Doomed Confessionary: Fabian, Shorty & Nils (Schubmodul)
Schubmodul from Bochum, Germany is a three-piece band who have been fueling their riff forge since 2019. Since the release of their debut album »Modul I« in March 2022, they have been able to gain popularity in the local scene and impress with energetic shows the following summer.
Schubmodul’s instrumental music contains elements from different styles, ranging from hard as nails to dreamy and often wrapped in a robe of psychedelic space sounds. Stories are not told through singing, but through creative songwriting inside the listener’s head, while the driving rhythms take the listener on a journey over sand dunes, mountains and lakes to foreign planets. Schubmodul merges the worlds between crisp progressive rock and traditional stoner that encourages you to swing your head without a throttle.
Their second LP »Lost In Kelp Forest« (February 2024, Tonzonen Records) is a concept album that thematically takes place in an underwater world. The six mainly instrumental pieces are accompanied by narrator voices, which reveal a coherent fictional story on a dense atmospheric carpet of sound. An innovative mix of space rock, prog and stoner rock. Dreamy, atmospheric passages meet colossal riffs and often culminate in an epic melodic zenith of voluminous, warm sounds.
Schubmodul are Fabian Franke on guitar, Christoph Kellner on drums and Nils Stecker on bass.
Can you say a few words about your band?
We are a three-man instrumental band from the Ruhr area of Germany, formed in 2019. Stylistically we move in the field of stoner, prog, post-rock, doom, heavy psych and take you on a journey carried by an atmospheric sound carpet to hard riffs and brutal neck pain.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
The biggest challenge for us was actually finding a bass player. When we formed, there were only two of us: Fabian and Shorty. We played our first gig without a permanent bassist and were supported by 3 bassists who had learned 2 songs each. It was a lot of fun because we had structured the setlist in such a way that the bassist changed after every song 😀 But of course we wanted a permanent member in our band. It was a long time until Nils got in touch with us. He knew us from our first gig, because we were supporting his other band Plaindrifter, who had their release gig there. With Nils at our side, we could finally play more gigs and improve our songwriting.
What can you be most proud of so far?
What makes us very proud is how successful the album »Lost In Kelp Forest« is. The first edition of the vinyl was almost sold out at our release gig and now the repress is already here. We also received a lot of positive reviews and great feedback from fans. That makes us proud because despite the two albums being released, we still feel relatively new as a band and we don’t write our music to please as many people as possible, but rather to live out our love for this music.
What was your biggest regret?
So far there is nothing we really regret. Of course, we’ve made a few mistakes and missteps, but nothing that we have to worry about in the long term.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
It’s difficult to name the best concert. Luckily, we’ve had lots of great concerts that were great for different reasons. For example, there was a awesome concert at a small private festival. It might not have been the biggest concert, but it was with lots of friends in a great atmosphere and great weather. The release concert for »Lost In Kelp Forest« was also overwhelming. The hall was packed with people who were all going crazy to music. That was an exciting and amazing night.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Maybe not to be described with the word surprising but still fitting: It’s really cool how the scene here sticks together. It’s about organizers and locations that put a lot of effort and time into concerts and projects, but there’s also a great feeling of community between the bands.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Fabian: Monkey3, Royal Blood, Dream Theater, Ghost, Judas Priest and System Of A Down.
Shorty: Of course, as always: Elder. But also Green Lung, Vulfpeck, Ritual King, Slomosa, King Buffalo, Judas Priest and BARx.
Nils: Elder, Slomosa, Weedpecker.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Take a risk sometimes if you have the feeling that something special will come out of it. We had the idea about the story on our latest album and it turned out to be exaclty what we envisioned. Sometimes attemps like this will fail as well, but sometimes it turns out to be be unique. We believe that being unique is important to standout.
What are your guilty pleasures?
We love Disney music, ain’t feeling guilty though.
Can you say something more about the music scene in Bochum / Germany?
In our region we are lucky to have several great organizers who put on great events with a lot of love, such as the atmoersphere, desert docks and a few venues that make it possible for bands to play live. In particular, we would like to mention our friends from Ruhr Dyne. Every detail of their events is made with love and a lot of voluntary/unpaid work. In the end, they create events where you can decide for yourself how much you want to pay, and the concept works. The best thing about playing there or just being there as a guest: It’s a big and lovely crowd of people who all go wild and have fun <3
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
12.07.24 – Sommer am U, Dortmund (DE)
09.08.24 – Parkhaus Meiderich, Duisburg (DE)
30.08.24 – Subrosa, Dortmund (DE)
31.08.24 – Hopla. Köln (DE)
16.11.24 – Sound Fusion Festival, Furth im Wald (DE)
29.11.24 – U27, Bochum (DE)
20.12.24 – Druckluft, Oberhausen (DE)
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Of course, we are continuing to write songs and are already working on the next album. In the future, we hope to be able to play in front of even more people on bigger stages.
How can people best support your band?
A simple way to support us is to follow us on social media and listen to our music. We are also very happy about every vinyl or shirt that is bought. The best thing is, you come to our concerts and headbang brutally!
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Go to more concerts, be nice to each other and stay hydrated.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well