Can you give a brief introduction to Chrom?
Hi, we are Chris and Tom from CHROM. We come from Düren in Germany.
That's between Aachen and Cologne.
Chrom started as a 2 person band, Chris and Thom, how did you meet and why start a band together?
We know each other for a very long time, but we disconnected for some years. 2007 we met again on a concert in Cologne. At this time we both had music projects, but we were not satisfied. Then we noticed that we had the same ambitions and purpose....making electronic music and playing live as often as possible. Then we made the first song together. The result was "The Black Sheep" and because of the many positive feedback we decided to start our own new band: CHROM.
Both of you were in different bands before, what were you missing in those bands that Chrom gives you?
In our bands that we had at this time there was no coming forward. We both wanted to do more than only playing songs in a small and dark room without an audience. When you are making music you want to showcase it and share it with other people. Now we are two people that have the same purpose and the same vision of making music.
In 2008 you released an ep called “Manufactured”. Why did you make this ep and released it on your own, wasn’t a label interested in releasing it? What was the purpose of this ep?
We made this EP in the beginning of CHROM, so only a few people knew us at this time. We just wanted to give a first sample of our music and also a more professional promo cd for sending it to some labels. There were also some gigs that we already played. So we didn't want to stand there with empty hands after the gig.
How would you describe your own music, futurepop is a term I often hear?
We try to mix a lot of styles of electronic music to make it more varied. Because that's exactly what we want to do...being varied! We don't like albums that sound all the same from the first to the last song. Our music is a mixture of Future Pop and Ebm, but also Dark Electro and Synth Pop influences.
How do you create your songs, do you always follow a strict path in it or does it always change?
First of all there is always an instrumental sequence or sound that we like. After that we make a first arrangement with other elements and effects. Then we try to find a vocal melody and write the lyrics. At the end we finish the arrangement and the hole song.
What inspires you in writing the music and lyrics?
We like powerful music and music that is touching inside. So this is hard to explain, but there is always a feeling that inspires us to a special groove or melody. The lyrics are a little bit more complicated. We try to imagine a feeling or a special situation that fits to the instrumental. Sometimes shocking news or themes that move your soul give a great inspiration for new lyrics.
You got signed by Fearsection, how did you get in contact with them?
2008 we had a gig in a small town called Luckenwalde near Berlin. For this event Chris Pohl was booked for the DJ. He watched our show and after this we talked to each other. 2009 we had another gig inthe same town and Chris was there again. After our show he came to us and said that he was impressed by our music and performance. He wanted to make a deal with us and see what it would be like to put us on a bigger stage. So a few months later he invited us to be special guest for 2 Blutengel shows in Berlin. That was pretty cool and the audience liked us. After that we made the deal.
You just released your debutalbum “electroscope” are you surprised by the great reviews it got?
Yes we are! And we're very happy that so many people like what we do.
The vocals are pretty rough on the album except for the choruses which are more melodic and clean sung, did you do this on purpose?
Sure...because we like rough vocals and also melodic vocals...and, as we told you, we want to be varied. We try to show different facets to make it more interesting.
Did you rerecord the older songs for the new album?
Yes it was. After we signed at Fearsection, we recorded every song completly new to get the highest sound quality. We've been in studio for about 5 months. Every free minute we spend in the studio of our good friend Jürgen Wirtz to produce our album. After every session we had to listen to the updated mixes on many different sound systems to compare the results. That was hard....but also a lot of fun.
What should this album bring you in terms of spreading your name, getting concerts, sales and so? When are you satisfied?
As every artist we want to get more popular and successful, of course. But the main thing is getting more gigs!!! We would like to play on some bigger festivals and do some supports for bigger bands. That's always good for moving forward.
What will be next for Chrom?
Playing gigs of course! ;-) It seems that we are going on tour through Germany next year...and maybe you can see us on some festivals...but that's not for sure yet. So watch out for the forthcoming news! But we will make a new album...that's for sure!! We already have some new songs and great ideas...so be prepared! ;-)
Any last words for our readers?
We want to thank all of you for your support and your loyalty. You're great!!! So we hope to see you at our next shows!
www.myspace.com/chrom2007