Die Form Interview @ EBM.gr

 

 Οι Die Form για αρκετά χρόνια τώρα αποτελούν ένα απο τα ξεχωριστά συγκροτήματα της ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής. Η αισθησιακή φωνή της Eliane, η σκοτεινή πλευρά της ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής του Philippe συνδεδεμένα άρρηκτα με την ποίηση των στίχων και τις ερωτικές εικόνες τους προσφέρουν στους ανθρώπους εκείνους που έχουν το προνόμιο να τολμήσουν να κοιτάξουν κατάματα τα εσωτερικά τους πάθη. Να ψάξουν και να δημιουργήσουν μέσα απο τις κρυφές τους επιθυμίες. Είναι εκείνο το σημείο που η μουσική γίνεται ζωή. Είναι εκείνο το σημείο που γεννιέται η μουσική των Die Form.

 

“…I penetrate into your wounds
where eyes are watching for me….”

 

Die Form constitute an exceptional band of electro music for several years now. The sensual vocals of Eliane, along with the dark side of Philippe’s electro music are closely connected with the poetry of the lyrics and the sexual images they offer to those people who dare, those people who have the determination to dare and look straight into their deepest passions…To seek and create through their hidden wishes. It is the point where music becomes life. it is the point where Die Form‘s music is born.

 

::EBM.gr:: Your latest album “ExHuman” reveals a more violent style in contrast to the “calmer” atmosphere of “InHuman”. How did you manage to combine these two pieces of work while at the same time offering two different themes?

 

PF: The initial concept was to present the two sides in parallel as a two panels -diptych-composition. Rather than to mix the tracks on the same album, as we had already done in “Duality” for example, I had thought it was interesting to separate the work in two sections. Now, it would be interesting to join together InHuman / ExHuman in a double CD box ! ExHuman is not really more violent, but less melodic, more bruitist (noisy ?)  also, and so maybe less accessible than InHuman.

(French text: The initial concept was to present the two sides in parallel as a two panels -diptych-composition. Plutôt que de mélanger les morceaux sur un même album, comme nous l’avions déjà fait pour Duality par exemple, j’avais pensé intéressant de séparer le travail en deux sections. Maintenant, il serait intéressant de réunir InHuman/ExHuman dans un coffret double CD ! ExHuman n’est pas forcément plus violent, mais moins mélodique, plus bruitiste aussi, et donc moins accessible peut-être qu’InHuman.)

 

 

 

No Image

::EBM.gr:: Did you use any new techniques to achieve this effect? Is it visible or audible in your work?

PF: The methods of composition, the inspiration and the instruments used are very different in these two projects. For InHuman, except the fact that the Éliane’s voice held a broad place, I intensively used a graphic software of composition rather than the usual MIDI systems. It was rather complicated besides to synchronize all the elements together ! This enabled me to explore new horizons, but also made me waste some time…

For ExHuman, I had directed my research, for the visuals and compositions, towards the geometrical and abstract aspect, more hermetic. So I used the analogical machines and the MIDI sequences. Concerning the images, I worked on photograms in laboratory, intervening directly with the light on the sensible surfaces and in the development baths. Facing them, I juxtaposed images of body and tools replacing the black romanticism images, sometimes gothic, of InHuman.

(French text: Les méthodes de composition, l’inspiration et les instruments utilisés sont très différents dans ces deux projets. Pour InHuman, hormis le fait que la voix d’Éliane tenait une place prépondérante, j’ai utilisé intensivement un logiciel de composition graphique plutôt que les systèmes MIDI habituels. Il a d’ailleurs été assez compliqué de synchroniser tous les éléments entre eux ! Ceci m’a permis d’explorer de nouveaux horizons, mais m’a aussi fait perdre pas mal de temps…

Pour ExHuman, j’avais orienté mes recherches vers l’aspect géométrique et abstrait, plus hermétique, des visuels et des compositions. J’ai alors utilisé les machines analogiques et les séquences MIDI. Au niveau des images, j’ai réalisé des photogrammes en laboratoire, intervenant directement avec la lumière sur les surfaces sensibles et dans les bains de dévelopement. En regard desquels, j’ai juxtaposé des images de corps et d’outils se ubstituant au romantisme noir, parfois gothique, des images d’InHuman.)

