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Interview: KMFDM
interview by sean
If you were at the Grand Palais in Paris, France on February 29, 1984 you would have experienced a piece of underground music history in the making–the forming of KMFDM. On that day, when most of the bands you will read about in this magazine were still somewhere between playing with G.I. Joe figures and learning to kiss, Sascha Konietzko and Udo Sturm formed a band that would remain a consistent, quality entity in the music industry. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the “Ultra Heavy Beat,” as Sascha describes KMFDM’s music, you don’t know what it feels like to have your skull cracked open while someone feeds you the truth one note at a time.
Anders Bagge & Arnthor Birgisson
Arnthor Birgisson and Anders Bagge (right).
Richard Buskin talks with two of Sweden s hottest writer‑producers about their ongoing work as part of the Murlyn Music Group, including recent hit recordings by Jennifer Lopez, Samantha Mumba and Jessica Simpson.
In a forest just north of Stockholm, overlooking one of the city s many sea inlets, is Vantorp, a traditional wooden villa which once housed the mistress of a 19th‑century Swedish king. Wheareas said monarch would simply row across the bay whenever he felt the urge, today Vantorp is the venue for action‑packed activities of another kind: it serves as the headquarters of the Murlyn Music Group, an all‑encompassing operation with a fast‑growing reputation for turning out the hits. Founded in January 1998 by Christian Wahlberg and Anders Bagge, Murlyn boasts an in‑house setup of four studios, a publishing division, and a stable of producers that includes Bagge, Arnthor Birgisson, Christ