Just a few impressions from a beautiful full moon’s stroll that Ayuma and me did just a few days ago. The pictures were taken in our village and in a nearby little town called Herzogenaurach.

Spectrasonics, one of my favourite software companies, has recently released their new virtual instrument Omnisphere, which is really some kind of monster in a very positive way: It is one of the most inspiring and genuine software instruments I’ve ever come across, and in just a few days time it has become almost indispensable for my musical work.

Omnisphere comes with a vast core library of over 40 GB with thousands of sounds that can be tweaked, combined and manipulated in any way you want. The sounds are not just your average workstation core library sounds, instead some of them are entering spectacular new territories like f. e. the burning piano, which is - as you might have guessed - the sound of a piano being set on fire (which is exactly what those weirdos at Spectrasonics did to achive that special sound). Also the integrated arpeggiator is just brilliant and very easy to handle, the FX-Rack contains everyt bloody effect section you ever wanted and sound browser is simply amazing, because it allows you to actually find the sounds that you’re looking for, which is something that can’t be said for many similar virtual instruments.

You see, I’m really excited about Omnisphere, and so I can only recommend it to every songwriter, producer or musician around. Check out Spectrasonics’ website for more information here.

By the way: G-Force have released a new version of their famous M-Tron, which is a very great and useful virtual instrument, too. It is my favourite secret weapon“ for those moments, when most digital sounds are sounding a bit too clean: those old Mellotron soundbanks add exactly the kind of vintage dirt that will make your songs breathe!

Next thing I’m looking forward too is Camel Audio’s new synthesizer Alchemy: it’s not released yet, but the teasers on their website do sound amazing.

As promised a few weeks ago I just added two very early Antichrisis-tracks (demo versions of 'Nevermore' and 'Nightswan') from the archive. Strange stuff, indeed - but for more infos you’d better click here.

Ayuma and me had a really wonderful wedding in Nuremberg (strange enough it took place on Lammas with a New Moon and a Solar Eclipse - that’s what I call Good Omens!) with an amazing party the day after (thanks to all our friends and acquaintances for making our wedding party such a great and beautiful event) as well as a more than brilliant Honeymoon in the Swabian Highlands (special thanks to Franky’s in Tuebingen for providing a splendid and hilaious evening).

As soon as we’ve returned from our honeymoon I’ve started working on some new tracks: one of them is called ˮCrossing the Line“ and can be found on this website’s Music-section - hope you’ll like it (even if its lyrics don’t deal with the subject of marriage at all).

I've been pretty busy during the last weeks working on lots of new songs and preparing things for our wedding day. Yes, Ayuma and me are getting married on Lammas, and I'm really looking forward to the ceremony as well as to our wedding festivity the next day... and of course to making this noble woman, entrancing inamorata and faithful friend my wife!

I’ve also started digitalizing all my old tapes, which means that heaps of previously unreleased material still has to make its transition from ye good ole analogue tape to the digital shelves of my Mac. As soon as everything’s indexed, transformed into mp3 (Sorry for that, Harry: I know you would have preferred Ogg Vorbis for some strange reasons, although I think you just love to have audio data with a file extension that bears resemblance to the name of a mad Klingon high priest!) and thoroughly inspected in terms of aural tolerance, I’ll be putting a reasonable amount of Antichrisis’ early stuff on this website.

In the meantime I’ve received some very nice and interesting emails from Arseny from Moscow and Robert Negut from Bucharest which I haven’t replied to yet: Just a little more patience, guys - as soon as Ayuma and me have returned from our honeymoon, I’ll be returning to you, too.

I’ve also had a few requests for my current top ten which accidently turned into a bloated top sixteen - but that’s personal charting for you:

Soko - I’ll Kill Her
The Killers - When You Were Young
Royksopp: What Else Is there?
Silver Jews: Suffering Jukebox
Flooging Molly - Punch Drunk Grinning Soul
Attila the Stockbroker - And I Wont’ Run Away
The Raveonettes: The Christmas Song
Franz Ferdinand - Walk Away
Jens Lekman - Black Cab
Santogold: Say Aha
Midnight Choir - The Train
Bruce Springsteen - Long Walk Home
The Pack: King Of Kings
The Monks: He Went Down To The Sea
The Thermals: An Ear For Baby
The Mountain Goats: Hast Thou Considered The Tetrapod

And one last thing: Next month we’ll be proceeding with the recording sessions to 'The Legacy Remains' with Steffi, our new singer, so this long postponed album will be on its way, too.

The only answer to China's oppression of the Tibetean people would be:

1. Cessation of all trade relations between Europe and China
2. Boykott of the Olympic Games 2008 in Peking

It's time for any European politician to show which side we're on: either support a nation's struggle for self-determination and democracy, or forget about freedom and democracy in the name of market globalisation!

Please support campaigns for Free Tibet at http://www.freetibet.org/ or http://www.tibet.org/.

We've published a new track in our "Music" section: It's called "Ocean's too Wide", and it's from the pre-production of our forthcoming album "The Legacy Remains". For more infos click here.

Finally we've found a new female vocalist for Antichrisis: Her name is Steffi Breiting, and we are most delighted to have her in the band. Steffi is an experienced singer and has worked with a lot of bands, her latest project being "Moods of Ally" (see also http://www.myspace.com/moodsofally). Steffi's entry means that we will at last be able to proceed with the recording sessions of our forthcoming and long anticipated album "The Legacy Remains", hence I am confident that this album (which got delayed several times due to the changes in Antichrisis' line-up in the past) will see its definite release this year.

