ANDREW LILES

by Richo

THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEW WAS CONDUCTED TOWARDS LATE 2005, NOT LONG AFTER LILES HAD PLAYED TWO RARE SOLO CONCERTS IN POLAND AND SHORTLY BEFORE HE WAS DECLARED AN OFFICIAL MEMBER OF STEVE STAPLETON?S PRESENTLY VERY ACTIVE LIVE VERSION OF NURSE WITH WOUND. SPRING 2007, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE MAN'S MISSION IS CLEARER THAN EVER.

?: Can you start by telling us something about your recent collaboration album with Tony Wakeford, The Wardrobe?s Cups in Cupboard, please? How did this come about? I personally wouldn't have thought Sol Invictus' work slots comfortably alongside your own...

AL: The Wardrobe album was a vehicle for myself and Tony to do something that is neither Andrew Liles nor Sol Invictus. We have got a band name as we want it to be a rolling project and not just a one-off, as so many collaborations are. The Wardrobe came about through Karl Blake, who said Tony was looking for a new member for Sol Invictus. I met up with Tony and discussed a few ideas and projects. The conversation evolved into a talk about the Selfish Shellfish album Tony made with Steven Stapleton. So we decided to make a recording in that fashion. I?m really not competent enough on any instrument to play ?proper? songs in a band. I was in bands when I was a teenager and was never entirely comfortable with that set-up, so decided to work alone, and do to this day even when I collaborate.

As for Sol Invictus not fitting in with what I do? Well, what do I do? I think I am pretty diverse and appreciate pretty much all musical genres. Trees in Winter is a great album and parts of Against the Modern World appeal to my world outlook, so it seemed a reasonable avenue for me to take a walk down.

?: I was thinking more along the lines of their often-deemed-dubious political connotations actually, but I guess that's either irrelevant or not a consideration? I don't know how true they are, anyway...

AL: I think its irrespective. I know my political angle. If i thought for one moment that Tony was active in ANY political movement I wouldn?t be part of it.

?: More generally, you've been becoming increasing prolific during the past year or so. You must be constantly sweating it out in the studio in order to both avoid stagnating and keep moving forward. Where do the ideas keep coming from?

AL: Well, this isn?t necessarily true. The way record labels work, or so it appears, is they are slow, very slow, and they can take time to release everything. I have a lot of older recordings that are just appearing. The last year or so has seen my popularity (if you can call it that) gain a little ground, so a lot of labels are approaching me to do stuff ? I find it hard to turn down a lot of the time as I spent so many years in the wilderness. Also, it takes anything from a year to 2 years to make one of my albums, and I tend to work on 3 or 4 albums at once.

I am always in the studio and have for the last 3 months spent 12-14 hours a day, every day, working on material, ideas and artwork. It is the headspace I am happiest with - maybe I am running away from the ?real? world and I?m creating my own little universe in my dingy little studio? Who wants to engage with it all ?out there?? I certainly don?t want a part of it. More and more, I find people that I have known and met are drifting into a world that I really don?t have any interest in. They seem to have careers, embrace the modern work ethic, populist culture and ideals that are increasingly at loggerheads with my own. I think they see me as the little man with the music ?hobby? and give me a metaphorical pat on the head and a sarcastic grin. They tend to only measure things by finance and ?success?. I guess if I made a fortune and hung out with Justin Timberlake they would consider me to be a real ?artist? a real success...

?: I know what you mean. I can't believe Lydon's using that imbecile to play him in a forthcoming biopic...

AL: Really? That?s just...well insane. As for ideas, fortunately they never ever stop. I am thinking constantly about the next thing, the next big idea. Invariably, all my recordings are conceptual and all but a few have significant numerological equations in there. I get my ideas from books and art, everyday events and the arseholes I meet. I seldom read fiction and have little interest in other people?s imaginary tales so I find a lot of my source material in popular science books, the occult, ancient history, British comedy, biographies and I have a great interest in wildlife, exotic animals and marine life. That?s where I source all my ideas and song titles. There is a lot more research and investigation into each track than people realise. Unfortunately, it would take a learned ear to hear all the animals in the recordings and a genius to unravel all the numerological and linguistic equations of any given recording.

?: Have you known anybody to try, though?

AL: No one has really tried, to my knowledge - I think they treat the music as sonic entertainment rather than a conceptual puzzle. I think as the vast majority of my music is instrumental people don?t really consider there to be a theme or message in there...but there is - but mainly just for me to relocate and remember or laugh. They have many hidden references only I could unravel.

?: Given the nature of your music, when do you know that any one piece is actually ready? I mean, you weave in a lot of ideas, so I presume it can become difficult to determine a point at which to stop...?

AL: My wife is the executive producer (although I overrule her quite often). I play her some stuff and she says what works and when to stop. She has no real interest in ?experimental? music, which is perfect because she has no preconceived ideas about the technique or how things should sound. She will come into the studio and I will play her stuff and she will say, ?That?s too long?, ?That sound is great?, ?That is embarrassing?, ?Keep that? and ?Stop it there?. I can create something technically and musically elaborate and intricate, but she might come in and say it?s boring, and a lot of the time she has a point. So what if a song is well put together or masterful in a technical way? If a song doesn?t ?entertain? or engage the listener, it doesn?t work.

More and more, I am trying to create something that sounds deliberately nothing like anyone else. I want to bring in musical elements and structures but in a really odd way. I'm drifting away from the long monolithic drone tracks and want to write 3 minute ?pop? songs. I think a lot of people both as consumers and artists stay in a safe zone and don?t want to add anything new or different. Maybe that?s part of my downfall; if I stayed within the parameters of what people expect and know I would be commercially a lot more successful. Talking about shorter tracks, though, I have just finished The Dying Submariner, which is 4 tracks in 72 minutes and is a piano concerto. I guess I'm schizophrenic and want do everything all at once. Knowing when to stop comes with what I want to hear and what entertains me. Being inventive, original and continually doing totally different projects and styles is what is important to me. I want people to say, ?I really haven?t heard anything like that before,? and that is the toughest thing to do.

?: In this same sense, would you consider yourself a perfectionist?

AL: Without doubt. I listen to every sound in microscopic detail. If one tiny sound ruins the track for me I will do it all again. There is no point in the ?make do and mend? approach. Everything has to be spot on. I paid hundreds of pounds for Mother Goose to be mastered in a professional and expensive studio. I didn?t like the results so I personally mastered it all again. Although the professional mastering cost me about half of what I will make out of the recording it taught me a valuable lesson ? never release anything you aren?t 100% happy with and do everything yourself.

?: You have been known for all manner of other collaborative work and, indeed, have a number of other such recordings pending. Is it an area you will continue to explore? What's the biggest attraction with it for you?

AL: All the people I have worked with have been people I admire or who have influenced me some way or who are friends. The biggest attraction is to have these wonderful people, people that I listened to and admired artistically for years and years to be part of something I create. It can be quite a disconcerting position to be in, to find yourself making a cup of tea in the kitchen for one of your teenage heroes.

I love having other people on my records and when I am creating a track I listen back to it and go, ?That would be good if so-and-so could sing on this or so-and-so adds his mark to it.? Then I write to them and I am in a fortunate position to have the majority of people say yes. But now I think it?s time for me to do solo work ? and I have with The Dying Submariner, so I think the collaborative stuff will fade a little. Contradicting that statement, though, there is talk of working on a Nurse With Wound album, work with David (Late) Tibet and possibly more work with Danielle Dax and Karl Blake.

?: Are there any other artists you'd like to collaborate with that you've yet to approach?

AL: I want to work with Marilyn Manson (honestly!) - anybody who can contact him for me, I would much appreciate it. I also have an idea for an album; the working title of which is Corrosive Alkaloids. It will be another ?concept? album. The concept is based on my theory that the bands Europe and Bon Jovi systematically destroyed Heavy Metal. English heavy metal and particularly NWOBHM is a very close thing to my heart. I think metal has a very poignant and powerful cultural and social significance. Metal gives the alienated teenage boy meaning, dreams, freedom and a voice, and I think the fluffy pop rockers took away some of the magic/mystery of it all . A teenage boy needs a place to conjure dragons and go ?hot rockin?? in an insular, lonely way - not the cotton candy pop-rock of Van Halen or Skid Row. Anyway, maybe I am out of time or sync with the modern world of metal but I want to invite some old classic metal singers onto the recording to do some narration. I have some people on the case, trying to set up contacts for me.

?: That could be interesting. Can you name who you've got in mind, or is it too early to say? What's the appeal of Marilyn Manson for you, too...?

