Sin

Viennese Devils in White Lace Interview with Mona Moore of Sin by novadrops May 11th, 2005 Opening with a cinematic serenade that summons visions of a nocturnal city covered in thick blankets of snow, it's easy to see that "Absinth" is not just another Sin album; it's solid proof that the group has moved straight to the top of darkly intelligent downtempo music. Mona Moore's sex drenched lyrics ooze from her absinthe stained lips in "Sex Is More" while the catchy hook of "Devildivine" is nothing short of infectious. One of the best things about Sin is the brilliant lyrics which not only compliment the music perfectly but also read great on their own. Dealing with plenty of poetic imagery, devils & love, Sin have never been so successful at transporting the listener to one of those rainy nights in Vienna as they are on "Absinth". "Poem For Raphaelle" is a truly beautiful piece and on "Wishful Thinking", Mona affirms "This is no one night stand, this is bliss" - intoxicating and addictive are understatements to say the least. "Film Another Flower" is simply spellbinding, lulling, mesmerizing and hypnotic - a song that explodes in slow motion like a beautiful dream. The album closes with an Elvis Presley(!) cover of "Can't Help Falling In Love", and it's fantastic. It wraps up "Absinthe" perfectly, and if you don't know Elvis you may never have known it was one of his songs. What I'm trying to say is that Sin has hit their stride with "Absinthe". Never before has the group sounded so good and after hearing "Absinthe" (which can be ordered from the official Sin website (www.sin.at)) I knew it was my calling to dig deep into Mona Moore's mind and share that gooey goodness with all who crave something a little better than the rest. Read on. Triphop-music.com: There are so many places to start, but I'll ask what most people are probably wondering: where has Sin been? Your last full length came out around four years ago and aside from the "So Sad" EP in 2003, you seem to have been enjoying a very mysterious forray into anonymity. Was the future of Sin ever in doubt during this time? Mona: Yes. And it nearly killed me. That's why we're so happy now about "ABSINTH," but then - we always take long making an album. The skies still don't shit songs. And Andy is such a busy man!... Triphop-music.com: Did you find it difficult to return to the studio after that time, or was it an easy transition? Mona: There is no studio! There are only our livingrooms. My microphone is standing right next to me now. So making an album is a continous process. Triphop-music.com: From the music to the lyrics to the packaging itself, "Absinth" is a massive and deep album which spans the course of 2 discs - it definitely seems like this album was a monumental undertaking. When you started work on the album did you foresee it becoming such an expansive piece of work or was this all spontaneous? Mona: Making an album is always a monumental undertaking! It's like you can't believe it youself when you've done it again. But the last years have been emotionally really heavy and deep and that obviously shows. But I think - and hope - not in a negative way. All in all I think love and beauty have won the war again against all the evils of this world, at least on this album. Everything we ever do musically is pretty spontaneous because we're free. We can do what we want whenever we want. No music-industry pressure. No deadlines. No big bosses looking over our shoulder or whatever... And the second cd was no work for us! That's the great thing about remixes: other people do them! (lazy Mona smiles) Triphop-music.com: How did the idea come about to have all these glorious folks come in and do these excellent remixes for the 2nd disc of "Absinth"? Were these remixes that were collected over time? What can you tell us about each of these artists? Mona: We sort of have this history of remixes. The idea came about ages ago because we just happened to know these people personally. And so Kruder/Dorfmeister(G-stone) and Pulsinger/Tunakan(cheap) and Abe Duque (aka Kirlian) made their very first remixes for us. And sometimes young musicians just ask us : Can I? And we say: Sure go ahead! For example, Marc -mp/h -who remixed "Erasure" so phenomenally. He was a German music-student who had discovered us through a review in a tv-guide(!!!-god knows how it got there), bought "Kissing" and then wrote me a pretty weird e-mail. By the time his remix was ready we had exchanged about 100 mails and liked each other a lot. We were both terribly scared that me and andy wouldn't like the remix. What a relief it was when we were sitting and listening teary-eyed and with goosepimples! And Oliver / Moped 2067 (remix: "Kim Fowley's Gonna Die") is my cousin who I only really got to know two years ago, because we had grown up in different cities. I couldn't believe it when I found out how good he is musically. When he asked me one day blushingly for vocal leftovers to work with I asked him to do a remix. He also has his own pretty brilliant band "Korridor" and is just about to quit his dayjob! So yes, the remixes sort of come our way and we collect them til we have enough for an album. It is great to be surrounded by friends that way instead of paying famous strangers. Triphop-music.com: What would you say seperates "Absinth" from past Sin releases? Mona: The time. And the progress we've hopefully made. Triphop-music.com: What inspired the cover of "Can't Help Falling In Love"? Are you a big Elvis fan? You made that song work perfectly with your unique style. Mona: Thank you! But we both neither like Elvis nor the song! I wanted to do "Paint It Black" from the stones and was looking for midi files to sing along to and downloaded