We caught up with the crafty Markus Reinhardt of Renard, and previously Wolfsheim, for a quick chat about his art.
“It was a time of self-reflection.”
Before we talk about your new album can we talk about the meaning behind the name Renard? Why Renard?
My last name Reinhardt has a French origin. In French its Renard which is the French word for fox. And wolf and fox are not so far apart. On top of that I like the French author Jules Renard. I’ve used his quote “Paradise does not exist, but we must nonetheless strive to be worthy of it” to promote the album.
Waking Up In A Different World features many different vocalists. Did you write songs intended for those voices specifically or what came first the music or the vocalist?
No, I had the songs first and then I tried to figure out which vocalist could be a great match. In total I contacted around 30 vocalists. Often, it didn’t work out so what you hear on the album is just the tip of the iceberg.
It’s amazing to think that Casting Shadows (Wolfsheim) was released seventeen years ago. It’s fair to say that as a Futurepop album it has withstood the tests of time. What have you done between now and then, and what made you want to release a new album now?
Waking up in a different world will hopefully withstand the test of time as well. I didn’t work 24/7 on the album, but it was in my mind all the time. In general it was a time of self-reflection and I ended up writing scripts for TV-shows with a friend of mine. That’s is lot of fun. However, I hope the next album won’t need another 15 years or so!
“It’s the closest thing to Wolfsheim out there.”
As an electronic artist what is your take on realism in synthetic sounds and the advancement in technology where you can have an authentic sounding orchestra at the hit of a button? Would you describe sounds the same way that an illustrator would describe photorealism. What style do you prefer for composing?
Photorealism is a nice comparison, but sometimes you can only find the truth in the reduction. Do you know the string version of Künstliche Welten? It’s nice but I still prefer the original version. When I’m composing music I don’t use huge sample libraries. I give preference to simple software synths. But later during production of an album I check whether a real instrument could possibly make sense.
How would you describe Waking Up In A Different World to the older Wolfsheim audience?
I would tell the Wolfsheim audience that they should give [it] a try. Since it’s the closest thing to Wolfsheim out there.
