Pop
Celtic Fascination
12/06/1999 17:09 Filed in: Music
Question: What causes your fascination of Celtic music or folk stuff in general. Don't you wanna pick up some german folk influences?
Sid: Well, there's nothing wrong with German folk music (by the way: The Celts have settled and lived in Germany, hence there are also traces of Celtic folklore to be found in our musical heritage!) and if I had the hang of it I surely would assimilate those musical traditions of my native country (and there are bands around here who are doing suchlike stuff like f. e. Zupfgeigenhansel, Biermoesl Blosn, Alpinkatzen or Hans Söllner and many more), but somehow I seem to be connected to and deeply rooted in English/Celtic culture. It's something I can't explain logically - it's just that every time I'm setting foot on English soil, it feels like sort of homecoming; like I had been living there for ages, and it also never occurs to me as if I was a foreigner there: Everything about England seems so damn familiar to me!
The same goes for Celtic folk music: If I listen to an English or Irish folk song it seems to me as if a voice from afar would be answering the yearning call of my soul...it just makes my heart dance! But there's absolutely no reasonable explanation for this kind of fascination - maybe it's a matter of the heart like falling in love with someone.
Näx: Whenever I listen to music, I usually judge it by the following three measures: Does the music touch me? Is the music composed intelligently? Are the Instruments well played?
Celtic Music touches me inside and the musical part of my soul is addicted to this Celtic stuff. Now, there is one point that is really fascinating to me: The enormous diversity of a music which is passed on just by listening and learning. When you try to understand this music, to play or to analyse it, then you start to think about who composed these complex songs or tunes. When were they composed? Who played this tune which you are playing at this moment before, and who danced, cried or loved to it? And which rules make a tune last over centuries? Then you feel that this music has a deep peacefull power inside which can fill your veins if only you let it. Other people may have these feelings with other kinds of music, but most of them have never experienced the mysterious fascination of traditional music. In addition traditional music does not depend on written notes or recordings in general, in contrary to classical or rock-, pop- or metal-music. This makes traditional music so resistent against fast moving trends. Although reality sometimes proves the opposite (as in Germany), traditional music has a touch of immortality.
It is sad that there is no widespread german traditional music any more. Traditional music is still alive in some regions where regional culture is maintained. But the biggest part of this music became a victim of the success of classical music. When classical music became modern in Germany, people lost interest in their own traditional music and so it died.
Sid: Well, there's nothing wrong with German folk music (by the way: The Celts have settled and lived in Germany, hence there are also traces of Celtic folklore to be found in our musical heritage!) and if I had the hang of it I surely would assimilate those musical traditions of my native country (and there are bands around here who are doing suchlike stuff like f. e. Zupfgeigenhansel, Biermoesl Blosn, Alpinkatzen or Hans Söllner and many more), but somehow I seem to be connected to and deeply rooted in English/Celtic culture. It's something I can't explain logically - it's just that every time I'm setting foot on English soil, it feels like sort of homecoming; like I had been living there for ages, and it also never occurs to me as if I was a foreigner there: Everything about England seems so damn familiar to me!
The same goes for Celtic folk music: If I listen to an English or Irish folk song it seems to me as if a voice from afar would be answering the yearning call of my soul...it just makes my heart dance! But there's absolutely no reasonable explanation for this kind of fascination - maybe it's a matter of the heart like falling in love with someone.
Näx: Whenever I listen to music, I usually judge it by the following three measures: Does the music touch me? Is the music composed intelligently? Are the Instruments well played?
Celtic Music touches me inside and the musical part of my soul is addicted to this Celtic stuff. Now, there is one point that is really fascinating to me: The enormous diversity of a music which is passed on just by listening and learning. When you try to understand this music, to play or to analyse it, then you start to think about who composed these complex songs or tunes. When were they composed? Who played this tune which you are playing at this moment before, and who danced, cried or loved to it? And which rules make a tune last over centuries? Then you feel that this music has a deep peacefull power inside which can fill your veins if only you let it. Other people may have these feelings with other kinds of music, but most of them have never experienced the mysterious fascination of traditional music. In addition traditional music does not depend on written notes or recordings in general, in contrary to classical or rock-, pop- or metal-music. This makes traditional music so resistent against fast moving trends. Although reality sometimes proves the opposite (as in Germany), traditional music has a touch of immortality.