AL: Too early to say, as it might just all fall through. Marilyn Manson? I like his music, the glam, the showmanship, the iconic status - it would be funny to dabble in the rock world.

?: Can you explain the preoccupation with dolls and suchlike that frequently adorn your albums' artwork?

AL: It?s not really a conscious thing. Maybe in a subconscious way it?s something to do with things being lifelike but not quite real? A fascination with security in the facsimile as opposed to the real? Safety with automatons rather than the real human form? After all, most humans are terribly disappointing. Besides, dolls and mannequins are pretty fascinating things. I have a collection of them about the house. I think it?s more to do with aesthetics than any deep-seated concept.

?: Recently, you seem to have become somewhat embraced by the world that's spawned NWW, C93 and The Hafler Trio, etc. Is this something you are comfortable with? Surely, whether by default or design, being so associated with these groups now must be both good and bad...?

AL: It?s good in the sense these are artists that I admire. I don?t think I sound particularly like any of them. I assume it?s because I have worked with a lot of people in this field. I think people want to have an instant pigeonhole to put you in and I guess that?s where they put me. It?s bad in the fact that I would like to be recognised as a valid and worthy artist independently of my connections to other groups. It?s also a promotional thing by record labels and suchlike to say, ?Andrew Liles has worked with blah blah blah,? so they can get more people to buy records. It?s nothing to do with me and completely out of my control. I don?t really want to stay in a ?post-industrial? genre, or be bracketed into any genre at all?I just want to be me.

?: It's inevitable that such pigeonholes arise, but at least this one doesn't conjure any particular music. As pigeonholes go, it's a healthily diverse one, don't you think?

AL: It?s okay. I don?t know. It doesn?t really trouble me especially.

?: Which of your releases are you most proud of?

AL: The one that I am currently working on is always the best. I think My Long Accumulating Discontent is probably the most musically accomplished. But all of them have parts or elements that make me think, ?That bit is good.? It?s probably easiest to tell you the worst ? but I wont do that.

?: Oh, go on! Or, at least, tell us which album you're least happy with. It's usually an artist's early work that leaves such an aftertaste, I find...

AL: Nope!

?: You've played live on a number of occasions. How do you feel about that when compared to the greater control you must have in the studio?

AL: Um?live - I am not entirely comfortable with playing live. But sometimes it can be fun. The reason playing live is good is because there are a lot of chance elements that I use. I use a sawn down guitar and some fridge trays that I bow and CD players on random play. I can pick and choose what is going to happen and every show is different as there is so much improvisation. It can be a lot more fun than the studio because you can go over-the-top and can be really loud and do stupid, unnecessary things. I never use a computer live and always use visuals, so it?s (I hope) entertaining for the listener and me. It has to be a lot different from the studio, and has to have a distinct entertainment value. I see little point in recreating what I have done on CD live, so it has to be different.

?: Did you enjoy the dates in Poland? Any stories...?

AL: In Warsaw I thought they were going to kill me. Some drunken undesirable types turned up and threatened me before and after the show. Krakow was a great and intimate little show. All in all, I think it made me think about what I am doing live and now I have specific notion of what, where and how I want to do things in the future.

?: So, you'll play live again, then...?

AL: Yeah, if the location and time and other factors meet my new criteria.

?: Prior to recording in your own name, were you involved with any other music or groups?

AL: A number of years back, myself and a gentleman called Will Foster had a little jazz combo called The Width/The Girth. I sung. It was [based around] humourous jazz numbers and blues songs with disturbing lyrics; I have the album we recorded somewhere [and] it might be nice to get it out one day. We had some label interest at one point but it fizzled out. Will went on to travel the world as a session musician and now is a fully paid up member of The Tears with Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson. Last I saw of him, he was on the Jonathan Ross show hanging out with Pamela Anderson. He went into the world of the glitter and went back to the inspiring world of the gutter. I did dabble with a pop artiste not so long ago, but never again ? another lesson learnt. I think I will stick to my subterranean environs.

?: Your own background is in more rock-orientated music, isn't it? How does this correlate to the music you now make...? Was there a particular point where you discovered you enjoyed other forms of music apparently far removed from rock...?

AL: I like rock music as recreational music. It bears no semblance to what I do in any aspect. I was never an accomplished enough a guitarist to be in a stadium rock band. There was no sudden realisation that I enjoyed other music other than metal; it just evolved as I grew up ? a natural progression, if you will. The interests that metal provoked in me, demons and the occult, led me down different paths and onto different music.

