A few weeks back, The Quietus printed a chat with Michael Rother in which he praised Fuck Buttons, saying he was "amazed by their sound" and suggested he felt a kinship between the noisy pair and what he was doing in the 70s. He even suggested that a collaboration might be on the cards.
So The Quietus got in touch with Fuck Buttons’ Andrew Hung to see what they had to say on the matter. Hung says he’s been a fan of Neu! for a couple of years, but they weren’t a direct influence on Fuck Buttons: "They’re an influence on contemporary music full stop, right?" he said. "In terms of a conscious influence with regard to ourselves, no."
When did you meet Mr Rother? Was it at ATP? "Yes, we were soundchecking and the next thing we knew, an absolute musical legend was onstage watching what we were doing with that slight smile of his on his face. It was a lovely moment."
Would you agree with what he said about Fuck Buttons: ‘I think the approach they take on their music is similar to our approach in the 70s, to change everything, to modify everything to make new combinations. I think they even open up their instruments and change the wirings, change the sound and that’s great.’?
"Absolutely and it is absolutely affirming that Michael feels that we have a similiar intentions," says Hung.
So what’s the likelihood of a collaboration? "Michael joined us onstage in Berlin for Space Mountain and as I’m sure he’ll agree, the future is open. What will we do? Who knows or wants to know? That’s what is beautiful about music."
