Zeromancer (Alex) 29.03.2009 Meier Music Hall Braunschweig
(c)northern-rockmusic.com
Frances Amelie Sin
I
arrive about 16.30 at the venue that feels like home to me and I wait
for my contact person Alex, well nothing happens so I start asking
people for him and a few minutes later I find myself in the hall
between a big chaos of cables, equipment and instruments and another 10
minutes later Alex brings me to Alex, the singer of Zeromancer that
remembers me vaguely at Stephan from Apoptygma Berzerk. Well Alex is
very likable and we wander around to find a fitting place to do an
interview!
FAS: Tell me about Zeromancer, what is important to know about the band?
Alex: Well, actually we formed the band in Los Angeles, where we lived at that time, it was in 2000 and we did 3 albums from 2000 to 2003 and we toured a lot! Then we were supposed to take a long break because we were touring too much.
I guess the most important is that we are in music business for so many years and we had that long break from 2003 to 2009 and it is fantastic that our fans are still there, still come to our shows, still support us after so many years. We are very grateful for that. We didn't expect a lot before this tour cause 6 years is an eternity in music business, it is too long, you have to rebuild and we are so happy now, that we can start over again.
FAS: Why did it took 6 years from the last to the new album, that is a very long time??
Alex: Yeah very long, too long. We were thinking about taking ten month of and then start recording the next album, but Kim also wanted to work on his solo project and we all needed some extra time for different projects and we started a reunion of our former band that was very popular in Norway (Seigmen). It was just planned for one show but it ended up with a big concert in a huge place in Norway and a tour and a festival tour and a big show in an opera-house . It all took so much time, you know. That's why the new Zeromancer album came very late.
FAS: Well the new album is called Sinners International, why did you chose this name?
Alex: Well it is inspired by all the extreme things we experienced when we lived in L.A.! We lived close to all the celebrities there and it was extreme to see how cold- hearded people are and their unbelievable lifestyles. It's disgusting how you can brainwash people to do things they are not supposed to do. The album is not about that, but it is inspired by that feeling we had there, the bad excuses people find for the damage they have done.
One of the supportbands started their noisy souncheck and Alex and I move for another place to go on with the interview in silence...
FAS: What would you say is the best at the new album??
Alex: Well a very good thing of this album is that we did everything on our own. Before, we had the luxury of financial support of our german major lable, but we changed to an Indie lable and produced everything on our own. That was our chance to get back where we wantetd to go, not surrounded by that commercial pressure we had before. It forced us to make songs free from other stuff. The working on the album in 2003 was harder. It affects you if there are people waiting for results, wanting the commercial sucsess, wanting you to do your best in your job. It effects you, well it's bad that I have to say it, in a very negative way. So we changed the lable and wanted to to it this time exactly how we wanted it to do, no matter what.
FAS: So it was a dream to produce the whole album yourselves??
Alex: Yes, we always wanted to do, but we never dared to, though we had the skills, we had a studio, you know, we always wanted to do... We are really control freaks... I am not saying anybody else had been pushing around us, I am talking about our own head, the mind-games, and this time, we really enjoyed our time in studio and it was a fantastic experience. And it was inspiring to keep on working on who and what you are.
FAS: Where do you see the biggest developement from the last album Zzyzx to the new one Sinners International?
Alex: Well I guess all of our albums are different from each other and we wanted to make an album that explains why they are different. We thought about how to do. We wanted to have the melodic part, we wanted the basement and we thought about the whole package of our sound. Then we went back to the studio and we were really ready for it!
FAS: What means music to you??
Alex: Ow well, music is my life. it is everything to me, it gives me so much and I appreciate that very much. And then you realize that other people appreciate it, that you are doing music, that's an incredible feeling. And when it happened you even work harder, we don't take anything in advantage. People pay to see a good show, if it's ten people or twothousand it doesn't matter, people come to the show to see a good performance and we all say that to ourselves before we go on stage, no matter what happens we have to give the best we can... Even if you have a bad day, everybody has bad days of course, but we have to do our best on stage for the fans. That's important for us and inspires us, to show some respect back. I guess too many bands forget that, forget to take care of their fans.
FAS: You are on stage together with some of your current bandmembers for 20 years now. First with Seigmen now with Zeromancer. Can you imagine to go on another 20 years?
Alex: Yeahh....... probably if we can walk....*laughs*
FAS: See the Rolling Stones...
Alex: Yeah you're right. Well, I mean we wanna do a new album.
Well we decided to do the Orkus Club Tour in december 2006 to see if there is still interest in Zeromancer. And there was, that gave us a good feeling. Well one thing is for sure: Whatever happens Zeromancer will not end. The band will always exist in one way or the other and we guys will always be friends and doing music together. We still have so much more to give so we go an as long as we have that feeling!
FAS: You played a few shows before this one on this tour, how do you liked it?
Alex: Very good, very good, we did a few shows in Norway before we came down to Berlin and Hamburg yesterday and we didn't know what to expect actually. Six years is a long time and it was extremely nice, very good shows.
The noise gets louder and louder...
FAS: What do you plan for the rest of 2009?
