{"id":18328,"date":"2020-03-16T12:17:27","date_gmt":"2020-03-16T11:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/?p=18328"},"modified":"2023-10-30T22:03:57","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T21:03:57","slug":"interview-invisible-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elgarajedefrank.es\/en\/interview-invisible-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Invisible Limits"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was really surprised when I saw that the Wikipedia page of Invisible Limits was only in Spanish, but I realized that it was a proof of the fame of the German band in Spain. Some groups are big in Japan, others in our country. We have talked with <\/span><\/strong>Marion<\/span><\/strong> K\u00fcchenmeister, singer and leader of Invisible Limits: they will be celebrating their 35-year career with some very special concerts. The tour will stop in Spain: the 12th of June in Madrid and the 13th in Valencia.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014<\/span><\/strong>The band started in 1985, Marion what can you tell us about those beginnings?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>Yes, we started in 1985 with four musicians: Ralf P. Schauf (Bass), Andreas K\u00fcchenmeister (Drums), Thomas L\u00fcdke (Keyboard) and me as vocalist. Together we recorded the first two Maxi-Singles which were very successful in the German Wave-Scene.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas left the band one year later in 1986 after he produced Push!<\/em>\u00a0as a solo project (The Invincible Limit<\/strong>, later renamed to The Invincible Spiri<\/strong>t when he left the band). He wanted to go with a harder EBM style which was not compatible with the direction that Invisible Limit<\/strong>s wanted to follow: more melodic and with guitars. Due to these musical differences, he decided to leave the band and we continued alone with our more melodic Wave Style. Later we left Last Chance and got in contact with our new label Fun Factory! Together, we produced all following Invisible Limits<\/strong> albums and many singles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>What were your influences back in the day? I read that listening to the song \u201cFade to Grey\u201d was an important moment of your life.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>When I was 16 in the early \u201980s I was fascinated by the new electronic sounds, until then I was listening to The Alan Parson’s Project<\/strong>, David Bowie<\/strong> and Jean-Michel Jarre<\/strong>. But then I found bands like ABC<\/strong> and DAF<\/strong>. The New German Wave in that time had a deep influence on me. \u201cFade to Grey\u201d for me was the perfect song in those days, I love the melody, the emotion in the song and the production. I think I heard the song more than 100 times per day. It was an important time for me, I went to the clubs for dancing and found Joy Division<\/strong>, Anne Clark<\/strong>, Siouxsie,<\/strong> etc. That was like a \u201clittle wonderland\u201d for me and my friends. There, my best friend Micha brought me in contact with Andreas and Ralf who wanted to start a band.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>Demand for Supply<\/em>, the band\u2019s first album from 1987, is also the darkest of all the albums \"\"(from the cover of the album to the sound of some songs), don\u2019t you think?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>We produced our first album with Micki Meuser, who had already worked with quite a few successful German bands from the early \u201980s (Die \u00c4rzte<\/strong>, Ideal<\/strong>, etc.). We needed some help to find the right sound for our songs when we started to work with the MPC 60 and our AKAI-Keyboards. Together with Micki we created the sound of Demand for Supply<\/em>. In 1987, most of the journalists did not understand our kind of music, they had no label for us. I think we have the most powerful songs on that album, that\u2019s why I like to play them in our live set.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>A Conscious State<\/em>, the band’s second album from 1989, with songs like “Golden Dreams”, “Natalie\u2019s” and the Joy Division\u2019s cover song, is considered by a lot of fans to be your best album. What do think that made that album so special?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>This album has a very clear and unique sound, that together with our emotional songwriting became a very \u201calternate popular\u201d sound. We worked in this album with Janez Kriszay (producer of Laibach<\/strong>) and we did a lot of work over months in different studios. In Germany our version of \u201cLove Will Tear Us Apart\u201d was very successful, I did not expect that, it was really a surprise. Later we published the album in Spain with KONG-Records and we started to play concerts in Spain. And something what I\u2019m really proud of: This album is still in the clubs after 32 years\u2014this is unbelievable \ud83d\ude03.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>Was it difficult to approach such a great and anthemic song (Love Will Tear Us Apart)?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>First, we performed the song live in our concerts, it was the last song we played. The people loved it and we celebrated Joy Division<\/strong> by singing the chorus together. So, our label had the idea to record it for a single\u2014which was really a great idea because it turned very successful in Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014<\/span><\/strong>In your third album Familiar! <\/em>(from 1991),<\/em>\u00a0the band worked with the famous producer John Fryer. How was working with him? Were you happy with the result?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>John Fryer<\/strong> creates his own atmosphere in his productions like he also did in our songs. We were very creative during the recording sessions: \u201cMoments\u201d was an incredible experience with lots of vocals-layers and many tracks. In 1991, we had no digital recording, so it was really hard to create this choir-sound with one microphone on the mixing desk. Of course, that album was a huge break from A Conscious State<\/em> in terms of sound, and today I still think that maybe it was a mistake to change the IL<\/strong>-sound like this. On the other hand, we have songs like \u201cA Message,\u201d \u201cLiars\u201d and \u201cInsight\u201d which I think are great. This album takes some time to love it but, in the end, it touches you very deeply. This is the \u201cJ<\/span>ohn Fryer-effect.