[:SITD:]
Can you give a brief introduction to the band?
Carsten: Our band was founded in 1996. [:SITD:] consists of three members: Tom Lesczenski (Keyboards, Programming, Sampling and Backing Vocals), Francesco Frank D'Angelo (Keyboards and Backing Vocals) and me, Carsten Jacek (Vocals and Lyrics).
Why did you pick the name, Shadows in the Dark isn’t a typical name for an ebm act?
Carsten: “Shadows in the Dark” is a metaphoric effigy for the musical and textual content of the band. In our earlier days many people thought that we were a Gothic band like The Cure, The Sisters Of Mercy or stuff like that. To underline the electronic style of our music we’ve decided to make use of the short and simplified spelling “[:SITD:]”.
SITD is a band that exists for quite some time now, in what way has making music changed for you over this period?
Tom: Making music was an ambitious hobby in the early stages of our career. We did normal jobs or went to university. Actually, there's no more time left to do other jobs or study. The band is our priority and the most important thing in our lives.
Every band that starts has goals and dreams, did you reached or yours or did they chance in time?
Carsten: We did, ‘cos we’re able to bring the most important thing into the focus: Our music. Music is like a drug, music can be healer and most of all music is a language. People from all countries, from all cultures and from all religions are able to speak and understand that kind of language. We like to share our innermost hopes and dreams and even our deepest fears with our audience. Our fondest wish came true.
Some bands have a “blitzkrieg” career while you slowly build your name with good releases and shows. Do you envy the bands that have a “fast” career or do you think it’s better to slowly build one?
Tom: We were born and we still live in the Ruhr-Area, Germany’s real industrial heartland. According to a popular saying from here: “A workman is known by his work”. We prefer to archieve a goal through hard work.
How are SITD songs created, is it a band process or do you work at home separately on them?
Tom: It is definitely a band process. Everybody has an influence on the work of the other band member. It’s important that we all like the result of our work and generally we develop a liking for the same music and themes.
What are the sources of inspiration for you?
Tom: The inspiration comes directly from the daily life. There are influences everyday on a track or in an album or anything. Our music can be said to rest upon three separate cornerstones: the New Romantic / Wave of the early 80's that we grew up on as teenagers, the mid-80's EBM sound à la Nitzer Ebb and Front 242 and the electronic dance music of the 90's. There are some amazing artists of all varieties and descriptions, even artists outside the Dark Electro and Industrial scene like Trentemøller, DJ Tiësto, Moby, The Prodigy, Editors or even Johnny Cash. We just grab a lot of influences from our favourite bands and artists, and just slap them all together for personal reference, but we would never deliberately try to sound like someone else. The important thing is the filter you use, i.e. your own personality, to look upon the world around you. What comes out of that filter will forever be coloured and transformed by your own unique character. From the very beginning we had the intention to create apocalyptical electro underground-hyms which sounds hard, dark and powerful. Now we have reached the point where we can say: Yeah, that’s the way our music should sound.
You did a split with Painbastard last year, who’s idea was it to do it this way and how do you look back on it?
Tom: “Klangfusion" was the exclusive melange of the two MCD’s from [:SITD:] ("Kreuzgang") and Painbastard ("Nyctophobia"), released as a double-pack edition. It served as appetiser for our album "Bestie: Mensch" and "Borderline" from Painbastard. Our label chief Adrian Hates (Accession Records) had the idea. We guess, the “Klangfusion” was a perfect introduction for the “Bestie: Mensch Tour” we did together with Painbastard and Destroid.
After the split you released the album : Bestie Mensch. How are the responses on it?
Carsten: The feedback on "Bestie: Mensch" has been exceeding all the expectations we had. We try to fulfill our plans and obligations step by step. We guess, “Bestie: Mensch” was a step in the right direction at the right time.
When you look back at the album, what is the biggest progress you made over the years?
Tom: “Bestie: Mensch” is much more diverse musically than usual. The album sounds very compact and has a significant strength and intensity. Partially you find typical club-orientated [:SITD:] songs on “Bestie: Mensch” like “Kreuzgang V.2”, “Stammheim”, “Propaganda” and “Silver Bombs”, but in contrast to these tracks the other half of the album has a downbeat and sorrowful feel. “Displaced” for example is a clean balladry tune. Although it has a very strong beat, this song is more intended for home listening than for the club. You can almost drown in the multi-layered string arrangements that create a very dense atmosphere almost impossible to cut through. Just lay back and let the music carry you away. There is a kind of thoughtfulness and spirituality you can feel. We don’t advocate any religion. We have our own spirituality, our own view of the universe and how it works. We respect religion and we are fascinated by religion and how it motivates people, but we’re more fascinated by what the beliefs are and the traditions, and how it becomes a social tool.
SITD is a band that does many remixes, what do you like in doing remixes?
Tom: We are always looking for the challenge in remixing other artists no matter what kind of music they do. A plenty of styles and influences flow together in a mix. A lot of artists don’t accept the barriers between the electronic genres and that’s a good thing.
You play some festivals this summer, what do you personally prefer and why, a festival or a smaller clubshow?
Carsten: It's incomparable to stand on stage and look how the audience reacts to our music. This always gives us the creeps, no matter if we play a big festival or in a small club. It's a wonderful feeling to share your emotions with the crowd, to give something and get something back.
What is next for SITD?
Carsten: We are planning to go on tour in North America this year. After the tour we will work on the next [:SITD:] album, which will see the light of day in 2009.
Any last words for the readers?
Tom: We would like to thank you for your support and we hope to see you at this years Summer Darkness in Utrecht.
www.sitd.de