Money & The Man Interview zum Album

Money & The Man Feature zum neuen Album; Fotocredit: M&TM

Nach über zehn Jahren im Geschäft und zahllosen Shows als energiegeladenes Rock-Duo melden sich Money & The Man mit einem Paukenschlag zurück. Mit MAMMON, dem dritten Album, öffnet die Band aus Zwolle ein neues Kapitel – lauter, kompromissloser und massiver als jemals zuvor.

Die Neuerfindung liegt nicht nur im Sound, sondern vor allem in der neuen Besetzung. Aus dem Duo ist nun ein Power-Trio geworden. „We call it that because of our new line-up, and also a bit because of the musical shift. The addition of a third person is statistically quite a big change. That’s why: a new era, a new face, a new overall image of the band,“ erklärt die Band im Gespräch. Und tatsächlich: Der Bass von Neuzugang Tim Kampman verleiht den Songs eine neue Dimension – mehr Druck, mehr Groove, mehr Spielraum für Gitarrist Henk.

Dass die Band nicht nur lauter, sondern auch mutiger geworden ist, zeigt sich exemplarisch an „Sea of Chemicals“, einem Stück, das mit metallischen Riffs und massiver Wucht daherkommt. „The jams in our shows sometimes got wilder and wilder, almost drifting into metal … On this record we embraced that again and revisited that old love,“ verrät die Band. Dieses Zurückgreifen auf jugendliche Einflüsse bringt der Platte eine raue, jugendliche Energie, die wie ein Ventil wirkt.

Doch MAMMON ist mehr als nur ein „lauter geworden“-Album. Es balanciert zwischen kompromisslosem Riffgewitter und bluesiger Schwere, während es in Stücken wie „Don’t You Think You’re a Cool Man“ oder „Who’s There to Blame“ seine eigene, kompromisslose DNA schärft. Die Band beschreibt den Effekt so: „It’s become like a better-running train … the rhythm section can keep going while Henk improvises more. It makes the band a much tighter unit live.“

Ein besonders spannender Aspekt ist dabei, wie sehr sich Money & The Man bewusst mit der Attitüde des Hard Rock auseinandersetzen – und diese gleichzeitig ironisieren. „No, sometimes we deliberately picked clichés from heavy music, mostly because we thought it was funny … there’s fun in it, there’s show in it, it’s not overly calculated.“ Dieses Augenzwinkern schützt MAMMON davor, in die Falle bloßer Testosteron-Schwere zu geraten. Stattdessen wirkt die Platte wie ein Orkan, der zwar alles niederreißt, dabei aber seinen Humor nicht verliert.

Mit MAMMON beweisen Money & The Man, dass sie nach Jahren als Underground-Geheimtipp bereit sind, ihr eigenes Biest zu entfesseln. Brutal, roh, aber immer mit einem spielerischen Funkeln – so klingt der nächste große Schritt einer Band, die noch lange nicht am Ende ihrer Entwicklung angekommen ist.

You are ushering in a new era for yourselves with the release of your new and third album “MAMMON”. What has changed so decisively that you see this as a new era?

Money & The Man: „We call it that because of our new line-up, and also a bit because of the musical shift. Money & the Man has been a duo for years. The addition of a third person is statistically quite a big change. That’s why: a new era, a new face, a new overall image of the band.“

In “Sea of Chemicals” you drift somewhat into metal. Did you, as a band, feel the need to become louder and wilder?

Money & The Man: „The Jams in our shows sometimes got wilder and wilder, almost drifting into metal. When we started writing like that, it tapped into a sense of teenage nostalgia for the bands we really loved back when we were like 16. On this record – and for example Sea of Chemicals – we embraced that again and revisited that old love. It’s basically a nice outlet for an urge that has always been there.“

You’ve now added a new element with the bass. In what way has this expanded your sound in a decisive way, and were you excited to see how this addition would turn out?

Money & The Man: „We were super excited. We’ve known Tim for a while, mostly as a guitarist, so it really was a complete experiment without a set outcome. In the studio we were surprised by how dynamically we could make the band, and especially by how much heavier it could get now, while Henk is freer on guitar to really go for it. It makes the band a much tighter unit live: the rhythm section can keep going while Henk improvises more. It’s become like a better-running train, so to speak.“

Are you ready to try something entirely new now, or are you already very satisfied with where you’re at?

Money & Man: „We’re happy with how Mammon turned out, but we’re definitely thinking about blending old-school Money & The Man with what’s on Mammon in a new way for the next record. We feel we can keep refining this for a long time.“

The sound is quite brutal and carves its way forward relentlessly. Were you afraid that you might come across as a bit too masculine?

Money & The Man: „No, sometimes we deliberately picked clichés from heavy music, mostly because we thought it was funny, even though we also thought it was genuinely cool. On top of that, Money & the Man is still (especially live) a very playful trio. There’s fun in it, there’s show in it, it’s not overly calculated. We know that – once we’re on stage – the character of Money & the Man comes through naturally, instead of some hyper-masculine metal performance. For now, we mostly just love diving into this wall of noise and completely letting ourselves go in it. That’s the best feeling there is.“