Born amongst the fjords of Iceland, Conflict of Interest began in the mid-eighties when band members Hans Niemand, Johnson Vontooten and Fingers joined forces to create what was on the verge of becoming one of the greatest Industrial bands of the decade. Niemand was a farm boy who played video games on cold winter nights. Vontooten was raised by nuns and hoped one day to be a priest. But it was their schoolmate, Hjörtur "Fingers" Viljálmur, who plucked these boys from obscurity and brought them to his basement to play with his organ. From these early recording sessions, the threesome released the critically acclaimed Leona EP in 1988, which included the hit song, "Sizzlism." It was while enjoying growing success on their first Canadian tour that tragedy struck.
On a cold night in November, 1988, while traveling on a dark highway, their tour bus reportedly slid on a patch of black ice before overturning into an embankment. Amongst the screeching sounds of squealing tires and crunching metal, the bus driver cried out "Oh no, black ice!" While Niemand and Vontooten survived the crash with only minor scrapes and bruises, their beloved third member, Fingers, was not as fortunate. At the time, Niemand was quoted as saying, "I was in my underwear, you know, and socks, walking for miles looking for these black guys. I walked back to the bus driver and screamed at him 'Where's these black guys? I don't see any black guys!'"
Niemand and Vontooten sadly returned to Iceland, and together decided they would never perform again.
Until now...
On a fateful day in May of 2005, at an optometrists' convention in Reykjavik, Iceland, Hans Niemand (who at the time was running Fadeaway Records) and Johnson Vontooten were reunited. Over a number of cocktails, they reminisced about their days in the band and decided that if Fingers were alive, standing before them in leather and chains, he'd insist they continue without him.
After purchasing a Casio keyboard and locking themselves in a hotel room for the rest of the winter, Niemand and Vontooten began writing what will become their newest release, "East Coast Muscle," named after their hometown Skagafjörður, and in memory of their late friend, Fingers. Vontooten describes this new sound in a recent interview. "I think that [our] sound [is] more electronica [and] industrial. We mix [in] emo for [the] kids who cry [and] buy records."
Current tracks, loosely translated from Icelandic include: "I Start Fires...in your Pants," "Shake Your Banana Pants," "You Know What it Means When it Burns," and "Catch the Snake...but Don't Use Your Hands?"
Conflict of Interest recently signed a multi-million dollar deal with an unnamed record label and will be planning a tour after its release sometime in 2008. Partial proceeds from the tour will go towards the non-profit organization "The Watch Your Fingers Foundation" Niemand established in Fingers' honor in 1990 which continues its work in the seemingly endless search for black guys in Canada.
When they hit the road Niemand and Vontooten will be backed by Troy Bontonto (keys), Tickles (keys) and Otto Toto (keys).
