Finally rock music again! And really good ones at that. With the song “Blood
ntv.de: First of all, congratulations! With your album “Blood
Chris Harms: No, especially since we did everything differently than usual this time. The music world has now developed in such a way that an album has a lead time of up to six months and is released single by single. This is largely due to the fact that, for example, you can only get into the Spotify playlists if the album isn’t out yet. But that also means that the magic you feel when you first hear an album dies. I come from a generation that walked into a record or CD store with a pounding heart. Except for the one or two songs you knew from MTV or Viva, you hadn’t heard an album back then. We wanted to give people that feeling back.
How did you do that?
We started presale on Christmas Eve. And just six days later, one day before New Year’s Eve, the album came out. We were sure that we would miss out on a major commercial success. But then everything turned out very differently. Suddenly we were at number one near the end of the chart count, which always lasts a week – with a band very close behind us. Our fans then gave their all again, so that in the end we ended up in first place with a big lead. Actually, this time we said: “Come on, fuck the charts. It should only be about the music and the love for her and not about commercial success.” And then suddenly we had both. (laughs)
Number 1 album, tour with Iron Maiden and soon a lot of festival appearances, including in Wacken – there’s a lot going on with you. Let’s be honest: How important is the ESC application for you in all this?
Of course that’s something completely, completely different – no matter how big a stadium is where you can play with Iron Maiden, a Wacken stage or an international tour, like we did last year in over 20 countries. This is suddenly a colorful and exciting TV world, a completely new audience and a completely different way of presenting yourself on stage. It’s a semi-playback show with live singing and band playback.
What a rock band like you might actually be unfamiliar with…
That’s why it’s already a great experience for us. We’re giving it our all and we’d be delighted to go to Liverpool. We find that incredibly exciting. But of course it’s not like we’d suddenly be left with nothing if it didn’t work out. We also know what to do with ourselves and our music. If it doesn’t go any further for us, we’re just looking forward to the experience and to a great summer. After all, we’re definitely going to England this year – regardless of whether we’re at the ESC or not. A month after the finale, we’re there with Iron Maiden.
Some will still ask themselves: what the hell does a band like Lord Of The Lost want at the ESC. what do you answer them
After all, these are exactly the same people who have been saying over the past few years, “Why the hell don’t we just get an alternative band?” Last year people complained: “Why aren’t Electric Callboy allowed to go to the ESC?” And now it’s: “Why are you participating in the ESC? That’s not true or real.” We see it this way: Any stage is fine with us, as long as we are allowed to present ourselves on it authentically, straight and as we are. We’re allowed to do that here. And if we’re allowed to do that, we’ll be seen everywhere, right down to the TV garden. The only exceptions are of course some right-wing rock festivals or similar questionable things. That will never be a platform for us.
Border crossings are not alien to you. You have also made music with an orchestra, recorded acoustic albums, processed samba rhythms or even just covered “The Look” by Roxette with Blümchen. Don’t want to be tied down?
Even as a child and teenager I found it difficult to be part of any scene. At school, some were suddenly metal and others were this or that. Each of these scenes came with a lot of dogmas, rules and again a narrow-mindedness towards other scenes. I thought that was terrible! That’s why I got rid of it at some point. I think that’s also the most important tool for me as a musician, music producer and songwriter for others.
Where you are also characterized by a wide range…
Yes, for example I am the producer of the last Ferris MC albums. The same applies to Joachim Witt. And I wrote and produced Nino de Angelo’s last album. This openness is exactly what makes me happy, because I find music so incredibly exciting. And that’s exactly what our new album shows. There is the Roxette cover with flowers as well as a Marcus Bischoff from Heaven Shall Burn as a guest singer. That’s what music is about: uniting through its universal language, not excluding.
How about you with the ESC? Have you followed him in the past?
Yes and no. Definitely as a kid. It was part of the regular television experience with the family. There was Wimbledon, “Wetten, dass..?”, Formula 1 races, the World Cup or European Championship every few years – and of course the ESC. I can remember great evenings as a kid watching it with my parents. When I was 20 and moved away from home, it was obviously uncool for a few years. But then everything was awkward…
When did interest return?
Indeed with Lordi. And through the contributions of Stefan Raab. Even when Lena won, I found it incredibly interesting. I really follow that a lot and I’m a fan of the ESC, but as a music producer and songwriter I have a special view of it. I’m less of an enthusiastic fellow dancer, but simply enjoy the great variety of the sophisticated show contributions and songs. I feel the same way about concerts. I’m the guy who stands in the back, motionless, watching the stage and looking like I’m not having a good time. But I enjoy it very much. I just let it affect me differently.
How did your participation in this year’s preliminary round come about?
In fact, we have applied repeatedly over the past few years. At first we never got very far. Last year, on the other hand, we were in the running until just before the TV show. However, the concept was then structured in such a way that it should primarily be about suitability for radio. Totally legit! But we were out with it, much like Electric Callboy. We just didn’t see the point in making it public. Ultimately, you only feed people’s dissatisfaction with it. Instead we said, “Okay, if they change the concept, we’ll try again.” That was the case this year – and it worked.
