[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: So, thanks a lot for being here. I think you know that this interview today has been initiated by the Russian community, Dobryy vecher to Russia.
[Sven]: I have informed everybody.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Our Russian fan community and our fan club members have collected a whole bunch of pretty interesting questions, and I think we don’t have so much time, so let’s get started.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Letzte Instanz are celebrating their 20th anniversary today and you as a band are just slightly younger.
[Sven]: (Pretending to be shocked) What is that supposed to mean? (laughter shared by all)
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: I said as a band, okay?
[Sven]: Yeah, otherwise … (waving it aside)
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: How do you evaluate your success over all the past years? Are there any episodes you would like to repeat?
[Sven]: Oh, the last eight years have been pretty easygoing, definitely very relaxed. (accompanied by more laughter)
[Manuel]: No stress.
[Sven]: Does anybody like to answer? Otherwise …
[Manuel]: For us, the past ten years have rather been … as we‘ve never disbanded but haven’t released a new album either, and yes, just playing some festivals each year. That’s nice.
[Sven]: But we can say that until 2010 it could have been worse. There are many bands for whom things were going worse. There are also many for whom things were going better. (again laughter shared by all) But I think there were more for whom things were going worse, so we can be quite happy.
[Michael]: But until 2010 there was a bit more stress as well.
[Sven]: Definitely. Now it’s still going well, funnily the fees are increasing although nothing happens at all.
[Michael]: Due to inflation.
[Sven]: Yes, I see.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Now we get to the obligatory question, what will happen in the future? A lot of fans have asked, “will there be a new album?“, “will you go on tour?“; is there a ray of hope to get to hear more from you in the future?
[Sven]: Now everybody is looking at me. (with this Sven is triggering more laughter from the others)
[Manuel]: We’ll only go on tour again if there’s a new album release.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Good catchword.
[Manuel]: We’ve done that once, playing a tour without a new album, and it …
[Sven]: That’s strange somehow.
[Manuel]: Of course, our fans were there, but mmh, it does make more sense with a new release.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: New album – good catchword. There are rumours about never released songs or unfinished songs …
[Sven]: Really? (all are laughing)
[Manuel]: Norman has three albums in his drawer, Micha has one.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: Then the question would be, do you still work on it or is there any creative process going on or are there any songs in the pipeline?
[Norman]: Actually, nope, there are no more efforts to write a new album at present.
[Sven]: Well, the unreleased songs … Well, it does have a reason why they weren’t released, otherwise we’d have done so. Mostly this is rather, what – well, I mean, what didn’t make it onto the regular albums. You don’t need to release it ten years later, and everybody’s thinking, oh, now they’ve got together and really made an effort again, and then there are only the waste songs, that’s nonsense.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: You have a certain aspiration.
[Sven]: A bit, yes.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: Okay, next question: If Zeraphine had been created yesterday, what kind of music would you write and play these days?
[Sven]: None at all, right? After one day … (again, the others are laughing in agreement)
[Manuel]: We wouldn’t have any songs yet.
[Sven]: After one day we’d have had a drink together and thought about if we really wanted to do it.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Strictly speaking, there are no «newer songs» or «older songs», how do you form setlists? Do you play your favourites, or what you feel are the most popular songs, or the songs you can play best together?
[Sven]: Actually, Inga always makes the setlists.
[Norman]: Yes, that’s true. (the other band members are laughing in agreement)
[Sven]: Well, she suggests the songs she’d like to listen to …
[Norman]: … and if anybody happens to read their emails, then they approve.
[Sven]: Then they say, it‘s cool, let’s do it like this.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: And for those who don’t know, Inga is Norman’s wife.
[Sven]: Yes, exactly. No, that’s nice really, well, I mean …
[Norman]: Today we thought, let’s do, because we were on tour with Letzte Instanz for the first time with Zeraphine, let’s play some of the older songs. Then there are some songs we play because they’ve been singles or hits, and then we play what we like to play. Or if we haven’t played a song for a long time, then we play this one.
[Marcellus]: We also have some experience as to which songs are working well live and which don’t, really. It’s also about that.
[Michael]: There were times when we’ve played some songs that we don’t play very often.
[Manuel] (interposes): … that we can’t play at all.
[Sven]: Mmmh. And it was really good!
[Michael]: And they all worked pretty good.
[Sven]: Yes, at the fan club event for instance. Exactly.
[Manuel]: Yes, sometimes this is the way. Not touching a song for five years and then playing it and suddenly it works.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: You’re playing indoors, you can play all the rain songs today, right?
(remembering the rain experience with the songs there’s hearty laughter)
[Manuel]: That’s right, yes.
[Sven]: Surely there’ll be a pipe burst or some other shit …