 

 

 

::EBM.gr:: Some people claim that your sound is easily recognisable and may blame you for not further developing your sound. What would your answer be?

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PF: It is true that the spirit and the identity of DIE FORM are always recognizable, but the albums are added and are complementary like the layers of a ground which is formed in the time, the duration or as the rings of a tree. All our creations are the mirror of our lives, of our memories, with all our imperfections and of course repetitions, clumsinesses…

But if we take time to listen to them attentively, we notice that the albums are extremely different, sometimes divergent on their form and their contents.

Our new opus – BACH PROJECT – is entirely based on works of J.-S. Bach, arranged and represented after the manner of DIE FORM!

 

(French text: Il est vrai que l’esprit et l’identité de DIE FORM sont toujours reconnaissables, mais les albums s’ajoutent et se complètent comme les strates d’un terrain qui se forme dans le temps, la durée ou comme les cernes d’un arbre. Toutes nos créations sont le miroir de nos vies, de nos mémoires, avec tous nos défauts et bien sûr des répétitions, des maladresses…

Mais si on prends le temps de les écouter attentivement, on s’apperçoit que les albums sont extrêmement différents, parfois divergents par leur forme et leur contenu. Notre nouvel opus – BACH PROJECT – est entièrement basé sur les oeuvres de J.-S. Bach, arrangées et représentées à la manière de DIE FORM !)

 

 

 

No Image::EBM.gr:: Going back to the late 70s, what can you recall ? Do you believe that the music scene was more “innocent”, more simple, since there weren’t any huge music industries that monopolised music production, as it happens today?


PF: Yes, it is sure. And I regret a little bit these moments of discoveries, provocation, experimentation, blindness and frenzy, without thinking of the systems,
industries, only to fight them…

(French text: Oui, c’est certain. Et je regrette un peu ces moments de découvertes, de provocation, d’expérimentation, d’aveuglement et de frénésie, sans penser aux systèmes, aux industries, sinon pour les combattre et les détourner… )

 

 

 

 

::EBM.gr:: What is the purpose for someone to listen to “Die Form”? Why “Die Form” exist?

PF: I could not say it. Each person or group must doubtless live for something and I found this way to exist. This is a little bit simple and egoistic…

(French text: Je ne saurais le dire. Chaque individu ou groupe d’individus doivent sans doute vivre pour quelque chose et j’ai trouvé cette voie pour exister. C’est un peu simple et égoïste…)

 

 

 

::EBM.gr::: Many people are deeply affected and inspired by your style. You have also been associated with fetishism and sadomasochism. How do you feel about that? Are there any moments that you think this kind of connection may act as an obstacle to reach a bigger audience?

PF: I don’t like fashions, but it corresponded to a need, an aspiration, as a premonition without knowing it. S/M theme, at the same time, made known us and cut us from a broader audience. It is as positive as negative.

(French text: Je n’aime pas les modes, ni la récupération, mais cela devait correspondre à un besoin, une aspiration que nous avions pressentis sans le savoir. La thématique S/M nous a à la fois fait connaître et coupé d’une audience plus large. C’est aussi positif que négatif.)

 

 

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::EBM.gr:: In your photos we can admire concepts like the female beauty, the rotting of the flesh, and the nature. Art is a means for the mind to travel into an inner world, an inner self. From an artist’s point of view, how would you describe these pictures? What is happening in your own inner world when you capture a photo?

 

PF: See behind, beyond things and appearances, to seek inside. Under the skin, in the heart and nerves, in the dreams and anguishes, in past and future, in the animal memory and poetry, in the files of madness and surgery, beyond good and evil, the perhaps and the uneasiness… nothing is simple.

