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11-22-2007, 04:01 AM
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Interview with Rick and Karl (from German magazine)
A very nice three-page-Interview with Rick and Karl form current "Synthesizer-Magazin 05/07"
http://www.synthesizer-magazin.de/ Quite some talking by Rick  I translated it, sorry for any spelling cracks. You have started very early to publish Songs and Albums digitally via your website. You got your own radioshow on the site, beside different art projects that you offer. You are among the few musicians that see the internet as a chance instead of a curse. Why ? KH: The internet lives, we're excited about that. It offers unlimited possibilities. If we host a radioshow, the listeners can buy the music of the bands at the same time. That excites me. Everybody has the chance to create something for himself, and we wanted to keep a certain presence, too. We were fed up with the traditional way of making records. Especially these jamming streams helped our philosophy. Sometimes it's hard to stick to 6 minutes. In jams, music you live your music much more intensive. Some Underworld fans will be surprised, that there are only a few dance tracks on the album. Why did you take a step away ? RS: Well, funnily we listen to a lot of music and thanks to all the webcasts all kinds of genres of music. Of course a lot of electronic music, but now and then a guitar might sneak in. A lot of what's going on in the German clubscene, mostly what I would call Minimal-Electronics. Before making the record, we we're reminded of our roots, which from the beginning we're in Germany. When we heard Kraftwerk and Krautrock, all this crazy stuff, that influenced us as kids. Maybe you just get grown up, and it's not all about "being crazy". Karl, this year you celebrated your 50th birthday. Don't you feel a bit too old, for this kind of music ? KH: That happens, if you always stay up to date (laughs). Just a short time ago we discovered the internet as a medium for us. Apple helped us a lot officially, to realise that, to keep in touch with the fans. In the studio I've never felt too old to do anything, since we're making modern music (laughs). Recently you worked on two Soundtracks, "Breaking and Entering" and Danny Boyle's "Sunshine". Did this work influence the new album? RS: Creating soundscapes has always been a passion for us. On the other hand, first thing is to be yourself. I think you have to separarte that, even if there are parallels or inspirational moments. Much things happened due to all the web stuff, but we see Underworld as a journey, and you never know, where you will get next. Even for this album, the online part stays as a central part. That was quite stimulating. Just to produce album after album, that would've been our kiss of death. After all these adventures, an album is again something quite special, that's what it has to be. You can't force inspiration. How was Abbey Road ? RS: Recording techniques have changes a lot since the 90s. We changed the studio, took a look at Lo-Fi-Recording, and learned to love "crap"-recording. For the completion we went to the huge Abbey Road Studio, with the most expensive microphones, brilliant engineers, we really we're able to be ourselves and do whatever we wanted to do. The final mastering was a process for sorting our "soup of ideas". We wrote 200 Songs! It was a very emotional process and important for our journey. You wrote again for Danny Boyle, his "Trainspotting" gave you worldwide success with "Born Slippy". We're there any doubts to do it again? Since the whole world os still waiting for a new smasher like "Born Slippy" ... KH: I was really fun in those times, yes, the song gave us so much attention, but we never had the intention to produce a hit. Such thins happen in just a moment, and you can't influence them. It works, or it doesn't. The more you think about it, the more unnatural your tracks become. It's important, to let things happen. And maybe the new smasher comes, or not. Looking back, was "Born Slippy Nuxx" a blessing or a curse ? KH: No, not really a curse. Sometimes it's annoying and frustrating, if people only ask about this one song or you are reduced to these few minutes. On the other hand, it's a song from us, we stick to it, and we're proud of it, otherwise we hadn'd recorded it. It's still a song that we love to play live. I think that answers the question. You live in Romford, Essex. People often talk about you and the London clubscene ... KH: No, no, we lived a long time in London, but we feel well he're in Essex. London is a living capital, if you wan't to have success, you can't make it without London, but you cannot live always this high pulsating life. We liked out time in London a lot, and now we like the place that we live in now. Is it right, that Brian Eno and Larry Mullen (U2) we're in the studio for "Oblivion with Bells" ? RS: Yes, that correct. We contacted them, asking for a bit of jamming with us, and suddenly, spontaneously, one of them was in the studio. Esppecially with Larry it was quite some fun. He is a god on the Marimba. I don't have to say anything about Brian. The vocoder seems to have become your new best friend on the album ... RS: Wasn't it always (laughs)? No, vocoders are the only instrument in the world that sound modern and oldschool at the same time, and taht fits perfectly with our sound. It very musical, usually you separate the layers of vocals and instrumentals, the vocoder creates a bridge. We like that. Underworld often uses the stilistic element of constant repitition of a song's theme. What is so fascinating about that ? RS: Hard to say, maybe it's this feeling of hypnosis. I like a song building up over minutes and minutes, that's liberating for me. The classic song scheme doesn't work for us, that would be constraining. Karl, especially for non-Brits many of your lyrics are not that important. You like to play with British slang. You personally care much about the lyrics of your songs, right ? KH: Of course, but it always start off with a blank sheet of paper. I write my lyrics in the moment the music's being created. That something parallel for me. Again: If you are too fixed for the start, even with lyrics, your thoughts are not free. I start to improvise, in the end it feels right. Then I know: that's the lyric. What do you think Underworld can still offer today's music scene ? KH: Chaos (laughs)? No, I really don't know. We feel good about the stuff we do. I think, we can be pleased with what we have achieved. And, considering the famous guests on the album, that we're taken seriously. There is no reason to change the steering or question something. When you started as Underworld, you we quite old for the music scene. Was that an advantage ? RS: I'd say yes. As a teenager you put all your hopes into it, want to become a Rockstar, make huge money with music, have fun. Mostly that doesn't work out, and lots of kids let these dreams capture them, loosing the sense for reality. We didn't have to make music, but we loved it. We could act freely. And as you see, it worked out for us. I see the difference in the approach, rather than in life experience. Sven Väth recently said in an Interview, Techno and House will have a renaissance. How do you see that ? RS: I'm not the world's expert, but the 90s were very wild, so much things happened. I think, now we had a little stilistic pause, a people could learn to use new media. There was a retrowave, but who knows how long it will live. Everyone is asking themselves, what the futere might sound like. There is so much mixing and researching going on. you can imagine everything already. What else should come? And I think, i a few years, we will have the answer. Music will be more technical again. When did you think the point was reached, Techno and House were dead? RS: I'm not even sure they've died. Sure, so much has changed. Suddenly all this freakstuff was totally popular. Today it's usual. Many people have a bad feeling about that, but I think, House and Techno have developed so much, soon there will be another underground that's trying to be something different. We really need that, too. Last edited by DaddyAdv; 11-22-2007 at 05:23 AM. |
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#2
11-22-2007, 10:47 AM
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Re: Interview with Rick and Karl (from German magazine)
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