and how you came to music-writing?
By accident....we had a band before TMLHBAC, me, Alzbeth and a Guitarplayer, and as he wasn`t as motivated and good as we wanted him to be, we split up and conti nued ourselves as TMLHBAC. But, as well, i have to mention that I play piano since I am 8 years old.
:: My final question would be like this: let's imagine that world is about to end and you may choose any 5 albums that would be saved for future generations. You may choose any albums you value most - industrial, pop, classical, etc. What would you save for our grandchildren?
Brahms - Ein Deutsches Requiem. if you have this, you don?t need others.....
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