GÖRL – Interview with Robert Görl & Sylvie Marks

Some encounters stay with you. When I briefly met Robert Görl backstage at the Elevate Festival in Graz in 2019, it was just a fleeting moment – yet a special one. It was one of the last opportunities to experience him live together with Gabi Delgado-López as Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft.

A year earlier, Robert had sent me a signed drumstick – used on stage at Berlin’s Waldbühne, where DAF performed as support for Depeche Mode. A beautiful, almost symbolic connection – not least because Martin Gore has long been one of DAF’s greatest admirers.

Today, Robert Görl begins a new chapter. Together with producer and DJ icon Sylvie Marks, he launches a project under the name GÖRL – one that does not copy the past, but transforms it: uncompromising, reduced, yet full of emotion.

Their debut album Dark Silver Moon Light will be released on May 29, 2026 via Grönland Records.

GÖRL interview

Reflection & New Beginning

SL: Robert, when you look back on that time today – especially the last concerts with Gabi – what has stayed with you the most? And what has changed for you personally and artistically since the posthumously released album Nur Noch Einer?

Robert: The last concerts with Gabi were a very beautiful time. We celebrated our DAF hits together with the audience – and our 40-year musical career. Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft was our life’s work, incomparable to anything else.

Since Gabi’s death, I’ve been working with Sylvie Marks. She also helped me produce the album NUR NOCH EINER. From that point on, a new energy came into play – also because Sylvie, as a woman, brought something new into it. I think Gabi would have liked that, because in a certain way it is also provocative. The band with Gabi was very male-dominated.

GÖRL – How it all began

SL: Robert, how did the name GÖRL come about, and what led to the decision not to continue under the name DAF?

Robert: The name GÖRL emerged after the farewell album Nur noch einer – and there was a reason for that. We originally wanted to continue under the name DAF.

But then Gabi Delgado’s widow told us that she is now also DAF. Although she is not a musician and had never been to a DAF concert, she wanted – through legal means – to have a say in our new work and to profit from it, even though she had nothing to do with it.

That was a no-go for us, and it was time for a new band name so we could continue working independently and freely.

Finding each other

SL: Sylvie & Robert, how did you two find each other (again)? Was this project conceived as an equal collaboration from the beginning, or did it develop organically?

GÖRL: We first met in 2019 on the subway in Berlin. A friendship developed quite quickly from that. Sylvie then organized a studio for DAF with the artist HAL9000 – that’s where they wanted to record their new album.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen because Gabi passed away in March 2020.

After that, we sat down together and produced the farewell song Ich denk an dich from Robert’s sequences and his drumming. During that process, we realized that we work very well together – it immediately clicked, both musically and personally.

Our collaboration still brings us a lot of joy today. Equality is something we take for granted.

Creative dynamics

SL: Who brings in which impulses? And how would you describe your shared language – more intuitive, conceptual, or experimental?

GÖRL: We are intuitive, conceptual and experimental – and honestly, much more than that. There are no fixed roles between us. Impulses come from both sides: sometimes it’s a rhythm, sometimes a sound, sometimes just a feeling.

Our lyrics emerge from our reality – from what we encounter in our lives, or from images that we translate into music.

Our shared language is open and flexible. We like the unconventional, the edgy, the nonconformist. We’re not interested in fulfilling expectations, but in opening spaces where something unique can emerge.

“Irgendwann ist jetzt” – Time & urgency

SL: In the song you sing: “Now is someday, and someday is now… please stay with me.” Is this more of a personal moment between two people – or does it also carry a universal idea about time, transience and postponing life?

GÖRL: “Now is someday, and someday is now” means that we often believe we still have time. That we postpone things – feelings, decisions, closeness.

And at some point, we realize that this very moment is exactly what we meant.

The phrase “please stay with me” gains a different weight. It’s not just about one person, but also about holding on to the present. About understanding that time is not infinite – and that life happens right now.

“So wie du bist” – Intimacy & vulnerability

SL: “I want to see everything, just the way you are.” The song feels both direct and fragile at the same time. How important was this balance between physical closeness and emotional openness to you?

GÖRL: This balance is very important to us. Closeness is not only physical for us, but always emotional as well.

“To see you as you are” means truly seeing someone – without masks, without protection.

The song is very strong and intense, one of our favorite tracks. It powerfully expresses that you should be who you are – without adapting or holding back.

The directness in the song is almost physical, but there is also vulnerability within it. Showing yourself as you are requires courage. And that’s exactly where the song exists.

“Falscher Ton” – Attitude

SL: “The wrong note is the right note.” Is this something like an artistic manifesto for you? And how much does this idea still connect to the early concepts of DAF?

Sylvie: The “wrong note” is for us the moment where something breaks open – where it becomes interesting, where it comes alive.

We deliberately work with friction, with things that may not be “correct” in the classical sense. But that’s exactly where truth and expression lie for us.