Endlich haben wir eine neue Sängerin für Antichrisis gefunden: Es ist Steffi Breiting, und wir sind hocherfreut, sie mit an Bord zu haben. Steffi ist eine erfahrene Sängerin, die bereits in vielen unterschiedlichen Projekten und Bands mitgewirkt hat, unter anderem auch bei "Moods of Ally" (mehr Informationen dazu unter http://www.myspace.com/moodsofally). Dank Steffi können wir die Aufnahmen zu unserem bevorstehenden Album "The Legacy Remains" endlich fortsetzen, weshalb ich auch zuversichtlich bin, daß dieses lang erwartete Album, dessen Veröffentlichung sich aufgrund der Besetzungswechsel in der Vergangenheit immer wieder verzögert hat, in diesem Jahr endlich fertiggestellt werden wird.

Please visit this website and support the people in Burma!

Question: I've noticed that Katja doesn't appear on your website any more. Did she leave the band and does that mean that Antichrisis is without a female vocalist again? If so, have you already found a new vocalist or will the new album be without female vocals?

Sid: Yes, Katja has left the band a few weeks ago for personal and musical reasons, but without any hard feelings. We're still good friends and she's focusing on her work with Gaia Returns now, thus we've started looking for a new female vocalist, as the interplay of male and female characters has somehow become indispensable for capturing the spirit of many of our songs. Luckily a friend of a friend (big thanks to Markus Eck for his procurement) recommended someone he was sure to be just the right replacement, which is why I'm already in contact with the possibly new Antichrisis songstress - but we'll let you know as soon as everything's wrapped up. Anyway, "The Legacy Remains" will definitely contain female vocals...

Question: I checked your website, but I couldn't find any information about a new album with new songs. Are you planning to release such an album and will it be available in Poland?

Sid: Yes, we will be releasing our new album "The Legacy remains" as soon as possible. Although there have been some serious drawbacks in the past few months, we're still confident that everything will be ready and done just in time. Besides, our new distributor Twilight will take care that all future releases will be available worldwide as well.

Bruce Springsteen's new live album "Live in Dublin" is simply amazing: I just watched the DVD-version and I'm still flabbergasted by the spirited cast and the professional performance of this bunch of brilliant musicians: Must be a dream to have a backing band like that!

Bruce does a few new versions of some old classics like "Further on up the Road" and "If I should fall behind", but although these versions are very different from the originals, they're nevertheless fantastic. It's also great to hear and see that the musicians on stage really seem to enjoy themselves - and no wonder, because Bruce never pretends to be "The Boss" (which is anyway a rather unfitting nickname for an unpretentious musician like him!), as he invites every member of the band to show his/her skills! All in all an album/DVD that can't be recommended too much! I just wished I had been at one of these gigs!

Our label Reartone has just released Fjoergyn's long awaited and highly recommended new album "Sade et Masoch": Check it out here.

"An aural psychosis of doom, downfall and demise blended with an interstellar Dark Metal overdrive from terrifying outer space! Lyrically arousing as well as of abysmal artistic profoundity, "Sade et Masoch" is an opus magnum of hypnotic powers that no-one can elude! An indispensable chest of treasures for fans of Eisregen, Dornenreich and Type O Negative" 

(Markus Eck/Sonic Seducer)

Question: I live in Brazil and I can't find "A Legacy Of Love Mark II" anywhere in the record stores here. Is there a way to get it via mail order from Germany?

Sid : Of course - "A Legacy Of Love Mark II" is distributed world wide by Playbaker. You'll find the reasonably priced album at Playbaker's online store here.

If sunlight was floating like streams of honey
it still could not match your smile

If seaweed was made of gossamer lace
it still could not amount to your sweet caress

If clouds were as gentle as a butterfly's kiss
they could not compete with your tender lips

And even if I would lay in a bed of flowers
in the cottonwood's shade
this could not keep up
with that single moment
when I hold you in my arms

Together we walk through this garden of love
We dance on its funeral pyre
And I swear by the stars up above
that you are my only desire

Love was like a pastel
in those days of yore
So delicate and flimsy
Feathery colours
like summer clouds in a Devon sky

But the first rain of autumn
made its colours run
and the tempests tore
our slender sketches apart

Thereafter I travelled
so far and long
in search of what was lost
until I realised
that pastels cannot withstand
the storms of life

These days
we are carving our love
into a statue of wood
More strenuous
than working just with brush and easel
Addlepated by its timberish tenaciousness
and irritated by splinters
few and far between

Though unfinished yet
this solid sculpture of ours
is rooted deep in fertile soil
thus we won't have
to shield it timidly
from gale and hail
because we can rely
on its artistry and firmness instead

Dear Antichrisis-Devotees!

Bad news first: The release of "The Legacy Remains" will be delayed due to business matters! As the promo campaign for "A Legacy Of Love Mark II" has just started recently (which means that those being unfamiliar with Antichrisis up to now will perceive "A Legacy Of Love Mark II" as a brand new album release of May 2006) , it would be rather imprudent to present "The Legacy Remains" within the next few months. I'm afraid you will have to wait for X-mas or January/February 2007 for Antichrisis' new output...

Nevertheless this gives us the chance to release an album full of great material, as so many new songs have been written and recorded hence only the finest tracks will make it on "The Legacy Remains" - it will definitely be worth listening to!

Besides, everything else is working out fine. After a rather long and cold german winter, spring has finally sprung and I'm looking forward to some more recording sessions with Antichrisis as well as Blindflug, a german speaking project of Bernd and me.

