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An Interview with Thomas Rainer and Sonja Kraushofer of L'ame Immortelle
Posted: Sunday, August 24, 2008
By: Dominic Lynch
Poet

Formed in 1996 by Thomas Rainer and Hannes Medwenitsch, L'ame Immortelle were soon joined by singer Sonja Kraushofer, who was an old classmate of Rainer's. In 1997, the band got their first recording contract, signing up with Lichtenstein label MOS Records, and released their debut album Lieder Die wie Wunden Bluten.

By 1999, the band's mixture of passionate lyricism, club-friendly industrial rhythms, and orchestral flourishes - not to mention their dramatic live performances - had won the L'ame Immortelle a cult following. That year saw both their signing with Germany's Trisol label and and the departure of Medwenitsch. In recent years the band has toured with Christian Death, collaborated with industrial rock legends Oomph! on the Brennende Liebe single, released albums with several side projects, most recently Rainer's Nachtmahr solo project, and kept to a punishing schedule of touring and releases that includes not only numerous studio releases, but also several career retrospectives and a live DVD. As if that weren't enough, this year L'ame Immortelle have released not one but two new albums: Namenlos in January and the double-CD Durch Fremde Hand, which features exclusive tracks as well as guest remixes and covers, this summer. Taking shelter in the beer tent on the second day of the Orkus Open Air Amphi Festival in Cologne, Germany, Rainer and Kraushofer take a moment to bring ReGen readers up to speed with L'ame Immortelle's history, musical philosophy, and plans for the future.

How would you describe L'ame Immortelle's music to a first-time listener?

Kraushofer: It's hard to describe our music, as it changes with many of our songs. We use a lot of electronic parts, though it's also combined with rock elements and our string arrangements. The songs are very passionate, with our melancholy and passion-filled lyrics.

Taking a step back in time to 1999, when you switched record labels, you started up very quickly and began touring with Christian Death, how stressful was that time for you?

Rainer: It was more of an 'experience' than anything else. To say in Father Jack's words, 'Drink that arse!' It was really rock 'n roll to the bone.

Kraushofer: It was really nervous to begin with, but in the end it turned out nice.

Rainer: It was nice, but a different lifestyle. It was all about the drugs and sleazy sex, and it's not an image with that band, but it's happening all day: drugs, sex and body fluids. What made it even more amazing was we were only 19 back then, with nearly zero concert experience; we were dropped into a week of debauchery.

Was it difficult to start up for you, being an Austrian group?

Kraushofer: We were lucky, because our first label was in Lichtenstein and we had many contracts within Germany. What makes things difficult is that our music is in the alternative section, and there is a big superstition that if a band is from Austria, then they aren't that cool.

Rainer: Compared to places in Europe...like in the UK, there is a much bigger culture of support for music artists and a much wider range of help available.

When you are making music, is there any particular way you go about it?

Rainer: There are no rules. Sometimes when I go to the studio, stuff just flows right out of my hands, and then sometimes nothing comes to me. You just have to catch that moment. There is no formula or recipe; for instance, I can have some smoke and get drunk like a mad idiot, and stuff will just come to me.

Is there competition between your side projects and L'ame Immortelle?

Rainer: It's more of an extension.

Kraushofer: Like a wet T-shirt competition.

Rainer: Speaking for myself, both L'ame Immortelle and my side project Nachtmahr influence each other, but the side projects are more of a playground, where you can do whatever comes to your head, whereas with L'ame Immortelle there is a certain style which we have to keep to.

Kraushofer: I think it's also very important and interesting to work with other people and take different approaches.

So your influences are many?

Rainer: Yes, like back in the day stuff like :Wumpscut: and Front Line Assembly gave me the courage to say to myself, 'Hey, let's make music,' but now it's so much bigger. I listen to all stuff, from classical to pop.

Are you going to be making another live DVD sometime soon?

Rainer: Yes!

Kraushofer: Yes! We have wanted to do a new DVD, as the last live one was back in 2003, and we're not up to date.

Rainer: It is a critical thing, as there is a huge difference between L'ame Immortelle, the record and L'ame Immortelle, the live performance. The energy is so much different, and there is no script in what we can do. For instance, I can go up to one of the guitarists and ask him to do a solo, but also we have the opportunity to connect to our fans.

What are some of your really memorable live performances?

Kraushofer: Moscow was very memorable. The crowd was insane, but we also had a lot of great performances on our last tour.

Are you going to take any time out next year?

Rainer: How do you pronounce those? 'Holidays.' I remember those. [Laughs.]

Kraushofer: Most of the time, there is no time. If I need to wind down, I'll do things like go for a walk. I can't remember the last time I was on holiday.

How are you holding up to file sharing? Has it affected you?

Rainer: We thought it didn't really affect us, as we do have a lot of dedicated people in our fan base. We do see messages of people asking for lyrics of our music, as we only include them in the albums.

Kraushofer: We do a lot of extensive packaging, with creating a lot of artwork and doing special editions.

Rainer: With our albums, you can see the whole picture of L'ame Immortelle, whereas the people who have downloaded our music can only see two colors and never experience the whole picture. It is quite understandable sometimes, when it is in places which we do not distribute to and to get the albums costs 30 euros.

Finally, are there any comments, complaints or gestures you would like to share with your fans?

Rainer: God, no! Our fans have given us a lot of support over the vast years. Not many bands are still around after 12 years and are still in the German Top 20 constantly. Our fans couldn't do more, and we'd like to thank them for everything.