In 2017, mind.in.a.box released Broken Legacies, featuring songs penned by Josh Kreger instead of the lyricist for their five previous concept albums Markus Hadwiger. Kreger would write the lyrics and supplementary short story for not only Broken Legacies but also the 2023 release of Black and White. This transition from Hadwiger to Kreger was both a stark change in direction and a natural progression of the band’s themes and cyberpunk saga. It had flaws and left behind central elements from the Hadwiger era, but it also brought a narrative strength mind.in.a.box’s story hadn’t seen before and a needed perspective in the current era.
In an interview for ReGen Magazine, music producer Stefan Poiss said he didn’t want to just create electronic music when he signed mind.in.a.box with Dependent Records in 2002. He and lyricist Markus Hadwiger had been creating computer games for the Commodore 64 together for years with Poiss producing the music and Hadwiger programming. Poiss wanted to continue creating worlds in a new medium, and so, he and Hadwiger worked together to create a story that would serve as the backdrop for their first album Lost Alone and all following albums. While they wanted a larger storyline to increase the depth and scope of their music, they also wanted the songs and the emotions they portrayed to stand on their own, leaving them open to the personal interpretation of listeners.
Hadwiger’s subscription to these philosophies shows in his lyrics. The story in mind.in.a.box’s first three albums Lost Alone (2004), Dreamweb (2005), and Crossroads (2007) especially is quite vague. Most songs focus on the emotional experience of the characters, which could be the emotional experience of anyone in any number of scenarios. Only rarely do the songs zoom out to reference the protagonist Agent Black, his pursuit of Night and The Friend, his former boss turned enemy Mr. White, and his search for the Dreamweb.
Hadwiger’s primary profession as a programmer and the ambiguity and fluidity of the story give the impression that he didn’t have much of a vision for it. Many concepts don’t appear until after Poiss and Hadwiger began collaborating with Andreas Gruber, a German novelist who wrote short stories to supplement mind.in.a.box’s website and lyric books for Crossroads (2007), Revelations (2012), and Memories (2015). In an interview with I Die You Die, Poiss suggested that Gruber wrote the supplementary story for Crossroads by listening to the completed album. While it may have never been Hadwiger’s intention, if he had any, this story would become canon as following albums began using terms like “Agent” and “Agency” and making meta self-references to a band called “mind.in.a.box.” These were all in Gruber’s short story but didn’t appear in Crossroads‘ lyrics.
This isn’t to say Hadwiger is a bad writer or lyricist. Many of mind.in.a.box’s best songs are from the Hadwiger era. Both Poiss and Hadwiger are native German speakers from Vienna, Austria conveying emotions and complex topics that connect with English speakers across the world. Hadwiger’s English translation of Gruber’s short story for Memories shows at least as much artistry and mastery as Ned Kirby’s translation of Crossroads‘ short story. Hadwiger laid a beautifully flexible framework for him, his collaborators, his listeners, and his successors to build upon. He just didn’t show much ambition in telling a story of his own.
I should mention this analysis doesn’t include any developments that may have occurred in supplementary material for Revelations. This material was only available on the mind.in.a.box website and doesn’t appear to be accessible anymore. It may have been retired with Adobe Flash Player, which the website used to hide “secret areas” accessible from codes found in the first four albums’ lyric books.
Hadwiger’s first love of programming ultimately transitioned him away from the project. In his interview for Revelations with I Die You Die, Poiss admitted mind.in.a.box’s future was uncertain as so much of it relied on Hadwiger finding time around his day job to write. Unlike previous albums, Poiss credited himself as co-lyricist for Memories, perhaps revealing how thin Hadwiger’s time had been spread. Synthpop Fanatic theorized the density of Memories‘ storytelling was Hadwiger’s attempt to tidy the story before leaving the project, passing his writing duties to Josh Kreger.
Poiss told UNTER-TON in an interview that Josh Kreger was a good friend who contributed lyrics to Poiss’ THYX side project, but besides that, there isn’t much information about him. Considering Poiss and Hadwiger’s 2009 interview with ReGen Magazine was written by one “Joshua Kreger,” he’s likely a journalist, and it shows in his approach to the project. Kreger brought a strong narrative voice and message to mind.in.a.box’s short stories and lyrics. Unlike previous albums where Gruber wrote the short stories and Hadwiger wrote the lyrics, Kreger wrote both the stories and lyrics for Broken Legacies (2017) and Black and White (2023). Broken Legacies continued the tradition of the lyric book story mostly serving as a supplement to the album. Black and White‘s story, however, became such an integral part of the album that it sounds more like a futurepop musical.
Kreger also added his own voice to the music. While he’s uncredited in Broken Legacies, I believe he voices The Friend in “Evasion,” “Ockham’s Razor,” “The Time Has Come,” and “Command: Decode.” He is credited in Black and White where he plays Mr. White in “Just Like You Always Wanted,” who has similarities to the uncredited voice from Broken Legacies.
The largest change Kreger brought to the albums, however, was his approach to mind.in.a.box’s mission: to create music that frees minds of their boxes. Within Broken Legacies‘ story, Kreger reasons that minds can escape their boxes, and thus enter the Dreamweb, through multiple methods, not only by listening to mind.in.a.box’s music as Gruber proposed in Crossroads. Kreger created lore that The Friend found the Dreamweb through intellectual liberation, vigorously uncovering the truth about the Agency — an allegory for the government. While Hadwiger was content with the refrain “the music is the key [to the Dreamweb],” Kreger explained why: mind.in.a.box inspires listeners to consider the various walls that may be enclosing their mind.
Hadwiger’s encouragement to listeners was personal and emotional. His lyrics explored psychological topics such as loneliness, misconceptions, and fears. “Lost Alone,” “Lost Alone 2,” and the Lost Alone (2004) album as a whole, for example, commented on how the Internet had enabled more human connection than ever before but also anonymity and a sense of being alone among a network of minds in boxes. These observations have remained topical over the past twenty years of the Internet’s evolution. For all the technology connecting people together, we live in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. Someone is within reach, someone is observing, but the listener, the singer, or mind.in.a.box’s characters can’t see it.
I can feel your presence,
In the middle of the night.
I share the sadness,
When you are feeling contrite.
…
I don’t know who you are.
In contrast, Kreger challenged listeners through political commentary. While previous mind.in.a.box albums had hints of its world’s Orwellian dystopia, Kreger would bring this to the forefront as the subject of most songs. The protagonist Black’s fight became not that of overcoming inner personal conflicts with a 1984-like world as a backdrop but that of a literal battle against the Big Brother-like Agency. To escape its box, the mind not only has to uncover and confront its inner demons but also seek the truth about the external world.
While this seems like a stark difference, it’s actually a natural progression of the mind.in.a.box story. Lost Alone and Dreamweb‘s characters were so inwardly focused on their emotions and struggles that the songs hardly referenced where they were physically. As the story progressed, characters gained names and the external world gained details and focus.
Hadwiger’s final album Memories illustrated this transition most. “Travel Guide” retold the entire story from an external perspective rather than its primarily internally focused one. Within the album, several songs can be interpreted as internally focused versions of the external events described in “Up There” where Black is cornered on a rooftop by antagonist Mr. White and his Agents. In “Silent Pain,” Black approaches a metaphorical edge and expresses notions of sacrificing himself to show the Agency forgiveness. As he stands on an actual ledge in “Face It,” he realizes his ambitions of convincing White or his Agents to change their ways are misplaced.
One step up the hill,
One step closer to the edge.
I look down and I see the future,
I look back and I see the past.
…
We must try to show them,
We must try to forgive them all.
I will sacrifice myself.
It is my gift to a better world.
