interview date: di sep 30. 2003 http://www.poemproducer.com/any.php?id=10
	From: agf <agf@poemproducer.com> Date: Di Sep 30, 2003 18:34:22 Europe/Berlin To: "Jan Willem Broek" <jwbroek@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: AGF interview hallo jan >Thank you for doing this interview. I have enjoyed your >album again and again last weekend. It's not from this >world. My conclusion: you're an alien! >But seriously: big compliments!!! thanks so much ;))) >1. Just for the record: can you give a short historie of: >a. when and why you started with music? with 13 . my parents gave me a small guitar i wanted to be a singer songwriter and move the planet like john lennon and yoko ono >b. what were the most enjoyable things you run into, love / humans / working/ creating/ water/ sushi/ fishes preciouse solitude. privacy ! preciouse education through preciouse travelling. discovering the planet and human kind >and the worst? leaving somebody. ignoring somebody. create pain ignorance. witnessing war. rassism. discrimination daily fucked up world of entertainment and media successfully manipulating people >c. do you still have a job (Kitty-Yo?) beside the music? not really. i stoped in january. but we are friends and help each other i just did the concept for the bpitch website most of the time i do live music for money or commisions like ars electronica or pompidou centre >d. what (instruments, software) do you use to create the music? voice. samples. mpc akai 2000xl. logic !!!!!!! max/ msp. radial. >e. which music was in your cd-player last month? i pod ? ;)) + i listened lots of german hiphop actually i love pyranja !!! my favoourite hitlist: Gastspiel - Pyranja Apropos Hip Hop - Eins Zwo Als Ich Ein Kind Wahr. Feat. Pixie - Mayah Don 3_zur_erinnerun - mc ferris Jagdfieber. Feat. Big P. Dj Fiks - Mayah Don Königin Solo - Meli so gesehen - eins zwo rapdivision - STEINER + ??? Ich Mach Heut' Nur - Pyranja hoert mal zu12 ! - ASD City Blues - Beginner Ger Intercontinental - Teamsport Stift Her - Beginner Wunderschön - Beginner Lange Nacht - Pyranja Kurz Vorm Kollaps - Teamsport + international hiphop eligh aesop rock vertical form stuff ceebrolistics (finnish) rapdivision (russia) apc the roots + selfmade audio of me and my boyfriend parts of a compilation by a small label and club in berlin called NBI www.neueberlinerinitiative.de first try apparat im version byetone stille fleck fumie billie herztechnik instrumental jayrope breath kyborg who by fire kyborg storage mendelson flakes miwon headphones static+ronnie marco brosolo unknown >f. all time favorites….? big influences? john lennon tricky artful dodger massive attack bjoerk vladislav delay miles davis john coltrane i am still learning from the past >>>>>> my most sunshine POP hitlist !!! you got me - (feat erkyah badu) the roots so dazed - mc looney tunes produced by agf talk in danger - luomo break you off - the roots aunt dot - lil' kim provider zero 7 rmx - nerds subliminal - floetry try again - aaliyah nothing out there - missy E + byounce love me (rip babygirl.) - timbaland. magoo. & aaliyah. '03 bonnie & clyde - jay-z aya nappa - sunshine booty man (Remix) - craig david feat. jadakiss party - usher miss dynamite - little deeper the streets - weak ecome heroes >2. You have two projects now. >When do you decide something is suitable for Laub >and when something for AGF? dedicate special time to either one of the projects laub is falling soon again >3. When did you discover that you wanted to do >something like AGF and why? well. after doing 3 album with laub/ tritop/ boygroup i wanted to do something on my own for myself . freedom. experiment. no compromises. >4. Do you prefer to work alone or with Laub? i like both >5. Live or studio? both >6. You also participated in Craig Armstrongs (an artists I >would buy everything from) “As If To Nothing” album. >A review of the Craig Armstrong album: “There is a >minor blip in the good-times radar with "Waltz", a nice >orchestral piece that is unfortunately marred by Antye >Greie reciting what sounds like internet jargon in a >German accent! Perhaps used to torture death row >inmates, "Waltz" seems like a good idea, otherwise it's >ultimately skippable.” >And this is what Craig Armstrong said: "i've seen the >future in music " >a. How do you deal with both the negative and the positive press? didnt know that one. that one sounds boring. is ok for me i never got so much respect worldwide as for this piece played amazing shows in barbican and paris with huge orchestras and me the girl with the laptop. critics: usually i look and ask for feedback and critics need that to develope when critics are unfair or ignorant it hurts but thats what i do >b. And how did you met Craig Armstrong? he knew laub from kitty-yo. and likes my voice a lot and asked me to participate on his album it made me astonished. he send me stuff. i made this vocal... on a very emotional string arrangement i just read html code ... mostly in german its quite challenging.... he took it ;))) so i flew to glasgow and recorded in in the studio it was asscool !!! he is cool >I mean your music is a world of differences? ?? you mean him and me ??? dont know well he is a studied successful composer i am a mangy street cat >c. You said in an interview that meeting Massive Attack >(I guess though Craig?) made a deep impression. Why? i never met MA ???? but in the early 90ies MA was my main influence/ or more tricky >7. Like a one-woman Einstürzende Neubauten, >a vitual game and as inventive as Andrea Parker, >Kit Clayton, Laurie Anderson and Tujiko Noriko >I would say about AGF. How would you describe >your own music (both Laub and AGF)? agf: melodie and rythm ... are they really necessary ??? narrative. filmic. freedom. laub: is