The following article was published in N-SPHERE February 2010 issue.

 

One concept used by you in the making of this album is obvious to the listener from the very beginning (name of the album, lyrics) and that is the notion of duality (love/destruction, death/peace, math/emotion, creature/creator). In what way is this influential for you, not only as artists, and relevant to your music?

Our need for harmony found in duality and opposites continuously seeks to reach a state of balance. Harmony of thinking is a form of safe thinking and we have experienced it, as nothing is secure in life. Often enough, with a little kick the house of cards that we are trying to put together collapses.

The title “Math & Emotion” aims to bring together the impossible: logic and feeling. Consequently, the question arises: what is one supposed to do next when they are thrown off the path. Is this survival of concealed feelings indispensable for not losing your mind? Is our organism programmed to continue, to gradually accept life?

Man is capable of overcoming extreme situations in life, but finding out where this will comes from is often inexplicable. I believe that our determination to make music is given solely by the will to survive in order to achieve balance. The other extreme would be mental idleness, the end of communication, the petrifaction of one’s own character, and simply a living dead condition – awaiting death. This is a constant struggle.

Has the concept of duality also been an influence in choosing the band name Klangstabil? If not, what made you decide upon this name?

The name “Klangstabil” came by chance. We wanted to purchase a synthesizer by phone and I asked the vendor whether the electronic instrument was “klangstabil”. The right term to use in this case was “stimmstabil”, which means that a device produces clean sounds.

Maurizio noticed the slip of the tongue, and we found the name appropriate for us immediately. The combination of the two terms [Klang=sound and Stabil=stable] which holds the concept of duality actually came later.

What do you think of employing different artistic means as a support to your musical performances? (considering the fact that visuals have an increasing impact during concerts in the industrial/electro scene nowadays)

Strictly speaking, we want the audience to perceive us as who we are. No disguises, no masks. Using the proper volume becomes the most important means of expression for our body of work.

Using video is another matter, mainly because we haven’t dared to tackle the issue, as there are many who can produce high quality videos nowadays. We would like to collaborate with video artists who can interpret our songs visually, like Oleg Kozlovski with “Vertraut” or Pablo Iglesias Algora with “Beziehungsohr” have done. It enriches and adds depth to the work.

If you know a video artist or a filmmaker who would like to make a video for us, let us know. We admit that we cannot pay, but we guarantee proper exposure of the artwork.

The Klangstabil ethic is “One step back, two steps forward”. Is it hard to create a connection between decades, especially through electronic music?

I wouldn’t call it hard, one should be conscious about their responsibility as mankind doesn’t have to deal with acoustic shit anymore. The purpose should be creating something new, unheard, not only something copied, as that doesn’t lead to progress.

Have you been involved in any other projects before the formation of Klangstabil in 1994?

No.

Both of you perform in English, Italian and German. Is it hard to maintain a consistence of the message and music, considering the fact that you have different cultural backgrounds?

A future language is the language of Emotion that can be understood while crossing the borders of nationality.

Two obvious influences in the creation of “Math & Emotion” are geometry and the game of chess. Do you believe that existence can be simplified to permutations and concepts such as “a common denominator” and “a square within a square”?

Interesting question. The “common denominator” refers to both logic and emotion existing under the same roof, which of course does not work so easily, it is always an irrational and complex matter.

Related to “a square within a square” (nice metaphor): to achieve oneness and to feel secure within that mental unity is a nice thought, but not in reality – at most it can be achieved in the cemetery.

You used the phrase: “We erase ourselves in a zero sum game” – how would you develop this to someone who wants to make sense of Klangstabil’s message?

It relates to emotional mutilation. When someone perceives the realities of war or lives in the aftermath of a wretched relationship for instance.

The album also seems to place emphasis on some values/notions differently understood by society (conformity, tolerance, love, liberty to name just a few of them). Would you consider yourselves, as artists, militant to some extent?

Of course we would like to change many things in this world, but we would never make use of our physical power to put into practice our ideas.

When we mention in a track that we would like to destroy everything at once, then those are our extreme thoughts but certainly, they don’t make of us what we were and are. This notion of destruction has become “normality”, implemented in our lives as we get it from the media daily. The question should rather be: what should I change about myself in order not to cope with the world in this manner anymore, and to some extent, even attempt to change it. We fight against an uncreative and blocked reality that we have to face daily and it’s up to us if we want to give up or continue our battle.

What should the audience expect from future Klangstabil material?

We are currently working on a new concept. In the past years we have focused on the reality that surrounds us. Now we’re creating our own reality. Thank you for the interesting questions! (Maurizio Blanco and Boris May)

questions by Diana Daia

Full article here.