some other stuff just for fun. Then iIrealized how much I enjoyed singing "Cant Help..." and Andy never wanted to do "Paint It Black" anyway. So! Triphop-music.com: How has the response to "Absinth" been so far? Have you had a chance to perform any of the new songs in a live setting? Mona: The reactions so far were so good that I don't know how to say it without sounding full of myself. Imagine me rather with a humble blush and a very happy, very wide smile and shining eyes, ok? "Live" is a difficult subject. As we do everything ourselves - not only the rehearsing and performing - but planning and promo and visuals ... - with no manager or personal sound engeneer or whatever it takes, it is very very stressful. Aas if it wasn't enough to get up on a stage and sing! Half the time a drunken sound-guy fucks up your gig. Great. Or they promise you a great beamer and a big screen for the visuals and all you find is a white sheet behind the stage... I could go on forever talking about the horrors of playing live. When everything works not much can beat the experience of a concert. But if it turns into a disaster you never forget that either. So at the moment I prefer to get e-mails instead of applause. Triphop-music.com: What song on "Absinth" are you most proud of? Mona: Oh god! Which of you children (in case you have any) do you like best? But if I have to pick one only I guess it would be "Wishful Thinking". It was the last song I had to write for the album and I cried with relief after it had come. I sound like pure kitsch. I know. But you asked!! It is fucking hard to write a good song. At least for me. But would anyone really like to hear the hundreds of songs Prince, for instance, claims to have in his cupboards? "Wishful Thinking" is probably the most dynamic song on "ABSINTH." And it is a hope song. And full of euphoria. And joy and love.... Triphop-music.com: Absinthe (the drink) has a very rich and fascinating history to it. It's been used as a muse/musette by many great artists for over a century now. What is it about that drink that lured you in? Would you say you're a heavy drinker? Mona: hahaha! Lets get to the heavy drinker first: because I come from a country where wine is good and plenty and cheap (Austria) I see the devestation it does all around me. Oh god I sound like a preacher! Don't get me wrong. I love wine! I am all for "rausch" - this wonderful German word I can't translate, -sweet ecstasy, losing your inhibitions, being tipsy or getting drunk, letting yourself go...all of that. I'm just lucky that I get sick quite soon. And I don't like the hangovers. So I don't touch it too often. We're always looking for words with SIN in the middle for our album titles. inSINuation! kisSINg! And I loved the word ABSINTH exactly because of the fascinating history you describe. I drank it for the first time only a few weeks ago in Hamburg, cause I thought it was about time before the album came out. But it was a worthy occasion. It was served to me by a wonderful woman, my Hamburg-angel-friend Anna who performed the perfect ritual with the burning sugar on the spoon. The drink itself is more like an experience than a joy (70% alcohol!). If you drink it pure. Which I had to of course. Triphop-music.com: It seems to me that "Absinth" is heavily inspired by the night, the city, love, sex and people in general, all streamlined with dark overtones. Is this correct, and if anything, what do you hope people walk away with after hearing the album? Mona: Yesyesyes, correct! I hope they will walk away sensually charged, with an open heart and whistling one of our tunes! Triphop-music.com: What, if any, albums or films (or anything else) have been especially inspirational to the Sin sound? Mona: I give you a little picture where Andy comes from musically, cause he makes our sound. He started out playing percussions in bands listening to a lot of Latin music, then hip hop from a very early stage on, then the sweetness of new wave and 80-ies pop and finally the darkness of Twin Peaks. Get the picture? Triphop-music.com: Are you or Andy involved with any other projects besides Sin? Mona: Not musically. Not at the moment. Triphop-music.com: What is the daily life of yourself and Andy Orel like? Does Vienna make a good home for a group like Sin? Mona: Vienna makes a perfect home! A good place to live. Culture, music, bars, clubs, parks, places to swim in the summer, pretty safe and pretty slow. Andy leads the very busy life of a family man with two artistic talents. Apart from Sin he is a brilliant graphic designer who has created hundreds of cd-covers (from DJ Hell to the Vienna Philharmonics, from Miss Kittin to the Vienna Art Orchestra) and flyers and posters and magazines. A colleague from fm4 (the very best radio station in the world - I'm terribly proud to be a member of that club: www.fm4.at) once summed up my life brilliantly: "You make your music, you do your bits for fm4 and the rest of the time you're busy being Mona." Triphop-music.com: What do the next few months have in store for Sin as the distribution for "Absinth" kicks into full gear and word spreads of your new release? Are any live shows planned at this point? Mona: No live shows. But the rest is exciting enough. Sending out the cd, waiting for the reviews and the reactions of your friends and the Sin-lovers, hearing the new songs on the radio, getting e-mails, seeing my first video on tv for the first time (yesterday!)... and I should have the next video ready in a few weeks... Triphop-music.com: Finally, if you should become incarcerated, enveloped in a narcotic coma, mythically retreat to mountains or dead, please leave us with some last reflections of your own preference. Mona: hahaha! No way - That