an adult now. its grown up and is living its life going its own ways. originally it was meant from my side a present + dedication to the german language - A BEAUTY which is sadly not much appreciated in its own country (history) >8. <Westernization Completed> refers to ? me as an east german ex communist kid... arriving in the present world somehow understanding and at least able to accept and start working on it its meant in good did u see the artwork ???? >9. Its like creating your own small beautiful world, >but I tends to absorb everyone and everything in it. >Is that something you are aware of ? Or is this my problem ? how ??? do you mean i dont involve people ??? i write for them. i sing for them. its made for lovers and people out there. if they take the challenge and listen i hope to make them feel home then comfort is the plan i want to inspire not to be careless i want to encourage people to be unique and not live in presets >10. You seem to sing about common things, >although the world you create around it with >your music is far from common. well i use the same stuff and gear like everybody. its experimental music made for a certain moment in life. >a. Do you like contrast? much. i like to combine to make an individual meal take chili and honey take garam masala and kummin take a snare and a hook and let them never meet its a result out of ego (me) to create deleciouse (music) you never ate before (its super lecker) for the people i serve and i believe they deserve it >b. Are you a dreamer? oh yes >11. Title things: >a. What s the message in <Westernazition Completed>? >(I hear in the texts that you grew up in the East of Germany >sober, uneasy, unfree ... is this you westernization?) yes its me and approximatly 70 percent of the world who deal with westernization... either in asia or eastern europe. south america it refers to my own history and also to many of my friends for instance the ukrain painter i feature in the artwork also its my first english language work my main alltags language right now (i know i write a mangy cyber english) its first time i speak in an international language to many of my fans people can understand now also it refers to my political awareness after the wall came down i was many years approx 10 ... kind of ... lost still dont feel a home country . its just missing... and no problem actually... maybe its the web now ... my home or i am still trying to find it back but it took me many years to understand and find myself in that and how i wanne live and be and how i jugde or not etc i grew up with one LENIN or MARX or whatever saying if you know where you stand you ARE ( something ) out of this perspective i was nothing for one century and i think its fuckin healthy.... now i feel able and ready to have an opinion again. thats why... westernization... COMPLETED. (lots to say about it) >b. Is the freedom (of thinking, feeling, speaking) the >most important Western good? maybe yes. watch: http://www.privacyinternational.org/bigbrother/ >c. What do you think is bad about the westernization? i grew up with my parents my grandparents my country my teachers telling me the west is evil. dirty. drug shit. bad education etc bad for people. consume oriented ... egoistic careless blabla they wanne own and kill for that. they give them goods and cars and drugs and they are braindead and buy and live for consuming yes. they were right ;)))) (joking) but they didnt tell that their own heros did the same (stalin etc) you know what i mean ??? all that we live every day BESIDE i found lots more. and beauty and design and knowledge and wisdom i traveled so much. there is good and bad everywhere i accept that and try to make it better i hope people get more responsible for themselfs and keep educating themself this world especially with internet gives such an amazing access to knowledge... its there ... you CAN choose or at least i can... i can order the news i want i can find the infos i want. talk to people everywhere in the world... i am a big fan of this i know its all just new relatively i know... and lost of shit around also and we face many many problems as a humen kind i know i am a believer lets face it >12. Like an exciting trainride through an ;))) >unknown desolate but beautiful landscape. thanks thats beautiful >Every window tells another story >This is the impression I got. >How would you descripe the way <Westernization Completed> is built up? it starts like an audio book with a very intimate monologue to a very close person and its motivating to myself and the friend lets make our own movies use our brains and fantasy and we can design our life... the next track is for breathing instrumental shatter to get ready... then there is the story going on from failing REfailing to leaving a place with hope and getting up finding new patch and get a powerful poemproducer. hold somebody fragile... tell where i come from and what i believe in and in the and the frame again lets go >13. The first time I heard <Head Slash Bauch> >it looks more like a kind of Heaven Deconstruction: >all the lose material from The Young Gods melted >into a very exciting ambientmix. the young gods... ;)) hihi the music was more simple processed... often recorded live but the composition of the whole album was not easy ... with all this 23 tracks or i had 40 and make them into the format of ONE work ><Westernization Completed> sounds more composed, >although it sounds also very spontaneous. > Is this something you agree with? the production was a one year process of editing. composing. changing things and make them fit also it was a total one persons work. so i didnt have to make compromises at all. during the process i was talking and showing the work to many friends and artists and