Hi all,
hope you are well. This is probably the biggest interview I've done so far. I cofess to be BlutEngel fan (as well as Solar Fake fan and other people I've interviewed), so I was surprised when Chris Pohl granted me this interview. At this point, I want to say THANK YOU all whom I'd have the honor of interviewing!! And thank you for reading :) Here we go;:
What inspired you to be an artist?
Hmm, I´m not sure... I started to listen to this kind of gothic / electro music... It was in 1990... I liked this style and I wanted to make my own music in this direction... But it was just an Hobby....At this point I never thought that I would be an artist....
How did BlutEngel get started?
In fact it was just a change of name... I had a project called "Seelenkrank" and I had to end it because of some legally problems with my label... SO the only way to keep the project was to change the name. I used this fact to change the music a little as well.. More gothic, more dark and less s7M like...
When you created BlutEngel, did you have clear vision what it would be like musically and visually?
Kind of.... The former project was settled in the s/m scene and very limited in style and music... With BE I wanted to make everything a little... hmmm, more romantic, vampire like..... I never wanted to go on stage with this project but when I had an offer it was clear that I had to present a good show! I wanted to combine the mood of the songs with some visuals like fire, girls, blood... That´s what I do since 16 years :-)
Where does the inspiration to songs come for you?
I really don´t know... It comes when I don´t need it^^ Sometimes when I lay in my bathtube I have kind of a vison .... Some text fragments.... Sometimes when I sit in my studio and play a little with sounds a single sound could give me the kick.... It´s so involuntarily...
How restricting is the BlutEngel image or is it just the opposite when writing music? Just wondering since you have so carefully created image.
Well I don´t have any restrictions... At the beginning.. well, ok... I wanted to be a big gothic band... But my taste changes and my way of production changes... SO I only and ever do what I like in the moment I do it! That means I am not looking for a special dark image anymore... I am dressed in black, I like the scene but I don´t look like a gothic and I don´t create gothic music just to please the crowd.... It´s dark but sometimes it´s pop... That´s what I like. Feeling free and do music I like!
Which comes first: music or lyrics?
It´s always different... Mostly the music comes first but sometimes the lyrics.... It changed a little because in the past the was always the music first....
And since we are talking of music, you released a beautiful song, Complete, and have new album coming out called Leitbild. Tell us bit of this album, what can we expect?
Well.... Expect a monster of an album^^ Very different styles... No restrictions.... Some songs sound a little like depeche mode, some like sisters of mercy... But in whole it´s BE.... I didn´t use always typical scene sounds... I used some acoustic guitars.... I tried to do more with my voice.... When you listen to one single song you can´t get any idea of the rest... That´s what I like!
How important you feel it is to release album on physical release and in several formats? Some artist only release digital albums, but I prefer physical releases.
I am old and oldfashioned^^ I like cds and we seel a lot of cds because of the booklets, the artwork.... Most of my fans like physical releases. Especially boxes with lots of goodies....
You are also on tour this spring and playing one acoustic gig in Berlin. And you also played Gothic Meets Classic concert in 2014. Are these a way for you to challenge yourself in a new way and to presents songs in a new way or how did these happen?
Yoiu´re right! See, I like acoustic instruments but I am not able to play one... So I like to see and hear how my songs work with this kind of instrumentation.... It´s always really hard to sing the acoustic versions because it´s realy reduced and really with this human feeling. But this is a new experience and I like it! Even though I have to do much more rehersals for an acoustic gig^^
As for your shows, they are visual and theatrical and that sets them apart from the rest and it feels,on some songs especially, like you are the narrator and people are acting the song out. Am I interpreting it wrong?
That´s right! Some songs are really good for a show or kind of a story.... Sometimes I call my concerts myself "music theatre".... I like to force the intention of some songs with visual aspects. Videos, girls, fire.... I hate boring electro concerts with fake keyboards... We play live, we have a show, visuals... I want a concert to be an event for the fans....
And to top it all, you are about to release a autobiography. How did this happen?
haha.. Well some german magazines made allready some book ABOUT me.... SO in 2013 I thought it might be time to tell my own story... I tell something about the "real" Chris, about my way into music about my thoughts, fans, parents.... Maybe some people are interested...
