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Interview with Chris Harms (Lord Of The Lost)

«I don‘t see myself as an idol»

русская версия

This year Lord Of The Lost decided not to leave their fans without a Christmas present and announced the release of a new record on December 29th. Unlike previous years, the new release is not a new album of the band's songs, but a full album of covers of other artists. Why the band came to such an ambiguous decision and whether their expectations were met - these and other questions were once again kindly answered by the band's frontman Chris Harms.  

 

So, our first question: Did you name your album "Weapons Of Mass Seduction" because your pants for the promo photo are also weapons of mass seduction?

Chris: Well, if you prefer a funny answer: yes, sure! But sadly it's not true. The more boring but therefore true answer is: We've had this title in the drawer for more than ten years already. Gared came up with it. For a song, an album, any kind of release. Because we just loved the wordplay and also the, let's say, a little more sophisticated way of saying “sex sells”. But at the end of the day, using this title for our own songs, no matter how much we liked it, seemed very arrogant and self-glorifying. So we didn't use it for our own material. Using it for a COVER album instead though, which is based on OTHER artist's work, ideas and masterpieces, made a lot of sense – calling THEIR work “Weapons Of Mass Seduction” is a sign of respecting and honouring them. An homage.

And what did your parents say about your naked butt on the calendar?

Chris: I don't know if they have seen it already. But since they are following everything on social media, daily, I am quite sure the did. I don't think that they care or find it offensive. They are easy, open-minded and young at heart, besides that my mother worked as a model from 1960 to the early 80's, she won't be bothered by me showing my butt in some see-through pants on camera.

Making a music album is a lot of work. Why did you feel the need to release a cover album and not just a new album of your songs?

Chris: We do feel the need to release a “real” new album with our own songs very much. But not now, not yet. We will need time for that, time to to really dive deep to find some new pearls in some depths we haven't visited before or have not been visiting for a long time. And apart from the factor time, it would be way too early now for something new. Therefore a new album with own material won't come before summer 2025. The idea for a cover album is something we wanted to do for many years but it always felt too early for that. We didn't wanna be one of those bands with this kind of success which is just based on one or a couple of cover songs. Not dropping any names here, the examples are out there for everyone to see. That's why there was never a cover song on one of our regular albums. We always only released them as bonus tracks and b-sides. After “Thornstar” and “Judas”, both Top 10 chart albums, we felt it was the right time for a cover album after the next album following “Judas”. So already during the studio time for “Blood & Glitter”, in early 2022 in Helsinki, we made plans for a cover album, to be released one year after “Blood & Glitter”, an cover album which kind of feels like from the same world as “Blood & Glitter”, with the same kind of energy. A musical second serving, the extra portion, the dessert if you will. We finally decided to do the whole cover album thing while recording the Roxette cover “The Look” which was meant to be a bonus track for “Blood & Glitter”. So directly after Finland, we started working on the cover album in summer 2022, which was done then in early 2023, waiting for its release – now. And circling back to your first part of the question: yes, producing an album is a lot of work. But the major part of an album process is always the creative aspect, the songwriting, which in this case was not needed. So we treated all these originals that we wanted to cover like demo versions of songs we could have written, means that we could directly jump into arranging. Making a cover album is way easier and actually not really a creative process – it's a reproductive process. Which was a relaxing and fun experience. Now we are full of hunger to CREATE new stuff. And we have already written some new songs plus a basic emotional album concept in mind.

What was the reason you limited yourself to only one music video for the new album?

Chris: Actually we did not want to shoot even one video for a cover song for the cover album. We only wanted to shoot a video for one cover song, “The Look”, which was already on “Blood & Glitter” as said earlier. We wanted that to be the final video for the record. The cover album was meant to stay without videos as we didn't want people to check us out on Youtube to only find a whole bunch of covers and that's it. Due to algorithms that can happen easily with covers and we could be misunderstood as a cover band. We didn't want that. Since the post-production for the “The Look” video took longer than expected for some reasons, and we needed some visual for the start of the marketing campaign of “Weapons Of Mass Seduction”, we did a quick DIY video shoot for “Shock To The System”, directly the day after I returned from my vacation in the Caribbean. All the pale make up on sun tanned skin... that took me a while. Well, but that's gonna be it. We do not plan to shoot a music video for any other cover song in the future. Talking about the future though, since 2023 was way more busy than expected, we didn't have the time to shoot a music video for the “Blood & Glitter” song “The Future Of A Past Life” together with Marcus from HEAVEN SHALL BURN. So we will do that in January 2024. We really don't want to leave this great track without a music video!

Many German bands and rock bands in general often do covers of Rammstein. Do you feel like singing some of the songs of these popular fellow countrymen?

Chris: No, this won't happen. And I actually don't recall that many Rammstein covers. Just one: “Seemann” by Apocalyptica with Nina Hagen, which I find way more interesting than the original. Being asked as a vocalist on an Apocalyptica song is still one of my life goals, by the way. I love them since the late 90's, I used to practice my cello play to their Metallica tribute record. I actually listened to their Metallica covers way before I listened to the original Metallica songs, which is kind of funny.

