The Inquisition: 057.We Deserve This

1. How did you came up with the name of the band?

Back in 2010 I searched for a band name with three words and the word “We” in the beginning. So after a long time thinking about it I figured out, that We Deserve This is the perfect name. Because the name is a kind of answer to many questions in both positive and negative ways. If you work in a team and you are successful in what you're doing, you can say: “We Deserve This”. Also, if you wonder why there is climate change, hurricanes and strange weather because of our extended western lifestyle, you can cynically say: “We Deserve This”. It's a band name with a nice flow I think.

2. Do you have a standard procedure of creating a song? Do you just jam around or is there a main riff and the track is build up on it?

The strange thing about my songwriting procedure is, that I always have the complete song in my mind without even touching my guitar. It's like a vision and I'm quickly able to record it exactly like the “Vision” in my head. My normal day job is sound technician, so it's pretty easy for me to record these songs and I think I know what I'm doing when I enter the studio space. That's why We Deserve This is a solo project. I just want to record an exact copy of the vision in my head. I think that's impossible with other musicians…

3. What are your influences and what kind of music do you hear when you are at home?

I was born in 1976 so my first contact with music was in the mid 80´s. My older sister always played Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode and U2 in her room and I really loved what I heard. Synth sounds with a dark touch and guitars from U2's “The Edge” were a great experience for me. Back in the nineties I was a grunge kid – Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and most of all: Alice In Chains. These bands showed me something new. Desperate sounds with heartbreaking vocals. That was my real first love. Later I discovered Slint and Mogwai and that was the “post-rock room” I felt comfortable with. Music without (or less) lyrics was a mind-blowing journey for me. Today, I'm listening to a lot of stuff from electronic music over metal, jazz and…post-rock. I really love the new Lights And Motion Record and I'm also digging the new album from Failure. There are so many different types of music that I love, it's hard to mention them all. But my favourite artist is and will probably ever be Ben Sharp from Cloudkicker. This guy is making instrumental rock with a very heavy touch. I love every release from Cloudkicker and Ben is a kind of hero for me. He also plays every instrument by himself and he also records his vision of instrumental music on his own. I like that. But my favourite post-rock release this year (so far) is the new album from God Is An Astronaut. These guys know how to rock!!

4. Which is the one album you can't live without?

If These Trees Could Talk – Red Forest. It's so intense with lots of heavy riffing and a dark atmosphere. Saw them live a couple of years ago and I still remember every second from this concert.

5. What's the first record you've ever bought?

Hmm, difficult question…I think it was a 7” from Tone Loc called “Funky Cold Medina” and the Faith No More “The Real Thing” LP – I bought both on the same day in a small record store in my hometown. That was the first time I spent money on music.

6. Name a band that you would like to share the stage or tour with.

Easy: Cloudkicker

7. Did the internet and specially the blogs helped to spread your music around the world? Name a place (country) that you were surprised to know your music has reached to?

Oh yes. There are so many bloggers or facebook pages that keep sharing all my stuff every time I post something new. Like 6forty project, The Death Of A Modernist, Post-Rock Essentials and of course your excellent blog helped me to reach new listeners in an overwhelming way. I mean, without all these pages on facebook and all the bloggers from around the world only a few people would listen and buy my songs. Without bloggers and page admins I'm nothing.

8. Do you support the idea of bandcamp where fans can decide the price or services like Spotify?

I'm not into streaming services like Spotify or Apple music even though I know that there are a lot of WDT fans who only stream my tracks on Spotify. I like the idea of bandcamp where you can pay what you want for an album, stream your albums via the bandcamp app and discover new artists. Bandcamp is the future of music I think. It's a great service for independent artists and a good service for consumers. I have a huge bandcamp collection and it's great that I can support artists directly without a label or something like that. Bandcamp is made for artists. And I love it! Here's a link to my bandcamp collection: https://bandcamp.com/eldriver

9. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Hmm, my life is perfect right now, I have two kids and an awesome wife and I don't want to change something. Maybe there will be a We Deserve This concert soon - I'm currently working with a couple of friends on a live presentation. But I don't think that We Deserve This will get a huge record deal or touring the world. I'm happy with my family life and my normal day job routine. We Deserve This is just a kind of hobby to relax. Nothing more, nothing less.

10. Is the artwork of an album important nowadays in the digital era?

Of course it is. If you want to release something, it's important that the visual aspect of your release fits to your music. Almost every cover from We Deserve This are photographies from my wife Karo Platek and every photo fits perfectly to my music. I think that the artwork is the first thing that you see when you´re on bandcamp, iTunes or another store. The artwork is a portal to the music. In every digital and physical store. Without artwork, music is worthless.I love collecting vinyl because of the artwork. I have vinyl artworks in frames hanging on my living room walls. It's like famous paintings in a perfect square form.

11. What is your favourite album cover?

Sunny Day Real Estate – Diary. I love this “toy style”.

12. It seems that a lot of people are turning on vinyl again. Why do you think that is and which is your preferable media format?

As I told you before, I'm a vinyl collector but I also buy CD's (if there is no vinyl available) and digital downloads. I consume music in many different ways and I think that it is important to support the artist and pay for his creation. Music is my life and my collection is pretty huge. Music can't be free, but I just saw a couple of illegal download links from my releases. That's pretty strange…I never downloaded an album on these “The new album is leaked” sites, because the artist don't get any money from there. I know how hard it is to record a song and I think that the band must get payed for their creativity.

13. What's the most vivid story or moment as a band?

The most vivid moment was the moment, when Crowquill Records released my “Silencer” EP on cassette tape. I always dreamed of a physical release and suddenly my dream came true. It was so overwhelming to hold this cassette tape (childhood memories) in my hands. I'm pretty proud of this release on Crowquill Records. http://crowquillrecords.com/products/541748 Thanks for asking me these questions!

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