As I do enjoy performing live, I've also put up another side project with Bernd, Flo and Katja, Antichrisis' new female vocalist, called Folkstone Gang. We're doing both cover versions as well as our own stuff, and if you should happen to live in the Nuremberg area, you might want to see us live at

4th July 2006, Irish Castle, Nuremberg
16th December 2006, Pegnitzbühne e. V., Nuremberg

Keep in mind that the aforementioned gigs are Folkstone Gang- and not Antichrisis-gigs, which means that only a few Antichrisis songs will be performed. Nevertheless I'm sure you'll enjoy a very special evening with good songs and a very "folky" atmosphere!

Those of you just interested in Antichrisis will have the chance to see Antichrisis Unplugged (i. e. Katja and Sid only) live on stage at the Balladentag on 24th September 2006 at the Kofferfabrik Fuerth. This event is organised by Florian Baessler, a highly appreciated singer/guitarist, and it'll give you an overview of the singer/songwrighter-scene of my home area. As it is some kind of festival, the playing time of each artist/band is restricted to 15 minutes, notwithstanding Katja and me will play a fine selection of old and new Antichrisis-material (By the way: Blindflug Unplugged will also appear on stage). Please note that Antichrisis Unplugged will already start at 3:20 pm; admission is free!

I guess that's all for today: A very merry Beltane to all of you and many thanks for your loyal support! And maybe I'll be seeing you at some of the aforementioned gigs...?

Winter's last stand
adamantly defending his claim
but nevertheless
preparing to abdicate
as the first rays of sunlight
herald spring's advent

What a long dark winter it was:
Its petrifying coldness
stalling my heart

Germinating like early snowdrops
breaking the glacial deadlock
and memories fade like morning dew
leaving tracery on a frosted window

But with the light of a new day
only runlets remain
and the reminiscence of an afterglow
is all that is left
as I set out for higher grounds...

Of course I've made mistakes
insignificant ones
as well as fatal ones

but then
I'm only human:

I believed when I should have doubted
I dared when I should have been cautious
I've been chasing dreams when I should have come down to earth
I got weak when I should have shown strength
I did surrender when I should have fought on

But there were also
a few things I did right:

I believed though I had my doubts
I dared where no one else had the heart
I tried to live up to my dreams even if it meant to overcome sanity and reason
I could be weak where everybody else expected me to wear a disguise
I did let go when hanging on would have caused nothing but pain and devastation

and even if I should fail again
it'll be with dignity

but then
who gives a damn?

Staying awake all night
telling jokes and anecdotes
talking about
faith and music
love and death

I wish I could deal with all this
the way you do:
Waiting for a new day dawning
while relying on your friends
to help you make it through the night

And as much as I
enjoy your company
and our hopes and dreams and visions
I'm afraid it won't suffice
to accompany me through this darkness
and dry these cold and bitter tears

Milton was right
there is such thing as paradise lost
and once you've lost it
there is no going back
no more!

Snow-padded meadows
lie cold, clear and untouched;
An ultimate emptiness
like a world created anew

Out of this scantiness
arises new life
once springtime has come again

But how can I think of spring
when I don't even know
how to survive another winter?

What remains
of a heart
that has been torn and shattered for too long?

What remains
and what for shall we endure
when pain is everything we've gained?

What remains
when everything we ever wanted
turns out to be just an illusion of love?

What remains
of hope and confidence
when our last resort has been carried?

What remains
and who will stand
when there's nothing left to fight for?

What remains
when we have to realize
that some wounds never heal?

What remains
when the memory of you withers
and my last song fades away?

What remains
when the last ray of sunlight disappears
and we're left in the darkness?

All that remains
like a whisper in the wind
is the legacy...

Back on the stage again
Mister Tough Guy,
Mister Sid,
all dressed in black

With a body language saying
"Don't mess with me
or it'll be
five knuckle shuffle time!"

With a gaze
like a warning sign:
"Keep out!"
in capital letters!

Roaring like a beast
a red hot pumping power-pack
pale with fright inside
that someone out there
might detect
how fragile I am

But I have to protect
this heart of mine
so painstakingly
because you almost killed it!

Getting divorced today
almost 3 years after we parted
was a piece of cake

Getting you banned
from my mind and dreams
was the hardest part
and took so much longer
than it took the judge
to declare our marriage
as being dissolved

Quite a few things in my life
have turned out fine
since you were gone;
Some went even better
than I would have wanted them
without you

But I still haven't found
the peace of heart
and bliss that I felt
when you lay in my arms...

All of a sudden
my life has turned
into one of Bruce's sad songs:

"I had a job, I had a girl
I had something going, mister, in this world"

"Our love has fallen around us like we said it never could
We saw it happen to all the others but to us it never would
Well how could something so bad, darling,
come from something that was so good?"

"Now those memories come back to haunt me
they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse?"

He also wrote some wonderful love songs like:

"Should we lose each other in the shadow of the evening trees
I'll wait for you
And should I fall behind
Wait for me"

But I suppose he didn't write these lines about the both of us

Fireworks paint the sky
with sparkling flowers of light
while I stand alone
amongst the cheering crowd

Someone's tapping on my shoulder
"Happy new year, mate!" he bawls
Another one shakes my hand,
and there's bear hugs and kisses

Of course they wish me well
"May all your wishes come true!"

Funny - but how could they know
that there's just one wish left
in the fathomless abyss
of my heart?

Dear Antichrisis-Devotees!

A new year has arrived and we are getting on fine with the production of our new album "The Legacy remains", which will see its release in the first half of 2006 on our very favourite label Reartone Records. We have recorded 23 songs until now, but only 12 or 13 will finally make it on the album; yet a definite selection will be made not until all songs have been mixed.