It is sad that there is no widespread german traditional music any more. Traditional music is still alive in some regions where regional culture is maintained. But the biggest part of this music became a victim of the success of classical music. When classical music became modern in Germany, people lost interest in their own traditional music and so it died.
Folk Renaissance
21/04/2000 17:06 Filed in: Music
Question: What do you think about this folk/celtic renaissance in today's rock scene?
Sid: Well, I appreciate this a lot, because in my opinion it's a most exciting event to re-discover the musical roots of our European heritage and combining them with contemporary music. By the way: It's great to see that nowadays Celtic Folk seems to get the esteem at least that this soulful and heart-touching music always deserved!
Näx: For me it's interesting to see that every 20 years there is a revival of Celtic music. This proves that this music is quite vivid and also adaptable to other musical styles. I admire those musicians who have a huge background of folk music and who are now able to unite their instruments/voices with non-folklorical music, entering new spheres for folk music and rock, pop, classic or whatsoever. A positive effect on this popular mixture is that listeners become aware of musical styles beyond their favourite music.
Sid: Well, I appreciate this a lot, because in my opinion it's a most exciting event to re-discover the musical roots of our European heritage and combining them with contemporary music. By the way: It's great to see that nowadays Celtic Folk seems to get the esteem at least that this soulful and heart-touching music always deserved!
Näx: For me it's interesting to see that every 20 years there is a revival of Celtic music. This proves that this music is quite vivid and also adaptable to other musical styles. I admire those musicians who have a huge background of folk music and who are now able to unite their instruments/voices with non-folklorical music, entering new spheres for folk music and rock, pop, classic or whatsoever. A positive effect on this popular mixture is that listeners become aware of musical styles beyond their favourite music.
Dedicated to Folk Music
03/12/2000 16:59 Filed in: Music
Question: Naex, you're using traditional instruments such as uileann pipes and bodhran. Are you dedicated to folk music?
Näx: Yes, I can`t deny that I am dedicated to folk music, especially to the traditional Irish music. Sometimes I think that I'm even addicted to it.
When I got into contact with Antichrisis it became apparent that the sound of the Irish uilleann pipes would perfectly fit into Sid's music, so we started off to experiment with this mixture.
Beside of this musical aspect it is really interesting for me to play traditional instruments and music in a non-traditional context. I would like to make the traditional music and the uilleann pipes become known to people who have no special interest in this stuff. Everybody knows what the Great Highland Pipes sound and look like, only a bunch of people know that there are regional forms of bagpipes like the galician Gaita or Boehmischer and Maehrischer Bock in Germany, which may sound a bit crude sometimes. But there is another sound which is well known by films like "Braveheart", "Rob Roy", "Titanic" or musicals like "Riverdance" or "Lord of the Dance", and nobody knows which instrument creates this sound. They only know that non of the average bagpipes sound like this, but also no saxophone, clarinet or oboe. Perhaps a keyboard? Beside of making music with Antichrisis I want to show people that there is an bagpipe-instrument, which is held in high regard in Ireland and amongst folk fans, but which still can be discovered by the worldwide rockpopmetaltechnopunkgrungegothic- andwossisname-audience.
Näx: Yes, I can`t deny that I am dedicated to folk music, especially to the traditional Irish music. Sometimes I think that I'm even addicted to it.
When I got into contact with Antichrisis it became apparent that the sound of the Irish uilleann pipes would perfectly fit into Sid's music, so we started off to experiment with this mixture.
