In 1984 KMFDM (Kleine Mitleid Fur Das Mehrheit," which means "No Pity For the Majority") was founded in Germany by Sascha Konietzko. The band released three albums on European labels before begining their relationship with Wax Trax! Records in Chicago, Illinois. After touring with Ministry in 1989-1990, they were signed to Wax Trax! Records and quickly became a part of the industrial music scene in Chicago that included Ministry, Front 242 and My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult.
KMFDM has no fixed roster, Konietzko is the only member that has been directly involved with every KMFDM project. En Esch, Raymond Watts, and guitarist Gnter Schulz are other key members in the band's history.
Other notable musicians that have contributed to KMFDM projects include Bill Rieflin of Ministry/R.E.M., Nivek Ogre from Skinny Puppy and OhGr, John DeSalvo of Chemlab, Tim Skold of Marilyn Manson, F.M. Einheit of Einstrzende Neubauten, and Nina Hagen. Additionally, Chemlab, Die Warzau, Nine Inch Nails, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, and Giorgio Moroder have remixed music for KMFDM.
Lithium Picnic (Philip Warner): When we first met in Austin over 15 years ago you were still working with Wax Trax Records. I remember discussing your frustration with them at the time. You've been through a lot of changes since then including the creation of KMFDM Records. What are some of the lessons you learned from your experiences with Wax Trax?
Sascha Konietzko: The most important lesson learned is to never do anything contractually with your friends out of loyalty. Jim and Dannie were in a cinch and they asked me to help. I did and got continually shafted for 15 years. Incidentally, the shafting is done away with, and the entire KMFDM Back-Katalogue will be imminently Re-Released.
LP: Is there anything else you can tell us about this?
SK: It will be re-released in it's entirety over the course of the next 12 months in the original and chronological order. The first 3 albums, WHAT DO YOU KNOW DEUTSCHLAND?, DON'T BLOW YOUR TOP and UAIOE are scheduled for release on September 12, 2006. All the material has been digitally remastered and will be available with the original BRUTE! artwork and enhanced booklets.
LP: Are you still doing remixes and production work for other artists?
SK: I am doing a ton of stuff, in fact I am in the studio more than is good for me. I recently finished producing a new project between Lucia, Dean Garcia (from CURVE) and myself, we just mastered the record and it's very different, very "not-KMFDM". It was loads of fun to do and I can't wait until it gets released.
LP: I'm a huge Curve fan, that's really exciting. Can you tell us the name of the project and when we might see it in stores?
SK: The working-name of the project is AMATEUR and we're in the midst of shopping a record label for it. Stay tuned for more news on this in the near future...
LP: What's the most exciting piece of gear or software you've come across in the past year?
SK: I'd have to say, nothing comes to mind. I haven't had the need to buy anything, in fact I have sold a lot of the stuff that I had floating around. My set-up is very minimal: A computer running Protools, a moving-faders digital console with minimal footprint, a pair of speakers, a pair of pre-amps, a really nice Neumann microphone, and a wall of chunky, clunky, sticky and crusty, analog-monster-synth-goodness. And a bass-guitar.
LP: Do you think the day will come when an entire KMFDM album is sampled/synthesized/sequenced and produced inside a single desktop computer in a 10x20 bunker in an undisclosed location?
SK: Actually, I am glad those days are over. The current KMFDM HQ KommandoZentrale has daylight but is only 10x12...
LP: On Hau Ruck the track "Real Thing" really showcases Lucia's depth and evolution as a vocalist. When you're writing do you consciously think "This is a Lucia track" or "This is a Sascha track" as you construct it?
SK: Lucia had requested a track that actually had chord-progressions, a bed onto which she could sprawl, so to speak, vocally. I wrote the whole thing one morning and she said that it was just what she had wanted... And yes, there are some tracks where it's all along pretty clear to us that it's a "Sascha-track" or a "Lucia-track", on others nothing is clear at all until suddenly something happens and the song magically falls into place.
LP: You're about to go on tour, how do you feel about the touring process and what would you say are the major differences between touring in 2006 and 1986?
SK: Kind of funny, there's really not much of a difference. It was fun then, is still fun now, though there was a time in between when it wasn't. The 90's were a thoroughly unenjoyable time for me to be touring. KMFDM wasted so much time and money instead of tightening the reigns and kicking ass. Sometime I had to ask the label to give me tour-support and they asked how much, and I said $ 205,000 please. And they gave it. And we had several buses, trucks, pa systems, lighting rigs, toured with 30 people in crew and entourage altogether. These days, as back in '86, we're tight. Punkrock. One bus, almost no crew at all, mobile, strong, deadly, you know what I mean... platoon-style.
LP: Do you have any details on the production, where you are scheduled, and of course the inevitable question about the lineup?
SK: Tour dates can be found on www.kmfdm.net[/URL. Line-up will be the usual, Hogstorm, Stizz, Andy, Lucia and I. Opening for KMFDM will be Combichrist.
LP: How much time do you spend online in an average week? Have you found any redeeming value in the internet yet? other than selling underwear?
SK: I try to spend as little time as possible online, perhaps 20-30 minutes a day. I'll log on, look at my email, read my favorite news sites (www.spiegel.de and www.commondreams.org), check myspace correspondence and friend requests, and log off again. The value of the Internet is lost on me. I could do just as well without it. It provides the proverbial soapbox for way too many people.
