Updated: 03/12/00

Die Verbannten Kinder Evas is a dark wave band that deserves a listen! Headed by Richard Lederer (better known as Protector of the mighty Summoning), the music of Die Verbannten is sweeping in scope -- and possesses the most thrilling sounds you'll hear from any release this year. Along with the brilliant vocals of Tania Borsley, the Die Verbannten experience is one that will haunt your mind long after the disc makes it's final spin in your player. Read on for more info on this very cool, mystical band!

Highwire Daze: Introduce yourself and tell me what you do in Die Verbannten Kinder Evas and tell me how long the band has been together.

Richard Lederer: DVKE is a band that was formed by Michael Gregor and me. We knew each other since a long time and also played together in our Metalband "Summoning". We both had the same desire for more quiet and slow music, so we decided to make some instrumentals on my synthesiser, without even thinking about ever getting a recording contract. We both composed tunes and later we added our vocals to the songs.

HD: What does Die Verbannten Kinder Evas mean and where did you get the idea for the band name?

Richard: We found this name in an old Renaissance Choral booklet and were of the opinion, that it suited the mood of the music very well. Translated to English this name means "The banished children of Eve".

HD: Describe your music to someone who has never heard it before.

Richard: Our music is melancholic Darkwave that focuses on classic sounding keyboard sounds and dark, clear and melodic vocals instead of rock rhythms or heavy guitars. This music is perfect to listen to it is very concentrated and easy to get lost in -- but it is not so good for the dance flour, for example.

HD: Where is the band from and what is the music scene like there?

Richard: We both live in Austria. Tania was born in Czech but now lives in a small town near Vienna and I live right in Vienna. The Gothic and Dark Wave scene is not so big in Austria. There are some other good Darkwave Bands existing, like Dargaard and Whispers in the Shadow (where I played bass guitar some time ago).

HD: What are some of your musical and non musical influences?

Richard: I think every music a person listens to influences him in a way. Although DVKE is surely no metal music, it would surely sound different if I would have never listened to metal music before. Of course there are also some classical influences like Gustav Mahler, but all those influences are subconscious. But I don't think that my music was influenced by any non-musical influences.

HD: The vocals are outstanding. How either of you had any formal training?

Richard: Tania has been taking classical singing lesson for two years, whereas I started to take some lessons after the release of "In Darkness Let Me Dwell."

HD: We know that you perform the male vocals for Die Verbannten. Give me a little background on the female vocalist.

Richard: Tania is taking classical singing lessons for 2 1/2 years. Like me, she grew up in the metal scene and then turned more and more to a Darkwave fan. For Tania, it is very important that female vocals sound educated and very expressive -- she is not so a fan of this "heavenly voices" sound.

HD: When an idea comes up for a song, how do you decide whether to make it a Die Verbannten song or a Summoning song?

Richard: The main difference between those bands is that for DVKE, I compose most numbers alone. Whereas in Summoning, Silenius is the one who starts a song, by composing the basic tunes for it. My job in Summoning is to add some additional tunes and all rhythms to the songs.

HD: What do you think of the current political atmosphere in Austria and how does it affect you?

Richard: We are really not fans of those fascistic tendencies that are taking place in Austria at the moment. We know that there is surely a great difference between the right party in Austria and the old Nazionalsozialistic party, but there are some tendencies and they are getting stronger and stronger. As a member of an underground scene, I belong to the minority; so there is no reason to be a fan of fascistic movements (which is against minorities). I mean, first they are against the foreigners and what next?

HD: What other releases does Die Verbannten have?

Richard: There are 2 previous CDs existing (1. "Die Verbannten Kinder Evas" and 2."Come Heavy Sleep") Each CD had special elements in it, and reflected the personal taste we had at the moment. The first CD was like and experiment with the synthesizer; we never made music with the synthesizer before, so we tried many different sounds and combined many tunes together.

On the second CD I wanted to get more concept into my music. I didn't want to put too many accident tunes; I wanted to think about each tune and have more control about my music. I wanted to focus on tunes and not so much on sounds (because tunes are more important for me than sounds).

On the third CD I wanted to sound slower, darker and heavier (not in the metal way; just with more tympanies). Tania replaced Julia, and for the first time, I was really satisfied with the female vocals. In comparison to Julias voice, Tanias vocal sound was much more powerful and has a much more tragic mood; for the first time I was able to focus much more on the vocal tunes and not so much on the tunes of the instruments (Julia's voice was just not dominant enough to carry a main tune).

HD: Do you have messages for music fans in the States who might be interested in the music of Die Verbannten Kinder Evas?

Richard: I do not think that this kind of music is made to transport messages (I mean music like punk rock for example has this purpose). Our music is perfect to build your own fantasies to it and each message I would try to transport would destroy this fantasy freedom.

Thanks to Richard for taking the time out to answer these questions. Be sure to check out IN DARKNESS LET ME DWELL by Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, now available from Napalm Records!