Is a honor to make an interview with Eli Van Vegas from Combat Company and Zweite Junged. Eli Van Vegas is from Osnabrück, Germany. I had his contact,beacuse of my brazilian friend Karen Stürm. I have listen his job in Combat Company a long time ago. I hope all people like this great interview. More informations about Eli Van Vegas and his projects:
Profession: musician, producer, studied designer
Instruments: electric and acoustic guitar, piano, mandolin, drums.
Bands (active and released only) :
Combat Company
Founded: 2006
Separated: 2015
Reunited: 2017
Members:
Eli van Vegas: vocals, production,songwriting, sequences (2006 – now)
Homer: electronic drums (2006 – 2015)
Marcel Lüke: analogue drums (2012 – now)
Releases:
Life Is War (CD EP, 2007)
Homo Superior (Mini CD Single, 2009)
Guardian Angel (CD LP, 2010)
Monochromaniac (CD Single, 2013)
The Minimal Us (CD LP, 2013)
Point Of No Return (Download Single, 2017)
Below The Line (CD LP, 2017)
No further releases planned.
Best live references:
Wave Gotik Treffen (2009)
BeatClub Dessau (2009)
Familientreffen (2010)
Shows planned but not released so far.
Zweite Jugend
founded: 2015
Members:
Eli van Vegas: vocals, production, songwriting, sequences (2015 – now)
Marcel Lüke: analogue drums, songwriting (2015 – now)
Releases:
Kleines Vorspiel (Demo CD, 2015)
Liebe Ist Luxus (CD LP, 2016)
Planned Releases:
Leah Und Alissa (7” Vinyl Single OR Download Single)
Elektronische Körpermusik (CD LP AND / OR 12” Vinyl)
Best live references:
Wave Gotik Treffen (2017)
Future shows:
Bastard Club (15th Sept. 2018)
Further shows booked, but not released so far.
Eli van Vegas (Solo Techno)
Releases:
Remix for Me The Tiger (Download Single, 2017)
Future Shows:
Bastard Club (15th Sept. 2018)
The latest releases as remixer:
Orange Sector (Zweite Jugend Remix, 2017)
AD:key (Zweite Jugend Remix, )
Me The Tiger (Zweite Jugend Remix, )
Bathead (Zweite Jugend Remix, )
Some production references:
Frontal – Alles Anders: mastering (2012)
Tension Control – Im Rhythmus Der Maschinen: mixing, mastering (2017)
all releases of Combat Company and Zweite Jugend: production, mixing, mastering (2006 – now)
As live musician (active):
Tension Control (just some shows): synthesizers and backing vocals in 2017 and 2018 and on tour as
musician for Tension Control with FLA and Die Krupps (August 2018 – September 2018)
1) Great Eli Van Vegas! Beforehand, I would like to know when and how did you start to make music? And how do you create your music?
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| Picture by : Luc Luyten |
Well, I started to make music as a child. My parents wanted me to learn an instrument and I chose the electric guitar. But in lack of having teachers around, they sent me to learn to play the piano instead. Nevertheless, at the age of 14 I switched to the guitar which I am still playing. I started some bands during my youth, but it was 2006 when I decided to found Combat Company. I had some electronic projects before, but with this band everything really began. Meanwhile I worked as sound engineer and songwriter for many other bands. Over the years I bought a lot of old and even new (but vintage) synthesizers to produce the music I love so much. You do not need to know a lot about composing to create EBM sequences. I think, on the other hand some of the young bands do not work much on their lyrics and just write down the golden words that work pretty well for the audience. So when my cofounder of Combat Company left the band in 2015, Marcel and I decided to give birth to the band we always wanted to have: Zweite Jugend. The aim was to write good lyrics, play it completely analogue. German is a complicated language and I wanted to work out every single text as good as possible. I am noting down words, themes and ideas every time when I see something going on. I have learned this method while studying design. You need a catalogue to choose from when being creative. I am doing the same with the sequences by the way. And I have learned to use analogies, so I am writing my lyrics for Zweite Jugend like the artists worked in the time of cubism. I am going a few steps backwards, writing the lines like I see them fitting in and then I reduce them to the core as much as possible. Sometimes I am using some creative methods to find those themes. Afterwards we are going to the studio and chose or compose sequences and finally we are writing the drums and the final lyrics while rehearsing the new song. In most of the cases I have reduced the lines and words even more at this point. Now that is my secret to write minimalistic but intelligent texts. So please don't tell anybody. Hahaha... Since a while I am producing guitar music again. I have a new band playing oldschool punk or Oi! or whatever you would call it. But this is on another page.
DECADENCE: Eli,I love Oi! Music and Street Punk. We can do an interview for this project too. This blog is open for EBM and for other kind of musics like Oi!,Punk,Psychobilly,Ska and etc... You are welcome again.
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| Picture by: Luc Luyten |
2) I have listen Combat Company for some years ago and I like it. Are you working on this project yet? If no, tell us why did you finish it? If you want to say of course…
When Homer left the band it was stuck for a while. Someday I had the feeling to make the bestof record which we released last year and which is called “Below The Line”. I worked on every single song of the band and produced them all again. And I wrote a new and final song as well. This should have been another end of Combat Company followed by two shows. Since then we are not really thinking about it and rather work on other projects. But we already have a booking for 2019. So it's not dead at all. Probably we will have the feeling to produce a new record somewhen in the future, but this depends on the feeling. We will see.
DECADENCE: I hope. Combat Company was great!!!!
3) When did you start Zweite Jugend? And Tell us more about this project?
