Interview with Rudy was done in 2005.
:: Some time ago I have looked at your Top 11 songs or some kind of playlist and I was surprised, cuz among the bands you listen to I have found projects like HAUS ARAFNA and DER LUTHARSCH. Not many bands that play electro/ idm music listen to genres like power electronics or military pop. So, how do you choose music for your personal taste? What do you value in others' works?
I only tell good from bad music/music WITH and withOUT soul, so you always can find very different musical genres in the :W: Top Eleven. Moreover, I don't see a reason why I should not listen to something that really is endowed and that is NOT consistent with my (political) views.
:: Among your favorites I have found HAUS ARAFNA. They even remixed your Rise Again track. Their music evolved from power electronics and rhythmic noise to some strange mutation of industrial music. If I recall well, I have seen even GENOCIDE ORGAN among your favorites. Do you listen to brutal styles like power electronics, harsh and rhythmic noise often?
Not very often (because you cannot find many good projects in that gener), but sometimes in a club, their tracks really stand out, and so I remember them while choosing my Top Eleven on w.com.
:: What do you think about music where everything is dedicated to hurt listener as much as possible?
I don't see this - "Hurting a listener" is a very adolescent idea ...
:: DER BLUTHARSCH has done a remix of your track and you have done a remix of Albin's work. DB is one of few influential bands that formed a genre that today is called military pop/martial.
... is it? No idea. I don't care about categorization.
:: What do you think about military pop?
I only want to hear GOOD music - You human beings out there should do the same ...
:: Do you listen to HauRuck! releases?
Yes, sometimes.
:: You have done remixes for DER BLUTHARSCH and KIRLIAN CAMERA. Both bands belong to 'bad boys' - their concerts as well as their releases often banned by various leftists organizations and Antifa. As you may know one of the latest DB opuses was almost prohibited in Israel... in this situation many politically correct people and bands try isolate themselves from 'risky' friends.
... really? I see.
:: And they have enough reasons to do that. Many still remember one of the latest Gotik Treffens where some neofolk fans and musicians were beaten by baseball bets... so, have you ever had any problems with politically correct guys who teach others how to live and what to think?
Not at all - What a portrayal.
:: Who was an initiator of your cooperation with Albin? And do you know him personally?
I met him a few times, and in October 2001, there was an occasion to exchange a track.
:: I'd like to ask you about roots of your interest to industrial music. Some musicians were influenced by early works of TG and SPK, some by Coil, some by Kraftwerk and even Depeche Mode. When and how you were introduced to industrial music?
In the middle eighties, as far as I can remember.
:: And was it a love from the first sight or you had to spend some time and get used to it?
A love at first sight, yes - But concerning only a few remarkable tracks.
:: The last question for today. In fact it was asked by one of your Baltic fans. So, do you create songs or you create music?
I create :W:, guys - nothing less!
:: To continue my questions about your musical favorites.... let's imagine that something like WW3 has started and you are moving from your home to some other places and you don't know if you ever come back and if you ever see your place again. You pack stuff and you have room for only 5 CDs. So, you have a choice to grab any 5 albums from your collection and - who knows? - may be those CDs would be the last copies in the world. In other words you can save 5 albums for future generations. What would you choose? You can choose any albums from your personal collection, your own music or other bands and musicians.
Death In June: Oh How We Laughed
OST: Der Untergang
Kraftwerk: Mensch-Maschine
Yendri: Dangerous Thought
and :Wumpscut: Evoke. Ha!
:: Since we have started our chat from remixes I'd like to continue this theme. Have you ever had a feeling that someone's remix of your track is better than the original?
Hard to tell ... well, no. But I often get surprised by the interpretations the acts do. This can be very interesting, you know ...
:: :W: is well-known band with good sales and lots of fans. So do you can feel a certain pressure from industry/fans/medias as an established, respected artist?
No, not at all - I don't care about anything else than the fans, cause they pushed :W: to this position. On the other hand, this should not prevent you from being innovative.
:: I'm pretty sure that, like all young musicians in the beginning of their career, you had some ideas and inspirations. Time has passed and you have released quite a number of great releases and you had time to fulfill all ideas. Has anything changed in your musical approach since those 'old days'?
Nearly nothing has changed. Creating music always is a process of putting some sounds together, even Mozart and Beethoven did this. Your aim should be to do something special (and something about what you say HEY).
:: What inspires you on your new tracks?
ALL :W: tracks come directly from my sub-conscious being.
:: In the latest issue of Stigmata I was doing an article about SPK. During my small research I have found pretty interesting fact. From certain moment Rewell, mastermind of SPK, has found that boundaries of his band do not let him go further. People expected from him certain kind of music and they didn't want any changes. As you know, in the end Rewell began to write movie-soundtracks, because every new movie demands new approach and even sound. Are you satisfied with :W: progression?
So far: yes.
:: Does :W: limits your artistic freedom somehow or you don't feel any boundaries so far?
Of course you are limited in what you are doing if you have a brand, but I would not find the time for any other projects.
:: What do you see as your greatest achievement as a musician so far? I mean do you have some special track/ song you are most proud for?
No - all equal.
:: I guess, most of your time is concentrated around music. Do you have much spare time? How do you like to spend your spare time? How do you rest from music?
I listen to music everyday, but for a REST, we often go out to a club, a Bavarian beer garden, summer, sun, water etc. etc.
:: You 'professionally' listen to music for quite a time. As a guy who runs a musical publication I need to listen to a lot of music as well. And I have found that these days I meet interesting and inspiring albums less and less. It looks like contemporary music dies out.
... are you sure?
:: We have thousands of good and professional releases and at the same time only few of them fill listener with a joy. I remember 80-ies and early 90-ies when we didn't have as much music on the market, but I recall how deeply it influenced me back then.
Keep in mind: You were younger - And that's a very important fact regarding the impact of music.
:: I remember I was listening to some albums for months without getting bored. And in the end I began to write about music. I have asked many people about that and most of them agree with me. Do you feel the same or this sort of opinions are very subjective?
... see above. We should get some babies that find contemorary music better than we can do because of our age.
:: We both belong to the same generation and we both has witnessed quite a number of global events - the coming of new century, destruction of Berlin wall and collapse of Soviet Empire, creation of EU. So, it would be interesting to know your opinion about those "global" changes since you live on "the other side of destroyed iron curtain". What do you think about changes in Europe after it was united in EU?
I am looking forward to the changes that start now. Of course our criminality rate already is rising, but for the Eastern folks, the EU is a very mighty chance.
:: Do you feel any changes?
Not up til now.
:: Do they affect you personally?
Not so far.
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