Girls Under Glass

Interview by Francesco Palumbo


Within a few time "Frozen", your newest album will be out. Would you anticipate anything about its musical characteristics and its meaning after "Nightmares"?

Nightmares was a special record that chronology of over a decade of work by the band which included Some new tracks, some tracks never released, some out of print and some that were Girls Under Glass classics. The new record "Frozen" is mostly all new material that is very fresh and powerful. We think this is our most accessible record we have made to date. Every song is well crafted and we even do a cover version of the Madonna song "Frozen" which is the record's title track.

And about lyrical approach, what can you tell me about this new creature?

We went back to our roots. This record is more melodic than previous works. Frozen combines the crossover from industrial to gothic to synthpop. This record is a reflection of years of perfecting our craft as well as years in this business. We all drew on our over decade of experiences in making of this record.

Your latest studio album has been described as the hardest G.U.G.'s album ever released. Is "Frozen" destined to be its natural successor?

I believe you are referring to Firewalker that came our several years before as this was our hardest studio record made to date. We donŐt believe is was hard from a metal side but definitely our angriest piece of work to date. For Frozen we are in a better state of mind and it is more of a reflection as well as returning to the melodic music we do best. This record is more of a crossover masterpiece!

What kind of changes you feel inside yourself and in your music if you compare this new album with the previous ones?

The last record Nightmares was a chronology of works over the life of the band. Frozen is the next step forward for the band into the new millennium. Nightmares depicts over a decade of our experiences in this business as well as personal life. It is more of a musical biography of the band as we have grown through the years. We feel the new record Frozen in the product of our years of experience. We have matured as both people and musicians as Frozen depicts.

You have celebrated the deal with Van Richter with "Nightmares" a "best of" album with some unreleased tracks. Why a similar choice and above all are the things with your new label working out well? It seems they are doing a great job for supporting your release.

This was our first U.S. release so we wanted to make a big splash into this market by bringing forth our best material to date as well as making new exclusive tracks for this record "Halloween" etcÉ Again this is not so much a best of record but a chronology of the bandŐs best music(past, present and future). Van Richter has done a great job for us. We have never received this much support from a label. The exposure has been great especially since the market for our genre of music is very difficult. We respect a label like Van Richter that supports artistic integrity and has stayed true to the genre for over eight years. We look forward to putting out many more records.

You are probably one of the first bands who have proved to melt different kinds of music in your style. It is not a mystery that in your sound can be heard Industrial elements, Dark Wave facets and Electronic sounds but sometimes also Metal recalls. What is the reason of this multiplicity of elements? Is it simply the way you use to represent in music the different facets of your soul or is there anything more behind this choice?

This is the signature of the Girls Under Glass sound hereby we integrate all these genres into it. However the result is uniquely our own. Every member of GUG brings their musical experiences into the band that we have incorporated over the years. There is no intention to be a metal industrial or gothic band. We believe everyone can identify a GUG song. Even when we listen to the older GUG material it still sounds amazingly fresh and new. We try to make our sound timeless so people will always be interested in GUG.

This is the 15th year you live under G.U.G. I think that for you it has been like to see a son growing up in your hands. In which way did it transform during these years and moreover is there anything that can be considered absolutely identical to your debuts?

We believe we have matured as musicians and people. In the initial years we did not have a cohesive band core until Volker took over the vocals and that is when we were able to start to make our best music. Over the years we have developed our skills and craft and we believe we have improved with every record. However we can look back over all these years and be proud of our work. Our debut was with a different line up but again we have returned to our melodic roots but this time Writing and performing at our best in our career.

In your music technology has a great importance. Do you think that it is just a medium for humanity or, as a lot of people say, it will annihilate human fantasy? What fascinates you about technology?

Technology makes a good servant but we do not which to serve it. Axel is a technological genius and has invented Midi equipment unique to GUG. He has also make Midi gear for Die Krupps among others. Technology is not our enemy. We still need to know how to play our instruments but we could not reach Our goals without it. Technology is responsible for the evolution of the genre and subgenre of Industrial music today.

Without any doubt G.U.G. can be considered a sort of Cult band. Which are your sensations about this considering all those years? Was it a thing that you expected when you started this project?

We were one of the first bands in the genre that was not a Sisters of Mercy clone coming out of Germany So we always had a mystic about us. We donŐt mind the cult status but too much of it is as a gothic band which is only one aspect of GUG. We never expected to be big rich rock stars when we started the band And appreciate that we do have cult status. We hope more people will find out about us outside of the Gothic cult. We hope Frozen will be our big breakout crossover record. Hopefully our Wolfsheim duet "Grey In Grey" on this record will help as well.

Various are your side-projects too. Would you try to up-date me about them? Who is the one closer to GUG's attitude and also importance?

Here is a list of our side projects and relatives. Trauma is closest to GUG's attitude and importance

You come from Germany and have a deal now with Van Richter Rec. an American label. Which are the most important differences between Europe and USA above all in their attitude towards music?

Well we were on Strangeways most of our career and they did not care about us outside of Germany. Van Richter is working for us on a global basis. Record industry people are pretty similar no matter what country they come from. We don't care what country a label comes from as long as they care about our music. So far Van Richter has given us the most support for our music and career.

After all those years is there a person which you would like to work with?

Many of the bands we have done cover version of over the years like Gary Numan, Simple Minds, and John Carpenter.

What is the episode you lived during those years that you'll remember as long as you live?

There are many on tour (two many) including a plane crash. Also meeting one of our heroes Gary Numan was also an important experience.

Light/Darkness. Which is your side?

We cover both depending on mood. We have been to the depths of darkness as well as seen the light side with our new record! We have covered songs of love and hate over our long career. We have multi dimensions to our personalities.

To end it a curiosity of mine that surely you have answered thousand times. Why Girls Under Glass and in which way is born this name?

It is just nonsensical words like Sisters of Mercy. It just had a good sound to it and something people would remember. There is no big story behind its meaning. We were just thinking up names and this one was right for the band and the genres we travel in.

What can we look forward to from G.U.G. in the near future? Maybe a tour?

First and most important the new "Frozen" record will be released this summer and then some European Festival dates. Next year the record Equilibrium will be released on Van Richter. Look for all those details on our website http://www.vanrichter.net/gug.html Thank you for the interview and look out for all the Girls Under Glass activities this coming year!


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