söndag 24 december 2017

"I cannot understand why right-wing idiots get more and more accepted by the societies"

Foto: ONUK/Bernhard Schmitt

Det tyska darkwave-bandet I-M-R är en fin följetong på bloggen. Den förra skivan, InOutSide, släpptes 2015 och innehöll den fantastiska All about us. Nu är bandet tillbaka och har i dagarna släppt skiva nummer tre i ordningen, 25.20.15. Här nedan går sångaren Ralf Jesek igenom skivan, låt för låt. 

After All 
- Our opener. And a further "this will be our last album" statement. Enriched by some phrases from the outside. Condensed: start to grow up! 

Another Day 
- A song about the moment when you realize that something was not like you thought it would be, when reality shatters your imagination. And when another person is involved, who sees it in a different way, then times could get quite hard. Fortunately we could win Annette Kosakowski again to play accordion on this song, because its sound adds a slight desperate tone to it - in any case for me. 

Bluff 
- What would you do if you would notice that someone, who has your fate in her/his hands, starts to lose contact? For example you threaten her/him to show her/him up or to stop following her/him. And that is where the song title comes into play. I noticed that such statements are nothing than idle threats - most of the time. We definitely have a predisposition to hand over responsibility to other persons or institutions. And we hesitate to change this state even if it is time to do it. It is so much easier to source out decisions and criticize/comment them afterwards. 

Nothing Left 
- A song about increasing alienation and the inability to stop it. 

Cuts 
- About an amicable separation. A sad moment of course, but also a wonderful one, because there is no hurt in it. Both know that they have tried their best, but it does not work anymore, so it is time to finish it. Life could be so easy... if it would be so easy... 

Marlo 
- A little melody that came to my mind while I was working on Dedicated. I could not think of it as a real song, but its slight medieval approach was quite nice. So it ended up as a short instrumental.

Seven Days 
- About the inability to express your feelings. 

Like No Other 
- Disappointed by some good advice. 

Done Anything 
- A song about missed opportunities. One of these threads in my life... 

A Place Like This 
- Another song about the importance of individuality, supported by Nicole Rellum of Derrière Le Miroir. We are strewn with commercials and role models, so-called influencers tell us what we have to need, what we have to buy and how we have to be. And we should do something against all these manipulations. Even if it could become unpleasant. First I wanted the lyrics to be more, let's say, subversive, but I could not find a satisfying way to implement it. Obviously I am the wrong person for revolution songs. 

She Said 
- Not really a duet with the Greek musician Kriistal Ann, in fact a song with assigned parts. Sometimes you need someone to broaden your mind, to break up your routines - whatever the new direction will be. 

Alone 
- Kai Kampmann of Derrière Le Miroir on bass and I think this song is the rockiest one we have done so far. The idea was to make it sound a bit like a Goth demo from the nineties. And this also included the lyrics. So you find keywords like dead, dark or die in it. In the end it is about the insight that you often have to overcome the past to see the truth. Surely a truism, but... 

DoDoDo 
- The political development in Europe is really scary. I cannot understand why nationalists, chauvinists and right-wing idiots get more and more accepted by the societies. I fear there will be a bad awakening when we just act as bystanders. 

Dedicated 
- A little song about the impervious mystery of love. Dedicated to my wife. Kitschy, but heartfelt. 

Not The Guy 
- Since we've been making music for quite a while, people tend to overrate us. They think we know a lot about everything and expect clever answers. I know some artists that see themselves in this exposed role and can explain seriously the meaning of life. But we cannot offer that. We are just (almost) ordinary guys with individual opinions and experiences. Do not take us too serious, not everything we say has a deeper meaning, sometimes it is just what it is - no interpretation needed. And to make that fact a bit clearer, we looked for a music style that no one would expect from us. And we found it in a kind of a jazzy tune. We have not done something like this before, so it is no wonder that it became our fav. I can remember Nicole's skeptical glance when I played the song to her and asked if she would like to do some backing vocals. Very funny. 

Masquerade 
- The subject is quite similar to Not The Guy and it is rooted in a conversation I once had with a Goth girl. She explicated what we should change to be in line with the scene and I could only reply "Why?" all the time. I definitely have a problem with people who define themselves mainly through given parameters. This lack of individuality bores me. And that is what we try to say in this song: we do not let us be co-opted by a scene or a person. We are not interested in fitting with any patterns. Full stop. Greatly supported by Stanislav (voice) and Marina (violin) of the wonderful Russian band Stillife.

25.20.15 går att beställa från bland annat CDON