Rock chick encounters: Unzucht interview from Slavestate magazine, english translation

Link to original article in Swedish:

http://www.slavestate.se/?e=2223

It is time for the rest of the world to be introduced to Unzucht’s melodic, industrial, goth-metal. They were founded in 2009 when the guitarist and electro programmer Daniel De Clercq lured the half Spanish vocalist Daniel “Der Schulz” Schulz with him to a mysterious island somewhere in the German East Fresian “Caribbean”. Somehow they found the bassplayer Alex Blaschke and drummer Toby Fuhrmann along the way. They recorded their first demo, and the mysterious island is now known as “La Isla Muerta”. Since then things have been moving fast for the German industrial rockers. In 2010 they were chosen to be “Newcomer of the Year” by the fans at M’era Luna festival. Their debut album, “Todsünde 8” which was released in 2012, reached number three on the German alternative chart. I managed to meet the hairy half of the band, Der Schulz and Toby Fuhrmann, after a top gig at the M’era Luna festival. This festival feels special for them, explains Schulz.

- The first regular show we played was M’era Luna. The fans had voted for us to play as newcomers of the year.

- That was 2010, continues Toby. We have now released an album and are back on the main stage this time.

Did you get a record contract right away?

- No, it was a year later in 2011 that we managed to get one with No Cut Entertainment. Meanwhile we played support for many different bands like Mono Inc and Megaherz.

Have you started to get attention outside of Germany?

- Yes, a bit, answers Toby. We have been receiving mail from the USA, Italy and quite a lot from Russia.

They have already played outside of Germany when they were supporting Mono Inc in Rotterdam, Holland.

- That was a different kind of experience, says Toby. A border really is a border! No one knows Mono Inc in Holland. They are really big in Germany and we played big places with thousands of people every night. Then we went to Holland and there were perhaps 40 people there, less than what we pull in for our club gigs.

- That was very special for us, explains Schulz. It was the first time for us and I thought that it is important for a band that sings in German. We all know the history between our countries, so it was great to get to play there.

- Yes, we traveled thousands of miles, since we were playing just by the Czech border the night before, continues Toby.

The band might be quite new, but the bandmembers are veterans. Schulz and Toby have worked in the music business for 20 years. They all played in different bands, and that is how they met. Schulz explains the concept of the band.

- We all come from different musical backgrounds, Heavy Rock and even House music. The idea was to get them together.

- It feels natural for us to mix up electro with metal. The metal scene has welcomed us with open arms, not in the electro scene though as far as I know. They just want electro without guitars, adds Toby.

- We are inspired by bands like NIN and Ministry, says Schulz.

- This kind of music has been around for 20 years, so what we are doing is not a new idea. We hope we can give it a new twist and that it sounds fresh, continues Toby.

What do you think of the German dark rock scene?

- It is really cool! We are like a big family! Like today, Lord of the Lost, I love them, they are our brothers, Ost+front fucking lovely people, Mono Inc great!

Schulz continues to praise almost every German dark rock band there is.

- Germany Rocks! We have finally got over our difficult history, and can have some fun!

On the 4^th of October they released the follow up to “Todsünde 8”, “Rosenkreuzer”.

- It will be similar to the first one, but a lot darker and more melancholic, explains Toby.

- We have just lost a friend, and we are expressing our feelings through the record, adds Schulz. Our recording process is very fast. We started to write the songs three months ago. Everyone writes all the songs, and we all bring something to the table. We are a real band in that sense, where no one is more important than the other.

Do you have an agenda with your music?

- For us it is mostly about feelings and having fun, answers Toby.

- To have fun is also a political message, says Schulz.

- It’s about our shows and to celebrate. What our lyrics are about is not so important. We can celebrate together with the audience even though it is a sad song. It is about experiencing the same feelings all together, continues Toby.

Last year they released “Kleine Geile Nonne”, “Little Horny Nun” complete with a soft porn video. It is a heavy electro song with Kraftwerk like talk singing by De Clercq. The theme fits in well with their name Unzucht that translates to “unnatural sex” in English.

Have they had any problems with religious organisations after that video?

- No, we are too much underground for them to notice. Some think that song

is silly, but that one really is just for fun, says Toby.

Their music has a lot of electronic elements. Have they ever considered having a keyboard player for their live shows?

- We thought about it in the beginning, but then we thought, no. It is better if the programmed stuff stays programmed. It gives it a different feeling, and amplifies the industrial. Humans that play to a machine.

Schulz takes over and starts to praise electronic bands like Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk, whom he calls the German Beatles.

Unzucht only sing in German. Have they ever thought of writing English lyrics?

- I have started to write in English, but there’s a completely different feel to it. Not for this album, but there is a song in another language, says Schulz.

- A song in Spanish, because Schulz is half Spanish. Born in Germany but with Spanish mentality, explains Toby.

- It is a fuck up with languages! Wouldn’t it be better if we all just spoke one?

- Yes, Esperanto, answers Toby.

He continues to talk about the Spanish song, which is a cover of Héroes Del Silencio’s “Entre Dos Tierras”. They had the idea a couple of years ago, and they have finally recorded it.

After the album is out they are going on tour, this time as headliners. For Toby it is the touring that is the most important.

- That is what we do. If we didn’t, there would be no meaning in what we do. I have just read Al Jourgensen from Ministry’s autobiography. He writes about how much he hates touring. All he wants to do is create music, and not to stand on a stage like a monkey in a zoo repeating the songs over and over again. That is not the case for me.

Toby the drummer is also the band’s manager. He has written a book as well, “Ich trag ein Massengrab im Herzen” which translates to “ I wear a mass grave of hearts”.

