
Henrik Flyman
I had the pleasure of conducting a nice interview with Henrik Flyman, an interview far from the mainstream.
You are from Norrland, which is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden. What is so special about this place, and has this "lonely" place some impact in your music or life?
Henrik: This is where I grew up and where my journey began. The raw, authentic nature of this place, and the way it encourages creativity to overcome limitations, have had a lasting impact on me. You could drop me anywhere in the wilderness and I would feel right at home. I'm connected to the elements here - the woods, lakes, rivers, mountains, animals, the ice and snow of winter, the four distinct seasons, the crystal-clear night skies with their stars, the northern lights. All of it is part of me, and I am part of it.
What made you decide to make music and what motivates you to continue?
Henrik: It was never a conscious choice, it’s just who I am. The possibilities are endless and that intrigues me. I guess my motivation comes from the curiosity to explore. Music is a big part of who I am, and it tends to show up in almost everything I do. I trust the stars to guide me well. For now, I’ll just continue to embrace the journey, wherever it leads.
If I'm not mistaken, you've released 24 singles/EPs as a solo artist since 2021, where do you get all this creativity from?
Henrik: I had to double-check to be sure. As of mid-January 2025, there are 26 releases featuring 70 songs, all from 2021 onward. And that number is only going to grow, as I'm constantly working on new music. Honestly, I’m not sure where creativity comes from. If I had to guess, I'd say it’s always been there. The challenge is learning how to connect with it. These days, it’s a lot easier because I’m in a much stronger, clearer headspace. In the past, my life was often chaotic, destructive, and filled with distractions. It’s still not perfect, but the destructive patterns are mostly gone, and the distractions are more manageable. That shift is what’s driving my most productive phase yet.
After playing in (and co-founding) bands like Moahni Moahna, ZooL and Evil Masquerade, what made you decide to realize yourself as a solo artist?
Henrik: It all stemmed from my decision to leave Lacrimosa after more than a decade with the band. I took a brief pause to reflect and figure out where I wanted to go next, and it just felt like the right time to try something entirely new. As you mentioned, I’ve been in several bands where I played a key role, constantly having to keep things together as members came and went. In Lacrimosa, however, my role was more straightforward, as I was just the guitarist. The idea of putting my own name on the front cover was a first for me, and it took me out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. I’ve never been someone who craved the spotlight, and I had little experience as a vocalist. On top of that, I took on the full responsibility for the entire production process, which was a huge leap into uncharted territory. But it felt important to do. These were areas where I had often hit roadblocks in the past, preventing me from progressing fully. I had to quickly learn these new skills, and the best way to do that seemed to be to dive right into the deep end without a safety net. It wasn’t always smooth sailing, but looking back, I’m glad I took the plunge. I’m still learning, and I’m enjoying every bit of it.
Are you planning to perform as a solo artist?
Henrik: If there’s enough interest, definitely. But I won’t be putting a live band together until that happens. The days of touring without a solid fanbase are behind me. I’ve already played just about every type of venue, from tiny clubs to massive concert halls and festivals. I’ve performed in nearly empty rooms, and I’ve played for crowds that stretched as far as the eye can see. The music I’m creating now requires a top-notch lineup to do it justice, and a great lineup needs an audience. I love playing live, and I’m confident it will happen, but probably not this year. In the meantime, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing now, which I really enjoy as well.
Your motto is ‘Far from the Mainstream’, so why are you on Spotify? - Is Spotify, although hated by many indie bands/artists, a good medium to bring music to the people?
Henrik: It’s not a motto, just an acknowledgment of the reality I’m facing. What I do doesn’t really align with what’s considered mainstream or popular. Spotify is what it is - it has its flaws, and I’m not sure how long it will last unless they change their business model. That said, it doesn’t take much to see that, for now, this is where most people still get their music. That’s why I’m keeping my music there for the time being. I’m pretty sure big changes are coming that will shift the way artists and fans connect. The current system is hanging on by a thread, and whatever comes next will include me. I’ll be an early adopter. And I have a feeling that many of those who follow me feel the same way.
How much has the music scene, especially the alternative music scene, changed in the last few years/decades?
Henrik: I think it has improved quite a bit in many key areas. The barrier to entry is lower, and the gatekeepers are slowly losing their power. Creativity and authenticity matter more than ever today. I focus on doing my thing for those who are interested, and they seem to find me, usually through word of mouth.
You have also worked with the rather unknown band Lacrimosa, both as a studio musician and on stage. How did that come about?
Henrik: In 2009, I received a completely unexpected call when they had given up on finding a German guitarist to replace the previous one for the upcoming 'Sehnsucht' world tour. I'd never heard of the band, but I was at a point in my life when I felt ready for something new. Just as I was starting to explore those possibilities, the phone rang. If I remember correctly, they asked if I could learn about 30 songs before joining rehearsals in Germany, which would start in 4-6 weeks, followed by a long tour. I didn’t know anyone in the band, everything was in German, the style was quite different from what I’d done before, and on top of that, I’d have to handle all the logistics - visas, extra passports, and getting the music ready in time. I had my doubts about whether it was even possible, but that’s exactly why I chose to say yes. It felt like the perfect challenge.
With your band Evil Masquerade you covered the Lacrimosa song Revolution, why this song in particular?
Henrik: I've always liked the song. It felt incredibly relevant then, and it still does. I was confident that I could make an Evil Masquerade sounding version, that would feel both fresh and exciting, while still staying true to the core message of the German original. Also, I had already played this song many times live, so it felt very familiar.
Will we see you on stage with Lacrimosa again in the future?
