Front 242 is a reference and pillar of the EBM movement, which has announced its farewell tour which includes a last show in Mexico City on May 3 in the west pavilion of the palace of the sports. Before that show, we were able to talk a little with Jean-Luc De Meyer, vocalist and soul of this group.
In a couple of years many legends had announced their retirement from the stage,
including Front 242 as the main protagonist of the EBM moment. What do you guys think about that? Is it time to see new music on stage? Or maybe this is some kind of generational change?
I can't speak for any other band, but for our part it seems like it's time for something more in our individual lives. Concerts are still as fun as ever - and maybe even more - but in the future we want to focus on quieter, more private venues.
Why not wait more years to think about leaving live performances? How did you come to the conclusion that it was time to do it?
We could go on for quite some time since the public and the offers from the promoters are still out there. But, in the same way that we always think that a concert should be 15 minutes shorter than 10 seconds longer, we think it makes a lot of sense to stop and still be able to do our thing at 100% instead of waiting until we get to 95%. We have already seen too many artists literally die on stage, we do not want to be a part of them.
Many bands have labeled their music as EBM style, you, as coiners of the term,
How do you feel about the cause that the EBM movement has taken?
We never We feel really worried about it, so none of us are really aware of what EBM still means or represents these days. In the band we have very different musical tastes, so we don't agree on many things, just maybe the fact that most of our favorite bands have little or nothing to do with EBM. However, personally, the few musician friends I have still work in this specific genre, and I greatly appreciate their talent and achievements.
Do you remember that in 1991 the first concert in Mexico City was total chaos and the second date couldn't even take place? I guess your impression was very disappointing about Mexico. What did you think at this moment?
Yes, we remember, they were strange days. The second show was canceled and at the airport, upon leaving the country, our manager told us to hide everything we could. It could because he thought the police were after us for what happened. Little scare, everything went well. We weren't disappointed (and we went back several times after that), but we were rather a little surprised by the unexpected chaos this concert generated, since this type of music was already considered standard material everywhere. So our thoughts were something like: “We should have shown them something they didn't know and they seemed to like it.”
They have a loyal fan base, those people have been there from the beginning but also with this tour you reach a lot of young people, especially in Mexico. What feelings does this farewell concert provoke in our country?
We have people following us from the beginning (or almost), some with their children and sometimes even with their children's children! Everyone is welcome to our music and shows. It's as wonderful to recognize old faces in the front rows of the audience as it is to see new ones.
If you had a time machine and traveled back to the year 1981, what advice would you give to the young and fresh Front 242 himself?
Probably not much more than “Don't sign with this stamp in particular, they will be totally dishonest with you.” And maybe also: “Overall, you are a good team at the beginning of a long career, so keep the big picture in mind and don't waste too much time and energy arguing over insignificant details or differences between you.”
If you had a time machine and traveled back to the year 1981, what advice would you give to the young and fresh Front 242 himself?
Probably not much more than “Don't sign with this stamp in particular, they will be totally dishonest with you.” And maybe also: “Overall, you are a good team at the beginning of a long career, so keep the big picture in mind and don't waste too much time and energy arguing over insignificant details or differences between you.”
