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An Interview with Thomas Rainer of Nachtmahr
Posted: Sunday, March 29, 2009
By: Dominic Lynch
Poet

The man who brought you the hard-edged Austrian darkwave band L'ame Immortelle now gives you music like you've never seen before. Forging his newest project, Nachtmahr, from the nightmares beneath his skin, he'll drown your heart in booming bass. Thomas Rainer doesn't care whether you live or die; he just yearns to see you dance. Nachtmahr's techno/industrial hybrid sound has shaken the dark dance floor since 2007, becoming a worldwide success known for blunt noise and addictive rhythms. With three releases, the most recent being the Katharsis EP, under his belt from Trisol Music Group in Europe and Vendetta Music in North America, world domination is but a glimpse away. Before a show at London's legendary Slimelight club, right hand man Massimo decorates the venue in propaganda and flags while Rainer himself sits upon a leather couch to give ReGen readers a glimpse at Nachtmahr's history and future.

To start off, where did Nachtmahr originate from?

Rainer: The origins of Nachtmahr date back to Siechtum, my first industrial side project in late 1999, which a lot of people still appreciate, but this was a rather chaotic side project. Siechtum was purely a playground; there was no straight concept. I just tried to put the work that I couldn't put into L'ame Immortelle into it; not to say it was a dumping ground, but a place to play songs that I wrote which I thought were very good but didn't fit into the same concept. In comparison, Nachtmahr is not a side project; it's a second band. I take it as seriously as L'ame Immortelle, in the way that I keep Nachtmahr's distinct sound and write songs specifically for it.

Where did the 'Imperial Austrian Industrial' theme come from?

Rainer: The imperial theme was something I always liked, as it corresponded to huge impressive structures, and I wanted to do the same and make huge Impressive sounds that would blow everything else away on the dance floor. I spend a lot of time on making Nachtmahr stand out from all the other industrial productions: to sound better, to look better, to just kill everything. The imperial theme means for me something huge that is here to stay.

Are their certain traits in the way that you conduct yourself on stage?

Rainer: Well, obviously in L'ame Immortelle there are broader ranges of emotions. Nachtmahr is more in your face. I would see it as being subtle highs and lows of aggression. I am energetic all the time, as I want the crowd to be exactly the same. I want them to dance and go completely mad, start taking off their clothes and copulate in the middle of the dance floor...kind of.

Was the U.S. Imperial Invasion Tour what you expected?

Rainer: I've been in the business nearly 15 years now, and so I asked around my colleagues who have already done American tours. It's a smaller scene than Europe and also lacks professional support, but they are really passionate. This passion is in the way that they will save up their last dollars just to see a band. It's a different kind of passion to what you get in Europe, but it is just as strong.

Supposedly there was controversy over the 'N' banners at a few of the shows, with people thinking that it stood for something else.

Rainer: There was only one person who really put on this discussion, but I think it was completely ridiculous. Obviously, we have nothing to do with that; there are just people who just always think of the bad words which began with 'N' all the time.

How is Massimo your partner in crime doing? How did he come to join the project?

Rainer: Massimo is doing great. I've known him since 2000 at Wave Gotik Treffen. Three years ago, by a lucky chance, he moved to Vienna. I was setting up my first concerts for Nachtmahr, and at the time he was a DJ at my club. Knowing what he does, I asked him if he would like to hop on, because it wouldn't be that fun being all by myself on stage.

Speaking of Club Pi, how's that going?

Rainer: Awesome! I think it's safe to say we have eliminated most of the competition, though there is always the worry that if we sit back and relax and think what could happen, then before you know it everyone is gone. We put a lot of hard work and dedication into the club. We are always bringing in a lot of guest DJs from bands. I DJ as much as my time allows, but I am more the man behind the curtain, running DJ coordination, checking play lists and doing artwork and Imagery for the Web site. Obviously I like to be there as often as I can, but I am restricted with my time.

Are you going to continue working on Nachtmahr this year?

Rainer: I try to spread my time evenly between the bands and other stuff. We are already working on some new stuff, but there will definitely be a new Nachtmahr album before a new L'ame Immortelle album. We're looking at a date for early autumn or late August for the release. We will be doing the second leg of the U.S. tour in July; this time we will be doing the East Coast. Also, we have Moscow coming up, and a few more shows in Europe will be done in the autumn.

How are you holding up in the economic crisis?

Rainer: We already had the crisis five years ago in the music business, which is coming to an end; this was down to the politics of the record labels solely concentrating on solo artists, rather than long-term band development, of one-hit wonders to bring in the money.