Laibach: We Forge The Future

Can art change the world? If you know the history of Laibach, then you also know that the answer to that question is 'yes'. Laibach undoubtedly had an important influence on the history of Yugoslavia and the Slovenian state in the 1980s. And this record - 'We Forge The Future', available on CD and vinyl - is proof of that.

On the disc, you will find a recording from 2018 that was intended to be a new performance of the controversial concert that Laibach gave on April 23, 1983 at the XII Music Biennale in Zagreb, the capital of the Croatian state. It was a turning point in Laibach's career, and the group would receive a lot of criticism as a result. But it was precisely this course of events that made Laibach legendary.

Yugoslavia

Before we look at that performance, I would like to give some historical context. After all, Yugoslavia held a special place in the cold war. After a few years of conducting himself as a fine student of Stalin, the Yugoslav leader Tito broke with the Soviet Union in 1948, and with that, in fact, with all the other Eastern Bloc countries. Tito co-founded the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, an association of countries that did not want to take sides between the two superpowers in the Cold War.

This led to a relatively more liberal policy in Yugoslavia, although the country remained a one-party dictatorship that sent dissidents to prison. Not only as a result of liberalism, but also because of economic necessity and the isolation the country was in, Yugoslavia was very open to Western European culture. Records of many Western rock groups were thus freely available, as were Western films and other cultural products.

Slovenia, the northernmost state of Yugoslavia, was even more liberal, partly because it was more prosperous economically and partly because it operated on the periphery of the Yugoslav federation, where more was possible. Thus, in 1969, Radio Študent was born, an independent radio station resulting from student protests at the University of Ljublijana a year before. Radio Študent operated under the wings of the ZSMS, the Union of Socialist Youth of Slovenia, affiliated with the ruling communist party.

Also affiliated with the ZSMS was the ŠKUC, a cultural organization founded in 1978 that, among other things, released the Sex Pistols record in Yugoslavia, and organized exhibitions and concerts by alternative artists. But all this also arose at a time of increased authoritarianism as a result of nationalist aspirations of young people in the federal states (especially after the Croatian Spring). The ZSMS increasingly became the mouthpiece of the disatisfied Slovenian youth.

This is the context in which Laibach came to the fore in 1980. Laibach's first event, a few months after its founding, was immediately banned after the group pasted lurid posters in their hometown Trbovlje. It took until 1982 before Laibach could perform for the first time in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. This too was not without a struggle, because the name Laibach was the German-language name of Ljubljana, a name that evoked memories of the Nazi occupation and the colonialism of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The performance 'Mi kujemo bodočnost' - We Forge The Future - took place in April 1983 in Zagreb, the capital of the Croatian state. Here too, Laibach already had a bad reputation. After a performance by Laibach at the 1982 Yu-Rock festival in Zagreb, the group was questioned by the military police for using real military smoke bombs as visual effect during the show, causing considerable difficulties for musicians and audience.

Ten days after this concert, singer Tomaž Hostnik committed suicide by hanging himself on a kozolec, a kind of drying structure for hay that is sometimes seen as a national symbol of Slovenia. The group condemned the act and posthumously fired Hostnik from Laibach. Still, Laibach would regularly pay tribute to Hostnik in the future, as we'll see later.

Also in Zagreb, an exhibition of Laibach Kunst – Laibach's visual arm – was banned after a few days because of the shocking images. But the biggest scandal was the performance at the Zagreb Music Biennale. This festival was highly regarded because - as the conditions in Yugoslavia allowed - it invited both Western and Eastern musicians. The festival was mainly based on contemporary composers, but in 1983 the organizers decided to schedule two evenings with avant-garde rock groups.

Music Biennale

However great the freedoms in Yugoslavia were in comparison to other communist regimes, Laibach managed to cross the lines. The problem was not so much the inscrutable industrial music, and the uniforms and visual references to fascism might also have been possible. It was the projected videos that went too far.

As the festival represented high-quality culture, Laibach decided to turn it into a multimedia show with 10 different screens. On it, they showed their experimental film 'Morte ai s'ciavi' (Death to the slav[e]s). The group also showed the agitprop film 'Revolucija še traja' (The revolution is still going on), a documentary retracing the history of Yugoslavia since the Second World War, simultaneously with a porn video.

