Leaether Strip

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I am happy to bring an interview with Claus of Leæther Strip to you all. Yep you guessed it... it's me, your friendly neighbour Zeph. Claus has been such a sweetheart in doing this interview with me and is a talent to be reckoned with. Most definitely has staying power as he has proven. Read on and find out more about the awesomeness that is Leæther Strip

How did you come up with the name of your band, Leæther Strip?
- "It wasn't all that special really. The first name I chose for my new project was "Strip", because it's a word that attracts peoples attention. But my friends kept telling me that everyone would think it was a Striptease act. I didn't see anything wrong in that really but I got the idea of putting Leather in front of it to give a pinch of rough. Then I added the Danish letter, the A and the E put together. Then I had a logo. The funny thing was that I was contacted by a really nasty Men?s magazine called "Rapport" when my first concert in Copenhagen was announced. They asked if they could shoot some pictures and video of this S/M Strip show. I almost thought about saying yes and then add some S/M soft porn to the show. To take a piss in them, but sadly there wasn't time."

When was Leæther Strip formed and what inspired you to create the band?
- "It's all a result of a hate towards the music business. Since 1982 I had been involved with different people and some major record companies. I left all the projects because of a lack of passion for the music and after a little while the companies started to manipulate the projects into something I didn't like. I then finally decided to go my own way, to leave everyone behind and stop all the teenage dreams of fame and fortune. It wasn't something I wanted anyway. My dream was simply to be respected for my music and to get a deal with an underground label. From the very start I would only sign with a label that would give me total artistic freedom. People said that it would never happen, but I proved them wrong. I mailed two demo tapes out, 'The pleasure of penetration' and both labels wanted me. That was something I throw into the faces of all the disbelievers.
I still work the same way today. Total freedom or I'm off."

Tell us about your unique style of music and who are your major influences?
- "Our scene is sadly very small still. The listeners are very critical and there are a lot of musicians among the fans. I don't think there are any scene where the fans are more dedicated then the electronic underground scene. It might be the smallest scene but it's been here since the synth became a musical tool anyone could afford. I was into the music the first time I listened to Fad Gadget's 'Back to Nature' single I bought because I liked the cover. I had no idea what it was then, but I was hooked right away. I guess you can say a lot of my influences are the old school bands from back then. I grew up on Glam-rock then punk then the New wave electronic bands and the whole New Romantic scene. I love the analogue moog sounds and I also use some classical elements. A lot of my songs are upbeat and the bass lines are always very important to me. I usually start every song with the bass line. I was a dancing fool in the 80's so maybe that why. I always loved to dance really. So there are also some elements of dance music in some of my songs. I try not to give myself any borders on the type of influences I get. It's what makes it all interesting and I am still very hungry to go the studio every morning."

What sort of equipment do you use in the making of your music?
- "In the old days it was me, a Moog prodigy, a cheap drum machine, and a double tape recorder. I worked hard then to make money to buy more equipment and I never sold any of the old stuff. After I got my Com64 and Steinberg's first midi sequencer something great happened. I now could put the music I had in my head into something real. I ended up with a quite ok studio. Lots of different synths taking up most of the space in my tiny one room apartment. After I got signed I used all my royalties to make the studio better. Then in 98/99 Zoth Ommog didn't think they needed to pay me and I lost most of the studio. That was the start of the worst time of my life. Friends I loved and I thought were on my side turned into monsters and I lost faith in music too. So now I work mainly with Software and thanks to the fantastic programmers out there, I could afford to start again back in 2005."

Does Leæther Strip play live? If so what are your favourite venues? If not then do you plan to do so in the future?
- "I haven't done a show since 1994. It was never in the cards for me to play live. As I am the one guy in the band and I didn't know anyone around here who could help me. There was also NO support at all from Zoth Ommog to go on tour. But the demand got so huge that I had to tour a few times. I am really happy I did because it was fantastic to actually meet the people, face to face. It was hard as hell because we had to do everything ourselves. I lost a lot of money even though the tours were almost sold out. The grabbing hand... But I want to do it again. I just need to solve some health issues first. I can't go on a sit-down tour can I? I still have so many great memories of those shows and they all took me in with open arms. I'll never forget that, so I hope one day I will go on a massive tour worldwide. To give my thanks. One thing that?s holding me back too is the financial side of it. The massive sales problems in the scene are really hurting everyone, and going on the road is expensive. So if people want their favourite bands to tour they need to stop stealing the music and start paying. They are killing the scene."

What has been your biggest challenge with Leæther Strip so far?
- "To come back in 2005 after my total breakdown. I thought the listeners had forgotten me totally. But they were all waiting for me. I don't think you would see that in any other scene. The listeners waited for five years without any news. So I can't thank them enough. I got my music and my mental health back. My partner Kurt got his Claus back too. I was just a heavy bag of stones to carry around really, so it was tough on him too. The next challenge will hopefully be to find a keyboard player to help me and the finances to go on the road."

What are some of the highlights of Leæther Strip and what are your goals for the future, such as where do you hope to be with Leæther Strip five years from now?
- "The day I held 'Japanese bodies 12"' in my hand. My dream was fulfilled. I still get that feeling of total bliss when I hold a new release in my hands for the first time. It?s unbeatable. The biggest highlight is maybe that I am still here writing my music, and getting told by the listeners that I inspired them in some way. It doesn't get any bigger than that. My goals would be to be a part of saving our wounded scene. I think it can be done if the people really knew how badly the situation is. Every single CD and ticket sold means something in this scene, and every song downloaded and stolen from the internet is another nail in the coffin. Our scene needs first aid now. What a sad place it would be without the underground music scene. I know you feel the same way, so spread the word! Also I want to write the perfect song, and re-mix a Depeche Mode song for a DM release, Having Alan Wilder to re-mix one of my songs; he's the best damn producer / soundmaker in the world. Doing a song together with Marc Almond. Oh I almost forgot, and Giving Daniel Miller a BIG BEAR KISS, for starting Mute Records."

Are you currently working on or planning any new releases?
- "Since 2005 I haven't stopped writing really. So I'm always working on something new. I will be dong a soundtrack for an indie American horror/thriller, finally it happened. One more dream fulfilled. I can't tell you much yet but it will be a full length album and not just another boring soundtrack. I wanted to create a soundtrack that would be able to have a life on its own. The movie script is fantastic so I can't wait for the movie to be finished. They say early 09. And the soundtrack should be out the same time, on Alfa Matrix as my other stuff. I am also in the middle of re-working songs for 'Retention no2'. I am, as we speak, giving "Antius" an acid treatment. There are also songs brewing for the next Strip album. Working title for that is 'Angelmaker' after the only female mass murderer in Denmark. She was called "Englemagersken", really nasty, but also a sad story."

What are your views on the current Industrial/Electro scenes?
- "It's still here and there are great bands still. But, the labels are dying out and the ones that are left aren't taking any chances on new talent. They can't because of the piracy. So I'll say it again. Stop the piracy. We're too small a scene to handle it without your help."

What are your views on collaborations and do you have any collaborations coming up?
- "They are usually very interesting. I didn't do that many because I wasn't really asked that much. I will have one coming up this fall. I did the lyrics and vocals for a German EBM band. I will let him announce it when its time. But it ended up being a great collaboration. He also did a fantastic remix of "One More Reason" that'll be out on a Alfa Matrix compilation soon."