The13th AÑO: 5 | NÚMERO 45
UNA R E VISTA IMA GINARIA
KEVIN HASKINS BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS EXIST, BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS EXIST…
[ Interview With Kevin Haskins (Bauhaus – Poptone) by Pablo Müllner. Photografs: Paul Rae, Dave Kaple and Bobby Talamine ]
BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS EXIST, BECAUSE THEY ALWAYS EXIST…
3 Some bands impact your teenage world as the “newest trend”that you just cannot afford to miss out on. Others rock your world in a more secret, guilty pleasure form and, like candy for your eyes, you devour it in solitude. A third and much more selected group just appears in your life and, from the very first listen, they shake all your senses, compelling your ears but also transcending sound. They give you a new meaning to that thing you thought was music, but also the visual arts, live performances, poetry, arts in general and,well, life itself. The group Bauhaus pretty much exclusively occupies the latter territory. I was a teenager in the 90´s, and as I was running after the latest sound I suspected that there was a music world much more exciting, thought-provoking and savage than Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Garbage and the remains of the grunge era stylized for looking cool on MTV. The mysterious, monolith of a compilation called “Crackle” (1998) gave me scientific evidence that such a thing existed. Furthermore, I learned through Les Inrockuptibles about a Bauhaus tour reunion, their four albums, their solo and band projects, their legendary live shows and other Bauhaus affairs, such as playing “Bela Lugosi´s dead” in the same lounge were upper class vampires David Bowie and CatherineDeneuve looked for sex victims (that is just a movie, unfortunately). But was it very real is their everlasting impact in music and visuals arts, true as one of those avant-garde buildings that forever changed the urban landscape of Weimar and Berlin. Like them, Bauhaus will always exist…
Thank you Pablo for such a beautifully written and insightful accolade! I hope my answers can do justice. So I am very thrilled to meet you Kevin, even if it isvirtually. As I said, I have been a fan of Bauhaus and the work of all band members since I was a teenager. The first thing that came to mind regarding ‘Undead’ was: Did you intend to write some last words about the band and share the visual history through these pictures and art designs, as well as some intimate moments? And then that’s “Full Stop”? In that case the title “Undead” is very tricky! I didn't look upon this as last words, as I hope many more words will be written and that the legacy will live on through words and of course the music. I wanted this book to be a celebration of the band and to reveal aspects of the band that may not have been apparent. To be more precise, I think Bauhaus is some sort of mythical creature, probably like Frankenstein or even that Orlando charac-
ter that played TildaSwinton played in a film which became alive every century, adapting to the current circumstances, even changing sex at some point, but always staying truth to his/her vision. There is always richground for a Bauhaus reincarnation it seems. Am I making any sense? I don't think that we adapted to anything, we made up our own rules and forged our own path. For this book, which looks something to treasure even if you are not a manic collector, you write all the words, selected the images, right? Given that this is basically a “solo project”, did the other band members give advice on this material? On embarking on the project I solicited the bands blessings and then set sail on my own uncharted course. For the most part it was a very enjoyable voyage, although I did hit an iceberg or two on the way! Yes I did write all the words and for the most part selected all the images. I had valuable assistance from three great artists; Jeff Anderson, Donny Phillips and Kaylee Carrington.
5 They brought their insightful design aspects to the project. I should also mention Vincent Forrest and Andrew Brooksbank who provided valuable assistance with ideas and their own collections of material. I learned that your recent “musical duties” include playing drums for Poptone, a project that gathersmaterial from Tones on Tail, your first post-Bauhaus band with Daniel Ash, Love and Rockets and even Bauhaus. And that your daughter plays bass there too! Pretty much a Lady Bauhaus! How did this project come to life? For the past few years, Daniel and I kicked around this idea to go out on tour and play songs from Bauhaus, Tones On Tail and Love And Rockets. We always had fun DJing together and Daniel suggested we do a DJ tour last year. I thought
why not play instead. I knew that a lot of people never saw Tones On Tail so I figured that it would be an attractive proposition. It proved to be so and we are enjoying a wonderful response. Going back to Undead, I don´t want to overlook the fact that is a picture book, image was such a strong complement to Bauhaus sound… both elements formed the Bauhaus aesthetic, imitated extendedly for better or for worst. Blondie once said they benefitted for being a pre-MTV band. I think it is something similar in the case of Bauhaus. Both bands crafted their own looks as well as their own sound, making them unique and iconic. Is it possible to do so nowadays? It seems Poptone has their own aesthetic already. I feel that it's more difficult these days to create something that hasn't already been done but rea-
lly without much thought, I feel that we have created our own aesthetic. As with all the bands that we have been in, the music and image happened very organically. If one attempts to apply too much intellect I think it comes across as pretentious. David J once explained the Bauhaus style of making music – like mixing four different chemicals in a tube and waiting for each one´s reaction. I always suspected so. The volatile beauty of those individuals getting together and delivering an unique sound, a different way of playing and singing, going beyond punk or goth or any label (I think Nirvana was something like that in a way, hopefully no one in Bauhaus was that self-destructive…) On the other hand, that genius could only last a certain length of time. Are you ready to awaken that chemistry with your new band Poptone? Well we have already done so to a degree. I say to a degree because we haven't composed
any new music together yet, (as this is currently a retrospective project). But with Divas influence I feel that she has brought a subtle new element to the songs and we gel as a live band extremely well. Hardcore fans have told me that they were a bit worried that Diva wouldn't be able to fill the shoes of David and Glenn, but have been blown away by her talent. You will soon release your Poptone debut album through Cleopatra Records. Are there plans to tour Poptone? Might you write and record new material for the band? We are revisiting the West and East Coasts of America this Summer and are looking forward to bringing the project to international shores. Well, Kevin I hope it´s been not been too difficultanswering my mumblings. Thank you very much! Thank you!
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The13th U NA R EVISTA IMA GINA RIA