On occasion of the 2025 release of BiGOTT on Reach Another System we unearthed this interview.
The advent of the trinity!
GOTT has come upon us. As the new psalms have just been released Scannoir‘s friend and studio partner Sneaker answers a few questions.
Can you enlighten us and clarify the discovery phase and the recording sessions for the project? Was it clear from the beginning which musical direction you wanted to take?
Total Kommander reached me as a demo by Scannoir. The topic is actually a joke, since we figured that both of us are using the stone age software Total Commander (compare the precursor Norton Commander). We are old, neurotic control freaks and we know it.
The credits on the back of the record reveal that I did ‘my edit thing’, fixed the rough mix and did the mastering & reel-to-reel transfer at tailout.de. It’s more Scannoir than any other track we released.
The other two were quick, but long takes we recorded together in Zurich.
I think the aesthetics of the outcome (Swiss fun minimal synth & orchestral leftfield) actually surprised Scannoir, although – they are clearly within my scope.
You’ve worked with many artists through your career. What are important factors for a collaboration to work?
I enjoy collaborations a lot. My key is – I am very flexible. 20 minute jams – check!
Endless exchange of project updates via the web – I am not getting tired!
So it’s rather dependent on the approach of my counterpart.
With Jacob Korn I was able to learn both. He is my musical mentor, now partner in our mastering venture and foremost one of my best friends, who always supported and believed in me.What you can’t foresee is, however – whether the process becomes laborsome.
I am also flexible enough to pause the concept of a big project like the 2xLP “La Deutsche Vita” with my girlfriend as Bionda e Lupo, when life (or the partner) is telling you to do so.
I am very stubborn, but it should always be fun!
Some projects take shape throughout 5 years or more. That’s fine to me. Although I am very impatient in the moment I like to realize well-drafted long-term plans.With me there is little ‘discovery’ or experimentation. But I can spend 5h on a synth looking for the desired timbre. I am aiming for well-structured ‘songs’ with a certain attitude I have in mind (I also create a folder of referencing tracks for each new song). This set of ideas interacts with the studios of my hosts.
If there is a KR-55 – “Let’s do disco, wave or minimal synth!”
101? “House time!”
303? Well, …
Any noodling that doesn’t enhance the intensity of a song will be dumped quickly. Sessions that aren’t promising, too.
Kill your darlings!
I am aiming for artistic or effective results. I don’t wanna be caught in narcissistic self-doubt. Music dictates. If I am unsure what the music is telling me – I have to learn why I don’t understand (theory, manuals, references, feedback).
What can happen after ½GOTT and GOTT. The jump into another dimension?
GOTT took more than 7 days: we happened to chat and exchange files by the web. Then it took 3 years to get together with Scannoir in Zurich. We submitted demos to Uncanny Valley after carefully considering a label that respects their artists and is trying to tighten the bond throughout an intense process beyond the necessary. UV is label that also realizes visual concepts on a ‘daily’ base (GOTT is cat. no. UV051 – all of those 51 releases with sleeve artwork).
Then – meetings with the label, a photo shooting in a 4th city (Leipzig – besides Zurich, Dresden and Berlin), the gadgets/inserts, the mastering I did and the vinyl cut I attended.So to realize a Doppelgott, BiGOTT or whatsoever – which wouldn’t be a step-down from the previous two – involves a huge demand on the label.
Since our demos are moving towards a more minimal and harder old school approach – which doesn’t necessarily fit to Uncanny Valley – we don’t know yet, where we could see this successor being released. [addendum 2025: it turned out that Reach Another System is the perfect platform for old school EBM]
However we wanna thank the UV team for believing in our vision.
It materialized! YEAH!!!!
Once again – the links of the 3 EPs for your listening pleasure:
