A Q&A with Haneke Twins
Dark undertones, glimpses of light from scientific multi-national quartet…
What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
‘Astronaut’! Means a more mature approach, towards the sound that we want to achieve. Not there yet, but certainly on the right direction. Less aggressive with respect to our first EP (which had higher gain guitars), and more tight and concise.
What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
As this is our project, we have to find time to evolve it. We work at CERN in our everyday lives, where we push research to its very limits, so that takes away a lot of energy and time from us. But still, Haneke Twins became a passion, so we still produce music and gig.
Who produced the release – what did they bring to it?
Animal Farm! Really solid sound, round highlights all the key parts and aspects of the tracks. Great work – have a listen! Judge yourself 🙂
What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
That’s a difficult question. We deal with a lot of matters in our lyrics, so it’s tough to say how this will affect people. We certainly want to raise awareness on specific issues, mainly around how we, the people, can make our lives better and increase our quality of lives. Point to problems and make people think.
How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
The interesting thing is that because we have different starting points in terms of influences, the sound of Haneke Twins is a mixture of these. And on top of that, since we currently live in different cities in Switzerland, you have the Bauhaus/Madrugada direction coming from Geneva and the Porcupine Tree/A Perfect Circle one coming from Zurich. Sometimes it goes heavily on one side or the other… But that’s the beauty of making music and I guess how things move forward. One thing we certainly want and try to avoid is to be a copy-cat band.
What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
The key ones are the ones mentioned. Joy Division, Madrugada, Bauhaus, Porcupine Tee, A Perfect Circle, Dillinger Escape Plan, Massive Attack. Variety is key! It’s basically what we grew up listening.
What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
Well. UK is one! Greece is another. But, anywhere really. We love giggin, so any place is great.
If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
I’d say ‘No Way Out’. As mentioned above, we have a variety of tracks. Low tempo, high tempo, punk, trip hop, high gain, clean… ‘No Way Out’ is somewhere in the middle of all that.
What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
At this point, the bar is set to schedule a tour. Most probably promoting the forthcoming album that’ll come next year.
Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
It’s time to be free and fu*k sh*t up. And if you can’t smash it, set it on fire.
For more info visit: haneketwins.com
