In the August issue of Terrorizer magazine (technically in an industrial-oriented insert called Dominion), there was a short interview with Sascha wherein he let slip the working title of the next album: Zilch. Sascha also mentioned that guests on the album will include Bill Rieflin and Koichi Fukuda from Static-X. Jurgen Engler of Die Krupps has also been rumored to be on the album, but this has not been confirmed by Sascha. As a special treat, I’ve got a short Q&A with Koichi Fukuda for you all! Enjoy:
[red]Q:[/red] You first worked with KMFDM on a remix of People of the Lie. Was that how you got involved?
[red]A:[/red] Yes, remix of “People of the Lie” was my first involvement with KMFDM. Tony (Static-X Bassist) was the one who had recommended me to Chris Kniker (Executive Producer of the Remix Album “KRIEG”) who was looking for remixers for the album at the time. After I turned in the remix of “People of the Lie”, I got a phone call from Sascha who told me that he liked the remix and asked me if I’m interested in working with him for KMFDM’s new material in the works, so I said “Of course, I am!”
[red]Q:[/red] Were you by any chance a fan of KMFDM beforehand?
[red]A:[/red] Yes, I’ve been a fan for a long time, so I really got excited when I was chosen to be one of the remixers for “KRIEG” Project.
[red]Q:[/red] I’ve read you’re based in California, whereas Sascha is currently in Germany. How did the collaboration work?
[red]A:[/red] We can collaborate through cyberspace nowadays.
[red]Q:[/red] How many songs did you work on?
[red]A:[/red] Other than 2 Remixes (“People of the Lie” and “Godlike”), I worked on some guitar riffs and guitar solo on one track that Sascha was working on at the time, but that’s about it so far.
[red]Q:[/red] I see you’re credited for both guitar and keyboards in Static X. Did you get a chance to do both with KMFDM as well?
[red]A:[/red] No, just a guitar work on one track so far.
[red]Q:[/red] Your remixes of People of the Lie and Godlike both got a lot of positive response for taking the songs in really unexpected directions. Will we see more experimentation on the songs you worked on, or will it be more like good, old fashioned, balls out industrial rock?
[red]A:[/red] When I work on remixes, I want to keep the original song concept intact somehow, but at the same time, want to make a complete new song out of it. So, deciding direction is the most important process for my remix works. But as far as the new KMFDM material is concerned, It’s not up to me to decide the direction, it’s up to Käpt’n K, Sascha!!!
[red]Q:[/red] Anything else you’d like to add about recording with Sascha?
[red]A:[/red] It was an honor since I have so much respect for his work over all these years.
[red]Q:[/red] Finally, if KMFDM fans like what they hear, where can they find more of your work?
[red]A:[/red] [url “http://www.facebook.com/koichifukuda”]http://www.facebook.com/koichifukuda, [url “http://www.myspace.com/koichifukuda”]http://www.myspace.com/koichifukuda, [url “http://www.twitter.com/koichifukuda”]http://www.twitter.com/koichifukuda
Additionally, Zilch isn’t the only thing on the horizon. In the aforementioned Terrorizer interview, Sascha said another Skold vs. KMFDM album was on the horizon, though it was low priority. Skold himself isn’t resting on his laurels, either. According to his official [url “http://www.skold.com/”]website, he’ll have a new album out…sometime. It was originally scheduled for the first half of 2010, but the site now says 12/21/2012. Being the date that the Mayans supposedly predicted the end of the world, this is most likely a joke. His official Facebook fan [url “http://www.facebook.com/skoldofficial”]page states it will come out in 2011.