artist you should do what motivates you most, but at the end of the day you also have to pay the rent...? Yes that is true, but I am also convinced that you can’t calculate this factor. I don’t think I would be the right person to say: ‚let’s do a commercial song and it’s gonna sell!’... That is just not working like that. In this business, you probably have thousands of potential hits out there, but no one will ever get to hear them, because there is so much marketing involved in the process of becoming commercial. Where do The Young Gods put their weight on? Is the music still that much in the foreground or do you use marketing instruments? We can’t count on marketing at all, because we are a complete ‚self product’. We first create the music and then we show it to potential labels. Then it is up to the label to take us on and promote us. I assume you prefer to keep total control over the music of The Young Gods? Yes, we want total control on everything that goes with the music. That is choosing the right producer, artworks, videos and so on. How is it working within the band – do all three members have the same say or is there somebody in the end who decides? Well, there’s somebody in the end who makes the interview (laughs)...! (Bernard Trontin:) We all have final words to speak, usually everybody is ok with what we are doing. What if there is a disagreement between you three, will Franz have the final say? If there is a case like that and Franz is trying to convince me, he will not smash it into my head and make it the only solution... (shouting and laughing). That’s not how we work, we really are finding solutions together. (Franz Treichler:) Come on Alain, join the interview! (Al Comet:) There is an interview going on, ohhh...? (big smile and joins our table) (Franz Treichler:) You know that famous ‚Madonna’ joke? No...? What’s the difference between a lead singer and a terrorist? What’s the difference? With a terrorist you can negotiate! (big laughter in the room). But seriously, when it comes to music, if one of us really doesn’t like a piece, we skip it. Because everybody has to be able to stand behind it and to perform it on stage. The way it works since Bernard joined the band is the following: everybody brings ideas and we jam together in order to get somewhere. I am probably the most difficult factor in the band, just because I have to sing... For instance, if Bernard comes up with a song, but I am not able to find the right approach to sing it, then I am not motivated to sing it, even though I might like the song. I feel like this band is very much functioning like a family, which in most bands is probably not the case. Most of the time you got one guy who decides and is somewhat of a boss or CEO and the others have to do
what the boss says, are you guys living proof of the cliché? Well, it’s not all that perfect, we also are having our harder times... Who gives you a hard time in the band (laughing) ? (Al Comet:) Me!! (mischievous smile) Do you consider yourself perfectionists? (Franz Treichler:) Yes and No, but it’s not what we are doing right now. Maybe a short few little things... (laughs). Which are? For example, Roli- our producer has been mixing songs for the whole week that we did a year and a half ago. We did basically like five songs back then. It was also a tough time, we were without a manager, but we somehow wanted to go on... From 2002 until 2005, we didn’t do that much. You know, the profile was a bit out of sight. We however still recorded those songs as a demo and it got our current manager Patrick very interested. We just had too many things going on in our heads and so it is a pleasure to work with an external producer, also to get things done! I have to admit that it was maybe a bit hard to work with an external producer, because we have our very own vision. Now it is an external vision, but we enjoy it very much. You kind of know what to expect, but you always get surprised as well, that’s what makes it so interesting. We have actually been working with Roli since the beginning. Back then he was a drummer for The Swans – a really dark, slow and loud band, at a time where everybody else was trying to play as fast as they could! Roli was producing for us from 1985 to 1995. After that we toured almost two years and we just needed a break and slow down after more than ten years of steady music making. A bit after, we got to know Bernard and we really wanted him to join the band! (Al Comet:) The first thing Bernard had to do was to build a brick wall! We gave him some gloves and we built a wall together. It was at this place called ‚ Artamis’, kind of a free space zone in Geneva... really funny. That’s the first thing we made him do (laughs). Did you guys live at ‚ Artamis’? (Franz Treichler:) No, but my studio is still there. We spent a lot of time there many years ago and the place was really happening. There was this part of the house dedicated to electronic music, it was called ‚The Database 59’. The basement of this place was a mess so we had to clean it up in order to play night and day. Yeah, so Bernard came really at the right time when we had to get this basement up to speed, - like: ,yeah Bernard, take another brick...’ (laughs). Then we did the album ‚Second Nature’ in 1997. We put it on the market independently through our former manager. How does it work when you are recording a record which you do on a very independent basis – do you get funding from the government or other sources? No – for the record actually not at all. We do it with the money from the concerts and tours and we have a co-producer (points at the manager). So you are trying to be on your own feet in order to completely control what you are doing? You know with a band of our age which is not like ‚the new surprising sensation’ - people (record labels) want to hear what we do in order to get signed. We really have to put our music