GOETHES ERBEN

Hopefully, you’ll still get a few chances to see Goethes Erben play live internationally, but Oswald Henke’s band has confirmed that they will no longer tour from 2029 onwards. However, the group won’t be disbanding completely, and judging by how creative Henke and his bandmates are now, we still expect some great things from the Germans. The announced tour in March was reason enough for us to contact Henke again and ask for an update.

Hi Oswald. In our last interview – in early 2024 – you said Goethes Erben would continue for another five years and then stop. Is that still the plan? How far have you come in those five years?

Oswald Henke : We wanted to give our fans one last, plannable chance to see us perform at a fixed time. Starting in 2029, we’ll no longer be touring as a band, but we’ll continue to play concerts and larger projects in Bayreuth.

We’re going back on the road in March with eighteen people in a tour bus, but unfortunately, that’s no longer financially feasible. While our attendance remains stable, our costs are constantly rising. So, on the revenue side, there’s stagnation compared to the annually increasing costs of financing a touring company. I wanted to end touring with Goethes Erben in a controlled manner and gave myself five years. I wanted to play one more time in as many countries and cities as possible. From 2029 onwards, Goethes Erben only plans to perform in Bayreuth. The costs for travel, transportation, accommodation, and food will simply be unaffordable in the future. That’s why I’m quitting.

Another important reason is that the Goethes Erben show is very physical, and I’m not getting any younger. I think I can still perform the show I want until the end of 2028, despite the unhealthy, sleep-deprived, and exhausting touring routine. Starting in 2029, I want to put an end to this stress and the unhealthy touring lifestyle with a large production like Goethes Erben, with fourteen or more musicians and crew members, and focus entirely on Bayreuth with a more manageable cost structure.

You broke your promise to not record any more studio albums after ‘X’ in 2023, at least if you consider ‘2. Kapitel’ a studio album. I think it’s a beautiful album. What motivated you to record another album with compositions by pianist Sebastian Boettcher?

‘2. Kapitel’ isn't a studio album; it's a demo album I recorded in my living room. Everything you hear is based on MIDI notes Sebastian played as basic ideas, which I then arranged into songs. I also recorded my vocals in Bayreuth. The songs were essentially recorded and released only as demos. The remix of ‘Zerstörte Wahrheit (FCK Trump Mix)’ was also created this way.

For the limited CD edition, I had our sound engineer remix the tracks to improve the sound, but no additional instruments were recorded, and I did the mastering myself. Compared to ‘Am Abgrund’ or ‘X’, this demo album took me a lot of time, but it hardly cost me anything.

Moreover, it was a temporary album, as it was short-lived. I've since removed the CD from Bandcamp, and only those who attended the ‘2. Kapitel’ concert, the participating artists and technicians, and a handful of other fans were able to receive or purchase it. The CD was free for concertgoers, as well as for all the musicians, technicians, graphic designers, and staff who contributed. The overproduced thirty CDs are now sold out, or rather, the last copies have been reserved for pickup at the concerts in March.

The complete album existed for only one month. The songs were released monthly starting in March 2025, exclusively on Bandcamp, and were only available there. Ironically, it was the most financially successful project of the past twenty years. Ultimately, the costs were limited to me, Sebastian, and the rehearsal time of the musicians who performed only during the concert. The ten songs sounded different live, since we wanted to play them live without computer support or sequencers. That, too, was part of this concept of transience. Music must regain its value.

Anyone who wanted to buy ‘2. Kapitel’ had to download it before New Year’s Day 2026. Anyone who wanted a CD of ‘2. Kapitel’ even had to attend the only concert where all ten songs were performed. Isn’t it a shame to make such beautiful music so inaccessible?

Maybe it’s a shame, but it's the only way I can justify making music public. I want people to appreciate music again and not just use it as background noise on a computer or smartphone. People could buy the album on Bandcamp for over ten months and download it in two versions in December, since the CD versions would also be available for download there starting in December 2025. It was clear from the start that these tracks would only be available for a limited time.

When you release a CD, it’s only available as long as the print run allows. Once the physical CD is sold out, the music is gone. Why shouldn’t this principle also apply to the digital world, for example, through time limits? Artists should be able to do what they want with their self-funded work. I make music for my fans and the people who have supported us for decades. I reject pure streaming platforms where only concerts generate revenue and, if necessary, will only use them for individual singles as a promotional platform. I will no longer release full albums.

Let’s expand on that. You refuse to offer your music on streaming platforms. You say it’s not profitable for you. Can you elaborate?

Streaming platforms aren’t suitable for niche music because it’s not mainstream and the number of streams is so low that hardly any money is paid out. That’s unfair and therefore, in my opinion, the wrong place for my music. Bandcamp is the only exception, because music fans there support artists, they do not just consume music.

Your current tour is called ‘Dystopie frisst Empathie’. Can you tell us more about the idea behind the concerts? Is there a story or concept behind them?

We’re simply summarizing what we observe, and the world currently gives the impression that all dystopias are penetrating reality and displacing humanity on this planet. Democracies are now a minority on this planet. There’s currently a sense that patriarchal primates are pushing the world back into regression; feudalism of a capitalist nature is currently destroying all the achievements of a free society.

I know from your concert last year in Sint-Niklaas that new music has also been written for ‘Dystopie frisst Empathie’ Will this music be released on CD or as a download? How will the music be released to the public this time?

We‘re currently only playing pieces like ‘Dystopie frisst Empathie’, ‘Es war einmal die Menscheit’ or ‘Wir sind frei’ live. I might record one of these new songs independently at ERBLAST Studio in Bayreuth and release it on Bandcamp, or we might just release a live album of these songs in 2028. The story of Goethes Erben isn’t over yet, and even after we stop touring as a band, the artistic journey continues.

What else are you doing in the coming time?

We’re giving two chamber music concerts, ‘Piano & Voice’, in Hamburg in September, and I’ll be performing with ALLE SCHWARZ for the first time at WGT 2026. I'm not fixated on a specific future. I’m adapting my strategies to what’s feasible, in terms of releases and concerts.

Goethes Erben live:

• March 6, 2026: Helmond, Netherlands
• March 7, 2026: Porta Nigra, Aarschot, Belgium, together with Deine Lakaien
• March 8, 2026: Lille (Rijsel), France, with The Arch
• March 12, 2026: Rüsselsheim, Germany
• March 13, 2026: Krefeld, Germany
• March 14, 2026: Dresden, Germany
• March 15, 2026: Berlin, Germany
• June 6, 2026: Bayreuth, open air, Germany
• September 19, 2026: Klavier & Stimme, Hamburg, Germany
• September 20, 2026: Klavier & Stimme, Hamburg, Germany
• October 23, 2026: Bochum, Germany
• October 24, 2026: Augsburg, Germany
• October 25, 2026: Trier, Germany

Xavier KRUTH
04/03/2026