Video Interview with Blixa Bargeld of Einsturzende Neubauten

I was delighted when MOG asked me to come down to the HQ to film an interview with Blixa Bargeld. Bargeld is in California briefly, doing limited promotion for the new release from his band Einstürzende Neubauten as well as a few live performances. If you haven't heard of Einstürzende Neubauten, I'd bet you are under the age of 25, because the name was a household word in any music circle until about 6 years ago. Neubauten was HUGE when I was in my teens and twenties and influenced many eclectic bands that are popular in the fringes today (Mike Patton, Tomahawk, Liars, Depeche Mode, Henry Rollins, Blue Man Group and The Locust to name a few). But in recent years, Neubauten seemed reclusive. I, myself, only recently learned that they haven't stopped producing music or performing it live. Rather, they've created a new model of music production and distribution that has temporarily shifted the mainstream music spotlight from their work. Their new music business model involves a subscription service, where fans can sign up and contribute towards the production of an album before it has even been recorded. In return, subscribers gain exclusive access to frequent webcasts of the band working in the studio while the album is being created, plus downloads of the new songs recorded. Once the album is finished, fans receive the entire album as a digital download. Meanwhile, the subscribers participate via forums where they can discuss the work amongst themselves with occasional feedback from the band. All in all, the audience gets much more out of the experience, including direct interaction with the band and direct experience with the music, while the band enjoys direct feedback from the supporters and a self-sustainable economy. As if that weren't enough, the fans are treated to VIP specials, like presale tix to live shows, occasional private events for the band and the supporters only, and exclusive insider info before it's released to the public. I think it's brilliant!But first, some background info for those of you who are not immediately familiar with Einstürzende Neubauten's music.My personal knowledge of Einstürzende Neubauten began in '93 with their album, Tabula Rasa, but here is what I understand of their history. Blixa Bargeld formed the band in West Berlin in 1980. It is often referred to as an industrial band, but the experimental music Neubauten produces is really beyond any one classification. Some songs are more electronic, while some are more punk, some hypnotic and sparse, others disruptive and chaotic. The word "neubauten" is fairly common in Germany, referring to "new buildings" built after 1945. The name Einstürzende Neubauten loosely translates to "new buildings collapsing". I think their sound during the 80's fully lived up to that name too! F.M. Einheit's drumming, beating and smashing of various metal objects, Mark Chung's bass guitar, plus the occasional use of power tools would, at times, sound very much like buildings collapsing! These urban sounds were collaged together with Blixa's voice, which varied between shouting and whispering. Some of what Blixa voiced on Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T. reminds me of Kurt Schwitter's dada poetry with its rolling syllables and stacatto sounds while much of Halber Mensch is German spoken word. (Schwitters wasn't technically dada, but rather merz, but that's not part of this story.) During the interview (or possibly over lunch afterwards), Blixa Bargeld confirmed my theory that he is influenced by Schwitters' art. Some of Neubauten's album art is very reflective of Schwitters' art, particularly Silence Is Sexy and the new Alles wieder offen.Einstürzende Neubauten continued experimenting with different styles of music, incorporating more song structure and more singing on their fifth album, Haus der Lüge and becoming more and more refined with each consecutive album. They maintained the same line up of members for over a decade, which helped them to continuously explore new territory with grace.Their 1993 release, my gateway album into the Neubauten catalog - Tabula Rasa, is minimal, ethereal, moving. In '96 they released Ende Neu, which is moody and melodic. Some songs are rock or dance oriented, but most of the album is minimal/ambient. Silence Is Sexy further refines this quieter sound. I highly recommend these three albums to anyone who enjoys a lot of space with dark vocals. If you are seeking more of the gnashing and smashing of industrial/punk/noise, then stick with the earlier albums.In 2002, Einstürzende Neubauten began recording the first supporter album. The idea was to record and produce the album without the help of a record label. Phase I began and the album was released to supporters exclusively in 2003. For various reasons, the band decided to work with Mute Records shortly after, release a different version of the supporter's album to the public and take it on tour. The album is called Perpetuum Mobile and it was released worldwide in 2004. This album is slightly more experimental and features less vocals than most previous albums. Sometime after the tour, the band began Phase II of the supporter's project which wrapped up in Fall 2005. Subscribers received not only the album which was recorded, Grundstück, but also a DVD of live footage, filmed at a supporters-only live show in Berlin November 2004. Phase III began in Spring 2006 and wrapped up Summer 2007. The album that resulted contained 15 "jewels" released one at a time for supporters to download and thus the album was titled Jewels. I must admit, I was in the dark about these supporter's albums until this summer when I first heard (and reported) about the system EN were using to produce music. Therefore, I can't tell you what they sound like. However, the band decided again to create a version for public release, this time on their own record label instead of a major. Blixa gave me a copy of the new ALLES WIEDER OFFEN during the interview and I listened to it as soon as I got home. The music totally surprised me, it sounds different than anything I have heard from them previously. Synthesizers reign where the sounds of scrap metal used to be. Blixa sings melodically and beautifully. I hate to suggest that this album will have the most cross-over appeal, but it will indeed attract a new audience of fans to their music.Blixa Bargeld has a very commanding presence in person. He is an amazing person who has accomplished so much in his life and he knows it. He has no reason to be shy. For the first time in my life, I found myself slightly intimidated by a celebrity! Throughout the interview I was slightly nervous and felt content to let Blixa tell his story with as little intervention from me as possible. He's a great storyteller once he starts on a topic! Here is the first of the video interviews: During the interview, we discussed Blixa's wife, Erin Zhu, who programmed the band's website for the subscription service. Let me emphasize here that she did not "design" the website, she wrote the program that runs it. She sounds like my kind of gal!I hope you enjoyed the video! Stay tuned for the next installment!