Cast your minds about, if
you will, into the realm of theoretical physics. Imagine, if you can an
end to the universe - a time when atoms become so excited, so agitated,
so unstable - the universe implodes: an incomprehensible measure of
matter
turning in on itself. Now imagine the noise that would make (if noise
travelled
through a vacuum). Imagine that was an allegory for the faltering world of modern music.
Imagine that music has reached a point where it is almost
indistinguishable
from pure white noise. Imagine music is no longer the manipulation of
notes,
but of pure sound. With such music talent would be easily distinguished
in the manipulation of those tones. The masters produce definable works,
and the followers just walls of indescribable noise. Sielwolf are some of those masters. Cast your minds back to 1983 - the politico-anarchy of the punk
movement
had become posing and mindless aggression. The heirs of Black Sabbath
were
ridiculing themselves with 'metal' like Poison and Bon Jovi, and the
first
wave of experimental/industrial bands had passed on, or moved on.
Neubauten
had been discovered and were beginning to break in the underground. In that era Peter Prochir and Petra Tausendpfund were two who had
discovered
each other and the magic of sampling. Many of their first experiments
involved
tape loops, acquiring the sounds of others and subverting the discourses
into their own. This lay down the broad map upon which the future of
Sielwolf
was to be set. Like many infected with the need to experiment, and create, in that
era the bleak industrial landscape provided inspiration, as did Kraut
rock
and horror movies. Their mission statement: "That one mixes all
the components and makes therefore something else, something new out of
it." Samples have been an important centrepiece to the bands music. Their
first album in 1990 typified this. Some songs were been created by
stitching
up to 60 samples together, structured around the wire skeleton of modern
electronic music. Sielwolf are currently on tour in the US, something
they
have long yearned to do but never felt they had the profile to
undertake.
The place, aside from being a huge market for industrial/metal noise, is
where Peter and Petra were married. These days Peter and Petra are joined in the band by Jens van der
Glaas,
T.L8 and Udo Betz, who have the expressed intention to 'filter the dirt
in the sewer' of modern culture, and they've been able to do that across
five albums and two continents, scoring review after review praising
them
for their pummelling, original music. It would probably be a cliche to tell you dreams play an important
part
in Sielwolf's creative processes, but they have done, as Petra explains:
"In the beginning there was a sampling
concept and a personal concept
we called 'psycho-hygiene' which means that Magnum, Nachtstrom and
Metastasen
are very personal albums for us." These days Petra feels Sielwolf have become darker, introverted - no
longer unleashing their anger and aggression upon the world but on
themselves.
For the most part the lyrics have gone too. "We like to change
our concept," concedes Petra. "We have industrial roots from the early
eighties like Chrome,
Mark Stewart, old Swans and Neubauten, but these days we're also using
new classical music like Varese, Crump and Penderecki and psychic movie
samples like Cronenberg," she said. If you listen to Sielwolf, and your German is up to scratch, you'll
find some unusual lyrics. The concepts they convey won't translate well
into English because they are very personal, and very unique to the
band's
style of communication: "We make music to
compensate (for) conflicts
and our fears. We, maybe, try to integrate ghosts and personal demons
better
in our personality. Everybody has got dark sides!" Let's take an example. The track 'Mien Weg Zum Geschwur" is
about
"a kind of a cancer that develops slowly - it destroys you."
When not allowing the world to share their experiences Peter spends
his time listening to music, while Petra is involved in sports and body
shaping, challenging the body as well as the mind. Of course one of the
greatest challenges in their lives is getting records out. "One of the worst experiences of being in
the band is having
to worry if you can bring the next record out because the music business
is getting worse for bands like us." Sielwolf have dealt with a number of labels over their lifetime...
their
advice? "Most labels are only after money because
its a business for them.
My advice is not to take the first label that offers you a deal, its
better
to be patient and wait until the conditions are all right. It's very
important
that they let you do what you want." I caught but with Petra while she was visiting the offices of the
bands American label Van Richter Records,
while the band were on tour of the states - so what can audiences expect
to be pummelled with at a concert? "We are using lots of sampling sounds and
live instruments and we do some art performance sometimes....." she says. So how has the US tour gone so far? "Great! We are going to Hawaii, Las Vegas
and I've done a couple of interviews. It's enjoyable." If you live in the US you can probably catch Sielwolf in a major city
near you, if you haven't already missed them. If you have, you can shoot
over to the Van Richter web site and take a gander at their web-page,
and with a 28.8 modem you can even download a couple of songs for your aural
pleasure. So there you have it. Is this a glimpse at the future of modern music?
interview by Haydn
Black
SIELWOLF DISCOGRAPHY |
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