Disliking Influence: Q & A with Robert Görl of DAF

Gold und Liebe, 1981

Popshifter: What kinds of things inspired the band’s sound at the time (i.e., the period around Die Kleinen und Die Bösen, and the earliest versions of “Kebaptraüme” and “Ich und die Wirklichkeit”)?

Robert Görl: As I said before we were inspired by our own creativity, we wrote original songs! Our very own style, nothing else really.

Popshifter: What was your gut instinct when first hearing the sound of DAF? What did the band set out to change about music in general (i.e., did you all have a manifesto of sorts)?

Robert Görl: Also here: our manifesto was always “our own creativity.” We were never orientated by other music—except a scene, and that was the Punk scene—but we did it in our very own way. I guess this was the reason for our pioneer role, as you can hear.

Popshifter: What factors contributed to DAF eventually becoming a two-man band (you with Gabi Delgado)?

Robert Görl: The main factors were “we did not like certain musical aspects of the other musicians.” Gabi and I, we fought all the time for our duo ideas, and at the end of 1980 we were ready to go for it, finally.

Popshifter: To me personally, the album Gold und Liebe almost has a “romantic” side to it in that it encourages listeners to embrace their youth and beauty. What kinds of things were you and Gabi influenced by when making that particular album?

Robert Görl: We always like to do different albums, and we always did romantic songs and heavy songs, almost at the same time. Because this is how life is!

Popshifter: Later in DAF’s career the band seemed influenced more by house music (i.e., during the time “Brothers” came out). Was this subconscious or did you both want to make a house music-type album?

Robert Görl: When we did the First Step to Heaven album, house was not even really born. We showed again another side of us. In Detroit and Chicago quite a few known musicians are sure that Gabi and I created a pre-house album. Gabi and I were in a very relaxing countryside studio, when we produced that album—we felt that way—and we felt quite oriental, too.

Popshifter: What were your emotions when DAF first went on a sort of hiatus (after First Step to Heaven)? Did you simply want to take a break, or were you interested in pursuing a solo career for yourself? (By the way, Night Full of Tension remains one of my favorite ever albums!)

DAF today

Robert Görl: We felt a bit exhausted and we felt that, “This is a very good point to start solo works.”

Popshifter: Tell me about what you have pursued post-DAF in the late 1980s and to the present.

Robert Görl: Oh, a lot of things happened. In 1989, I survived a heavy car crash and after that, I went to Asia for about three years. I walked the steps of Buddha—I was newly born. When I came back to Germany in 1993 I released four solo albums until the year 2000 on a Munich Techno Label, and I did quite a few techno live performances (Mayday, Love Parade, Ultraschall and so on). In 2003, we had a DAF comeback with our “Sheriff Album” (15 Neue DAF Lieder). We did split up again, and in 2006, I released my first electronic symphony called “Dark Tool Symphony” in Japan; one year later it was released in Germany.

Popshifter: I am aware that DAF has reunited for some shows very recently. . . do you both still have a sort of manifesto you’d like to upkeep? What still motivates you and Gabi to keep active with music?

Robert Görl: Now we’re doing our jubilee tour; DAF is 30 years old. We have a lot of songs, and we play our greatest hits now for the audience. Of course, people ask also if we’ll do another new DAF album like in 2003. Our answer is: “We shall see—never say no!” And I am working [since two years ago] on a new solo album again, so we’re still up to it.

Additional Resources

Fans will be undoubtedly interested to know that DAF are playing some dates throughout various parts of Europe during 2009. And a “Best of DAF” collection will be released on April 21, 2009. Check Amazon.com for information on how to pre-order the CD.

For more information about the current musical activities of DAF, please visit their Official MySpace page or website .

A special thanks to Robert Görl for his contribution to this article. Many of Robert’s solo recordings are available on iTunes.

Pages: 1 2