The Young Gods (who's name is taken from a Swans song) first emerged from Switzerland in 1986 with the blistering single "Envoye", they were pretty much sailing uncharted waters. "Envoye" is unfortunately deleted now, but feature on the CD of "The Young Gods", their debut album (which incidentally was Melody Makers Album of the year in 1987).
The Gods body of work now includes four albums, all of which are uniquely 'them', but significantly different to all be essential. The more classical thunder of the first album, and the mutant cabaret leanings of 'L'eau Rouge' have given way to the full on rock/metal blast of 'TV Sky'. Its a genuinely ironic sight to see more mongish metalheads playing air guitar to the sampled riffs of 'Skinflowers', stuff not even superman could actually play on the primitive instrument.
The new albums immersion in Americana has also resulted in it being vocal Franz first single in English. Previous albums being in his native French, or in the case of some of the Kurt Weill Tribute album, German.
You already know the album inside out don't you so you don't need me to tell you that its the greatest guitar album ever made, without any guitars on it. And if you haven't got it . . . well I suggest you get a life a well.
TV Sky has raised the bands profile higher than ever before, culminating in their triumphant Kilburn National show in September. We talked to Franz way back in March before their Edinburgh Show, discussing industrial music, sampling, America and being Swiss.
Franz is shorter than we expected from the rich bellow on the vinyl, and sometimes his English fails him, but overall its a pleasant chat. Anyway, if we tried it in French we wouldn't get past hello.
In the press the profile of the band is rarely pushed in a personality way. In that they don't do big photo shoots, or fly journalists half way round the world in order to get on the front cover of a magazine. This has always seemed like a conscious attempt to push the music over the individuals, which is the way it should be, but not unfortunately the way it always is, we put this to Franz and he agrees. 'Yeah. Personally I think it's a band story even if I'm the one in the interviews. Basically people want to speak to me because I'm the singer, and because I've been here from the start. When Al (Comet, the man behind the keyboard) joined he didn't want to make any comment about it, because he felt he was taking the place of somebody else. I think also because the music is what's important.'
Has Al's influence been important on 'TV Sky'?
'Yeah, it goes like this. I come up with most of the ideas, but in a very skeletal way, like a drumbeat, a riff and some sounds, or a vocal idea. Then we play them together. If Uzi can't figure it out, then we change it and start again and so on. If I compose a drumbeat for Uzi, I visualise his style so I know he's gonna play it and enjoy it. That's how it works. Al is important because he's got a lot of feeling for his playing. Cesare was more of a technician on the Kraftwerk side of the Young Gods. Al is more the Jimi Hendrix side. I think that's kind of obvious.
Roli Mossimann was important on this LP because when I started gathering the material, I went to his place in America and played him the records and ideas I had from the very start. Not like 'OK, we have fifteen songs, come to the studio and mix them. He was there fore the whole project'.
Mossiman has produced all the Young Gods albums, and is an established musician in his own right, being an ex-member of the Swans, and Clint Ruins 'Wiseblood'. Mossiman is in effect the invisible fourth member of the group. How did the Gods and Roli first get together?
"First time I met Roli, I was working at a club, I was a PA man. We booked the Swans at the time he was playing drums for them. Seeing him play impressed me a lot, his way of drumming and his attitude to music. I kept in touch and when he produced a band in Geneva I went to see him at the studio. I didn't even specifically want to work with him at first. The first person I really wanted to work with was Adrian Sherwood. At the time, I think he was one of the more avant garde producers, playing about with the stereo effects and sounds. I enjoyed a lot of the stuff he did for the early London Underground and the On U stuff. He's doing a good job.
"The First Young Gods gig was a support for Mark Stewart and the Mafia. Adrian Sherwood was mixing live and Gary Clail was there too. We had done a demo and this guy in London wanted to put it out. He played the tape to Roli and we went to London and mixed it together, then everything fell into place and he's done all the albums".
On 'TV Sky', America seems to be the source for most of the lyrics. (The Obsession with the automobile on 'Gasoline Man', TV Culture on 'TV Sky') and the music ( Mutated boogie for 'Gasoline Man', Doorsy organ samples on the epic 20 minute 'Summer Eyes')
"Yeah, I think it's pretty obvious in a way. But its a vision of Europeans I think, I don't think American people would do something like this. The fact that I was there made me want to sing in English, because I started thinking in English and TV Sky is a perfect example of me watching TV. All the subliminal propaganda stuff, which is everywhere in America is Evil, I think, in a way. It's not a statement like 'Beware, Beware, Beware!', its more suggestive, for example, the blue sky with why clouds that you see on six or seven ads on TV. All this fake Puritanism that you can't show tits but everything is made in such a way that it subliminally triggers your libido. They have teams of psychologists working on this. The funniest is the new Camel ad campaign ( The ads Franz is talking about feature a hip leather jacketed Camel wearing shades and smoking Camels. The twist is that the Camels pronounced snout and nasal passages resemble rather strongly. . . well, listen to the man).
"The try to combine bollocks and this camel, "Franz Chortles, "to try and trigger people to buy the hardpacks. Its so fucking horrible, and everybody knows about it. They laugh, but they buy also."
