In Lower Saxony they are shooting musically sharp lately! The band around singer and pianist Simon Moskon thinks in large format. Their progressive folk is putting the pedal to the metal. "Once Upon A Time" lives up to its name as a musical spaghetti western with a lot of pathos, harshness and queen-like choirs. The third album of the North German trio is his most elaborately produced work so far. How much western ethos and campfire romanticism is in "Once Upon A Time"?
Simon Moskon is a real thoroughbred musician. Live he is like dynamite, and also his eventful rock'n'roll life gives a lot of material for a classic western. Is he a Sergio Leone or Ennio Morricone fan himself? After all, the former was the director of the classic western "Spiel mir das Lied vom Tod" (original title: "Once Upon A Time In The West"), to which the latter contributed the legendary score as a composer. "Sure, it's great, but that probably had no direct influence on the aesthetics of our music," Moskon says
But what is this musical western by Cryptex about, and how did they come up with the story and album title? Moskon first has to take a deep breath: "Phew. Our albums are always autobiographical images of our soul life. This time it's ultimately a portrait of the time from autumn 2014 to the birth of my daughter in 2017. All the drastic experiences and breakthroughs in my life have brought this creative output with them. And the title somehow takes it well and yet remains cryptic.
It is not, however, a musical version of a Western fairy tale..." And why then were the videos for the songs "Bloodmoon" and "Haunted" shot with a distinct cowboy-outlaw romanticism, trapper rifle and wolf as well as a lot of naked skin of Indian squaw and snake charmer? "Believe it or not, there was at least no conscious Western attitude behind it. And about the naked skin: Yes, it may be erotic, but it's just a game with clichés, it's not meant to define gender roles. They're just eye-catchers, a bit in the Rammstein aesthetic we find cool."
