‘Click Interview’ with Melotron: ‘We Lost The Sense Why We Are Making Music’
Melotron
Some of you might remind The Vermin, which was the first band featuring the German trio Andy Krüger, Edgar Slatnow and Kay Hildebrandt. They in 1995 went on as Melotron and got signed on the legendary Zoth Ommog label. Other productions got released by Bloodline, Synthetic Symphony and Out Of Line. Melotron became one of the absolute leading synth-pop formation in Germany, but still a successful export product. But after numerous hits and successful albums they needed some rest to reinvent themselves. After years of silence they this year strike back with a new full length entitled “Für Alle”. The perfect moment to welcome this come-back with an interview. The questions were answered by Edgar.
(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: “Für Alle” is your first ‘new’ studio album in eleven years, but it all sounds like you never stopped making music. How does it feel to be back and have released this new work?
Edgar: I’m happy. I’m happy what we have achieved. Yes, “Für Alle” was a long and sometimes stony road. But we needed this time to think about ourselves and about Melotron. Eleven, twelve years ago we lost the sense why we are making music. There were no good ideas for new songs anymore. We felt empty and tired. Other people tried to explain how we could succeed.
We didn’t like that and we thought about breaking up the band. At this moment, we three began to think about finding out what we really wanted. We spoke about our lives, dreams, hopes, changes, responsibilities, music and the future of Melotron. Finally, we found out that we would like to continue making music together, but not in the same way as before. It was the beginning of “Für Alle”.
Q: So how do you see this new album in the band’s discography and in, which way the album became different?
Edgar: Memories about the beginnings of the band showed us the direction. We took the responsibility in our own hands and started with writing and composing like in 1991, true to the motto: ‘Alles auf Anfang’ (cf. which can be translated as ‘as in the beginning’).
Let me get to the point: In the last fifteen/twenty years we had produced only with professional producers. It was more comfortable, but on the other hand you made a lot of simple compromises. So we canceled this kind of working. Andy started his ‘career’ as a producer and I never felt so comfortably to make music before. Yes we needed ‘a little bit more’ time for the producing, but this was our one and only compromise for “Für Alle”. We did what we want and in the way we wanted. So for me, this album is the most important album I ever worked on.
Q: What does the title of the album “Für Alle” stands for and what can you tell us about the main lyrical themes of the album?
Edgar: First of all, each song stands alone. But all together they are reflecting our search and the process of the album. There are some songs like “Alles Auf Anfang”, telling the story about transience and the small part that is staying forever. We wrote this song in just a few hours, but it was a big surprise. Andy and I had worked on another song. I can’t remember on which one, but it doesn’t matter. Andy should start singing this song, but he told me, he would want to do this later and I should look for another song. I thought, it was just a trick because he didn’t want to sing it. I was not happy with it, but he convinced me. So I focused on the new one. A little bit later Andy interrupted me, because we needed something to eat and drink. So we left the studio and during the next two hours, Andy was shopping. I had found the first right words for the song. Back in studio I finished the text, showed it to Andy and he plugged in the microphone and started to sing.
We finished this song on this evening. We put it in a loop and drunk what we’ve bought until the early morning hours, pleased and deeply impressed of ourselves. At this point, we realized that it’s would be an album for us, and for everyone who loves our music. This is how the name was born. Other songs like “Willkommen” or “Dein Glück” accompanied us for a long time of the production.
Q: You just mentioned “Dein Glück”, which is the last song from the album and, which has something soundtrack-like. A lot of artists have this secret dream to compose soundtrack music so is it also one of your dreams or do you want to accomplish other ideas?
Edgar: It’s a very special song. I’d the idea of the lyrics really early. Andy tried a lot of sound dresses, but they didn’t fit. Most of them were really faster. Only when he plays the song on the piano, the lyrics can breathe. I don’t know, why we didn’t try that before, but in one of the last sessions we tried a slow version of the song and the result was, what you hear on “Für Alle”. We like this kind of music; it’s for feeling and dreaming.
You can use our songs for soundtracks, but we don’t produce songs exclusively for soundtracks. Our next goal is the next album and we are working on it. It will follow the dynamic of life.
Q: Melotron is now active for more than 20 years. What have been the main facts from your career that come directly into mind and how do you see yourselves today as musicians/artists compared to the period you were still involved with The Vermin?
Edgar: Friendship!!! As we started with The Vermin, the former name of Melotron, we were three guys with synthesizers, not more and not less. The years made us to become friends. It sounds easy but sometimes it was really hard. We were not aware of the fact that we were the pioneers of German-speaking synth-pop music. Other things were more important to us. We fought for our places in the band and gradually we found our places to work from. We built a platform for a trust-based relationship. Today it doesn’t matter who writes the lyrics or who is composing the music. If someone has a good idea, we try to realize it. Today MELOTRON is our beloved and relaxed life project until the end of our days…maybe.
Q: You’re actually preparing a live tour, which I think is something really important for bands today, but it also is a lot of work and efforts. Tell us a bit more about this aspect and what might we expect from the new live shows?
Edgar: Yeah, live shows are really important for us too. We love to stand on stage and hear our music really loud. The music then feels much more powerful than at home. You can feel the energy and we want to bring it to the audience.
What do you expect from the Melotron live shows? Everything you need for a wonderful evening with good music and a little bit more. Most of the times there are some surprises who no one expects. It’s live (lol).
Honestly, we love to play the new songs as much as the old ones. The mix is very important to us. Cause this is the open secret for a successful party with happy people at the end of the night. So if you get the chance to see us live, do it and you will have one nice evening more in your life. Come and see us at:
08.12.2018, Moskau, Theatr
09.12.2018, St.Petersburg, Mod Club
15.03.2019, Kopenhagen t.b.a.
16.03.2019, Göteborg, Musikens Hus
07.06.2019, Oberhausen, Kulttempel
10/11.08.2019, Hildesheim, Mera Luna Festival
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