(French text: Voir derrière, au-delà des choses et des apparences, chercher à l’intérieur. Sous la peau, dans le coeur et dans les nerfs, dans les rêves et les angoisses, dans le passé et le futur, dans la mémoire animale et la poésie, dans les archives de la folie et de la chirurgie, au-delà du bien et du mal, du peut-être et du mal-être… rien n’est simple.)

 

 

 

 

No Image::EBM.gr:: How do you come up with new songs? What is your main inspiration?

PF: It is variable. Sometimes I start with composing the musics without any concept, or preconceived idea, sometimes, I am inspired by images or visions. Other times by sentences or words… There is no system nor method. I rebuild each time the studio and changes tools, even if certain topics are recurrent and the sound bases remain present. Being an autodidact, I follow my instinct, my emotions, my imagination, trying to surprise myself each time by discovering new things.

I am always searching for hidden meanings (of the existence, the erotism, passions, death, memory, nature, the beauty…).

(French text: C’est variable. Parfois je commence par composer des musiques sans concept, sans idée préconçue, parfois, je suis inspiré par des images ou des visions. D’autres fois par des phrases ou des mots… Il n’y a pas de système ni de méthode. Je reconstruis à chaque fois le studio et change d’outils, même si certains thèmes sont récurents et les bases sonores demeurent présentes. Étant autodidacte, je suis mon instinct, mes émotions, mon imagination, essayant de m’étonner à chaque fois en découvrant des choses nouvelles.

Je cherche toujours les sens cachés (de l’existence, de l’érotisme, des passions, de la mort, de la mémoire, de la nature, de la beauté…).

 

 

 

::EBM.gr:: Do you separate your normal, everyday life from your work? If so, how do you manage to keep each one in place?

PF: Not really. I live constantly of and with my work. The normal and the abnormal are united in my daily universe. I live almost completely isolated, apart from the real world. My rare contacts with the outside world happens during the concerts / performances periods.

(French: Pas vraiment. Je vis constamment de et avec mon travail. Le normal et l’anormal se sont fondus dans mon univers quotidien. Je vis presque totalement isolé, à l’écart du monde réel. Mes rares contacts avec l’extérieur se produisent lors des concerts/performances.)

 

 

 

::EBM.gr:: Why did you become an artist? Whom do you make art for?

PF: I didn’t ask the question in these terms, I simply felt an irrepressible need to express myself by the creation ways, then I tried to share it. Luckily, I met enough public to live on this work, even with difficulty, in exchange of a certain freedom. I don’t seek to touch a particular public, but I propose images and sounds to who wants to pay attention and feel something special, out of the standards. For me, it is also a kind of therapy, a meaning of my existence…

(French text: Je ne me suis pas posé la question en ces termes, j’ai simplement ressenti un besoin irrépressible de m’exprimer par les voies de la création puis d’essayer de le faire partager. Par chance, j’ai rencontré assez de public pour en vivre, même difficilement, en échange d’une certaine liberté. Je ne recherche pas à toucher un public particulier, mais propose des images et des sons à qui veut bien y prêter attention et ressentir quelque chose de particulier, hors des normes. Pour moi, c’est aussi une sorte de thérapie, un sens à mon existence…)

 

 

 

::EBM.gr:: What is the greatest threat to your art?

PF: Oblivion, indifference and misunderstanding, more than censorship.

(French text: L’oubli, l’indifférence et l’incompréhension, plus que la censure.)

 

 

 

::EBM.gr:: Bataille vs Conservativism. Who wins a “wrestling” match? Would something or someone else win over both?

PF: Nobody can win, and it is better like this. There will always be a duality – constructive or destructive – which will allow humanity to exist and evolve, by the dialogue or confrontation. Art can also be useful as a pendulum and catalyst, beyond conventions and limits…

(French text: Personne ne peut gagner, et c’est mieux ainsi. Il y aura toujours une dualité – constructive ou destructive – qui permettra à l’humanité d’exister et d’évoluer, par la concertation ou la confrontation. L’art peut aussi servir de balancier et de catalyseur, au-delà des conventions et des limites…)

 

 

 

::EBM.gr:: Thank you very much for having the kindness to answer our questions. We are looking forward to seeing you in Athens!

