Interview with Schacht
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Hi! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions.
Schacht: Thank you for the invitation!
Tell me more about the mining theme of Schacht.
Schacht: We are from Western Rhineland-Palatinate near the Saarland border, a german mining area. In that region you are confronted with the mining theme again and again. But besides that we are fascinated by mining, the hard and dangerous work underground as a metaphor. The theme is the frame in which Schacht unfolds. We use it as an inspiration for our music and lyrics, for the artwork. It’s all about constriction, darkness, hardship, loneliness and so on. But it doesn’t have to deal only with mining and picks.
How have you met in the dark shaft?
Schacht: We have known each other since schooldays, a really long time. There is a deep friendship connecting us. In former times we didn’t always play in the same band and we made different styles of music. In the year 2002 we decided to work together and to place the headstone for Schacht.
It took you five years after the Demo and your debut "Abwärts". What took you so long?
Schacht: Of course we didn’t spend the entire five years in the studio. The reasons for the delay are quite diverse and partially of practical nature. For example, it has taken us a long time finding the right sound for the CD. And sometimes we lost sight of the whole thing. We are not professionals. There are times when you don’t have the time to occupy yourself with the whole music-stuff even though you wish to.
Who is doing what at Schacht?
Schacht: Stefan, the guitarist, and Christopher, the drummer, are doing the music. Sascha is our voice and is writing most of the lyrics. But without him there would be no successful song-writing. It’s always teamwork. Last but not least there’s Markus, our bassist. He is also very important for the band and supports us first and foremost live on stage.
Where are your roots?
Schacht: There are a lot of bands that influence our music. And of course you have all these things in mind when you are doing your own stuff. Listeners certainly recognize some parts, rhythms or riffs and may think, well, this sounds like this or this band. But we didn’t line up for imitating one or another existing band. We like not to be determined and playing with different styles and genres. That’s one of the advantages of being not so well-known. You don’t have to fulfil expectations all the time.
Schacht: Thank you for the invitation!
Tell me more about the mining theme of Schacht.
Schacht: We are from Western Rhineland-Palatinate near the Saarland border, a german mining area. In that region you are confronted with the mining theme again and again. But besides that we are fascinated by mining, the hard and dangerous work underground as a metaphor. The theme is the frame in which Schacht unfolds. We use it as an inspiration for our music and lyrics, for the artwork. It’s all about constriction, darkness, hardship, loneliness and so on. But it doesn’t have to deal only with mining and picks.
How have you met in the dark shaft?
Schacht: We have known each other since schooldays, a really long time. There is a deep friendship connecting us. In former times we didn’t always play in the same band and we made different styles of music. In the year 2002 we decided to work together and to place the headstone for Schacht.
It took you five years after the Demo and your debut "Abwärts". What took you so long?
Schacht: Of course we didn’t spend the entire five years in the studio. The reasons for the delay are quite diverse and partially of practical nature. For example, it has taken us a long time finding the right sound for the CD. And sometimes we lost sight of the whole thing. We are not professionals. There are times when you don’t have the time to occupy yourself with the whole music-stuff even though you wish to.
Who is doing what at Schacht?
Schacht: Stefan, the guitarist, and Christopher, the drummer, are doing the music. Sascha is our voice and is writing most of the lyrics. But without him there would be no successful song-writing. It’s always teamwork. Last but not least there’s Markus, our bassist. He is also very important for the band and supports us first and foremost live on stage.
Where are your roots?
Schacht: There are a lot of bands that influence our music. And of course you have all these things in mind when you are doing your own stuff. Listeners certainly recognize some parts, rhythms or riffs and may think, well, this sounds like this or this band. But we didn’t line up for imitating one or another existing band. We like not to be determined and playing with different styles and genres. That’s one of the advantages of being not so well-known. You don’t have to fulfil expectations all the time.
What is inspiring the lyrics?
Schacht: We are inspired by books, films or simply life. There’s no concrete pattern for that. Some of our lyrics are dealing with the mining theme, but not all of them. Starting with the mining theme we try to deal with a lot of different themes.
Let’s talk about some of your songs. Gedankenstahl?
Schacht: It’s definite not a song that explains itself. "Gedankenstahl" - amongst other things - deals with processes of psychological repression. It’s about things you or the whole society wants to hide and keep in darkness.
Frühtau?
Schacht: This is a traditional song adapted to our music-style. Perhaps this song is a good example that Schacht does not always deal with desperation and darkness. In the long run this can be very boring. You can tackle things and sometimes it works.
Tropfstein?
Schacht: Tropfstein is about balancing and clearing extremes. Even if the result may be emptiness, it’s a process of liberation. The allegory in this case is the dripstone, better to say the cleaning and pressure solving water.
All of your song -titles are only one word. What’s the idea behind that?
Schacht: The titles should be short and concise. Nothing else. Maybe this has something to do with our forgetfulness. Most of the titles are buzzwords, words from the lyrics providing an aided recall at the rehearsals.
"Abwärts" or downwards is the title of the album. What does that mean?
Schacht: "Abwärts" or downwards is sort of an invitation to a journey in our world, a journey into the abyss of mind and soul. We pick up the listener to a collective shift in the underground. Last but not least "Abwärts" is the title of the opener.
Are you presenting your music live?
Schacht: Of course! We did a lot of shows and currently we are planning shows for next springtime. We love playing live. Presented live, our music is more direct and harder than on the album. This is due to the energy between us and the audience, that we like and that inspires us. On stage we are wearing original miner-suits and try to catch up the audience on a racy journey down there. Of course we hope, everybody’s returning save into daylight.
Some pathbreaking words for our listeners?
Schacht: Pathbreaking words? Don’t think we are the right people to ask for that. Perhaps "The path leads downwards … and sometimes upwards!"
Schacht: We are inspired by books, films or simply life. There’s no concrete pattern for that. Some of our lyrics are dealing with the mining theme, but not all of them. Starting with the mining theme we try to deal with a lot of different themes.
Let’s talk about some of your songs. Gedankenstahl?
Schacht: It’s definite not a song that explains itself. "Gedankenstahl" - amongst other things - deals with processes of psychological repression. It’s about things you or the whole society wants to hide and keep in darkness.
Frühtau?
Schacht: This is a traditional song adapted to our music-style. Perhaps this song is a good example that Schacht does not always deal with desperation and darkness. In the long run this can be very boring. You can tackle things and sometimes it works.
Tropfstein?
Schacht: Tropfstein is about balancing and clearing extremes. Even if the result may be emptiness, it’s a process of liberation. The allegory in this case is the dripstone, better to say the cleaning and pressure solving water.
All of your song -titles are only one word. What’s the idea behind that?
Schacht: The titles should be short and concise. Nothing else. Maybe this has something to do with our forgetfulness. Most of the titles are buzzwords, words from the lyrics providing an aided recall at the rehearsals.
"Abwärts" or downwards is the title of the album. What does that mean?
Schacht: "Abwärts" or downwards is sort of an invitation to a journey in our world, a journey into the abyss of mind and soul. We pick up the listener to a collective shift in the underground. Last but not least "Abwärts" is the title of the opener.
Are you presenting your music live?
Schacht: Of course! We did a lot of shows and currently we are planning shows for next springtime. We love playing live. Presented live, our music is more direct and harder than on the album. This is due to the energy between us and the audience, that we like and that inspires us. On stage we are wearing original miner-suits and try to catch up the audience on a racy journey down there. Of course we hope, everybody’s returning save into daylight.
Some pathbreaking words for our listeners?
Schacht: Pathbreaking words? Don’t think we are the right people to ask for that. Perhaps "The path leads downwards … and sometimes upwards!"
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