Dear readers we have the pleasure to offer you in this article an interview with a German band with multifaceted Psychedelic and Prog Rock sounds. We would like to welcome TFNRSH.
Hello how are you?
“Splendid, as we’re enjoying the first weeks of the release of “TIEFENRAUSCH”!! Thanks for having us.“
Your sound incorporates elements of different genres between Prog, Psychedelia, Post-Rock and beyond, where does your passion for these sounds come from?
“I think most of our passion comes from listening to rather non-stereotypical stuff in the rock/metal genre and see how different musicians choose different directions/paths and expand our boundaries. Our sound is therefore heavily influenced by the music each of us consumes. There are bands such as King Buffalo, Elder, Yawning Man or Russian Circles that have a great impact on us and all three of us love. Of course, there is also music that influences each of us individually: Stefan for example loves Pink Floyd, All Them Witches or Psychedelic Porn Crumpets; Jakob is more the metal-influenced guy in the band whereas Sasan likes things from The Beatles over to Porcupine Tree, from The Cinematic Orchestra to Puscifer, or Karnivool to old-Opeth.“
The name of your band is TFNRSH, what meaning does it have?
“Every band member will probably tell you something different 😉 Basically, the word “Tiefenrausch” means rapture of the deep / nitrogen narcosis, a rush-like phenomenon that can occur diving deeper than 20 to 30m. Sasan came up with the name before we even played a single note! Must have been one of the names collected over the years as potential band names…haha Initially we used to be called TIEFENRAUSCH. Before releasing our record we decided to use the abbreviation without the vowels since there is another band with the same name. Nevertheless, we decided to name the album “TIEFENRAUSCH.” We still think the meaning and association fits nicely to this kind of music, as it could be viewed as a state of mind similar to diving deep into a musical experience: it is timeless, dreamy, you might lose your orientation and transcend a little bit.“
Your debut album “TIEFENRAUSCH” was released in July 2023, how would you describe this work?
“It wasn’t easy to decide which tracks we want to record since there is probably another four songs we have in our live sets. In the end, we chose the tracks that we think capture the spectrum of our sound best: a wide range of musical aspects from more rock-driven songs to psych vibes, strange and dreamy ambient soundscapes or combinations of all of the above.“
5 long-form, very intense and elaborate tracks, how does the creative process of your music take place?
“Half of our ideas come from jams, the other half from ideas we create at home individually. We still start our time in the rehearsal room with jamming and noodling around and recording the jams. In the early days, Sasan listened to the recordings, picked out the good parts, created new parts and we started putting them together.“
The album cover is very interesting, who is the author and what does it represent?
“The cover was created by talented French designer Jo Riou (@jo_riou). We were looking for a fitting artwork that on the one hand immediately catches the eye and on the other hand that avoids typical psych/stoner-clichés of half-naked women or dope smoking magicians. A lot of people ask us about the artwork and tell us how good it looks! It was a great decision to go with Jo’s fantastic artwork!“
Your music is engaging and elaborate, will there be a chance to hear it live?
“We recorded this album live in (more or less) one day in order to deliver the live experience into your living room. Regarding the sound and song-structure there won’t be huge differences between the record and a live setting. Nevertheless, we think that the songs performed live is way more powerful. We play regularly in or around Tübingen, Germany, but we hope to play live more often in the future and maybe visit a city close to
your followers.“
The German music scene has always been rich in quality artists, how do you see the current music scene in your pease?
“We see that there are a lot of artists in our and neighbored genres that influence the scene for decades now. Krautrock of the late 60s influenced so many bands we love and had great impact on modern music, not only within the stoner, psych or post-rock genres. There are so many great German bands that became benchmarks within the scene, such as Kadavar, My Sleeping Karma, Colour Haze or Long Distance Calling, to name a few. Also the biggest part of Elder moved to Germany which means it is not the worst spot for
this kind of music.“
Music is constantly evolving and has changed a lot over the years, how difficult is it to estblish
yourself by offering a genre like yours nowadays?
“It’s always surprising to see that a broad variety of different people is attending our live shows. But let’s be honest: our style of music is rather a niche within the niche. No vocals, no classical rock arangements / structures, songs over 10 minutes, strange soundscapes…but we’ve made the decision: focus on the music we love, the style we appreciate listening to and what we are capable of (we’re no Liquid Tension Experiment
:D). All this without trying to artificially expand our audience or appeal a certain group of listeners.“
Do you have any other passions or artistic activities outside of music?
“Sasan and Stefan got to know each other playing soccer in a leisure team once a week. Another passion of all of us is good food. We like to eat a lot. Our catering rider is more important than the tech-rider (just kidding). Further, Jakob and Sasan are fathers of two resp. three kids; we’re more than happy to have a bit of time for music and the occasional beers besides work & family.“
What advice would you give to young artists approaching music by proposing a genre like yours?
“Try not to be too complicated (as we are, haha). Play live as much as you can. But also take time to rehearse and hone your craft. And most important: have fun doing what you do and don’t try to please others!“
I would like to thank TFNRSH for the interview and wish them the best as they continue their artistic career.
read our Review of their album here: [Review] TFNRSH – TIEFENRAUSCH