Henrik: The great thing about the future is that it’s still unwritten. Anything can happen, and honestly, I have no idea what’s coming. Right now, I’m just doing my own thing and enjoying every bit of it.
Do you have any resolutions for 2025?
Henrik: To be the best version of myself that I can be.
Anything else you would like to share ?
Henrik: I’m truly grateful for the continued support I receive from you and other Lacrimosa fans. Honestly, I never expected it, especially since I was often just a dark silhouette to the right of the drums, sometimes even hidden behind a huge keyboard. It really means a lot to me. I’ll continue with my frequent releases, so you can expect plenty more music that’s probably also going to land pretty far from the mainstream.
The interview was conducted by Michael - lacrimosa.org
The photos ( 1 and 2 )were kindly provided by Henrik exclusively for this interview!
Henrik Flyman official Homepage
on Spotify
on Facebook

Two Witches
The answers by:

Jyrki Witch: Touring around the world and playing concerts. Seeing new places and meeting people. Making new music is no longer a personal obligation, songs are created if they are meant to be, and the interest in publishing them depends on how well I feel the song succeeds. The most important reason for the band to continue is to perform the songs at the concerts.
Two Witches is considered a pioneer of gothic music and has positively influenced the lives of many fans, does that make you proud?
Jyrki Witch: Pride is perhaps the wrong word, but of course we feel honored if people see us as pioneers. Personally I am humbly grateful that someone has noticed us and that someone has liked our music. It means a lot, if our fans come to tell us that they have been positively influenced by our songs, or us as characters, or our comments or other activities we have done.
When you look back, is there anything you wish you had done differently?
Jyrki Witch: In the early 90s, our German record company Talitha suggested us to move to Germany, but we hesitated and stayed in Finland. In hindsight, we should have definitely tried our luck then and moved to a bigger market. When we finally decided to move to Berlin at the beginning of the 2000s, we no longer had a German record company to support us and anyway the peak years of our popularity were already behind us, so we were about ten years late and wasted our opportunity.
How did it come about to found Two Witches?
Jyrki Witch: Anne and I met at the beginning of 1987 and discovered that we like the same kind of music. Unfortunately, at that moment, there wasn't any Finnish gothic rock band that we could be fans of and go to concerts with, so we had to found such a band ourselves. So it all started with the idea that we wanted to be fans of a band. But maybe someday in the future we will have our own fans?
Did you ever think you would reach fans all over the world with your music?
Jyrki Witch: At the beginning, we didn't even think that we would ever get any fans or that our music would end up beyond our own rehearsal room. We were already in awe of the fact that we managed to create something like “music” at all.
Do you have the feeling that the gothic scene in Europe is getting older and older and in South America the fan scene is constantly renewing itself?
Marko Hautamäki: Kind of. There are new goth-ish things happening in Europe all the time as well, but it seems to me that the newcomers would rather be labeled as dark indie or simply alternative acts. Maybe the gothic scene is seen as a pigeonhole that new artists want to avoid. Why cater to a small, tightly specified group when you could appeal to a larger mass without changing anything? A lot of "dark" parties also cater to a wider audience with larger variety in the music selection as well. In a way it's a good thing but it also means the "pure" goth parties are getting rare.
Scenes naturally change over time as new influences and people enter. Within any scene, there are always tensions between those who wish to preserve it as it is, and those who embrace evolution. Both sides also have a point. In Europe, the scene is older and thus often leans towards preservation of how it was, or was at least perceived to be, in the past. The South American scene is younger and tends to embrace evolution more readily, which keeps it vibrant but may also lead to evolution in some direction you don't personally like. The gothic metal trend in the early 2000s illustrates this nicely. While it brought new people and also more attention to the scene, many felt it steered things in a direction that diluted the scene's essence. Evolution is inevitable but it might take the scene in directions that not everyone appreciates.
Miss Blueberry: We should figure out how to get new and younger people to events in Europe as well.
Jyrki Witch: That's also a bit of a delusion, maybe it's more that the polarization of favorite artists and goth events has happened between young and older people. Young people in Europe are not that interested in traditional goth events or get excited about old goth bands like The Mission or New Model Army and such, but they have their own scene and new favorites. Let's call it “post gothic” or “nu-goth” or “newest wave of goth” or something else. The older people of scene may not know or be very interested about these new bands like Cold Cave, Boy Harsher, She Past Away, Twin Tribes and the minimal electronic acts, but the young people go to their gigs and they also organize their own events. So, summa-summarum, there are also younger goths in the European scene, but youngsters and elders do not meet very often, because both of them are having their own favorites and events.
Are there any plans for the future?
Marko Hautamäki: We have 20+ demos of new material and we are slowly but surely starting to work on the next album. The specifics are all in the open still but something is happening for sure. Then of course hopefully plenty of gigs in exciting places with exciting people!
Jyrki Witch: The most important plan is to keep the band alive and the wheels rolling. If I could decide, we would do as many gigs around the world as possible. Unfortunately, it never gets to be decided by the bands themselves, it all depends on the fans and the interest of the local concert organizers.
Miss Blueberry: We are preparing a new album, but it will take its own time.
Do musicians or artists have a role model function?
Jyrki Witch: At least popular artists would have a chance to be role models. Unfortunately, only few use their own opportunity and some even misuse it. For example, I hate seeing any popular artists comment on, for example, racist, dictatorship-supporting or other stupid opinions, and then I always wish that they would have only focused on making art. Like, again for example, Morrissey is a bit difficult to understand these days. But on the other hand, popular artists could bring good things to the awareness of their fans.