When at a certain moment a speech by Tito coincided with images of a penis, the organizers broke loose, because the images were undoubtedly also seen by the police informants in the room. Since there are different versions on the internet about the events that night, we decided to ask for the experiences of someone who was definitely there that night, namely Laibach chief ideologist Ivan Novak:

‘The whole event for the Music Biennale with Laibach, Last Few Days and 23 Skidoo started at 24:00. Last Few Days was the first group to play, and it went through well. Laibach was second, around 2am, and we managed to play the show from beginning to end also. But because of our show, and especially the film projections, the police and later even the military arrived soon and they interrupted the concert of 23 Skidoo.

As far as I remember they were not even allowed to go on stage. We decided to go on nevertheless. The three bands took the stage and we would jam together as long as they didn’t pull us off by force, which eventually happened around 4 AM or even later, when the electricity was turned off and the audience had to leave the venue as well.

There were about 1000 people in the room, maybe more. I believe they were astonished from the whole show and to certain extend also entertained by the entire circus that happened when police arrived.’

Someone who wasn’t able to enjoy the show was organizer Igor Kuljerić. He is said to have suffered a nervous breakdown as a result of the performance and fled to the Croatian island of Silba to seek peace and avoid legal prosecution. Thanks to the intervention of a number of high-ranking party members – including Ivo Vuljević, then director of the Vatroslav Lisinski concert hall – the consequences for the festival were fortunately limited. Still, the Croatian government would protest to their Slovenian counterparts about the concert.

Panic in Slovenia

Three weeks after the performance, Laibach published its manifesto - Action in the name of an idea - in Nova revija, a literary magazine from Slovenia (which had announced at its inception that its goal would not be action in the name of an idea). In reality, the text was already written in 1982 with the input of Tomaž Hostnik, among others.

A few quotes:

• Laibach works as a team, according to the model of industrial production and totalitarianism, which means that it is not the individual who speaks, the organization does.
• The name Laibach is a suggestion of the actual possibility of establishing a politicized ideological (regime) art because of the influence of politics and ideology.
• All art is subject to political manipulation, except the art which speaks the language of this same manipulation.
• Laibach practices provocation on the revolted state of the alienated consciousness (which must necessarily find itself an enemy) and unites warriors and opponents into an expression of a static totalitarian scream.

Laibach thus adopts the ideological goals of the Yugoslav regime, in what is sometimes referred to as 'over-identification' or 'over-affirmation'. Laibach poses as the biggest fans of the Yugoslav system, but in doing so also undermine the system, by letting their identification go together with a lot of references to Nazism and by pushing their totalitarianism to a point where it becomes absurd.

Television star Jure Pengov thought it was time to teach the band a lesson. He interviewed Laibach in his TV Tednik program, which was broadcasted immediately after the television news. In the interview, we can see Laibach in military uniforms, looking straight ahead, with totalitarian posters behind them (recorded in the ŠKUC gallery, the gathering place of underground Ljubljana that operated under the auspices of the communist youth league).

The interview refers to the scandalous performance in Zagreb, and to the reaction of the organizers who claim that Laibach promised to refrain from provocations and did not keep that promise. Apart from that, Laibach just continues to play its totalitarian parody:

‘Happiness consists in the complete suspension of one's own human identity, in consciously giving up one's personal taste, conviction, judgment, in voluntary depersonalization and the ability for self-sacrifice, identification with a higher, superior system - with the multitude, collective, ideology.’

Laibach also repeats the statement ‘Art is a sublime mission that requires fanaticism’ several times, including when they are reminded of the suicide of their former singer. This is a quote from Hitler that is included - of course without citing the source - in their discourse, just as Laibach often incorporates references to all kinds of political or artistic figures in its works.

At the end of the interview, Jure Pengov, the interviewer, rhetorically asks whether someone will finally act against these dangerous ideas and expressions. The answer came quickly. On June 29, 1983, the municipality of Ljubljana announced a ban on the use of the name ‘Laibach’. Performing under this name is therefore no longer possible, and Laibach is de facto banned in Slovenia.

We Forge The Future

Now let's look at the new record. This is a new performance of the concert at the Zagreb Music Biennale in 1983. It was part of the exhibition ‘NSK. From Kapital To Capital’ about Laibach and the NSK (Neue Slovenische Kunst: an art movement that united Laibach with other art collectives and which again included a reference to fascism, namely to the Junge Slovenische Kunst under the Nazis) at the Reina Sofia Museum in Spain.

