Electronic musician based in Düsseldorf. Key member of industrial group Die Krupps, came to prominence by founding the highly successful pop band Propaganda in 1982. Left Propaganda in 1989 to revive Die Krupps by producing its Billboard chart hit “Machineries of Joy”.
interview by John Wisniewski for mk ultra magazine
John Wisniewski: What bands were you with before forming Die Krupps will Jurgen Engler?
Ralf Dorper : I am not the co-founder of Die Krupps, but joined pretty early. Die KRUPPS evolved from one half of German Punk Pioneers MALE: Jürgen Engler plus Bernward MALAKA. I had been in German experimental punk Band SYPH in 1979. But more important was my solo Work: I had much impact with an Electronic solo single in 1980 , called Eraserhead/Assault which was made single of the week in British music paper NME. This opened many doors in UK – also for Die Krupps and later for Propaganda.
JW: Would you agree that Die Krupps were pioneers of electronic/industrial/metal music mixing into one?
RD: I am not aware who did what when in Vancouver, Chicago or in Brüssels. But noone in Germany dared to mix genres. There were plenty of purists around. The historicans might be better equipped to answer that, but in Germany we were frontrunners.
JW: You collaborated with Nitzer Ebb in the early days. What was that like?
RD: I was living in London in 1988, working on the second Propaganda Album. When I went to some Rave Parties I thought the DJs played Krupps or DAF….but it was Nitzer Ebb. I got in touch with them via my management at that time which had close links to Mute Records. IInitially I wanted to ask them to cover “Wahre Arbeit” as a one-off record, in the end it led to the reformation of Die Krupps when I presented Jürgen the idea.
JW: Why did Die Krupps change from an electronic band to a heavier synthesizer industrial band?
RD: It was a step by step process. After doing a cover of Metallica’s “One” fully electronically, we reversed the process, having sequences played by guitars. We liked the Outcome.
JW: .Any favorite bands, Ralf?
RD: Swans, Young Gods and Laibach.
JW: Tell us about your upcoming tour. How and why did this come about?
RD: As we missed Out on the 4o years Anniversary due to COVID , which also delayed the production of a new Album, we decided to celebrate 45 years in a proper way.
JW: Are you a fan of metal?
RD: Yes. Gold Silver Bronze
JW: What lies in the future for Die Krupps?
RD: Approaching the 50 year anniversary without becoming a legacy act…?
