Marian Gold of the iconic synth-pop group Alphaville chatted about their upcoming collection “Eternally Yours.”
He spoke from his house in Berlin, Germany. “I am really happy to be here,” he said.
Alphaville is set to release a new symphonic double album “Eternally Yours” on September 23rd in North America via BFD (Bob Frank Distribution). This marks Alphaville’s eighth album to date.
This expansive new offering finds Alphaville band founder Marian Gold partnering with respected film and television arrangers Max Knoth and Christian Lohr and the esteemed German Film Orchestra Babelsberg for re-imagined orchestral versions of classic hits from the band’s forty-year career such as “Forever Young” and “Big In Japan,” as well as one brand new song, the title track “Eternally Yours.”
“I am very excited about ‘Eternally Yours’,” he said. “It is a dream come true. We planned it for quite a long while. After the first leg of the pandemic, we had the orchestra and there were so many people involved.”
In advance of the release of “Eternally Yours,” they released the sweeping, theatrical new version of the track, “Sounds Like A Melody,” taken from the project. The original version of the song was a Top 10 smash throughout Europe, the follow-up to the band’s debut hit single, “Big In Japan.”
Regarding his pristine vocals, Gold explained, “When I do interpretations of songs from way back in the history of Alphaville, my voice already knows them. My singing results from a subconscious interaction, independent of any constraints or purposes of the mind. That is probably the main reason that the past four decades did not leave a significant trace on my vocal performance.”
Formed in Germany in 1983 by vocalis and lyricist Marian Gold as well as keyboardist Bernhard Lloyd, Alphaville topped the charts globally with such massive hits as “Big In Japan” and “Forever Young,” the latter ruling the charts not once but twice with two separate versions released years apart.
He went on to describe the hit single “Forever Young” as a “phenomenon,” and rightfully so.
On the band’s touring, he said, “We didn’t tour much in the ’80s. Then, when we started actually playing with a live band from 1993 on, we have been constantly touring. It has been great… the tour has been going on for 27 years.”
“Three years ago, we played in a couple of cities in the United States,” Gold said. “We did a fantastic concert at the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. That venue is so iconic, everybody performed there.”
On being an artist in the digital age, he said, “It doesn’t feel very different actually. Technology may change, but an artist is somebody that works from the heart, and art never changes. It is a wide field and a never-ending chain of unexpected moments.”
For young and aspiring artists, he said, “If you don’t have enough talent, then don’t do it. Also, if you are talented, then create for luck.”
He shared that he would love to someday collaborate with the musical duo Freedom Fry, which hails from Los Angeles. “They do some really great pop music,” he said.
On his definition of the word success, he said, “Success is a great thing, everybody should have it. Success is the most entertaining thing, it’s a gift from above. Whenever you are successful, you should also be very grateful.”
“Eternally Yours” will be available on September 23rd as a double CD and a double black vinyl, as well as digitally. It is available for pre-order by clicking here. “This album is quite an adventure, it is very entertaining. I highly recommend it because we were successful in transforming the song into this orchestral and symphonic environment. It’s a great voyage and you will really enjoy it,” he said.
To learn more about Alphaville and their music, check out their official website.