\u201d It was a real pleasure to work with him, he was really cool and very creative with our songs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>Ralf P. Schauf and J\u00fcrgen Jaeger left the band before Violence <\/em>(from 1993), right? Was it difficult to make the album without them? Who helped doing it?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>Yes, we played a fantastic tour together and had our first concerts in Spain which were an adventure for us. But the pressure was too high, we had a lot of work to do. Ralf decided to go back to his hometown to take over his family\u2019s vineyard, and until now he is still producing one of the best white wines you can get in Germany. Later on, J\u00fcrgen got a very good offer from another successful band and decided to change. So, since 1993 and until now Andreas and I are running Invisible Limits<\/strong> alone. Anyway, we wrote most of the songs of Invisible Limits<\/strong>, and we found some guest musicians for the concerts.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the Violence<\/em> production, Len Davies, who was working with Alien Sex Fiend<\/strong> at that time, Andy Faulconer and Nigel Butler helped us with the studio work. Darrin Huss from Psyche<\/strong> was singing with me on some songs too. Until today we have a very good friendship with Ralf and last year on tour, I met J\u00fcrgen again too.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>I read that the band had problems with the label SPV, can you please tell us more about\"\" this?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>No, that was not only SPV, we had more problems with Fun Factory! instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

We changed to SVP and they wanted to turn Invisible Limits<\/strong> into a more commercial \u201cproduct.\u201d They really forced us to produce Violence<\/em> in a Euro-Dance style. I did not want that because I knew that if we change our sound so drastically, we will end up losing our scene, our public. But they didn\u2019t want to give up that idea, so I had to say: \u201cI don\u2019t want to do that with Invisible Limits<\/strong>.\u201d Finally, they took the name Invisible 2<\/strong>\u00a0instead for that \u201cEuro-sound.\u201d The remixes were made by Andreas K\u00fcchenmeister in the studio, who became an excellent producer over the years.<\/span><\/p>\n

The album Violence<\/em> was really successful in Argentina\u2014so, the album was at least worth the \u201cfight\u201d (to call it somehow). We had a really interesting time in South America.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>Was it during this time that you discovered the Peruvian Caj\u00f3n, used in the following record? How did you come across this instrument?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>Yes, we discovered the Caj\u00f3n during our stay in Argentina in the \u201990s. It was a birthday present from me. Andreas took some classes and played it later live on stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>I read a lot about your album from 2005: that it was the final album (as the title seems to suggest), that it contained unpublished songs from 1993 to the date. Can you tell me if any of these statements is right?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>We called it The Final Album<\/em> because we wanted to publish all the songs we made during the \u201990s and which were too \u201cunderground\u201d for SPV to publish them. After this experience with SPV, we quit our relationship with our label Fun Factory! and decided to do everything by our own. We published the CD, we were on tour with Psyche<\/strong> and we started to play in Spain again. The digital times were taking off, so we created our homepage back in 2001. A bit later, we also started with all this social media stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

We thought it might be our \u201cfinal album\u201d but, on the contrary, we were much busier than ever before. In 2005, we played our so-called final concert (which was a pun using the name of the album) and we celebrated \u201c20 years Invisible Limits\u201d with a legendary concert in Bochum, with many guests and former band members on stage like Ralf and J\u00fcrgen, even Thomas was invited to sing the two songs that we recorded together back in 1985. Darrin Huss was there too, and our son Max played the guitar with 17 years! He has stayed since then as the guitarist of Invisible Limits<\/strong> and he really does a really good job in our actual concerts! It was really the beginning of a new dawn for Invisible Limits<\/strong>, and not \u201cthe final of everything.\u201d We just moved on with Invisible Limits<\/strong> until today with our \u201c35-Year Celebration Tour\u201d in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>Were you into Buddhism at the time? Did you change your names to Assema & Basera? How did this influence your music?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>Andreas and I had a period of finding ourselves through meditation and self-inquiry, which was not religious at all. Eventually we found some silence and we were open for new ideas and collaborations with other musicians. On our Final Album,<\/em> we emphasized that in the songs; we worked with very different musicians in the production and, as I told before, on stage with our guests.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014As you said, y<\/span><\/strong>ou play with your son Max on guitar. When did he become part of the band? He also has a <\/b><\/span>band called Glass Promises, right?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>We involved Max very early in our band. His first concert with us was in 2004, where he played some keyboards. Meanwhile he became a really good musician. He loves the original guitar sounds from the \u201980s and he fits perfectly for Invisible Limits<\/strong>. About his band, yes, he is also a great singer\/songwriter and plays acoustic guitar. He will record his second own album later this year. When I listen to his songs, I feel extremely proud. You know, first of all, I\u2019m his mother. \ud83d\ude02<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>Is it difficult to play in a band that is also a family?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>I am used to playing with friends and family and I still do it. It\u2019s much easier and it gives me more confidence in everything. Andreas now is not interested in playing live anymore, but he is still a member of Invisible Limits.<\/strong> We decide everything together concerning the business and music of Invisible Limits<\/strong>, and I go on tour with the current lineup. Currently, I am working on a new album and we also discuss every new song.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>Marion, you also had a side project, called Mari Chrome with one album released: Georgy # 11811<\/em>. What can you tell us about this project?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>Mari Chrome<\/strong> was an experience with my friend Kai Otte, a very good and very talented German composer and musician. I loved his songs and so I wrote the lyrics and created, like always, the vocals. John Fryer<\/strong> was mixing the tracks in his studio and Alfa Matrix in Belgium was interested in the album and finally published it. I am still very thankful for this.<\/span><\/p>\n