Beside of this musical aspect it is really interesting for me to play traditional instruments and music in a non-traditional context. I would like to make the traditional music and the uilleann pipes become known to people who have no special interest in this stuff. Everybody knows what the Great Highland Pipes sound and look like, only a bunch of people know that there are regional forms of bagpipes like the galician Gaita or Boehmischer and Maehrischer Bock in Germany, which may sound a bit crude sometimes. But there is another sound which is well known by films like "Braveheart", "Rob Roy", "Titanic" or musicals like "Riverdance" or "Lord of the Dance", and nobody knows which instrument creates this sound. They only know that non of the average bagpipes sound like this, but also no saxophone, clarinet or oboe. Perhaps a keyboard? Beside of making music with Antichrisis I want to show people that there is an bagpipe-instrument, which is held in high regard in Ireland and amongst folk fans, but which still can be discovered by the worldwide rockpopmetaltechnopunkgrungegothic- andwossisname-audience.
A more cheerful Approach?
12/02/2001 20:06 Filed in: Albums
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, not at all - it's just the sort of pseudo-know-it-all-terminology used by people who have stopped listening to music with their heart but trying to analyze it with their so called brains instead! Either you like a song or not, either you find it awful of great - but trying to evaluate music with terms like being "too modern" is nothing else but a sure sign of utter backwardness! When Richard Wagner first hit the scene back in 1841 with his opera "The Flying Dutchman", critics laughed at him, calling his music "too modern" as well - guess who's the laughing stock now?
But anyway: As you've already found out, "Perfume" may sound different from "A Legacy of Love", but it's still Antichrisis - even if it's another side of the same band! We just used a different form of musical expression, as we do consider repetition as dead boring - we're musicians, not parrots!
"Perfume" has become a very powerful and vital record: Whereas "A Legacy of Love" was the perfect soundtrack for a cold autumn's evening with candlelight, "Perfume" is meant for dancing, preferably in a crowded and sweaty discotheque... maybe that's the more cheerful side of Antichrisis you're referring to.
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, not at all - it's just the sort of pseudo-know-it-all-terminology used by people who have stopped listening to music with their heart but trying to analyze it with their so called brains instead! Either you like a song or not, either you find it awful of great - but trying to evaluate music with terms like being "too modern" is nothing else but a sure sign of utter backwardness! When Richard Wagner first hit the scene back in 1841 with his opera "The Flying Dutchman", critics laughed at him, calling his music "too modern" as well - guess who's the laughing stock now?
But anyway: As you've already found out, "Perfume" may sound different from "A Legacy of Love", but it's still Antichrisis - even if it's another side of the same band! We just used a different form of musical expression, as we do consider repetition as dead boring - we're musicians, not parrots!
"Perfume" has become a very powerful and vital record: Whereas "A Legacy of Love" was the perfect soundtrack for a cold autumn's evening with candlelight, "Perfume" is meant for dancing, preferably in a crowded and sweaty discotheque... maybe that's the more cheerful side of Antichrisis you're referring to.
Perfume Impressions
22/09/2000 08:02 Filed in: Albums
Question: You have just returned from the studio where you‘ve recorded your new album „Perfume“: Can you give us some impressions about the time you spent there, including the material you have recorded?
Näx: I can't remember too much of it. Yes, there were Sid and Dragonfly and my girlfriend Nicole visited us also. And then there was this big, big dog... A funny little man with long hair was also there, always sitting behind a window in a room. I think he was trapped there... Sometimes I saw a young woman with golden hair. And then there was a second big, big dog. And cigarsmoke I think. Well, that's all, sorry.
Sid: We spent 5 weeks at the Blue House Studio in Meerane: We had recorded „A Legacy of Love“ there, too, and as this had been a very pleasant and cooperative experience, we decided to record our new album there again. The Producer, Jens Bachmann, who also runs the studio, is a really great guy: He's not the sort of producer who tries to enforce his own idea of sound on a band, but someone who listens carefully to the band‘s conception and tries to transform their ideas as good as possible into music. Besides, he‘s a brilliant guitarist as well and we were glad that he liked our new stuff that much that he offered to join us for the recordings.
So this time, with the additional support of Kugator on Drums and Tilo Rockstroh on Keyboards, Antichrisis appeared as a "proper" band on an album instead of being just some kind of One-Man-project as it were on previous recordings.
We have recorded 10 songs for “Perfume”: "Something Inside" is a song about someone finding himself trapped in memories of the past, being forced to relive a traumatical situation again and again until he‘s able to let go off the past. Matching the lyric's character, this song comes up like a haunting nightmare, the accoustic equivalent to lying awake in sleepless nights with torturing thoughts banging against your head.
"Gates of Paradise" deals with the subject of being struck down by love but gettin' up again... it's also a song that I've especially written for Dragonfly, and it's the only track on the album where I've done all vocals on my own. The song itself is quite strange: It's based on a shuffle groove, which is normally to be found in traditional Blues or Jazz, but there's also a wall of sound by analogue sequencers, transforming this song into a rather "electronique" shape, whereas the electric guitars pick up the shuffle beat again - pretty weird!
"Hole in my Head" is one of the new songs that we've introduced also on last year's tour: It's about the ignorance and blindness of other people towards the things that really matter, about their predilection for self-righteousness and prejudice instead of thinking for a minute of being tolerant. It's a very groovy track, a mixture of TripHop-sounds and heavy guitars.
"Carry me Down" is our new interpretation of a song that appeared as "Baleias" on our first album and as "Baleias Bailando" on "A Legacy of Love": This song has become some kind of Antichrisis-theme over the years, and I like the idea to present it on every album in a completely different manner: Though it may still be the same song, it always sounds completely different in order to give some kind of musical summary of Antichrisis‘ current development. This time the song has turned into a bewitching blend of TripHop-Grooves, shamanic chantings and heavy guitars.
"Wasteland" is my vision of a perfect pop-tune: Catchy but yet unpredictable! It starts quite mellow and smooth, but as soon as the refrain appears, the guitars break loose. In my point of view, a good pop song shouldn't sound too clean - it always needs a certain kind of racket to disguise its beauty: That makes it much more interesting than offering everything unveiled!
With "Like the Stars" we've entered a completely new territory: Our first song coming up with vocals in Rap-style - but don't be afraid: They fit perfectly into the song, the song itself sounds just great and as soon as the refrain starts, you'll be blown away by Näx' enchanting pipes and Dragonfly's backing vocals - another fine example for a perfect pop-tune!
And for all of those who thought that Antichrisis would have turned into a bunch of sweet-toothed popsters, there's "We are the Witches": A song that picks up the pagan thread of "Cantara Anachoreta" again, sounding as if Black Sabbath had decided to kick ass again - but this time with bagpipes from hell! Heavy as a ton of lead - and equiped with a refrain that‘s based on a traditional english witches' Chant.
I've been always very satisfied with every Antichrisis-release - there was only one thing that has always bugged me, and that was the very bad version of "Goodbye to Jane" on our first album, because of the vocals that had been done in a very uninspired way by former singer Willowcat. I always wanted to re-record the song again. We did a new and much more powerful version, with brilliant vocals, splendid bagpipes and an absolute unbelievable amount of E-Guitars creating an amazing Wall of Sound.
As most of the new songs have turned into really powerful and energetic tracks, I wanted to create some kind of „breathing-space“ on the album as well - and so "Dragonflies" arose in my mind - and when listening to this song you‘ll find yourself easily at a pond on a warm summer's day, the reflections of sunlight on the water and Dragonflies dancing on its surface... and that's exactly the atmosphere I wanted to capture with this track!
The last song on the album and at the same time the first cover-version we‘ve ever recorded is Led Zeppelin's "Whole lotta Love": I always thought that doing cover-versions is a heavy burden, because one usually doesn't cover bad songs, and it's always hard to beat a classic original or even to match it up, especially if it's such a great song as "Whole lotta Love". So doing a cover version does not mean just to „replay“ an old version, but to show a renown song in a new light without treating it in an unrespectful way... but instead of merely repeating the original‘s somehow ridiculous machismo-attitude (although Robert Plant undoubtedly did one of his best vocal performances on this track), we've turned it into some kind of feminist-electronic-dancefloor-metal-with-lots-of-bagpipes-and-naughty-noises!