Over the last year Bianca, our former singer, has left Antichrisis, but meanwhile we have found a more than equal successor in Katja, who has just received her baptism of fire at Bluehouse Studio and who really fits perfectly into the band.

Of course these line-up changes did cause some extra work, as all those tracks already recorded with Bianca have to be re-recorded by Katja, but nevertheless this won't affect our time schedule for the release of "The legacy remains" that much.

I am glad to introduce a new webmaster as well: Bernd has just taken over Jens' job (by the way: A big "Thank you" to Jens for his great work - he really deserved to be relieved). Besides, Bernd is also a very gifted singer and songwriter (check out his work at http://www.bew-music.de and http://bew-music.blogspot.com), and we recently brought a german-speaking side project named Blindflug into being, that already sounds very exciting.

Thanks for your feedback, your unfailing support and your loyalty!

Best wishes and a happy new year to all of you!

Question: Antichrisis were a band always sort of veiled in mystery as to the people behind the monicker. Your debut was a creation of one Moonshadow, while on the second record there are completely different people. Can you throw some light on your line-up development and also what's the line-up now?

Sid: Well, It may come to you as a surprise, but Moonshadow and me are just the same person! Moonshadow was my pseudonyme on "Cantara Anachoreta", but because of some drastic personal experiences I decided not to use this name any longer and picked up my "normal" name again. I also wanted to make clear that the audience shouldn't focus on the people behind Antichrisis, but on the music of Antichrisis itself, and with letting Moonshadow "die" (on a metaphorical level) I tried to make clear that I do not want any idolization or anything like that - All that counts is the music itself!

So "Cantara Anachoreta", Antichrisis' first album, was done almost on my own, with support of former guest-singer Willowcat. That cooperation wasn't very satisfying on the long run, so I was searching for a new female singer who I found in Lisa. She did a very good job on Antichrisis' second album "A Legacy of Love", but as she had been just a guest-vocalist as well, the search for a permanent member went on and found it's end when I met Dragonfly, who turned out to be the female vocalist on “Perfume”.

Näx, the "Prince of Pipes", joined Antichrisis shortly after the release of "Cantara Anachoreta", and we got on together very well from the beginning, musically as well as personally. He is a great and gifted musician who has become a vital part of Antichrisis since then and who likes to do weird interviews.

While Dragonfly left the band in 2003, being replaced by Katja Bartsch in 2005, the other guys appearing on "Perfume" (Jens "Gnu" Bachmann on guitars, Tilo "Waran" Rockstroh on Keyboards and Kugator on drums) mneanwhile have become permanent members of Antichrisis, too, and appeared on "A Legacy of Love Mark II" along with classical singer Frank W. Hennig.

Question: What do you think of politicians?

Sid: Let's have a look at good old Douglas Adams, for he has always a lot to offer concerning life, the universe and politics:

"One of the major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather who manages to get people to let them do it to them.

To summarize: It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: People are a problem." (taken from "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", Chapter 28, by Douglas Adams).

There's not much to add to this...I deeply distrust every politician, because I do distrust everyone - no matter if left- of right-wing - who think that governing people is their vocation - in many cases they turn out to be just a bunch of power-hungry villains... as Bob Dylan once put it: "Don't follow leaders - watch the parking meters"; or even more radical with the words of Kevin Rowland of Dexy's Midnight Runners: "The only way to change things: Shoot people who arrange things!".

Dear Antichrisis-Devotees!

Life is a peculiar thing: somehow it always seems to turn out different than one thinks. Everything that appeared so consistent and inextinguishable yesterday will easily vanish like morning dew in tomorrow's sunlight. Stupidly pain has the vice of firing artistic creativity (at least as long as it doesn't exceed a certain level where it turns into plain agony - been there, done that, threw away the T-shirt...), so that Antichrisis' musical inspiration will be provided for much more than just the next few albums (beware of sarcasm here).

But apart from your mastermind's emotional life Antichrisis is developing magnificently: The reason for the delay of this website update was primarily due to the fact that I moved from A to B and that it took me a while to get everything sorted out and reconnect to the wondrous world of the wide web again. But now I'm back on the track working vigorously on the production of our forthcoming album "The Legacy remains".

In this regard there'll be a quite a few surprises and exciting news withing the next few weeks, but I'll hold that back until the next update for reasons of anticipation.

Due to your requests comes my current Top 10-list that accidentally turned into a Top 30-list because of my musical indecisiveness:

"Teignmouth" - Patrick Wolf
"I'm waking up to us" - Belle & Sebastian
"Turning of the Tide" - Midnight Choir
"Love hurts" - Emmylou Harris & Gram Parsons
"We oh we" - The Hidden Cameras
"Smile at Everyone" - Minor Majority
"Understanding Jane" - Icicle Works
"Balkon gegenüber" - Kettcar
"I lost it" - Lucinda Williams
"One thing" - Runrig
"So called Friend" - Texas
"When you were my Baby" - The Magnetic Fields
"Head on" - Pixies
"Uncertain Times" - The Raveonettes
"Serenade" - Dover
"Goodbye Horses" - Q Lazzarus
"If I told you you were beautiful" - Minor Majority
"I will not forget you" - Sarah McLachlan
"To win just once" - Saw Doctors
"The last Beat of my Heart" - Siouxsie & The Banshees
"Live before you die" - Social Distortion
"Reconsider me" - Moneybrother
"Buried Bones" - Tindersticks
"Neon Moon" - Midnight Choir
"Common People" - William Shatner
"Please don't leave" - The Ramones
"Like a Cannibal" - Mila Mar
"Ode to L.A." - The Raveonettes
"Landungsbrücken raus" - Kettcar
"Come back from San Francisco" - The Magnetic Fields

And don't forget: The limited digipack edition of "A Legacy of Love Mark II" is still available at Playbaker at a bargain price!

