Das Ich � �All the World's a Stage�

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06 Jun, 2006

From their castle in Bavaria, Das Ich stand as a testament to the diversity within the 'gothic electronic' genre. Combining the harsh electronic aspects with Bruno Kramm's orchestral skills as well as vocalist Stefan Ackermann's theatrical presence, they congeal to form something unique, a hybrid of the classical with the mechanical. In a way, with Kramm as composer and Stefan merely a player, with Das Ich itself acting like an ancient film projector - their kaleidoscope-lens tool, shining their organic visions onto a man-made screen. With their latest chapter complete, Das Ich's theatre has announced the curtains are about to part and unveil their newest work of art � �Cabaret�. (By Vlad McNeally )

SL. Years back, I heard that Das Ich owned a castle in Bavaria, which turns out to be the truth. How did you happen upon purchasing a castle, and how goes its restoration, is it complete?

B. There's still a lot to renovate, but the recording and office areas are fine. You cannot imagine how much work such a place takes. And most of the time we work on new songs and tour around the world, so there is only limited time for renovation.

SL. Back in 2003, there was mention in an interview that there was new Kramm material in the works, plus some songs for Bruno's older project, Fahrenheit 451. Are there still plans to release any of this to the public?

B. Oh yes� my labelwork just takes so much time that I never find the time to finally mix the songs, and then after years of waiting I don�t like the songs anymore and write new ones. It's the tragedy of my life.

SL. It has been mentioned that Stefan's live performance is rooted in the expressionist era of film and theater. With a title like �Cabaret�, one has to wonder if this same movement has been the inspiration for this new album. What is the significance of the cabaret?

S. The idea behind �Cabaret� was created by Bruno. He always likes to add extra and relative perspectives to it. For example, we see the strings that I am connected to at the artwork as something like the social network we all need and should share.

B. Today, everybody is in a position of egocentric super-individualism. At the same time we lose ourselves in digital networks, we start to shiver from our abandoned and lonely solitary state from which we can see this as a result of our modern lives. The networks that social systems � we are not talking about insurance � can offer are much stronger and can give us back some of the warmth we need. We have to understand ourselves as beings that are woven into this current time/space continuum for the minimal time period of a normal life span. This makes us all one family which is lost on this little time frame in the ocean of possibilities. Why not help each other together? Tomorrow we are all � one earlier, one a little later � dead, and a new continuum starts without ourselves instead with the holy individualism of our supernatural 'Ich's.

SL. Duality has been a reoccurring them within your music. For example, the positive and negative religious connotations of �Anti'Christ�. Viewing just the artwork for Cabaret, I get a sense there might be a new or revised duality between the puppet and the puppeteer. Does this imagery play as any sort of theme within this new disc?

B. It is also a link to idea that good and evil is just used as a lesser metaphoric and theatrical director's tool to achieve their political goals.

SL. It is pretty well known that Das Ich is in charge of the label, Danse Macabre. Since you may be the few that know, what ever happened to bands on your label's roster like kalte Farben and Ichor, and what are the plans for your label in the future?

B. Ichor and kalte farben are unfortunately not doing new records. Chad from Ichor is busy with several projects, and Ingo from Kalte Farben is more into technotrance music these days, but I have signed some interesting new bands like Metallsp�rhunde, PTYL, Seelenzorn, Schneewittchen. Check it out at www.dansemacabre.de

SL. In past interviews, it seems like Das Ich are avid fans of film and literature, citing Stanislav Lem and Russian cinema as catching his interest, as well as Trakl and Baudelaire inspiring your early lyrics. What currently has grabbed your attention during the recording of �Cabaret�?

B. I listened to Brecht/Weill often and found same interesting links. The 'epic' role, in the Brechtian sense, is that the art is considered to be like a weapon for opening the mind's eyes (especially in the regards to the society in which we live); it is a key that defines a great part of �Cabaret�. It, too, is connected with the romantic expressionism of our musical landscapes. �Cabaret� is explicit from the cover artwork, under this point of view, and the puppet-Stefan embraces 'symbolically' the dramatic tension of the opera. But, besides these ideas, there is no real influence.

(�)

To read the complete interview, be sure to buy Side-Line issue 55 !

Side-Line issue 55
Das Ich CDs

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