Cornelius Bach I first met back in 2012, at my first Wave-Gotik-Treffen. I was picking up my press pass from him on a Friday afternoon. The spokesperson of WGT, we had short encounters and mutual greetings at the performances over the years.
We all
have our experiences of this spectacular event, and I have interviewed many artists, hearing their thoughts. However I have never asked the management questions .
Hidden behind the mysterious realms of the AGRA, in a lightly spiced up baby bat café, Cornelius and I sat down to discuss the concept, history and perspectives of this special place.
Hidden behind the mysterious realms of the AGRA, in a lightly spiced up baby bat café, Cornelius and I sat down to discuss the concept, history and perspectives of this special place.
Intravenous Magazine: How did
you become part of WGT?
Cornelius Bach: I have
been living in Leipzig for 20 years. I began as only a patron, but then I got
to know one of the bosses for WGT in my private circle. I started helping with
picking up program books from the printing house for example, it then happened
that the former spokesman Peter Maska couldn't do the position anymore due to
other work commitments. So, I was approached as I had studied journalism, also
being fit with communication I was very happy to take the role. I have been the
spokesperson now for 13 years.
IVM: When
WGT began, as an operation, what was it like compared to now?
CB: The
difference is not so big from today, the concept hasn't changed at all. The
first years of course, it started out much smaller with one venue at the
beginning, with a few hundred attendees. However, it grew fast in the first
years which was an unattended result. The founders had not planned to make such
a big event which it became; they only wanted to create something different
from a normal festival; more of a gathering, hence the name Treffen. a
gathering of like-minded people from different parts of Germany and maybe from neighbouring
countries. Though it turned out to be a good concept. The stress not on the
bands, but also on the communication between like-minded people who enjoyed the
gothic theme.
When I
attended my first WGT in 1998 it had almost the same size as now, and it really
didn't change so much in atmosphere, though we have some more venues all over Leipzig.
In addition, the cultural program which developed further. WGT got more
accepted as a vehicle of enrichment for the culture of Leipzig. Obviously in
the first years there were a lot of prejudices from the inhabitants, the city
government didn't really know what to think of these strange people visiting. After
a few years they realised we're all friendly & kind, and this is
something special that no other city in the world has on such a scale, which
they are now proud to have. Therefore over the years we had the ability to have new locations, such as churches, and start big collaborations
with museums and the opera house of Leipzig.
The basic
concept of WGT and how it is run has never changed. It seems around 20,000
people is the core of international gothic scene which attends, and for us is
a comfortable number. As organisers, we are not always wanting to create
something new and looking to make it larger. We want to preserve
this special atmosphere, which so far it seems we have succeeded in doing.
IVM: How does The City of Leipzig help WGT? You already mentioned they contribute
venues, though are there other benefits to allow WGT to operate?
CB: Indirectly
they help us, as you mentioned with the venues, additionally with the
transportation for example. However, we don't receive any direct support, in the context of finance. This is funded all by us, they give us the permits to
support the venues and cooperation with the opera for example and other
institutions in the city. It's a good cooperation so far; however financially
we are independent and are happy to stay that way.
IVM: Not to
dive into the finance, though is WGT self-sustaining? Back in 2000, there
was obviously difficulty, with the collapse of the millennium festival. From
where it was then to now, is it eliminated from these problems?
CB: The reason
why there were problems back in 2000, was that the people who started WGT, they
were just two young guys in their 20s, that had no experience at all in handling big
events. It was never their plan to create such a big festival which it turned
into. Up to a certain size they were able to keep it under control. Finally, they just couldn't handle running it in such an
unprofessional way and size, it was impossible to handle this without the
expertise. The costs rocketed and not enough communication in organizing created the recipe.
When it started again in the following year, the main segment of the organizing
staff changed and then we had no future problems, as a team was formed which
had the skills required. Since then, there has been no problems.
IVM: When I began coming to
WGT, you could see that particular genres were picked for each year. For example, 2018
sees Wave making a come back.