In the end there's a quotation of victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson that crossed my mind while I was going through recent occurrences:

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892)
"In Memoriam" (1850)

Best wishes to all of you - and stay tuned!

Dear Antichrisis-Devotees!

Finally the time of waiting is over!

“A Legacy of Love Mark II” has been released recently on Reartone Records.

All songs have seen a vast musical enhancement, they've been re-recorded and re-arranged from the ground. Both cover and booklet habe been re-designed to match the songs and their contents in a much better way. The new editing of the entire album allowed us to add the formerly unavailable “End of December” as bonus track.

Overall the album sounds much more consolidated now: The new interpretation of its songs has succeeded in taking the exhausted predecessor “A Legacy of Love” to a new level of musical and emotional experience.

In order to avoid the the price policy of the greedy music biz, we have chosen a different kind of distribution channel, hence for the time being “A Legacy of Love Mark II” will be available through www.playbaker.com only. This allows us to offer the album much cheaper than your average digipack edition.

That’s all for today - we’ll keep you informed about further developments!

Best wishes to all of you!

Dear Antichrisis-Devotees!

Mission accomplished: We've just finished re-recording and remixing “A Legacy of Love”! The album will see its release within the next few weeks (digipack with bonus-track); we'll let you know in due time about its definite release date.

The album will be called “A Legacy of Love Mark II”, because it's actually meant to be an update to the original “A Legacy of Love” album of 1998. We just left the vocal parts and a few instrumental solos untouched, whereas everything else got completely rearranged and re-recorded by the new Antichrisis line-up.

I was never completely satisfied with the original "A Legacy of Love"-album because Antichrisis didn't sound like a proper band at that time (of course it couldn't because I had to play most instruments on my own). But as the songs on this album deserved a second chance, I thought that it might be a good idea to let the recent Antichrisis line-up re-record the entire album so that you'll get an idea of what Antichrisis sounds like today. And as our fans demanded a re-issue because "A Legacy of Love" got out of stock a long time ago, we'll be killing two birds with one stone.

My gratitude goes to Jens, Tilo, Kugator and Näx: “A Legacy of Love Mark II” wouldn't have become what it is without your artistic skills and creative input!

Dear Antichrisis-Devotees!

We’ve been working busily on the final completion of the pre-production to our new album as well as on the re-release of “A Legacy of Love” during the last weeks, although I have to say that “re-release” doesn’t quite take the bisquit as we’re not just doing your average remixing and remastering-job, moreover we’re re-recording guitars, drums and keyboards completely: The E-Drums we used in 1998 got already thrown out and were replaced by Kugator’s excellent drumming.

All in all “A Legacy of Love” will be completely revised, edited, restored, remixed and remastered before it’ll see its re-release by the end of the year. Those who already liked the original album will presumably go haywire with this new edition!

Many of you have written emails in which they were complaining about the missing “My favourite Top Ten”-section that was part of our old website, hence a selection of my current favourites right here:

Life fades away - Roy Orbison
Don’t play that Song (You lied) - Ben E. King
Levi Stubb’s Tears - Billy Bragg
Warning Sign - Coldplay
Brand New Start - Paul Weller
Love is Only a Feeling - The Darkness
Mary’s in India - Dido
With Whom to dance - The Divine Comedy
Duke of Earl - Gene Chandler
Boys of Melody - The Hidden Cameras
Sleep Well Tonight - Inspiral Carpets
Ascension - Kirlian Camera
Du sälde vära hjärtan - Lisa Ekdahl
Pillar of Davidson - Live
The Gift - Midge Ure
Dark Island - Mike Oldfield
Whale - Rescue Mission
Hear My Song - Vernon Midgely
Ring on the Sill - Cowboy Junkies
Until the Morning Comes - Tindersticks
Ciega Sordomuda - Shakira
All My Little Words - The Magnetic Fields
These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding
Shakin’ all over - Johnny Kidd & The Pirates
Say Hello Wave Goodbye - David Gray

That’s all for today - we’ll keep you informed about further developments!

Question: What comes to your mind when you think of the following items:

God?

Sid: A hoity-toity nincompoop who should be voted out of office straight away as he does obviously a lousy job!

Goddess?

Sid: The promising opposition candidate I'd be voting for!

Question: Many gothic metal bands have used female vocals very well but also in excess nowadays. How do you feel about it? What is the main difference between a female and a male musician to you?

Sid : Yes, it seems that the Nightwish-syndrome has taken over the gothic metal-scene, quite often in order to disguise the male singer's incapacity, but that point doesn't concern us at all: I am a pretty good vocalist myself, but I like the idea of integrating a female voice because of the different colour that this vocals provide to the big picture of Antichrisis.

This doesn't necessarily mean that I'd prefer the male voice being responsible for the aggressive or powerful parts of the music whereas the female singer does all the soft and lyrical bits - this kind of stereotype is much too predictable and boring, hence I'm simply avoiding this mode of operation.

The difference between a male and a female musician? I don't see any difference in general because in my book musicianship doesn't depend on sexual categories, just on artistic ones - and if it comes to singing, it's merely reduced to the fact that there are not that many men able to sing soprano, whereas women hardly reach the pitch level of the bass.

Question: What comes to your mind when you hear the word christianity?

