Click Interview with Intent:Outtake : ‘I’m afraid of the future and a third world war.’
Set up in 2014 by Leipziger (Germany) duo Andreas Engleitner (vocals) and Bastian Polak (machines) Intent:Outtake this year released their fifth full length album. It’s their second opus released by Scanner / Dark Dimensions. “Der Stille Tod” is mixing Dark-Electronics and EBM but it first of all is an intelligent album composed by a band with an own sound and approach while they’re dealing with serious, social, topics. I’d a chat with both members.
(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: “Der Stille Tod” is your fifth album to date. What have been the triggers and sources of inspiration to compose this album? And in which way did you’d to adapt yourself in the production of the work because of Covid-19?
Bastian: As with our previous albums, we were again inspired by what is happening in the world. Every day we see how mankind abolishes itself piece by piece, oppresses itself and annihilates itself. Be it the stupidity of the media, or the power of our elites. We want to push our listeners to think and open their eyes. This is our contribution to making the world a little better. Covid-19 really slowed us down, because we felt we could not perform for 2 years and couldn’t carry our message to the world. But it also gave us time to think and be creative.
Andreas: There is little to add to this, apart from the fact that, in my opinion, social problems have increased quite sharply during and after Covid-19. Other opinions are no longer tolerated. The division of society is advancing. In the meantime you actually have to analyze every word carefully before you pronounce it, so that you don’t get put in a drawer that you don’t want to get into.
Q: Can you give us more details about the writing- and the sound creation of the album? Was there something like a plan and/or specific aspects you wanted to achieve?
Bastian: There’s never a plan, but the themes usually revolve around society and the system that tries to shape us. I usually get the demo songs from Andreas and let the mood of the songs guide me. We always try to take the listener on a journey to our worries and fears. But we also talk a lot about solidarity and courage.
Andreas: As Bastian has already said, I compose the songs and send him the demos for which he writes the lyrics. For some songs the lyrics are also written by me. On the last album there were three songs I wrote the lyrics for. With these songs I usually already have a singing melody in my mind.
Q: The title of the album but also its front cover are quite explicit. What did you try to express and what does it reveal about your perception of the world and times we’re living in?
Bastian: I think we live in a world where the poor get poorer and the rich keep getting richer. Where great powers get more and more powerful and we are exploiting our planet more and more. I’m afraid of all these changes and I’m afraid of the future and a third world war. That’s the reason for the album title “Der Stille Tod” (German for “The Silent Death“). It has two meanings: 1. That death comes quietly to us bit by bit. 2. That it is the death of silence and nothing remains when you pass away (except the sound).
Andreas: Mankind is not created for peace or for harmonious coexistence. We encounter this gloomy realization every day when we look at world events, and often even in our immediate surroundings. The computation and the supposed intelligence make humans a very dangerous species. Mostly for themselves. It sounds bitter, but a walk through the world with open eyes shows very quickly that there isn’t much hope.
Q: The song “Tic Toc Tod” must be your biggest hit so far but also a track revealing interesting lyrics dealing about social media. Considering social media often are artist’s ‘best friends’, how do you experience the evolution of social media and its users?
Bastian: I think we live in a time of self-actors. Everyone wants to be the most beautiful and the best. But we forget the one essential thing in the world. Love. It scares me how we’re silently staring at our displays like zombies and how the world around us is lost. But maybe it’s just what’s wanted.
Andreas: “Tic Toc Tod” is one of the songs that I wrote including the lyrics. Social media is both a curse and a blessing. For artists and many other professions, it has never been easier to reach people, which in my opinion is a great advantage. However, it has never been so easy for level-headed people to spread their stupidity and earn money. Uninhibited and unashamed, these influencers drop their mental and sometimes also physical shells. In addition, there are the people who look at this dirt and with their clicks provide ample supply in this area. Anyone can get rich, the message is that simple. It becomes dangerous because it is human nature to be more successful and better than others. You want to outdo others. So the content of many influencers will not gain in quality, but will plunge into the bottomless.
Q: You recently achieved a small tour in Germany so how did the audience react to the new songs? And tell us a bit more about the preparation of live shows and how do you transpose the songs from the studio to the stage?
Bastian: Yes, our little tour was a complete success. You just notice that people have missed going to concerts again and our new songs were very well received. Playing live is of course always something special, especially if you had to pause for 2 years. We always try to offer our fans something visual. That’s why there’s always something for the eye at our concerts. Light and video shows, fog cannons and stage decorations tailored to our lyrics.
Q: Are you already working on new songs and what brings the nearly future considering remixes, singles/EP’s, eventually new clips and live performances?
Bastian: Personally, I am always working on some lyrics and soon we will work on new things for Intent:Outtake. After such an album production and tour, I always have to gather myself a bit and recharge my batteries. We played a big festival in Germany (Mera Luna) and in November we’re going to Finland. We really hope to be able to play in the U.S., but there are plans already. So stay tuned!
Andreas: I almost always have ideas for songs or melodies. I get these ideas in my everyday life and I have to capture them. I then pick them up in a production. Yes, of course it will continue. Precise information on releases is not available yet, but we keep working. As Bastian says, we will be playing at three festivals this year, the Mera Luna, the Hellsinki Industrial Festival and the Dark Storm in Chemnitz for Christmas. Next year we want to play a few shows abroad
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