All in all, our new album has become a very powerful and vital record: Whereas "A Legacy of Love" was the perfect soundtrack for a cold autumn's evening with candlelight, "Perfume" is meant for dancing and headbanging, preferably in a crowded and sweaty discotheque...
Näx: I can't remember too much of it. Yes, there were Sid and Dragonfly and my girlfriend Nicole visited us also. And then there was this big, big dog... A funny little man with long hair was also there, always sitting behind a window in a room. I think he was trapped there... Sometimes I saw a young woman with golden hair. And then there was a second big, big dog. And cigarsmoke I think. Well, that's all, sorry.
Sid: We spent 5 weeks at the Blue House Studio in Meerane: We had recorded „A Legacy of Love“ there, too, and as this had been a very pleasant and cooperative experience, we decided to record our new album there again. The Producer, Jens Bachmann, who also runs the studio, is a really great guy: He's not the sort of producer who tries to enforce his own idea of sound on a band, but someone who listens carefully to the band‘s conception and tries to transform their ideas as good as possible into music. Besides, he‘s a brilliant guitarist as well and we were glad that he liked our new stuff that much that he offered to join us for the recordings.
So this time, with the additional support of Kugator on Drums and Tilo Rockstroh on Keyboards, Antichrisis appeared as a "proper" band on an album instead of being just some kind of One-Man-project as it were on previous recordings.
We have recorded 10 songs for “Perfume”: "Something Inside" is a song about someone finding himself trapped in memories of the past, being forced to relive a traumatical situation again and again until he‘s able to let go off the past. Matching the lyric's character, this song comes up like a haunting nightmare, the accoustic equivalent to lying awake in sleepless nights with torturing thoughts banging against your head.
"Gates of Paradise" deals with the subject of being struck down by love but gettin' up again... it's also a song that I've especially written for Dragonfly, and it's the only track on the album where I've done all vocals on my own. The song itself is quite strange: It's based on a shuffle groove, which is normally to be found in traditional Blues or Jazz, but there's also a wall of sound by analogue sequencers, transforming this song into a rather "electronique" shape, whereas the electric guitars pick up the shuffle beat again - pretty weird!
"Hole in my Head" is one of the new songs that we've introduced also on last year's tour: It's about the ignorance and blindness of other people towards the things that really matter, about their predilection for self-righteousness and prejudice instead of thinking for a minute of being tolerant. It's a very groovy track, a mixture of TripHop-sounds and heavy guitars.
"Carry me Down" is our new interpretation of a song that appeared as "Baleias" on our first album and as "Baleias Bailando" on "A Legacy of Love": This song has become some kind of Antichrisis-theme over the years, and I like the idea to present it on every album in a completely different manner: Though it may still be the same song, it always sounds completely different in order to give some kind of musical summary of Antichrisis‘ current development. This time the song has turned into a bewitching blend of TripHop-Grooves, shamanic chantings and heavy guitars.
"Wasteland" is my vision of a perfect pop-tune: Catchy but yet unpredictable! It starts quite mellow and smooth, but as soon as the refrain appears, the guitars break loose. In my point of view, a good pop song shouldn't sound too clean - it always needs a certain kind of racket to disguise its beauty: That makes it much more interesting than offering everything unveiled!
With "Like the Stars" we've entered a completely new territory: Our first song coming up with vocals in Rap-style - but don't be afraid: They fit perfectly into the song, the song itself sounds just great and as soon as the refrain starts, you'll be blown away by Näx' enchanting pipes and Dragonfly's backing vocals - another fine example for a perfect pop-tune!
And for all of those who thought that Antichrisis would have turned into a bunch of sweet-toothed popsters, there's "We are the Witches": A song that picks up the pagan thread of "Cantara Anachoreta" again, sounding as if Black Sabbath had decided to kick ass again - but this time with bagpipes from hell! Heavy as a ton of lead - and equiped with a refrain that‘s based on a traditional english witches' Chant.
I've been always very satisfied with every Antichrisis-release - there was only one thing that has always bugged me, and that was the very bad version of "Goodbye to Jane" on our first album, because of the vocals that had been done in a very uninspired way by former singer Willowcat. I always wanted to re-record the song again. We did a new and much more powerful version, with brilliant vocals, splendid bagpipes and an absolute unbelievable amount of E-Guitars creating an amazing Wall of Sound.