Ok thx to you for some interessting questions! hope you like the answers and hope you like the new album ;-))
There you have it :)
hope you are well. This is probably the biggest interview I've done so far. I cofess to be BlutEngel fan (as well as Solar Fake fan and other people I've interviewed), so I was surprised when Chris Pohl granted me this interview. At this point, I want to say THANK YOU all whom I'd have the honor of interviewing!! And thank you for reading :) Here we go;:
What inspired you to be an artist?
Hmm, I´m not sure... I started to listen to this kind of gothic / electro music... It was in 1990... I liked this style and I wanted to make my own music in this direction... But it was just an Hobby....At this point I never thought that I would be an artist....
How did BlutEngel get started?
In fact it was just a change of name... I had a project called "Seelenkrank" and I had to end it because of some legally problems with my label... SO the only way to keep the project was to change the name. I used this fact to change the music a little as well.. More gothic, more dark and less s7M like...
When you created BlutEngel, did you have clear vision what it would be like musically and visually?
Kind of.... The former project was settled in the s/m scene and very limited in style and music... With BE I wanted to make everything a little... hmmm, more romantic, vampire like..... I never wanted to go on stage with this project but when I had an offer it was clear that I had to present a good show! I wanted to combine the mood of the songs with some visuals like fire, girls, blood... That´s what I do since 16 years :-)
Where does the inspiration to songs come for you?
I really don´t know... It comes when I don´t need it^^ Sometimes when I lay in my bathtube I have kind of a vison .... Some text fragments.... Sometimes when I sit in my studio and play a little with sounds a single sound could give me the kick.... It´s so involuntarily...
How restricting is the BlutEngel image or is it just the opposite when writing music? Just wondering since you have so carefully created image.
Well I don´t have any restrictions... At the beginning.. well, ok... I wanted to be a big gothic band... But my taste changes and my way of production changes... SO I only and ever do what I like in the moment I do it! That means I am not looking for a special dark image anymore... I am dressed in black, I like the scene but I don´t look like a gothic and I don´t create gothic music just to please the crowd.... It´s dark but sometimes it´s pop... That´s what I like. Feeling free and do music I like!
Which comes first: music or lyrics?
It´s always different... Mostly the music comes first but sometimes the lyrics.... It changed a little because in the past the was always the music first....
And since we are talking of music, you released a beautiful song, Complete, and have new album coming out called Leitbild. Tell us bit of this album, what can we expect?
Well.... Expect a monster of an album^^ Very different styles... No restrictions.... Some songs sound a little like depeche mode, some like sisters of mercy... But in whole it´s BE.... I didn´t use always typical scene sounds... I used some acoustic guitars.... I tried to do more with my voice.... When you listen to one single song you can´t get any idea of the rest... That´s what I like!
How important you feel it is to release album on physical release and in several formats? Some artist only release digital albums, but I prefer physical releases.
I am old and oldfashioned^^ I like cds and we seel a lot of cds because of the booklets, the artwork.... Most of my fans like physical releases. Especially boxes with lots of goodies....
You are also on tour this spring and playing one acoustic gig in Berlin. And you also played Gothic Meets Classic concert in 2014. Are these a way for you to challenge yourself in a new way and to presents songs in a new way or how did these happen?
Yoiu´re right! See, I like acoustic instruments but I am not able to play one... So I like to see and hear how my songs work with this kind of instrumentation.... It´s always really hard to sing the acoustic versions because it´s realy reduced and really with this human feeling. But this is a new experience and I like it! Even though I have to do much more rehersals for an acoustic gig^^
As for your shows, they are visual and theatrical and that sets them apart from the rest and it feels,on some songs especially, like you are the narrator and people are acting the song out. Am I interpreting it wrong?
That´s right! Some songs are really good for a show or kind of a story.... Sometimes I call my concerts myself "music theatre".... I like to force the intention of some songs with visual aspects. Videos, girls, fire.... I hate boring electro concerts with fake keyboards... We play live, we have a show, visuals... I want a concert to be an event for the fans....
And to top it all, you are about to release a autobiography. How did this happen?
haha.. Well some german magazines made allready some book ABOUT me.... SO in 2013 I thought it might be time to tell my own story... I tell something about the "real" Chris, about my way into music about my thoughts, fans, parents.... Maybe some people are interested...
Ok thx to you for some interessting questions! hope you like the answers and hope you like the new album ;-))
There you have it :)
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