PF: Thank you so much for your support and attention. We hope to meet many fans in Athens !

 

 

Don’t miss the Die Form Concert at Gagarin 205 on the 26th of January!!! For more info click here

 


The EBM.gr team would like to thank George Papanikolaou for all his help.

Many special thanks to Anna Maria  – Jmarix (a true fan!) for helping out with the questions!!!


 

A few words about the “BACH PROJECT” from DIE FORM

 

After Laibach in 2006, Die Form was invited in 2007 to the Bach Fest in Leipzig to present a selection of J.-S. Bach’s works (pieces) totally re-arranged in an audio-visual show.

Slipping gradually from murmur to noise, from the caress to chaos, once again in the search of a certain mystical form in the expression of desire and death, rummaging in the entrails and wandering in the labyrinth of the memory…

Die Form had already revisited and interpreted “Serenade” (used as a jingle for a TV broadcasting on CANAL+) and “Der Tod und das Mädchen” (on “Duality” album) of F. Schubert

13 tracks for computer, samplers, synthesizers, etherwave Theremin, vocoders, voice (Éliane P.), videos, dance & performances.

Total time: 70’24.

 


“BACH PROJECT” CD

Official release date : 25th of January 2008 (TRISOL)

Please, contact us to reserve/pre-order (1 copy by order !) the ultra-limited edition (99 copies incl. a signed carbon ink print).

Philippe Fichot’s French art project DIE FORM has always been a lot more than just a music band. For 25 years DIE FORM has represented an unrivalled fusion of music, performance, photography and experimental films. After numerous collaborations with other artists and more than 30 albums, many video clips and short films plus two volumes of photographs, the unique interpretation of Bach compositions – as it was performed live in Leipzig on the occasion of the Bach week in 2006 – is released on a new album.

Once again organic and electronic noise with neo classic elements is united with experimental structures with classic harmonies and vocals. And also again cold technical elements are confronted with the warm and erotic voice of Eliane P. Due to the sensational success of these Bach interpretations the performed songs are now presented on an official DIE FORM album and unfold the irresistible charm of the original performance on the basis of harmony and rhythm.

DIE FORM has long escaped the limits of dark electronics and presents a mature and genuine album that no aficionado of experimental sound worlds can elude.

ATTENTION : The album will appear as a luxurious first edition !

 

  • CD in A5 format in a precious slipcase, punched and with special lamination
  • Special accordion fold booklet and precious art print on selected high-quality
  • Including astonishing live photos from the Bach performance in Leipzig
  • Strictly limited to 1,999 copies world-wide incl. 99 copies with a signed carbon ink print”

Also available as Standard CD edition on METROPOLIS RECORDS (USA-CANADA)

Tracklisting:

I. BWV 42-7 (2:12)

Am Abend aber desselbiggen Sabbats (Church Cantata)

 

II. BWV 243-3-4 (4:25)

Magnificat : Quia Respexit & Omnes Generationes

 

III. BWV 1031 (5:11)

Sonata Nr 2 in Es-Dur

 

IV. BWV 1002 (4:17)

Partita Nr 1 in B Moll

 

V. BWV 147-5 (4:26)

Bereite Dir Jesu noch itzo die Bahn (Herz und Mund)

 

VI. BWV 1030 (4:27)

Sonata Nr 1 in H Moll

 

VII. BWV 1004 (3:45)

Partita Nr 2 in D Moll

 

VIII. BWV 565 (10:04)

Toccata Nr 2 in D Moll

 

IX. BWV 54-1 (5:55)

Aria : Widerstehe doch der Sünde

 

X. BWV 29 (4:16)

Wir danken Dir, Gott, wir danken Dir

 

XI. BWV 209 2+3 (7:27)

Recitativ : Non sa che sia dolore & Aria : Parti pur

 

XII. BWV 4 (7:09)

Christ lag in Todesbanden

 

XIII. BWV 244-39 (6:31)

Matthäus Passion – Aria : Erbarme Dich, mein Gott !