Interview with PHANTOMS OF FUTURE (2/2)

It took 25 years to wait for a new album from Phantoms of Future. But it finally happened: “Forever Dark” has been released. To chat about it in detail with mastermind Sir Hannes, I meet him one Friday at his record store. It’s quite busy, as I notice when I walk in. I’m led straight to the back, to Hannes’s office. He’s still in the middle of a conversation with a customer, but he invites me in anyway. — This is the second part of our interview. You can read the first part here.

Werewolf Meets Toilet Rocker

Of course, we’re talking about the latest album, *Forever Dark*. Hannes asks me about my favorite song and guesses it right away. “Werewolf!” he laughs. I explain to him the atmosphere the song conveys to me. “There’s just a certain vibe to it,” he nods contentedly. For him, too, the song stands above all for strength and a special attitude toward life. Since “Underground Surfer” is also one of my favorites, I learn the story behind it: “We were on tour with The Idiots, the band I was in before Phantoms of Future. At a show in Berlin, a girl fell in love with me and drove after us. The following year, we were in Dresden. After the show, I met another girl and we ended up in the bathroom.” Like a gentleman, Hannes draws a veil of silence over the further details. Years later, however, the line “I’m a toilet rocker” was born.

The Sun in Your Heart

It becomes clear that songs are usually based on personal experiences when we talk about “Sun,” Phantoms of Future’s biggest and best-known song. “Back then, I lived in Dortmund’s Nordstadt neighborhood,” Hannes recalls. Mentally, he wasn’t doing very well at the time. A difficult childhood and the fact that he’d lived on the streets in places like London, Hamburg, and Berlin between the ages of 13 and 18 had taken their toll. “I went up onto the roof of the building. And suddenly I saw a black cat walking around on the roof. I heard the birds chirping. And somehow, that’s when I had the inspiration for the lyric ‘Send the sun in my heart,’“ he recalls. That inspiration gave rise to the song that would go on to be played over and over again—not just in German nightclubs. “Sun” took clubs across Europe by storm and became Phantoms of Future’s biggest hit.

Not having to wait another 20 years

Anyone who has the chance to talk to Hannes will quickly realize: He lives and breathes music. “I’m obsessed with music,” he admits. “I’d die for it. Nobody believes me when I say that, but it’s true. I’m completely obsessed with it.” So it’s hardly surprising that another Phantoms of Future album shouldn’t be too long in coming. “We’ve already written some new songs,” Hannes nods. “I’d never make an album just to meet a deadline. After all, ‘Forever Dark’ took five years. But now I’m back in a great creative flow, and so is the band. So it won’t take that long. We already have six new songs for the next album. We’re heading into the studio this summer. If everything goes well, a follow-up to ‘Forever Dark’ could be released in late 2027 or early 2028.”

The farewell after our conversation is extremely warm and includes an invitation to meet again at a Phantoms of Future live show. And the reunion? It’s happening later this year!

Katrin Hemmerling

Listen to Phantoms of Future on our “Current Issue” playlist on Spotify: