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The hyperactive drummer Christoph “Tiger” Bartelt from the German stoner trio Kadavar took some time to answer our questions regarding their latest release ‘Live in Copenhagen’ (check out our review here, only available in Spanish). As they embark on their European Tour with the Swedish band Monolord as a special guest, Tiger also discusses the future of the band, their inspiration and shares some funny stories about their previous visits to Chile.
First of all, thank you very much for your time, Tiger. I’m sure you are very busy at the moment with the upcoming tour. So, your new live album ‘Live in Copenhagen’ is finally out. How do you feel about the end result of this live release?
I think it was a great show and I‘m glad we captured it. It sounds really good and I also think the whole artwork and layout was done perfect. I‘m really happy about it (note by David: check out the picture of the strictly limited Black/Cream Swirl Vinyl edition, which must be one the coolest realeses ever from a visual point of view)
I’ve heard the digital version already and I was very impressed by the energy you managed to impregnate in this live album. Now I had to buy the vinyl in order to listen to the extra tracks (not available on CD). Was that a commercial strategy, a logistics thing, or a way to reward your die-hard fans?
Thanks! The thing with the tracks cut off from the CD was a technical thing, because the show was longer than 90 minutes. The setlist was just fine for double vinyl. As a vinyl lover, I also thought as long as you get the encore on the LP, it´s better than the other way round.
You keep playing a lot of material from your debut album in your gigs, compared for example to ‘Abra Kadavar’. Are you particularly fond of that first album or do you think those earlier songs work better in the live setting?
That’s true. The thing with ‘Abra Kadavar‘ is that we didn‘t like to play the songs for a big while. ‘Doomsday Machine’ and ‘Come Back Life’ are on every setlist ever since, but when ‘Berlin’ came out, we cut all the others. I personally would like to bring some of them back, but it can be a tough decision and we don‘t always agree on song choices (laughs).
I’ve understood that you don’t want to use a ready-made label to define your music style. How would you describe Kadavar’s music in your own words to an alien that crashes in your recording studio in the middle of a session?
If aliens have ears and lungs, I‘d give a joint to him and let him figure it out himself! (note by David: hahaha!)
What kind of things you take inspiration from when writing material for a new album? Are you interested in any particular topics or issues at the moment?
At the moment I like everything that sounds vicious and obscure and creepy. I like the fragility of early psychedelic recordings with a lot of space in between the instruments. I like the mixture of crappy sound and well arranged instruments with medium playing skills. It‘s not really about topics or issues – I think music is turning something very abstract into concrete and you yourself don‘t necessarily have to know what it is or what it means. We always have this moment before we really know whats going on and then someone throws in a riff that just takes everyone out of space. We‘re 66,6% Germans, so we think organized, act very planned and think that you can achieve everything with hard work. But writing the good stuff is beyond our control, I believe. The inspiration just comes and goes and you can‘t force anything.
Those are very deep thoughts, man. So, your European tour is starting soon. What plans do you have after that? What can we expect from Kadavar in 2019?
We will get back to writing new songs after the tour and lock ourselves in the studio. If all goes well, we‘ll have new record out later in 2019.
We’re a Chilean based Webzine dedicated to rock and metal. You’ve played twice in Santiago de Chile. Can you share any memories or anecdotes from those trips to Chile?
Both times in Chile were amazing. Coming in with the plane can be stressful but I‘ve seen the nicest people there, been to a restaurant where it‘s everybody’s birthday and I‘ve seen the second biggest pile of weed I have seen in my entire life. I can‘t wait to come back!
Finally, would you like to leave a message for the readers of Metaleros.cl and your Chilean fans?
Yes, I would like to thank all of you for following us and supporting us. It means a lot to us to know there‘s people around the world who know and like our music. We will be back soon!!!
Check out this clip from Kadavar’s latest performance in Chile (February 2018)
Credits:
Kadavar: Nuclear Blast Records (special thanks to Markus Jakob)
Photos: Dena Flows, Kadavar
Youtube video: Juan Manuel Aburto Zawadzky
