Technoir is an electronic band formed in Germany and consists of Steffen Ge… Read Full Bio ↴Technoir is an electronic band formed in Germany and consists of Steffen Gehring (music, production) and Julia Beyer (vocals, lyrics). They released three albums so far: Sea Level in 1998, Groundlevel in 2001 and Deliberately Fragile in 2007.

The band name "Technoir" came into Steffen's mind while watching the film "The Terminator", in which a club with this name played a role. In the following time he produced the album "Sea Level" in his home studio. "Sea Level" features dark, almost frightening hard electro sounds, but has never been released. Together with Stephan Kalwa from Plastic Noise Experience the very atmospheric instrumental album "Eigenspace" was recorded, also unreleased. Knowing not to create something new with hard electro and dark and distorted male voices, Steffen started looking around for a female singer which he found in Julia Beyer that he met in 1999 at a concert of the band Inside (defunct project of Psyche singer Darrin Huss) where Julia was singing background vocals.

With a lot of both musical and live experience made prior to Technoir, Steffen and Julia began developing new songs as a team. The first song they recorded was "Last Tears". Julia had been singing in several bands before joining Technoir (e.g. Inside) where she could make use of what she learned from many years in a professional choir. Steffen is not a newcomer on the scene either: He has been live-keyboarder for electro-heroes Plastic Noise Experience and comes from a musical family in which a classical piano education is both obligatory and cherished.

Shortly after sending out the first demos, they found a partner in the German label Bloodline. The first releases "Requiem" (MCD 27.08.2001) and "Groundlevel" (CD 15.10.2001) hit the German alternative charts immediately, also the press showed themselve impressed. This also attracted the attention of bigger companies and so in 2002 Sony published a very danceable Coverversion of the Killing Joke-Song "Love Like Blood" which has been produced by Olaf Wollschläger under the project name Blacklight feat. Technoir. The Single was released on vinyl and is featured on the well-known and very popular Dream Dance-Compilation 25. In the same year the duo could present themselves on bigger festivals like the Eurorock Indoor and the Wave-Gotik-Treffen.

In 2003, Julia joined the reborn Eternal Afflict and contributed vocals to the album "Katharsis" whereas Steffen supports again the Band Plastic Noise Experience at live gigs after a long break. After the appearance of Eternal Afflict on the Pluswelt Festival in 2004, Julia left the band to fully concentrate on Technoir.

Besides writing new songs, Steffen also proved his remixing skills with providing intriuging Technoir-versions of songs from bands like Psyche, Eternal Afflict, O.V.N.I. (Seize side-project) and Agonised By Love. Meanwhile Julia has been in demand as a guest singer with adding some soaring vocals to Melotron's "Folge mir ins Licht" that soon became a proper single and club hit. Furthermore, she delivered guest vocals to releases of In Strict Confidence, Rotersand and Distorted Reality. After the release of the "Manifesto EP" in August 2006, the band has now in stock their second album "Deliberately Fragile".

In the meantime, Julia Beyer left Technoir in 2008 to join the heavenly voices band Chandeen and collaborated with English band Mesh on the song Who Says from their album A Perfect Solution.

Sanctuary
Technoir Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

My blood longs for yours
I can't nearly hold me back
When I smell your perfect body
Seducing me again

Your voice is calling me
And I follow willingly
To fell your skin again

In my sanctuary
A broken window
The empty room before me
Reflections fade away

I'll never be the same again
After this grace I tasted once
The moon is my companion
In all this time

I'll take your life away

with all my care I give you
the choice I never had

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Technoir's song Sanctuary depict a strong desire for physical and emotional closeness with another person. The first verse communicates the intense longing the singer has for their love interest, emphasizing the deep connection they share through their physical chemistry. The second verse suggests a strong emotional bond as well, with the singer drawn to their partner's voice and eager to touch their skin once more. The use of the word "sanctuary" suggests that this physical and emotional intimacy represents a safe haven for the singer, a place where they can escape from the turmoil of the outside world and find solace in their love.

The chorus changes the tone somewhat, introducing a sense of melancholy and loss. The image of a broken window and an empty room suggests that something has been lost or broken, and the singer feels some sense of displacement or isolation. The final line of the chorus, "reflections fade away," adds to this sense of loss and underscores the idea that the sanctuary the singer seeks may be fleeting or illusory. The final verse introduces an element of darkness, with the singer speaking of taking their love interest's life away. However, this is qualified by the statement that the singer will do so with "all my care," suggesting that this act is not violent or malicious, but rather an act of love with consequences that the singer may not fully comprehend.

Line by Line Meaning

My blood longs for yours
I desire to be physically intimate with you

I can't nearly hold me back
I am unable to resist my desire for you

When I smell your perfect body
Your alluring scent arouses me

Seducing me again
You are tempting me with your physical beauty

Your voice is calling me
I am compelled by the sound of your voice

And I follow willingly
I am eager to be near you

To fell your skin again
I want to embrace you and feel your skin against mine

In my sanctuary
This place is my refuge

A broken window
The window is damaged and needs repair

The empty room before me
The room is devoid of any furnishings or occupants

Reflections fade away
My thoughts become less clear and focused