The exhibition was opened by the Spanish King Felipe VI and the ex-Communist Slovenian President Borut Pahor, a sign that Laibach is now recognized in the highest political circles. The booklet with the record also contains an interview with Ivo Josipović, ex-president of Croatia and assistant at the Biennale at the time (later also director). He emphasizes that Laibach's performance was 'not a great artistic achievement', although he does think it should be legal as an expression of artistic freedom.

With a Laibach disc, the layout is always important. The cover shows the group in front of a painting that reminds one of Picasso's Guernica, the masterpiece referring to the bombing of a Spanish city during the Spanish Civil War and which is the main work of the Reina Sofia Museum. But anyone who studies the painting will notice that it is not the Guernica… Laibach has made a Slovenian Guernica, in which it incorporated drawings by Nikolaj Pirnat – a Slovenian partisan during the Second World War.

By the way, on the cover of the booklet you will find Tito with his partisans, although the heads of the partisans were replaced by early members of Laibach like Tomaž Hostnik, Dejan Knez, Milan Fras ... The title is 'The Revolution Is Still Going On', which is of course a reference to the documentary that Laibach played at the Biennale. In the booklet you will find images from the film and from the simultaneously played porn film.

Musically the record most resembles the 'Revisited' box that was released last year, and more specifically the third CD from that box: 'Underground'. That record was also a new performance of the concerts of the early days of Laibach concerts by some of the original members of the group. On 'We Forge The Future', you can hear the current band members, but the records are very similar in terms of sound and setlist.

Those who like to hear how the group sounded originally in these early years, can look for the record ‘Ljubljana-Zagreb–Beograd’. This now hard to find record contains performances from the time when Tomaž Hostnik still sang. I have to say that the sound on this old record is very different from the new ones: it is messier and rougher, but it is an important time document. Anyone who wants to go for a pleasant listening experience will prefer this 'We Forge The Future', which is simply recorded in better conditions and with better musicians.

Legalization

How did Laibach fare after the ban on their name? Initially, the group turned its attention to the international level. They did several European tours and even moved to London. But they would challenge the Slovenian government again by performing an anonymous concert in Ljubljana in late December 1984, exactly two years after Tomaž Hostnik's suicide. The poster only saw a black cross - the symbol of Laibach that the group members also wore on their bracelets - and the location of the concert.

In 1985 the same tactic was used to release Laibach's first album. Here too, we see only a black cross before which a body turns as if it were being crucified. In this way, the use of the name – which was prohibited – was avoided. The record was released by ŠKUC , the cultural youth organization associated with the communist youth league ZSMS. ŠKUC has actually supported Laibach from the very beginning.

The pressure to legalize Laibach increased. The ZSMS had strongly condemned Laibach's first prohibited action in 1980, but in the following years was heavily influenced by the emerging new social movements: punk, LGBT movement, environmental movement, peace movement ... In 1986, the ZSMS openly advocates legalizing Laibach.

In 1986 also, Laibach released its second album 'Nova Akropola' on the British Cherry Red Records, a sign that the band managed to score internationally. On February 17, 1987, Laibach is legalized and can finally perform openly again in Ljubljana, which is celebrated with a Yugoslav tour. A few days later, 'Opus Dei' is released on Mute in the UK and confirms the group's international breakthrough with hits such as 'Geburt Einer Nation' (a cover of Queen's 'One Vision') and 'Opus Dei' ('Life is Life' by Opus).

Yet Laibach still manages to torment the government. Every year in Yugoslavia, Youth Day was celebrated on the day of Tito's birthday. Every year a different republic was responsible for the event, which was preceded by a tour with a torch held by youngsters that ran through the different states of the federation and ended with a large-scale sporting event in Belgrade.

In 1987, Slovenia was responsible for the Youth Day, but the ZSMS had become very committed in its fight against Yugoslav centralism and lacking pluralism. It strongly criticized the Youth Day, even suggesting that the entire event should be abolished. It ordered a poster for the Youth Day from Novi kolektivizem (new collectivism), a designer collective associated with the Neue Slovenische Kunst, in which Laibach played a very active role.

The poster showed a muscular young man in front of a Yugoslav flag and with a number of other typical Yugoslav symbols. The image seemed to reflect the social realism that hard-line communists loved, and was thus approved by the central committee in Belgrade. But they soon found out… that the poster was a reworking of a 1936 Nazi poster by Richard Klein. The Nazi flag and symbols had been replaced by Yugoslav and communist symbols.