Have you met people on the streets of Hamburg who play covers of your songs and what would be your reaction or emotion if you met such musicians? 

Chris: Therefore I would need to walk through the streets when people are there, which rarely happens. So, no. Or maybe no street musician is even doing that, playing one of our songs. But that would be a beautiful surprise. Hearing people, on the internet so far, interpreting our songs, is always great.

You released an album based on the Bible, you made an album that fitting for ESC, also you have a cover album coming out. Fans are worried, when is there going to be an album about love, passion and broken hearts like the good old days?

Chris: Actually no, if you are talking about “Judas”, it's not about the bible. It is inspired by the presumably fictional character of Judas and the apocrypha “The Gospel Of Judas”, a “forbidden” gospel which was not “allowed” to be a part of the canon of the bible. Which is not surprising since it contains a Jesus quote that somehow says that humans won't need a church for their belief. Of course that's nothing that the institution of the church likes to hear. Anyway, the “Blood & Glitter” album also was not made for Eurovision. We wrote and produced that record way before we did Eurovision. We've been applying for Eurovision for like ten years already, so it could have happened with any other album. But of course it's not a big surprise that the more colourful variant of LOTL was deemed to be most fitting for Eurovision, so we were allowed to be part of it. Talking about the “good old days”, I must say that there are many , many songs on “Judas” and also “Thornstar” about love, passion and broken hearts. As we are not HIM, we are not doing Love Metal on every record, but if someone knows LOTL a little, they will know that we are always searching for contrasts – so it is actually pretty logical that the next thing we do will be something dark which will feel much more like “Fears” or “Antagony”. Because after so much red and gold we feel the need for black again. Since I am half Vulcan, I can truly adore the logic in this fact.

You had a great performance at Wacken Open Air. But it seemed to me that you were a bit not in good voice. Was it hard for you to cope with all the stress you've been under this year?

Chris: You think so? I myself felt in great shape, my intonation was not too bad that day and my energy was through the roof. I was 100% fit and healthy. I know that my voice was a little more raspy than usual, which is something that happens at open air shows when it's quite cold. Although it was August, it was really cold that night in Northern Germany. When I listened to the concert later, I liked what I heard and I kind of like my voice when it sounds that raspy and used up. The stream of the show is still online by the way, it can be found on Magenta TV. Sounding a bit more raspy does not mean that I am stressed or overdone. Everything was fine that day. But of course, all in all, this year left me very tired. It was the most busy year we've ever had and we are taking it a lot easier in 2024.

I've noticed that most of your fans are young girls. How does it feel to be an idol for teenagers and young girls when you are already over 40?

Chris: I understand that it might seem like that. But last time we checked the demographics of our socials and ticket sales, which was quite recently, in average we have a 55% female audience. The age group 18 to 24 is only third in size. The biggest is 25 to 35, followed by 36 to fourty-something. The group of 18-24 year old boys though is much much smaller. The major part of our male audience is older than me. The thing about the 20 year old girls though us, this is the group of Losties who mostly come first in the morning to wait in front of the concert halls, thus they fill the major part of the first rows. So yes, I know why it seems like this is our main audience. Circling back to your question how it feels: Frankly, I don't care how old our fans are or which gender they have or if I might be an idol or not. Each one of them counts, they all count, no matter where they come from or how old they are. And why would it be weirder than a 7 year old kid or a 70 year old person? We also have them in the audience. It's the same the other way around, I listen to artists who are still kids and others are very old or already dead. I know what the aim of your question might be, but I'm the wrong person to give you the answer that you might want. I don't see myself as an idol or a sex symbol. Whenever I try to understand that, I have to laugh out very loud. It's absurd to me. And it will always be. And I think it's the most healthy way to not see myself that way.

You have an image of a heartbreaker and lover of women. How many percent coincidence with reality does this image have?

Chris: The more famous people get, the bigger the heartbreaker image. Is there a formula to that? And well, yes, I do love women. I have tried it with men when I was young and I recognized that I am definitely not gay. So, yeah, my heterosexuality is 100% reality.

There are quite a few interesting rumours about you. Is it true that you started an affair with Anica Russo after the ESC? People say that there is a kind of chemistry between you two. Also, what about your flirtations with Polish contestant Blanka? 

Chris: With Anica, seriously? People are amazing. You sing a duet with a person or adore someones artistry and – bam! - there you go with an affair. And Blanka, well, she left me at the altar... I'm better solo.

I also heard a rumour that you have a child with Jasmine Wagner. Is that true?

Chris: Sure. Blossom-Chrissy just turned 23 years last week and is an adorable young and independent person. We are very proud parents.

What do you think about all these covers of your songs using AI, where your voice is replaced by another singer's voice, or those songs where your voice is played back using AI?

Chris: I refuse to listen to them. I find them as useless as the weird “speed up versions” of songs, which is also like some disease on YouTube. It's fascinating that technology is that far, but I do enjoy other things more.

You once said you wanted your body to be buried by human composting after you died. How did you come up with the idea? But don't you think that this way of burial creates an illusion that the human body and personality are insignificant?

