Black Reuss:“Death”
Hello. What is the production of a Black Reuss album like?
Since I have my own recording studio, which is entirely dedicated to Black Reuss, I can work on the songs and ideas in a great setup at any time. Actually, everything always starts with a guitar riff or a melody. I build on that until I have a song together and thus a kind of pre-production. For the lyrics, I collect ideas for myself and write them down throughout the year. I only do the final lyrics when I have finished the music. Until I have lyrics, I usually only have the melody or a hook for the vocals.
Your latest album was “Journey” and the forthcoming is “Arrival”, both parts of the same concept. Please explain.
Yes, I developed a concept over four albums. It’s about the flow of life. There are four chapters. Metamorphosis, Journey, Arrival and Death. Each chapter has episodes that lead to the next. There was a point in my life when I felt like I had to change something. I turned a lot of upside down and reflected a lot. At some point I decided to implement the whole thing musically and that’s where the four chapters came from. I would say Metamorphosis and Journey are retrospective and Arrival and Death more projective as I’m still in the middle of life and not yet completely arrived nor death.
Why did you decide to write a concept? After the final chapter “Death” will you continue with another concept release?
I felt that I wanted to write about my life flow and development. It is also incredibly useful for me to reflect on certain things and think about where I want to end up and who I want to be. That’s what made me decide to write about it.
Yes, I will continue. But the concept is finished with the four albums and then I will dedicate myself thematically to something else.
How important is Art is your life?
It is very important, not only for me, but for all mankind. Art has existed as long as there have been people. It is an incredibly grateful way to carry emotions, ideas, messages. Some things even have the power and outlast everything. I think that’s great.
What’s the wildest experience you’ve ever had with Black Reuss?
Black Reuss is not that wild that I could tell an incredible story…sorry.
When it comes to Black Reuss are you a perfectionist? Sometimes an idea we have when transcribed to words or notes may slightly differ. How do you deal with it?
I can be both. Being very perfectionistic and very precise. Then I work on it until it’s the way I want it. But I also leave a lot of room for the feeling. Sometimes something is not technically perfect, but it has a mood and a soul. Then I just leave it that way. That is even more important to me than making everything perfect. I even think that perfect gets boring very quickly and it is very limiting.
What is the most important thing for music production and for making music in general?
For me, it’s authenticity. It must come 100% from the heart and you must fully identify with it. Only then it is real and unique.
Would you work with other people for Black Reuss to form a live band?
Yes. I would and probably will. I am working on plans to play live with a band.
What is your opinion on modern music marketing and promotion through the internet?
Everything has become more anonymous and faster. But not necessarily of better quality. It’s extremely difficult to swim along in the jungle and stand out. There is also much more supply than demand due to easy access, and thus less quality. And everything is much more fragmented. As a small artist, you have to serve countless channels and produce much more content than you used to. And again, the breadth and diversity and scarce resources means that the quality is not necessarily better. So users are presented with a myriad of content. That’s not really digestible for them. In that respect, it would be nice to focus on less and do it better.
Value has also decreased. The Internet has led to a decrease in value, and that’s why artists, composers, etc. are not being paid appropriately. What’s coming now with artificial intelligence will have another big impact… probably even more.
Do you agree that vinyl is the best media to reproduce music? Do you plan any vinyl releases for Black Reuss?
Vinyl is technically certainly one of the best qualities to reproduce music. But there are others like tapes and so on.
This is due to the technology, because analog has more headroom. But the production also plays a big role. Today, many things are compressed to death. Often there is a lack of dynamics. And many listen to music today through bad speakers or bad headphones. So the great production or the vinyl is no longer of much use.
Thank you for the interview! We hope this was interesting for you as much as it was for us! Let’s close with a brief top 5 of your favorite artists (can be musicians, poets, painters and so on). Please explain briefly each choice.
I have to thank you.
It’s hard for me to limit that to 5. I’ll stick only to the music artists to make it easier.
For me it’s Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple because they laid the foundation for what is metal today. And then Black Sabbath because they were maybe the first to do it really well. Bob Dylan because he’s probably the greatest songwriter of all time. And finally, Type O Negative, because their music touches me every time and I’ve never stopped listening to it in the last 30 years ago when Bloody Kisses came out.
