WATERDOWN

// Falber Teles

SOURCE - Talk a bit about the new album. For instance, where it was recorded? By who? How did it go?
MARCEL BISCHOFF (V) - The new album is entitled "All Riot" and was recorded in Muenster, Germany. We went into Lauterstudios and recorded with engineer Sascha Kramski. After that we went into principal studios in Muenster and had it mixed and mastered by Vincent Sorg, a wellknown mixing/mastering engineer here in Germany.

The album was produced by Ingo Knollmann, who is the singer in one of Germany's biggest punkrockbands, THE DONOTS. He's been friends with us since 10 years, we are from the same area and the same scene, so we knew that working with him would be great. And it was in fact the best recording session we ever had. Great atmosphere, much fun, hard work and an effort we're all happy with.

S - How much it rocks?
MB - It blows everything away, man. By far our hardest, most intense and best album.

S - In terms of the actual recording of the album, how long did it take?
MB - One week for drums, two days for bass, two days for each guitar player, and ten days for our two singers. Mixing took another ten days.

S - Did you encounter any major problems or setbacks while in the studio?
MB - Nothing at all. As said before: it was one blast. We enjoyed it to the max.

S - How did you come up with the cover for the new record?
MB - Actually double, the artwork guy from our record company Victory came up with the artwork and design.

We had something different in mind, but he had this idea when he heard the record and read the lyrics. He made a sketch, sent it to us and we said "wow, that's better than our idea! go for it!".

S - What was the idea/inspiration behind the title, "All Riot" and the cover design?
MB - We wanted something that is more "in-your-face", simple and aggressive than our old titles and designs.

We wanted something that would give people a clear view on what to expect musically and lyrically.

S - What about the album title? Any special meaning behind it?
MB - The music is very aggressive, all the lyrics deal with a personal, political or social struggle and a certain hopelessness.

Basically we wanted to say "fuck that! do something, stop complaining." It's just like the chorus in the opening song "sleep well" says: "hey what are you waiting for?"

S - Just looking at the overall picture, how do you feel about the album? Is it the best possible representation of what WATERDOWN is at this moment in time?
MB - Absolutely. It's our best effort so far and 100% WATERDOWN period.

S - The lyrical aspect in waterdown seems to be very important. Would you call yourselves a politically and socially engaged band?
MB - We are six individuals with different opinions and different views on life, so there's no agenda to this band. But we think about what we do, what we refuse to do and why. That makes us political. We play benefit shows when it makes sense and it's possible for us, and we support organisations like PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals).

So, yeah. And the lyrics are very, very important. Ingo's lyrics have always been great, and now with our new singer Zacken we have another person with a lot to say. And even i wrote the lyrics for two songs. But i don't think it's really necessary to explain them. They speak for themselves.

S - Can you live off your music yet? If not, what do all of you do on the side?
MB - No, we can't. We have jobs to pay our bills. We'd love to live off the band though. It's pretty rough to have a full time job AND a full time band.

We do different things. Axel is a guitar salesman in a huge music store, Phil and me are music teachers, Ingo is a media designer, and Holger and Zacken have dayjobs.

S - If you weren't in a band, what do you think you'd be doing instead?
MB - I can't imagine anything else. I can't live without being creative, writing songs and going on tour. It's my life.

S - How's the scene in Germany where you guys are from?
MB - It's pretty big. At the moment there are a lot of good German hardcore, metal and punkbands. MOURNFUL, DONOTS, BEATSTEAKS, FIRE IN THE ATTIC, DAYS IN GRIEF, MARRON, NEAERA, HEAVEN SHALL BURN, THE COALFIELD... Very cool people too. There's a lot of shows, and everyone is trying to help each other.

S - How has your past groups affected and developed the musical style of WATERDOWN's sound?
MB - Not too much. I mean, everybody needs some time to find his own way and style of music. We've all been doing this for about 15 years now, and we are in WATERDOWN since 6 years.

I think by the time we started the band we knew exactly what we wanted to do. That is the reason for the kickstart of our musical career. We had our first record deal 5 months after we formed the band, and another 6 months later we've been signed to the worlds biggest hardcore label, Victory records.

S - Would you agree with me if I said that this album might be less accessible to a broader audience?
MB - I don't care. It might not appeal to radio listeners, but i don't write music for these people. I have always been a hardcore, punkrock and metal-kid and I think kids from all these scenes can find something in this album.

S - What's your take on MP3's and all the file sharing and downloading going on the internet?
MB - Well music is art and art is not free because the artist needs money to be able to go on with his work. If you find music an important part of your life that you don't wanna miss you should support the artist.

I am not mad at people who have no money though - when I was a kid i borrowed the records that i couldn't buy myself and copied them on tape. But everybody should try to support bands that are worth to be supported. At least go to their shows and singalong. It makes us happy. :)

S - What life lessons have affected how you live today?
MB -Well, i walk through life with open eyes, i try not to hurt people nor animals, and i try to be focused. that is the reason for me to live drugfree. I never did any drugs or drank alcohol in my whole life, and I am a vegetarian for 13 years now. But more than everything I have a lot of respect for other people and their decisions.

The most important thing in life is tolerance. I would never try to put my opinion on others. I do what I do for myself and I am glad if someone wants to think about his life because of talking to me. But I would never try to force him.

S - World Cup of Soccer is approaching, who's going to take it?
MB -Brazil and I am not bullshitting here. I think there's no better team in the world.

Victory Records
WATERDOWN

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