Interview: Die Krupps

The machinists travel guide...

"Berlin was cool when the wall was up, it had a special flare, I really liked the atmosphere, it was like whoever did not want to get the draft went to Berlin, and so it was very artistic. Nowadays it is just a big city without a centre."

Die Krupps has been manufacturing Musik fabrik for 30 years. A creation of steel worker hard bass and a production line rhythm, that seeks to move. Last year was marked by the ‘Machinists of Joy’album. A successful mixture of 90s electro year rock, with an en-laced feel from impounding fabrik bass and then lifted up with EBM technik.

It’s just gone past midnight on a hot Monday morning at Amphi Festival in Cologne. The Labyrinth of the Stattenhaus venue is quickly remembered, as Hermann (tour manager) takes us into the dressing room. After a performance that neared disaster with monitor failure at the beginning (also happening to Front 242 on Saturday), Die Krupps are lounging backstage. A combination of improvised percussion and determination, until the issue was fixed led to a successful performance.

So now it is time for me to answer the deep questions of...

Intravenous Magazine: So who is the best cook out of the lot?

Bradley: Totally not me! I’m a great cocktail mixer.

Marcel: I think Bradley is the best cook, but I’m good on cocktails.

Bradley: I'm a big bourbon fan, you should try ‘The Derby’. Really good bourbon like Basil Hayden 2oz, a spoonful of maple syrup & 1 Oz pineapple juice and a pinch of nutmeg. The Moscow mule I've been drinking a lot of recently.

Bradley’s Bar:

Moscow Mule

•          Vodka
•          Shot of lime juice
•          Top off with Ginger Beer

Bourbon X

·         2Oz Basil Hayden's

·         1tbsp Maple Syrup

·         1 Oz Pineapple Juice

·         Shake it!

·         Dust with a pinch of Nutmeg

IVM: You should try an Islay Mule…

·         1part Islay peated Whisky

·         2 parts ginger beer

·         1 part lemon juice

·         Serve on ice cold.

or a Pain Killer.

Marcel: What is a Pain Killer?

• 2-4 oz. of Pusser's Rum
•  4 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 oz. cream of coconut
• 1 oz. orange juice
•  Grated fresh nutmeg

(At this point I am assuming at least 50% of the band is surviving on alcoholic calories)

IVM: Do things like tonight's monitor sound failure irritate you?

Jürgen: Honestly I think you can use things like tonight to your advantage. If you keep the crowd informed, involve them and improvise, then it will work in your favour. I know it wasn't our fault, but issues can arise now and again.

IVM: What was the aspect of the 'Machinists Of Joy' album?

Jürgen: Essentially to bring out a Die Krupps album for all of the years, the only element we didn't include was the noisy part of the first album, all the rest is there. But now we are going to branch out again. At the moment new stuff is formulating, but we think some time in spring next year we'll work on it.

IVM: You are currently based in Austin Texas, when you are coming back to the continent do you feel the culture difference?

Jürgen: The only two places I've really liked on the continent are London and Moscow. But Austin is the best city in the world. It’s like the San Francisco and New York of the South, all mixed into one. Austin is the oasis of Texas and is really the music capital of the world, there is nowhere I’ve seen with  such a variety of live music, clubs and bars.

IVM: When did you first start coming over?

Jürgen: At the end of the 80s and then I moved to NYC in 1991 and then I saw Austin and found everything. The down town area has it all in one place from an industrial, reggae or rockabilly club, it’s all there in one place! The nature in Austin is like the South of France and if you love good food, you will be spoiled all the way!

IVM: What makes Berlin not cool any more?

Jürgen: Berlin was cool when the wall was up, it had a special flare, I really liked the atmosphere, it was like whoever did not want to get the draft went to Berlin, and so it was very artistic. Nowadays it is just a big city without a centre. Nuremberg is more of a medieval town with a huge castle enclosed with walls you should definitely go there. We actually were asked to play infest this year, but this is two weeks after Mera Luna and we can’t be touring 24/7, what’s it like there?

IVM: It’s a cool end of summer festival in the UK, it’s cheap to go to and very laid back. Everything is on the University of Bradford Campus, and includes a good turnout good variety of electronic orientated bands. Also has possibly the best Karaoke players the scene has to offer!

The corridor begins to resonate in low frequency. The last band downstairs, has come to the closing chapter of its performance. Looking back Jürgen finishes off speaking to a passing by music artist departing into the evening.

IVM:  What would Die Krupps do in a Zombie attack?

DK: Get up on stage and do a performance, see maybe if I could get some back vocal from them.