collected their meanings. not to get traped in myself. i am very happy with the result. it represents everything i can give and have NOW. i know its weird. but thats it >14. Artwork is a little in the Tujiko Noriko style? i dont know that one i have one bootleg of her work i bought it for 2 euro in belgrad and nominated her work for ars electronica prize when i was in the jury this year its a nice album but i dont know her artwork style >Whats the purpose of the amazing pictures? in the artwork already i opened this concept. of ME ME ME and invited people. i wanted to represent the people i work with and exchange. trouble and love in our art. ulyana gumeniuk is a ukrain painter living in london. when i first time visited her in her south london studio. i was wearing a very special skirt of uli dziallas. fashion designer from berlin and long time partner and friend and collaborator. ulya was painting a woman trying to kill evil thoughts and the girl was wearing the same skirt material like me and in her whole studio was THIS material... i just had seen last week at the fashion designeres place. i found that quite strong connection and we found more and more common connections. i got more inspired by these works then by any music the last year. same helped me studying tarkowsky and the production process of luomo vladislav delays recent work. i wanted to crossover this artforms and also represent this artists in the way to give them another audience they wouldnt have usually. my record label found the right designer kim west to fit all my visual concepts and ideas together... i am very grateful to all of them finally involved >15. Sometimes the cd sounds emotionless. > Are you like that? Or is this necessary for abstract >electronic music? mh i just come back from another interview where people say .. they cant deal/ bear to be so close and intimidate and emotional... with me in my music too much emotions dont know what to think about it i think its not for every body and not for every moment its for moments when u are actually strong and quiet but mainly alone or in couples ;))) you are the 3rd couple i hear saying they listend together thats new in my music... ;))))) >16. Will different emotions create different music? i think people who are unhappy/ deep make happy music happy people make more unhappy music to seek the evil its balancing >17. What kind of emotion drives you the most? sharing with somebody love ??? curiousity (is that emotion) seeking... for deeper desire... for deeper understanding fascination ??? but also compassion. in good and confrontation. anger ... ready to fight never thought about it i am a terrible emotional person >18. The music is very abstract, why did you choose >to use a voice? Is this the poemproducer in you? yes and the vocalist. the possibility to speak language is the most !!!! exciting form. learning how to mean hip hop... education ... i love it. i am a communication junkie but i will do instrumental music one day ;))) soon >19. Is music for you a way out to express yourself yes >rather than making music for others to listen easily to? definitly... but i swear i really really fight for making it easier to people i all the time think of them !!! for instance with sound quality now... or more minimalism and more space .... to give more room for dreaming i hope >20. Should people get used to your music >(like you with Angel from Schneider Tm & Ilpo) > or do you wish that people found it easy to listen to? . i am happy when they take their time and listen and dedicate themselfs to my music i hope i can give something back to them !!!!! >21. Because there arent many women in the business >you are in, the comparissions with other women must be >frustrated sometimes? its getting better i remeber how kevin blechdom and me ones set in the train and counted with our fingers who we all know already and that its getting more and more girls who make their thing ;) >22. Is the music business more emancipated than the >“real” world? no opposite >23. What difference can women make in the music? different new colours more variaty more emotion ??? maybe not new touch ... to be discovered important >24. Why do you think so few women are into electronic >music? technical reservation not much paragons/ examples pride. fear. maybe no need to enforce things or to sensitive to maintain and eat cheating and critics lots of reasons i think there have been woman always in art (camille claudel) http://www.musee-rodin.fr/claud-e.htm also music also electronic music eliane radigue http://kalvos.org/radigue.html their are just hard to find but its getting better the internet will help also and all the woman who are already out there i know many meanwhile i am reliefed that i am not that alien ;)))) >25. Would you rather be compared to a man or a woman >(if it comes to music of course)? ??? meaningless the content is deciding and ofcourse i wouldnt like to be compared its unnessary >26. Whats it like for a woman like you in the musicbizz? > I think you met quite a few emancipated, intelligent >(wo)men (Kit Clayton, Sue, Craig, Kitty-Yo people ...). gender doesnt matter ellen allien is a good example she built up her own label and community ! cool ! kitty-yo also kit and sue are aliens too... beautyness of the planet kit clayton is out of music business right now coding is his choice sue costabile is enjoying it with goldchains as sue C its a personal desicion and CHOICE everybody is different and has to find his own path or the path of a group etc >27. Are there female rolemodels for you in music? > And male? female: eliane radigue kaffe matthews missy E male: my boyfriend ;) >28. I think your cd couldnt have been made by a man i dont know why ??????? please explain >(except for the fact