We did not go on stage nor produced a second album because the style of the new songs turned into a direction which is not mine: too gothic and EBMish. So, I decided not to produce a second album with Mari Chrome<\/strong>. But I am a singer and as such I worked in many more projects, not only with Invisible Limits<\/strong>. Modern Slaves<\/strong> is a collaboration with Jos\u00e9 Luis Mac\u00edas (Comit\u00e9 Cisne<\/strong>, Ultima Emoci\u00f3n<\/strong>, Inhumanos<\/strong>, etc.) and Salva Ortiz (Armas Blancas<\/strong>, Presuntos Implicados<\/strong>, etc.) from Valencia, with a post-punk-new-romantic style. We published a small EP called Second Life<\/em>, which I really love. I think (and hope) we will be publishing more songs soon in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014<\/span><\/strong>Even in your web, there is a mention of the band\u2019s fame in Spain. You have also played here a lot of times in the past years here. Any special anecdote of your concerts or relation with Spain you want to share with us?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>I remember one of our first concerts in Spain, in Murcia around 1989. Our soundcheck was at 11 p.m. in the club and nobody was there. Showtime was very late at 3 a.m., what is very unusual in Germany. So, we went back to the hotel, very sad because nobody was there, no one was waiting in front of the club and we thought no one was coming to see us. And what a surprise when we came back 3 hours later: the club was full of people: Sold out! I will never forget this feeling, in Spain with our music and everybody knew us. We learned that party time in Spain is very different than in Germany. \ud83d\ude02<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014As you have already said, you<\/span><\/strong> have worked with Darrin Huss from Psyche a few times: he worked on Violence<\/em>, in the Soft Cell\u2019s cover of “Torch” and also did some remixes. How did you meet him?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>I know Darrin since 1991, he traveled with us as a friend on our \u201cFamiliar Tour\u201d in Germany. Later in 2002 we were together with our \u201cLegends United Tour\u201d and also since a few years we are playing triple concerts in Germany together with No More<\/strong>. We became close friends with a lot of respect for each other. He is a kind of \u201csoul brother\u201d for me, we are giggling like kids when we are together. It\u2019s not very professional but, in our age, we should not take everything so serious. We try to have as much fun as we can. In the end, that is what it\u2019s all about: having fun with friends and music.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>The third part of your remix album from 2018 it is called Remixes from Spain<\/em>, with remixes made by Spanish artists. Apart from Interfront, who else was involved in this? How did you have the idea of a full collection of only Spanish remixes?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>The 3 parts belong together, we will publish all parts in one Remix Collection<\/em> middle this year. There are more remixes on the way from some more bands and I will publish one or two new Invisible Limits<\/strong> song as well. I really like it when other bands and musicians work with our songs to make their own versions and remixes. This is very exciting for us. It\u2019s an honor and a pleasure when other musicians want to remix our songs. It\u2019s something we are very proud of.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some other bands included in the collection are: No More<\/strong>, \u00daltimo Destino<\/strong>, The Eternal Afflict<\/strong>, Per-Anders Kurenbach<\/strong>, Psyche<\/strong>, Len Davies<\/strong>, EGOamp<\/strong> and many more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>What are the band\u2019s plans for the future? Any new album in the making?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>We are working on a new album, and we expect to release our first song in a few weeks. We go on tour to celebrate \u201c35Years Invisible Limits\u201d in Germany and Spain. Since 2020 we are working with Sturm Promotion in the management and booking side, so we expect to have much more work than ever. The first dates in Spain are already fixed: 12th of <\/span>June in Madrid, where we have been in 2005 for the last time and 13th of June in Valencia. Also, we are planning concerts in Murcia, Tarragona, Alicante and Barcelona for October and December.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is like it always has been: Once we start new things everything starts growing and we are always surprised about this feedback coming from everywhere. Even after all these years the fans are still there (and new young ones too). It\u2019s very satisfying.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong>What can we expect of the band\u2019s Spanish tour?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span><\/strong><\/b>The band comes with 3 musicians: Javier Coloma, our sound engineer is on the keyboards, Max on the guitar and me on the mic.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have a very good live set, we are playing songs from every album, we have a very powerful sound with new versions and new arrangements, and together with Max on live guitar it will be an emotional experience. We invite everyone to join us through this journey. It\u2019s going to be a big party, celebrating life, friendship and the music of the \u201980s. In the end, that is all that matters.<\/span><\/p>\n