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KMFDM
DOING IT (AGAIN ?) by Alex Pagan In the course of human events there comes a time when a legendary act such as KMFDM decides to call it quits, only to return as MDFMK, call it quits and make a come back as KMFDM. Confused? So was I. Recently I was asked to sit down to a little Q&A with Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM and discuss his latest release ATTAK and the single for the remade classic These Boots Are Made For Walking. After several nervous cigarettes and a cup of coffee to calm me down Sascha and I had our chat. To get things started I will get right to the point and ask the most obvious question. What made you decide to bring KMFDM back to life after the ADIOS (previously known as the final KMFDM album) release? "Well, it was kind of like, not so much my decision as it was the fans demands and request. After the announcement that MDFMK ( Sascha’s side project following the ADIOS release) had separated from our label Universal, the kids were getting really impatient and wanted KMFDM back." So you are on the Metropolis label now? "Yes,." How are things going with them? "So far so good, I wanted a label that basically just leaves me alone (laughs). And that's what they do. They get the product, they make it into records and I suppose they ship them out." What sort of feedback are you getting from ATTAK and the BOOTS single? "So far so good, I'm getting a lot of charts e-mailed to me everyday from Europe and the U.S. so I guess I would say good." Are there any songs that you favor above the rest? "Well, its still a little fresh for me so I couldn't even honestly sit down and listen to it all the way through without getting deep into rethinking mixing techniques, automation moves and shit like that. I really haven't had the luxury to just sit down and let it rip, but I could maybe do that a couple months from now." Are you considering doing any remixes? "Well, I'm not really considering doing any official things. I know there's a bunch of things going on in terms of video. A few different teams all over the world are actually working on videos right now for a couple of tracks. There are requests from people who want to do remixes of this that and the other, but there's really no talk of doing an official remix album. My opinion is if its not good enough the first time around a remix will not make it any better." What was the inspiration for writing this album? "I didn't write it all by myself, you know Bill and Lucia, Darona, Raymond and Tim, they all gave there two cents into it so it was really a collective effort I guess. We followed method we always apply when we begin a KMFDM album. Start songs and begin sending them around, exchange tracks and ideas and what not. So in the end it becomes teamwork." I noticed that you used a lot of different drum styles in the writing of Attak. What made you stray away from the traditional industrial sound? "Well, we were never to married to the industrial sound I guess in the first place. KMFDM has always been lumped into the genre of industrial music, but truly I don't see KMFDM having a place in that. It's much more than just a bunch of metal clanging and angry shouting. Its’ always had its fair share of musical influences of all kinds and all areas of the world. I remember beginning KMFDM with an Indonesian lead vocalist. It's never been a strictly industrial project so whatever people say or feel about industrial, I never really make that connection." Will you be releasing any more projects under the name MDFMK? "If I decide to end KMFDM (laughs), I might as well be MDFMK again. It's kinda one or the other at this point. It's the same people different incarnations." Are there any plans for a tour? "Yes, actually right now we are putting together the European summer tour and then we are planning on coming to the U.S. in September." What lies in store for the future of the band, regarding changes in musical style and member changes? "You know it always does change without us really planning on it. First of all it has to do with who is in the current line up, as you might know always changes a little bit. It seems like any KMFDM album is like a snapshot that reflects the state of mind of any involved at the time of the project. So naturally let a year or two go by and take another snapshot and things will have moved, shifted and changed slightly. So, we'll see. I think now the current obsession is to put the live band together which I think we just nailed yesterday." Oh yeah? Who's on the line up? "It's going to be the live drummer from PIG (Andy) and both PIG guitarist as well as Bill, Raymond, Lucia, Tim and myself. It looks like it's going to be an eight piece, which is probably the biggest band we've ever had. I don't think we ever toured with eight people on the stage." What was the largest line up until now? "I think it was six." That's quite a few people. For most live shows of this particular genre you usually only see two or three guys standing behind keyboards. "Oh no, this gonna be for real. I mean KMFDM has always been pretty lively. We're not the types that stand behind keyboards and just sort of let it go “blink” you know (laughs). We just sort of let it all out." |
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