Is it a situation that management considers what’s
going on in the scene, and book the artists, or are the requests filtered through?
CB: It’s a
combination of both. We get hundreds of requests each year for bands which
want to play. The booking staff listen really to each request and they decide
if it fits from the style. As you can see we give a lot of chances to unknown
bands as this was always part of the concept, as well as booking the big bands which you see on every Festival.
On the other side, there is also
research done by our booking staff on certain genres which would be
interesting. So then we try to invite them. We always try to achieve a good
mixture up to the edges such as Neofolk, which you hardly find on other
festivals, if at all. Sometimes there is a post-punk and wave revival. We obviously take
this into the consideration, as there are currently a lot of great new bands in these
genres. We always try to have a good mixture.
CB: The latter
is more the case; it's seen as a complimentary event. It's a small
festival with a limited number of bands, and a more limited range of styles. We
see no danger that people are not going to WGT, instead to Gothic Pogo. It is
more the situation, they are either going to both, or some prefer this one style and
wouldn't be in Leipzig anyway for WGT.
IVM: What are
your favourite aspects of WGT?
CB: My favourite
aspect for every year, is that you meet a lot of interesting people from
all over the world. For example we are sitting here, it is very nice to meet
people from the UK, Japan to Mexico City! A lot of the time you can only meet
these people again next year. The world is coming to Leipzig and this is something special for
me.
The
second would be the wide variety of events. Which other festival do we know of can offer such a range? Where you can attend a classical concert, opera, theatre; to then a music stage or a night club. This combination of bringing
people who may only know about the music, the ability to go on a guided museum
tour that walks through gothic culture is an amazing offering. So, it is much
more than music.
Thirdly
discovering new bands. I must admit I don't know every band which is booked by
my colleagues. There are always new names for me. Thus it is enjoyable to sit down before
the festival; listen to some amazing tracks, and then have the ability to see
them live. It's obviously great to see your hero bands maybe for the umpteenth
time; however for me, it is great to have such an opportunity to be exposed to new
discoveries every year.
IVM: Is there
anything this year you are very interested to see?
CB: Yes! Wardruna,
which is a Norwegian band many people have told me about. I've never seen them
so far, though they have a very impressive live show. RosaCrux, a French artist which are performing in the Schauspielhaus. Again, they
are known for having an impressive show, with a big drum works and self-made
construction for a large bell. It's also a rare opportunity to see them, as they do not perform often.
Finally Blixa, from Einstürzende Neubauten. Before, for some reason it never worked to
have him perform, so it will be a great first appearance and Monday finale this
year in the beautiful Volkspalast.
IVM: Would you like to say anything or do you have any questions?
CB: I want to point out, it is really a pleasure for me as a
spokesman in this function for so many years that they're people like you still coming, still euphoric. You sometimes see people lose this after the second attendance, and by the fourth do not come anymore. I am very happy to see that there are
people coming from all over the world every year that are so happy to be here
again. it also confirms that we at WGT are still creating something
special.
It's
obviously a pleasure to see Intravenous Magazine reach out, and see the
press take interest in us, as well as the artists performing here.
IVM: Thank you & finally, is there
any venue you hold close to your heart?
CB: It's definitely
Volkspalast. I like this venue, as it is so different to other venues we have
at WGT. Because it is quite big and is built after the pantheon, with the stone
columns and I was very impressed when we made our first concerts here.
One memory from the early years when we had booked the venue, was from the Monday. After we had all finished our work, I saw Lady Genesis P-Orridge playing Psychic TV. It was something new and special to me. It was a very crazy show, with a very attentive crowd. I will never forget this special atmosphere.
One memory from the early years when we had booked the venue, was from the Monday. After we had all finished our work, I saw Lady Genesis P-Orridge playing Psychic TV. It was something new and special to me. It was a very crazy show, with a very attentive crowd. I will never forget this special atmosphere.
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