FAUST….The Art-Errorists Of Kraut Rock
Interview With Jean-Hervé Péron
1) Did Krautrock really exist or was some kind of marketing term by the labels?
That is not correct: the term “Krautrock” was created by the media, not by the labels.
2) What really happened with the birth of this scene back in the early 70s?
The media have to find slogans and sensational names in order to sell the news.
So this is what they did : I am sure that all journalists and critics were slowly getting aware of a powerful artistic movement coming from germany, especially in the music scene… they called this “Krautrock” to make fun of it at first…later, the term “krautrock” became a very respected description of a vital and innovating way of approaching music.
3) What’s your opinion about Julian Cope’s book KrautrockSampler?
Mr.Cope was very enthusiatic about the german attitude and the german groups of the late 60ies and the 70ies. His influence on the destiny of this new music is obviously essential.Later, many other groups were to be also influenced by “our music” …like we had been influenced by predecessors…like those predecesors were influenced by the ones before them….the wheel keeps on turning and the beginning becomes the end….
4) What was the inspiration for making this unusual and experimental sound of your music ?
Many of course but mainly two categories: the ones which were unconscious such as the songs we heard in he womb of our mothers, through the radios when we were kids…and the conscious ones: the groups we admired when we were actually making music …I do not want to name names because there are so many and nobody would believe me anyway …
but the most important factor in the making of art is the social and political environment :
remember, we were in the apex of the “68 revolution “, we were just starting to forget a bit about the war that our parents had to suffer about…we were craving for fresh air !
5) What was the reaction of the fans & media when they found out the band?
The fans were bewildered but enthus and the media were scared ! ththe fans loved us and the media hated us. This situation has not changed very much. Faust is still an “outlaw” , something that must be avoided….especially in Germany.
6) What’s the line up of Faust today and how many members from the first days line up still exist in this line up?
At the very beginning of Faust, we were six musicians plus a producer Mr. Nettelbeck and a sound engeneer Mr. Graupner. So we were eight people !! that was faust.
One has been kicked out of the group, two died , three have decided to leave the group forever …so we are two left from the original line up : zappi w. diermaier, from Austria, the drummer. And jean-hervé péron, from france , bass, horns and voice.
We have been honored to meet many beautiful musicians who contributed to the faust saga.
In Athens, Mrs Geraldine Swayne, painter and organist will be performing with Mr. Amaury Cambuzat , guitar and keyboard and we shall together also invite some local performers to make the evening very special , a commemorable event.
7) Are you going to bring all your equipment for the upcoming show in Greece?
We are coming by plane so we have a limited amount of luggage …. BUT the promoters Catch The Soap production are making sure we will be given everything we need to perform in our usual conditions
8) Is it true that When you first played in Greece, in 2006, the sound engineer forgot to press the “record” button in order to record the concert?
That is very sadly true….he was extremly busy with all our bizarre requests and just forgot…everything else was just fine …
9) What other memories do you have from Greece back in 2006 ?
A walk in a beautiful part of your city ( sorry , I cannot remember the greek name) , very elegant women, friendly people and a magnifiscent meal….
10) Would you Let us know about the album “C’est Compliqué” that was released in 2009 ?
In june 2006, Amaury Cambuzat , zappi and me had just finished a tour and were full of positiv energy….so we decided to do a studio recording session of only improvised music in Hamburg.
We later decided to have the recorded material produced by two different producers ( one was Steve Stapleton and Colin Potter of Nurse With Wound…. the other came later….
The album was finalized in 2008 with Tapete Records and Bureau B label.. and is doing well internationally as far as I know
11) How are you gouing to promote this album ?
Well, you see, faust do not really promote anything in particular….we are going to play “faust” music … some of it will be improvised, we will also play some “faust traditionnal” and of course pieces of “C est complique” in Athens….as well as pieces of yet-not-released new material
12) When should we wait for new material ?
We actually are just coming out of a studio session … and we had a studio session in 2009 too….. so there is plenty of new material. I cannot tell you when this will be released.
13) How do you experience the term of experimental today in your life and music?
“Experimental” will remain for me a natural approach of life and art. …but , sincerely, is there any other way of approaching life and art ?
MySpace Profile For FAUST : www.myspace.com/faustpages
