Exclusive Interviews: Vendetta Music

Interview with Ingo Beitz of the band Kalte Farben

July 1st 2007

Q1: Hello Ingo, it's good to have you back! The new kAfA tracks featured on myspace sound very promising. What can you tell us about your upcoming album & do you've a tentative release date?

Hi Nader! First of all, I would like to thank YOU for your great support! I'm very surprised that there are still so many people out there who enjoy listening to kAfA and It's a pleasant surprise I might add. Over the past ten years,several major things have happened in my life and I've got a different perspective on the world around me. I took a short break after the release of "Opium" and in late 1997, I started experimenting with different styles of industrial music because I didn't want to get stuck in standard EBM. I have always been fascinated by classic EBM structures and hard beats, and my passion for the old school electro sound is never gonna change but I chose to follow a different path with kAfA. The new album '13 Ways to commit suicide' is a reflection of all the anger I've accumulated over the past 10 years. The new tracks feature striking lyrics but I've avoided cliché topics such as 'death' and 'the world is so evil'. The lyrics reveal an ironic and sarcastic perspective on the stupid patterns that shape our lives. We never seem to acknowledge the serious problems facing mankind. Do you think that it's good just to observe our surroundings rather than trying to improve them? People are intelligent creatures and we're able to effectively communicate our ideas but I can't help wondering why don't we change the rules that govern our lives? It's all about money, power, self-protection and combating "the enemy". Do you understand what I mean and are you gonna do something about it? I don't think so because most of us perceive those patterns as 'normal', a standard. A sign of the sickness in our society. Those who were able to shape our lives are running our world's governments, and the only thing left to normal citizens is freedom of artistic expression. Whether you're a painter, musician, writer or sculptor. we all try to compensate for the frustrations we're experiencing on daily basis. We just have to contain those feelings of desperation and anger, and avoid hurting people around us. This might sound utopic because humans are greedy creatures and we aren't ready to evolve . My music reflects my sarcastic nature and I must admit that the new album reveals candid and intimate moments as well. Sorry too much 'pseudo-philosophy'. Umm you wanted to know if I have a firm release date, I hope it will be done in about eight weeks. so september would be a nice month to shit on this world...

Q2: kAfA is one of the most praised dark elektro acts of all time. Your highly-accalaimed albums "Trust" (Danse Macabre, 1994) and "Opium" (Off Beat, 1996) received positive reviews, and connoisseurs of alternative electronic music foresaw a promising future for kAfA. What are the real reasons behind your long hiatus?

Thanks for the kind words. I personally don't think so, but I'm very honored to be considered as an influential dark elektro act. Like I said earlier,the main reason behind my disappearance was my lack of interest in the alternative electronic scene. It was time for me to try new things and on top of that,I was very disappointed in my production skills. You have to understand that most musicians don't have the means to hire a good producer. I had to learn about production techniques and the only way to do that was to record and remix bands of different musical styles.I've worked with metal,alternative and jazz bands and gained lots of experience. I had a blast but I've always felt that my roots are in electronic music.I was fascinated by synthesizers at a very early age, and I was eager to explore complex sonic soundscapes.It was a way to express myself artistically and unleash my creativity. I mean a guitar sounds like a guitar, a french horn sounds like a french horn regardless of what yo do with the timbre of their sound. The basic timbre never changes but a synth is a word of its own. I started producing hard-trance and ambient music in 1994, but that wasn't the trance style you hear nowadays. We had great highly-skilled producers and excellent labels such as Eye-q or Warp. They released some really great and innovative projects,way better than most of the generic trancey releases that currently inundate the alternative electronic scene . The seminal album 'Tri Repetae' by Autechre and the 'Second Bad Vilbel'EP changed my life forever!They have stood the test of time and I can say with certainty that they blow the new generic trancey releases out of the water. I'm a little astonished at the fact that the new minimal projects released by labels around Berlin are far more aggressive and progressive than most of these "so called Terror EBM and Futurepop bands. The "Modern EBM" projects sound like a bad copy of the classic clubby tunes spinned at the famous Technoclub in frankfurt in 1993. The truth hurts but it's better than living a lie! They taught me to hate arpeggios. thank you bitches! Arps ARE awesome but NOT those one-finger-patterns that are stored as a preset in each and every hyped synth... FEEL your machines! DON'T be a slave to them! DECIDE what you want to do and MASTER technology in the palm of your hand BEFORE you start making music!Electronic music needs an INDIVIDUAL touch. Hey don't get me wrong it's perfectly fine with me if a musician is hooked to a preset sound but his or her music would lack individuality!

Q3: What are your favorite electro bands and which styles of music did you listen to growing up?

I used to listen to black metal while I was growing up (1983-85). My favourite bands were Dj Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. A whiUe later, I was completely fascinated by drum computer, fat synth-basses and beatbox-grooves then I discovered Anne Clark, Depeche Mode, followed by F242,FLA,Skinny Puppy, Nitzer Ebb, Ministry, Lassigue Bendthaus, X Marks the Pedwalk, Leaether Strip and so on... After i distanced myself from the alternative electronic scene, I started listening to clubmusic as well as underground clubmusic on vinyl and cd. I was very impressed with labels such as Eye-q, Warp, Djax up, Dragonfly and I shpuld also mention the seminal releases of Future Sound of London, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Blue, Scorn, Dots and Dashes etc.. They were my heroes and they broadened my musical horizons tremendously. Nowadays I'm very much into classical music and I enjoy listening to Jòn Leifs, a noted pupil of Anton Bruckner, the piano pieces of Eric Stie, twelve tone music of Arnold Schönberg, Adolf Schnittke and György Ligeti. Classical music is very deep and powerful.It reaches beyond your physical senses directly to your brain. Last but not least,I'm still very fond aof the 90's guitar bandssuch as Soundgarden, Nirvana, System of a Down, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Helmet, Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Low, White Zombie and so on. There are so many bands that are way better than the current crop of trancey bands. Hardcore, grunge, stoner rock and crossover bands have a great influence on the new kAfA sound. Ooops how could I forget to mention Nine Inch Nails? Trent Reznor is and will always be my role model.