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: So, what our fans, especially the Shadowplay fans wish for is, instead of a new album, for you to record two songs to contribute to the Shadowplay fanzines as a gimmick. Could you imagine doing something like this?
[Sven]: First of all, we’d have to write them, so …
[Norman]: Oh, imagine, yes, sure.
[Sven]: You can imagine a lot, of course.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: But you wouldn’t have to write so much, because the next question was about whether you could just release a CD with your covers. You’ve made so many covers, such as “Mr. Brightside“ and “Stella Maris“ and …
[Norman]: It’s always a bit difficult to have a CD with cover songs, because you always need the approval of the publisher for the relevant version, that’s somehow … Maybe you’re more apt to say something about this topic.
[Marcellus]: Not if it’s a cover, only if you rearrange or change it.
[Sven]: Only when you release it in Germany.
[Marcellus]: What?
[Sven]: This applies only to Germany, right? That’s a national release then.
[Marcellus]: No, not only in Germany.
[Sven]: Well, anyway, in any case …
[Marcellus]: Would be possible.
[Sven]: Yes? Would be possible.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Would be possible, great.
[Band]: (laughing) We’ll do it!
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: You’ll do it, great. Some of the fans noticed that you couldn’t play “I don’t want you in here“ in Werneuchen, if I remember it correctly.
[Sven]: There were a lot we couldn’t play there. (laugther) But there were more we could play.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Yes. But it was great for us, of course.
[Marcellus]: (pretending to be shocked) What do you mean, we couldn’t play?
[Manuel]: Werneuchen, that was this rehearsal, the public rehearsal we had …
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: The rehearsal, the public rehearsal, exactly. (laughter) No, and some remembered “I don’t want you in here“, and they really had this big request for you to play it again the way it was meant to be played and maybe make a little video? (laughter)
[Sven]: If we rehearse it again before we do this.
[Marcellus]: It was meant to be like that.
[Sven]: No, actually we wanted to stop after two beats. Three, four times. Yes, yes-yes. Well, as I said, we’re always open for funny things like that.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: Talking about the Shadowplay event, there’s going to be another one in 2019, sure.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: (chuckling) Sure.
[Sven]: Of course.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: Suppose so. Of course we’d be happy if you took part again, is there any chance that you’ll take part? There are potential dates you may be talking about.
[Sven]: We’re talking about it and haven’t decided anything yet, exactly.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Would be great if there was a double concert again, wouldn’t it?
[Sven]: Yes, we’ve talked about that the other day, yes. Let’s see what we can do. But we have to talk about this, we haven’t seen each other since you’ve brought this up, so we have to talk this over first.
[Manuel]: You see, that’s the way things are going. (laughter)
[Sven]: Exactly.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: Of course, this is linked to the wish of many fans for providing a Zeraphine live DVD, properly produced, maybe from a concert?
[Sven]: Exactly, yes.
[Michael]: We’ve thought about that for long, well, this idea, I think we’ve already had this for very a long time.
[Norman]: 1800 … yes.
[Manuel]: 1870.
[Michael]: I guess we should have done this in the past.
[Sven]: You’d need a real concert, right? For instance …
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Yes, but you could do a nice fan club concert, a full show and we do a live DVD of it. Wouldn’t be the first time with Zeraphine.
[Manuel]: And this will be our breakthrough.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: This will be your breakthrough, exactly.
[Norman]: (interposing with laughter) Like a ruptured appendix. (The others comment it with laughter)

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: So, one of the frequently asked questions of course was, what are you all doing now musically and privately, how are you? We haven’t got much information about you during the past years, so this addressed you all.
[Michael]: Oh, I’m good, I’m going to answer for all, we’re doing fine. Actually, I don’t make music a lot these days, apart from weddings and fairground events … This has happened approx. five to ten years too early, as a young musician I’d planned to make top-forty music only at the age of 40, but sometimes you already start at the age of 30. (all are laughing)
[Manuel]: This has been your goal, really?
[Michael]: Yes, that’s been my goal.
[Sven]: (laughing) Finally make money, make money at the age of 40. (more laughter)
[Norman]: Well, Sven is doing Solar Fake, I don’t know if you knew it, but …
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Thanks for the info, we’ll take it down.
[Sven]: Otherwise I’m also fine. (laughter)
[Marcellus]: (shaking his head) But otherwise I’m fine!
[Norman]: I don’t do so very much either at the moment, would be happy to change it, but at the moment I’m not so busy, what about you?
[Marcellus]: I still play with Nina Hagen as I’ve been doing for a long, long time now, we’ll be getting old together too. (again friendly laughter of the others)
[Marcellus]: But I’ve been doing this for ages, so there hasn’t changed much.
[Manuel]: Yeah, I’m writing songs for myself …
[Michael]: (interposing) Oh, that’s where the albums are stored.
[Manuel]: Yes, I’ve stored all the albums. Yes, and now and then at pubs in my district of Neukölln, apart from that I’m constructing furniture.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: A quite profound question: In what way have your views of life and life philosophy changed over the past years?
[Sven]: Yeah, you can hear this on my last Solar Fake album.
[Michael]: (interposing) You’re taking the easy way out with this remark.
[Sven]: No positive development, I have to say. Apart from that …
[Michael]: No, I think the view of life is still the same, the view of society is getting a bit more unpleasant, but that may improve again. In a 100 years or so.
[Sven]: When the rain has come, eventually.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: Would you like to attend your own concerts as a viewer, not as a musician, in order to watch your live show from another perspective?
[Norman]: Definitely.
[Marcellus]: Actually I would, I’d like to see how it sounds.
[Sven]: … or looks.
[Marcellus]: I mean, you never have the chance.
[Norman]: Maybe not watching, but listening to it …
[Marcellus]: Definitely not good.
[Sven]: Would’ve worked in the past.
[Manuel]: Maybe we could think about doubles …
[Sven]: There’s this fantastic invention of video, but it’s not the same …
[Manuel]: Didn’t the Stones do this once in order to watch themselves? And now the doubles perform their concerts? (laughter)
[Michael]: You could also go out equipped with transmitters, and then play from in front of the stage for a change.
[Sven]: Really interesting for the audience if no one is on the stage.
[Norman]: … play from catering.
[Sven]: Well, yes, the answer was yes.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: The answer was yes.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: What are your favourite songs or albums of Zeraphine?
[Norman]: Difficult. For me, it’s always the last one. Because it was there last, and was born last but of course you also like all the others before.
[Michael]: With the distance now, well, the last, the best is starting to fade now, but …
[Marcellus]: Others are coming up again and pushing to the front.
[Michael]: I think it also depends a bit on your mood each day, if you still find the CDs on the shelf.
[Sven]: Actually, in preparation for this concert I’ve listened to some tracks of “Blind Camera” again which I hadn’t listened to for ages, and I was really like, I thought, wow, cool. ‘Cause we don’t play a lot from this album live, and therefore it’s never so much on the spot, and then you listen to it again with a relatively fresh ear and you think like, wow.
[Manuel]: That’s good though, because you can be pretty relaxed, if you don’t play the stuff so often anymore, then you don’t get sick of it but you’re happy about the awesome stuff you have up your sleeves that you can simply revive again.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: So we’re back to the setlist question, right?
[Manuel]: I felt the same about “Failing Breath“, have listened to it the other day.
[Sven]: Yes, I have listened to it again too, and I also found it awesome.
[Norman]: We could’ve played it today. If we’ll wait for another 20 years, all the songs will be so awesome …
[Manuel]: You get the hint …

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: There are some personal questions from the Russian community mainly. Some of you have children, do your children like your music?
[Michael]: Well, my child likes music. I think he can’t differentiate between our music and other music yet. But I think he likes music.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: He likes music.
[Marcellus]: My children are at an age by now where everything that comes from me is totally uncool. It’s pretty much not about the band.
[Norman]: I do think so, they have to listen to it all the time … (laughter) … and I always think those tears are tears of joy. (more laughter)

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: We have another very nice question. Sven, you’re wearing tight pants these days, can you remember the “times of the long skirts”?
[All]: Yes, very well!
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Do you want to add anything?
[Sven]: Nope.
[Manuel]: Today he’s wearing them underneath.
[Sven]: I’ve had a style counselling once, and they told me it could be tighter. (Sure enough this reply again triggers laughter from the others.)

