One of several acts recently signed to A Different Drum, Rename is a duo from Germany. They came to our attention with the excellent song "Maybe Later I Will Fall" (which peaked at #1 on the AeschTunes Top 40 the weeks of August 31st and September 7th) on a "new artist" sampler put out by A Different Drum this past spring. Their first official single for A Different Drum is the song "You Don't Deserve My Love," which we've started playing recently on the New Music Showcase. The single also includes some excellent remixes of "You Don't Deserve My Love" by Rename and Provision, plus an extended version of "Maybe Later I Will Fall." Marcus Geltner (writer, vocals, keyboards, production) and Toby Bartzsch (rap, production, keyboards) have caught our attention as one of the hot new acts to be watching this year. We got the opportunity this month to speak with Marcus about language, nonsense, and Roxette...

AeschTunes: How long have you and Toby been working together?
Marcus Geltner: Since January 2001.

AT: Had you recorded material (either together or in other projects) prior to Rename?
MG: In 2000, I had a release with Mark´Oh ( German Dance Act + Producer ). The track was called "The Damned Don´t Cry" and it was a cover version of Visage´s fantastic track.

AT: Who are some of your influences?
MG: High energy music, classical music and of course "the greatest hits and acts" of synthpop, who are too many to mention.

AT: Do you do any material in your native language?
MG: Yes, there will be new tracks in German.

AT: Do you find it easier to write in English or German? What is it about each language that attracts you to write in both languages?
MG: I´ve written many poems in German. Poetry is easier for me when I write in it German, because I can play with the words and I can always be sure that I know what I do. Concerning song lyrics, I have to say that if you have a theme in your mind or a certain feeling, it doesn´t matter which language you use. Then it´s easy to write the lyrics of a song. But to be honest, I still prefer the sound of the English language and there are so many beautiful words.

AT: You recently performed a few songs at Sommerfest 2004 in Duisburg. Do you have other shows lined up?
MG: We plan an exclusive concert in November to perform the full album. We are also trying to find promoters in the USA for a few club gigs.

AT: While both "You Don't Deserve My Love" and "Maybe Later I Will Fall" are both dance tracks, they tend to be more of a mid-tempo range. Will this be a typical approach of the material on the upcoming album?
MG: No. The album will be "faster" and more up-tempo.

AT: The b-side on the single, "Love Is A Cool Cat", brings to my mind many a Pet Shop Boys b-side, where they tend to be a little more experimental with what they do. Maybe in part this is because Toby steps forward to handle some of the vocal duties, as Chris Lowe occasionally does on PSB b-sides. Will Toby be providing any vocals on the album?
MG: There´s a new song called "Twelve Seconds" containing vocals by Toby, but we don´t know yet if it will be on the album.


AT: You've also worked on a remix for a track on Provision's upcoming album; are you working on any other remixes?
MG: Yes, there will be a few "Rename Mixes" in the future. I´ve always been a fan of 12" remixes, because it´s fun to turn the original into something totally new.

AT: Which is harder for you - to remix one of your own tracks or to remix someone else's material?
MG: It´s definitely harder to remix our own tracks, because we always know what the original sounds like and you could never be as free as someone else. If we remix a track, we only listen to the pure accapella version. That´s all we need and the exact BPM of course ;-) But we always respect someone else´s material as much as we respect our own tracks. We would never create remixes, that only include 2 % of the original vocals.

AT: When we hear about electronic acts from Germany, we tend to hear about industrial leaning acts (such as Rammstein and KMFDM). Is there a German synthpop community such as what exists in America?
MG: Yes, there is and it´s growing, because people start to notice, that electronic music can have different faces. It´s no longer limited to "dark desires" and "dying". Synthpop can be about "fun" and "non-sense", too.

AT: Neither "Maybe Later I Will Fall" nor "You Don't Deserve My Love" strike me as being "fun" tracks - while not aggressive (such as a Rammstein or KMFDM), I would still classify them more in the "dark" side. Will we be seeing more of Rename's "light" side on the album?
MG: Yes, that´s right. "Maybe Later I Will Fall" and "You Don´t Deserve My Love" deal with the "dark" and "sad" side of being in love. But there will be a more "optimistic" ballad called "Heaven Forever" and a dance track called "My Wonder", which includes the verses of Roxette´s "It Must Have Been Love". They´re both light or let´s call them "less dark" ;-)

AT: A "free" question - what would you like to tell the readers of this newsletter, about the band, yourself, life in general...?
MG: Many "Rename" songs are about love, because love makes you dance - it makes you move - it makes you happy, when you think you´re sad. Love is energy. I hope that we make you dance and I hope that we give you something that you can enjoy.

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