Kevin: When did you first start up Forma Tadre?
Andreas I invented the name back in 1986. At that time there were three people involved. We made an EP with the help of Ex-D.A.F producer, Bob Giddens. Years later we went into another studio and wasted a lot of money --the tracks were no good and I didn't want to release the material. One member left and I worked on with the other one, but we split when I got the offer from Offbeat. I didn't want to make any more compromises.
Kevin: Do you enjoy remixing?
Andreas Sometimes I do, sometimes not very much. It depends on whether I'm more interested in making my own music at the time. I always take a lot of time for remixes. I'm a perfectionist and want to make the best possible music, not only concerning my own songs, but the remixes too. Actually I consider the remixes to be my own songs.
Kevin: Have you played live?
Andreas We`ve did some gigs in the late 80's. Since the release of "Navigator" I have done just one concert, which was more of an improvised performance together with Haujobb.
Kevin: Why did you hook up with Daniel Meyer for the NEWT project? Was it just the proximity of being in the same city?
Andreas Daniel asked me. I respected Haujobb and wanted to try something with somebody who knew how to create music I like, which was something I had never really done before. The proximity of being in the same town played a role, and the proximity of being nearly neighbors played a role, but it wasn't a reason to collaborate -- it just made things easier.
Kevin: Why did you get involved in music?
Andreas I was fascinated by non-natural sounds and analog synths.
Kevin: Are you working on new material?
Andreas I will start working on a new album in May.
Kevin: Your debut seems so flawless and proficient. Was this something that came naturally to you? And was it your intention to incorporate so many different styles on your release?
Andreas Yes and no. I don't consider the tracks as actually being different styles. I considered the instrumental tracks vital to give the album a certain atmosphere and meaning; they were functional in the scope of the album. I had been working intensely on the sound of the album. I may never had released something, if not somebody in the past who had convinced me that it is impossible to make music which is 100% what you want; it is more important to try hard to get there remembering that you can only get very close. It is very trivial, but true.
Kevin: Do you haven any releases previous to Navigator? Were you involved in any previous musical projects?
Andreas I have never been involved in any other musical projects. We released an EP called "Brightful Times" back in 1987.
Kevin: How did you come to be on Off Beat? Bjorn (ex-Haujobb) convinced me that it might be good to send a tape to some record labels. Offbeat liked the demo and wanted me to do an album.
Kevin: Why did you start your side project Eisriesen Koenig? What does the name mean?
Andreas It`s a word from a poem in Fritz Lang's (I believe) movie "Sigfried". The scenery struck me and I wanted to make something out of it.
Kevin: How did you first become interested in HP Lovecraft?
Andreas I had a piano teacher whom I didn't`t like. He made boring jazz and stereotypical surreal pictures. He and his wife were some kind of freaks in my hometown; the interior of their house was always very dark. They had many books and when nobody was around I tried to find out what kind of books they had, so I could find out what kind of people they were. There were certain types of books labeled "Lovecraft" and they had a red cover (which is different in Germany than in the US or in the UK; German books usually have a white colour and are poorly designed). I remembered somebody saying something about Lovecraft stories being disgusting or bad; so I had to read them.
Kevin: Would you say you are trying to compose the soundtrack to some of his stories? Or is that something you would like to do?
Andreas I am not trying to compose soundtracks to Lovecraft's stories -- these would be more dark and amorphous than the music of Forma Tadre. I don't want to make soundtracks for Lovecraft or anyone else's stories. But Lovecraft can be an inspiration for me, just as the sound of my refrigerator can be an inspiration.
Kevin: Are you an avid reader? Who are some of your favorite authors?
Andreas I am a very avid reader. I like to have books around me, I like to go to shops in Amsterdam and search in piles of books for hours, hoping to find something strange and worth reading. My favourite author at the moment is Michel Foucault.
Kevin: In the interview from Culture Shock #3 you quoted Arthur Machen? Who is he and what influence does he have, if any, over you or your compositions?
Andreas In a technical sense Machen produces the same
extent of "cosmic horror" the way Lovecraft did. Machen was a member of the
occult "Order of the Golden Dawn," and in this aspect is totally different from
Lovecraft, who was a materialist and did not believe in anything supernatural.
Machen has the same influence to me as other fantasy writers who show that the
world we are living in and its systems (political, physical etc...), who some
consider stable, can change overnight and actually might be proven wrong in
nearly every aspect.