?: Whose music are you enjoying at the moment?

AL: AC/DC, Judas Priest, Andrew Chalk, Johnny Cash and Goldfrapp.

?: Quite a mixture! I trust that a few of these are longtime favourites anyway...?

AL: Yeah, Judas Priest are [and I have] got really into them again of late. Also, I have been listening to Aranos and a lot of French pop (ye ye) music, Bridgette Bardot and UFO - it swings wildly, my taste!

?: Going back to your music, some of your releases have been issued as very limited editions. What are you views on such items, though? A good strategy to gain attention...?!

AL: Limited Editions? Um?I am in two schools, really. On the one hand, I am a collector and know the importance of owning a unique and interesting release; it has a magic of its own and is an integral part of being a record collector. Market forces drive limited editions in some respects; you can sell out of a limited item and have albums sitting on the shelves for years. I have never released a limited edition to gain attention. It has been guided by supply and demand. I have a limited audience and think I know what they want. In some respects, they are made out of necessity rather than a quick cash-in, and I try to make mine as special as financially possible.

On the other hand, I feel that I can release something in a tiny edition and have it sell out in minutes, but my more personal, important and more engaging works, i.e. the albums, are far slower to go. I would love to see my CDs mass marketed and in every shop, but along with that you lose the intimacy and personal touch. It?s a tough call. On the one hand a CD is completely disposable and a pretty uninspired product, yet is the most sonically accurate and unfortunately the easiest to bootleg, whereas vinyl is fetishist, fragile and needs taking care of. It is the devotees? format so, in some respects, I would prefer an audience of people who cherish and care than those who throw the CD box in the back of the car and let it get covered in dirt.

I really think there are two kinds of people: those who collect and lovingly look after artefacts and treat them as more ?art? than data storage, and those who don?t really care and want to hear the music regardless of the box it comes in. The strategy is to cater for both parties. I also think it?s a dying art; a lot people now seem to be just into downloading music and don?t seem to be bothered about the artwork. By a quick search on Soulseek I can see far more people are stealing my music than buying it. In fact, if they actually bought my music I would be able to earn a reasonable income from my art. I think people don?t actually realise how poor most artists are. So, maybe this is part of the reason for the limited edition phenomenon.

?: Graphic or visual art appears equally as important to you as the music. I mean, your releases generally feel as though a lot of consideration has gone into every aspect. Would you agree?

AL: Everything relates ? the art, the music, and ideas. The art and imagery are an integral part of what it?s all about. Without the art the piece seems half done.

?: You also collect art as well, right? Which pieces do you cherish the most?

AL: Yeah, I have quite a large collection of art. In many respects, I prefer the visuals arts and comedy to music. I have some art by Hans Bellmer; I think that is probably the most cherished. I also have some letters from Eric Stanton (the fetish artist) that he sent me just before he died which I hold dear. I have a few Trevor Brown pieces and an assortment of Jan Svankmajer?s. I cherish pretty much all of it; it?s a collection that makes up a whole rather than one unique work that stands alone.

?: Who else's work do you admire in this field?

AL: Oh, far to many to mention...Todd Schorr, Paul McCarthy, who has a great exhibition on in London at the moment...oh, too many to say...

?: You also mentioned an interest in comedy, and I'm completely with you on it. Anything that can make us look at the human condition differently or that can laugh at the absurdity of everything tends to win my support. However, what do you personally enjoy watching?

AL: Right now, I have just picked up the boxed set of Curb your Enthusiasm, which is the funniest thing I?ve seen in years; a true work of genius. I also really need to pick up The League of Gentleman box and am a a big fan of Ronnie Barker. Barker released a lot of books of saucy postcards in the late ?70s and early ?80s, with great titles such as Ohh La La - the Ladies of Paris and Gentleman?s Relish. I think he was a lot more controversial than people realise. I collect all kinds of stuff about uniquely British comedy. I love Bob Monkhouse, Ealing Comedies, Dick Emery and Tommy Cooper.

?: To bring things to a close, can you just go through some of the current or imminent releases, please. Looking at your website, it forever appears that there any number of new releases due at any given time. It's hard to keep up with what's going on...!