Of course, a huge scandal broke out, which shook the whole of Yugoslavia. Worst of all, the ZSMS just kept supporting Laibach. They even wanted to print the poster on the front page of their magazine Mladina, but that was forbidden by the government. So they put the poster on their fold-out center page and replaced the front page with an article about the poster scandal.

Independence

Mladina plays an important role in the Slovenian independence efforts. In 1988 there was a major lawsuit against the magazine for allegedly releasing military information. One of the defendants was Janez Janša. At Mladina, Janša specialized in the army, which was generally regarded as the enemy of Slovenian progressives (among other things because young people often had to do their military service in other republics and therefore in a different language).

Public opinion fully supported the defendants, forcing Slovenian President Milan Kučan to take the lead in the constituent republic's quest for independence. Janez Janša became increasingly anti-communist and has become the right-wing populist first minister of Slovenia today. (In 2012, Novi kolektivizem would also launch a poster campaign against austerity measures by the then Janša government.)

Laibach was of course there to worsen everything when they proclaimed on their ten-year anniversary in 1990: 'Ten years of Laibach, ten years of Slovenian independence'. It led some to blame Laibach when war broke out in 1991 after Slovenia's declaration of independence.

Laibach connoisseur Alexei Monroe argues for just the opposite. It was impossible for true radicals in Slovenia to be even more radical than Laibach, which mitigated their fanaticism. In that sense, Laibach would have ensured that the bloodshed was kept to a minimum.

Be that as it may, I hope to have shown with this article that Laibach had a real impact on the political developments in Slovenia in the 1980s. Conversely, I hope that it is clear that Laibach is a typical product of the Yugoslav system, and did not just arose in a vacuum. Art can indeed change the world, and Laibach is proof of it!

Many thanks to Ivan Novak for answering our questions (click to read our interview with Ivan from 2020)

Laibach will play in Belgium at Sinner's Day on November 1, 2021 in Hangar 66 in Sint-Truiden

Laibach: When they banned Laibach, we said 'great, let's move further'!

Laibach recently released an extended box: ‘Laibach Revisited’. It is a reissue of their anonymous first album of 1985, augmented with new recordings of the songs and a number of essays about the role of Laibach in Yugoslavia and the Slovenian Republic in the eighties. We were able to interview Laibach several times in the past, but we thought it would be interesting to concentrate solely on their work of the eighties in this interview. Head ideologue Ivan Novak was so friendly to answer our questions.

When you started the band in 1980, did you already have an elaborate idea of the concept of the band? What were your aims back then?

Laibach: We actually did have a general idea that we calibrated between the years 1980 - 1982, when we finally conceptualise it with the 10 Items of the Convent (sometimes also translated as the 10 Items of the Covenant).  Our aims were to create a group that would be more than just a plain rock band, a group, bigger and independent from any genre, a group that would learn from history and define the future. On the side we also wanted to create a movement and a country, our own state - which we partially did.   

Your first show in 1980 in Trbovlje was prohibited, and for a while nothing was heard of Laibach. In 1982, Laibach returned to the forefront with several concerts. What made it possible that Laibach survived in these first years?

The Yugoslav army. All of us went to the - then still compulsory - army service between 1980 and 1981. As soon as the first members returned from it, the band started with shows. Others joined as soon as they finished their service. The Yugoslav Army gave us food, gave us boots and uniforms, some sense of resistance, and plenty of ideas.

The ‘Ten Items Of The Convent’ were published in Nova revija in 1983. Nova revija was known as a dissident cultural journal and later played a role in the rising national sentiment in Slovenia. Was the text intended to be published by Nova revija? What attracted you to this magazine?

When Nova revija was established in 1982, the editorial board wrote a program, a manifest, in which they stated that they would not act as an ‘action in the name of an Idea’.  We have therefore immediately titled our contribution exactly as an ‘Action in the name of an Idea’. The Nova revija editorial board hesitated to publish our contribution, but philosopher Taras Kermauner insisted that the article should be published no matter what and he proposed to write a kind of editorial essay on Laibach along with our contribution. Which he did, and to this day his text is still one of the most lucid interpretations of Laibach. Soon after our manifest was released in Nova revija, the authorities banned Laibach for several years, but Nova revija was able to publish a more radical content from then on.

In the text ‘The Terror Of History’, that is included in the ‘Laibach Revisited’-box, we learn about the Nazi-punk scandal in Slovenia at the beginning of the 80s. What was the scandal about? In what ways did the scandal and the repression surrounding it affect Laibach?

