Die Perlen was founded 9 years ago and became famous with their individually created genre "TelektroPonk" - a blending of Electro, Pop, Punk and Techno. With lyrics in German, English and French, the duo of Ferdinand Ess and Katja Hah from Nurnberg, Germany always have a surprise for the listener up their sleeve.

They recently released "Stadt.EP", and are busy at work touring all across Germany, including a stop at the Wave Gothic Treffen in Leipzig at the end of the month. The duo still found the time to sit down and talk about their music in this interview for Radio Nietzsche, so enjoy! -Radio Nietzsche 5/09

Ferdinand Ess: All right, we are "Die Perlen" from Nurnberg/Germany.

Radio Nietzsche: And what are each of your roles in Die Perlen?

Ferdinand Ess: I'm playing guitars, write some of the songs, do the technical part (mixing), I also write some lyrics and sometimes I sing.

Katja Hah: I'm also singing and write the lyrics on stage I'm playing with the sound effects.

Radio Nietzsche: Die Perlen plays music in a genre known as "Telektropunk", which is a very interesting mix of techno, electro, punk, and pop. How did this style come about for you guys?

Ferdinand Ess: Well, we were always put into different musical styles and none of it was really right, so we decided to invent our own genre. After a while people accepted it.

Radio Nietzsche: I noticed that Ferdinand in particular has many influences from the British punk and mod scene. Tell us a bit about your influences musically and how they have impacted your music.

Ferdinand Ess: Oh yes, that's really true. We've got many different influences but mostly we listen to lots of British bands such as the Sex pistols, Toy dolls, The jam, Motormark but also to French bands like Indochine...

I think that most of the bands we listen to have got a straight sound and we also have minimal arrangements.

Radio Nietzsche: How would you two describe your own music? What is one to expect when they listen to a Die Perlen album?

Ferdinand Ess: Versatile. There is a predominating fast electrosound with sharp guitars and weird sound-effects. But we also got slow songs. Basically we put many different styles into our music that's why we named our music "Telektroponk!" You'll never know what is coming next...

Radio Nietzsche: How did you two meet?

Ferdinand Ess: We were at the same school...

Radio Nietzsche: And whose idea was it to start playing music together?

Ferdinand Ess: It was my idea. I was writing some songs for another band but they didn't fit into the concept so i asked Katja to sing.

Radio Nietzsche: Was Die Perlen the first band you two were in or did you start elsewhere musically before coming together?

Katja Hah: No, to me it's my first band.

Ferdinand Ess: Yes, I'm still drummer in a band called drunkness.

Radio Nietzsche: Where does the name "Die Perlen" come from, and what does it mean, in the sense of what message does it send about your music?

Katja Hah: "Perlen vor die Säue" is a proverb which means everything that you do is in vain.

Ferdinand Ess: When we started it was some kind of provocation, but later we shortened it for better recognition. Die Perlen is easier to remember.

Radio Nietzsche: You started Die Perlen 9 years ago, but didn't start releasing music until 2004. Why the delay?

Ferdinand Ess: That's not quite right. During the first years we made self-copied demo-Cds. Some day there were too many orders and decided to produce a "real" CD.

Radio Nietzsche: Most artists do a lot of the work themselves these days such as: producing and distributing their own music. Did you do most of the work yourself in the beginning, and when did you first get with a label?

Ferdinand Ess: Yes exactly, we did everything ourselves but we also have regular jobs and so we had to find someone to help us especially for distribution. Today we still record everything at home and make the videos, organize gigs, design badges etc.

Our first label was KP production. They released the "telektroponk!" album.

Radio Nietzsche: And how important was it to finally get a label?

Ferdinand Ess: We wouldn't find the time doing the distribution or sending records to people and therefore it is very important for us to have a label. On the other side we are much better known now, as we have better contact to magazines and radio stations. On the other side we are very free concerning the music, videos, images etc.

Radio Nietzsche: Recently, you put out 'Stadt.Ep" and made 300 Vinyl copies. A little retro, but somehow I think that was the point. Explain why you did that.

