Use the system, fight the system, ignore the system
With a lengthy education in classical piano under his belt, Torben Wendt started composing electronic music at about the age of 15. It was a natural progression for him as it meant he could apply his piano playing skills to the synth and it also provided him with the ideal vehicle for his ideas. Wendt continued to compose songs and in 1996 named the project Diorama, a word defined on their official website
defines as " ...of Greek origin and is mainly referred to as a term for 'showcase'" with Wendt describing the mood or feeling he aims to create as "a melancholic and profound mood to delve into, conveying something beautiful, meaningful or just the feeling of being understood."
Wendt's debut album as Diorama, "Pale", was released in September 1999 with the backing of Adrian Hates from Diary of Dreams and DAF/Fad Gadget producer Rainer Assmann who joined the production team and became avid supporters of Wendt's work. The second Diorama album, "Her Liquid Arms", was released in April 2001 and saw the addition of keyboard player, vocalist and co-producer Felix Marc who had previously collaborated with Wendt on a trance side-project. October 2002 saw "The Art of Creating Confusing Spirits", the third Diorama album, arrive and Bernard Le Sigue joins the band as bassist. During 2003, the band traveled to Mexico and Canada and Sash Fiddler, a former bandmate of Bernard Le Sigue joined the line-up. It was not until April 2005 that their fourth and arguably most experimental album "Amaroid" was released followed in October by "Repale", a collection of new versions of old tracks, remixes and unreleased material. 2005 also saw the band tour Europe
supporting VNV Nation on their Formation tour and embark on their first headline tour including dates in Russia, Poland and Germany.
Each release received consistent critical acclaim, a warm reception from the music buying public and increasingly better chart positions. From the introspection of "Pale" through the electronic and rhythmic tendencies of "Her Liquid Arms" or "The Art of Creating Confusing Spirits" and on to the introspective values and electronic sensibilities of "Amaroid" the band go from strength to strength, redefining their sound with each album.
Fast forward to 2007. The band are a trio again after the departure of Le Sigue in October 2006 and release a single, "Synthesize Me", on February 23rd to be followed by their fifth album, "A Different Life", on March 23rd. "A Different Life" brings a focussed approach not found on "Amaroid" or "The Art of Creating Confusing Spirits", concentrating on the lyrics and the overall mood of the album as a whole. "I tried to keep things simple on 'A Different Life', to focus words and music on the core of their particular message, " says Wendt. "The overall character of the album from my point of view is less playful, less distractive than it has been the case on the two previous records. The propositions I tried to make, especially lyric-wise, should come across clearly.
"Every album has had its particular field of inspiration, oftentimes nature and philosophy influences. But there are also some basic threads which have always been pushing the composition process, like...the need to align the things in your head to a musical/mathematical structure."
Wendt does not shy away from voicing his thoughts and opinions on matters emotional, social and political in his writing and the lyrics he produces. "A Different Life" is no exception and Wendt gives his own detailed explanation of what the album is about from an artist's point of view.
"A Different Life' is about] the fear of seeing your life drown into triviality. It's about doubting existing defaults and finding your own set of rules no matter what you're told to do or what you feel is appropriate under given circumstances. Our societies are characterised very much by keeping people busy with fears, complexes and banalities, while the elite gathers power and wealth untroubled, " he explains. "I believe at some point you have to decide about either using the system or fighting the system or ignoring the system, in which I tend to say the latter strategy works best for me."
It is clear from Wendt's words that he puts a lot of thought and feeling into his songs and this is carried through to the artwork depicted on the covers of their releases. The cover for the first single from the new album, "Synthesize Me", shows a dial with the word 'Trust' below it while "A Different Life" depicts a technical drawing or plan of some description. Wendt clearly places some importance in the complete image of the band from the music and Lyrics through to the artwork, what it depicts and how that ties in with the overall theme of the album or single concerned. He describes in detail what these images represent and how this aligns with album's theme.
"The basic idea was to break down your mind and character traits into electronic parameters one can easily modify and adapt Like the 'Level of trust' wheel on the cover of 'Synthesize Me'. On the one hand this imagination points at a critical view of today's technocratic society where people are forced or force themselves to function perfectly while so many things that make life worth living are stunted, social networks turning more and more into virtual fake and so on" explains Wendt, "On the other hand it's about the desire to have total control over your thoughts and feelings in order to regain the ability to take part in everyday life, to be Liked, to become less vulnerable, to eliminate regrets, doubts and paranoia. Seen from this angle, it's a resignation from the 'different life'-intention, it's rather the opposite, being trapped in a system, accepting it or even trying to please it."
As their approach to their music and lyrics develops and changes over time, Diorama have learnt to adapt from album to album, seemingly getting stronger, more successful and confident with each release. This is also reflected in their willingness to push the scope of their music further by embracing the remix culture that is prevalent on electronic music scene. Wendt agrees that the inclusion of remixes has been exaggerated to excess but muses "...people seem to want it like this, otherwise the remix thing wouldn't have asserted itself so exhaustively."
So what next for Diorama? Wendt is hesitant to give too much away but he did drop some subtle hints. While there are currently no plans for another single from the album, some of the tracks are Likely to appear on various compilations. Also, with the release of the new single and album, there are Likely to be Live dates coming up to promote them. Just a handful of selected concert dates listed on their website and Wendt would not be drawn on whether a full tour or any more live dates would be added to the schedule. He did however hint that some dates are being planned although, understandably, he could not disclose details until everything is confirmed. He dropped a further hint at possible live action sometime this year when queried on a possible DVD or live CD release, noting that either (or both) could be recorded as part of the next series of shows. Keep checking their official website (www. diorama-music.com) or their international message board (www.electro-scene.com) for the Latest news and announcements.
interview: Paul lloyd & diorama [torben wendt]
foto: annie bertram
quelle magazin-interview: side line no58 - april / juni 2007
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