Miss Blueberry: Certainly in many ways, starting with such simple things as appearance, hairstyle and clothing. But also in deeper matters. I personally try to show, at least with my own example, that everyone can develop themselves into what they want, as long as they do it while respecting other people.
Marko Hautamäki: Whether as a source of inspiration or as a cautionary example, inevitably yes. Anyone with a public enough image does, but to some extent so does anyone in our immediate surroundings. We are pretty simple flock animals in a lot of ways.
Vampires appear again and again in your songs, what makes this topic so fascinating?
Miss Blueberry: I have liked vampire stories and movies since I was a child. But nowadays the stories have of course acquired more and new meanings. It is multidimensional as a subject of songs, as well as a good subject in terms of story and interesting from the listener's point of view.
Jyrki Witch: In fact, I didn't write any vampire-themed lyrics between 1999 and 2019, but for some reason new fans often seemed to find those vampire songs first. It wasn't question about getting tired of the subject, but I started to feel that people only saw us as a one-trick wonder, and on the other hand, I'm interested in many other topics too, from politics to religions, from different cultures to sexual fetishes and love songs to our everyday problems, wishes and feelings. I finally got inspired again to write vampire-themed lyrics while writing my first novel (Unien valtiatar, 2019, released by a Finnish publisher Kuoriaiskirjat) which was a modern vampire story. I don't regret taking a 20-year hiatus from vampire songs, but in retrospect, maybe it affected a lot of people forgetting about us during that time.
All-in-all, vampires and vampirism is a very fascinating theme. You can be interested in the subject only as horror stories or romantic stories, or alternatively see it as sexual metaphors, or something else. Blood itself is already a metaphor for life as a whole and I think most of us would like to live forever as vampires could and the power of seduction sounds like a very useful feature.
The modern vampire literature and movies also present most of the vampires as beautiful, powerful and very sexual beings, some kind of superhumans of the dream world, and of course it is easy for many wish to be like such an image or at least admire it.
Christopher Lee or Bela Lugosi ? / Do you have a favorite vampire film ?
Jyrki Witch: Sir Christopher Lee. I consider him a better and more versatile actor, and more aristocratic in appearance and style. He also came to Finland as a volunteer soldier during the Winter War in WWII.
My favorite movies are too many to mention. I like both traditional Hammer Production era movies like The Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire, Dracula 1972 AD, etc., and later big budget movies like Bram Stoker's Dracula or Interview with a Vampire. One movie that became a favorite in recent years was Only Lovers Left Alive.
Miss Blueberry: I don't have a favorite, I like different styles of vampire movies and my favorite varies according to my mood. But I could mention one film that brings a new perspective to the subject among many of my other favorites, this film is Let Me In (directed by Matt Reeves, based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist).
Do you regret the tour with Lacrimosa, since Anne left the band, or is it just part of the business?
Jyrki Witch: We've always been such a small band that it's hardly worth talking about any business in our case. Especially at that time, when we were just at the beginning of our career anyway. Anne and I are still friends, and all in all, I don't regret that tour any more than any other tour we have done these years. It helped us get new fans and we got to play bigger clubs than we could have done on our own those days. And one thing we all have to remember is that we were still quite young at the time and if you think about how many young couples stay together forever, it is very possible that it would have happened sooner or later. None of the other Two Witches members from the 1993 European tour play in the band anymore, except me, of course. The bassist and drummer left at the same time as Anne at the end of 1993, then Nauku and Toby left in 1998. Things, relationships and interests change more often when you're young.
I continued this band, Anne has her own and for the fans, that's only a good thing when there are two bands to follow.
Do you have an anecdote about Anne (or Lacrimosa)?
Jyrki Witch: A lot, of course. You have to remember that we lived together for seven years, but it's probably better for everyone that I just keep those things to myself.
Anything else you would like to share?
Miss Blueberry: I would like to send greetings to all our fans. Support the bands and go to the concerts, clubs and gothic events, because without your support this scene cannot survive.
Jyrki Witch: Hope to see you all someday somewhere. We would love to play more often in Latin America.
Bites and bloody kisses to everyone,
Jyrki Witch, Marko Hautamäki and Miss Blueberry
the interview was conducted by Michael - http://lacrimosa.org
in the video section there are interesting videos from Two Witches
Two Witches Facebook
Two Witches Youtube
Two Witches Spotify
Photos by - Two Witches

Terra Relicta
SnakeSkin is the side project of Tilo Wolff, the mastermind of Lacrimosa, founder, owner and manager of Swiss record label Hall of Sermon. SnakeSkin was founded in 2004 and is featuring the opera singer Kerstin Doelle. SnakeSkin, which differs significantly from Lacrimosa, does not fit into any specific genre or production. It is playing emotional electronic music with influences from classic and rock. Contrary to the characteristic and usual electronic sounds in which the vocal arrangements take a narrative role, in SnakeSkin, the voice is part of a musical mix as an organic and emotional element. After three exceptional albums: Music For The Lost (2004), Canta'Tronic (2006) and Tunes For My Santiméa (2016), and a couple of shows, together with HannesB and Thomas Daverio, SnakeSkin released a new masterpiece Medusa's Spell in February 2020, which was also the winning album of Terra Relicta Dark Music Awards 2020. Therefore the interview with Tilo Wolff was Terra Relicta only logical next step.
Interview with: Tilo Wolff
Conducted by: Tomaz
Edited by: Jerneja
Tomaz: First, congratulations on winning the Terra Relicta Dark Music Awards 2020. You have a devoted fan base that supports you everywhere. What does such a thing mean to an artist like you are?