Q4: Veteran rivetheads have expressed utter disgust at the hellektro/futurepop-infested electro scene. Do you see things ever changing to pure harsh elektro instead of trancey bands getting all the attention?

I've thought a lot about this topic and I'm not sure what to say: if trancey bands want to make that kind of music , it's fine by me because I don't care about it. As far as i'm concerned, it's a total waste of time to listen to this nonsense. The lame trancy hooks remind me of mainstream trance that was popular here in Germany between 1992 and 96 .Gabba, a hardcore-techno style hailing from Amsterdam and Rotterdam, was far more aggressive and innovative than all these bad copy-cats. Like I said earlier, people have different tastes and they can listen to whatever they want.It just sounds like total bullshit to me.

Q5: The last few years have witnessed the return of classic electro acts (Front 242, Skinny Puppy, Portion Control, Nitzer Ebb and last but not least Leaether Strip) and the emergence of neo-old school bands (Severe Illusion, Last Influence of Brain, Object, CAP to name a few). I strongly believe that authentic dark elektro (100%-trancewhackedgoregalore-free) and old school EBM took the first step toward regaining ground. What's your take on that?

Old school was and will always be a part of me but I must acknowledge the fact that I'm no longer able to contribute to this style of electronic music.Like I said earlier, I'm looking for proper means to express my anger and pure aggression. There are practical limits to the emotions that can be conveyed through synthesizers while the guitar riff brings me immediate satisfaction. Synthesizers can sound as harsh as guitars even more evil, but once you play a guitar riff you'd feel the power of this amazing instrument. It connects direcly with your soul. Don't get me wrong, i cherish every minute i spend in the studio. Nothing is better than closing the door behind me, firing up the system and working on sounds and melodies. It's like a therapy for me but I also feel a great sense of satisfaction whenever I plug in the guitar and let it all out.I never had this feeling When I was working on "Trust"and "Opium". I'm well aware of the fact that some old school fans feel differently about guitars but I've evolved over the years and I wanted to write music that appeals to me. I honestly don't care whether people like my new stuff or not. It's MY taste and i would never write music "just for you". To go back to your question, i think it's important for the younger generation to discover the original sound of EBM. There are great bands out there and the new releases bring back good old memories.I hope that old school will pick up again.

Q6: Are you in contact with promising neo-old school bands and would you work with them in the future?

I'm afraid not. You have to understand that i was really "out of the picture" for quite a while. I've lost all my old contacts and now that i'm angry again I will get in touch with some of them, too. Come to think of it, I have always been an introverted man. People who like me or my music have always made the first move. Don't get me wrong,I'm not an asshole but I've a different frame of mind than most people. I keep thinking about stuff that aren't that important to others and that causes a lack of communication.. I guess i'm one of those individuals who became disillusioned with society.

Q7: Is there any special synthesizer or software program that you consider to be the best to work with?

I use cubase sx3. i think it's great and i won't start a 'philosophical' discussion here. I've used cubase for many years so why should i change an application i know so well? I'm also using some plug ins and that's the main difference with the mid nineties. I really love the complete edition of native instruments: reaktor, absynth, massive, contact, battery - All you need nowadays is a good laptop, some programs and the knowledge - and this world is yours! I still use old gear and synths i've collected over the years. I LOVE music and I LOVE synths.I sometimes buy old crappy tools just to get new vibes. THe old synths are relatively cheap nowadays and that's definitely a very good thing. On the new album i've used a virus b, a microQ, an emu e64, yamaha fs-1r, sequential circuits pro one, roland juno 6, emax II, kawai k5, yamaha dx-11, korg poly 61. but hey, there's no need for it.You just feel great when you use this old gear at 3 a.m .i.e when you're too tired to stare at your highlighted screens.

Q8: How would you describe your involvement with the techno-industrial project Skorbut?

Jörg and Daniel are very good friends of mine and i've got the utmost respect for them but i'm not involved in their work. I just designed their new logo and the cover-artwork, because that's what do for a living.I'm a freelance illustrator and they like my work. Another very talented and a great friend of ours, Ansgar Noeth, a founding member of the experimental-electro act, 'Printed at Bismarck's Death' took the pictures and so it more like a "family reunion". Jörg currently resides in California and one of his dreams came true: he's working as a sound-designer and producer at the studio of Hans Zimmer, the movie-score composer. We don't have the time to work together even if we want to.Their music is different from mine but maybe i'll do some remixes for them in the future.

Q9:Are you planning on re-releasing the highly sought after kAfA backcatalogue?

I'm not sure. Stefan Herwig called me a few weeks ago and he has some ideas he'd like to discuss in the future. The main problem is I lost the old recordings due to hardware defects, so we will see what happens.In all honesty, i've never been entirely satisfied with "Trust"& "Opium" mainly because of their bad production. I haven't had the chance to remaster my backcatalogue and maybe i will in the future but you have to understand that mastering and fixing a badly mixed song are two different things.

Q10: Any last words or comments?

Fight against fascism, dullness, ignorance and dishonesty. Do the things that interest you the most,show respect for your fellow citizens, read hagakure, and last but not least don't treat animals like dirt. They are not responsible for our madness. Thanks again for the interview! You're a great man Nader!