EMQ’s with KOLLAPS
EMQ’s with KOLLAPS
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with Australian Post-Industrial project, Kollaps. Huge thanks to main main Wade Black for taking part.
What is your name, what do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My name is Wade Black. I write the songs in Kollaps and play various instruments, so I would presume that most would recognise my position in the band of that as a “producer”.
The band has a rich history of touring and things spiralling out of control regularly yet somehow it perseveres, and I hope that this is the dismay of money. I would be quite disappointed of the band was viewed as anything other than a plague, or a blight.
How did you come up with your band name?
Well, I had very little time to come up with something that had any true meaning and so I decided on the name “Kollaps”, which as you may know is a very revered record by the pioneering Industrial band Einsturzende Neubauten. For many years I considered this a mistake as by my own hand I had unwittingly placed myself in the shadow of giants however in recent times I feel like the band has grown into the name and we’ve become so distinct with our own sound and message that it does not bother me so much. I also feel that Industrial music has some kind of duty to speak about society, the ever disintegrating world around us and personal turmoil, and this kind of very real world, dark subject matter and so the word “Kollaps”, or “collapse” in English poses various questions and suggests a state of being or set of circumstances that I find to be quite succinct and accurate about my personal worldview. So now I’ve become quite fond of the name once again.
What Country/Region are you from and what is the Metal/Rock scene like there?
I am from Australia, and I now live in Italy. I hate the majority of metal and rock music so I would have absolutely no idea, I’m afraid. I live in the forest in a town in Switzerland called Lugano and mostly I do my best to ignore people until it is time for me to me to be shipped around in a van on tour.
What is your latest release?
Our latest release will be out on June 24 via Cold Spring Records. It is called “Until The Day I Die”. Kollaps is also releasing a self-produced video called “I Believe In The Closed Fist”.
Who have been your greatest influences?
My greatest influences are non-musical. I take great influence from the world around me, conversations, history, my emotions. Ideas and impressions of the world bleed and seeps into the music.
What first got you into music?
When I realised the profound effect that it has had on me and others; I began to value it as a very powerful medium of expression. As a listener and consumer of music I have to say I do not have many interesting stories to tell you about that.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician, who would it be?
Rectal Hygienics or DUMA.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
Roskilde Festival. Because we are playing there, and it will be hideous.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
I received a beautiful and unexpected gift from a Japanese fan who flew all the way to Copenhagen to see Kollaps. It was drawings of myself and the band. I was very moved and taken back by this.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Do not listen to your friends and family.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Oh, surely we could use the power of resurrection on someone more interesting? But under the circumstances that it had to be a rock star, I would evoke this divine incantation on Jim Morrison.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
The freedom to my ideas as I wish and to talk about the world strictly as I see it means a lot to me and is something that I appreciate greatly about the path that I have chosen. In saying that, being a musician often puts me in contact with human beings and I find this probably to be the most negative aspect as I often find myself quite over socialised.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I actually love that the music industry is completely insane and dysfunctional and toxic. I would probably make it worse if I could by taking more money off musicians and donating it to Spotify.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
“Even The Flies Won’t Touch You” by Rectal Hygienics
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs, or Downloads?
I like vinyl because I’m a c**t and a hipster.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
I love performing at Wroclaw Industrial Festival in 2018 but I would say also that Roadburn Festival in 2022 was also a wonderful experience.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
Well it is fortunate that I enjoy being a musician as I feel, and I often tell people, that I had no other choice in the matter and so truly I do not think there is another universe where my life had the potential to turn out in a different way.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
No one famous or of culturally historical significance.
What’s next for the band?
Our new album “Until The Day I Die” will be released via Cold Spring on June 24.
What Social Media/Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
www.facebook.com/kollapsmusic
www.instagram.com/kollapsmusic
Jaffa Cakes! Are they a cake or a biscuit?
I have no fucking idea what that is!
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Thank you for taking the time.
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