Tilo Wolff: Thank you for the congrats! I am very thankful for this wonderful support of our audience! As a music lover and devoted fan of so many talented musicians whose music I had the pleasure to grow up with, I am amazed that it seems that nowadays there are so many people having the same pleasure with my music, and this makes me very humble and happy.
Tomaz: I was surprised by how many fan-clubs and fan-groups you have in South and Central America. It doesn't matter if it's a question of Lacrimosa or SnakeSkin. It seems like kind of a cult. I guess it must be great when you play live with Lacrimosa in that part of the world?
Tilo Wolff: It is always great to celebrate music with people from all kinds of nations and cultures. We are all living in our societies, speaking different languages, having different educations and following different rules, but strip all of this off, we are all the same: We feel! And this is wonderful to experience, whether we play in Buenos Aires or Berlin.
Tomaz: It's almost exactly one year since you've released the latest album Medusa's Spell. It's a mesmerizing work of dark electronic art that is hard to categorize. How do you look at it now, and what is different if compared to your previous albums?
Tilo Wolff: Thankfully, no record company or anyone is telling us what to do. We are completely free in our artistical expression, and fortunately, I never had to release anything with which I was not completely satisfied. Therefore, when I listen to Medusa's Spell or any other album, I can completely flow into the music and enjoy it. I love this particular album for its deep emotions combined with its straightness and yet complexity in it all. And it contains one of my favourite SnakeSkin songs, "Once"!
Tomaz: Between your second album, Canta'Tronic, and the next one, Tunes For My Santiméa, ten years passed. Many people thought that it's over with SnakeSkin. Now "only" four years passed, and I wonder if this means that we'll get from now on SnakeSkin more frequently?
Tilo Wolff: It depends on the time I have. As long as I am busy with Lacrimosa and the record label, it's hard to find spare time for SnakeSkin, which is why this project nowadays involves all these great artists. Together we can achieve more in terms of quality and quantity.
Tomaz: It's hard to put a genre label on SnakeSkin's music because there are so many elements intertwined: EBM electronics, industrial, symphonic, classical, operatic, gothic and much more, yet it sounds pretty avant-garde. How are you describing the music of SnakeSkin?
Tilo Wolff: I don't have a label or a name for it. When I compose, I don't want to be constrained by the borders of any genre. For some people, this is very confusing, but for the way I fell music, it fits.
Tomaz: The lyrics are certainly different from the ones of Lacrimosa, and I wonder what's the main focus here if there's any? What are the main inspirations for SnakeSkin's words?
Tilo Wolff: Actually, the music itself. The big difference between Lacrimosa and SnakeSkin is, apart from the fact that SnakeSkin is less guitar and more electronic orientated, that Lacrimosa could be described as music that expresses lyrics while SnakeSkin is words to express the music.
Tomaz: If I'm not mistaken, SnakeSkin played live only once, and this happened two years ago on the Lacrimosa tour in Russia. How come this happened only once in all these years, and do you plan to be on stage with SnakeSkin more often once the corona pandemic is over?
Tilo Wolff: We also made one short show in Dresden, and again, it's a question of time, which is, by the way, one of my favourite songs by Depeche Mode "A question of time", and Depeche Mode is one of the main influences of SnakeSkin, even though this is not to too obvious, because I don't want to copy other artists, but, ironically, SnakeSkin is always a question of time in my life, while this phrase is one of the songs inspiring the entire project.
Tomaz: SnakeSkin's visual appearance (photos, album artwork and videos) has a lot to do with eroticisms. How does this connect with music, or it's used only to attract more people, especially the male population? Who's responsible for your visual appearance?
Tilo Wolff: I have to admit that I am responsible for this implementation, and the nature of this artwork has various reasons. First, SnakeSkin is very emotional music, and emotionality and vulnerability can be best expressed in the exposed body. Besides, the name already relates to the snake's ability to shed its skin. Shedding the old skin and letting the new one unfold and proudly to present the new skin of the new self. And last, I always ask myself what I would like as a fan and discover that I find artworks with a sexy attitude better than without a sexy attitude.
Tomaz: I guess there must be quite a different approach in making the music for SnakeSkin than for Lacrimosa. Although SnakeSkin differs from Lacrimosa a lot, it seems that it satisfies Lacrimosa fans also, for example, the songs like "Once" and "Move On", to name some.
Tilo Wolff: Yes, the beginning of the song-writing-story is very different from the one for Lacrimosa, but when I'm in the process itself, I speak with my musical language where it sometimes comes together then. After all, it seems that I can't grow out of my skin sometimes, which is again pretty ironic.
Tomaz: Have you ever used songs that don't fit in the Lacrimosa opus for SnakeSkin instead?
Tilo Wolff: No, because of the beginning of the song-writing-story, which sets the path.
Tomaz: I believe that all fans of your music are eagerly awaiting some news about the new Lacrimosa album. Is there anything that you can reveal already?
Tilo Wolff: I am working on it, and I love what I hear so far!
Tomaz: And now a question that I can't avoid in these times. How has the pandemic affected the artist like you? I guess that it wasn't pleasant to cancel all the planned shows? And are there already any plans for future shows or a tour?
Tilo Wolff: Yes, it is sad and frustrating, but on the other hand, I am lucky enough that I don't define myself by being a musician. Music is my love, and I can't be without it, but I do not need to be recognized as a musician publicly. I can compose my music wherever and whenever I want, and of course, I prefer to share it with other people, but it doesn't make me a different person if I can't play concerts and don't get the attention of a musician.
