"When a dropped microwave is

the best snare drum sample - be it."

 Chris Harms

Structure and speed

Instead, Die Kreatur appears with its two heads like a harmonious being, both on the cover and in the songs, which are equally worked out in equal parts. Getting to know each other at the mutual DJ set and the idea that maybe we could do something together was followed by a first exploration - according to Dero with resounding success. "Before we started something musical, we talked for hours and checked each other", he recalls. “We were surprised at how quickly we got results because we hadn't set any goals at first. But when there were already four or five excellently formulated ideas there after our first weekend in Hamburg, we were very enthusiastic. At the following meetings it went on like that, so we suddenly had 13 pieces in our hands and it was obvious that an album would come out of it."

A spontaneous process as well as natural, as Chris explains: "Both Dero and I had already brought along finished song ideas, which we then built and sanded until it sounded like Die Kreatur. Other pieces were created from scratch in the studio, while others sprang from unfinished pieces of the puzzle that we both contributed." And at a breath-taking speed, which Dero is still a little surprised about. "Neither of us had experienced such speed before, but that also showed us that we both think similarly and are very keen to get visible results quickly. It was important to us to structure the songs and to provide them with “flesh”, we took care of details and subtleties afterwards, for which a digitized way of working electronically is of course a blessing. Such an approach was unthinkable at the beginning of our career." 

"Ambivalence and contradiction are

basic characteristics of humans." - Dero Goi

Foundation instead of new building

Chris also emphasizes that the decisive factor in Die Kreatur is also the direct cooperation, which is only supplemented by individual work on songs and subsequent file sharing. "Everything that was important was created exclusively with the two of us in one room", he clarifies. "Songwriting, rewriting of the pieces, vocal recordings, working out the cornerstones of the overall concept. The most important thing for us was the personal encounter, which provided the reason for the cooperation in the first place. It wasn't about just cobbling a lucrative side-project together, but about experiencing a musical and even allowed affair." It is not surprising that the result has a very metallic list, given the participants, but the Lord of the Lost frontman points out that Die Kreatur is keeping everything open: "In the beginning, the song ideas were basically very guitar-heavy, the electronic elements only came piece by piece. We never really discussed it, it just happened and it felt good. However, a lot of what sounds purely electronic in some pieces is handmade - and sometimes vice versa."

 Dero agrees: "It was obvious that Chris would take more care of the guitar and bass parts while I focused on the drums. I find it an advantage that we are both front men, singers and also producers ourselves. So we could complement each other perfectly and none of us had full responsibility. Die Kreatur is a double-headed beast and only works as such.” This also includes expanding consciously the limits of sound generation: "And if a solo with a human voice sounds a bit hotter than a guitar because it is sent through a distortion and an amplifier, or if a dropped microwave is the most beautiful snare drum sample - be it", Chris shrugs. “So I played a lot of electronics by hand and a lot of things that sound organic were constructed. The only thing that was always in the foreground was the song itself. Experiments yes - but they shouldn't overlay anything, but should primarily act as a colour or spice. We don't want to make an avant-garde and we don't want to be the second ‘Einstürzende Neubauten’, we like pop structures and a stable song foundation."

"Singing in German has a completely

different power." - Chris Harms

No one-night stand with the Siamese twin

Die Kreatur has quickly developed from a fling to a stable structure, in which not only Lord of the Lost frontman Chris sets the tone, who is also hyperactive as a producer and string puller for Joachim Witt, Scarlet Dorn or Anna Lux, but both heads are in charge. "I wouldn't call myself a string puller now, that would be too much of an honour", he says. "My services at the mixer vary, depending on the artist, to different depths. I don't know yet where Die Kreatur in my, let's arrogantly call it "complete work" stands, I don't know. Although it has to stay behind our respective main bands, Die Kreatur is not planned as a one-night stand. It was ultimately about creating something new with Dero, which was based on our encounter, not on inventing a new genre."

 The Oomph! singer agrees bluntly: "Surely, on the one hand, one hears on ‘Panoptikum’ influences that can be clearly assigned to Chris' handwriting, but on the other hand also elements that reflect more my way of working inherent: The back and forth between Lord of the Lost and Oomph!, from which this very special Siamese twin was created." Dero thinks: "The title and band name may seem a bit crass and scary right away, since both point to the turn of the century fairs, where the audience was delighted by the freaks on display. On the other hand, there are enough bizarre creatures today - with the difference that they are now flaunting themselves."

"I still think there is nothing 

scarier than perfection." - Dero Goi

First comes industrialization, then ethics

The name Die Kreatur also proves to be interesting because it transports numerous associations and its content can be interpreted in many ways, as Dero explains. "We do not determine whether the term “Kreatur” is now to be found in the animal kingdom or whether it refers to a human being. This nebulosity is intentional because one should consider for oneself: Does the human being abuse the creature-animal or is the human being for the most part an animal itself and is it after its peers? It is clear that most people feel morally superior to all other people - which firstly indicates a narcissistic personality structure and secondly it is problematic because one cannot objectively measure or determine morals, they are constantly renegotiated, because if moral standards had not changed over the centuries, the world would not be the way it is today."

Considerations that benefit from the fact that the lyrics of ‘Panoptikum’ are only in German - a matter of course for Dero, but rather unusual for Chris, apart from the German-speaking project ‘Harms & Kapelle’, whose album ‘Meilenstein’ was released in 2014. "Singing in German has a completely different power", Chris admits. "But with a few exceptions, I don't like doing that in the service of Lord of the Lost. When Dero and I started writing songs and exchanging ideas, we were both automatically brought in German without having agreed about it before. So it was just decided and for me it is indeed a very nice change."

There is nothing to stand in the way of a generally understandable discussion of human (misconduct) behaviour - and Die Kreatur has a lot to say not only on this topic, as Dero assures. “Much of ‘Panoptikum’ revolves around ambivalence and contradiction, which have always been basic characteristics of people. There is a reason why there are sayings like "There are two sides to every coin.", the concept of the double-edged sword or Yin and Yang in Buddhism. That is the fact. So it’s not surprising for a two-man band with two front people that tracks such as ‘Zwei 100%’ (Two 100%), ‘Unzertrennlich’ (Inseparable) or ‘Mensch/Maschine’ (Man/Machine), which deal with the number two, are developed naturally." Especially since the latter song also targets the motif of the interaction of body and technology that is often strained in electronic music. "This text can also be used to coin the end of the 19th century and industrialization at the time", Dero points out. "Nowadays, on the other hand, we are in a kind of digital industrialization era - and that will probably bring about much greater upheavals."

"We were not interested in cobbling

a lucrative side-project together." - Chris Harms

 "Morals must constantly

 be renegotiated." - Dero Goi 

Dread songs from the kitchen

The artwork, in which Chris and Dero are in frock coats, with top hats and nasty looking bristle cattle on a leash actually look catapulted into an earlier century, also proves to be double-edged - see also the dark, monochrome colouring. "In a figurative sense, the grey tones of ‘Panoptikum’ are also very interesting", Dero says. "It is not finally clear who is ultimately the beast here, and the cover design is reminiscent of the 19th century in its black-and-white aesthetics and is therefore in direct contrast to the colourful, modern online world in which one constantly pretends to be perfect. And even if there is a lot of horror in Die Kreatur, I still think that there is nothing more creepy than perfection, for example in the form of botox, rubber dinghy lips and interchangeable Kardashian faces - for me that is the modern freak show. The irony is there however, that today's freaks consider themselves completely normal and even idealized because the facade has become much more important than the inner values.”

 A point of view, which is reflected in ‘Panoptikum’, since Die Kreatur does not sparingly use biting comments. "Sarcasm is an important part of our work, but it also includes a good dose of self-irony", said Dero. "One aspect of the creation of Die Kreatur is that humans have numerous shortcomings that somehow have to be dealt with in spite of all social Darwinian evolution. Human errors have survived to this day, probably not without reason, because only through self-reflection and improvement development can take place. Otherwise we would live in a kind of robot world, and I think that is anything but desirable."

Instead of explicit flagellation of human flaws, Die Kreatur deals with these with grim humour - and does not exclude itself in the process. "We are far from fooling ourselves", Dero explains. "Instead we reflect a lot and show a certain self-distance. When I was a young man and started making music, I couldn't do that, because I took myself too seriously. I played the tough guy on the outside, but on the inside I was very insecure and I didn't know where life was going. Writing a text about love would not have been an option for me.” He smiles: "Even a piece like ‘Schlafes Braut’ (Sleeping Bride) would not have occurred to me in my dream because I would have dismissed it as kitsch. The song is even very dark - such kitchen songs mostly dealt with cruel murders of young girls and other atrocities that had happened in the immediate vicinity. And the more you sang them, the deeper these fears dug into your consciousness.”

Entertaining footnote: With Joachim Witt's ‘Goldener Reiter’ (Golden Rider) the album does not conclude a truly traditional song, but the cover version of an absolute classic of German-language music. However, anyone who thinks that the idea grew in Chris' head after producing the former hostel father of the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) is wrong. "The idea came from Dero", Chris says. "At first I was sceptical about it. I think you shouldn't cover this song because you can only make it worse. But when Dero came up with the idea of completely changing the piece harmoniously, so that only text and rhythm remained the thing got interesting for me. So it's a mixture of cover version and a new song of our own. And that’s what ultimately the charm in it was. However, I did not deal with Joachim's early creative phase, because I never liked NDW. Except for Nena."

And the next exclamation mark from Die Kreatur will be a long time coming: After the black and white debut video in which the creature introduced itself to the audience for the first time, a clip about ‘Kälter als der Tod’ (Colder than Death) will follow shortly, according to Dero it will open a completely different visual barrel. And those who have licked blood from ‘Panoptikum’ will be pleased to note that Die Kreatur is designed for the long term. "We already know that we will want to raise a second creature after the first is born", Chris concludes. "I can't yet estimate when that will be, because Lord of the Lost has priority for me. And if there is time beyond that, it is up to Die Kreatur!" In the next issue you will read what further considerations about man, God and the world take place in the brain of the two-headed monster.

Author: Thomas Pilgrim

Photography: VDPictures

Translation: Margit Güttersberger

Proofreading: Andreas Ortmayr