Schallfaktor - "A new love is in sight"

The dark electro project Schallfaktor is the child of Drazen Sucic who started playing music under the Schallfaktor flag in 2006 when he released the album "Schmerzgrenze". Soon joined by Steffen Minich for live duties the band started getting recognised and at the end of 2006 the band was picked up by Torben Schmidt, label boss of Infacted Recordings. Out now is the 12-track single "End of love" which counts remixes by the likes of Suicide Commando, Grendel, Wynardtage, Modulate and Nvmph. The single acts as an appetizer for the band's upcoming album which should be ready by end of this year. We talked with Drazen Sucic. (By Bernard Van Isacker)

SL. "End of Love" is your very first release for the German Infacted label. Tell us how everything started for you guys and who are your influences?

D. I started in 2003 with the planning of the concept for Schallfaktor. I did search for another musician to work with but sadly I didn't find anyone suitable in the beginning . Then, in 2005 I had a couple of songs written and while at a party I met Steffen. Our understanding of the how the music should be was perfect so we made plans to meet each other in the studio. Steffan had great ideas for how the live show should be so I asked him to join the project. This is how it all started.

SL. How did you end up on Infacted?

D. Now, that is an interesting story! A DJ kept playing a couple of our songs at a party which he does with Torben Schmidt, label owner of Infacted, so Torben after a while recognized a few of the Schallfaktor songs. After a few days, I had an email from Torben with an offer to join the label. The funny thing is that I received a few other emails at the same time from other labels though I decided to go with Torben's label as it felt like the perfect match for the kind of home we wanted for this project.

SL. I see that you are responsible for the production as well?

D. Steffen is responsible for the live support. I write and produce the songs and do the vocals. Steffen likes to have more time for the studio and the production though often he is too busy with his regular day job.

SL. Btw, Drazen Sucic, is not really a German name... Yugoslavian? Care for an insight?

D. That is true, Drazen is not really a German name. I was born in Germany but my roots lay in Croatia.

SL. Dark electro is apparently the only kind of industrial music that is still doing fine. A surprise for you?

D. No. That is no surprise for me. Electro is club music and in my opinion it will be there for a long time but the character will be ever changing.

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SL. What are exactly your expectations? What kind of career do you have in mind?

D. I hope that Schallfaktor will reach people and bring them music and lyrics in an emotional way. I don't want to only do club music, I like it if people have an understanding and passion for my lyrics. My lyrics have a universal theme that everyone can connect with on some level.

SL. In August 2006 you self released the first CD, "Schmerzgrenze". Did you recoup some of the material on that for your newest CD or is it all new work?

D. The first CD was made as a promo CD so I have decided to pack a few tracks on the "End of love" EP as well. We will also have some old tracks on the forthcoming CD as well.

SL. You are in good company on your EP with remixes by Suicide Commando, Grendel, ... I guess that should open some doors?

D. Sure it opens doors when you work with other musicians. We come from a genre where I believe working together helps everyone. We see each other around and it becomes a friendship.

SL. Is this a good mirror of what we can expect on your label debut album? When can we expect that to be released?

D. Yes it is…but I think that a couple of songs will bring some surprises. The CD is in the end phase now though there isn't a set release date yet.

SL. Any guest musicians for this release?

D. I must say that is a good idea. We will see what will happen.

SL. Whose idea was it to add 12 songs on this EP and why exactly??

D. The label and I ordered a few remixes and as we started listening, it was hard to choose since they were all so good. "Welbstmordgedanken", "Psychokiller" and "Zukunft" were the tracks that we already had as extras on the CD and so we ended up with 12 songs for the EP.

SL. How has the response been so far? What have you learned from it and do you keep it in mind when completing the album?

D. The feedback was un-expectantly good! The reaction from the crowd at the live gigs was amazing and as a new band with our first official release we were very surprised. This has all been a learning experience but if you always keep in mind what the fans like and then do it that way, you lose your own creativity. Every artist has his own art to express himself and this is the way I would like to keep it. I am open for improvement and want to continue to evolve as an artist.