Einstürzende Neubauten Machine Music By Cassandra Kiely
T
he chance to interview Blixa Bargeld comes but once in a lifetime. As leader of German industrial rock pioneers Einstürzende Neubauten, his uncompromising reputation (and legendary contempt for music journalism) has often preceded him. But – via Skype from his home in Berlin – Bargeld speaks easily and candidly about the band’s upcoming tour to Australia, their first in some 20 years. With a back catalogue spanning over three decades, one can imagine the difficulties of composing a setlist for Neubauten’s live shows – let alone the unique logistics of their tours. “We always have to bring particular materials for each piece and there is a vague limitation to that,” explains Bargeld. “For example, we do have the innards of a jet turbine — it weighs 1.5 tonnes. It is really, really heavy and we know already we cannot take that to Australia – it would be outside the limitation of what we are able to take, so I cannot play the songs in which the jet turbine plays an implacable role.” Although Australia will miss out on the jet turbine (which Bargeld describes as sounding
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like “a vibraphone from outer space”), there are other exciting things in store for audiences, such as a monstrous metal tank – which is currently being rebuilt locally to specifications the band has sent over. With these logistical concerns in mind, a Neubauten setlist is constructed based upon what makes sense for the intended audience and which materials are available. Einstürzende Neubauten are equally antiquated when it comes to the recording side of things. “I grew up with vinyl and cassettes. A CD was something alien to me and I’m glad that it’s disappearing again,” says Bargeld. “If I think about making music with Neubauten or something else, I don’t get that album format out of my head. It’s always there, I always think about sequence and all that. I don’t know if it’s a valid format, I don’t know if it will disappear because the record, the technological bracket that holds it together, is disappearing.” Technology has also changed the way artists interact with their audience, often taking record labels out of the equation. On this subject – and the subject of online platforms such as SoundCloud and Bandcamp – Bargeld is circumspect: “My experience is that if you give the possibility [to bands] to handle and rule everything themselves they will not do a good job,” he says. “For most musicians a record company is a necessary evil because they need somebody to blame things on and if they don’t have that entity to blame things on, they’re lost… I like to be utopian about all these things and I like to open doors where there weren’t doors before,” he adds, “but that’s my particular experience.” Working for 30 years with Einstürzende Neubauten and for 20 years as a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Bargeld has certainly been around the traps. He is adamant that there is no bad blood between Cave and himself following his departure from the iconic band. “I was married and in two bands, one being Neubauten and the other being the Bad Seeds,” he explains. “It got to the point that I could not justify being away from my wife for so long throughout the year. I had to choose between the band and my wife, and I chose my greater love.”
“We have the innards of a jet turbine…It is really, really heavy and we cannot take that to Australia – so I cannot play the songs in which the jet turbine plays an implacable role.” This has not completely stopped further collaborative work outside of Neubauten; in fact, Bargeld recently contributed vocals to the TG (AKA Throbbing Gristle) album Desertshore, a reworking of Nico’s classic album Desert Shore. “That was really nice,” he says. “I actually did sing all the songs. They sent me the whole material, and I said, well, I’ll just sing them all and then you can just choose whichever one you want. That was really fun; there are some really incredible pieces of music on that record. On the record I’m only singing on one or two songs, [but] the rest are in the vaults.”
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THURS 28 MARCH OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY
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“ANOTHER EVOLUTIONARY STEP FOR RESTLESS SYDNEY TRIO.” ROLLING STONE “ P V Ts F I N E S T R E C O R D T O D AT E ” DRUM MEDIA
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THE NEW ALBUM HOMOSAPIEN OUT NOW ON CD / LP / DL SUPPORTED BY TRIPLE J, SPOTIFY, MESS+NOISE, BEAT, THE BRAG, XPRESS, TIME OFF, CREATE/CONTROL AND SPARK & OPUS
With: Mick Harvey When: Friday February 22 Where: Enmore Theatre Also: All Tomorrow’s Parties presents I’ll Be Your Mirror in Melbourne, February 16-17, alongside My Bloody Valentine, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Swans and more
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On the eve of Einsturzende Neubauten’s first Australian tour since 1991, Bargeld is understandably content with his past achievements – even admitting, as few musicians will do, to listening to his own records for fun. “If I am in the strange mood of wanting to hear a Neubauten piece – which happens maybe twice a year – then what would I like to hear?” he muses. “‘[Die] Interimsliebenden’ [from 1993’s Tabula Rasa] I think is a fantastic time. It’s strange making compliments about myself.” He pauses, before adding, “When I look back at the things we have released I’m not ashamed of anything. I think we have aged quite well.”