Interview with the Band Kollaps
By Mick Michaels
The Cosmick View: Hello, and welcome to The Cosmick View/MBM Ten Pounder! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us!
CV: Describe your definition of the band’s sound and style and how does that definition uniquely describe the music?
Kollaps: The definition is usually attributed by the listener and in some regards I feel like I have no business to sit around mulling over these ideas. It is described often by others as post-industrial and I accept that this as a fair and accurate designation. My own definitions are more descriptive terms for particular sounds that I’m aiming to achieve in Kollaps; I usually aim for ‘suffocating’ sounds for example, which I feel create feelings of anxiety and of being overpowered but I like to think a fairly wide palate of sounds are used across a records worth of material so I’d hope not to have to narrow it down to specifically.
CV: Today, everyone talks about artist and
audience connection. Is such a level of connection actually achievable for an
artist and if so, how have you made the connection to your fans?
Kollaps: I think it is
certainly achievable but it isn’t so frequent as artists like to claim that it
is. Many people following musicians and artists for a variety of reasons and
sometimes that isn’t for the intention to connection with art or music…. The
music industry is very fashion orientated and the consumers of music are as
well; so often one can find people at concerts can be very superficially
inclined and lost in the hype of an certain acts of the month and indeed many
artists are looking at their music as a product and as a career option – so I
think this common sentiment of artist/audience connection, while certainly
possible, is mostly a farce and something that is said to make this kind of
argument that their music and art is altruistic or somehow intrinsic in
emotionally valuable.
Personally, I have had moments in time where I’ve felt that I have made an
impact and that has created a mutual sense of understanding and appreciation,
however, these people are often kind of going through some crisis or
transitional period in their life and seem to be looking for something to
relate to or something to lean on emotionally. The average punter, I think, is
not interested in this kind of experience.
CV: Is fan interaction an important part of the band’s inner culture?
Kollaps: Yes, I like
Kollaps fans. They’re a varied bunch; truly diverse – from lawyers, business
types, to anarchists and possible child murderers. The only time I’m dubious of
a fan if they’re a very die hard industrial music fan and are interested in categorizing
and this kind of thing. Personally, I am not such a big music fan and so I do
not really know what records or record labels they are referencing…. I’m often
expected to know about esoteric releases and such and find myself a bit
dumbstruck when these conversations arise while I’m on tour and feeling a bit
disheveled.
CV: Can a band truly interact with its fans
and still maintain a level of personal privacy without crossing the line and
giving up their “personal space” in your opinion?
Kollaps: Well, I think
there are stages here where when the work is respected and being discussed and
there is always a line that can be crossed. I have developed lifelong
friendships with some fans and others I have found to be completely mentally
unfit not only to be a friend of mine but to be a member of society.
CV: Is music, and its value, viewed
differently around the world in your opinion? If so, what do you see as
the biggest difference in such multiple views among various cultures?
Kollaps: Yes, in my
experience this is absolutely true without question. Coming from Australia and
now living in Europe, and after having performed across the continent over the
last 3 year, I can tell you that the attitude is very different not only
between Australia and Europe, but there are clear differences in attitude
between countries within Europe.
Ultimately the major difference to me is how ingrained underground music is in
modern culture, how supported this is by the community and the level of
interest that can generate and nature a sustainable music community. The music
that I make and come from is difficult music, more so than most genres of
extreme metal for example, and I find that Eastern European countries are very
friendly and understanding towards Kollaps.
CV: Do you feel that a band that has an
international appeal, will tend to connect more so to American audiences? Would
they be more enticed or intrigued to see the band over indigenous acts because
of the foreign flavor?
Kollaps: I could only
speculate. I do not have much experience with American audiences but I often
find the take that the United States has on industrial music to be fairly
diluted and rock/EBM orientated; like it’s always struggled to stand on its own
without relying on other genres as a crutch and so I’m not sure how I’d go with
audiences there with the roots of Kollaps’ music being somewhat orientated to
traditionally European industrial sound. In Europe, I think audiences have a
higher patience threshold and are more tolerant and willing to see something
unusual. Again, I’m not sure, it is a guess. We’ll have to do a follow up to
this question after I’ve performed in the United States.
CV: Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in
your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
Kollaps: This is a
great question. In my opinion, music is over-saturated because of digital
technology in terms of the ease of which it can be made and released but also
in the ease in which it is distributed. We’re seriously overexposed to a lot of
garbage.
CV: How would you describe the difference
between an artist who follows trends and one who sets them?
Kollaps: Authenticity.
However, we should remember that some artists set trends that I’d consider to
be negative, such as performing live to backing tracks. Karaoke is fun.
CV: Has music overall been splintered into
too many sub-genres in an effort to appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has
such fan appeasements, in actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by
dividing audiences?
Kollaps: In the end I
think these labels are worthless and make no impact on anything. Unless they’re
mainstream genres, they really just seem to be descriptive terms that have no
broader impact on anything.
CV: What can fans expect to see coming next from you?
Kollaps: We are
releasing a new album entitled ‘Until The Day I Die’ that will be out on June
24 via UK label Cold Spring Records.
CV: Thanks again for taking some time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.
Kollaps: You’re
welcome, thank you for having me. Much obliged.
Check out
Kollaps at:
www.facebook.com/kollapsmusic
www.instagram.com/kollapsmusic
Pre-order ‘Until The Day I Die’ at www.coldspring.co.uk
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