Through Robert’s electronic signature, this also connects to DAF. Our attitude remains the same: going against conventions, leaving things raw, not smoothing them out.

“Don’t Stay At Home” – Reduction

SL: The song feels almost like a mantra: “Come with me, don’t stay alone at home.”
Was this reduction intentional – as an invitation, an escape, or both?

GÖRL: For us, it’s an invitation, but also an impulse from the moment. It can be an escape, yes – but also a movement forward, out of stagnation, out of your head.

We like this clarity. Sometimes you don’t need big explanations – just one sentence that sets something in motion.

Title track – longing & projection

SL: “I want to go to her… is it possible for me to reach her?” Is this figure real, symbolic – or exactly that: something you can never fully reach?

GÖRL: This figure is intentionally left open. It is neither purely real nor purely symbolic – rather something in between.

It works strongly with longing. The desire for closeness, for connection – but also for something that might remain out of reach.

It never resolves completely. It can be a person, a feeling, a memory – or something unattainable. Maybe that’s exactly why it is so powerful.

“Der Fluss” – Nature & movement

SL: “You are the river… nothing can stop you.” Robert, your connection to nature is well known – Sylvie, does that apply to you as well? And is this song more a metaphor for freedom or for one’s life path?

Robert: Yes, absolutely. Nature is something that always accompanies me. I perceive it very directly – as rhythm, as energy, as movement. It always gives me strength.

“The river” is for us an image of constant movement. Nothing stands still, nothing can truly be held onto – everything is in flux.

Water is one of the most important elements on Earth, and we ourselves consist largely of it. It cannot be stopped.

“You are the river… nothing can stop you” describes exactly that state: a force that keeps moving forward, even when facing resistance. For us, it’s a symbol of life.

“Wir brechen aus” – Breaking cycles

SL: “Trapped in a cycle… and breaking out.” Is this a theme that has always accompanied you – or does it gain new meaning in today’s world?

GÖRL: It’s about feeling trapped in patterns, expectations or social structures – and at the same time having the urge to break out.

Today, this feeling becomes even sharper. Everything is faster, tighter, more visible. That makes the desire for freedom and independence even stronger.

“Bänder im Haar” – Small images

SL: The song feels like a snapshot. What fascinates you about these small, fleeting images – and why can they say so much?

GÖRL: These small images often carry great power because they don’t explain – they suggest.

They are like snapshots that open something instead of defining it.

“Bänder im Haar” works exactly like that – it creates space for interpretation.

“Spiel mit mir” – Reduction & instinct

SL: “Play with me… fight with me… sleep with me.” The song is raw, direct and almost childlike in structure. Was this a playful approach – or a deliberate reduction?

GÖRL: There is something cheeky and punk-like in its attitude. It’s not about explaining anything – it simply exists as energy, as an offer, as friction. Completely unfiltered.

“Es ist nie zu spät” – Ending or beginning?

SL: “Take my hand… it’s never too late.” Is this a reconciliatory ending – or perhaps a new beginning?

GÖRL: It’s both. It’s about trust – about breaking out of loneliness, about not staying alone.

About reaching out to each other – in harmony, balance and peace.

For us, it creates something very concrete: the possibility to start anew, to become stronger together.

Sound aesthetics & references

SL: Some moments atmospherically recall artists like David Bowie. Are such references intentional – or do they arise intuitively?

Sylvie: It has been noted before that Robert Görl’s voice sometimes has a certain closeness to David Bowie.

At the same time, it is clearly his own voice – with its own unique character.

If it occasionally reminds people of Bowie, we take it as a compliment.

GÖRL vs. DAF

SL: Robert, how does GÖRL differ from your work with DAF – emotionally and artistically? And what do you carry forward from that time, including Gabi’s legacy?

Robert: GÖRL is a new space for me – emotionally and artistically. It’s less about looking back, more about what is happening now.

Of course, there are connections to DAF: the energy, the directness, the reduction. But GÖRL is more open, perhaps more personal in a different way.

It allows for development, new influences, and for what happens between us.

What I carry forward is an attitude: to be uncompromising, to get to the point, and not to conform.

And of course, the memory of Gabi remains.

Looking ahead

SL: Is GÖRL intended as a long-term project? And will we be able to experience these songs live?

GÖRL: Yes, GÖRL is definitely a long-term project. It’s not a one-time moment, but something that can grow and evolve.

And yes, these songs are meant for the stage. They live through energy, directness and the special tension of the live moment.

We can absolutely imagine bringing this music to the stage – perhaps even in a different form than expected.

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With GÖRL, Robert Görl and Sylvie Marks open a new chapter – one that carries the essence of past decades without standing still. It is music that appears minimal, yet speaks volumes. And perhaps, in the end, it is exactly that “wrong note” that turns out to be the only right one.

© JJanurik