Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?

Scalpture is:

Felix Marbach – Guitar

Tobias Aselmann – Guitar

Jannik Heise – Bass

Max Cailloud – Drums

and Thorsten Pieper – Vocals

Where are you from? Our rehearsal room is in Bielefeld, Germany but at the moment we are spread over the whole region of East-Westphalia.

What year did the band form? Scalpture was formed in 2009.

Have any of you played in other bands? Both our guitarists had some band experince from other projects. Tobias is still playing in a Hard Rock Band, while Felix just recently joined WIFEBEATER to play bass.  

How is it that you started playing music? It was a thing for me to sing in a Death Metal Band since I was sixteen. Fortunately Felix was the musician who was able to bring anything on its way...

Have you had other previous members? No! We successfully avoided lineup changes so far. 

What's your style of genre? We play nothing less than Death Metal 

What inspires you? Just can speak for myself here. For my lyrics I am absolutely inspired by war. Due to my history studies I have access to great books and sources that help me texting. Of course other bands with similar lyrics inspires me a lot as well. Being drunk on concerts is another good inspiration for me. 

How often do you reherse? We try to keep it up to at least once a week. 

How have you developed since you started with the music? I am still angry that our friends did not beat us up for our first demo. We luckily never published that shit. I think it took us a while to grow up and play death metal. For our upcoming Album we conscripted another guitarist which widens the field of possibilities massively.  

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Well of course. Some friends, Felix and I organize Metal concerts in Bielefeld as well. Check https://www.facebook.com/underground.assault.concerts/ for more ;-) I love football and have a permanent ticket for our local football club Arminia Bielefeld. Everyone of us has plenty of hobbies beside Scalpture...just nothing of the same importance. 

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? We just signed a contract with Final Gate Records (https://www.facebook.com/FinalGateRecords/?fref=ts). I think as a no name band you should find a label to publish your stuff nowadays. No one is interested in you as good as you might be. Just too many new bands that form and disappear every day.

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? We are not actively looking for one and we actually never really had any thought about it. Could be useful maybe.

What are your songs about? They deal with all stuff around war. Facing our upcoming album is named “PANZERDOKTRIN”,  I think the message is obvious. 

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? Before Tobias entered the band it was just Felix. Now Felix and Tobias do the composing. Both are fantastic musicians and work together very efficiently. The texting is my job. In my opinion a singer should perform his own lyrics.  

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? So far we always started with the music, though there were a few examples where I gave Felix some ideas for song names and he did a great job to transfer them into music. 

Do you compose in a certain inviroment? I know that Felix needs a quiet and calm atmosphere. He often locked himself up for a weekend or “moved back” to his parents' for a few days. Most of my lyrics were written at night. It takes me some time to get into a creative mood in which I can't stand any deflection. At night I can text undisturbed... 

Have you done any covers live? Never. And nothing is planned so far... 

What language do you sing in?

All our texts are English. From time to time German words find their way into the lyrics. For

example there is a Song from our EP BORDER CROSSING named KEILER. A German mine clearing tank. In DAM BUSTERS I even use a French line picking up the 617 Squadrons creed (“Apre nous le Deluge”).   

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Haha I never really count. Must be from about 20 up to more than hundered. 

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? Before our latest album we were happy to have enough songs for a set! With PANZERDOKTRIN we haven't performed live yet.

What was your first gig like? It was a small location and we shared the stage with some good friends. Everyone was nervous as fuck. We didn't screw completely, which was our goal. Think it's like with every first time...gets better the longer you practice...   

What was your latest gig? I spend the last year in Sweden to study in Uppsala, so it's been quiet a while now. It was Summer 2015. 

Have you had to cancel a gig? Fortunately not yet! I am afraid of the day where it happens the first time! 

Where have you played live this year? We were so busy with the songwriting and recording of our upcoming album, so there was no space for gigs actually. 

Where do you plan to gig the comming year? We have already confirmed a gig in Kassel at the ANGER FEST on 12th November. 

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? We started relatively early. I behaved like a child on Christmas when our first shirts arrived. We sell shirts and patches. For our new album tank tops will be added. 

Where can people buy your merchandise? We sell merch at our shows. Otherwise people can contact us on Facebook or send an e-mail. I have to say right now we are out of shirts. 

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? For new bands I think it is absolutely necessary to give at least a bit of your stuff away for free downloads. I personally like it to get a first impression of a band or an album. If I like it I usually buy the record earlier or later. I don't like the people who just own digital mp3 versions of their “favourite album”. As well I find those people strange who own not a single mp3...”just tapes and vinyl!” Today's modern technology opens great possibilities, though we should not forget that there are real artists behind an album, who should be appreciated! 

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? I think the music industry has reacted to all this a bit late. The big labels will always find ways to get more than enough money.    

What do you think of my work? I do not know enough about your work to give a qualified opinion...but if you are really interested in supporting underground bands keep going! 

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? To be honest I expect nothing from this. It was fun to answer some of these questions and cheers to anyone who has read the interview to this point! 

Do you have any role models or idols? I think everyone has some...of course I admire other singers of the Death Metal bands I like. There is Karl Willets as a classic example...there are quiet a few musicians dead and alive I would love to have a beer with. 

Why do you think that they exist? Hmm that's a difficult one...maybe all of their parents had sex at a certain point... 

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? I get inspiration from good bands...that has nothing to do if they are old or young, active or split up... 

What have been your biggest obstacles? We were kicked out of our rehearsal rooms plenty of times. At this point I have to say that it has never been our fault, we were just very unlucky with our landlords. That had forced us to some creative breaks. After all we are still together in the same constellation, so I think this strengthened us aswell. 

What advice would you give other bands or artists? We are more the band who needs advices rather than giving some... If there is one I can give it would be not to give up too early. Be self-critical and persistent and be convinced that the shit you do is worth it... 

How do you get psyched for a gig? We drink... 

Do you have any new material? End of the year we will release our first full length album “PANZERDOKTRIN” 

What are your web sites? https://www.facebook.com/Scalpture 

How can people reach you? Text us on facebook or send us an e-mail to [email protected] 

What are your plans for the future? Play live and  get drunk from time to time with all the good people around us.