Ferdinand Ess: The promotion was done with CD's. When we read the first reviews, i recognized that some of the authors didn't really understand the concept, cause every single songs is very different. Recently I read another review from somebody who had the record in his hand. I wrote that it is a work of art in whole: There is the 10" record, all songs are stories about living in a town. Enclosed you can find a map of the "Die Perlen" town and the streets have the name of our old songs. And then there is of course a postcard.

Today you can download a song within a few seconds and music is becoming some kind of"fastfood". We wanted to make a real record with a large cover that you can hold in your hands and an artwork with lots of little things to discover.

Radio Nietzsche: Most German bands either sing in English or German, but you have a mix of three languages for Die Perlen: German, English and French. I also saw some of the Die Perlen t shirts in the online shop with French slogans. Why such a mix of language for the music and did you always use such a wide array of languages to express your music?

Ferdinand Ess: It depends on the song. As German is our native language, we can better play with this language using irony or abstract lyrics. Some songs better fit to the French language, especially when they are fast. In our early days we had mostly English lyrics and as it has become some kind of tradition, we now use all three languages.

Radio Nietzsche: Die Perlen is playing at the upcoming Wave-Gotik-Treffen in Leipzig. Is this your first time playing there, and how much do you look forward to big festivals such as this?

Ferdinand Ess: Yes it is our first time. Of course we are looking forward to the festival. This might be a great chance to reach new people. But honestly, we rather prefer small clubs, cause they are more personal and you are closer to the audience. It is sad that small concerts are becoming rare.

A couple of weeks ago i was in contact with a very well known venue and they told us that they would really like to book us, but they won't have any concerts no longer, because people prefer big festivals.

Radio Nietzsche: What are your views on file sharing between fans? Not large illegal resales, but fans burning cd's and passing music on to friends. Do you see this as a bad thing, or a positive way to share music and get exposure?

Ferdinand Ess: There are two sides: I think that we wouldn't be that famous if there where no file sharing and i think that it is absolutely alright if you copy a record that is no longer available in record stores. On the other side I think that if you can copy hundreds of songs in only few minutes you might not appreciate music adequately.

Radio Nietzsche: How often are you two on the road doing shows every year?

Ferdinand Ess: There are about 15 shows a year. That might not seem that much, but as they are spread over the whole year and all over Europe we are constantly on the road.

Radio Nietzsche: What kind of activities do you two do on the road?

Ferdinand Ess: Of course we practice the songs at home. We are playing live as much as we can and don't like playbacks. Therefore each concert is very different, because you never know what is happening next. We just start playing and let us fall.

Radio Nietzsche: Do you find all the traveling stressful, and how much do you enjoy playing live?

Ferdinand Ess: Of course it is very stressful, especially if you've got a proper job and work 42 hours a week. Sometimes it's hard to organize. However, when we arrive, it doesn't matter, cause even if it has been a long way to the club, we want to have fun on stage. Not to forget the audience! There are sometimes people who are traveling longer distances than us, just to see us playing.

Radio Nietzsche: What is your best concert memory?

Ferdinand Ess: There are lots of good concerts, but I'm very proud of the drop dead festival last year in Lissabon. That one was the most stressful, but it had a great atmosphere with people coming from all over the world. Maybe we could say the more stressful, the better the concert.

Radio Nietzsche: And the worst?

Ferdinand Ess: Our first one. It was a Halloween-Party. I was very excited and when I went on stage I said to the audience: "Hello, we are glad that you are here and it's nice to see you all in disguise!"

Well some people were angry, especially the Gothics!

Radio Nietzsche: Any plans for the future? New album or projects we should look out for?

Ferdinand Ess: Lots of new side-projects. At the moment I'm producing the droogiez. That's Arnes' band - the guy who's doing all our artwork. I'm also working with my other band drunkness and there is also a secret project with 4 bands. You will hear it soon.

Radio Nietzsche: Any final words for the fans here in North America and around the world reading this?

Ferdinand Ess: Thank you for the interview! Enjoy our music. I wish there will be such a great festival as the drop dead last year where we can all come together.

Radio Nietzsche: Thank you so much for your time, and rock on!

More at:

• Official
• Die Perlen on MySpace