| My Revelations Interview |
|
I got a rather unimposing CD that absolutely blew me away, well produced and a with a substantial playing time. A LIFE [DIVIDED] is a German band that has earned a good record contract more than anyone else, and whose singer, Jürgen, answered a few questions for me. As a newcomer, tell us something about your band ALD. Yeah, since our debut CD “Virtualized” in 2003 we’ve been moving through the country and playing anywhere where there’s an outlet. Our second CD, “Far,” has been available for purchase since last month (March), which we did everything single-handedly for, whether it was booking, recording, distribution, homepage, etc. That must be a shitload of work. Respect. Why did you choose the crazy spelling for A LIFE [DIVIDED] and what’s behind the title? Originally they were two separate suggestions for a name for of band. “Divided” in brackets just underlines the meaning of the word. It has less to do with “cool graphics” and more with the content of the name. From the beginning we wanted a programmatic name. For us it represents the dichotomy in our music, the same dichotomies that each of us constantly finds in his own life. On our record you’ll always find a wide spectrum, from soft synth songs to double bass hard ones. Other than that, a certain melancholy clearly resonates in the name, which can also be found in all of our songs. You’re not just getting a lot of compliments from me, but also being praised by many magazines such as MG or Rock Hard. Has that helped you out, and why do you still have no deal? It’s helped is as far as making a set of people pay attention to us. But good press doesn’t automatically mean that record companies are waiting with pen in hand. The main reason from the labels is simply that they see us as being difficult to market. We’re just not a typical metal band that can be sold with the usual marketing measures, but with us they would have to appeal to the masses, which obviously costs more. With our new album, “Far,” we would have had a few offerings, however the conditions were such shit that we’d rather do it ourselves. Why do I need a label if everything they do for us we could do ourselves? Describe your music to an outsider. Modern metal meets Depeche Mode meets Devin Townsend meets Sugababes. Sorry, that’s always hard to do. That’s true! How do you want to raise your level of fame. What are you guys doing for the band? We’re going on tour with Oomph! as part of the opening act and we hope to reach as many people as possible. It’ll be our first real tour and we’re already really excited. That will definitely be a lot of fun. Otherwise we’re doing everything that a band in our position can do. In the next months the press promotion will still be going and in summer we’ll hopefully be seen at a lot of festivals. You’re the singer, comment on the lyrics. The lyrics mostly revolve around personal stories, describing situations or other very worldly things. I see it like how it is with our music. Anything is allowed, the main thing is that it moves me. And if it also has meaning for others, that’s obviously even better. In any case I always try to keep a universal constant in the lyrics, so that everyone can find his own story in them. Are you at all into the pathos-metal of Farmer Boys, which I think often shines through in your songs? You’re not the first to make this comparison. Hmm, to be honest I’m only familiar with one of Farmer Boys’ albums. And I think it’s really good! But if there are these intersections, they’re completely by chance, but it’s an honor. |