Chris: I thought about it first when I saw the first “Avatar” movie. It made so much sense, that all energy is just borrowed and it has to be given back to the planet, or in this case to the moon Pandora. A little later I saw a documentary about a dead elephant, about the rotting process, how much calories such a dead body is worth, how many life forms feed on it, how it is necessary to give back this body to the eco system. After the “One Last Song” music video shoot and after watching “Sterben fur Anfanger”, in English “Dying for Dummies”, a very serious documentary about dying, by our friend Olivia Jones, Germany's most famous drag queen, I started digging into this topic. About ways of being buried that do help the eco system, that are most sustainable, which are not selfish and devil-may-care. Being buried in a coffin, and then rotting, takes many years, you take space on a graveyard, many parts of the burial are not sustainable, parts of the coffin, clothes, your bones take ages to become part of the earth again. It is slow and not natural. A dying elephant is not being nicely dressed and then buried in some big wooden box. It rots the natural way. In comparison, being cremated is actually a no-go in terms of sustainability. All the energy turns to heat. The remaining ash does not have any positive effect on nature. Well, it can be used as a fertilizer, but the effect does not really show an impact. Then I found “Re-Erdigung”, which is a wordplay on the German word for burial - “Beerdigung”, which actually means something like recycling or human composting. Google it, it's amazing! Within like 40 days a 50 kilos body turns into 75 kilos of topsoil, which then can be spread around some tree in a forest or such like. You become one with nature again, for real! And quick. And you give back a lot with the smallest amount of energy loss. I like this idea, to give a dead body a meaning. Because in my perception the human body truly is insignificant as soon as it is deceased. And so is the personality as it only lives on in other people's memories, in art, in books, in whatever footprints we had left on earth and well... in music.

How do you feel about the possibility of using your holograms for concerts in the future?

Chris: I think I'd prefer to watch a video of a nice concert from the past. This hologram hype is nothing for me.

Which stage moment would you like to relive again?

Chris: The very first LOTL concert in Schwerin, Germany, in early 2009.

In connection with the fact that you do covers of other musicians' songs, doesn't your attitude to music change because of scandals, rumours or controversial biographies of your idols and colleagues?

Chris: Some things need to be thought through here, yes. But I cannot give a general answer here, each case must be treated individually.

You have a lot of songs about people who don't fit in, about people who feel different. But you yourself are already quite successful people. Do you still have that feeling of rejection and the fact that you don't fit in with the world that teenagers have?

Chris: The term “teenagers” cannot be generalized. All of them are different. And some of them I really understand, some of them I cannot follow at all. But apart from that, being successful does not help you to fit in any better. Sometimes even the opposite is the case. When you go to a party and everybody knows who you are, you don't have the chance to meet someone at the same level of not-knowing each other. So each relationship is somehow un-even from the beginning. Sometimes it feels like the more people know you, the lonelier you get and the less you fit in. Success is not the recipe for fitting in or being a happy person. But success can truly make you happy with the job that you have.

Before becoming famous, artists often change many jobs. Did your experience from your "regular work" come in handy in your art? And are you still in touch with people from "old life"?

Chris: What is regular work? I worked at a bar, as a salesperson in a fashion store, as a cello teacher, as a lecturer in the university, songwriter, business counselor, musician, producer, audio engineer, as many different things. And many of them I still do. Which of these things are regular work and which are irregular work? I work hours and hours for LOTL every day and sometimes a big part of it is just office stuff. Is that regular work? It's not like I am a butterfly in the garden of art, randomly finding some melodies and glittery clothes and then finding myself on some stage by accident. My main job in a way is “project manager” of the undertaking which is called LOTL. We are a real company. So, I never felt like I made a noticeable step from an old life to some new life. It's still the same life and with some people of my studio crew and colleagues, also the live crew, I work together for 10 years, 15 years, with some of them even more than 20 years!

Are you able to perceive music as an ordinary listener? Have you had a professional deformation when you hear any inaccuracy in someone else's playing?

Chris: The problem here is, I cannot compare to other listeners. And me myself, in my own world, I rate myself as “100% ordinary”. But I get the question. I think every trained musician or sound engineer, or both, songwriters, or people that were born with perfect pitch, like Gared, they listen to music differently than people that are pure consumers of music. And I am sure people like me might say “ouchie, that was a hurtful sound, or a wrong note” a little earlier than a pure consumer. But I love listening to music and analyze things at the same time. It is not disturbing me at all, I find it very relaxing and interesting at the same time.

How do you and your bandmates feel about having to end your career one day?

Chris: It depends. If we are forced to end everything earlier than we want, that will be at least very hurtful, if not a catastrophe. If we end it because we want to end it, it is a beautiful thing. This might happen in 30 years or more. Or maybe earlier, who can possibly know? If next year I think “I am done with LOTL” or “I am done with music in general” and it is what I really want – I will end it and I'll be fine with it. But I'd be really surprised by myself if that happens, and I barely surprised myself before.

Jenet Bonishi

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