Dear readers, we are pleased to offer you in this article an interview with a German band with a Progressive sound and active since the 1970s. We welcome Dice.
Hi, how are you?
Christian Nóvé: “Good, because I´m proud that my band DICE is celebrating their 50th anniversary + on 19.07.2023 we will publish our 30th CD.“
The story begins in the late 70s, how did the band come about and why did you choose the name Dice?
Christian Nóvé: “In fact, the story of DICE begins in 1974 in Gütersloh (Westfalia) when I founded DICE in schooldays. We had some gigs in 1975 and in 1976 the members went to other bands and I had to search new musicians for the first time…
In 1977 I decided to move from Gütersloh to Frankfurt/Main because I thought I had a much better chance of finding good musicians to become famous with DICE. And in the 70s and 80s there was unfortunately one line-up change after another… However, I was able to release the first DICE LP with changing musicians in 1979…
I choose the name DICE by searching in a english dictionary: I looked for a short word and found the word DICE – and I liked it.“
What memories do you have of that magical time that was the 70s?
Christian Nóvé: “Since I couldn’t get a big company record deal in the magical 70s, these magical years were a pure struggle for me musically…“
You describe your genre as “Cosmic Prog,” what meaning does it have for you and where does your passion for these sounds come from?
Christian Nóvé: “Since I never wanted to copy other music, I really try to develop my own, recognizable sound. I succeeded… and i´m a Science-Fiction-Fan…so I decided to make Cosmic-Prog.“
Your new album “Landing In Area 3-0” has just been released, how would you describe this work?
Christian Nóvé: “Digitally you can buy our new album since last week and it is available on CD on July 19.
“Landing In Area 3-0” has turned out to be a great album – long tracks with skilfully captivating guitar solos, but the Mini-Moog is also more present than ever. These are the most rousing songs that DICE have ever created…“
Long instrumental textures and intense vocals, what themes do the lyrics of the album deal with?
Christian Nóvé: “Our last 3 CDs (The Madhouse In Paradise + The Space In Free Isolation + Chronicles Of The Last Self Thinkers) were a trilogy in which I, along with our american lyricist Dennis Lee Small, think about our world, which has gotten out of joint. Lyrically, this trilogy was very much rooted in the here and now. In our new album we return to our traditional themes of science fiction and philosophy.“
The album consists of 6 tracks, how does the creative process of your music take place?
Christian Nóvé: “Fortunately, as a composer, I have a never-ending creativity. Fortunately, my copywriter Dennis has an extremely large pool of texts at my disposal. If, while browsing through his lyrics, I find a text that I want to process, I sing the melodies that come to mind onto a dictaphone. Then I start to develop the groove for it and record the song bit by bit. And of course more and more ideas will be added in the next few sessions. And so forth…“
Many of our readers and your fans wonder if there will be a chance to hear your music live, do you have plans in this regard?
Christian Nóvé: “No – after my stroke in 2010, I finally decided to only release my music on CD and not perform live anymore.“
How do you think the way of gigging has changed since the ’70s? What has changed for you?
Christian Nóvé: “Progressive rock is a niche music and it has been extremely difficult to get a few decent gigs in recent decades – and it has certainly become even more difficult today. That’s why DICE no longer performs live, but only on CD – but that year after year.“
You have released numerous albums since your founding, how has your style evolved over time?
Christian Nóvé: “DICE music is “unique” – there are no comparisons in the musical landscape. In recent years I have enjoyed producing albums that are exactly 60:00 minutes long: with six wonderful DICE tracks. This is also the case with our new album.“
What advice would you give to young artists approaching music in a more sophisticated genre such as yours?
Christian Nóvé: “I can say the same then last year “Don’t doubt yourself – just keep going.““
Do you have any other activities or artistic passions outside of music?
Christian Nóvé: “No I live for my DICE-music.“
I thank Dice for the interview and wish them all the best for the continuation of their artistic career.
Christian Nóvé: “Thank you very much.“