The interview has ended and so has Amphi. We trace our steps back through the West German structure returning into the Statennhaus theatre.The skeleton that once enveloped the Stage, has begun its deconstruction piece by piece, though the floor is still warm from boots and high heels.

The first glimpse of Die Krupps was at Amphi 2008, the blast of their metal pipes to' Der Amboss' hooked me to them, and seeing the history of the machine years continue on in success, just as Amphi has from then.


'The Machinists Of Joy' is available now via Synthetic Symphony / SPV. For more information on the band, including tour dates and future releases, please visit their official website.

Interviewed by Dominic Lynch aka DJ LX-E
Photography: Daniela Vorndran

Read More

Review: Die Krupps - 'The Machinists of Joy'

DIE KRUPPS 

'The Machinists of Joy' 

SYNTHETIC SYMPHONY 

Lurking away in the forgotten oil terminals of sin and iron works of rhythm, a hammer strikes again between man and machine, to deliver another gallon of sweet petroleum tones from Dusseldorf.  Die Krupps give out the heart of past and a message that the machinists of joy are not dead yet.

The old school noises of EBM are rough and raw in the first half of the album; sixteen tracks are awaiting the beholder to judge.

The melody of electronic pace and guitar strokes start the chant in ‘Ein Blick Zurück Im Zorn’ and we are off with a very instant thud to the chest. Frankly not what was seen coming, but I guess this oil refinery had to start up with the bang.

EBM electronica reigns supreme in the slow lather of ‘Essenbeck’ geared up in the grease back in tanzfabrik. ‘Im Falschen Land’ strips the head into trance and then Stop!

Noises are heard from the back of the factory; echoing of beat and bass creeps in with the snow outside…

The Slow scraping wood on metal beat makes for a dark dirty noise from ‘Part of the Machine’. The fuel from the heat cracks the muscles wide open into the black creature. Throwing gliding scrapes amongst the rhythm expels a heap of lead fumes from the body, allowing those besmirched sounds to grind in snowy rubber soles to feet.

Keeping the Carcinogens alive in the lungs as you breathe down the tar of the previous track, the light chime of a gelid wonderland of warm steelworks, snow and love is burnt in with ‘Eiskälte Engel’. The song could be described as a gentle waltz for an iron pumping machine in the winter. The rhythm is sped up and the backing of synthetic electronica makes it ever so more dark and crisp.

The guitars make their way back in ‘Nocebo’ against white tiles spiting vodka at an angry strobe light.

‘Sans Fin’ grinds back into that lush scent of heavy blast furnaces you walk past in the factory, but even the raging scold of melting iron ore can’t keep you warm . The melodic tones of a lost winter breathe in as you walk out into the snow and away from the factory.

The epilogue is made by ‘Industrie Mädchen’ returns to a hard beat to end the album, a bit blunt for the end of an album, as it feels more made for the middle.

Machinists of joy with its combination of two tone EBM electronica with a hint of winter destruction is an achievement. Taking aside the kick drum beginning and middle-feel ending, the feet of Jürgen Engler and his partners in crime still is worthy of those blades of grass that encompass the three rings of Die Krupps.

Review by Dominic Lynch (DJ LX-E)

Read More

Review: Die Krupps - 'Risikofaktor'

DIE KRUPPS
'Risikofaktor'
SYNTHETIC SYMPHONY

Synth stalwarts Die Krupps are set to release their latest single on the 18th of this month in honour of everyone surviving the "foretold" Mayan end of the world. In suitable 'post-apocalyptic' style the three track single release is a combination of futuristic ebm, classic synth and raw guitars.

Producing music for more than thirty years has not stagnated the German trio. 'Risikofaktor' (literally translated as 'Risk Factor') is catchy, hook-laden dance fodder for the darkly-minded. The titular track is a punchy, stomping affair with a classic, but not tired, ebm sound that everyone wants: i.e. easy to dance to in big boots and slowly building-up to a big club-friendly crescendo.

'Zwei Herzen, Ein Rhythmus' is given a refreshing revamp courtesy of Laether Strip. The vocals are high and clear giving them an 80s synthpop feel while the quintessential ebm beat backs it up. A track which at first seems very simple is at once very effective.

The last track is a live version of 'Der Amboss' recorded at 2011's Amphi Festival. It demonstrates the group's rockier, more organic influences with live guitars and English vocals.

A reassuring release for old fans as it shows that after three decades Jurgen Engler and crew can still pull it out of the bag, as well as being a great way for the uninitiated to be introduced to one of the pillars of the scene.

Read More