Emil Bulls: Innovative Sounds

Any artist starting out in the music industry, whether solo or in a band, dreams of having a career that lasts decades. A feat that is certainly easier said than done as while some artists can become popular, not all of them see that fame last. Other times they simply lose the passion whether down to personal matters or a simple change in heart. When it comes to German rockers, EMIL BULLS, they have defied the odds and will be celebrating their thirty-year anniversary next year.

The band themselves released their fifteenth full-length album, Love Will Fix It, back in January of this year, a release that was then followed by a series of shows in Europe during January and February. We spoke to members, vocalist Christoph von Freydorf and guitarist Stephan Karl, a few weeks after the release of their album and talked through the process of recording and writing during the pandemic, a story that has become quite familiar for any artist who has released music during or after lockdown.

For EMIL BULLS, the timing couldn’t have been better for them as they had started to build their own record studio, and those months spent in isolation were used wisely in writing and creating music as Christoph explains. “It was like a good thing for some of the songs that we stopped working on and it gave them time to grow. We worked on them, and they grew, they got better, so I think we used the time very wisely. When the pandemic started, we had started to build our own recording studio, so we were able to work on the songs in both our own studio and comfort zone.”

“This was really great for us as we were independent from studios and producers, we had our own little world in our studio and we were able to work there, it was a great time! There was a lot to do and stress, but in the end, it was a great time.” Stephan adds that lockdown was the reasoning behind the creation of their podcast and radio show, Mud, Blood and Beer, on German rock radio station, RADIO BOB!.

As previously stated, EMIL BULLS have been a band for nearly three decades, a fact that is not to be taken lightly, nor is it something that the band themselves take for granted. According to Christoph, this is something he had never pictured happening. “If somebody would’ve told me back then in ’95 that thirty years later that I’d still be a musician and will be in a band with my friends, it wasn’t expected. I never thought that we’d still have the luck to be in a band and to perform for so many years. It’s a gift and we are really happy about that we’ve made our way in this business and that we have a place with our fanbase. We know we can’t take something that for granted. We are the luckiest people in the world!”

So how did EMIL BULLS manage to stay in spotlight and have a loyal fanbase made up of both mainstream and underground rock scenes? Well, it all comes down to their constant experimentation and innovation in exploring different sounds and genres. While remaining loyal to their roots of rock and metal, they aren’t afraid to include pop melodies and arena riffs that leave their fans in awe and draw in the interest of new listeners.

Why do they do it? Well, as Christoph puts it. “It just happened. As a band, we never plan anything, we just let it happen. This time it was like, ‘maybe the guitar players Bock and Karl (at this point, Stephan laughs in agreement) are experimenting with their instruments?’, and I was really surprised sometimes, because they came up with things, riffs, and ideas I never knew they were able to do (once again there is shared laughter between the two friends). It was really interesting. We just said, ‘okay, we are a band, and everything can happen, we have no boundaries’. We wanted to experiment, and we just said ‘okay, let’s just let it happen and let it flow’, and it worked out great!”

Stephan also adds that in the end “it doesn’t matter if it’s the hardest metal riffs or a poppy song, we think the song is important and if the idea of the song works for us, we are happy with that. I say it doesn’t matter how hard or how poppy the song is.”

Yet, while this is something that they have always enjoyed doing, there’s still the hope in bringing in new fans and opportunities with each new release, as Christoph puts it. “With every album we just try to evolve our style and our music. We just never want to disappoint our audience, our fans, the whole family. We always try to expand the fanbase, we try everything. We would love to perform in different countries in the future and we are always working on that.”

Even with the experimentation and breaking boundaries with their sound, Stephan talks about how it they still want to be recognisable with their music. “It’s important for us that we are powerful and energetic and unique. So, I think if someone hears an EMIL BULLS song, they will recognise that it’s us.”

Love Will Fix It is out now via Arising Empire.

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