The Lower Saxon has never made a secret of the fact that Christopher von Deylen, whose project is called "Schiller", is an ardent cineaste. Nor has he ever made a secret of his love of film music. But in contrast to his earlier, incidentally highly successful albums, this time the 51-year-old has realised all the acoustic requirements for imaginary soundtracks. He composed epic clouds of sound, in the spirit of Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh or, in places, Ennio Morricone, in order to record them with a 40-piece symphonic orchestra in Vienna's Synchron Stage Studio. In conversation, the likeable, rather shy von Deylen is still surprised at how sovereign and emotional the final result sounds.
eclipsed: What distinguishes the new work from the earlier ones?
Christopher von Deylen: The differences are not that great. For me, it was always about creating soundtracks for imaginary flicks. But with the addition of the orchestra, there's now even more head cinema.
eclipsed: To what extent did the orientation towards Krautrock luminaries like Tangerine Dream or Popol Vuh play a role in your writing?
Von Deylen: The Tangerine Dream sound in particular is the one with which I was musically socialized in my youth. Between the ages of 12 and 20, I hardly heard anything else. I couldn't really place this stuff. It was hardly ever played on the radio. For me, this wonderful stuff was an antithesis to pop music, for example. That's what I took over: creating my own microcosm and counter-design.
eclipsed: And how did the collaboration with the orchestra work?
Von Deylen: I was definitely not the great conductor. If only because I can't read music. Instead, I felt like a little boy who was allowed into a candy store for the first time with astonished eyes. Because really, I'm used to relying on my electronic instruments and playing around with them. But this time I had people in front of me, not machines.
