Hi Kr-Lik, thanx for doing this interview with us, how are you doing?
Hello, thanks for interest in me / my project. I’m doing quite all right thank you.
Let’s go back in history a bit, a few years ago everything was looking really bright for Controlled Collapse, you played at some festivals, signed a deal with Noise Terror Productions and released your debut album, how do you look back on the period of 2005 – 2007?
It was a very amazing adventure for me. Like you said, we’ve managed to play a couple of concerts outside of Poland, we’ve met a lot of amazing people but most important it was a lot of fun. Johan had the opportunity to run his label under Dependent which got us signed. We then released our debut album, which wasn’t really groundbreaking, but I still think that it was ok. The album managed to get to number 6 on DAC, which to my knowledge is highest ever for a Polish band. The tracks were spinned by DJs across Europe which was very flattering for me.
Johan van Roy is a very important person for you, can you tell me what he meant for Controlled Collapse?
Johan discovered CC so to speak. After hearing my demo “Humanization” which I gave him during Summer Darkness 2004 (!) he told me that he’s working on a label and wants to release this for sure. For me and for CC, Johan is definitely the person to thank for giving a CC a good start and a lot of support.
How did the debut album “injection” do? Did it turn out what you expected it to be?
We’ve (Johan, Stefan Herwig and myself) been working on the final product for about a year I think. I think the final tracklist (or trackorder) was decided like a week before sending everything to the printing plant. As far as I know the CD did ok. I can’t recall right now how much did it sell, but as far as I remember it did ok for a debut album (I think it’s around 1000-1500 copies). After listening to it recently I do think it turned out what I wanted it to be. It’s not really a 4x4 dance hellectro type of album, but more thoughtful, atmospheric yet still dark and harsh.
After the release of the album it became quiet around Controlled Collapse, what was the reason for this and what does it do to you as an artist? You must have hoped for many shows and so?
True. I think that there are couple of reasons why. Firstly, I had a normal day to day job, therefore music itself was more of a hobby / weekend activity type of thing. This means I never really worked as hard as I could to play concerts and everything. I always wanted to make a tour or something like that but I was lacking contacts therefore I could never manage to do one. On the other hand, being a weekend-band it was never economic for any promoter to get a band whose costs of travel are bigger than the gig fee itself. After year or two, there was a problem with having a fresh release, so people weren’t interested in booking us without hearing what we play now.
What is the current line-up of Controlled Collapse, it seems to have changed over the years, who are members and what is their role in the band?
CC in a studio is me, kr-lik. I’m writing all the material, producing it and recording. The new album includes guitar parts, which were written & recorded by my brother, Hiacynt. For live purposes we have additional three people. On keys - my wife Milena and my friend tomtylor. We also recently added a live drummer Łukasz. We’re now a full-time rock band hah!
Has the making of the music changed for you over the years?
Not really. I just got additional equipment. It still starts with a melody idea and then working on the rest for the song.
With adding new members, has your role changed or are you still working on your own on the music? Do you prefer to do the songwriting alone or as a group?
CC has been my project for over 7 years now and it always was me working on it more or less alone. This might change in the coming times. I do want to have my live band more involved in the album making process. We’ll see how that works.
Now the new album is released as a free download on your website, why a free download, what is the thought about this?
Because of the long time of no real news from CC, I decided that the band needs more attention. People need to get to know what CC is, how it sounds like. Therefore I decided to release the album for free over the internet, but give the fans the option to buy the album with additional Remix CD. This way I will know how many fans who are actually interested in CC, there are. Additionally because I will be pressing the CDs myself and selling them with a befriended company, I will have direct contact with those fans, making it a really nice database. Then I can personally send them info, maybe even bonuses like demo mp3s or other things. I think it’s a good idea for a small band.
The music of Controlled Collapse has changed over the years, what is the biggest grow in your mind?
Production I think. The new album sounds better in my opinion, it’s more varied. Yes, it’s not as harsh, distorted as the first one, but that’s just how I wanted it to be.
Can you explain the title to us “Things come to pass”?
It’s about growing. Things we’ve done being young, we can still do, but we won’t feel the same as we did then. Some things or feelings that we had in some moments of our lives, need to be remembered by us because there’s a big chance that we won’t feel the same anymore.
How are the comments so far on the new album?
Very varied. There’s no rule for that but I’ve noticed that people who know the band from the beginning, or at least know “Injection” say that it lacks the harshness, and the punch. People who just found out CC seem to like it for what it is.
What are the next steps you will take to bring controlled collapse back in the attention of people?
We will be playing more concerts for sure. We already have couple of shows planned in Poland, we will be playing at Castle Party next year and I’m hoping to have some other gigs in Europe as well. If you know any promoter who might be interested, let us know!
Any last words for our readers?
I’d like to thank everyone who supported us through the good and bad times. It’s always pleasure and honor to play a concert in front of people who enjoy our music.
www.controlled-collapse.com