Can you give a brief introduction to reADJUST?
Well, we are a 3-Man-Band from the lower Rhine Area in Germany not far from the border to the Netherlands.
reADJUST was founded in 2002 with a goal to combine different Styles – also “non Gothic” Styles – to an individual symbiosis. We define our style as MELODIC ELECTRO because we put a big focus on melodies and not just on a fat bass-drum and a simple bass-line.
You did start reADJUST after being in several other bands, why did you start your own band?
After the split of the last band due to different problems, I put my Synthies for some months into the corner because I´ve never thought that I was good enough to make my own music. But once a day I played just for fun on my Synthies and after a short while the first “Track” was born. Hyped by this success I began to improve myself and the result you can hear right now ;)
Besides you reADJUST has 2 other members, Chris and Ricardo, what is their role in the band and what made you decide to add extra members?
Different reasons why I added them. First to be more flexible in songwriting and composing. One of the other reasons is that it was important for me to present the songs live on stage. I´m not a friend of Solo-Performances ;)
Ricardo is responsible for sound design (he´s a real crack!!), songwriting and composing.
Chris is the man behind the Live-Controlling. He´s also an important factor in songwriting, because his freshness and different favorites in music puts the small different thing into our songs.
We are also real friends and are not only a Band. So it makes it more intense for us to combine a real friendship with making music.
Your website says that each member has his own roots and influences , when you put them all together you get the reADJUST sounds, what are these influences and how do you make them fit all together?
It´s very simple…put it in a mixer and press the start-button ;)
Well…I am the EBM-Freak, Ricardo is influenced by Bands out of the Harsh-Electro-Sector and the old Wave-Classics. Chris is the man with Techno/Trance, Jumpstyle and Future Pop influences.
But we all listen also to some mainstream and we try to give it also a spot into our songs.
Each member starts to write songs by his own. Then we exchange them and the other are putting their ideas and influences into it. Really simple, but very effective ;)
You are in the electro scene for quite a long time, what has changed according you?
A lot! But too much to describe it here…but the main-thing is my sense for music has been more developed over the whole years.
Can you name a few changes that are important for you?
In the beginning when I “joined” the scene I was only a clubber. Listening and “dancing” to Old-School-EBM was my own interest. Not that kind of tolerance I pray today to all the “Kids” in the scene. After a few months I learned more about the scene and began to listen to other kinds of music. This was the point where I changed myself and the start of my “development”. Another change for me is the diversity I could see over the years. It makes the whole scene more flexible and interesting for other people. In the early days there were only Batcave, Wave, EBM, Minimal and Synth…and today? Too much to name it all ;)
But this diversity makes it more interesting for people who are not a “Goth” and keep the scene alive.
The first time we heard reADJUST was the 2008 album, Metamorphose, wasn’t it supposed to be released on a label?
Well…it was planned to be released by a label. Everything was clear and vows have been given and were sealed by a hand-shake. But short before the release these vows have been broken and the label tried to pull us over the table, as we say here in Germany. Means a contract with many negative points for us and many positive points for the label.
So we decided to release it by our own and the success of this CD tells us it was a good decision.
When you look back on the album, how are the overall feelings, are there things you would have done differently?
Hmmm…yes and no. The way how we made the songs and how they sound like makes us very satisfied! Sure, there are some things we must improve. But if there is nothing that can be improved we would finish making music. The vocals would be a thing I´d change because the “only harsh style” is not the way which fits best to our songs. I´m not a real singer and it´s really difficult to find the right way. But on the new CD we found a way how we will handle it also for the future. So be curious and see…we think the crowd will like it because the identification between the live-performance and CD will be better.
How are the responses on the metamorphose album?
AMAZING, OVERWHELMING, OUTSTANDING! We never thought that we would get this kind of response! The first issue of this CD is near sold out and a second issue will be available from October.
We knew that we made a good CD, but we never thought about this what followed. The CD has been sold in 18 Countries and at the moment we get a lot of orders from Japan.
In September you will release a new album Traum: Haft what can you tell us about this and what are your expectations?
We have no real expectations! We just take it as it comes! So we can´t be disappointed.
But I can promise, that the new songs are a not less burner like the recent Club-Hits we have worldwide ;)
We also have the pleasure to put a RMX of Supreme Court on this CD. A band we like very much and it was really cool to get them on this CD!
The Traum: Haft album has 4 new tracks and 6 remixes, why this way, was it too soon to release a full new album?
Well…normally this CD shouldn´t be released. We´ve planned to release a full-time CD at the end of the year. But then we slipped into negotiations with a label and so we decided to release an E.P.
Finally we don´t work together with this label because we had some personal differences which are cleared right now. The chance that we´ll work together with this label for the new Album (planned for Spring 2009) is quiet good ;) So it´s correct that is was too soon to release a full album.
Why did you pick these remixes to be featured on the album, what do they add to the original versions?
Raise your Head is a real big Club-Hit all over the world as the feedback tells us. So we decided to send it to different Bands for remixing. At last Supreme Court and ES23 did it at best. Feindfahrt is also a real burner and was reworked by Stahlnebel vs. Black Selket. This track was only given to the DJs and the great response of the crowd was the reason to put it on the new CD. With Valium Era we hired a real Newcomer for a Remix. And he did it very well. There are also 2 Re-Edits on this CD, which we made by ourselves. The reason is that we would show how flexible we are in our music. Nothing must sound like the crowd awaits it ;)
Why re-editing your own songs, did you have the feeling they could be better?
NO! It was just a way to show the people how different a song can sound and that we have not only one way to make music! The other thing is that these re-edits were made by Chris. His first real input to the band. He joins the band first as a Live-Keyboarder because he had no experience in writing own songs. But after a few “lessons” with Ric and me he learned very fast how we like to make music. So it was our gift to Chris to say: show what you can and make the songs something of your own!
And what should I say? He didn´t disappointed Ric and me ;)
Lately you have done some shows with [Ralph] of Stahlnebel and Black Selket, how did you get in contact with each other and are there more collaborations we can expect between reADJUST and other people?
We started collaborations already on the Morphose E.P. where we worked together with Numen of Leichenwetter (a cool german Goth-Rock Band). Just an idea after a common gig in Vaals Christmas 2006. Meanwhile we are really good friends because each band likes the music of the other very much!
With Matricide (female voice of SOUNDangst and former Mechanical Moth) we found a heavenly voice for a song. All contacts are still very intense and transformed into a real friendship.
The thing with Ralph of Stahlnebel was not that different. I also work as a DJ in Clubs and on an Internet-Radio-Station. So I found one day Stahlnebel on the net and the contact never dies. One day Ralph had the idea to rework a song of us. And it works also live…
But for the future we don´t plan any further collaborations. We want to put a focus on ourselves. There´s a little danger that a Band will be defined only over the collaborations and this is not the way we appreciate.
On October 18th you will have your debut on a Dutch stage at the cyberangels party, what can people expect than?
Well…not our debut ;) We already played at the United Ballroom Festival 2006 in Vaals. But this was another sound, a different time and a different crew ;).
If the people want to know what to expect they should take a look at our live-videos on MySpace ;).
They can expect: fun, power, cool sounds and a performance which will make them dancing ;).
Any last words for the readers?
Thanks a lot for the support out there and just visit our Homepages for more information, new songs and a lot more ;)
We hope to see you on October, 18th at our gig! Please help to make the party an unforgettable thing!
BIG THX also to the Cyber Angels Crew for their support and help! Our deepest respect to the things they do!!
www.myspace.com/readjustmusic
www.readjust-music.com