We started Zweite Jugend three years ago when there was nothing else to do. It was for fun and a little to have a dream come true as we wanted to make music exactly like the early inventors of this genre. Or let's say as the guys before the EBM inventors. It became what it should have become: It is raw, pure, minimalistic, analogue. Since the founding days Zweite Jugend grew and became so popular we never have dreamed of. And we played a lot of shows organizing the booking completely on our own. I know, a lot of bands have their promoters and bookers and I also know that we will have that as well someday, but until now we are proud to have done it all alone. This is the central message of the band: Being a band as like we have been around 40 years ago and making music for the people who love this time as much as we do.
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| Picture by: Luc Luyten |
4) Do you have plans to play at Familientreffen or in some Festivals around Europe?
That is a story at all with the Familientreffen. They asked us to play twice but we never did play there with Zweite Jugend. It is a chaotic festival and, I guess, sometimes they don't remember who they asked. I don't know for sure. Haha. But we are sending applications to different festivals from time to time. Some have worked and other did not. And about some I can't say anything right now as we are not confident if it will be booked. We would like to play some festivals in 2019.
5) What are some of the major influences on Zweite Jugend?
As I told you cubism is a real big influence as method to write lyrics. On the music side I would say that we have DAF and Nitzer Ebb being most important for our music. Some people say that we sound like DAF, but I am not sure if it is our choice to use German as language. Because there are a lot of sequences and ideas inspired by Nitzer Ebb. Some other influences are to be found in early punk music from the 70s or 80s. For our songs' themes I would say that I use things that I see on TV, on the internet, in real life, downtown or at a party or somewhere else. Or things that I have heard of. Then I am reading a lot about them.
6) How is the EBM scene in Europe and specially in Germany? BTW: I lived in Germany, however Brazilian people have no idea how is EBM scene in Germany…
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| Picture by: Alex Jung www.hell-zone.de |
Oh ,you lived here? So I should ask you how that time was and what experiences you have made. I am very curious. Germany can be beautiful and the country with by far the worst people at the same time. Here in Europe EBM is very relevant in Germany, Sweden and Belgium. But most of the other countries have an active scene, too. But there are a lot of concerts especially in Germany every year. And I mean they are sized from a 50 people audience up to 3000 or more. This has grown in the last ten years, I remember. But all events have one thing in common: There are great shows and party until the morning hours.
DECADENCE: I lived in Berlin for 6 months,was a great experience in my life,I would like to know my father´s land. German people are nice,people here in Brazil have a bad stereotypes about German people that they are cold and moody. One thing that I learnt in Germany that German people aren´t cold they aren´t superficial,German give value a good friendship and it need to be consolidated for months or years.
7) What do you know or think about American EBM scene? I mean all the continent ( North, Central and South America).
Well, I do not know much about that, I must confess. I visited the USA several times and Cuba just once, but this was for holidays. I would say that North America is a whole lot more different from the other regions. They have their very own sound, sometimes mixing it up with other genres. Everyone would know what I mean. But to speak about something new, I think there is a lot to be going on in the near future when we talk about Central and South America. Some people from there are visiting festivals in Europe and some became close friends since then. I have a good friend in Peru for example. Most of these guys told me that the scene is quite small over there. But on the other hand I see a lot of events and new bands from America from time to time. The world is perfectly connected on social media, so it could be a simple impression instead. I am not sure.
8) Do you know something about Brazil? Without to say Carnival and Football. Hahahahaha…
Yes, indeed I know a little about Brazil. I wanted to go for one year after school. But too bad, the organization of this exchange sent someone who was a religious guy and I am absolutely not. I don't like religion at all, I must say. I started to learn Portuguese before that decision, though I can't understand it anymore. And even worse that I was young and didn't have the money to go without an organization. Now I am curious again to visit Brazil somewhen. An interesting story is that I met the original cast of Soulfly after a show of one of their first tours and that I have all their autographs on a Brazilian football shirt. I know, Max founded the band later when he lived in the USA, but this story is still connected to Brazil. And for football I am an England supporter, just saying. Now that you asked me I really would love to travel around in South America.
DECADENCE: If you want to visit Brazil you are welcome mate.
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| Picture by: Alex Jung www.hell-zone.de |
9) Here in Brazil there are some people that like EBM and them like your projects. What do you think about it?
Now I am really impressed. I have heard about our status in America, but I can't believe it until I am going to see it with my eyes. And I am interested if they understand our lyrics or if they can translate them. I am saying this, because I am working on some of my Zweite Jugend lines to be translated into Spanish for some reasons. Some people right here have problems to understand English words as I got to know. Especially in East Germany many have learned Russian instead of English at school.
10) Would you like to play here in Brazil?
Indeed! I really would love to go to Brazil to play a show or even more than one. This would be a big deal and a dream coming true. But I know as well that it is difficult to catch enough audience to make such a show feasible. Or am I wrong with that?
DECADENCE: Would be nice,however I don´t know Eli. Maybe,but I don´t know...
11) Eli you are free to say what you want…
I love you all. Or, I would say that I love the most of you. Or at least some. But you can be sure that I love you American guys! Thank you so much for your support!
Thanks a million Eli was nice to know more about you and your projects. You are always welcome on DECADENCE.
CONTACTS:
The social media links are these (both bands and my personal artist site):
https://www.facebook.com/ZweiteJugend/
https://www.facebook.com/CombatCompany/
https://www.facebook.com/EliVanVegas/
https://soundcloud.com/brandsatz-records
https://combatcompany.bandcamp.com ("Point of no Return" download single)
Websites:
https://www.zweitejugend.de
https://www.brandsatz-records.org
Label Online Shop:
https://store.brandsatz-records.org
All records are also online at Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, Apple Music, ...
Eli Van Vegas on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC91REOhwdkA7Xw4s4RVQEug
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