I have always been a great admirer of bands and artists such as Neu!, La Düsseldorf, Wolfgang Riechmann, Michael Rother and Harmonia. To be honest, I was never particularly into Kraftwerk whereas OMD was much more my cup of tea.

Of course I looked up to Conny Plank, who in my opinion was the most innovative and forward-thinking German producer of all time. If I had ever been allowed to choose a favourite producer, it would have been Conny Plank — but unfortunately he passed away in 1987.

The influence of the aforementioned bands and artists can be clearly detected on our latest track "Nysnø" — and that is intentional, because "Nysnø" is our tribute to these innovative artists, who received only little recognition in Germany in their heyday, whereas abroad they are still held in high esteem and quite a few far better-known artists cite them as a significant influence.

And while we're at it and because it's that time of the year: here are our top ten songs of 2023:

Finbar Furey: I'll Take A Glass
Lisa Gerrard & Marcello De Francisci: When The Light Of The Morning Comes
The Düsseldorf Düsterboys: Sommer
Domhain: The Mourning Star
Sáasil: The Longest Winter
Kodaline: All I Want
Public Image Ltd. - Hawaii
The Last Dinner Party: Nothing Matters
Patrick Wolf: Enter The Day
Squirrel Flower: Alley Light

By the way: our next track is going to be released around Imbolc 2024.

On Samhain, the veils separating the world of the living from the other world are so thin that it becomes possible to make a connection between these two worlds - even if only in dreams.

And just as H. P. Lovecraft returned again and again to the same places in his dreams and met familiar figures there, we too can return on this hallows' eve to the place where our souls are at home, to meet other souls there to live our life in another world.

My special thanks at this point goes to our friend Harald Stürmer, who contributed his stirring lead guitar to "Another World".

Our next song will be released around Winter Solstice in 2023.

Humankind is sealing its own doom: economic growth seems to be more important than preventing climate change; our greed for wealth continues to exploit our planet until all resources are used up; and instead of taking measures against overpopulation, child wealth continues to be promoted although it is more than questionable whether these children will have a future at all.

Add to this increasing brutalisation, misogyny, homophobia, racism, religious fundamentalism, warmonger, lack of empathy, ruthlessness, selfishness, nationalism, recklessness, intolerance and stupidity -- and because of all this those two remaining lovers decide to go down to the sea, where a caravel lies waiting to carry them to the land beyond the rainbow: she will set course for their last refuge up North, where there will only be them with all the love that they share for each other.

Antichrisis' next song is going to be released around Samhain 2023.

There had been quite a few times in his life when I felt completely lost and forsaken: like a ship that no longer knew which stars to follow. Though I was searching for his way, I was unable to find it - until I went to the sea to find inner peace and tranquility again.

The waves of the sea sang of how I carried everything I was looking for inside of me, and that I should no longer let myself be distracted by people and their erratic behaviour, their fickleness and capricious emotions, but follow the compass of my dreams instead -- and that compass finally led me to Ayuma.

Ayuma and I have been married for 15 years by now, and each and every day we get to spend together is like a precious gift to us.

"Nehalennia" is both an ode to the sea, which always gave me comfort and strength when I felt lost, as well as a declaration of love to my wonderful wife.

"Just like a trail of scarlet
Your scent still lingers on
Echoes of your laughter
Never fading
Never ending

Words you've said
Tears you cried
Like precious diamonds
Your hands full of grace
Caressed my skin

All I ever wished for
All I ever dreamed of I found that night
In your warm embrace

Oh, my love
As I was lying by your side
You revealed paradise to me"

The feeling I’m describing in these lines has only become more intense in all these years we have been together - and it still feels like a dream come true to both of us.

Antichrisis' next song is going to be released around Autumn Equinox 2023.

The end of a relationship is never easy: something that you initially believed in wholeheartedly suddenly slips away and there seems to be nothing you can do about it.

In such a situation, it is of course the easiest and most convenient solution to put the blame for the whole mess on the partner, but apart from toxic relationships where physical or psychological violence is involved, both protagonists usually bear their share for this failure.

In these cases, it is important to acknowledge your own responsibility, as one-sided blame only leads to distortion of reality.

But if you realise that while you yourself are willing to admit your own failings and mistakes, your partner, on the other hand, insists that everything was merely your fault or, at best, a simple twist of fate that no one could have influenced, it is time to end this show and pull down the curtain of self-deception.

Antichrisis' next single is going to be released around Lughnasadh 2023.

Some songs come to me in my dreams: in that case it is important to wake up just in that very moment when I still can remember the song, getting out of bed immediately, picking up my guitar and playing and recording that song from the the realm of dreams.

Though this mode of operation leads to an interrupted night’s sleep, the interruption is usually worth it, because songs from the dream world always have a special quality to them.

This is how “The King of Emptiness” came to me -- not only with chords and melody, but also with its chorus lyrics, hence I kept them unchanged.

For this reason, this song tells the fairy-tale story of once fortunate king whose lands flourished because he had found his queen of hearts - until one day he lost her and had since become the lonesome king of a forsaken kingdom.

Our next song will appear around the time of the Summer Solstice.

Our time on this planet is running out: we are destroying the foundations for life, and although we have the means to tackle pollution, global warming, poverty, and overpopulation, we refuse to do anything that could possibly jeopardise our oh so sacred economic growth.

But on a planet with finite resources, there can be no infinite growth - yet instead of drawing the right conclusions from these developments, we point fingers at those who warn of the consequences of our actions.

We will inevitably be wiped off the face of the earth because we have proven ourselves to be too selfish, too brutal, and too ignorant - and when finally our last time comes, we will be no more than a speck of dust in the wind, and the last light of love will fade away into eternity.

"One Last Time" is dedicated to Greta Thunberg & Fridays for Future and is also available on all major streaming platforms from now on.

Antichrisis' next single is going to be released around Beltane 2023.

By the way, in case you're wondering why there have been so few vocal contributions from Ayuma on recent Antichrisis tracks and also no new releases of her solo project AYUMA, it's because she is unfortunately still suffering from Long Covid and therefore isn't yet able to do vocal recordings.

As a result, Antichrisis' latest releases often feature only Sid on vocals, but we very much hope that Ayuma's physical condition will soon be getting better so she'll be able to dive back into her musical work with full force.

Imbolc, the festival of the returning light, marks the beginning of spring, which for so many people is a celebration of joy, whereas for me it is associated with melancholy and sadness, because it means saying goodbye to the much loved dark and quiet season of winter.

Now spring is upon us again, which will be filled with the deafening screaming of mindless brats, the never ending and noisy activities of the do-it-yourselfers in our neighbourhood and the completely stupid changeover to daylight saving time, which means that it doesn't get dark for hours in the evening and there is no end to the hullaballoo of peasants outside.

That was one of the positive aspects during the pandemic, when people's mobility got restricted: all of a sudden it got wonderfully quiet out there and nature as well as wildlife could recover from humans.

Unfortunately, all that has now come to an end, and with the return of light there's also the restlessness and the hubbub of people returning - and the quiet time of contemplation and creativity, which gave rise to songs like "Light Up the Stars", is over until fall.

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
(Oscar Wilde, 1854 - 1900)

"Light Up The Stars" is dedicated to the one who walks among the stars and is also available on all major streaming platforms from now on.

Antichrisis' next single is going to be released around Spring Equinox 2023.