Sid: Christianity means nothing to me but a religious fraud: Though it is pretending to be about love, it sows the seed of hate and intolerance - and a damn lethal seed it is as one can tell by the track of blood christendom has left in history!

That doesn't mean that I'd disdain any person who's a christian believer...nope, everyone's free to believe what he/she likes as long as they're not harming any other living being; and if they think christianity's their cup of tea then good luck to them: It certainly isn't mine!

Question: Do you think that love is far away from hate? What is more difficult: to love or to hate?

Sid: I think love and hate cannot be put on the same level with each other, because while both being undoubtedly powerful emotions they are nevertheless of completely different derivations: You have to have a reason for hating someone, but you dont have to have a reason for love! On the other hand, love can easily turn into hate sometimes, as I've tried to explain in "Trying not to breathe" with the line "I hate you and I love you for what youve done to me": If the one you love leaves you, then two strong emotions are fighting against each other within yourself, and this is nothing but a horrible outburst of devastition! Being torn apart between love and hate is a most dangerous process, because it can easily end in self-destruction: Someone broke your heart, but you still love her/him because of the good times you've shared, and at the same time you hate that person because she/he has the power to make you feel so tremendously bad - it's like being a small iron particle in the centre between two strong magnets: Unable to move and unable to escape... Nevertheless I think it's much easier to love than to hate, although I don't deny the fact that hate is a very vigorous and vital force in human life; but as you have to have a cause for hating someone or something - unless you're a complete weirdo - hate is a rational-based state of mind, whereas love with its ability to strike you sometimes out of the blue is definitely a spiritual force. If you have a reason to hate someone, then do it - justified hate has to be lived through with all its consequences in order to keep your inner equilibrium, and you'll feel a whole lot better after you've gone through it. But hate can only be an ulterior motive for a certain time, it has to find its end at some stage, at the latest when it's achieved its object - otherwise it'll burn you out and leave you all barren, whereas love can go on forever and ever without doing any harm at all: There is no end to unconditional love because it is the divine impetus of life itself: The more you love, the more you'll obtain!

Question: People say that when you fall in love you do not notice anything around any more - was it the same to you when it comes to your first love?

Sid: To me it's exactly the other way round: When I am in love, I perceive everything around me much clearer - as if I had lived in a two-dimensional world before and now suddenly entered a three-dimensional reality! The sun seems brighter, the nights more enchanting, the moonlight much softer, the air sweeter... everything seems more intensive, more real - but at the same time more magical as well.

Question: How do you feel when you hear about pornography with children through the Internet nearly every day? Do you think that one day it will be common to watch those pictures on TV?

Sid : I do hope not - but this male dominated society is a rather sick system, and there's already enough abominable pornographic stuff in the internet and on TV right now! In my point of view, pornography in general is the documentation of the abuse of every female being; and the fact that not only a few men are turned on by pornography and prostitution shows that a majority of the male gender is neither able to develop a healthy sexual self-awareness nor to perceive women as autonomous human beings.

Question: Which are the main feelings you want to transport through your music? Would it be melancholy or beauty - or both?

Sid: The main idea behind Antichrisis is that music and lyrics as an undividable entity should be a reflection of my soul, a mirror of my dreams, my visions, my desires and my emotions. Hence this music is of very personal and intimate matter, for it reveals my inner self completely.

Melancholy and beauty are both part of my world of emotions, as well as love and hate, sadness and joy, fear and hope, strength and weakness, desire and lust, depression and confidence... it would be impossible to list all the emotional states I am or have been going through, but nevertheless they're all reflected in my songs - and that's exactly what I want to transmit to the listener: The heart and soul of me, my emotions with all their shades and nothing else.

Question: Antichrisis has released 3 excellent albums so far, but hasn't achieved that much recognition. Do you have an explanation for that phenomenon?

Sid : Thanks for your compliment. I guess the point about Antichrisis being not that popular as it deserves to be (at least in my humble opinion) is that Antichrisis is not "trendy" enough! It's not easy for the audience to "consume" our music, because the music itself challenges a listener's open-mindedness! If you listen to a Cradle of Filth-album for example, you'll always know what the next song on the CD might probably sound like, because bands like CoF as well as many others are strictly limited to just one musical style... but if you listen to an Antichrisis-album for the very first time, it's simply impossible to predict what'll come next - or would you have expected a Pop-tune like "Nightswan" after the Intro ("How can I live on top of the mountain?") on our 2nd. album? And even if you think you might have got the idea behind Antichrisis, then the next album will be completely different from the last one...

Question: Have you ever played live? I would be really interested in your gigs which must be a great experience. Another band I know once mentioned that their dream would be to play in an ancient church. Have you ever thought similarly about this as well?

Sid : We have actually been playing live when touring Europe (Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands) together with Tristania, The Sins of thy Beloved, Siebenbürgen and Trail of Tears in spring 1999, but it wasn't exactly a satisfying experience for us: Poor organisation, lack of essential equipment, bad promotion and other unpleasant circumstances made this some kind of "Tour de Force" - 19 gigs within 3 weeks without a day off, surrounded by a horde of permanently drunken Scandinavians wasn't that much fun! Anyway, we tried to make the best out of it and act as professional as possible (quite tricky if you haven't the chance to do soundchecks!), so we could at least prove the audience that Antichrisis is also a splendid live-act! Unfortunately Naex couldn't be with us on that tour, as he had to pass his exams at that time, so the tour-band included just me, Dragonfly, Brown Jenkin on Guitar, a mad session drummer and our japanese friend Roland on Keyboards and Sequencer.

