Dorfdisco : What’s the deal with the track you had on the Berlin.Insane compilation (“Marschmusik”)?
A. Hacke : That was another commissioned work. That was one of the first times that I used this portable technology to create a commissioned piece. I was asked to write some music for a documentary about neo-Nazis. They asked me to do a layout, which is what you do in published music. They ask you to come up with something, a sample, so they can steal it from you later or have something to play for the guy who does it for a lot cheaper, to give him an idea. (Laughs) But this time it just turned out that I took the job and I flew to Iceland at the time. I got myself a real cheap compilation of German marching music. I dissected one of my favorite German marches and decided to write the entire thing using only elements from that song. It’s public domain, so everyone can use it, which is quite common in march music. If you want to steal a good harmony progression, you can, because it doesn’t belong to anyone. So I did that and when I played it to them, they just refused. They said my viewpoint or my approach was too ironic, and they couldn’t tell whether I was making fun of them (the people who did the documentary) or whether I was a Nazi myself. (Laughs)
Dorfdisco : Yeah, I can see that. It’s really the only truly insane track on the whole compilation.
A. Hacke : Well, you can see how it would be a good soundtrack for these young bald morons marching. It made them look really stupid. But the people who did the documentary didn’t see this. They didn’t have that sense of humor. So they didn’t use it, so it became my own, I’m free to do what I want with it.
Dorfdisco : It has a really manic vibe to it, like a traditional march but spinning out of control.
A. Hacke : I liked your review, when you said that it was like the freak parade marching down the avenue. That’s exactly what I tried to evoke by using it for this compilation. An anthem of the freaks. I also insisted that it be the first piece on the record. It wouldn’t have worked in any other slot. And it’s not taking anything away from the other bands either by being in the first slot. I didn’t want to do that either. I didn’t want to join any competition, like who’s the real Berlin artist. I just wanted to open it and get it over with. (Laughs)
Dorfdisco : Did you play a major role in this compilation? Were you present at the press conference?
A. Hacke : No, I didn’t. I wasn’t there, and I’m really glad. I don’t know. Many of these people are close dear friends of mine, but in this business, I don’t want to sound arrogant, actually I don’t care if I sound arrogant, I don’t think it’s really necessary for me to attend something like that in that sort of theatrical make-up. If you have a question, I’m happy to answer it for you, but I don’t need any dwarfs or goats to make my point. I don’t need that. If they want to do that, I don’t blame them, but I don’t want to be a part of that.
Dorfdisco : Out of all the members of Neubauten, you seem to be one of the most active in the Berlin music scene.
A. Hacke : Me and Danielle, we were promoting all these events. We’d never go out clubbing just for fun. Basically we just went out in order to distribute flyers. That’s what we did last year. We set up this thing called Bada Bing. The Big Eden was closed by its original owner, this playboy, in the late ’70s. It had been a blueprint for the ’70s discotheque and was actually the first discotheque in Germany. Then two companies, the one that started the Arena and the one that started the Sage, they bought it together, and the Sage has now withdrawn from it.
But when they opened it as their own, it really flopped, so they asked Danielle, who’s been promoting odd events and concerts and shows for 15 years, whether she had any ideas for an interesting thing to do in this place. Last year we became completely obsessed with The Sopranos. In New Jersey, they run this strip club called Bada Bing, so together we decided to use that name to promote this seedy image. On the other hand, our concept was to bring bands from completely different backgrounds on the same stage on the same given night. So we might have a rockabilly band with an electropunk band with a traditional mandolin orchestra at the same show. It was very diverse acts. Mainly in order to overcome the ghettoization of styles that we observed here. You have all these clubs that are entirely techno clubs or entirely this or that. I find that incredibly boring. The best thing that can happen to any kind of society is friction, so you have to put different elements together.
Dorfdisco : Sure. Out of conflict, interesting things arise.
A. Hacke : I wouldn’t call it conflict, I’d call it friction. As in sex. (Laughs) It actually worked out pretty well. And this whole Pale Music thing happened at the same time, so we got involved together on the same kind of thing, which is partly true, but they’re working on their own thing, we did our own thing. That’s what we did last year. But it’s not our priority for this year. It’s fun to make something happen and then to quit doing that mid-flight. You know, leave people with the void. So we gave our night at Big Eden to Dahlia. And when I come back from the Neubauten tour, we’re going to open a solarium.
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