As most of the new songs have turned into really powerful and energetic tracks, I wanted to create some kind of „breathing-space“ on the album as well - and so "Dragonflies" arose in my mind - and when listening to this song you‘ll find yourself easily at a pond on a warm summer's day, the reflections of sunlight on the water and Dragonflies dancing on its surface... and that's exactly the atmosphere I wanted to capture with this track!
The last song on the album and at the same time the first cover-version we‘ve ever recorded is Led Zeppelin's "Whole lotta Love": I always thought that doing cover-versions is a heavy burden, because one usually doesn't cover bad songs, and it's always hard to beat a classic original or even to match it up, especially if it's such a great song as "Whole lotta Love". So doing a cover version does not mean just to „replay“ an old version, but to show a renown song in a new light without treating it in an unrespectful way... but instead of merely repeating the original‘s somehow ridiculous machismo-attitude (although Robert Plant undoubtedly did one of his best vocal performances on this track), we've turned it into some kind of feminist-electronic-dancefloor-metal-with-lots-of-bagpipes-and-naughty-noises!
All in all, our new album has become a very powerful and vital record: Whereas "A Legacy of Love" was the perfect soundtrack for a cold autumn's evening with candlelight, "Perfume" is meant for dancing and headbanging, preferably in a crowded and sweaty discotheque...
Manifesto of Love
03/09/2001 10:38 Filed in: Albums
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.
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.
Musical Development
27/10/2000 16:27 Filed in: Music
Question: When did your interest in music start? And how was your musical development?
Sid: My first-time acquaintance with music started with listening to Roy Orbison (him of the sunglasses and the angelic voice) on the good old valve radio (those were the days!), subsequently superseded by Glam-Rock-protuberances like T. Rex, Gary Glitter. Slade, Sweet and The Kursaal Flyers. But shortly after my 14th. birthday, being on holiday somewhere in the outback of Bavaria (no rude comments, please!), some blessed DJ player "God save the Queen" by the later-to-be-awful Sex Pistols (them of the plugged bass-player) on the wireless , and from that very moment I turned into a punk (or a monster in my poor mother's humble opinion) without being kissed by your obligatory princess. Blimey, it was just my luck being a punk in a little quaint village that seemed to be bogged down somewhere between the Palaeozoic and the Precambrian era on the evolutionary scale!
As entering upon a punk career meant getting utterly fucked up almost every night, I thought I'd do myself a favour if I went into that Dark Wave/Gothic-business instead, which to everyone's surprise served me pretty well during the next 5 years: The likes of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Theatre of Hate, Christian Death (them of the good-looking singer!), Throbbing Gristle (them of the grotty singer) or Cindytalk weren't exactly what one would call a boisterous bunch, but after all they made me give up drinking.
A couple of years later I accidentally realized that Irish Folk could be even more melancholic and depressing than any Cure-album, and by getting myself an acoustic guitar, I turned out to be a neo-hippie long before Tracy Chapman or The Walkabouts were invented - and I also found out that buskin' is a hard way of making some extra money.
After one wicked weekend (we're talking about the golden age of every weekend being amazingly wicked) I was feeling kind of sentimental and put on the dead-gorgeous "Pretty Vacant"-single by the later-to-be-unnecessarily-reunified Sex Pistols, but unfortunately the record player (that popular stone-age device for listening to music before CD-players were invented) was on 33 1/3 rpm instead of the much more suitable 45 rpm - and that bungling of mine suddenly turned into pure enlightenment: Punk did sound so much more annoying if played at lower speed! But a few months later I had to find out that some creeps had nicked this brilliant invention of mine and called it "Doom Metal" - you just can't trust anybody!
To cut a long story short: Some time in the Nineties I thought it would sound quite nice throwing all my musical preferences in the big boiling cauldron and seasoning the strange dish with a strong dash of pop music - and that's how Antichrisis got on the menu!