The song you’re competing with is the title track of your #1 album: “Blood
Last but not least, I grew up with Glam Rock. My parents, who gave me one or two early David Bowie records, certainly influenced me. At the same time, when I was 13 or 14, I began to find the combination of make-up and music interesting. When the book “Blood
Which you are now embarking on with your album…
Yes, because the title of the book alone was so inspiring for me that I wanted to pay tribute to this time with my band. But our album doesn’t sound like the 70s. We don’t look like the glam rock stars of the 70’s either. The attitude towards life was groundbreaking for us. The blood in the song title is therefore not a dark element at all. Rather, it symbolizes our elixir of life – everything that makes us up inside. Glitter, on the other hand, stands for everything that happens around it. This is what Glam Rock stands for: conveying the inner feeling to the outside world through the presentation. I found that very interesting.
You were born in 1980. So glam rock was actually before your time. Are you a nostalgic person?
Yes, definitely. I don’t live in the past, but I like to travel into it, even with very conscious actions. For example, I love class reunions! In fact, I still do it once a year with my old friends. I lived in different cities as a child. I grew up in Hamburg, Munich and Dortmund and then again in Hamburg. When I’m on tour, I like to go to my old kindergarten, my school or the house where we used to live. It’s the same with music. I often listen to the music from before – because I always associate feelings with it. It’s like flipping through a photo album.
Your style on stage is quite androgynous, even in the past. But of course it goes pretty well with the ESC…
I understand that it is seen that way from the outside. But of course you see yourself completely differently. When I look in the mirror, I see myself as completely normal – not particularly attractive, nor particularly androgynous, nor particularly this or that. I have a completely neutral view of myself. The fact that we suddenly seem to fit in so well because it’s a bit trendy at the moment is more of a coincidence.
You’ve also cited Roxette as an influence for your look on stage in the past…
Yes, some of that may come from that time. Roxette, Per (Gessle) and Marie (Fredriksson) were like one person to me back then. They have inspired me in equal measure. So I was never afraid to allow female sides that contain this androgyne, especially not in my stage persona. I’m not the type of guy who yells on stage with legs apart and a full beard in jeans and cowboy boots. What was dormant in me, Roxette probably activated a bit for me as a stage person. So I can be both Per and Marie on stage. That’s certainly not bad for the ESC. But it’s not a role I assume specifically for the ESC.
In addition to Lordi, Måneskin has of course proved that rock bands can do something good in the competition. You will probably also be compared to them to a certain extent. Is that good or bad?
I think any comparison is perfectly fine. People need comparisons to classify things for themselves. But that doesn’t mean that we can always understand the comparisons. For example, we’re often compared to Rammstein, especially by American viewers. They think: “Ah, German band, a little make-up, a little dark. That sounds like Rammstein!” But if you listen to the music more closely, you know that we don’t really sound like Rammstein. The same goes for Måneskin and Lordi. The differences are already very large, although there are certainly more similarities with Måneskin than with Lordi.
As far as your performance in the preliminary round is concerned, the video for “Blood
Of course, I can’t and don’t want to reveal the exact show elements yet. But the basic orientation is definitely based on the look of our video. It is practically continued, thought a bit bigger and adapted for the live performance. It would be counterproductive to go in a completely different direction now.
You have certainly already taken a look at your competition in the preliminary round. what do you say to her
I actually took the time to capture my first reactions in a video. You can watch that on Youtube. But I’m not someone who has to impose my opinion on others because of my personal taste. Instead, I always try to understand what makes each artist special. I can actually find aspects in all the artists that I think are good and that I absolutely understand, especially in the context of the ESC. In addition, I have great respect for all these artists. They wouldn’t be standing there if they hadn’t worked their ass off too. Some maybe a bit shorter than me – but I’m also twice their age.
A strong competitor in the preliminary round could be Ikke Hipgold, who certainly has a large fan base…
His song is perhaps the furthest from us. But I can totally understand why people like that party feeling. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit: Ikke Hipgold used to run in our tour bus when we were on the road at 2 a.m. And everyone yelled along, including me. That too is absolutely justified.
The decision as to who wins the preliminary round does not lie solely with the viewers. The result also depends 50 percent on juries. How do you find that?
I’m pretty clueless about that. On the one hand, I would find it more exciting to really just go by how people voted. On the other hand, I think it’s fair with the juries, because it will be similar in the final. But it’s difficult for me to really judge that, because I don’t know who the juries are made up of. All I know is that they are international juries – nothing more. For us, that can be good or bad.
In the past few years, things have not been going so well for Germany at the ESC. If you do snag a ticket to Liverpool, where will you land on May 13th?
I can’t answer the question because I don’t even allow myself to think about moving forward. I have the feeling that I’m not entitled to that yet. I have already booked a hotel on the Baltic Sea for May 13th. Just to calm me down with the feeling: “We can’t make it anyway.” So I can look forward to a cool vacation. And if things really turn out differently, I can always cancel the hotel.
Volker Probst spoke to Chris Harms from Lord Of The Lost
Lord Of The Lost will also be on tour in Germany in 2023: Zwickau (June 9), Saarbrücken (June 17), Aschaffenburg (July 31), Karlsruhe (August 2). They can be seen supporting Iron Maiden in Dortmund (July 26) and Munich (August 1). In addition, there are performances at the following festivals: Wave-Gotik-Treffen Leipzig (May 26), Rockharz Festival Ballenstedt (July 8), Amphi Festival Cologne (July 30), Wacken Open Air (August 4), Under False Flag Cologne (October 14), Gothic Meets Classic Leipzig (October 17)