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: How important is your appearance to you now? How do you deal with getting older?
(This is followed by an unusually long, almost awkward silence.)
[Sven]: After two hair transplants … (hearty laughter) There’s virtually no vanity at all.
[Marcellus]: (thoughtful) How do we deal with getting older.
[Norman]: We don’t deal with it at all.
[Michael]: You know, M´era Luna has been recorded, and in 2003, some of the first M´era Luna had also been recorded.
[Marcellus]: And you compared it?
[Michael]: I thought maybe this would be nice, maybe you could produce a split video. (laughter)
[Marcellus]: I wouldn’t do that.
[Sven]: I wouldn’t do that either.
[Manuel]: This will be cut out now.
[Norman]: You can make a guess about what’s before and what’s after.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: We’ll make a competition about it.
[Sven]: Yes, exactly.
[Marcellus]: You see, that’s a problematic topic. (laughter)
[Sven]: We haven’t agreed on it yet.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: Who of you is the most punctual?
[Manuel]: I am. (Manuel and Marcellus are lifting their hands.)
[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: And who is always late?
[Sven]: I am always late.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: You’re always late, okay.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Nadine]: Do you have lucky charms? This is a rather short question.
[Sven]: Um, nope.
[Michael]: In my car.
[Marcellus]: You have a lucky charm in your car?
[Michael]: For driving. A “Kuschelkloß” [Translator’s note: This is a small plush toy looking like a fluffy little ball with button eyes.]
[Marcellus]: No?!
[Michael]: Yes, I can only recommend them, they are the best lucky charms.
[Manuel]: And where do you have it?
[Michael]: At the rear-view mirror.
[Marcellus]: Blocking your view at the critical moment … It was the Kuschelkloß …
[Norman]: … in case something happens … (laughter)

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Now there’s the usual question: Do you have any anecdotes, funny stories which you’ve already told a hundred times, and would gladly tell again?
[Michael]: Well, back then … (the others are laughing)
[Manuel]: Micha knows them all.
[Sven]: He’s the only one who can still remember.
[Norman]: Don’t know if I want Micha to tell …
[Michael]: No, the things you could tell, the interesting things, you won’t tell of course.
[Sven]: You can’t tell. That’s too bad always.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Pity!
[Michael]: Well, at least not without any alcohol involved.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Oh, we can change that, we’ll manage.
[Sven]: Difficult. Oh, surely there are lots and lots of things.
[Manuel]: Back then, when we were on tour, we filmed part of it, so if …
[Sven]: I still remember that someone puked on your pants on one occasion.
[Manuel]: And I still remember who it was, but I won’t tell now. It was …, that’s true. (overall laughter)
[Marcellus]: An anecdote that doesn’t hurt anybody is that we once had a sold out concert in Berlin, and I was in Italy, in Rome, and then the airline suddenly wasn’t there anymore.
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Wasn’t there anymore?
[Marcellus]: Yeah, well, I was in Rome and the airline wasn’t there anymore, and then we talked on the phone very often, “I think, I’ll make it still“, and “Mmh, we’re going to set up your stuff in the meantime“ …
[Sven]: It was hell. That wasn’t a funny anecdote.
[Marcellus]: In retrospect it was funny.
[Sven]: Really? I still start sweating immediately.
[Michael]: Since then he’s wearing tight trousers. (laughter)
[Marcellus]: Actually, the airline had gone broke that day, and we were sitting in this waiting room and then eventually the personnel slipped off, our luggage had already been checked in and everything, and then suddenly they just went away. Eventually, after an hour we started to search, and all their counters were empty, the computer cables were pulled, and then the AllItalia personnel said, “They don’t exist anymore“, and then we ran out and just got the last flight, and then we just managed to get there in time and play. That was good.
[Manuel]: At one time, we were marooned at a MediaMarkt with our bus, because someone had left the heating on in the bathroom, and this had drained the battery.
[Marcellus]: Was it the same person who puked on your pants?
[Manuel]: No, it wasn’t.
[Michael]: The bus driver?
[Sven]: (repeating with a laugh) The bus driver!
[Manuel]: Exactly, you had to go somewhere …
[Marcellus]: Yes.
[Manuel]: And somebody took you to the train, but the train didn’t go or had already left, and then you had to come back, and if we hadn’t been trapped in the underground parking, we wouldn’t have been there still, so this all made sense.
[Marcellus]: This is why I’d left the light on.
[Manuel]: And it was winter, we were all with blankets in the bus, because there was not heating anymore of course, because no battery.
[Michael]: But we had McDonald’s food.
[Norman]: You do remember a lot …

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Finally one more: Is there a question you’d really like to answer but that’s never asked?
[Sven]: Yes, whether we can remember funny stories that happened to us in the past. (hearty laughter from all)
[Michael]: You’ve made it now.
[Manuel]: Why do your looks don’t reveal that you’re getting older? (the laughter gets louder)
[Marcellus]: How do you do this?
[Norman]: Exactly, this would be the question.
[Sven]: Yes, very nice.

[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: Well, as we’re running out of time, thank you very much again also on behalf of Shadowplay. At the moment there’s not so much to report about you, but of course we’d be happy to get information about any solo projects, just let us know, we’ll report about them, and now we have decided that there will be a CD, there will be an event next year with you, so all that is …
[Band]: CD, DVD, everything …
[Shadowplay e. V. / Claudia]: With this in mind, many thanks and have a lot of fun during your gig.
[Band]: Thank you!