Rockezine.com interview with Dossche on Aug 20, 2003

with Guido Dossche on Aug 20, 2003

After the new CD "Existenz" it`s time to ask frontman Guido Dossche some questions.
		Can you give us a short introduction of your band? These days Dossche consists of 5 musicians and Guido Dossche, (that’s me) the singer. Drummer Stefanel of Wondabraa, on keyboards Colognes newest electro-wiz Eberhard Arctic, on bass Alexander Börner and the two guitarists Christian and Alex from The Wildflowers.
		Why is the band name based on the name of the singer, instead of creating a new name, so every member of the band is left in his value? The reason for this is not anything like arrogance or narcissism, but it is my project, existing even before the band started. We have had different musicians on nearly every instrument and it’s me who chooses the song material, who writes the lyrics and who leads the band in the direction it moves. This does not mean that the members don’t have any value, they are very important for the idea, but I keep it together and going.
		Your album Existenz reminded me of that other Strange Ways band, Schock. Can you find yourself in reference to that band? I just listened to the Schock’s track “Tanz”. Okay, they use guitars as well, the lyrics are dark as well, and they are signed to Strange Ways/Zeitbombe as well. However, I do not see more parallels between the two bands, sorry.
		How’s the relationship between your band and other bands on SW? I know the name of the bands, I listen to their material, I check the covers and I would like to do something like a label tour, maybe three bands that fit together, to be able to play in bigger venues. But, I don’t know them personally.
		Why are there two remixes on the record (“Schwarz Ist Der Tag” & “Blau”)? “Blau” is a remix of a song from our first album. This song always meant a lot to me, because it deals with the death of my mother. And because this theme still works in me, I wanted to express it in a different way than the first version, which was very moody and calm. “Schwarz Ist Der Tag” of course means the day is dark/black. It’s something like my personal philosophy, therefore it had to appear in two different versions on the album. I love the lyrics.
		You appear to be working with quite some musicians on Existenz. Why choose for such a messy line-up instead of a concrete foundation of musicians? It’s based on the thought that different tracks and different statements need different people to give them a face. Every mood consists of different elements, and I believe that not every mood needs the same ingredients. Therefore, I choose different people. By the way, drummer Stefanel and bass player Alexander are with me from the first moment of Dossche. That’s the base.
		Can you tell me something about “Dreiklangsdimensionen”? “Dreiklangsdimensionen” is a song from the early eighties. It was a big hit in Germany during the so-called ‘Neue Deutsche Welle’. I always liked this song a lot and for the last 3 years we performed it live as an encore. People came up and asked me; why we don’t you release it on record. So we did...
		Are there specific songs of the album which you particularly like? Which ones? Or why not? I like most of them – these days –, “Ich Bin Gott” and “Tanz Mit Mir”. “Ich Bin Gott” deals with people who destroy other people, because they don’t care at all about the fact that individuals are created equally. Maybe it deals with the fact of suffering from being equal and the longing of being somebody. “Tanz Mit Mir” is a sad song. It deals with relationships and the impossibility of listening to each other. We don’t really listen to our closest friends and we don’t care. We just interact sometimes very rudely and suffer from being isolated; a very important theme in the world today.
		Anything REZ forgot to ask? Last words, things you need to shout out? I hope we did a good job on this album; it comes from the deepest grounds of my heart. If you get the chance to see the band live, we don’t mind if you drop by...anytime.
(Eelco )