SOURCE – You’ve premiered four singles to date (Agony, Parasit, Perfekt, and Stimmen) – how did you decide amongst the band which songs to put forward first, and how do you feel the response has been to date from the followers and critics?
Fabian Schuhmacher – We have started working on our next album which will be dedicated to exploring various mental illnesses and wanted to start the album phase with “Stimmen”. Although many people may associate mental illness with hearing voices or schizophrenia, the reality is that this field is incredibly diverse and complex. Therefore, we cannot cover everything in one album. Instead, we have decided to focus on our personal experiences with mental illness as well as those that we believe require more attention.
“Perfekt” seemed to be the best follow-up, since the issue of social media’s pressure to conform to a beauty ideal is quite significant right now. We felt it was very important to address the topic and also incorporate our own experiences.
Later on, we created “Parasit”, which explores the concept of cannibalism. While it may seem gruesome, we felt it was important to include this topic in our project as it is part of the spectrum. However, what we found missing in previous explorations was the perspective of willingly surrendering oneself entirely to be eaten, also known as the concept of ‘Long Pig’.
Our latest single, “Agony”, is about dissociative identity disorder, where one’s inner demon won’t leave them alone and only causes pain and torment all day long. Hence, the quite fucked up music video for the innovative and extremely heavy song.
SOURCE – Do you think the tendency of consumers to download single songs more than albums will mean that the idea of a concept album will fade?
Fabian Schuhmacher – We do not believe that the idea of albums will vanish completely. Although singles and short EPs are a good way to quickly grab attention in today’s fast-paced world, well-crafted albums with a concept will not be replaced by them. Albums have more depth, which makes them more appealing to most people.
SOURCE – Music streaming has been a hot-button topic as of late – both the financial viability of it, and how much benefit it may have for artists. Has music streaming benefited Consvmer at all, and what place do you see it having in the near and distant future?
Fabian Schuhmacher – Music streaming may not be as financially rewarding for artists as selling traditional albums or singles. However, it offers the benefit of quick and easy access to a vast selection of music, which is a significant advantage over physical music stores.
Streaming platforms have made it possible for many artists to share their music with the world, as the production costs of CDs and vinyl records are often too high to manage without additional financial support. Streaming has also allowed people from other countries to discover us, even though we have German lyrics in our songs, which probably wouldn’t be bought in an offline store initially.
We stream the music we listen to ourselves and often discover new and lesser-known bands through it, which is a great benefit. If someone wants to show support for these bands, they have the option to purchase merchandise or make a donation directly to the band.
SOURCE – Metal music has become quite a saturated market, with an ever increasing volume of music out there to consume. Is it more difficult these days to gain a listener’s ear and keep hold of it, and what’s your approach to stand out amongst your peers?
Fabian Schuhmacher – One of the advantages and disadvantages of music streaming is that there are countless new music releases every day, making it challenging to keep track of all of them. As a result, many releases get overlooked. If a song lacks innovation or does not have a memorable part, it is likely to be forgotten quickly.
At our core, we create music that we feel passionate about, regardless of how unconventional or non-commercial it may sound in certain circles. Our primary focus is not on commercial success or pleasing listeners’ preferences. Music is an art form, and that is precisely what we aim to preserve.
SOURCE – Talk about the impact of emotion on the songs – there’s a very visceral edge to Consvmer music.
Fabian Schuhmacher – The music of Consvmer is emotion, whether musically or lyrically, we always aim to evoke a specific mood with a song.
SOURCE – What are your thoughts on the development of AI technology and how it will influence the music industry for the future?
Fabian Schuhmacher – Artificial intelligence has the potential to assist in various areas of our lives, including daily tasks. It is possible that in the future, AI could help in songwriting, but we choose to write all our songs ourselves. We put in a lot of hard work to create every piece of music we release.
AI has long been able to assist with creating artworks, and many bands have used it for its cost-effectiveness and efficiency.
However, our artworks are painted on canvas by our drummer.
SOURCE – Your video for Agony has received great views through YouTube – what can you tell us surrounding the video shoot?
Fabian Schuhmacher – The music video is intended to be somewhat disturbing to the viewer, and we’ve already received this feedback. Living with dissociative identity disorder can be a personal hell, and we wanted to portray that in the music video.
Everything about Consvmer is pretty DIY; we also make the music videos ourselves to ensure our exact visions are realized. However, we ordered the fetus and the fake belly since we couldn’t execute that part as well ourselves. The flower field juxtaposed well with the harsh contrasts in the video, as a flower field is usually something beautiful, yet even there, our singer is pursued and tormented by his inner demon. He wakes up and experiences his personal hell daily, haunted by the feature artist of DVST.
SOURCE – What worries or concerns do you have about the world that we live in today? Where do you think the average person needs to focus more time, energy, or resources on to make society better for the greater good of all?
Fabian Schuhmacher – In today’s fast-paced society, it’s important to take a moment to appreciate and focus on the things we already have. Often, it’s the small things that we don’t immediately see that bring us the most joy. The constant pursuit of perfection and more can be detrimental to our well-being, just as humanity’s self-destructive tendencies can be.
It’s important to spend quality time with loved ones and not take life too seriously. Remember to have fun and enjoy the things you love. Please, take care of each other and look out for one another. Only then can we all enjoy a good life together.
SOURCE – Thank you again for your time, and if you would like to add something more, please do.
Fabian Schuhmacher – Thank you very much for taking the time to ask us those questions. We truly enjoyed answering them. It came as a wonderful surprise that a magazine from a different continent would be interested in our German-language music and would want to interview us. Therefore, we are grateful for this opportunity.
We also wish to express our gratitude to all the fans who have supported us from the beginning or even just recently. It is because of you that we are able to pursue our passion and share our music with the world. We promise that our next album will take everything to a new level.
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