LP: What's the last CD you remember putting into your CD player?
SK: Combichrist's new single "Get Your Body Beat", which contains one of my remixes.
LP: Fork or Spoon?
SK: Hand-Grenade
Buy Hau Ruck
KMFDM has no fixed roster, Konietzko is the only member that has been directly involved with every KMFDM project. En Esch, Raymond Watts, and guitarist Gnter Schulz are other key members in the band's history.
Other notable musicians that have contributed to KMFDM projects include Bill Rieflin of Ministry/R.E.M., Nivek Ogre from Skinny Puppy and OhGr, John DeSalvo of Chemlab, Tim Skold of Marilyn Manson, F.M. Einheit of Einstrzende Neubauten, and Nina Hagen. Additionally, Chemlab, Die Warzau, Nine Inch Nails, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, and Giorgio Moroder have remixed music for KMFDM.
Lithium Picnic (Philip Warner): When we first met in Austin over 15 years ago you were still working with Wax Trax Records. I remember discussing your frustration with them at the time. You've been through a lot of changes since then including the creation of KMFDM Records. What are some of the lessons you learned from your experiences with Wax Trax?
Sascha Konietzko: The most important lesson learned is to never do anything contractually with your friends out of loyalty. Jim and Dannie were in a cinch and they asked me to help. I did and got continually shafted for 15 years. Incidentally, the shafting is done away with, and the entire KMFDM Back-Katalogue will be imminently Re-Released.
LP: Is there anything else you can tell us about this?
SK: It will be re-released in it's entirety over the course of the next 12 months in the original and chronological order. The first 3 albums, WHAT DO YOU KNOW DEUTSCHLAND?, DON'T BLOW YOUR TOP and UAIOE are scheduled for release on September 12, 2006. All the material has been digitally remastered and will be available with the original BRUTE! artwork and enhanced booklets.
LP: Are you still doing remixes and production work for other artists?
SK: I am doing a ton of stuff, in fact I am in the studio more than is good for me. I recently finished producing a new project between Lucia, Dean Garcia (from CURVE) and myself, we just mastered the record and it's very different, very "not-KMFDM". It was loads of fun to do and I can't wait until it gets released.
LP: I'm a huge Curve fan, that's really exciting. Can you tell us the name of the project and when we might see it in stores?
SK: The working-name of the project is AMATEUR and we're in the midst of shopping a record label for it. Stay tuned for more news on this in the near future...
LP: What's the most exciting piece of gear or software you've come across in the past year?
SK: I'd have to say, nothing comes to mind. I haven't had the need to buy anything, in fact I have sold a lot of the stuff that I had floating around. My set-up is very minimal: A computer running Protools, a moving-faders digital console with minimal footprint, a pair of speakers, a pair of pre-amps, a really nice Neumann microphone, and a wall of chunky, clunky, sticky and crusty, analog-monster-synth-goodness. And a bass-guitar.
LP: Do you think the day will come when an entire KMFDM album is sampled/synthesized/sequenced and produced inside a single desktop computer in a 10x20 bunker in an undisclosed location?
SK: Actually, I am glad those days are over. The current KMFDM HQ KommandoZentrale has daylight but is only 10x12...
LP: On Hau Ruck the track "Real Thing" really showcases Lucia's depth and evolution as a vocalist. When you're writing do you consciously think "This is a Lucia track" or "This is a Sascha track" as you construct it?
SK: Lucia had requested a track that actually had chord-progressions, a bed onto which she could sprawl, so to speak, vocally. I wrote the whole thing one morning and she said that it was just what she had wanted... And yes, there are some tracks where it's all along pretty clear to us that it's a "Sascha-track" or a "Lucia-track", on others nothing is clear at all until suddenly something happens and the song magically falls into place.
LP: You're about to go on tour, how do you feel about the touring process and what would you say are the major differences between touring in 2006 and 1986?
SK: Kind of funny, there's really not much of a difference. It was fun then, is still fun now, though there was a time in between when it wasn't. The 90's were a thoroughly unenjoyable time for me to be touring. KMFDM wasted so much time and money instead of tightening the reigns and kicking ass. Sometime I had to ask the label to give me tour-support and they asked how much, and I said $ 205,000 please. And they gave it. And we had several buses, trucks, pa systems, lighting rigs, toured with 30 people in crew and entourage altogether. These days, as back in '86, we're tight. Punkrock. One bus, almost no crew at all, mobile, strong, deadly, you know what I mean... platoon-style.
LP: Do you have any details on the production, where you are scheduled, and of course the inevitable question about the lineup?
SK: Tour dates can be found on www.kmfdm.net[/URL. Line-up will be the usual, Hogstorm, Stizz, Andy, Lucia and I. Opening for KMFDM will be Combichrist.
LP: How much time do you spend online in an average week? Have you found any redeeming value in the internet yet? other than selling underwear?
SK: I try to spend as little time as possible online, perhaps 20-30 minutes a day. I'll log on, look at my email, read my favorite news sites (www.spiegel.de and www.commondreams.org), check myspace correspondence and friend requests, and log off again. The value of the Internet is lost on me. I could do just as well without it. It provides the proverbial soapbox for way too many people.
LP: What's the last CD you remember putting into your CD player?
SK: Combichrist's new single "Get Your Body Beat", which contains one of my remixes.
LP: Fork or Spoon?
SK: Hand-Grenade
Buy Hau Ruck
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