And Vienna Würstelstand talked to them about all of this … while they tried to work on a crossword from some 1960s porn magazine which we gave to them as a gift. They’re still working on the crossword, from what we hear.
Meanwhile, as they’re such talents at producing kick-ass music videos (and for the lazy amongst our audience who can’t be bothered reading the interview below), we thought we’d give it a go and made one out of the interview. What do you think, foxy Julian and der furry Fux? Want to do your next cooperation with the Würstels?
Music: Julian & der Fux, ’99 cents’ from their debut album, Vanille
Ok, enough of that nonsense. Here’s a real music video by the duo, freshly released just a week ago for their single from the new album, Vanille:
Here’s the questions, answers and more music:
Vienna Würstelstand (VW): How did Julian & der Fux come together? How do you know each other?
Der Fux (DF): We both knew each other as friends and we’d worked together on another project. And in 2012 we recorded our first song Speckbrot. We weren’t aware at this point that we’d be working on a long term project together.
VW: Where does the name Der Fux come from?
DF: That’s actually a long and complicated story. The DJ project we did before was called Fuxblut.
VW: The album Vanille is your first album, just released at the end of last year. What’s it about?
DF: It’s about life.
Julian (J): And about a horse… the horse holds everything together. The horse is our mascot.
VW: Why the choice of the name, Vanille?
DF: This is the main aroma used. It’s in everything. But very little stuff made uses real vanilla in it. About 90 % of stuff using the vanilla scent, is artificially made.
VW: In your breed of music, people typically overlook the lyrics but your lyrics really have some witty and clever thought behind them. Do you start with the lyrics first or the music when writing a song?
J: Both are a little independent from each other. Sometimes it’s a combination, for example, there’s a few phrases that become a song, or sometimes the emotion in the music changes the text.
VW: Your music would typically be described as electro/pop? But this somehow doesn’t completely fit. How would you describe it?
DF: We don’t really want to be able to fit into one genre. Earlier we worked more with electronica, but it’s really mixed.
VW: And if you could use 3 or 4 adjectives to describe what it sounds like?
J: On the album Vanille, we’ve tried to take different clichés out of different pop, out of the 90ies and 80ies, and then make something out of it ourselves.
VW: What should people be doing when listening to your music?
DF: Freaking out.
J: Cuddling.
VW: With your voice over the top Julian, cuddling would be kind of creepy.
J: You want to sit next to me? (Julian says in his signature creepy, dirty voice)
VW: We’re wondering, how much of that is your real voice Julian? How much is it modified in post-production?
J: It’s real. It’s all real. “Es funktioniert schon” (Julian says, again using his creepy vocal voice giving me goosebumps while making me want to stroke his moustache).
VW: Is Vienna the place that inspires your music?
J: Yeah, more and more. For example the video Altes Ego. This was written at a time when I didn’t have much money and I’d always go everywhere by foot. And there’s this bridge in the 15th district over the railway tracks I’d walk over often and this inspired me, and also inspired the video.
J: Also the EKH, we played there and I found it an extremely cool place.
DF: For me, I wouldn’t say there’s a specific district but there is a certain atmosphere in Vienna that inspires me.
VW: Is there an attitude of Vienna that you’d say is in your music?
DF: In the lyrics and the language there’s definitely a identity there that’s Vienna. A lot of it comes from growing up in the 90ies in Vienna, going out and going to music gigs.
© Tiana Wirth
VW: What’s your favourite song off of Vanille?
J: It changes, it depends on my mood. It’s hard to say. Sometimes you can’t stand hearing one of them and other times you love it.
VW: You guys are fashionable in the music videos with your colourful shirts and all. Where do you do your shopping?
J: We have support in this department from Sammy – he dresses us up.
VW: So you don’t dress like that in everyday life?
DF: Well! (he says looking down at his black and white flecked top that looks like when you lose the signal on an old TV)
VW: How is your music received outside of Austria?
J: Really well. We’ve been in Holland, Barcelona, Berlin and Brussels. It was really cool in Brussels. It proved that our music can tour successfully outside of the German-speaking world. In Holland it was also cool, where you can assume that most understand only a bit of German.
VW: Is there a lyric that stands out as a favourite from your music?
DF: This is also something depending on the mood. I mean, I really love the text from ‘Nie Genug’ a lot. I almost like every line.
J: “Die Farbe rinnt über den Rand, die Pflicht flüstert durch die Wand.” (translation: the colour brims over the rim, and duty whispers through the wall) from Weiß In Weiß.
VW: You guys also produce the music videos in a bunch of cooperations. Is that a big part of the creative process of each song?
DF: Big, indeed. We like to think of it as everything coming together as a big package, as one big work of art.
VW: What did you do before starting with music?
J: Music. (laughs)
DF: Yeah, it’s always been the music.
J: We always did jobs alongside the music, but it’s always been to support the music.
VW: What music have you been listening to throughout your life to come up with this strange, original sound you have in your music?
DF: I’ve intensively worked my way through all kinds of genres of music. Electronic, pop, old stuff – I’m well travelled in terms of music.
J: Until I was 15 I think I only listened to David Bowie. Then from 17 I was listening to Hip Hop and electronic beats. I had a reggae phase, and at some point it come to house and techno. All sorts.
VW: You have an impressive moustache, Julian. Do you let it grow wildly or do you trim it a lot?
J: Generally, I trim it once a week. (says it with a dirty smile on his face)
The Vienna Würstelstand word rap:
We say a word and you say what immediately comes into your head …
Beard – (Der Fux) Julian
Pop – (Der Fux) Song
Speckbrot – (Der Fux) It’s your turn. (Julian) what? It’s my turn? Uhm … blockflute.
Blueberries – (Der Fux) Bitter
Vienna – (Der Fux) Würstelstand
David Bowie – (both at the same time) Legend
Scary – (Julian) Monsters
Bass – (Der Fux) Drums
Vienna Würstelstand – (Der Fux) Interview
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