Interviews
Andreas Herrmann, the man with a vision for cold wave, dark wave music and bands | Interview
Andreas Herrmann, the man behind Cold Transmission label, shared with us his vision for the dark music scene, his label and Cold Transmission Festival 2019.
The truth is, as Andreas states below, that there are more people behind Cold Transmission label. And this is absolutely normal, since Andreas shares his vision with the people that he loves and work with. And, of course, with all the artists, the bands and the music lovers.
Cold Transmission is an independent label, located in Germany, Frankfurt that has now developed into an international label and music promotion service. Starting as an idea and a mixcloud show, CT quickly developed to a label hosting some of most promising bands and artists in dark wave, cold wave, post-punk music scene around the world. And all these, accomplished in just one year of existence.
Andreas shared his passion to the music and the dark attitude with ElektroSpank, in a really interesting conversation.
He talked about the bands the music and of course, the forthcoming Cold Transmission Festival 2019, taking place in Cologne, on Saturday, July 13th, with a beautiful line-up, consisting of CRYING VESSEL, IAMTHESHADOW feat. ANTIPOLE, SILENT RUNNERS and JOY/DISASTER.
ES: Hello Andreas. I am really happy that you 've given me the chance to introduce you and Cold Transmission to our readers. Andreas Herrmann, the man behind a successful record company, an independent label like Cold Transmission. Can't wait for more details but would you like to introduce yourself to our readers first? Who is Andreas Herrmann?
Andreas: Cold Transmission is not only me, but above all my wife Suzy and Yvonne our graphic designer. To my person: First of all I'm a passionate music fan since my childhood and always looking for new bands and sounds. Out of this circumstance came the idea to share this passion with others.
ES: Cold Transmission. Perhaps a large chapter in your life. Can you tell us how did Cold Transmission concept came up? And which facts led to what Cold Transmission is today?
Andreas: Cold Transmission was born out of our great passion for music and the desire of showing new music and bands to the scene. We knew from the first day on what we wanted and didn’t want with CT musicwise – presenting up-and-coming bands without forgetting the roots of this scene.
ES: Cold Transmission label is active for two years now. How was that journey so far? From a mixcloud show to a really famous dark, cold wave independent label?
Andreas: Actually the label is not older than 1 year ;-) Honestly, it wasn’t really planned to grow to a label in the first step. It somehow developed – some sort of logical next step so we just took it. The Mixcloud shows were very well received and we discussed a lot with close friends about the potential growth of Cold Transmission. It has been a wild journey so far - we learned a lot in the last year and are still learning new things every day of what it takes to be a label. CT is more than a traditional record label – we’re not just paying for the physical releases but also do a lot of promotion, press, organizing gigs, still have the Mixcloud shows and do a hundred things more. Of course we also made mistakes but that is only natural when starting something new. Due to the fact that we still do it in our free time, next to our full-time jobs, it’s great to have the possibility to only do what we really like.
Currently we are preparing for the upcoming releases of SYZYGYX, White Mansion, Paradise Cove, Bedless Bones, Mark E Moon, Carlo Onda and more.
ES: Do you have any standard procedure in order to approach a new band or artist for the label? Or is it just the feeling and the impression after a hearing?
Andreas: There is no standard procedure. It is rather “find or be found”. The music has to catch us from the beginning on otherwise we couldn’t be as passionate with our bands as we are now. Additionally, a very important point for us is that the bands are sharing the same passion for their music and are willing to grow together with Cold Transmission and support each other. We see ourselves as a partner and friend – a family.
ES: Cold Transmission represents and is a label mainly for post-punk, dark wave and cold wave bands. Is that so because of your personal music influences or because of some other reasons? Which are the music influences of Andreas Herrmann? Which bands affected you as a child or later and which bands do you listen to lately?
Andreas: My musical influences are mainly based in the early 80s, since I started listening to music intensively when I was 10 years old. Starting with Wave, early Industrial and EBM I never left the “dark” scene so this of course influences my music taste until today. For some time now, there is a new post-punk and coldwave revival and there are new bands in this area coming up nearly every day. It feels that the scene is currently being redefined and we appreciate that a lot.
