Silent Voices (GERMANY)
SynthPoP For The Masses

 

visit Silent Voices

contact Silent Voices:
contact@silentvoices.de
URL: www.silentvoices.de

Artists Music
David Bamonte Vocals
Frank Alan Becker Keyboards, programming
Christian Porzia Guitars
Christian Scherer Keyboards, programming
 
Date: 2003

David was free to answer the following questions for the report about Silent Voices.

What kind of Jobs do your members have - only Musicians?
No. We all are working in different jobs.
Frank develops multimedia documents such as TV Commercials, radio commercials as well as short trailers. He is involved in commercial productions for new adds and clips in German radio.
Christian Porzia works as designer for showrooms ('Decorator'). He also designed the Silent Voices stage layout in the past.
Chris Scherer, who joined the band after the last release, is leading Physiotherapies for people with different kinds of physical problems.
David is still at university, he studies law in the 7th term now and will pass his first final state test in autumn next year...lots of hart work ;-).

What kind of instruments did the band-members learn?
Concerning the kind of music Silent Voices make, it's not a fair question. No, Frank Becker and Chris Scherer learned to play Piano, Chris Porzia learned to play guitar, David's been training his voice since he's been 6 years old - so we have an 'original' singer J

Why did you establish a SynthPoP-Band?
There exist rare SynthPoP-Fans and only some SynthPoP-fanatics like me J!

You're right, maybe this is exactly why we did this. As a SynthPoP band, you have to forget everything you know about 'showbiz' or being a musician in general. You have to start to inspire everybody you think that he/she maybe like your music. It is very hard to get 300 people to one of your first concerts, but it is amazing if you can stand on stage and see every eye following you. That's the difference between SynthPop fans and 'ordinary' fans. You have to please every single one, but then they won't leave you. In my (David) opinion there is a lot more truth in it, because you always see the same people, they are getting more and more, but you will not miss anyone you have seen anywhere you played before. The fans just stay, because they honestly like your music and what you do instead of the fact that a band is very popular or known for any shit that takes them into public.
One of the most important things for Silent Voices are these, as you called them, "fanatic" fans, cause they follow you every step with your music, even if they don't like one or two of your songs, they love you with every thing you do. And that is a reason to establish a SynthPoP band.

Tell me something about the beginnings of Silent Voices?
Silent Voices as band started in 1992, but these "Silent Voices" didn't have much to do with us today, not much with everything that happened from the recordings to our first CD "Suspicious Words".
At the very beginning, Frank and Chris P. started with some old synthesizers and samplers, making nice electronic music...the name "Fast Fashion" was very similar to "Depeche Mode" - don't ask me why J.
After a change of the members, fast Fashion didn't seem to be the right name for what they (Frank Alan Becker, Chris Porzia, Michael Bencivinni) wanted to do, nobody wanted to sound like Depeche Mode so obviously. So they changed the name, it also brought a change on the music itself, going from some kind of "happy" pop to independent SynthPoP.
October 21st 1994, Silent Voices concerning of Frank, Chris P. and Michael performed their first gig in front of a small (150 people) but excited audience. David Bamonte was standing in the audience, watching a band he loved from the beginning . but he did not know yet to be on stage with them one year later.
Some weeks after the Silent Voices concert, the singer Michael Bencivinni left Silent Voices. David Bamonte, who used to record songs with his good friend Oliver Thom from the band Equatronic, joined Silent Voices as the new front man and lead singer.
Silent Voices started to put more strength and effort in their works and played one gig after the other, always followed by the "hardcore" fans who really tried to watch every single gig, wherever it was.

What are the meanings of your band name Silent Voices?
It sounds great J! No, to be honest, we don't see any special meaning in the name, but if you listen carefully to our lyrics, you will always see the there are very small, soft, silent voices in your head thinking the same as our lyrics ...

Your music sounds 80s influenced.
Do you want to pay homage to 80s music?

Every musician whose music is related to SynthPoP in any kind pays automatically homage to the 80s. We would not be able to make music like we do without bands like Kraftwerk, Cetu Javu, Tangerine Dreams or Fad Gadget. Because these bands made it possible to get their music on air and popular. So I (David) think it is our duty to pay homage to 80s bands as well as to 80s music. But also we love to, yes!

What are Silent Voice's plans for the future?
Well, we planned to sell our souls to the devil and get rich! lOl! Nope, I hope we will be out with some new material soon, but you know, as already mentioned we all are working and very busy, we need some time for surprises.

How many CDs, Demos did you release and will release in future?
Silent Voices won't released any demos anymore. We are always working on new songs for a new album, but not together. Everybody works for himself, from time to time we meet to listen and go on finishing the songs. But a new CD will be out, not in 2001, but I am sure until autumn 2002.

Thank you David for taking the time answering all my questions.

Releases
Sampler The Great Commandments (Tribute to Camouflage) - 1998
Sampler Planet Germany - 1998
Compilation Synthpop: The Next Generation - 1997
Suspicious Words - 1997

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