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