In short Nazi-punk scandal was an on-going series of events, connected to the Slovenian punk and alternative or sub-cultural movement, of which Laibach was important part of in the first half of the 80s.  The authorities were trying to suppress the whole scene, presenting and accusing it as a movement propagating Nazi ideas. Some bands were dismantled, some people were jailed and Laibach was banned.

The TV Tednik interview – at the end of which the interviewer called for action against Laibach – is very famous. Some say it was a trap, and I believe you went into that trap well aware of the danger. Why did you agree to do the interview?

We were offered the prime time on one of the two most watched TV programmes in that time, so we decided to do it. We knew it was a trap. We wanted to create a kind of ‘living theatre performance’ and at the same time ‘trapped the trapper’.  Which we did. The interview was then very important for the general development of the critical scene in the whole country. People like Slavoj Žižek and many other young intellectuals appeared on the scene after this interview and started to roll the ball of social, cultural and political changes. The interview was like a kind of ignition coil for artistic and political ideas in the 80s.

When the city of Ljubljana banned the name Laibach, how did you react?

We said ‘great, let’s move further’. We immediately decided to get out of Slovenia and start organising the ‘Occupied Europe Tour’. 

Was it easy to continue touring Europe during the ban on the name Laibach? Did this have repercussions at home?

It was difficult to tour Europe, because we had no experience at all and also hardly any money. And Europe then was still deeply in the Cold War, divided by the wall. Plus it was very much a shitty place.  Back at home they were happy just to get rid of us and they didn’t care what we were doing elsewhere.

Was the creation of Neue Slowensische Kunst in 1984 a reaction to the ban on the name Laibach? How was it possible to make such a move while you could not use your name?

Yes, it was greatly the result of the ban of Laibach. Neue Slowenische Kunst was a movement of a several groups from different media that were inspired by Laibach and when we decided to start working together, Laibach was the central inspiration for the whole movement. The name was based on the historical Slovenian avant-garde movement from the 1920s, presented in the German magazine Der Sturm in 1929 under the name ‘Junge slowenische Kunst’.

Although the name was forbidden, Laibach played a concert in Ljubljana in 1984 and released the first LP in 1985, only by advertising the famous black cross that was your symbol. I guess this meant that Laibach was sufficiently known within the public and the population to make it a success. How were the reactions?

Yes, we did the anonymous concert, announced only with our symbol - the black cross -, which was not forbidden. Therefore everything was basically legal. And also our first album was released without our name, again only with the black cross as the central image.  This was a nice prove about the power that the symbol can represent.  The concert was totally sold out and reactions were, of course, also very enthusiastic and positive.

In 1987, you asked for a removal of the ban on the name Laibach. Was it easy to achieve?

We didn’t ask for removal of the ban ourselves; it was a public demand, spread from the alternative circles. In fact the demand was in the end concretised by the Union of Socialist Youth of Slovenia (abbreviated ZSMS) that was a legal (pro-communist) political organization of young people in Slovenia that operated from the post-war years until the 1990s.

Also in 1987, there was the poster scandal. A poster made by Novi kolektivizem – a design studio connected to NSK – for the Youth Day and the birthday celebrations of Tito turned out to be a reworking of an old Nazi poster. At first, the authorities thought of suing Novi kolektivizem, but they later dropped the charges. What happened?

Novi kolektivizem (New Collectivism) is an NSK design group, created by Laibach, Irwin and additional collaborators, practicing in their work a Laibachian method, motives and aesthetics.  The whole Youth Day poster scandal was described many times and you can read it here.  There’s more to it of course but it’s a long story. It is impossible to make it much shorter.  The whole scandal rapidly turned the course of political events in 2^nd half of the 80s in Yugoslavia.   

‘Opus Dei’, your record from 1987, had a big international impact. But it also had its controversies. If I’m not mistaken, there was court action in Germany because of suspicions of Nazi sympathies. Can you tell us what happened?

When Opus Dei was released, the German wing of Opus Dei, a controversial militant catholic organisation, asked for the album to be forbidden and also wanted to sue Laibach for using the name of their organisation as the title of the album. They had several problems with the album, including the four axes swastika, which we used on the inner sleeve. But this swastika was nothing else than a quote from one of the biggest anti-Nazi artist and activist John Heartfield, so they had to drop the charges on Nazism. And the name ‘Opus Dei’ we also used because the leading song on the album was a remake of a famous ‘Live is Life’ song, written by Austrian group Opus. In the end album was still sold in Germany, but under the counter.        