ES: If a band, which is not in the main genres of Cold Transmission, approaches the label and asks for an album production or a contract, would you proceed to it? Or you would prefer to keep Cold Transmission focused on these main genres that represents?
Andreas: We do not limit ourselves necessarily with CT, but of course modern Post-Punk and Wave sounds are our main genres. Nevertheless there are also very interesting new bands from the Techno scene which are based on modern EBM so who knows. We're basically interested in new music and try to listen to every band that approaches us and also give them a feedback and maybe an advice in which roster they would maybe fit better.
ES: We've said about some of Cold Transmission's activities. However there is a huge event coming up in the following days. Cold Transmission Festival 2019. Can you tell us some things for this event?
Andreas: A nice topic and a long-cherished dream. To this event we welcome our befriended bands Iamtheshadow, Antipole, Crying Vessel, Joy/Disaster and Silent Runners which is also a band from our label now. Additionally, we will celebrate my 50th birthday. The Blue Shell in Cologne / Germany is a great club and well located in Germany. We are currently working on the second festival in March 2020 where we will work more and more with our own label bands.
ES: How this idea came up and what do you anticipate? Which are the expectations from you or the bands and how do you see the reaction of the fans so far and while the Cold Transmission festival is getting closer?
Andreas: As mentioned before it has always been a great wish to organize an own festival or concert. My birthday was then the perfect occasion to start with it. Of course it’s also a Cold Transmission event so the bands we choose are not only friends but also “100% Cold Transmission approved” as we like to say and we would like to present them to a bigger audience. The festival is very well received until now so we expect it to be a great event! It also turned out to be a networking event as well since we will have many visitors from all over the world, bloggers, bands, DJs, promoters and many more.
We would love to continue with that, however, this is not an easy task as many organizers, understandably, want to lower the risk so we will need more courageous organizers in the future who support the new scene as well ;-) Due to the fact that we have now gained a little more attention, we believe that this could be possible.
ES: What will the future bring for Cold Transmission? For all the activities? Where would you like to see Cold Transmission during the next five or ten years?
Andreas: We never had an exact 5 or 10 years plan. We still like to see the things develop themselves since CT is still our ambitious hobby. Nevertheless we are of course working on some kind of strategy and improvements in order to be able to handle all things we are currently doing. We have a hundred things in mind and have to check what’s possible and what‘s not but we will definitely not get bored. The main aim is to grow together with our bands and help them publish physical releases, organize live activities for them to make them and us more known to the scene. Let’s see what happens! :)
ES: Which bands from the past would you like to have the opportunity to include in Cold Transmission's label roster? And which bands would you like to have in Cold Transmission’s festival line-up?
Andreas: Since CT mainly stands for the newer bands and promotes this accordingly, also from other labels similar to CT, we are more than satisfied with our current band selection. Those bands are our main focus also for upcoming festivals. Nevertheless, we’re are always open minded and try not to put ourselves too much under pressure when it comes to bands – older or newer ones.
ES: I've read in an article of a good friend, Ken, in the Sounds + Shadows webzine, some really beautiful comments from the artists that you work with in Cold Transmission. Would you like to tell us something on these and for this really good chemistry between you, the label and the bands?
Andreas: For us it is very important that a band we sign also shares our vision and philosophy and is willing to reach their goals together with us. To us the „CT family“ is not just a word. We do everything we can to support our bands in any way, be a trustful and reliable partner and friend. We have a real passion for our bands and we love it when a band also has the same passion for Cold Transmission. In that way we all support each other, share ideas and work closely together to accomplish more.
ES: Would you like to share anything more with our readers and dark music fans? Any last words?
Andreas: Dear music lovers, stay curious and also support fresh and up-and-coming bands, spread the word, buy their music and check out smaller gigs as well. Organizers and Bookers, remain open minded and also support smaller indie labels and bands.
ES: Thank you very much for this interview. I wish you all the best and lots of success to your future plans and of course, have the best time in Cold Transmission Festival 2019!
Info:
https://www.coldtransmission.com
https://www.facebook.com/coldtransmissionmusic/
https://www.mixcloud.com/coldtransmission