Alex: Well we play this tour, a few more gigs and then some festivals in summer. We have plans for a new album in 2010 but in the next 18 month there can happen so much, you know...
Thanks to Alex Popp, Peddy from Neuwerk Music Management and Alex from Zeromancer for his time.
Pictures are in the gallery
FAS: Tell me about Zeromancer, what is important to know about the band?
Alex: Well, actually we formed the band in Los Angeles, where we lived at that time, it was in 2000 and we did 3 albums from 2000 to 2003 and we toured a lot! Then we were supposed to take a long break because we were touring too much.
I guess the most important is that we are in music business for so many years and we had that long break from 2003 to 2009 and it is fantastic that our fans are still there, still come to our shows, still support us after so many years. We are very grateful for that. We didn't expect a lot before this tour cause 6 years is an eternity in music business, it is too long, you have to rebuild and we are so happy now, that we can start over again.
FAS: Why did it took 6 years from the last to the new album, that is a very long time??
Alex: Yeah very long, too long. We were thinking about taking ten month of and then start recording the next album, but Kim also wanted to work on his solo project and we all needed some extra time for different projects and we started a reunion of our former band that was very popular in Norway (Seigmen). It was just planned for one show but it ended up with a big concert in a huge place in Norway and a tour and a festival tour and a big show in an opera-house . It all took so much time, you know. That's why the new Zeromancer album came very late.
FAS: Well the new album is called Sinners International, why did you chose this name?
Alex: Well it is inspired by all the extreme things we experienced when we lived in L.A.! We lived close to all the celebrities there and it was extreme to see how cold- hearded people are and their unbelievable lifestyles. It's disgusting how you can brainwash people to do things they are not supposed to do. The album is not about that, but it is inspired by that feeling we had there, the bad excuses people find for the damage they have done.
One of the supportbands started their noisy souncheck and Alex and I move for another place to go on with the interview in silence...
FAS: What would you say is the best at the new album??
Alex: Well a very good thing of this album is that we did everything on our own. Before, we had the luxury of financial support of our german major lable, but we changed to an Indie lable and produced everything on our own. That was our chance to get back where we wantetd to go, not surrounded by that commercial pressure we had before. It forced us to make songs free from other stuff. The working on the album in 2003 was harder. It affects you if there are people waiting for results, wanting the commercial sucsess, wanting you to do your best in your job. It effects you, well it's bad that I have to say it, in a very negative way. So we changed the lable and wanted to to it this time exactly how we wanted it to do, no matter what.
FAS: So it was a dream to produce the whole album yourselves??
Alex: Yes, we always wanted to do, but we never dared to, though we had the skills, we had a studio, you know, we always wanted to do... We are really control freaks... I am not saying anybody else had been pushing around us, I am talking about our own head, the mind-games, and this time, we really enjoyed our time in studio and it was a fantastic experience. And it was inspiring to keep on working on who and what you are.
FAS: Where do you see the biggest developement from the last album Zzyzx to the new one Sinners International?
Alex: Well I guess all of our albums are different from each other and we wanted to make an album that explains why they are different. We thought about how to do. We wanted to have the melodic part, we wanted the basement and we thought about the whole package of our sound. Then we went back to the studio and we were really ready for it!
FAS: What means music to you??
Alex: Ow well, music is my life. it is everything to me, it gives me so much and I appreciate that very much. And then you realize that other people appreciate it, that you are doing music, that's an incredible feeling. And when it happened you even work harder, we don't take anything in advantage. People pay to see a good show, if it's ten people or twothousand it doesn't matter, people come to the show to see a good performance and we all say that to ourselves before we go on stage, no matter what happens we have to give the best we can... Even if you have a bad day, everybody has bad days of course, but we have to do our best on stage for the fans. That's important for us and inspires us, to show some respect back. I guess too many bands forget that, forget to take care of their fans.
FAS: You are on stage together with some of your current bandmembers for 20 years now. First with Seigmen now with Zeromancer. Can you imagine to go on another 20 years?
Alex: Yeahh....... probably if we can walk....*laughs*
FAS: See the Rolling Stones...
Alex: Yeah you're right. Well, I mean we wanna do a new album.
Well we decided to do the Orkus Club Tour in december 2006 to see if there is still interest in Zeromancer. And there was, that gave us a good feeling. Well one thing is for sure: Whatever happens Zeromancer will not end. The band will always exist in one way or the other and we guys will always be friends and doing music together. We still have so much more to give so we go an as long as we have that feeling!
FAS: You played a few shows before this one on this tour, how do you liked it?
Alex: Very good, very good, we did a few shows in Norway before we came down to Berlin and Hamburg yesterday and we didn't know what to expect actually. Six years is a long time and it was extremely nice, very good shows.
The noise gets louder and louder...
FAS: What do you plan for the rest of 2009?
Alex: Well we play this tour, a few more gigs and then some festivals in summer. We have plans for a new album in 2010 but in the next 18 month there can happen so much, you know...
Thanks to Alex Popp, Peddy from Neuwerk Music Management and Alex from Zeromancer for his time.
Pictures are in the gallery