Tomaz: You have collaborated a couple of times with Mono Inc recently... The latest fruit of this is the cover version of the Lacrimosa song "Lichtgestalt", in this case, named "Shining Light". How it came that you've chosen this very song? Can we expect some more collaborations like this in the future?
Tilo Wolff: Actually, Mono Inc. chose the song, which is great because they like it. So it was their idea, and I thankfully joined. And yes, there will come more collaborations if I like the project because I love to collaborate with talented artists! It is always an honour! Now in the Lacrimosa Anniversary Box, an entire album is called Cover Up, where all kinds of bands from all over the world play their cover versions of Lacrimosa titles. I find this very, very beautiful and exciting!
Tomaz: Thank you very much for your answers. Is there anything that you would like to add at the end of this interview?
Tilo Wolff: Thank you for nominating Medusa's Spell for this award and for having this fun conversation. And thanx to everyone voting for Medusa's Spell and for supporting SnakeSkin and Lacrimosa! Bless you!
Interview from https://terrarelicta.com/
Revolution
The young Tilo would never believe the international success Lacrimosa has achieved. Not for a second.
by 18/07/2014 - Xavier KRUTH
Lacrimosa is back with a new cd: ‘Live In Mexico City’. The cd is meant to be a reflection of the last tour, after the excellent cd ‘Revolution’. Peek-a-boo had the chance to have an exclusive chat with Lacrimosa-masterbrain Tilo Wolff. He told us about the new cd for sure, but also about the history of Lacrimosa, about his motivation… and he even tells us why Belgium holds a special place for him and for the story of his project.
Xavier: ‘Live In Mexico City’ is the third live-cd of Lacrimosa, after ‘Live’ and ‘Lichtjahre’. You only released two albums since ‘Lichtjahre’: ‘Sehnsucht’ and ‘Revolution’. Why do you think it was the right decision to produce a new live-cd?
Tilo Wolff: There are two reasons mainly. The first was the last album ‘Revolution’. It’s the first time that we play almost all the songs of an album live. I was very enthusiastic about the live versions of the songs and I wanted to have a live recording for my own archive, to be able to listen to it. Sometimes people ask me if they can have a recording of the concert they’ve been to, as a kind of souvenir, something you can listen to again. I know that feeling. I feel so too. For instance, I was very glad that Leonard Cohen released two live-cd’s from his last tour. The second reason is that ‘Lichtjahre’ was more of a compilation of a whole tour, in which we chose songs recorded at different concerts. This time we wanted to record a whole concert from beginning till end, with the special atmosphere that it brings and the tension that builds up during the show. We were actually taking a break after the tour in Europe and Russia before going to Latin America when I got the idea to record one of the concerts. I was so happy with the tour that I wanted to record a complete concert.
Xavier: So it has nothing to do with the fact that it was recorded in Mexico? You enjoy a massive success there, and actually in the whole of Latin America and in Asia also. It’s surprising that such an alternative gothic-metal band has achieved such a status, especially since you sing mainly in German. How would you explain this?
Tilo Wolff: I think it’s because Lacrimosa is a very emotional band. That works well with the Latin American people. But we also have a rougher side. The Latin American people like rough music, like metal. And they also listen to a lot of emotional music. I think this combination - hard and emotional - works perfectly with Lacrimosa. As for Asia, I think it’s just the fact that we are one of the only western or European bands that are playing there. They just don’t know that many western bands, and they appreciate that we come to play there. We’re one of the only western bands that played these countries two times in the past few years. It’s really funny, because when we were there last time, we were among the likes of Tina Turner. Only two other western bands were programmed, and Tina Turner was one of them.
Xavier: It looks like you have achieved this success with only little media exposure. I mean, Lacrimosa is seldom played on the radio, except in very specialised gothic or metal programmes. Seemingly, the fans just find their way to your music, without a lot of interference by the media.
Tilo Wolff: That could be true. I hear a lot of stories about people of how they learned to know Lacrimosa. Many seem to have found out through their relations. They had a girlfriend that was into dark music and they learned to like it too. There’s a lot of mouth-to-mouth promotion going on, and you sometimes hear really surprising things. Some time ago, I heard of a German journalist that got to know Lacrimosa through his Brazilian girlfriend. So, he was living in Germany but needed this Brazilian connection in order to know us.
Xavier: The Revolution Tour was something very special. I went to see two shows. In Germany, as you didn’t play in Belgium. You never sounded so engaged, sometimes even a bit preaching. In the past, Lacrimosa was known for its rather pessimistic vision of society and human relations. Now it looks like you really want to change all that’s wrong in this world. Do you agree?
Tilo Wolff: Yes, in a way. It is true that Lacrimosa is more identified with a pessimistic worldview. I was always very pessimistic about the society we live in. I still am, I think our society is aversive to life and humans. But in the last few years I was thinking more and more: it’s not enough to complain… just do something about it! Stop mourning and grieving, and act. That was the basic idea behind ‘Revolution’. You could say it all started earlier, with ‘Fassade’ (2001), which was a reflection on society and the connection with the individual. But it was still different. We didn’t really want to appeal to people to think positively and act at that time.
Xavier: One of the songs in which this is obvious is ‘Weil du Hilfe brauchst’, which is also featured on the new cd. It is an appeal to more understanding and altruism. When I was listening to this song, I couldn’t help thinking about ‘Der letzte Hilfeschrei’, a song on your first album ‘Angst’. Could it be that the older and wiser Tilo is now answering the cry for help of the younger Tilo with his anxieties?
