Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Ost+front interview english translation

Link to original article:

http://www.slavestate.se/?e=2317



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