TFS's decade long history speaks for itself.They've poineered the fusion of guitars and electronics, and charted numerous hits in their German fatherland. Long before metal industrial was in vogue, TFS were paving the way. Now, they're setting the new standard
Being the veterans that you are, how do you feel electronic music has evolved over the past decade? How do you feel that evolution has effected you?
EBM/Industrial history in short terms by TFS historians: It all started very interestingly, being fresh and new and whatever in the mid - eighties,and had its first great peak in 86/87 with classics like Front 242,Skinny Puppy. It kept on developing some brutal great mind busters, and in 90/91 it had reached a stand still in my opinion . The music features were ever and ever repeated. Cheap copies of Skinny Puppy filled the electronic underground, never reaching the original. Techno brought new influence at least concerning Europe. And bands like NIN lead the whole scene into new future ways.
How do you feel TFS has contributed to that evolution?
TFS? How can we know how much they influenced the whole thing? They had a share into the whole process; they had their contribution. They were the leaders, the inventors, the big chiefs- but more I do not know concerning their role in the history of EBM/Industrial dark noise.
The fusion of the guitar with electronics has become such a focal point of electro in the past few years that even militant electroheads have accepted and adopted the style.What are your feelings on this subject?
Yes this is the second even more important influence into pure EBM,starting around 91/92. The new nineties heavy guitar aesthetics conquered the scene which had run out of new creative sounds/ideas so much so that in 93/94 even FLA and 242 gave up their purism which is quite good ending the boring standstill.
Tell us about Labyrinth or more specifically tell us about Tancer's quest.What does Tancer represent? What are the three furies and what do they represent?Awarning/ Acritical assessment of the present?
Tancer represents in some aspects the old TFS'lers fighting his ever arising tiredness and bordom, pushing himself into action trying to change circumstancesand falling bitterly harr. The three furies, Mother Restless, Sister Anger,and Miss Dissatisfied represent which is not too hard to perceive bearing the function of their names, three fundamental emotions of modern life. The whole story was given to us by magical ways out of the future, to warn nowadays world how things will develop if mankind does not listen to TFS-which is a demand to go and buy the stuff of course!
How will 1am effect The Fair Sex?
The future of TFS lies in the hands of American listeners
What do you think the future holds for our planet? What roles do you think technology,consumerism and capitalism will play in it?
Perhaps we will awaken one morning not too far away in the 21st century and we will see that all bitter warnings have proved not to be exagerated. I think we will all not feel very content then. This is a theme for the darkest pessimistic stuff like that. It makes it easy for us. We will always be able to count on our having done something against the great crash; a thing we have not donein fact.
What are your feelings about Television?Politics?Drugs?
TV continues to go down into ever more shallow hollow, greed for sensation,greed for misfortune,guitly of being dumb regions.Politics not being able to stop the fall into those regions. Drugs pretending to offer a way out of those regionsgiving sort of a relief which does not last as we all know,wha...?