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There has been a lot of controversy around the German band Ost+front
(East+front) since their debut album, Ave Maria, was released in August 2012.
The music press has criticised the band for copying Rammstein, both musically
and in their shocking image.
The single for “Ich Liebe Es” was accompanied by a hardcore
S&M porn video that is only available uncensored on certain sex channels.
This year they created more headlines when the mayor of
Windeck, Hans-Christian Lehmann, cancelled their concert. He said he didn’t
want a band that glorifies violence with a name that has associations with war
in his city.
When you listen more carefully, you will realise that they
are so much more than a Rammstein cover band with cheap shock effects. The
music is well produced with strong melodies and multi layered complex lyrics.
The band was founded by the vocalist Herrmann Ostfront A.K.A
Patrick Lange, from mediaeval folk rock bands Corvus Corax and Tanzwut in 2008.
The rest of the band are: Gernhardt von Brüh (guitar), Eva
Edelweiß (keyboards, percussion), Wilhelm Rotlauf (bass), Sigfried Helm (guitar),
and Fritz Knacker (drums).
I got hold of Herrmann Ostfront for a few explanations about
their image and provocations.
He grew up in old East Germany during the time of the DDR,
when the wall divided Berlin and the Iron curtain divided the world into the
communist eastern block and the capitalist western block. What makes Herrmann’s
childhood a bit different is that he was born in the west.
-
My childhood was quite unstable. My parents were
socialist activists who left the west (BRD) for a new life in the east (DDR).
My life changed from colourful to grey, from capitalist temptations to a simple
standard of living and from being an individual to being part of a community, in
one day. I missed my old school mates. I had a special status at my new school.
They were always friendly, but probably thought, don’t tell him or ask him too
much.
Do you think it’s
better now after the wall came down and the country is reunited?
-
That is not an easy question to answer. Both
east and west had better lives before the wall came down. All of a suddenly
they were united. It changed the way
people were thinking. There is still a big difference between the two sides,
even in a big city like Berlin.
Do you remember
anything from the 9th of November 1989 when the wall fell?
-
Yes, I remember that day! It was a strange
feeling. Many who had been unhappy in the DDR moved to the west to look for
what they had missed all those years, and they didn’t find it. The loyal
socialists were scared and felt like they had been robbed of their identity. I
was eleven when the wall came down, and I was happy to see my old school mates
again.
The frontman is a multi-instrumentalist and he started with
music at an early age.
-
I started with the flute and piano. Classical music,
like Mozart, Beethoven, Handel etc. Quite boring for me at that time. I later
took lessons in percussion and vocals. It was still boring. When I was 13 I
played in a steel band, that I liked very much. Calypso was not really my kind
of music, but I liked to play together with a big group. Then I saw a video of
a band from the Netherlands called Pestilence and I decided to start a new life
as a Rock Star. I bought an electric guitar without knowing how to play it and
started my first band, Ferox. To learn by doing was brilliant! Felt like
inventing music. In total I play 666 instruments.
Another influence during Herrmann’s youth was an extreme
hardcore Dutch phenomenon called Gabber. His band played a mixture of Buzz Fuzz
and Extreme Noise Terror. From futuristic music he went on to play mediaeval
music with Corvus Corax. The mediaeval folk music scene is huge in Germany and
appeals to everyone from families to goths and metal heads.
-
In my first bands, the main focus was on the
production. In this new style (for me) the sound was not so important. The aim
was to write catchy melodies in a short time and make a lot of money from it.
This was completely new for me. Up until
this point I had never thought I could make a cent from my music. It was just a
way to express myself and a hobby. Now I had a new goal! Be extreme, have a
good sound with catchy melodies and make money. The result was Ost+front!
The name Ost+front has led to misunderstandings about the
band’s political leanings.
-
In the beginning there were people that mistook
us for a right wing band. By changing the name and putting a + in the middle we
made it clear that we are from East Germany and that we play strong like a
front.
The band debuted in 2011 at the M’era Luna festival. Since
he had a contract to appear he invited some old friends to play with him and
they haven’t left him since. At that event Chris L. from Agonoize sang.
Herrmann played guitar and sang backing vocals. Chris left the band after two
weeks. What happened and why didn’t
Herrmann sing?
-
Oh, I did do it at the beginning. I just had the
idea to bring in a singer to be the focus and do all the interviews and stuff
like that so I could concentrate on writing and producing. It was a short
attempt, and I now do a double job. With all the organizing it’s more like a
triple job. I am living it!
Was it difficult to
get a record contract?
-
I was quite established in the music business,
so I asked a lot of promoters to make contacts for me. I talked to a lot of
labels and because of the high production costs it was only Out of Line that
had enough balls to make such an expensive deal with a newcomer.
Herrmann writes and produces all the material himself. Apart
from him there are only a sound engineer and a female background singer in the
studio. As if this wasn’t enough, he also plays live with bands like OOMPH!,
where he is the percussionist under his other alias Okusa. Will he continue with that?
-
Yes, I love playing with OOMPH! For the right
price I am always bookable if I like the music.
Talking of pseudonyms, Herrmann has more secret identities
than Batman.
-
It’s because they are all different roles.
Herrmann is an evil destructive character. Okusa is direct, fair and working
hard on improving himself. Der Kalauer is on ice for the moment. A party guy
without any goals. And Patrick Lange is just the boring private person behind
them all.
What is the idea and
meaning of Ost+front?
