Interview Cabaret

Nella selva di gruppi più o meno sconosciuti nel Bel paese, vi presentiamo questo gruppo polacco, prodotto dalla rispettata etichetta canadeseArtOfFact. Si chiamano Cabaret e vantano già un nutrito seguito soprattutto negli States, ma la base dei fan si sta gradualmente allargando, proponendo un intreccio stilistico fra ebm, new wave e synth-pop -un genere che in Europa non ha mai avuto particolare consenso fra i critici-. Il tutto in chiave ultracontemporanea. L'album con il quale gli abbiamo conosciuti si intitola Homophobia. L'invito a procurarselo o quantomeno ad ascoltarlo è esteso a tutti i fan dei Depeche Mode (anche se il giudizio sul loro nuovo workout sembra essere tut'altro che clemente stando alle loro dichiarazioni...). Vi proponiamo di seguito una chiacchierata con Jarek e Michal. Buona lettura! Cabaret "Homophobia" (Art Of Fact) 01.Nicole (Welcome To) 02.Be On Standby 03.Butterfly With No Address 04.Song For Berlin 05.Electric Chair Song 06.Devil Is Dancing 07.Rain On My Skin 08.Dawn Mist Glowing 09.Homophobia (nr 9) 10.Check Point Charlie 11.Angel Theme

Hi folks! How are you? Jarek: Thanx, we feel well and you?

I've listened your new album, Homophobia... Really intriguing.. What about its development? Jarek: If you think our album is intriguing it is best review for us. We wanted to record album like this one. Put there music we feel and have in our brains. We did not hurry u with this record so maybe it is reason why it sounds so fresh and well. Many people say we have own sounds. For debut band as we are it is very important thing. Sometimes other bands need 5-7 records to find own sound and style. We did it with first album. Michal: I think we recorded good album. I know we are debut band, I know there is a lot of music and we are underground band but I hope that many people will buy it. I do not care and say about money right now. I just would like to see this album in many CD players because this is the reason why we do music. We want to give people something special, something private, intimate.

What's your viewpoint on homophobia? Jarek: We do not accept it as an human behavior against other people. And we try to understand why it is like this. Homophobia is not only fear of homosexual people. It is fear of something new, different people, different culture, faith etc. Very often we wear a mask and want to hide real feelings. We are afraid of other people, afraid of their opinion about us and things we do or things we believe. This is why we put clown on cover art. Our songs are about alienation, about fear…

Among sources of inspiration are there any personal experiences? What are the tracks who love most and why? Jarek: My favorite track is 'Rain On My Skin'. I love this song and I love what we did with this song even if it sounds like 80's and very soft. For the first time we decided to record some different vocal lines and put them together. And words are very personal. Michal: I like all of them but my favorite is 'Devil Is Dancing' and 'Be On Standby' cause it sounds well and very rhythmic.

Are there any differences between reactions in United States and in Europe? Michal: I think yes. People in USA, Canada are more open for new stuff. And we have more e-mails from North America listeners. I think in Europe you can find many bands like we are so people have a big choice, some bands are more popular than others. In States there is more space for different kinds of music. And remember that US music is more based on rock, country music… so, electro bands are still something new and intrigue for this audience.

You thanks Steven Wilson among others... Why? Michal: Because Steven is big inspiration for us and we did cover song of 'Every Home Is Wired'. We have got permission without any problems…

Why did that 'Song For Berlin' sound so saddish? Jarek: It sounds like this cause there is a big amount of nostalgia in this music and words. I like this song and way it sounds. There are two versions of this song: one is same like album version, second one is in… techno style but I am not sure if we will decide to play it like this.

There's a plenty of contrasting opinion on the return to the past proposed by Depeche Mode through their last album... what do you think about that issue? Jarek: I do not like this piece of music. I generally do not like what they did since Alan Wilder left the band. For last 12 years we have got many compilations albums from Depeche Mode and only 3 new propositions: 'Ultra', 'Exciter', 'Playing The Angel'. I do not feel this music, new sound of Depeche Mode. And I am not sure if they came back to old style sound. On last 3 albums we have same sounds taken from modern synths like NI Absynth 3, ImpOSCar etc. But I have to say I like Dave Gahan solo album. And I think it was big mistake not to let him do music on past DM albums. Michal: Next question….

Interesting equipment… did you subscribe any insurance on it? Jarek: No… Some stuff we took from our friends, some we have. I think we still need some good equipment and think about buying some studio elements like: Kurzweil K2600, Korg Triton, Emu Proteus, Clavia NL2 plus some more…

Could you explain why musicians transmigrating from metal to electro normally don't obtain good results? Jarek: Generally I think that rock music is about the end. All good melodies and songs have been created already… Look how many cover songs we have now… It means that people are not able to create something new in this style. And the same is with metal. Some bands decided to put some keys sounds to create new atmosphere, kind of gothic elements into their music. They tried to put it on new level. And finally they had finished with big amount of keyboards and samplers but… They still have metal soul and rock roots so I think they always will try to play metal music on keyboards that can bring only poor effects. You can play some sampled sounds but it will never be true rock or metal. Keyboard will never replace guitar noise as the guitar will never sound like synthesizer. And same is with metal bands shows with classical orchestra. Ok, Metallica did good job and it sounds well, but it is good for one time experiment. If you try to do it 100 times it will never work.

So you wanna be a number 9! Jarek: No, we do wanna be number one! But I know what you mean asking about Nr 9. You want to get explanation for this song and strange words… We decided not to tell people what we talk in each song. We want to leave some space for own interpretation. Michal: We are number one. Some weeks ago we won plebiscite and became Best Polish Debut Act of 2005 by Gery PL Magazine.

Are you planning any tours in Europe (and preferrably in Italy)? Michal: If you just get any invitation from Italy we will play for sure. We love your country. All actual details about live gigs you can find on our web page. Jarek: Yes I agree with Michal. We just wait for any invitation from Italy. I have been in Italy few times in Rome (you have nice hotel there - Satellite Hotel) and in small town next to Milano - Tortona. I hope I will be able to visit this place once again since I have great memories about it. We want to also thank for interview and say best wishes for all of you there in Italy. Stay with us and our music and hope one day we will get in touch on live gig somewhere in Italy.