Laibach: website / order the 'Laibach Revisited' box

Laibach: Laibach Revisited

It is finally here. The box that I already ordered in 2018 took almost two years to arrive. It was also pricey - 150 euros - so I'm glad I can hold it in my hands. But the band has been working on it for more than two years. The idea originated almost 10 years ago and was supposed to be released in 2012. Later, that became 2015, then 2018, 2019 and finally 2020.

‘Laibach Revisited’ is an elaborate addition to the first Laibach record from 1985, and consists of 3 CDs, two booklets and a pin in a box, all beautifully designed in a memorable Laibach style. In the early years of the group, Laibach was an absolute sensation in Slovenia, then still a republic of Yugoslavia. The name referred to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, but in German.

‘To call a group Laibach Art in a nation that arose exclusively out of struggle - ultimately war - against German political and cultural expansionism (not just the Nazis) is, to say the least, scandalous. No greater Dadaist twist could be possible. The name of the group is it's most successful poetic idea,’ said Slovenian writer and philosopher Taras Kermauner, as the name was reminiscent of the Austrian occupation and - even worse - the Nazi occupation of Slovenia during World War II, and all it’s horrors.

Laibach’s first performance - along with an exhibition, a film screening, and three other bands - in their hometown of Trbolvje was banned as soon as the group posted gloomy posters in the city. The application for the concert was not formulated correctly, the authorities argued. The group would later claim that the performance was a test of the Slovenes’ positive awareness - as there had been a few government tests before - and that the performance was intended to be banned.

After their military service, Laibach returned to the front, but their first performance in Ljubljana in 1982 immediately provoked reaction. ‘Is it possible that someone permitted, here in Ljubljana, the first hero city of Yugoslavia, a youth group to take a name that forcefully unearths bitter memories of… Laibach,’ said a protest letter. A letter that the group then conveniently played out. Because negative publicity is also publicity, isn't it?

More publicity followed. Laibach went even further at a performance in Zagreb. They managed to mix propaganda films with speeches by Tito - the former president of Yugoslavia, who died a month before the band was formed - with porn images. The organizers promptly stopped the performance and distanced themselves from the band without hesitations.

Some say that a trap was set for Laibach afterwards. But even if it was a trap, the band fell into it consciously and with open eyes. Laibach was invited to an interview on TV Tednik, where they simply continued their totalitarian image and absurd statements. The interviewer concluded with a call: ‘maybe someone will finally act and stop these dangers, these terrible ideas and statements here in Ljubljana.’

Thus, the city of Ljubljana brought up an old decree stating that it was forbidden to use the name of the city - even in its German variant - without permission. The name Laibach was banned from now on. However, the group managed to perform in 1984 without mentioning its name. On the cover of the group's debut, also, we can only see the black cross - within which a tormented individual was wallowing - the symbol of the group, without the mention of the name.

It is this record that we commemorate with this edition. Most of the material was recorded in 1983. Some songs had already been released abroad. Even though the name was banned in Yugoslavia, the group could safely tour Europe under its own name. Given the difficulties, the vinyl debut in Yugoslavia was released only in 1985.

The new box contains this record, but ... actually the content corresponds more to ‘Rekapitulacija 1980-84’, which was released at about the same time in Germany on Walter Ulbricht Schallfolien as a double LP and thus contained much more material than the original record, with songs that were recorded in 1984 and 1985. So you get the maximum content. (And even if you search and think you're missing some song or bonus, those are included in the digital downloads included with this release.)

The first CD from this box contains the reissue. It opens - like both records on which it is based - with ‘Cari amici’, a recording from the aforementioned performance in Ljublijana in 1982 on which the then singer of Laibach - Tomaž Hostnik, who committed suicide in 1982 – gave an imitation of Mussolini. The photo showing Hostnik with a bleeding chin - after he had a bottle thrown at his head, and just continued the show - is very famous.

The record also contains very sophisticated noise, which sounds surprisingly good for the time and circumstances in which it was recorded. We hear all kinds of percussion, guitars, but especially a lot of sound manipulation and synths that make the whole sound absolutely ominous. Rhythms are slow, the music atonal and saturated with effects. In short, the oppressive noise of industrial alienation and totalitarian terror.