- It is about sex, drugs and violence! A little Rock ‘n’ Roll, but mostly violence.

Is it based on personal experiences?

- I can’t say, my lawyers won’t allow it.

- It is like a mix between Bukowski and J. D Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye”, adds Schulz.

Toby seems to have fingers in many pies. Is there anything else he likes to do?

- Drink! I have made my own drink.

It is called Drink Darkness and consists of tequila, lime, chili and mocha. Available to order in a skull shaped bottle from nocutshop.de.

Does Schulz do anything else?

- I mostly write songs and lyrics.

He also has a sideproject called Der Schulz. It is an acoustic singer/songwriter project.

- I don’t write all the lyrics for Unzucht. De Clercq also writes quite a lot. It is cool to mix it up. We inspire each other.

He wanted to be a rock musician since he was five years old.

- I don’t play guitar very well, and I can’t play drums or bass. My only option was to sing.

Toby does not know what the future holds for Unzucht. They have a two year plan, but after that it’s hard to tell what will happen. Unzucht is their main priority and they really hope it will remain like that.

They have had some support and encouragement from H.I.M.’s drum technician, an Irish man named Sean. His first job was with the Rollins Band in 1984, since then he has worked with many big bands and lives in Munich.

They met him last year when they toured with Megaherz. He decided to stay on his free day after the H.I.M gig to help Unzucht. It is not often that a soundcheck gets an applause, but Sean was so entertaining that he got the audience going. Instead of the usual, “Testing, one, two” we got “Fuck titties and arse”. When he started working for them, he said that Unzucht’s star is rising and he wants to be a part of that. Maybe they can persuade him to make an appearance on stage as their “Kleine geile Nonne”.

The new video on the other hand is not soft porn. Schulz describes it.

- Since our friend died, the video is set in nature, in the mountains and in Toby’s neighbourhood. It is very emotional.

On the question if they have a family, they both answer no.

- Rock music and touring are the most important things in my life. But I don’t want to live a completely destructive Rock ‘n’ Roll life. I try to find a happy medium. My heart is half Spanish and every year I go to Galicia in Spain where my mum’s family lives.

- At least I managed to get hold of some beer from Galicia for our video shoot, says the drink meister Toby. I filmed my part of the video in the Spanish quarters of Hannover and there are a lot of Spanish shops there. So I went and searched for Galician beer.

- Estrella de Galicia from my home, A Coruna, adds Schulz.

They are starting to get quite big in Russia, like so many German bands of that genre. Do they have any plans to tour Russia.

- We have a few dates outside of Germany planned but we don’t know for sure yet, answers Toby. Russia can be a bit problematic at the moment thanks to the political situation. Bloodhound Gang are banned from entering Russia for at least five years because they desecrated their flag. Russia is a bit like the USA during the 90s with censorship and morality.

Have you been to Scandinavia?

- I have toured there with Rammstein, answers Toby. Not played, but I sold merchandise for them. It was crazy to be part of such a big production.

Who knows soon it might be Unzucht that will tour there with a giant show.

Review of Unzucht Rosenkreuzer Album

Link to original article: http://www.slavestate.se/?e=2241

Unzucht – Rosenkreuzer

No Cut Entertainment

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German band Unzucht stormed the industrial goth scene last year with their brilliant debut album “Todsünde 8”. The expectations for the follow up, “Rosenkreuzer” are very high. I don’t think any one will be disappointed. Unzucht delivers and then some. When the first song “Rosenkreuzer”, named after the mystical order that originated from the Knights Templars (Rosicrucians in English) crashes through the speakers, it is like being run over by a tank. Much more tempo and heavy guitars than on the last album, which felt lighter and more electronic.

When you start to listen more intently after having recovered from the attack of raw energy, you will notice how intricately the songs are built up. A carpet of electronic rhythms and melodic licks that are woven together with brutal guitar riffs. What makes this band so special are the contrasts.

De Clercq gives orders in a typical gruff German way, and Schulz balances it with melodic vocals. The album continues in the same heavy way, but with melancholic lyrics in “Kind von Traurigkeit”, “Child of Sadness” in English. The song goes through several tempo changes and develops into a wistful melody about sorrow. With “Triebwerk” it gets brutal again with De Clercq’s talk singing, and once again Schulz adds harmonics with the lines “There is no point in dying”.

This album is overarchingly melancholic and many songs are about death and loss. The band lost a friend recently and this is their way of expressing their feelings about it. The first single “Nur die Ewigkeit” is a prime example of this. The album would have been worth a top grade for this song alone. Everyone that has lost someone will understand the sentiments of the song. Schulz’s light, passionate, mournful voice asks us if all our dreams were wasted and if there is a bigger life than this one. He ends with “We thought we had plenty of time, but only eternity has enough”.

It might sound sentimental, but this is not a “I might as well hang myself” song.

The melody is uplifting, and there is hope in the lyrics.

After this beautiful moment we get atttacked again with “Feuersturm”. The rest of the album continues with this genial mix of hardness and sensitivity.

A cover of Héroes del Silencio’s “Entre dos Tierras”is also included. Schulz now has an opportunity to sing in his mother’s language, Spanish. The original is Spanish pop rock, and nothing special. But with typical Unzucht keyboards, more tempo and gutsy guitars you suddenly realise how good it is.

The album ends with “Mit Dir oder ohne Dich” a somber song that starts heavy but becomes melodic with piano.

If you like Rammstein you should give this band a chance. It is hard, heavy industrial metal, but with a soft warm heart.