Tilo Wolff: I never thought of it that way. I never made the connection. But it’s a good point you’re making. There is certainly no conscious reference to Der letzte Hilfeschrei in Weil du Hilfe brauchst. That was entirely not in my thoughts. Perhaps something stayed in my subconsciousness and remained there for a long time. I would say it is rather another perspective. When I wrote Der letzte Hilfeschrei, I was just expressing my feelings in a very straight manner. Also, on ‘Angst’, you will hear only keyboads and synth. No guitars, no symphonic orchestra, no other instruments. Weil du Hilfe brauchst is another perspective, that of an outsider looking at someone who needs help. It’s the same topic maybe, but from another point of view. It was never meant to be a reference to Der letzte Hilfeschrei.
Xavier: Now, suppose you were able to meet the younger Tilo, the one who recorded ‘Angst’. What would you tell him?
Tilo Wolff: I’m not sure I would want to tell him anything at all, as I don’t want him to change anything he would do next. If I had the chance to talk to him, maybe he would not record ‘Angst’, or he would not make the follow-up album ‘Einsamkeit’. He would not be making all that great music. I would not want to influence him. Maybe I would talk to him, but I just hope he wouldn’t care and would just carry on with what he is doing.
Xavier: And would the young Tilo believe that Lacrimosa would achieve this worldwide success and still be around after 34 years?
Tilo Wolff: No. Not for a second. That was absolutely not in my mind. When I first started recording my songs, I just wanted to make a tape for some friends and for myself, to listen to. My motivation was to put music to my poetry and express my feelings. I didn’t think about success. There was no plan. The most musicians I know didn’t have a plan to become famous. Of course there are some people who start a band and want to become famous, but it is not that simple. And it was not my case.
Xavier: Let’s go back to the cd. We noticed that ‘Live In Mexico City’ is the first Lacrimosa album that has a title of more than one word. How come?
Tilo Wolff: We wanted a title that fitted the content in the first place. I have been thinking about a shorter title. I thought of ‘Live III’, but that is already two words. I was looking for a beautiful word that would sum it up, but it was really difficult. ‘Live In Mexico City’ really says it all. It is one concert, one evening. It is also important that it was recorded in Latin America. It’s the first time that a cd is released on which a Latin American public sings along with songs in German. We wanted that to be clear from the title too.
Xavier: There is also a special edition of the cd which includes a live DVD. But there are only four songs on the DVD. I guess you recorded the whole of the concert, so why just four songs?
Tilo Wolff: When we planned the release of the album, I was going trough the image sources we had. I thought it would be a good idea to do a first release of the cd with some of the footage we did. The two live cd’s in the first edition are just the same as the regular cd version, but it has an extra DVD for the same price. We actually have edited only four songs of the concert, and they’re the ones you will find on the DVD. We didn’t have time to do more. It is very busy at the moment. There’s a lot of work.
Xavier: What are you working on?
Tilo Wolff: Of course there’s a lot of work connected with the release of the album. A lot of promotional stuff. We get questions for interviews from all over the world. This will certainly last a few more days. I hope it will be over soon. After that we will start rehearsing for the two festivals we will play at in Germany: Waterschloss Klaffenbach by Chemnitz and the Amphi Festival in Cologne. We have a completely new setlist for these festivals. We will record some new things also.
Xavier: You once said there would be a new Snakeskin (Tilo’s electronic side-project, xk) album coming up too…
Tilo Wolff: Yes, I was planning to do a new Snakeskin album after the tour. But then came the idea to do a live album and that took a lot of time and work. So I postponed all the plans with Snakeskin until 2016.
Xavier: That’s quite a while. Now, there are a lot of German gothic-metal bands today, bands that combine hard guitars with bombastic symphonic arrangements. I think about ASP, Mantus, Samsas Traum… Well, that’s three bands from Trisol of course. Do you feel like you influenced them in a way? Do you think that Lacrimosa has opened the door for them?
Tilo Wolff: Yes, indeed. They also tell me when I meet them, that they listened to Lacrimosa, that it was important for them. I once was at a festival where several of those bands played, and someone said to me: ‘Look, they are your children. You are their father.’ So yes, I think I opened the door. Without Lacrimosa, they wouldn’t be doing the same thing. They would perhaps not be singing in German. They would do something else.
Xavier: You were the first one to come up with this kind of music, certainly in German. That was quite risky at the time. You had your deal of criticism when ‘Inferno’ (the album with which Lacrimosa switched from dark wave to gothic metal, xk) was released.
Tilo Wolff: When I released the first single in the new Lacrimosa style - Schakal -, everybody was like ‘what’s that!’ The goth dj’s were confused. They said it was not gothic but metal. Some didn’t want to play it. It’s amusing because nowadays people consider ‘Inferno’ to be a landmark album, and Schakal to be great song, a classic. But at the time, the gothic press was saying ‘this is not gothic’. And the metal press… well, they were basically saying nothing at all. It was too dark for them. They just ignored it.
Xavier: It was risky, but it paid off. I once wrote in a review that for every fan that you lost back then, you gained 10 new ones, or even 100. If you look at the bands you were compared to in the beginning - like Goethes Erben or Das Ich - Lacrimosa obviously became bigger than them. So the risks you took have turned out fine…
Tilo Wolff: Maybe that’s right. I think the new style has been especially helpful in breaking through internationally, certainly outside the European continent. You know, when I was young I used to listen to Joy Division and Bauhaus, great bands that were creating dark music. I loved them but I didn’t want to repeat what they were doing. And they were not that hard. I also had a harder side in me. On the other hand, I liked harder bands like Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC, but they were not dark enough for me. I wanted to make the combination between hard music and dark music. That was my goal when I released ‘Inferno’. As a consequence, I was too hard for the gothics and too dark for the metal people at first. But it turned out well. And it gave me the opportunity to break through internationally.