AL: Coming up there is the latest album, Mother Goose's Melody: Or Sonnets For The Cradle, which should be out by the time this article appears. I recorded Lord Bath at his penthouse in Longleat in October 2003 [and] the Mother Goose sessions grew out of these spoken word pieces and evolved into what I consider a very idiosyncratic and innately ?English? album. Also, there is In My Father?s House Are Many Mansions. This is basically a lot of people remixing my material, people such as Nurse With Wound, H30, Aranos, Colin Potter and many many others. Then, Auto Manipulator, a 15 track concept album of short songs about an imaginary sex machine; much like an orgasmatron.Then there?s Ouarda (The Subtle Art of Phyllorhodomancy), which has contributions from Karl Blake and Danielle Dax. And, finally, The Dying Submariner: (A Concerto for Piano and Reverberation in Four Movements), appeared in late 2006.

Since this interview was conducted, many other releases have either been released or at least been announced via Andrew Liles? website. In my earnest opinion, he?s creating some of the most fascinating and personal music around at the moment, which never fails to either surprise or stir the senses.

Visit www.andrewliles.com for more information.

JOCHEN SCHWARZ/DIE STADT RECORDS

by Richo

THE GERMAN-BASED DIE STADT IMPRINT, OPERATED SINGLEHANDEDLY BY JOCHEN SCHWARZ, IS ONE OF THOSE RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL LABELS DEDICATED TO PRESENTING ITS ARTISTS? WORK IN A MANNER AS ALLURING AS THE MUSIC ITSELF. LIKE THE UK?S TOUCH LABEL AND A CLUSTER OF OTHERS THAT HAVE EXISTED & THEN EVEN DISAPPEARED OVER THE YEARS SINCE POST-PUNK?S TREMORS WERE FIRST FELT, IT HAS ESTABLISHED A PLACE WHERE THE IDEA OF FINDING GOOD QUALITY, INTERESTING MUSIC RUNS SYNONYMOUS WITH BEAUTIFUL, CAREFULLY-DESIGNED PACKAGING. ORIGINALLY SETTING OUT TO SPECIALISE IN CD AND VINYL RELEASES BY JOHN DUNCAN, ORGANUM / DAVID JACKMAN, THE HAFLER TRIO, ILLUSION OF SAFETY, C.M. VON HAUSSWOLFF, MICHAEL PRIME AND OTHERS, DIE STADT HAS SUBSEQUENTLY EXPANDED ITS ROSTER AND ALSO NOW HAS A MAIL ORDER OUTLET BRINGING MORE WORK BY ITS ARTISTS, THEIR AFFILIATES AND OTHERS OF SIMILAR INTEREST.

RECENT RELEASES INCLUDE ORGANUM?S DIE HENNEN ZÄHNE 3? CD, FOVEA HEX?S BLOOM CDEP, MIRROR?S STILL VALLEY CD AND THE ASMUS TIETCHENS SEUCHENGEBIETE CD...

THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEW WAS INITIALLY CONDUCTED DURING LATE 2005, THEN LATER AMENDED?


?: It seems as though The Hafler Trio essentially motivated you to start the label. What is it about their work (or, rather, Andrew McKenzie's) that attracts you so much?

JS: For a start this is only true to some extent, as it must be said that David Jackman also has to be 'blamed'. He gave me some material to release (as part of a compilation project that me & a friend wanted to do but which never saw the light of day) back in 1984.

Eventually one of these tracks was later released on Die Stadt as a 7inch, DS14 'Flag Of Surrender', a mere 13 years after I was given the material...

So I always had in mind to start my own label, but this wasn't realistic for many years to come as there was no way to finance the label properly. It was only after I met Andrew McKenzie and became friends with him in 1992 that I felt it was about time to try and start a label. I always had a great admiration for the works of McKenzie / The Hafler Trio as there was always this aspect of mystery about them which I liked. Also, each release seemed to be multi-dimensional, presenting not just music but also special artwork and texts. So it always felt to me more like something that was not just made to be consumed but more like an overall experience that left a bigger impression on me.

Another thing I?d like to add is a quote by Andrew McKenzie that I can completely relate to, which goes like this: ?On all the h30 releases, the cover art, the choice of (always) acoustic material and the extensive liner notes combine to cast light on the intense experience of what it is like TO BE ALIVE.?

?: You also share H30's proclivity for producing high quality and interesting packages for your releases. Clearly, this is a facet that's as important to you as the music, but what inspired it?

