Can you give us a brief introduction to the band Jägerblut?
Jägerblut was founded in 1996 by former member Julius Gospodard and Anton Knilpert as a project intended to
reflect the myths, rites and strange stories based in the landscapes of Bavaria, together with themes about nature,
forest and hunting. So it goes straight back to the basics Therefore also the music is basic, traditional, mixed with
the charme of the catholic church, heathen-like Orff instruments and Volksmusik ,but everything extrremely dark,
dramatic, intense.
Who are the Members of Jägerblut and what´s their contribution to the band?
The basic members are Anton Knilpert, Geneviëve Pasquier, Giuseppe Tonal and Tikki Nagual. Sometimes we are
supported by varying guest musicians and friends. It is hard to describe the roles of each member, because the lineup
changes from track to track.Very often each person takes any instrument available and we start to arrange.
As I remember the name was taken from a german movie from the 50s because it sounded really cool to us and it had
that certain pathos we needed. But we don`t really know because the founder of Jägerblut was not that long involved that
he had the time to explain why he specially choose that name,and we never asked.
Though we never actually saw the movie, which is possibly awful, we kept the name. It still sounds "cool" to us and seems
to be true to our concept.
Why the name Jägerblut?
As I remember the name was taken from a german movie from the 50s because it sounded really cool to us and it had
that certain pathos we needed. But we don`t really know because the founder of Jägerblut was not that long involved that
he had the time to explain why he specially choose that name,and we never asked.
Though we never actually saw the movie, which is possibly awful, we kept the name. It still sounds "cool" to us and seems
to be true to our concept.
The CD1896-1906 is released limited to 700 copies. Why is it limited?
Ahh, 700 are not really limited, when they are all sold we have the possibility to make some more, but for now it will be enough.
How are the responses on the CD so far?
Quite well. The people enjoy the wide range of different music styles on the album. No wonder it took us 10 years to complete
the work. During the recording process it has become a strange, dark Folk album with moments of industrial and ritual elements,
and we wouldn`t change anything to please anybody but us. It seems that people really feel that and respond to the amount
of sweat and fun we put into the CD. so that is as it should be.
Why did you decide to use different languages on the CD?
As Jägerblut is not solely inspired by german-based stories and such tracks as "Hunting" and "St. Barbara, lost in the Woods"
are quite inernational, it was our choice to sing those tracks in english. It could be french as well, if the story for the track offered
that possibilty. Latin, dialect and High German were always to be found in our region, so those parts are quite true to history.
To me it seems you spend a lot of time in the library for the lyrics, looking for stories and so on. Is this right?
If you think so we won`t deny it. Most of the stories and themes are well known in the area we live. They are, as you may say,
right in front of our noses, but for some tracks we had to dig a little bit deeper. Visiting the places where certain stories took place,
for instance, was quite useful.
We took the time we needed for we never were in any hurry. We collected information from books and TV-specials, newspapers,
or by talking with people.
How can we find back your region, Bavaria, back in the sound of the CD?
Bavaria is the land of traditions, close to the alps. The landscapes are basically hills and lower mountains, covered with woods,
fields and a lot of castles. The bavarians are known to be a a bit different compared to the other germans. Due to that, every
bavarian region and even every little village has its own stories about ghosts or mythological rites, that are sometimes quite
strange and were known long before the missionaries of the catholic church put the mantle of christianity over all those ancient
customs.
So Jägerblut tries to put all these into sound.
What are future plans for Jägerblut?
Preparing our next release, which began with, guess what? Yes, reading and visiting, interviews.
What can we expect from your performance at the summer darkness festival?
We will try adding to the musical part the matching visuals; it will be a quite natural and also experimental set, maybe with a more
or less subtle humour, definitly nothing people have seen before.
Did you know Bavaria was a brand beer overhere in the Netherlands?
No we didn´t. Does it taste good? Unfortunally we don`t have a sort of marihuana called netherlands here in Bavaria.
Anyway beer is the only drug in Bavaria that is allowed, and Bavarian breweries do their best to deliver the stuff we are addicted to.
Any last words for the readers?
Brav sein! (Behave!) or you will get caught be the KRAMPUS!