Xavier: We can say that you have a very loyal fanbase, sometimes even boarding to the fanatical. When I look at it, I think this fanbase consists of people who will still buy the cd’s of Lacrimosa, despite the crisis in the music industry. Do you have the feeling that Lacrimosa suffers less from the crisis in the music business because of that?
Tilo Wolff: Oh, I feel the crisis. It affects us too. But in a way you’re right. We have a very loyal fanbase. And I am often thinking that I must be happy with that. I think it must be a lot harder for bands that do not have such loyal fans.
Xavier: I’m out of questions. Do you have some last words you want to add?
Tilo Wolff: Yes I do. You said that we didn’t play in Belgium during the last two tours, and I feel very sad about it too. Because Belgium was the country where it actually started for Lacrimosa… at least on the international level. It was the first country in which we were invited to play outside of Germany. So Belgium is very important to me. It was the start. And I am conscious that we have a loyal fanbase in Belgium. We would like to play in Belgium again. We tried to, but we couldn’t find any organisers in the last few years that were willing to set up a Lacrimosa concert. We don’t have a management. We have our own label: Hall of Sermon. Everything we do is on my desk. That makes it more difficult when organising tours. But I hope we will be able to play in Belgium again in the future.
Xavier: And so do we. Thank you very much for this interview.
Tilo Wolff: Thank you too, for your time and for the interview.
Hoffnung
Without time there is no hope, and without hope there is no future.
Xavier of Dark Entries spoke with Tilo of Lacrimosa.
Lacrimosa released its latest CD Hoffnung at the end of 2015 to celebrate its 25th birthday. After the very experimental Revolution, this album returns to the classic sound of Lacrimosa. Brilliant compositions in which grand orchestrations alternate with harder rock.
Xavier: Hello Tilo. You released Hoffnung at the end of 2015. We love the album. What are your own feelings about it?
Tilo Wolff: Great to hear that you love it! Well, for me this album is some kind of the essence of Lacrimosa. I’ve been working on this for over a year and every note, every word is a piece of myself. The whole album is like a child, like my baby!
Xavier: The theme is somewhat different from the predecessor Revolutionwhich was based on social critique. On Hoffnung you return to more personal themes as love and loneliness. I still hear echoes of Revolution though, for instance on the title track. Is there an overarching theme on Hoffnung? If so, which one?
Tilo Wolff: I think Hoffnung – hope – is a word with many facets. Mostly it has a a positive meaning. People hope for something good, or at least something better than the current situation. That means that hope has something to do with time. Hope focuses on the future, using past experience and hope takes the current situation into account. Without time there is no hope and without hope, there is no future. No one can live through a single day without the hope to make it through that day and even further. These are a few facets of hope. But there is also error-driven hope. Hope upon something that never ever can be fulfilled. That can slow down and destroy a whole life. So, hope is not only something positive. These all are facets of hope, and of this album.
Xavier: For the first time, Lacrimosa formed its own ‘Lacrimosa Session Orchestra’, in which you played trumpet. This must have been a lot of work. Couldn't you have saved time by working with an existing orchestra. Why did you choose to form your own?
Tilo Wolff: Actually, it is the other way round. I worked with so many orchestras as a client who is dependent on the working process of the orchestra. And these working processes are seldom made for such rock productions. They might work very well for preparing concerts or recordings from known classical composers, but when you come with your own scores – music they haven’t heard before – and recordings with which they are supposed to play together, these working processes that they are used to, are not helping. So, I gathered musicians that I know from previous recordings, people that know what Lacrimosa is about. So, these recordings were much more focused on the music and less on the organization. But still, writing all scores and rehearsing with so many musicians is always a hell of a job!
Xavier: You released two excerpts of Hoffnung on YouTube with great animations. This makes me wonder: will there be a video clip for one of the songs on the album?
Tilo Wolff: I love visual transformation of music and would have loved to get a video done for the new album. Unfortunately, there was not enough time between the end of the production process and the beginning of the tour.
Xavier: Hoffnung also saw the return of Stelio Diamantopoulos for the artwork. We have noticed that he wasn't involved in the artwork of the last CDs, but he did conceive most of the covers of Lacrimosa since the beginning of the project. What made you work together again?
Tilo Wolff: Well, actually he made all studio album covers. Only the cover of the unreleased-track-compilation Schattenspiel was made by Alla, a Russian artist.
Xavier: We were looking forward to the release of the DVD of Live in Mexico City. It is now included as a bonus on the limited edition of Hoffnung. A nice present for the fans, for sure, but I am somehow surprised that you didn’t try to reach a wider audience with the DVD. Or will there be another edition aimed at a wider public?
Tilo Wolff: No, after I realized that we couldn’t release the CD and the DVD of Live in Mexico City at the same time, I skipped the idea of releasing the DVD as an own product and rather thought to pay back the patience people by giving the DVD more or less as a present.
Xavier: You recently came back from a tour promoting the new Lacrimosa CD in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America. Just before you went on tour, you broke your foot in a car accident. Were you able to play the shows without too much damage?
Tilo Wolff: Hehe… I can tell you, I would have loved to skip this accident. It was not easy to play the shows with this broken foot and the injured knee sometimes, but after all it went really well. We could play all the shows and I even managed to get up from my chair a few times without damaging my leg again. So,now I am totally motivated to enter the stage for this second part of the tour on my two healthy legs again!
Xavier: David Bowie has died recently. He was a huge influence for the goth scene, and I think also for you personally. What are your thoughts about his death and his influence?