The lyrics - completely in Slovenian at that time - also sound dark. They expose the contradictions of communism, for example through quotes from Tito (in ‘Država’, a song that lists positive state responsibilities, in stark contrast to the chilling music) and ‘Jaruzelski’ (the Polish general who declared a state of emergency and was responsible for strong repression in 1981). They speak of the bright future they face (‘Sila’, ‘Brat moj’), or of courage and self-sacrifice (until death, as in ‘Ti, Ki Izzivaš’).

The second CD from the box is called ‘Revisited’. It contains renewed versions of the old songs, which were recorded between 2009 and 2012. In the meantime, I have heard these versions live several times, and I was always very impressed. I am therefore happy to finally have it on CD. The songs have obviously been played by musicians who are much better than the ones on the original recordings, and the recordings themselves are excellent.

The new recordings are very different from the originals. The voice of Milan Fras sounds much heavier, the avant-garde piano by Sašo Vollmaier makes it even more ominous, the electronic programming of Luka Jamnik is fuller, the screams of Mina Špiler go through the bone, the drums of Janez Gabrič are more varied… The album also contains some songs that would not appear on the debut album, but only on 'Nova Akropola' in 1986, such as ‘Vier Personen’ and ‘Nova Akropola’. Additionally, you get some more recent live versions with orchestra, including one from the performance of Laibach in the Bozar in 2016 that we could attend.

The third CD contains live recordings, recorded underground in an old mine that was converted into a museum, at a depth of 200 meters. What makes it exceptional are the three founding members of Laibach who participate: Ivan Novak - who rarely plays live despite his important role - and Dejan Knez - a long-time core member who is no longer active in the group, but is responsible of vocals and bass on this record - and finally Srečko Bajda, who played with Laibach in the early 1980s. The record is dedicated to Boško Bursać, who made the recordings and died in 2016. It includes a flaming version of ‘Siemens-Rdeči molk’, a mix of ancient songs played during their first performances, but never recorded in studio. You will also hear drawn-out and psychedelic versions of the songs you already heard on the other two CDs.

And it is not done yet. The edition also contains a book with various texts about Laibach. To begin with, the already known ‘10 items of the covenant,’ which is the manifesto Laibach published in 1983 to outline it's strategy. It contains quotes such as ‘Laibach analyzes the relationship between ideology and culture in a late phase, as proposed in art’, ‘art and totalitarianism are not mutually exclusive’ and ‘all art can become the object of political manipulation, except art that speaks the same language as the manipulation’. Laibach claims to have always adhered to the principles of the manifesto, for which they kept finding new applications.

The second text is the central and longest from the edition. It is called ‘The Terror Of History. How Laibach Shook the State, the Party and Philosophy at the Beginning of the Eighties’ by Marcel Štefančič Jr. It is quite a heavy text, full of quotes and enumerations that are not always explained in detail. It contains more considerations than facts, and may be inaccessible to those who do not already have a certain level of knowledge, including about thinkers such as Slavoj Žižek and Jacques Lacan.

The early 1980s were a time of high inflation and high unemployment in Yugoslavia. Punk and Laibach were excellent lightning rods for the economic crisis. The Slovenian republic was strict on punk (albeit less strict than other communist countries). In 1983, Laibach promoter Igor Vidmar - the man who also writes a preface here for the record he first released in 1985 - was held in custody for a month for wearing suspicious badges (a Dead Kennedy's badge with a swastika crossed out was mistaken as a pro-nazi sign).

However, Laibach confused everyone. Punk could be criticized as a foreign influence, but what should critics think of Laibach? Dissidents could be branded as dangerous to the state, but what to do with a group that proclaimed they wanted to strengthen the state? And were especially secretive about their true ideas? ‘Laibach does not work as an answer, but as a question,’ said Žižek. And those questions kept piling up, while Laibach's true nature remained a mystery.

The last text from the book is by Milan Kučan. He is the man who led Slovenia to independence in 1991, when reform of Yugoslavia seemed impossible, and was president of the new republic from 1992 to 2002. It is a speech given by Kučan at the opening of an exhibition by Laibach in Trbovlje in 2010, exactly 30 years after the group's very first prohibited exhibition in the same place. He also emphasizes that Laibach provoked negative reactions because the work of the group was so difficult to understand. That he gave the speech shows that, today, Laibach is recognized in the highest circles in Slovenia.