More evidence for my suspicion that advertising execs are taking their morning coffee with mescaline instead of sugar. Either that or they need to change their analysts. Probably both.
"The thing in the States with the partisan attitude ", he continues, "is that you can see whatever you want, so long as you are willing to pay for it. Cable TV is cheap, and you can get as much sex, swearing and violence as you want. It's very capitalist. They even have drive in churches. "
Do you think that America has specific attraction for European artists?
"Yeah, the American Dream idealised by European people. Wim Wenders is the typical example with road movies like 'The American Friend', 'Paris Texas' and even the new one (Until the End of the World), although it is mostly shot in Australia. Its fascinating to people, especially if you don't live there. It's dreams come true; good dreams; bad dreams, nightmares.
"The sky is much more vast I think, everything is bigger. If you really want wild nature you can find it. In Switzerland you won't find it even if you go really far into the mountains; you're always gonna see some Dutch tourists"
Have you ever considered moving there?
"Yeah, more as a . . .", he stops, "I consider moving here too, I don't know where. I like to be moving all the time; its good for the imagination."
Turning away from the blue skys and tumbleweed, and back to the land of chocolate and clocks we ask whether Franz is finding Switzerland to be restrictive now. He shakes his head.
"It's not really restrictive, but I think 'fantasy' is not really a common word over there. What I like in Scotland is the general attitude of the people. They're much more enthusiastic about things because people are poor. They try to figure out what they want like anywhere else.
"The situation is hard, but I think you got for it much more. In Switzerland you grow up in relative comfort; its a negative point, you're kind of shocked when it's not there when you cross the border. You think the whole world's like Switzerland if you don't watch the news, because you grew up there. The educational system is cool, no problem; they try to make people aware, it's not propaganda like the American system.
"Its a 'no-future' country because you grow up having a social goal, success, a good car, marrying a nice girl. It's like that in America too, but in Switzerland you don't have many alternative, its that or heroin. heroin is a big alternative, there's a huge heroin scene in Switzerland. Needle park etc. etc.."
Another wonderful aspect of Swiss life is compulsory military service. Has Franz gone through this wonderful experience we wonder?
"Yeah", he laughs, "I did a day and a then they thought I was too mad."
" The army you can avoid if you really want to. I went to psychiatrist and he made me a paper. After I was there half a day I started messing about really badly, not too much, or they send you to an asylum, You have to find a balance. I was lucky"
Although Switzerland is neutral its got the largest land locked armies in Europe. Evidence of a collective national paranoia?
"There are also huge nuclear bomb shelters. They educate the people to believe that because you are neutral you need to spend a huge amount of money on the army because the Russians are coming", Franz laughs in derision, "Now they don't know what to do.
"Recently there have been huge scandals about police files. A third of the population was filed, and somebody discovered this and told the press. This was a really big story. That's good because the young people read a lot of press and hopefully will try not to get fooled like this
"The way they filed people in Switzerland was crazy, your day to day life. When that was actually on the table, they claimed that you could go and check your files. But I didn't want to do that because if you do they open another file because they think you have something to hide. Some people did, and had their files returned but phrases had been chopped out, and all the dodgy opinions they had about you were removed. "
Because Franz sings in English on 'TV Sky' we can finally ask him about his lyrics. I got a C in O'grade French, so sue me.
Skinflowers is about sex isn't it?
"I think so too, "Franz Laughs, "But it's not only about sex, its about scars and emotion. Actually Skinflowers is a direct translation of 'fleur de peu' (I hope I spelt that right!). Its a state in which you find yourself when you are surprised, before you have any feeling positive or negative about it. Not a state of shock because it's not as violent, it's surprise. All your feelings come up to the skin and they want to get out.
"It's especially for the French audience because I think they can relate to this.
"I think my approach to singing English is the same as French. Except I don't have the same vocabulary abilities. I try to build up some sort of a language that will go with the sound."
In the States, the Young Gods are signed to Wax Trax, the former home of Revco, 1000 HDjs and Ministry. Have the Young Gods had any dealings with Mr. Infamy, Evil Al Jourgenson?
"We signed to Wax Trax in Chicago, and he was there. He invited us out to his place, he was really cool, he had a cool attitude. He wanted us to tour with him last fall with Ministry. But it didn't happen because they hadn't finished the album in time.
"He like the fast metal stuff, like 'Longue Route', he doesn't really like the classical stuff, or the Kurt Weill things"
The press seems to call anything with a sampler on it, that isn't straight dance, industrial; but you seem to have avoided that. Do you feel any connection to the industrial scene.
"Not really," shrugs Franz, "I like to put the label 'Rock' on the band. When we go to America they can't understand this -'Rock? But you have no guitars!'"
Finally before the oppressive cold of the interview room drives us to seek warmer accommodation in an Italian restaurant. We pop Franz the obligatory influences question, and watch our breath crystallise before our faces.
"I get my influences from everywhere, and everything I like. The attitude of people more than the music they do, sometimes. It's hard to say. I have my way of translating what I get into music. I have influences from twenty years ago, right up to the contemporary bands; even if I don't relate to everything they do.
"What motives me is the power of suggestion in music. It has to be uplifting at the end. If its too heavy for some people, I don't care, because I know it's not that way to me
"It's music for minorities in a way."
Fin.