that only you make albums like this). > Do you agree? i hope so. i am unique >29. You dont seem to have the same need for recognition >like Peaches (whom I find very good/funny) or the need >for breaking taboos. Do you feel an affinity? i like her personal MUCH ! i feel even close to her i actually played the first agf concert ever in the maria am ostbahnhof with peaches and gonzales when they performed together like tricky and martina. I LOOOOVED THEM i fell in love with peaches . she was beautiful. playing her music and having a very nice tension between beeing deep and calm and expressive and cool. we played infront of 30 people 2001. since then changed a lot. she toured approximatly 1 million shows... and did this sex thing. i was immediatly disappointed of that. but i respect her ! i am the opposite i dont use sex and drugs to promote my music i have no such taboos. like hair on my legs she is rebelling against things i had and i find them not important in east germany... everybody had unshaved legs and arm pits and everybody showed naked... natural... people had lots of sex there was no aids... whatever... it never took any pain away and i couldnt witness that in pimps and whores either which have lots of sex... i totally disagree with peaches sex is something very beautiful and private to me and i dont believe in : fuck the pain away and also i find it unnessecary to promote pot in the year 2003... (peaches on the recent SPEX cover with spread legs. i guess spex has a 40 year old marketing director who is close to loose his job i really fuckin hope so... how more you can suck industry dick) i would like to make a t.shirt i dislike pot but nobody would put it on a cover ;))) it would be more revolutionary at least then this ... but yeah... and i have no time for that and its not so important and i dont need this recognition i wish peaches the best didnt see her for a while she is a great musician and vocalist its just getting harder to see her beauty one side of her is missing 30. Do you have more to tell about AGF or Laub? pls let people come to my website www.poemproducer.com there is more >31. What are the plans for the near future? >(Laub, AGF,...things you really would like to do) i want to produce a piano album with craig armstrong INSTRUMENTAL hopefully i like to produce techno. and the new pyranja record also a very talented FUNNY new talent: mc looney tunes and i like to make open source poems and lyrics and be more political and i want to work on a fiction i wrote many years ago i got an invitation to play a cyber lady mac beth in england and to participate in an interdisciplinare art project by an artist rodney place placed in johannesbourg warsaw and berlin and i would like to make a record with my boyfriend >Anything I forgot? maybe some more explanations to the work or production itself i wanted to have this theme coming up again and again. lets. go. we make our own movies. talking to a very close friend you suddenly realize... you can make the movie you always wanted to see . in real. but you know its the most fragile thing to happen and can flop any moment. cause the danger of illusion is so close to reality. so you collect patience respect and understanding like shells on a shore to overcome boundaries where the trust breaks down. and things can go mad . i was found temporarily unsane. also i wanted to fit myself in in this world and give a kind of map where i come from. deepest east germany. we used to grow up unfree. restricted. and also wanted to give an explantion to this record. why i am suddenly skipping my german language which sofar has been maybe my trademark and now speaking with the wish to be understood internationally where my most fans are. i didnt want to repeat the first agf. where i used language as abstract as possible. cause i missed the freedom of using a voice as an instrument without adding such an attention to the meaning. for me it was a liberation back then ! beside some song or lyric based compositions like <private birds> or <contemporary westernized> <you.stop> or <we make our own movies> i used a special technic for the new record i collected thousands of words and expressions out of the web. mailinglists. conversations with friends etc without a sense making connection i recorded them into audio just reading or expressing all this bits and pieces from so many different sources and i layered them again and again. then i started to compose the tracks. so suddenly it would come out a piece. a direction ... i kept on editing... abitrary principle and then forming something i couldnt PRETHINK so i was composing with A text/ meaning and it wasnt clear what would remain. it changed the meaning through editing and using the CONTENT like samples. for me beautiful things happened. connections of words or feelings i wouldnt have come across logically most i gave freedom to this technic in REfail and poemproducer other tracks i added song related structures. or play with known technics in music like choruses or melodies or breaks. also i didnt want to use loops at this record. i think there is no loop i played most tracks live into logic totally ignoring the sequencer so the tempo and the beats are fucked up all the time i hoped to create a different mood with that. more lifely building a contradiction to the digital way of producing. also my aim was to built dynamic in this music. i rarely witness this in contemporary music. produced by powerbooks and missing dynamic is the most annoying audible trap. >Do you have (downloadable) pressphoto's I can use? http://www.poemproducer.com/hires.php CAN I PLS PUBLISH OUR "CONVERATION" ON MY WEBSITE ??? PLS ???? it took me 4 hours ... and i would like to give that to interested would be very nice thanks much agf