With Broken Legacies, Kreger would continue transitioning the perspective from external to global. The songs not only described how the characters felt and what they were doing but also the state of the world they inhabited. Songs that didn’t map so easily to one of the characters’ perspectives such as “Stalkers” or “Synchronize” had always existed, but such songs became more prevalent in Broken Legacies and Black and White. “Attack,” “Arcade,” “Integrate,” “Digital Miasma,” “Drowning in the Fire,” and others have little relation to Black, White, Night, or The Friend. Instead, they appear to describe the state of their world and its citizens’ experiences. The shift of focus from internal to external to global illustrates a mind escaping its box, fitting of mind.in.a.box’s themes.
Kreger’s approach has its downsides though. Although fitting for their character arcs, The Friend’s portrayal as a determined and confident leader in Broken Legacies and Black’s resolute insurrection of the Agency in Black and White still contrasts with The Friend’s grief and loneliness in Lost Alone and Black’s uncertainty and disorientation throughout prior albums, perhaps leaving fewer relatable emotions for listeners to grasp. Combined with the increased frequency of external and global perspectives, listeners have fewer opportunities to connect to the music through intimate character viewpoints and emotions.
The more common complaint fans have with Kreger, and that has even turned fans away, is the political commentary itself. Broken Legacies is fairly tame. Its story of oppression under an authoritarian government doesn’t map to the modern world so easily. “Arcade” is the easiest but only as far as its commentary on addiction. Carefully crafted to manipulate emotions and foster addictions, technologies such as social media, video games, and advertising have become obstacles hindering consumers from achieving their dreams.
I swore I’d burn my life onto the world.
I swore I’d never settle for anything less.
But somehow I just can’t seem to stay away from.
This arcade of a life and it’s maniacal caress.
For those familiar with conservative talking points, however, it’s nearly impossible to not hear them in Black and White. Clever lyrics in “New Wave Propaganda,” “Integrate,” and “Inculcation and Immolation” contain common criticisms conservatives level against leftism, those with unshakable belief in liberal ideology, and the intolerant treatment conservatives receive for their views from the so-called tolerant. “Black and White” is a plea to see the gray in a world where the extremes rule. “Sometimes Never” criticizes political figures’ tendency to defend their claims and promises only until it’s inconvenient and then never speak of them again.
A promise speaks truth,
To credulity and youth.
Always is forever,
But sometimes sever.
Forever and always:
Never!
“Digital Miasma” is most damning as an outright parody of mandatory COVID-19 vaccines. Considering Stefan Poiss publicly filed a complaint against the Austrian government’s COVID-19 policies, this interpretation is likely intentional. Needless to say, Kreger and Poiss making their politics obvious within their music — mind.in.a.box escaping its fictitious world into reality — repelled some fans.
As for me, I miss the melancholy and ambiguity of the Hadwiger era. Its emotion combined with its vagueness left much to the imagination and much space for listeners to create their own connections to the music. Its uncertainty and loneliness is repetitive perhaps but no more repetitive than the Kreger era’s politics and retaliation. The topics were merely more human.
While I was considering what a loss Hadwiger was while researching for these articles, however, Charlie Kirk was assassinated. I was not only upset by the murder and loss of such a bright light in the conservative movement and the world as a whole but also disturbed by its celebration. I felt alone and surrounded by heartless people. I was studying Black and White lyrics at the time, and suddenly, “Lost and Alone” became a reminder of the “silent majority’s” existence. The album’s clever wordings of conservative talking points became funny inside jokes. I was reminded that I was not alone, and I was glad Kreger’s voice existed.
We extend a hand to those in need.
We feed the mouths of every creed.
Devoted, watching from above.
Who could stand against love?
Some things that made mind.in.a.box great were left behind in the Hadwiger era, but the brave new Kreger era replaces them with elements just as meaningful. Hadwiger encouraged listeners to examine their misconceptions about themselves, explore their emotions, and find their own interpretations of the story pieces he provided. While Kreger provided relatively confident characters and a stronger narrative, he encouraged listeners to think for themselves, question their beliefs, and seek the truth. While both approaches have strengths and weaknesses, both serve in advancing mind.in.a.box’s mission to free minds from their boxes.
