Germany is not really known for hitting the subsolar point very often. XUL ZOLAR though, decided to aim for a mood that is most appropriately being described as tropical. They aim for the sweaty, the moist, lush and dripping. So its not just their art-school background that refers to a surrealistic context. The trio from Cologne play spherical and polyrhythmic synth-pop with mathematical precision. After they played us a beautiful out-in-the-nature acoustic-set this summer, we sat down with XUL ZOLAR to ask them some properly passionate questions.
How would you describe your music to a deaf person?
We would probably tell the person to think about something very sad and then place him/her on a subwoofer in a room filled with exotic flowers, play one of our tracks and give him/her a massage.
What’s the perfect soundtrack/ song for your band to enter the stage?
4′ 33” by John Cage. That would totally get people into the mood.
As Germans… what are your favourite German words. The one that sounds the most beautiful in your ears?
That’s a tough one. German is not exactly famous for sounding very beautiful. I think it’s easier to find absolutely horrible German words like ‘Grütze’ or ‘Wurst.’ But I have a favourite English word: Swansea. Schwanensee doesn’t sound quite as good but it sounds alright too.
Would you rather be a dragon or have a dragon?
Even though I like the idea of being able to fly I am quite happy with being a human. Plus you can surely impress people by taking out your dragon for a walk. So I’d rather have a dragon (though I don’t know where to keep it and what to feed it).
Imagine your music would be used score a TV show. Which kind of show would it be? A sitcom? A crime series or anything else?
We would place it in Curb your Enthusiasm. (Besides the fact, that it is our favorite one) the dramatic composition is much equal to most of our music: It starts with some small detail, that provokes a catastrophe in the end.
What’s the best possible scenario to enjoy a XUL ZOLAR record?
Maybe on the flight to some distant place or while taking a bath after an exhausting day at work or even while hanging out with friends before going out to a club. Whatever scenario: good stereo or headphones are indispensable!
The music & culture industry is currently about to redefine itself on many levels. Do you feel like being completely and utterly at the its mercy, or should things be seen as a chance for artists?
Changes in the music industry have their upsides and downsides. The internet gives artists that would otherwise maybe go unnoticed the chance to get their music heard without the support of major labels or agencies. But ultimately, I am too young to really know what has changed and what hasn’t and ‘how it all used to be’. Also I don’t want to think about ‘the industry’ too much. If you have a creative goal and someone from the industry offers you help in pursuing whatever it is you want to achieve than that’s fine but in the end if there’s someone at whose mercy you are it’s the listener.
What do ‘hope’ and ‘passion’ mean to you?
Well whatever you do, if you don’t do it with passion it’s a waste of time. And hope… well, hope is important but hope alone doesn’t get you anywhere.
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