Tilo Wolff: Yes, he was and is my hero. And I still can’t believe that he is not with us anymore. Of course I am happy for him, that his suffering came to an end and that even put a final point behind his wonderful career with his latest album. But for us who lived our lives with his music, we will always miss him when we hear his voice!
Xavier: Thank you for this interview.
Xavier KRUTH 04/03/2016
Testimonium
Xavier: We are absolutely astounded by the new album ‘Testimonium’. It is dark and beautiful. You announced the CD as an homage to artists deceased in 2016. Indeed, the opening track ‘Wenn unsere Helden sterben’ contains references to David Bowie, Prince and even George Michael…in what sense did their passing inspire you to make this CD?
Tilo Wolff: You know, I grew up with Prince and later, when I got in contact to alternative music I discovered David Bowie’s work from the 1970s. So, those two musicians made me fall in love with music and they both shaped the way of understanding and listening to music for me for many years. Now, when they suddenly died only a few month apart from each other, as well as the death of so many other great artists I respected a lot within the same year, a part of my childhood and my youth died as well. This was a loss and a sorrow that needed to be expressed in – of course – music. And ‘Testimonium’ is the result of this!
Xavier: The new CD offers a very much consolidated Lacrimosa sound that is similar to that of ‘Hoffnung’, your previous CD. Lacrimosa has been known to evolve in sound at every new release. Do you still try to change your sound, and if so: what new elements did you bring on ‘Testimonium’?
Tilo Wolff: On this album I was more concentrated on the compositions themselves. When I made this album I was kind of in a trance. I couldn’t think of anything else but this music that was fulfilling and at the same time haunting me. ‘Testimonium’ is probably my most subconscious album.
Xavier: The evolution in sound was obvious on ‘Revolution’, which I still love very much. You tried things there that were unheard of in the world of Lacrimosa. How do you look back on it?
Tilo Wolff: Yes, after ‘Sehnsucht’, which was the first album after a short break in which I was busy supporting another band, I wanted to achieve a new sound like I did back in 1995 and then again in 1997 with ‘Inferno’ and with ‘Stille’. But this time it was supposed to be a sound that would carry LACRIMOSA for several years and albums because after all these years I want to achieve a certain constancy. The reason for this is actually very simple: when I listen to METALLICAs self-titled black album, I want to get more albums with that sort of stuff. But there is nothing more like that. The previous and later albums are – mostly – also pretty cool, but they are very different. So, after doing so many various albums I now want to combine my personal favorite things within LACRIMOSA and want to stick with them for a while.
Xavier: Can we look back at an earlier milestone? ‘Elodia’ - out in 1999 - is a fan favourite and contains the most orchestral sound up to that date. If I’m well informed, it was a very hard time for you. What memories do you have of composing ‘Elodia’?
Tilo Wolff: Yes, it was. On one hand I was personally not in the best shape – at least during a certain period of time while working on the album – and on the other hand the production was hell! It became far too expensive, partly due to the trade union of the orchestra, so I couldn’t pay my bills anymore and at a certain point during the production I couldn’t pay the musicians and the studios anymore. The entire project nearly collapsed while I was completely broke privately.
Xavier: Back to the new album. You released a beautiful video for ‘Nach der Sturm’. Many artists think that videos are important to promote an album. What are your thoughts on that? Will there be other videos from ‘Testimonium’?
Tilo Wolff: Yes, friends of ours made a very artful clip for the title song “Testimonium” for the entire ten minutes of the song, which is to be seen on our YouTube channel. This clip is very intense but of course no promotion video. After all, I myself don’t like to watch videos when I see that they are only made to be for promotion. I want to be entertained and I want my emotions to be triggered, but making videos is always a challenge in many ways.
Xavier: The last years have seen you working together with several other artists. We note the very successful collaboration with Mono Inc. on the hit ‘Children of the Dark’, but also one with Tk Kim, which accidently saw you working together with Philippe Alioth, an early Lacrimosa-guitarist. How were these experiences for you?
Tilo Wolff: That was great! I love working with good and inspiring artists because the result is always something that none alone could have done. Especially working with fellows from the own history and past is very interesting. To find out how they developed and what happens, if you come together again. If the chemistry still works, if you still can inspire each other. You know, we are all living in our own universe, with our own fantasies and with our own understanding of this world. Now, considering that, it is so beautiful when people start working together, sharing their innermost with each other by doing new art. It is like a journey through strange worlds and receiving a lasting souvenir!
Xavier: 2016 saw the release of the long awaited new Snakeskin-album ‘Tunes for my Santiméa’. It is very different from the previous two Snakeskin albums. We also have the feeling that you wanted to reach out to the dance scene with songs as ‘Alive’ and ‘Take Me Now’. Can you tell us more about your aims this CD?
Tilo Wolff: I am a huge fan of the Eurovision Song Contest and those songs are a little inspired by the music I hear there. On the other hand I feel that this album is very close to LACRIMOSA, if you think about the title song or songs like ‘Le seul vrai’, but after all between this album and the previous one there are ten years and that is most probably the main reason for this development, just like if you would compare ‘Angst’ from 1991 with ‘Fassade’ from 2001.
Xavier: Finally, 2016 saw the first Lacrimosa concert in seven years in Belgium. It was a huge success and you even edited a video for ‘Die unbekannte Farbe’ from the concert. Were you happy with this concert? Will there be a show in Belgium on the ‘Testimonium’-tour?
Tilo Wolff: Unfortunately it was not possible to arrange a show for ‘Testimonium’ in Belgium again, but I am eager to come back again because the Belgians are one of our best audiences ever!
Xavier KRUTH
05/03/2018