JS: As someone who has collected music for a long time I always enjoyed releases / packages myself with a certain asthetic whether this was the artwork or the actual format. When starting the label I felt that I wanted to purvey this personal interest. Luckily most artists I've worked with, and still do, shared this attention to the visual side of a release. Actually most of them have a very clear idea how the cover for a release should look like, so basically my part is to encourage them to come up with something a little special or which isn't standard, but only if they like to do this. This is not a 'law' though as I've also released several titles which came with a simple cover without or with very little artwork, as I think that an unusual or special cover isn't necessarily always interesting as such. A very basic looking cover might also look good if it suits the music. Ultimately I'm following the artist?s wishes. Besides, I enjoy doing the designs for some of the compilation vinyls I'm releasing in conjunction with the live events myself.

?: Did you have any deep involvement with music before starting Die Stadt in, I think, the late '90s?

JS: I started the label in 1995. Before that I had tried to release a cassette compilation project with a friend during the mid-?80s. We contacted a lot of people who we were in touch with at the time as we were totally into this kind of music and also inspired by many cassette compilations that were released during this period. We'd be writing to several artists whose music we liked for some time already. There were numerous tracks received (I only remember some of them, including NWW, Dogs Blood Order, David Jackman, TNB, Smegma). In the end we simply couldn't come up with the money to release it so it never saw the light of day. It was quite sad as we couldn't fulfil our promises to the artists and it would have been a decent release besides, but this also taught me a lesson: only do a release / starting a label when it is based on a solid financial basis. In retrospect I think we were very enthusiastic but also very naive.

Also, in the mid-?80s I started working as a tour guide here in Germany for bands like Test Department, Laibach, Big Black, Swans and Sonic Youth among others. This company went out of business a couple of years later and I started working for a concert promoter here in Bremen (which I still do today). Besides this I was doing a number of self organised concerts also including a small annual indoor festival called 'Überschall' from 1989 - 1996 featuring, amongst others, bands like Sonic Youth, Shellac, Killdozer, Helmet, Rollins Band, Nirvana. It was also then in 1992 when I was involved in the first release before actually starting Die Stadt. This was an official Live bootleg by Sonic Youth: a pic disc simply entitled 'Live in Bremen' in an edition of 1000 copies and featuring recordings from their festival appearance in 1991. In 1995 we did a Shellac 7?, 'Das Billiardspielerlied', as a free giveaway for every ticket holder. The following year we did the same with a compilation 7? featuring Faust, Stereolab and Foetus, and in 1997 this was followed by the Swans 'I am The Sun' 7?; both which already appeared on Die Stadt.

?: When were you first interested in such music, anyway?

JS: In 1978, at the age of 16, I became totally interested in all kinds of music and would look out for what felt to me like uncharted territory. Basically, I was looking for something that was happening at the moment and that was completely different to the majority of the music around otherwise and that was waiting for me to discover it. Through some music papers and one particular writer here in Germany I found out about people like Throbbing Gristle, The Residents, Pere Ubu, This Heat, Cabaret Voltaire, SPK and many more. This marked the beginning of my interest in unusual music in general because it felt so real in a sense. Very direct and in your face with [its] own identity. So, in the following years I'd look out for more extreme music, which led me to discover people like NWW, Whitehouse and David Jackman in the end, and that's when I finally started to write to some of these people to communicate with them and also buy their music directly from them.

Looking back at this it may well all have started when I was very young and would watch some old b/w horror movies on TV with my older brothers though. Even though I was completely paralysed by the visual side of it I later realized that the music of these movies left a similar powerful impression on me, only it wasn't so apparent to me then. I think a lot of the music I release on Die Stadt could be some kind of soundtrack to an imaginary film. It definitely has a very strong visual quality to it for me.

?: The label seems quite prolific. Is it a full-time concern?

JS: No, I have a regular job (still working as a promoter here in Bremen). Besides it wouldn't work out financially otherwise at the moment. It's good to know how to pay the bills at the end of every month. I definitely would like to see myself only doing the label (and mail order) sometime in the not so distant future though, but this is dependent on the financial situation of the label.

?: How would you describe the label's prime motives or agenda; if indeed anything of the kind exists for you...?

JS: The prime motive is to simply release the music I personally love and that I would like to see made available to the public [whilst] hoping that other people will enjoy it the same as I do.

?: Are there any artists or groups whose presence you still very much wish to see on Die Stadt? I presume there must be people you'd like to approach but who, perhaps, already have their work housed by other labels?

