Dalia - we are here
with Sulpher and the first question is: i imagine you are satisfied with
your album Spray and that you have been crowned as best "British
industrial band", so are you happy about it?
Monti - We are very happy about it of
course we are yes, we only just started as well, so who knows what's to
follow
And what is industrial for you?
At the moment it's a bit sketchy at the moment,
there are a lot of different types of music being classified as
'Industrial' (as he looks to another band mate and asks) Um.. I don't
classify us as industrial do you?
I like the word industrial actually (room starts laughing) I always think
personally about industrials different sounds coming from industrial like
clangs (as he starts making different noises with his mouth) we are a bit
more heavy than experimental.
There are lots of different acts coming from England, we basically just
crossed over towards the rave scene, which is already very developed in
the U.K. I mean there isn’t a whole lot of heavier bands like if you (mumbles
in a thick English accent) were not particularly metal but at the same
time we use keyboards and stuff like that but we are not a.b.m either.
Your success has been very explosive, do
you fear that some how this such
fast rapid way to reach success, are you scared about reaching success so
early, in a so quick way?
Personally I am not aware of this success you
speak of yet I mean we did one Festival in Germany and that went
very well for us we were very well received there and now we are on out
first tour we have been very well received and the audience have been very
kind to us we are very happy with that aspect and we hope to come back on
that note, this success hasn't meant nothing to us yet but it is quite
flattering.
A related question: will you go
keeping the enthusiasm and the determination of the spirit of the
underground music?.
Always, yeah, always
I dunno. We strive to be something with our own personal stamp rather then
commit ourselves to a to a particular sound or scene. I dunno, what do you
think?
There’ s always pressure to be more commercial
because there’s money and everything in this tour costs money and um
when your underground doesn’t equal much money, does it? So
I mean we aren’t going to start writing pop music that’s for sure I
mean its really experimental music and we’re just doing what comes
naturally to us and that’s what you’re hearing so hopefully we will
stay down that road, yeah.
You are good producers too
Monti’s the producer
Well me and Rob have kinda put this record together and stuff and we are
hoping to involve the rest of the band later on. its early days for
Sulpher very early days and we have been lucky enough to do some other
productions for people like Gary Newman and a couple of other people that
I wont mention now because its not worth it but yeah its coming together
but all things take time yeah.
which are your impressions about this
tour together with 69 eyes.
69 eyes have been fantastic I must say that they
are really cool guys all very happy with it
Normally is pretty competitive with other bands and stuff and I don’t
feel that on this tour actually I feel encouragement and that kinda….
Very friendly and there’s no restrictions, normally there’s
restrictions for a support band and we aren’t getting at all so we are
just doing what we do and we are very happy with that.
and is this a help for you to be together with such a friendly band
?
Yes it defiantly makes it a lot easier without
any underlying things going on from a support band there is no pressure is
there? No
What are your impressions about this evening, how have
you found the crowd, are you satisfied??
Noise restrictions. We don’t like the
noise restrictions but I bet everyone says that when they come to
Switzerland everybody, even boy and girl bands complain about this shit.
Well we still did what we do and stuff and we got quite a nice reaction.
So we are happy with tonight’s show we all came off stage quite happy
with the show and we will be back I believe if we are invited
I hope coz your stage acting is impressive,
really, and indeed I was very curious I couldn’t wait to finally
see you playing live and because you are described as being a great live
act what do you think about your being on the stage, do you agree with all
thse congratulations…
I do actually because when I listen to the record
I think we sound better live its more energy on stage, there’s more
shapes on this side of the stage turning the base players always shaking
up and dropping * something or other)
that’s right I think that’s how bands should
be as well if your good then you should be as good live as well.
I think there’s a lot of anger in life that we
are, all of us as individuals, that we have problems in every day life
comes a great release point being on stage and you can let all your anger
out on stage you know what I mean Its quite therapeutic release playing
like this really horrible music, you know, getting into the whole sort of
sound and vibe the music is you know you can conduct yourself really well
on stage
We love playing live basically it’s a really
good buzz for us, it sounds different everywhere you play different energy
going on and yeah we have been enjoying this tour its been very successful
for us, Yeah.
so you Sulpher are in 4 . and this is
your line up?
We played live with it so yeah that’s the
line up at the moment
...and now a naughty question...
naughty question?
yes (laughing) cause your singer is really
clever playing singing and representing Sulpher on the stage but he is
also a
beautiful, a handsome, goodlooking guy....
oh stop it!! (everyone is laughing a
lot!!) do you fancy Robby?
er..no... (laughing )
so the question is ...er...in
your opinion how much beauty is needed for success?
How much does that help?