Sid: My first-time acquaintance with music started with listening to Roy Orbison (him of the sunglasses and the angelic voice) on the good old valve radio (those were the days!), subsequently superseded by Glam-Rock-protuberances like T. Rex, Gary Glitter. Slade, Sweet and The Kursaal Flyers. But shortly after my 14th. birthday, being on holiday somewhere in the outback of Bavaria (no rude comments, please!), some blessed DJ player "God save the Queen" by the later-to-be-awful Sex Pistols (them of the plugged bass-player) on the wireless , and from that very moment I turned into a punk (or a monster in my poor mother's humble opinion) without being kissed by your obligatory princess. Blimey, it was just my luck being a punk in a little quaint village that seemed to be bogged down somewhere between the Palaeozoic and the Precambrian era on the evolutionary scale!
As entering upon a punk career meant getting utterly fucked up almost every night, I thought I'd do myself a favour if I went into that Dark Wave/Gothic-business instead, which to everyone's surprise served me pretty well during the next 5 years: The likes of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Theatre of Hate, Christian Death (them of the good-looking singer!), Throbbing Gristle (them of the grotty singer) or Cindytalk weren't exactly what one would call a boisterous bunch, but after all they made me give up drinking.
A couple of years later I accidentally realized that Irish Folk could be even more melancholic and depressing than any Cure-album, and by getting myself an acoustic guitar, I turned out to be a neo-hippie long before Tracy Chapman or The Walkabouts were invented - and I also found out that buskin' is a hard way of making some extra money.
After one wicked weekend (we're talking about the golden age of every weekend being amazingly wicked) I was feeling kind of sentimental and put on the dead-gorgeous "Pretty Vacant"-single by the later-to-be-unnecessarily-reunified Sex Pistols, but unfortunately the record player (that popular stone-age device for listening to music before CD-players were invented) was on 33 1/3 rpm instead of the much more suitable 45 rpm - and that bungling of mine suddenly turned into pure enlightenment: Punk did sound so much more annoying if played at lower speed! But a few months later I had to find out that some creeps had nicked this brilliant invention of mine and called it "Doom Metal" - you just can't trust anybody!
To cut a long story short: Some time in the Nineties I thought it would sound quite nice throwing all my musical preferences in the big boiling cauldron and seasoning the strange dish with a strong dash of pop music - and that's how Antichrisis got on the menu!
Playing Live
03/07/2000 21:33 Filed in: Questions
Question: Your music style has little to do with metal now, wouldn't it be perhaps more fit to play with different kind of bands, at least SKYCLAD, SUBWAY TO SALLY, IN EXTREMO or even better CHIEFTAINS?
Näx: No, I only want to play with bands that are really famous.
Sid: Although all aformentioned bands are very good, I'd prefer to play with bands/artists like Magnetic Fields, Hidden Cameras or Bruce Springsteen (no kidding!) if I had the choice... Of course Antichrisis is not a metal band, and I have been explaining in interviews again and again that Antichrisis can never be limited to just one musical style. We do use some metal influences as well as influences from every other kind of music that we happen to like - be it Folk, Dark Wave, Classic, Dancefloor, Rock, Pop, TripHop a.s.o., so calling us a metal-band would be just as wrong as calling us a Folk-band, Grunge-band or any other kind-of-just-one-category-band. In my point of view, we're nothing else than just a slightly different Pop-band!
Näx: No, I only want to play with bands that are really famous.
Sid: Although all aformentioned bands are very good, I'd prefer to play with bands/artists like Magnetic Fields, Hidden Cameras or Bruce Springsteen (no kidding!) if I had the choice... Of course Antichrisis is not a metal band, and I have been explaining in interviews again and again that Antichrisis can never be limited to just one musical style. We do use some metal influences as well as influences from every other kind of music that we happen to like - be it Folk, Dark Wave, Classic, Dancefloor, Rock, Pop, TripHop a.s.o., so calling us a metal-band would be just as wrong as calling us a Folk-band, Grunge-band or any other kind-of-just-one-category-band. In my point of view, we're nothing else than just a slightly different Pop-band!