Subsignal mastermind Markus Steffen seems relaxed and tidy in the interview. And so could the 47-year-old: The first reviews of the new studio album were positive throughout. A small release tour also lies behind the band around Steffen and the Dutch singer Arno Menses. "Beacons" was also very well received by the fans. After two changes of line-up, the quintet may feel at the temporary high point of its career.
eclipsed: "Masterpiece", "stroke of genius" - the album reviews are sometimes exuberant. How are you doing with that?
Markus Steffen: Of course you're fine with it. That's great for us as a band and for the record company. Personally, it doesn't flash like it used to. I make music first and foremost for myself. It is important to me to write songs with which I am satisfied.
eclipsed: There were two changes: Luca Di Gennaro for David Bertok on the keys, Dirk Brand for Danilo Batdorf on drums. How did this happen?
Steffen: We had arrived at a point where there were some differences in musical direction that would have made further collaboration difficult. So we decided to go our separate ways. I agreed with Arno that we didn't want to experience something like Sieges Even again, where the conflicts had an influence on the artistic work. But there was no bad blood.
eclipsed: What do the new guys bring?
Steffen: Dirk plays very dynamically and has his eye on the suspense arcs more than you have seen at the live shows. He can drive a song in a certain direction. Luca, with whom we mainly communicated via the Internet, is a very creative person who can do things very quickly.
