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KMFDM
by: revallen 11.10.2003
KMFDM
I'm going to let you in on a little secret ...I gave-up the German industrial band KMFDM sometime in the mid-90's. I enjoyed the funky electronic beats of 1991's album, Vouge, and loved the ultra-fast, "stronger than ever before" powerhouse that was 1993's Angst, but I was severally disappointed by the following series of forgettable releases to the point where I quite purchasing KMFDM CDs.

Honestly, I never thought that it would happen, but I'm pleased to tell you that the KMFDM I loved in the early 90's is back, and on heavy rotation in my CD player. Their new album WWIII is arguably one of their best. This release might be considered more rock than industrial as real instruments steal most of the limelight from their electronic brethren, but it's hard, political and all KMFDM.

We met-up with the charismatic KMFDM founder Sascha (AKA Kapt'n K) before hitting the stage at the House of Blues, Chicago. He chatted with us about the new album, WWIII, and gave us the skinny on the current KMFDM line-up.

Lab: So you guys have a new album out entitled WWIII. I like it a lot, and from the reviews I've read on the Internet, everyone else seems to enjoy it as well. What can you tell me about it?

Sascha: Everybody seems to like it a lot. I don't know why, but it's one of those things. Everyone seems to hone in on the political awakening that they experience generally in these times, and they say that this album hits those freshly awakened nerve endings just right. That's good. I've gotten a lot of good responses particularly from German and French interviewers.

Lab: Were you surprised by the positive response?

Sascha: I was, yeah. KMFDM is not everyone's pie. So we gotten a lot of mixed bag responses in the past, but on this one it really seems that unanimously the impression is right on.

Lab: The album seems to be very critical of the United States government.

Sascha: Not particularly of the US government. It's a critical album. It's almost funny to say that it contains some protest songs, but I guess that it does.

Lab: Would you say that it's critical of the Bush administration then?

Sascha: Well it's definitely critical of government, politics, US government politics and particularly George Bush. Some people went so far as to say it's an anti-American album, but it's not anti-American at all. If KMFDM were anti-American then we wouldn't live work and pay our taxes in this country, because we don't have to.

Lab: Does the title of your album, WWIII, imply that KMFDM believes that George Bush is a threat to world peace, or does it have another meaning?

Sascha: No I wouldn't see it as being that literal. WWIII to us means a process that has been going on for quite some time. We're thinking that the world is already well into a thing that might well destroy us all. And it's not necessarily a war that has been fought with smart bombs and intelligent bullets and stuff, it's a war that fought largely on the backs of people that have no other choice but to toil and let themselves be exploited.

Lab: You're not talking about a war in the conventional sense then.

Sascha: It's not a war fought on battlefields. It's a war that's fought through economic sanctions though globalizations and exploitation of Earth's resources, particularly the people that inhabit it. There is no more respect for human life now then there was in the dark ages, it's just raw cannon fodder.

Lab: KMFDM has had many different members over the years, how did you arrive at the current lineup?

Sascha: It was really a fluke. KMFDM broke-up in late 1998 and we proclaimed the end of KMFDM in '99. We switched over by reversing the name to MDFMK and becoming a trio. After a 2 or 3 year hiatus we wanted to reform KMFDM and a couple of old members didn't feel like working in KMFDM any more. The trio from MDFMK made a record, Attak, which was a patchwork album. We needed a touring line-up and it just so happened that I remembered these guys from Pig that we used to tour with in '97. Raymond Watts being the Pig head honcho, and long time collaborator with KMFDM, happened to have a live band that is just super tight. So, I talked to them, "You guys want to come out and work with us? Fuck yeah!", and we started working together and those guys are unbeatable, it's like a machine. At the end of last year's tour 2 of them decided that they wanted to live in the US for a while so they relocated to Seattle. We worked on the album together, and now every one on tour including Steve White and Raymond is with us. It's a good time! It's really interesting.

Lab: Are you going to try to keep this current line-up for a while?

Sascha: I hope so. I hope that this is going to stay.

Lab: KMFDM is on a new record label, Santuary, with this album, how are they treating you.

Sascha: I don't know really. The album has only been out for 3 or 4 weeks, so I don't have a reading quite yet on how much they are doing for us. Of course there are always glitches when getting records out, and we've had a good share of that already. Between you and I, my trust level is always really low when it comes to record labels.

KMFDMLab: Do you miss the old Wax Trax days?

Sascha: I do. That was a label that was really transparent. It was very clear who did what, and you could just easily walk in and follow-up on something and get a clear answer. You knew exactly where that shipment was stuck or why something didn't happen. It was mostly good news, as where now days it seems like it's mostly bad news. For example, "We didn't manage to get the posters. The autographed photographs are not done. Sorry, you don't have promo copies".

Lab: You were based in Chicago at one point, is that right?

Sascha: Yes, I lived here from '90 through '96.

Lab: Are the next couple of nights at the Chicago House of Blues a kind of homecoming for you?

Sascha: It is, but I've never been to the House of Blues. Usually we do the Metro 2 or 3 times, or the Rivera, and once we played the Aragon. So this is kind of new territory in our home town.

Lab: Will the tonight's show feature any surprise local guests like Chris Connelly?

Sascha: No surprises. It's really straight-up. The show wouldn't be as tight if it was involving guest musicians. We're not a Pigface type outfit, even though we do have a revolving door policy, there is a really high standard as far as tightness on stage is concerned.

Lab: Will the show focus mainly on the new songs, or are you going to play some of the old favorites as well?

Sascha: About half and half.

Lab: You founded KMDFM about 20 years ago, how have you managed to keep things fresh?

Sascha: One thing was our revolving member policy. It always means fresh blood and fresh ideas. Whoever is on board has run of the house basically. Plus there is some kind of obsessive quality to it, maybe because it was never really serious. If we fail then we can always do something else, but KMFDM is such an institution by now it would impossible to stop it. We tried, but we had to do KMFDM again.

Lab: Do you think that the lack of seriousness you mentioned is how you've outlasted so many of your contemporaries?

Sascha: I think so. KMFDM is not genre specific; we can just hop around and be the chameleons of the broader underground rock world.

Lab: What are some band that you really enjoy and respect?

Sascha: God, that's the question where my head always completely blanks out.

Lab: Well, can you tell me who have you been listening to lately?

Sascha: Lately I've been checking out the Gun Club once again. One of my favorite bands I guess is the Asian Dub Foundation, an English outfit.

Lab: Are there any band that you really despise?

Sascha: Whenever I turn on the radio or television I hear bands that I despise. It's really hard to find radio stations, especially in the Seattle area, that play anything half-way decent. I found one, KEXP, that's pretty good, but it took a few years.

Lab: What's the future hold for KMFDM?

Sascha: I never think more ahead than the immediate future, and the way that looks is that we are going to be touring pretty extensively for this album. We going back to Europe and that's one of the main reasons that we signed with Sancutary Records. We waited a label that is strong overseas as well as the US. Eventually there will definitely be a new record, but probably not for another year.

Check our absolutly stunning photos of this KMFDM show in the Gallery.

For more information visit The World of KMFDM
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