JS: Indeed there are one or two...or even three... people I very much would like to release a work by on Die Stadt. Definitely among them is Steven Stapleton, whose work I have admired for a long time. Actually we already met about 2 years ago and talked about a possible NWW release on Die Stadt. He's very busy with a lot of things though, so it'll take a little longer before something may happen, but that's ok. Also, I have a big admiration for the music of Charlemagne Palestine and enjoy the work of Chris Watson. So if one of them will give me a ring tomorrow asking me to release an album I probably wouldn't say no!

?: Does your own interest in music remain anchored to the realms explored by Die Stadt or do your tastes spiral all over the place?

JS: My tastes in music are very different actually. In the beginning I was influenced by my older brother?s record collection, which included Alice Cooper, The Beatles, Deep Purple, Miles Davis, Kraftwerk, Neu and many others. I remember buying my first records, which were 7"s by The Osmonds, Alice Cooper, Sweet, T. Rex and later I became a big Genesis fan (ha,ha). I still enjoy listening to some of these as they were a part of my musical 'education' so to speak. Then some years later through some music paper here in Germany I found out about punk and other even more interesting music made by the likes of Joy Division, Magazine, Ultravox, Wire, The Human League and then The Residents, Pere Ubu, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, This Heat, Clock DVA, Chrome and many more which marked the beginning of my interest in the kind of music I wanted to release on my own label. I enjoy listening to all kinds of music these days. At the moment it's music by John Cale, Red House Painters and Nick Drake, for example.

?: What else motivates you besides music or sound exploration?

JS: I like watching movies a lot, old b&w horror movies in particular. Also films by Roman Polanski, Louis Bunuel, Alfred Hitchcock, David Cronenberg, David Lynch and John Carpenter, to name just a few. I also love Fawlty Towers and most of the Python films. Reading: books by H.P. Lovecraft, W.S. Burroughs, J.G. Ballard, Henning Mankel among others plus music books like Please Kill Me [A book about punk, first published in 1996 - Ed.], which I'm reading at the moment and is great fun.

?: Do you think the kind of music Die Stadt supports is destined to remain marginalised? Do you, in the same sense, feel you are simply releasing material to the same niche of people? Personally, I always feel the weight of a huge paradox when it comes to releasing music with a limited appeal...

JS: Yes, to some extent, I agree, though I'd probably do what I do with the label even if it was only for myself. I definitely would like to see the artists appearing on Die Stadt to receive more recognition for their music and hope that my work with Die Stadt will contribute to achieve this goal. I'm aware that there are limitations in terms of how many copies of a release can be sold as this is music that is not destined to be played much on the radio or in the clubs and therefore won't break out of the circle of people interested in it anyway. However, having some 'bigger' names like Autechre and Brian and Roger Eno (as part of the Fovea Hex project) appearing on the label now might be fruitful also for the sales of the other artists as hopefully some people will want to check out the other music & artists presented on Die Stadt.

?: You obviously operate the label with a great deal of care and, without doubt, I am sure there must be people who try and collect everything on it partly because of this. Are there any other labels, old or new, that have left a similar impression on yourself?

JS: Yes, my attitude towards the whole way of working with the label is definitely influenced by other labels which I liked and which I also collected before I started out with Die Stadt. Labels that come to mind include Industrial Records, Ralph Records, United Dairies, Rough Trade, Factory and Touch. Today I enjoy labels like Robot Records, Siren Records and Die Schachtel.

?: Okay, quite recently you?ve released a handful of new titles, by Organum , Mirror, Fovea Hex and Asmus Tietchens, but what else do you have planned...?

JS: Quite a lot. Continuing the Asmus Tietchens re-release series which will keep me busy for some more years. Parts two and three of the Fovea Hex Neither Speak Nor Remain Silent series. Several h3o related releases, including a h3o/Pan Sonic collaboration. The Thomas Köner Unerforschtes Gebiet 2 pic LP which will later see a re-release on CD. Some new Kontakt der Jünglinge (Köner & Tietchens) albums. A double CD by Aidan Baker and also a double CD by Z'ev featuring one of his first albums plus remix material. A new Organum album is also not so very far away and I'm sure I've forgotten one or two...

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SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS
FROM DIE STADT?S MORE
RECENT RELEASES AND OTHERWISE... (TO FOLLOW SHORTLY)
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