Interview with Lars Kappeler (bass guitar) from Sweet Ermengarde
Since the beginning of 2022 SWEET ERMENGARDE has had a new singer: Drew Freeman. Now the band is releasing their first album with the new voice: ‘Sacrifice’ will be released digitally on 12 April 2024; the CD will follow on 18 April. I spoke to band founder and bass guitarist Lars Kappeler about the band’s new sound, the creation of the album and the importance of physical records.
Reflections of Darkness [RoD]: Our last interview was in July 2022, shortly after you introduced Drew Freeman as your new singer. A single came out and you had some live performances, now you are releasing ´Sacrifice´, the first album with Drew. Tell us - how and where was the album created?
Lars: I first wrote the music and created the demos. Then we tried things out in the rehearsal room and recorded the songs. As Drew lives in England, he got the demos first and thought about the vocal lines to go with them. He recorded them and sent them back so that we could use the vocals for rehearsals, for example. But to record the album Drew came to Germany, so we did it here together on location and recorded all the songs together.
RoD: Drew has another band, ALL MY THORNS. Have you come together well as a band in the new line-up with SWEET ERMENGARDE?
Lars: Yes, that was no problem at all and happened quite quickly. SWEET ERMENGARDE remained in the same line-up as before (editor’s note: Jacques Moch & Robin Böhm, guitars, Mischa Kliege, drums, and Lars Kappeler, bass guitar). Only Drew joined after the departure of our former singer Daniel. And we had all known each other for a long time. Drew used to come to our concerts in England and told us that he also makes music as a singer. When Daniel announced his departure, Drew wrote to me straight away and asked if we were looking for a new singer - he would do it. And that’s how it turned out. So, we didn’t even start looking for a new singer, we got together with Drew straight away.
RoD: If you listen to the new album ‘Sacrifice’ now that it’s finished, with a bit of distance: How would you describe the sound now, compared to your last records? Does SWEET ERMENGARDE sound different now?
Lars: I would say we sound a bit more like we used to. If you take our first album ‘Reynham Hall’, with the vocals of Kuba Achtelik, compared to the second album ‘Ex Oblivione’ with the voice of Daniel Schweiger, then we are now more similar to the first one again. ‘Ex Oblivione’ is more of a complete work on which the individual songs don’t stand out so much. ‘Reynham Hall’ was more song-orientated. The individual tracks stand out more, and I would say the same about ‘Sacrifice’. The album is more rocking and more song orientated.
RoD: How does it feel to have worked on an album for months and then let it go when it’s released? Is that difficult?
Lars: I wouldn’t say difficult, it’s more of a kind of release that it’s finished after so much intensive work on it. It then goes back to mastering, where someone else listens to it again and can give their input. And I’m happy when it’s finished. But of course, you always think afterwards that you could have done this or that differently. I actually want to change something every time I listen to a song. I was once told that an album is always a snapshot, and the next moment it can sound different again. You have to try to make the best album you can in one moment - and then leave it alone (laughs). And not keep thinking about what you could have done differently.
RoD: You mostly write the music for SWEET ERMENGARDE - how much influence do the other band members have on the songs? Does everyone bring in their individual influence?
Lars: Yes, everyone adds their personal influence and I am happy to receive any input. We don’t have a democracy. If someone else writes a song, then they have the last word. It doesn’t matter whether it’s me or someone else. Because when you write a song, you have a vision that you want to realise. And it’s important to keep that in mind. I wouldn’t claim to be the main songwriter, I’m always open to other people’s creative ideas.
RoD: The song ‘Embers Fall’ features Nino Sable from AEON SABLE. How did the collaboration come about?
Lars: The idea came about at the “Dark Skies over Witten” festival last year. We are good friends anyway and we both played at the festival. The song ‘Embers Fall’ hadn’t really caught on for me at the time and I thought we had to do something with it. When I saw AEON SABLE and they played my favourite song of theirs, ‘Praying Mantis’, I thought we had to incorporate something like that, vocally. We talked about it and then it happened!
RoD: Are there any other artists you would like to work with?
Lars: Caroline Blind can also be heard on the song ‘5th Horizon’, which I think is very nice. Apart from that, I can’t say exactly, although there are a lot of people. I listen to a song first and then I think he or she could also fit in and then I know who I would like to have for it. But it depends on the song.
RoD: The album ‘Sacrifice’ will be released on CD. Is vinyl also planned?
Lars: Not at first, no. The production time is very long, it’s time-consuming and expensive. Although vinyl would of course be nice, if only because of the beautiful artwork.
RoD: But it’s nice that you’re also releasing the album physically! Many people now only listen to streaming and don’t listen to whole albums, but to compiled playlists. What do you think of that?
Lars: Not much. First of all, you’re very dependent on the music industry, because a lot of things don’t even end up on a music portal, others disappear again quickly. It could be that I want to listen to a song and then it’s no longer there. When I buy a record, I have it and can listen to it at any time. I’m also a record collector. I like to hold something physically in my hand. Buying a record is also an interaction that is like a kind of ritual. You unpack it, place it carefully on the record player - that’s something special. MP3 and so on are of course super convenient, but you no longer have that kind of connection. As a teenager, I used to go to a record shop and search around for hours until I found the record I wanted and spent my pocket money on it - a lot of money back then - I really loved it and was proud to have a record. Today it’s not like that anymore. In my opinion, this has led to music becoming just a by-product. Always available everywhere, a whole album is no longer valued as much. I would even see this as a decline of the subculture. Unfortunately, as an artist you can hardly escape this development.
RoD: I also like to listen to an album from beginning to end - it makes sense in which order the songs are arranged, an artist also has a vision, a story, an idea for an album...
Lars: Exactly! Absolutely right. I’m also an album listener. Sure, I also listen to MP3s when I’m on the road, it’s not that I don’t use them. But it hasn’t made me stop buying real albums. Nevertheless, I don’t just see it as a negative thing. For many artists, online portals are of course also a good opportunity to showcase themselves. If I happen to hear a good song on a channel, then I also discover new bands for myself that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. The algorithm is sometimes frighteningly good! But if I like something, I’ll buy the album.
RoD: Back to ‘Sacrifice’: Is there a song on the album that means a lot to you personally?
Lars: My favourite is the opener, ‘Fragments’ - I’m more into the slow songs. This song is then taken up again, and at the end it goes back to the beginning. At first, I didn’t want to do the song at all, I thought it sounded too close to our earlier pieces on ‘Ex Oblivione’. I didn’t want to copy myself. But when Drew did the vocals, I thought it was great - and with the vocals together, the song is far enough away from our earlier songs.
RoD: Are there any plans for when and where we can see you live?
Lars: Definitely on 21 June at “Das Schloss Rockt” in Münster. There are no other gigs planned yet, but there will definitely be some!
RoD: Thank you very much for the interview!
Pictures by Sarah Till
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