Nevertheless I do enjoy live performances, although I'd prefer an old pagan temple to a Christian building for an Antichrisis-gig - as long as there are enough sockets somewhere: Otherwise it'd be a rather "unplugged" experience (which wouldn't mean a serious problem to Antichrisis either, as we're capable of doing an acoustic set as well!).

Question: You do seem to be fascinated by ancient cultures, am I right?

Sid: Yes, you are: I'm interested in matriarchal cultures all over the world, especially in those of Northern-European, pre-Celtic origin.

I do also admire Celtic Art: I remember having seen photographs of early Celtic Art when I was about 14 years old, and from that very moment I've been fascinated by the rich symbolism and the beauty of that artistic school; and so I tried to go deeper into Celtic Culture, reading every available book that I could lay my hands on. I spent about 10 or 12 years on reading and learning until I began actually understanding the spirit of all I've read about, which goes far beyond plain knowledge - spiritual awareness cannot be learned, it has to be experienced. Of course it was of great importance to me to gain knowledge through literature, but really experiencing the Celtic Spirit happened when I visited some of the ancient quoits in England and Ireland and listened to the old ballads not only with my ears, but with my heart!

Question: In which ways have you succeeded in mixing acoustic and electric music?

Sid: When I wrote the songs for "Cantara Anachoreta" and "A Legacy of Love", I usually started with evolving the basic chords on acoustic guitar, but for "Perfume" things were different, because of its emphasis on electronic sounds and grooves. I started with just some basic rhythms and bass lines when working on the "Perfume"-material, which was a modified way of creating and arranging songs. causing the tracks to develop in another musical direction than those of "A Legacy of Love", which was just what I wanted.

Personally, I don't see any reason for drawing a parting line between electronic and acoustic instruments: They both have their advantages, and they're both wonderful tools for creating the musical soundscapes of Antichrisis.

Question: What does the word love mean to you?

Sid: Love is pure magic, and like every magical power it contains both creative and destructive energies. Come to think about it, the most miserable periods in my life were always caused by the negative outcomes of love (i. e. broken relationships), but at the same time I'm aware that the most beautiful moments were also because of love. If wanting to experience love, one has to be strong enough to face both heaven and hell: The higher one rises, the deeper one falls! In order to avoid all that trouble, you'd have to stay mediocre - but despite of all that I've gone through, this would not be my cup of tea, anyway!

There's a wonderful song by Hazel O'Connor that goes: "If I had another chance, I would have the same romance with you and life, the happiness and the knife. If I had that time again I'd change it not another way..." - and I guess the same goes for me: I'll never regret to have loved, even if it always ended in tears. But there's no price to high for love, and if you do love, you have to accept the fact that it makes you very vulnerable, that it might even kill you. It's a question of all or nothing, I'm afraid. Edna St. Vincent Millay once wrote about this: "My candle burns at both ends, it will not last the night; but, ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light". Or, with Tennyson's words: "Tis better to have loved and lost than never loved at all".

To me, love is the most sincere and honest feeling, a divine power that can make us goddesses and gods, a feeling that is equiped with closeness, truth, respect and unconditional faith. I don't know if this is just an ideal that'll never become reality, but even if the quest for true love should be bound to fail: Wouldn't life be rather poor without this dream?

Question: What is your definition of true love?

Sid: That's difficult to explain: To me, love is like the most beautiful song ever heard, like dissolving in an endless sea of light and passion, having found what you've been looking for all your life, drowning in your lover's eyes, a blissful dream without end - but also being there whenever you're needed, always standing by your lover's side whatever may come, always being sincere and true to the one you're with etc. There are too many facets to true love than can be mentioned, I'm afraid.

Question: Some individuals seem to find erotic literature and pornography (I'm talking about the legal stuff here, not snuff or paedophilia etc.) to be showing women as inferior, while others believe that it's a positive way of portraying the female body, making women more worth in a man's mind. What do you think about this?

Sid: As the term "pornography" has derived from the Greek term for "presentation of whores", it's quite obvious that pornography doesn't deal with respect for women. Pornography doesn't intend to show women as individuals or subjects, but as sexual objects of men.

Pornography is unable to portray the female body in a positive way, even in cases when it tries to hide its true aim under the cloak of "fine arts", because the standards defining the female body are made up - Surprise! Surprise! - by men: They define what or who is to be called "sexy", "beautiful" or "erotic" (although men talking 'bout eroticism is always a bit like a blind talking about colours!)....and after all men have decided that women always look best when being victims: Either victims of male fantasies of rape and violation, or "just" victimised by the way they have to expose and exhibit themselves in front of a camera.

Referring to sexuality itself, the majority of men are a bunch of ignorant creeps. Their only sensual interest seems to be reduced to some mindbogglingly obscure movements of their naughty bits, while their sexual stimulation seems to consist of goggling randy at some gynaecologically exposed parts of the female body. They don't see that sexuality is some kind of erotic "culture", which is much more than quick movements of the pelvis.

Pornography is nothing more than the product of the sick minds of those scruffy wallies we call "men", and it's jolly obvious that it was never meant to be for the sake of appreciation or adoration of women, but for degrading, abusing and exploiting them.

Question: I think I can easily say that "A Legacy Of Love" is a manifesto of love and friendship: do you think that people influenced by this album have changed their view on these issues or have perhaps discovered a new truth for themselves?

