Interview with Autres Directions 2005
Where
does the name Bronnt Industries Kapital come from? When did you create this
musical project? What is your musical background?
The name came from a merger between two corporate entities - Bronnt Industries,
formerly a finacial think tank, and Wickermann Industries, a central Non-Governmental
marketing data collection agency. When the two companies merged, they created
a musical division for the purposes of tax relief. That said, BIK is expected
to perform adequately in the global market.
What
pushes you to create music? Which artists influenced you most?
The main impetus behind our products are market forces, global competition and
technological innovations. BIK aims to satisfy its customers with the music
that is right for them by keeping abreast of contemporary musical trends. We
strive for total customer satisfaction ; if we like the music, that’s
just a bonus.
In
Bristol, do you feel close to other bands? Do you feel your music close to Manyfingers’
one or Matt Elliott’s one, for example?
Matt Elliott was a big influence on our musical vision ; however, he has a lot
of underground credibility and artistic integrity. We have no credibility ;
we are mercenary venture capitalists.
How
do Max & Klaus work together?
Max and Klaus work symbiotically to create a vision of total, total, musical
awesomeness. Occasionally we work apart, like when one of us leaves the room
to make a cup of tea.
How
did you sign with Static Caravan?
We didn’t sign a deal ; it is a co-operative relationship of honour and
trust. Static Caravan read about BIK in the Emerging Markets column in the Economist
Magazine.
Your
music often sounds like it was a bit old, like it would have been there for
a while. Is it something you’re working on? The principal characteristics
of BIK’s music?
See below...
Are
you multi-instrumentalists ? You used many instruments on Virtute Et Industria
like flute, clarinet, piano... Did you play those instruments ? How would you
describe the creative process of BIK ? How does BIK sound live ? Do you play
instruments live?
Much of what sounds like clarinet, flute etc. is actually produced on Lepping’s
Patented Lapwing Harmonium. This was a Victorian-era precursor to the Mellotron.
The Mellotron used tape loops with pre-recorded orchestral samples. The Lapwing
Harmonium uses a selection of metal pipes, plates and hollow tanks, sheets of
glass and bakelite (an early form of plastic) which are struck with felt-covered
’hammers’ (like a piano) and ’claws’ (like a harpsichord)
fashioned from genuine animal paws caught in big game hunts in Rhodesia. Lepping
was a British Colonial and avid collector of taxidermic specimens. Vocal-sounds
are produced by pumping air through the the preserved voice-boxes of dried,
shrunken pygmy-heads and stuffed birds and animals which are suspended in a
chamber inside the harmonium. Other sounds are produced by complex chemical
reactions. The mechanism is housed inside a massive wrought-iron chassis, with
a walk-in ’booth’ with a velvet stool for the performer to sit in
and play the 9-octave ebony and ivory keyboard.
The whole machine is bigger than a grand piano and more resembles a walk-in
freezer than a musical instrument. Naturally, a crane is required to lift it
so we don’t use it live. At shows we use samplers, clarinets, guitars,
keyboards etc.
The creative process is very difficult to describe. Sometimes I will turn up
very drunk at Max’s house and randomly throw things at the Harmonium and
record the results, sampling the best parts. Max often writes an entire piece
in his head, then paints a picture to convey it, which I will then interpret
and perform. It is like a musical Chinese Whispers.
Your
music is sometimes very quiet, sometimes epic, sometimes moody & cinematic,
sometimes just very made of looped melodies... Virtute Et Industria a collection
of songs you composed during several years. What did you wish this first album
to be? How do you consider it now?
We are very pleased with the album because people liked it. We have no opinion
of it ourselves. Customer satisfaction is the only important factor.
What
did Virtute Et Industria changed for BIK? Are you now working on a new lp? Will
you keep on working with Static Caravan?
We are working on another album, which is sounding more upbeat than Virtute
et Industria. It is aimed at the dance music and computer game market. In the
meantime we plan to release ’Haxan’, a montage of original music
we composed for the Swedish 1920’s film ’Haxan : a History of Witchcraft’.
We will continue to work with Static Caravan until they tire of us.