1. I am very pleased and would like to thank you for taking the time.
Please be so kind and give us a short introduction of your project and let us have a short idea about the origin of Digital Factor.

Like every music project the fascination to make music by ourselves was the most important reason. Tino, Torsten and Mike got in touch by an advertisement in a music store in 1993. While Tino and Torsten were already involved in an electronic project called "Digital Front", Mike was the front man of a Wave band. This means on the one hand a coming together of studio and on the other hand of live experiences. Digital Factor played their first concert in 1993. Later they were the support of Placebo Effect. During these two concerts the band sold completely the whole edition of their first own tapes (300 pieces). 1994 they signed the first record contract under the Danish label Hardrecords. The deal was arranged by Klaus Larsen (Leatherstrip). Some times later they switched to Hyperium/Hypnobear, Wannsee Rec and then to Lykotyk/Prussia. Meanwhile they have released the 8th record. Tino left the band in 2000 and Guido started playing with Digital Factor in 2002.

2. Who is responsible for what?

The musical side is inspired by all of us. We are working separately and together on our layouts which are finally produced in the studio. Every member of the band has their own additional tasks behind the scene. Torsten is the head of Digital Factor Studios in Dresden and has the responsibility for all technical matters. Guido plans and designs the presentation of the band on stage. Mike manages the band and is responsible for the marketing. But as already said all of us are involved in creating our music.

3. How do you create new songs? Is this a standard process which means you arrange all collected ideas or is one of you presenting an idea and the rest will be worked out together?

It is the one as well as the other way. Every song has its own story. Partially we have layouts ready and take them in the studio where they will be finished together. More favourable are our studio session for us. Within these sessions we are working completely together on songs from the beginning till the end. That this work is quite intensively is shown in the studio blog on our my space page.

4. Am I thinking right that the digital factor is playing a quite important role? If yes, please let us have a short explanation.

Torsten and Mike were thinking during a drive how to call the band. This was in 1993. It was important that the digital factor of the music was shown in the name of the band. Because of that the creation of the band name was quite fast and easy. Our music is showing this digital factor still today as we are exclusively working with synthesizers beside some exceptions, although the part of the "analogical factor" is getting more and more important for us.

5. "Look Back To Go Forward" is the title of your 8th studio album. What does it mean? How is it shown by the music/songs?

This sentence means the musical concept of our record. Before starting with the production we had intensively listened to our earlier records, especially "On Demand" and "Relationsships". We have heard some songs the first time since years. We would like to use the power and pressure of our older titles for our new songs. Finally we got back to our old sources. This is our musical future, just "Look Back To Go Forward". This small grammatical change is very important. As the title of the album is meant as a calling the song itself is speaking about our own personal trip.

6. As you are member of the electronic scene since 18 years. How was the development of it from the past until now? Is the title of the album seen as a call to go back to the rules?

Saying with a clear conscience we were one of the first Electro-EBM-Acts in Eastern Germany. In 1993 we were set in a scene full of an atmosphere of departure. By the turn of the millennium we have recognized that parts of the scene would like to participate in the big music business. They have taken over their methods within a quite short time. We are thinking that the new direction especially the sale of music through the internet etc. is putting this development into perspective. There is no famous vitamin B required for publishing music. Everybody can spread their music fast and worldwide. This fact is stopping the before mentioned methods piece by piece but this has also good effects.
But there is still a second point which we would like to describe with the "Look Back To Go Forward" album. We are aware of the fact that some critics will possibly miss some innovations on our new album. We have consciously ignored this point and produced a record which is simply fun for us. Maybe it is possible to compare the actual so called Old-School-Movement with our "Look Back To Go Forward". It does not matter how old the music sounds so far there are people who like listening to it. My good, Heavy Metal sounds almost the same from the 70’s/80’s until today and there is still a constant and faithful group of fans.

7. During the past 18 years you have had several live concerts. We would like to know something about your experiences and where have you played during this time?

The centre of our tours is Europe until today. Besides Germany, we were e.g. in France, Denmark, Belgium or Poland on tour. Foreign concerts are always more interesting for us as you have only a small feeling how known you are there. A friend of us was in Hong Kong and saw a poster of us hanging in the music store there. These are things which you only find out by accident.

8. Which feelings do you connect with playing live on stage? Do you see yourselves as a studio or live band?

The publishing of records was for us always a little bit a means to an end. Our aim was always to play live. We have played regularly during the time before we had signed our
record contract and also in the time when no record was published (200 – 2006) we still had chosen the opportunity to play live on stage. We were enjoying the time in the studio but more likely we are playing live. When we are working in the studio on a song we are often thinking about how sounds it live.

9. Calva Y Nada is a band with whom you have already stayed together on stage. This band does not exist anymore. You are still active. What is your secret? Or better to say what is the force saying you to go further?

Digital Factor is a close friendship between three people and the people around the band. This was always quite important for us. Finally the work of a band is always connected with personal other ambitions. The best example is Timo who decided to do some other things in 2000 which is more than legitimated. However the music was for Torsten and Mike always a big part of their life and Guido is thinking in the same way.

10. I have read in the press the following sentence "The music and the visual creation of it will be more and more distributed by the internet." How do you think about this development?

The internet is thoroughly seen as a danger for the music scene. More likely we are thinking about the development as a chance. Certainly it is easy for us to speak in that way. In 1996 we had also made the decision to change Digital Factor to a profession. But we have also decided to have additional careers. Today we are very lucky about this fact. One example, our last album was illegally downloaded about 10.000 times. This should give an imagination how much money professional musicians are loosing because of that. But as already told the music business will be democratized somehow by the internet. In the past e.g. there was only one radio channel with an EBM-Electro-Programme but now there are several platforms in the internet playing this kind of music. That is really cool.

11. Music is …how would you complete this sentence?

…a quite important column in our life.