-
The idea was to astonish the world, and it does,
even myself. The band is like a film. I direct music and pictures to new
extremes. I was so bored seeing my favourite bands on stage in their street
clothes. In a good film you don’t just have a soundtrack.
The band definitely does not belong to the far right politically,
quite the opposite. However, sometimes it is understandable that some people
misunderstand the irony and satire of the band. The first time I heard “911” I
thought I heard “Sieg Heil” in the chorus, which is not allowed in Germany.
-
I am shouting
“Jihad” in that song. The Muslims’ holy war. The lyrics are about their
reaction against the USA and how the Americans see themselves like the world
police, while they are leading oil wars and exploiting their countries. 911 is
the American emergency number for the police and an abbreviation of 11th
of September.
How important is
controversy and provocation in music?
-
For me it is very important. A way to confront
people with a world that no one wants to see. Child abuse and rape of children
shocks me! I have very radical opinions related to that.
When I ask what other shock bands he likes, he can’t think
of that many.
-
Manson had his time, but I think he can be big
again. Rammstein are perfect because I understand exactly what they are
singing. Rob Zombie does a great job with his gloomy horror style, but it’s not
very shocking. It’s like seeing an old Frankenstein movie. I love his work.
Many, however, think that Ost+front are shocking. The video
for “Ich Liebe Es” is hardcore S&M porn. The lyrics to “Gang Bang” are
about mass rape.
Isn’t this going a
bit too far?
-
No, this is a part of the world and I want to
inform people about it. All publicity is good as long as people are talking
about me.
Some music critics have also accused them of copying
Rammstein.
-
There are a lot of bands in Germany with that
style. Rammstein are the biggest band of that scene and they are perfect.
That’s why they are number one!
Who plans their stage
shows?
-
We do it together in meetings. Everybody shows
their ideas and then we create a concept from it. Sometimes things happen on stage and then we
decide to incorporate it in the show. An example of that is “The human
monitor”. I hate it when singers put their foot on the sound monitor. It’s my
parody of that when I put my foot on Eva Edelweiß’s body and he becomes my
human one.
The mayor of Windeck, Hans-Christian Lehmann, did not seem
to appreciate their dark humour when he cancelled their concert there after he
saw the video for “Denkelied”. A charming song about Karl Denke, who killed at
least 42 men and then ate them. The video stars our friendly butcher Herrmann
cutting up bodies and then serving them. For a while it looked like there could
have been a court case. The band wanted compensation for breach of contract.
The organisers are now trying to find a new date. It ended up being good
promotion.
They have just released an EP with “Bitte Schlag Mich”. A
song that is quite different from their usual style, since it is a bit poppier.
-
The song is about a woman who was beaten during
childhood, and then finds a husband or a boyfriend who is also violent towards
her. It’s like she learned as a child that abuse is okay and sees it as a kind
of affection. It’s a common phenomenon that people who grew up with violence
often find it again when they are adults. That includes the abuser’s part as
well. Sons who see their fathers beating their mothers often do the same later.
“The Father is like the son. Blue eyes are loyal to me. Please hit me!” Part of
the lyrics, a sad but true story.
“Heimkind” also has a serious and tragic history behind it.
It’s about child abuse in Christian orphanages.
-
I found a documentary about how those children
were mistreated, and I started to write the lyrics. I have a strong opinion
about this. Death penalty for paedophiles! Religion is not anything I have a
problem with. Everyone can believe in whatever they want. I believe in me! My
lyrics have different layers. The same text will have a straight and simple
message for the casual consumers and also a sensitive poetic embedded message
for the people that like to read between the lines. You can imagine that it’s
not easy to write in this style. To write the music I need a day and a month
for the lyrics.
The new Album “Olympia” is released on the 24th
of January 2014 and the single “Liebeslied” the 20th of December
2013.
Will you take the
music in another direction, like “Bitte schlag Mich”?
-
No, that is not the new style! The song is very
special, that’s why I decided to make an EP of it. It is a strong tune, but the
new album will be more like Ave Maria again. One more step further in that
direction. You will like it!
Ost+front have collaborated with German Goth and Metal bands
like Lord of the Lost and Saltatio Mortis. I was wondering if there was anyone
else that Herrmann would like to work with.
-
Oh, yes! There are quite a lot of people. Peter
Steele (Type O Negative) is dead, otherwise he would have been number one. I would
love to hear Lemmy sing something in German with me.
The other band members are all masked and anonymous.
Herrmann explains that it’s because they are all in other bands. Ost+front is
growing, but they need to pay their bills.
-
They are like characters in a film. Do you
remember the old Godzilla movies? They would be total crap if the actor did not
wear his Godzilla costume.
In November the band arranged their first festival in
Berlin. The Destroyka Fest. Something they might do again in the future under
the name Frontfest.
It all depends if they will have time with all the
organising for the new album and the tours coming up. They are also big in
Russia, bigger than in Germany, and will tour there next autumn. Italy has also
noticed the band and Herrmann would like to tour Sweden one day. He has heard
it’s very beautiful. In the future he wants to make the image even more
extreme, and would like to make some kind of musical.
Finally, what does
his family think of his Rock ‘n’ Roll life and is there anything apart from
music that he likes doing?
-
I don’t have any contact with my parents and the
rest of the family thinks I am crazy, but they like what I do.
Music is my job, my religion and
my best friend. I don’t have much private life. When I have time I like to
cook, that makes me happy. Ah, okay and sex, that is my biggest hobby.
Photographs: Maria Bergman
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