Inspirations for new collections of posts come from disparate places. This one comes from two places: one, a desire to try and record some of the stories of the past in our scene, by way of beloved songs, and two, from The Guardian’s long-running How We Made series.

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So what’s the point here? The scene is getting older. A great many bands no longer exist, a worrying number of people from within the scene are no longer with us. So let’s see what stories we can tell in the meantime, and I’m going to attempt to do that by talking to some of the people behind some beloved, long-lasting songs familiar to many readers in our scene.

It’s an entirely personal selection, at least to start with: the first few are songs I’ve known a long, long time, and had some curiosity around. The title of this new series comes from one of the closing tracks on Gavin Friday‘s sublime 1995 album Shag Tobacco.

A note about the interviews on amodelofcontrol.com. This is now a long-running, occasional series, occasional because of the fact that I only interview artists when I have something to ask, and when artists have something to say. I don’t use question templates, so each is unique, too. Finally, I only edit for grammar and add in links, so what you’re reading is the response of the artist directly.

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The second edition of this series looks at Beborn Beton. Formed back in 1989, they were prolific until the early 2000s, before taking a break and returning – perhaps sounding better than ever – in 2015 with new material, and, as I write are about to begin a US tour this week. The reason for the band’s inclusion in this series is thanks to an enduring synthpop anthem, Another World, a song of surprising darkness lyrically for a song that is pretty much guaranteed to get a crowd moving – and singing along.

I talked to Stefan Netschio of the band about that song, as well as getting things up-to-date with the new tour and EP. The photos are mine, from their show at Infest last year, and thanks to Stefan for taking the time to dip into the past.

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Another World is probably one of the most enduring songs from the era of 90s German synthpop (and arguably, what became futurepop – did you ever see yourselves as part of that?) – a cast-iron dancefloor filler pretty much anywhere since 1997. You’re a band that have never been short of hooks and memorable songs, did you ever wonder why it was this one that took off?

When we recorded the Truth album it was the second album we recorded with José Alvarez, who did produce De/Vision’s and Wolfsheim’s albums among others. It is a long time ago now, but I recall Another World being one of our favourite songs at the time. José was equally enthusiastic about the songs so we gave it some extra TLC and when it was finished we drove around in José’s BMW and listened to it a couple of times. Well, actually lots of times. But at that point we were just happy with how the song and the album turned out. We had no idea about its impact until our friends in New York City told us. But then we figured it was just another one of these memorable tunes that come and go. It is unbelievable that it is still popular after all this time. In the early days we were part of the EBM movement in Germany and then we were labeled Soft Techno. I wouldn’t say that our songwriting was reminiscent of early day synthpop. Our influences were The Cure, New Order, Duran Duran and A Flock Of Seagulls and the likes.

The song also has something that I’ve noticed in other songs: a musing on human nature that isn’t quite spirituality, but is perhaps bound in hope: Another World to me is very much about the absence of hope, whereas 24/7 Mystery is the opposite (a lustful hope). Do you prefer to remain positive, with the message that there can still /be/ hope in your songs and your outlook?

I think that depends on the story. When we sing about the world coming to an end due to the exploitation of its resources and an inevitable climate change; then I would like to believe that not all hope is lost. Another World on the other hand is inspired by a true story that happened in 1996 in Baltimore, Maryland. There was no hope to find in that story. In our early days we probably were more drawn to dark places indulging in sadness and grief. We knew nothing of real pain and just tried to imagine how that must feel. As grown men we have come to cherish life more and probably would love to end a story on a higher note. The world is fucked up as it is and we just need to observe and take note.

As a band, you were remarkably prolific during the 1990s – as well as the early cassette releases, Truth (the album that featured Another World) was already your fourth album in 1997, and there was a fifth album following that before your effective hiatus. Was the process for writing and recording Truth and particularly Another World relatively quick and painless, or was there more to it than that?

That was such a long time ago and I am having trouble remembering. But I guess the writing process was not really painful. We had quite a success with the Nightfall album and we were about to continue working with José as our producer, so I think it was fun. When your previous work has gained some recognition and praise, you are kind of riding the wave. The overall theme of the album was inspired by the government and media wanting to conceal certain truths. I was a huge fan of The X-Files series, so I drew a lot of inspiration from that. Then there were true stories that we transformed into fiction. And of course, as always, there had been emotional breakdowns that needed to be processed. I think we were pretty happy and satisfied with how the album turned out.

It was interesting at Infest last year, as the reaction to Another World was insane (mid-way into the set), but for me it was more recent tracks that were really great live – particularly 24/7 Mystery and Dancer In The Dark, which to my ears are some of the best tracks you’ve released. Do you still enjoy playing all the old tracks, or are you keener these days on pushing forward with the new material?

A little bit of both. Of course we love playing the old songs, because we know that people love them and that it’s going to be a party. Still, when we put out a new album we want people to get to know those as well and witness us having fun performing them. The real problem is, which songs to choose for a set. We all have our favourites and we know that people would like to hear some of the non-single album tracks as well, and then there is the new material that we need to promote.

Too many songs, too little time.

Speaking of the new, you’ve got a new EP coming (To The Stars) that feels like a postscript and continuation of last year’s excellent album. Were these songs written at the same time as Darkness Falls Again, or were they added later?

Two of the songs were written and produced at the same time Darkness Falls Again was recorded. I think they were the last two of the potential album material. When we were picking the album tracks we felt that American Girls and Progeny, although they had the same sound universe, were a bit more mature and advanced in the songwriting. But that is of course our personal taste. Some may say that they would have been a perfect fit for the album. Well, we didn’t, so it was clear from the beginning that these songs would be featured at a later stage. Ticket To The Moon was decided when it became clear what kind of release format we would be going for. We love doing covers of our beloved songs from our past from time to time, so after a while it became clear this song from 1981 by the Electric Light Orchestra would be it. So that track was recorded last.

Finally, you’re about to embark on your first US tour in many, many years. What was the response of US audiences to you the first time around, and do you have any idea of what to expect this time around?

The last time we toured the States we were opening for Apoptygma Berzerk. It was a dream. No pressure, no expectations, apart from having a great time, which we did. It was a huge vacation, doing sightseeing, performing almost every night in packed venues and watching the great Apop afterwards while getting drunk with the crew. And people went nuts.

This time it’s going to be a little different. We actually have no idea what to expect. People seem to be excited, but we don’t get the whole picture. Our crew is very small and we try to keep it as intimate as possible. Well, we are about to find out.

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Beborn Beton are on tour in the US and Canada during October: dates here. You can pre-order new EP To The Stars on Bandcamp or on SPKR.

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