..yes
Well the girls do go down the front that has
to be said and I’m working hard on the drums and no ones looking at me
and im looking at them and they are looking at the fucking singer. You
know that is part of…. That is important I guess
I think the way the media portray any band, as
sad as it is, it’s very important to have an image and an image and
persona is very important for any band for any band really
I like to think that the English come second
though personally I really think the music is the most main thing here.
The music is light and not really have a good direction. I mean
No, but the main thing in this band is the
music first of all. And then the image and then you know everybody has to
try, do what we have to do to make ourselves look what we are meant to
look like I guess.
A question for you Monti, what is your job in the
band? You play the drums, and you are programming. What does all this mean
programming electronics?
We put all the music together, record all the music
together. I have a small studio in London and that is where we‚ve done
it all. Its been programmed, and played things and stuff and we‚ve
programmed things for Live and all. My job is basicvally to keep all these
guys in time, and to play the drums basically
He's like the conductor
I don't conduct no and I don't look as pretty
as Rob but. That's my job basically id to make it all sit good and to
sound good.
I've noticed that you are one of a few drummers that from the first row
in the crowd you‚re easy to be seen because you are not hidden behind
symbols or drums.
I have a very small drum kit actually I don‚t
like lots of drums I don‚t need them it‚s not that kind of thing.
Great big tom tom rolls (drum noises) it‚s not our scene. So yeah
Why the name Sulpher for the band. Did the Chemical
element have any importance for the band?
Well you just summed up basically we liked the word
Sulphur Sulpher and we like that it was a chemical because chemicals
can be used for good thing s and bad things and it is an interesting
chemical, not that I'm a chemist or anything. I don‚t know much about
it. But it is a good word first and foremost and yep. it makes sense
that name for us
And what are your most typical English or British characteristics in
your personalities?
charming charming...
Charming and polite what‚s another word for polite∑
nice. I‚m nice I don‚t throw televisions programming electronics s out
of windows or anything like that. I‚m nice to people. I like being nice
to people and that‚s probably bad for our image. We are complete
different individuals. Robs completly differnt to me, we are so different
it's unbelivable, but it works, he's the frontman you see he thorws the
microphones around the guitars...and stuff like that yeahit all adds up to
that shell you saw tonight
##what stands me out
being English/british um..I don't know,
##it's difficult explaining myself
###yeah yeah um..I dont know I cant explaine it
he's stuck on that one.... we're performers, we go
out on stage we are performers and not necessarly being nice, were doing
our show, and when we come off stage it's over and we are nice and polite
to people because we respect people and thats the way to be in life isnt
really? To be respectful to people until somebody fucks you over and you
think "fuck off.." and I get angry just like everbody else. In
fact, at the border, we got stopped at the Swiss border here today and I
don't know why but we had to sit in labor (labour for all you English knit
pickers!!**) for about fifteen minutes nd that's why we were late for the
show tonight, we didn't get to sound check at all for tonights show at all
and we were really late and I was sitting there thinking "that fuckin
swiss bloody border" So I knew we'd become, not nice.
Which is the country that you would like to play in the most?
We have to go to America, we have to play in
America, it's just I've played in America many times but that is a country
we have to play in because its a difficult country to break into, but
financially speaking it will help us very much if we get a good response from the Americans. But I think
first of all we're going do Europe, it's a great spot for us.
These are the last two questions...
Which is more interesting in itself... Love or Hate?
Oooh a difficult one for me, love for me because
I've fallen in-love, and isn't it one of the nicer things in life isnt it?
Hate...hate just pisses me off..how about you mate?
#### I'm going to say hate cos you have to have a
balance sometimes and you have to have some dislikes in your life if not
your going to be run-over and trampled on.
Okay the last question is a typical Gryphon Metal question that we ask
of every band we interview. And it's a type of game, we call it a "Game
of the Tower" . There is a Very high tower and on this tower there
are three bands who are waiting for you and you have to kick down let them
fall 2 of them saving only one of them. only one band you can save among
3, and we change the bands for every band and for you Sulphur..
Dimmu Borgir, Paradise Lost and Nightwish.
hmm I don't know any of the bands..Paradise Lost I
have heard of, don't know much about them,
I can answer that question easily, we'd kick em' all off .
#It's hard to play this game because I dont know any
of the bands..
Stefan: how about we change the game, you put the bands on the tower...
ahh
i put the bands on the tower... Ministry, Prodigy
##I'd say save the Prodigy because their fucking
excellent actually I really like dance music personally and that's were
some of our roots come from, some of that dancy rhythms you hear in Sulpher are coming from there
###Prodigy would be the one I'd keep also because I
really like their music....
at this point everyone starts into their own conversation, interview ends.
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SULPHER:
Interview with
Monti, Tim Mud and Nathan