Sid: We've received lots of feedback to this album, and the reactions to it were quite peculiar: In the beginning, after the album's release, most people were puzzled and confused because they expected a gothic album similar to our debut, "Cantara Anachoreta”, so they were not at all prepared for the Folk Pop-experience of “A Legacy of Love”. But after a while they seemed to understand more and more the album's deeper meaning: Gothic Metal would have been a too limited musical diction to express all the feelings I wanted to manifest on that album. My ambition was to create an album that would outlast time, both in form and content, and I think we have achieved that goal: One can tell this easily by all the requests we receive for a re-release of "A Legacy of Love” (the album is meanwhile out of stock); seems a bit like if this album was too far ahead of its time and that just now people become aware of its emotional and musical value (and I'm sure it'll be exactly the same with "Perfume")... Many people were touched and moved by "A Legacy of Love", because this album reflects the most primary human experiences of love and loss in an almost painful yet simultaneously beautiful way: Maybe one of its main effects was that it made people realize that they were not alone: No matter if you're in love or if you'd just lost someone you've loved - when you got home at night, there was always this album to provide confirmation and bliss, or consolation and hope. I doubt that "A Legacy of Love" changed anybody's life, but it made them see things in a different way: It made them realize the beauty of love as well as the importance of holding on to one's dreams even if having to face drawbacks from time to time. In the end, that's what art of any kind is all about: to create the state of catharsis for the audience that makes people feel better instead of dragging them down.

Question: With your sort of pagan influenced view of the world, how do you see love and life as opposed to war and death?

Sid: Death belongs to the natural cycle of love and life, whereas war is a destructive force made up by sick human minds. According to my point of view, death is not the end, but the transition to another level of existance. Love is the ultimate source of everything, a power that brings growth, splendidness and fruitfulness. As long as love exists, there is always hope and faith and beauty... of course there's also a dark side of love, but this aspect only arises from disappointment and betrayal by humans; i. e. the lack of the pure energy of love - but I guess I've said enough about that darker side in some songs like "The Sea" or "The Farewell".

Näx: I like love more than war and death. Death is a part of the big game and I don't fear it. Just trying to be prepared.

Question: I have got a feeling that the cover of "Perfume" was prepared in a hurry: It looks so very poor and its content inside is also very modest. What sense does it make to put your lyrics at the Website only? Don't you think that a buyer deserves its printed version in the booklet?

Sid: Point taken. First: I'm a big fan of the cover artwork that Peter Saville and Martyn Atkins did in the early Eighties for Manchester-based label Factory Records, esp. for Joy Division. No naked female vampires or fake plastic skeletons or what else you have on your average contemporary goth-covers, but plain and straight, Bauhaus-inspired (not the band, but the famous school of arts in Dessau) artwork that didn't draw the listeners attention from the music. And as I do like that style a lot, I wanted to have something similar for "Perfume", and so we did the booklet-design together with Guido Meyer de Voltaire, who - even though he's always missing the deadline - did a great job. Whether you like it or not, the cover of "Perfume" was done with purpose and care - and most of all it does look neither "gothic" or "metal". Proper job.

Second: We didn't put the lyrics in the booklet due to objections of Napalm Records. They've had lots of problems with the rather thick booklet of "A Legacy of Love" that caused many complains by record dealers: Peasants browsing through the CDs in the store did take the booklet out and had to fiddle about like hell to get it back in the case again, most of the times in a very crinkled or even ripped condition.

So we had to find a way to let buyers have all the lyrics either wedged on 4 sides of a CD-booklet, which would have only been able with using a font not larger than 4 points and hence causing serious sight-damages to the innocent customer, or putting them on properly lay-outed and more easily readable pdf-files on our website, which allows even non-CD-purchasers to get hold of the lyrics. By the way, the download's for free; we do neither charge anything for it nor do we demand a voucher of purchase or any serial numbers for it, so I don't really understand why you're so upset about this - nowadays even people without internet-connection do at least know somebody who has a PC (or preferably a Mac) and a modem. But maybe that's another case of being "too modern" again... I only wished all Antichrisis-fans would be that worried and concerned about when it comes to loading illegal mp3-files of our albums up and down!

Question: Do you think Perfume has met the expectations of your audience? Will Antichrisis ever hit the airwaves of commercial radio station or do you consider yourself as being not "mainstream" enough...

Sid: To be honest, I don't care about our audience or its expectations very much: First of all, my music belongs to me and no one else - if other people like it as well, then this is just a lucky coincidence and not the main reason for my musical output. That's why I don't want to push Antichrisis in any way whatsoever: As a human being, I'm constantly developing, and these developments will cause effects on Antichrisis' music as well. At the moment our music is published by a record company - maybe one day we don't need record companies any more, but who cares? I got some recording devices at home, and I certainly won't stop writing and recording new stuff anyway, may it get published or not. I'm not in this business for fame or money...in the end, I'm just a songwriter who simply does what he has to do - although I think Antichrisis does provide a certain commercial appeal as well: Songs like “Goodbye to Jane”, “Our Last Show”, “Wasteland” or “Like the Stars” could - with some proper support - easily enter the charts, as they are both catchy and mainstream-compatible, though still maintaining that special Antichrisis-touch!

Question: So we've got the third album of Antichrisis. I have to tell you that while listening to this album for the first time I had a feeling that the album sounded too modern, that you drift towards pop music too dangerously. My feeling was for sure influenced by the fact that the songs form “Perfume” were easier and somehow nicer; they fell faster into your ear. But after listening to it few times you realize that it is the same band, only refreshened and more "cheerful" Do you agree?

Sid: First of all let me ask you a question: What kind of complete nonsense is this to evaluate music by criteria like "too modern" or "drift towards pop music too dangerously"? Do these terms say anything about the actual QUALITY of music? No