XPQ-21

You got your own record label, tell us more about that!
- "A couple of years ago, when we finished "Destroy to Create" we had come troubles with out record label. Actually there were some labels that were interested in releasing "XPQ-21" but not that particular album. Since we didn't have so many alternatives, we decided to start our own label knowing that the album was going to be a hit. And now when we look back we know that it was the right choice."

You're working on your 4th album, tells us about the upcoming release, how's that going to sound and what new elements should we expect?
- "Every time we start working on new material, we ask ourselves that question as well. Now we've started to produce without having an actual "plan". Some melodies, guitar strings, just some inspiring days in the Alps or different cities. We've already finished a couple of songs and you can say that the rock influences are pretty distinct. "Beautiful" was the last song did for CHI-album, so picked it up where we ended and we'll see how it turns out."

How come you're mixing your electro music with the influences from new wave, Modern Ambient and Techno music and what inspired you to use those elements?
-"We've always been open for different music styles and the consequences of that is that the results becomes very variable. We just like experimenting with different music styles. I was born in southern Italy, in the middle of nowhere and a priest educated me. Nique spent twelve years in a Austrian nun Closter. Then she started to hang out at Darkwave/Electro clubs while I was playing with over 10000 different Rock-Hip hop-Funk bands. After spending five years within the German techno scene and been supported by Prodigy and Moby '95 I met Nique. We had pretty different interests and similar crazy ideas so we started our first experiment, 'Destroy to Create' (1998)."

Are you planning on touring after the forthcoming release?
- "After three years of tours and shows we think it's time for us to take a short break from the stage to concentrate on our new album. We're hoping to finish it by the spring of 2004, so it's a bit too early for us to plan a tour at the moment. We've got great responses from our first three gigs in England, so we're really satisfied and the promoters want us on the road within the next twelve months. That's the plan so far."

The progress in your music is remarkable through your last three albums, where do you see it going in the future?
- "The first album was just an experiment because it was important for us to know if we could work together. We were pretty surprised by the variety of the music and the result was 'Belle Époque'. When we were producing 'CHI' we lost contact and our daily arguments had a great impact on our third album, from the first through to the last song. Since XPQ-21 is our "baby" we decided to continue work together."

You've been on tour with band such as VNV Nation and Funker Vogt. Do you feel that you've developed as a band by spending time with bands within the same genre?
- "We're aware of the fact that the record companies have trouble selling our records and have a hard time defining XPQ-21 style in ONE genre. We've concentrated us on to leading our typical variable style in our latest album to a specific direction. On the other hand the fifth album might sound completely different. We're always open for experimenting!"

This interview was made 2003 and initially published on Neurozine.com