So much for the content. The box and booklets are beautifully designed, with numerous works of art displayed in a unified style. The box shows once again that Laibach is one of the most intellectually challenging bands on the planet, and that the group's musical oeuvre may be difficult to fathom, but is definitely worth it.

Order the Laibach box here

Trouwfest #3: RIOTMILOO: We love you Europe!

The free annual Belgian festival Trouwfest offers at least one artist that will perform for the first time ever in Belgium in every edition. This year, this is the case (among others) for the French/Brittish act Riotmiloo, who released the great album La Pierre Soudée on Ant-Zen a few years ago.

It's a very strong album, not only musically, but also conceptually. Emilie is a lady who has a lot to say, something this interview also taught us!

DE: You released your album on Ant-Zen. Recently, Ant-Zen decided to stop releasing physical albums and to concentrate on the digital market. A sign of the times? As a music lover, for me it’s quite hard to pay for a digital album, because just like books, I like to have a copy in my hands. What’s your opinion on this, as a musician?

Emilie (E): When I found out, it really came as a blow. Music is extremely important to me. I listen to music on different formats (including digital) but I buy my most cherished music on physical releases. Ant-Zen fought long and hard. It brought quality in terms of musical choices and strong identity with Stefan Alt’s amazing designs. It went beyond music and design; it was pure Art. But times change and if cds don’t sell anymore, maybe it’s time to try something else? One may argue that vinyls and tapes seem to be trendy again. But how long will it last? I wish Ant-Zen the best for the future. I am forever grateful for everything they did for me.

I guess artists may have to diversify what they have on offer in the future. I started selling t-shirts last year (design by Stefan). People seemed interested by that new addition to the merch. However, I still don’t know how I would feel not to have physical objects to sell at gigs. I guess it is part of all the questions I have to reflect on when my next album is ready…

DE: You started your musical career in the riot grrrl’s punk scene. Can you tell us a bit more about that (which band, period, etc...)

E: I discovered riot grrrl’s music in the middle of the 90’s. Instantly, I identified strongly with that movement: the anger, the messages, the possibility of having little experience but still having a space for creativity and of course the DIY attitude. Kill Rock Stars was a fantastic label. My old time favourites are still Bikini Kill, the Japanese Emily’s Sassy Lime and their album “Desperate, scared but Social.” I still have a lot of affection for Babes in Toyland, Seven Year Bitch and of course L7. I saw Babes in Toyland when they reformed, singing all their songs from the top of my lungs (because I have all of their discography).

When I was still living in France, in the late 90’s, I was invited to perform as a guest vocalist for a friend’s band. It was meant to be a one off. But when I set my foot on the stage, I transformed into Riotmiloo for the first time. I started shyly with my hands in my pockets and ended up confronting the crowd and rolling on the floor. Many people in the audience saw something in me that they liked and encouraged me to carry on.

In 2003, my friend Slideling and I decided to create a female garage punk band in the spirit of Red Aunts and early Yeah Yeah Yeahs. We enrolled the best drummer in town and Venom Seeds was born. Originally, we wanted a female drummer but when Sam auditioned, he blew us away. We got signed and released a beautiful and limited edition 7” in black, red and white on a grunge label in Seattle. Even before, when we self released our DIY interactive demo with wicked stencil artwork, it was well received in England and abroad. This project went far beyond what I was expecting. Sadly the band split up in 2008. If you want to dig more into that bit of my past, here is where to find the info: http://www.venomseeds.co.uk/



DE: What did you decide to change from guitars to electronic music?

E: My love for music is vast. Besides Riot Grrrls, I also like punk hardcore especially bands like Minor Threat and pioneers like Blag Flag and Bad Brains. Simultaneously, I happen to also like trip hop and electronic music. In the early 2000’s, I discovered Atari Teenage Riot and D-Trash records. There was Nic Endo’s sonic assault and Hanin Elias’ amazing live performances. Once again I identified to that sort of music. I thought to myself: should I experiment with this? It was pushing the violence and anger a little bit further.

Shortly after moving to London in 2002, prior to Venom Seeds, I was part of a DIY electronic project called “3 Ant Riot.” We had a tweaked bass, samples, drums and me on vocals. This project enabled me to experiment more vocally with electronic music. In the end, things didn’t work out because some band members wanted more melodies and I wanted more mayhem. ;)

I started getting deeper into electronics when working with the artist and producer Eva|3. At the beginning, we were meant to collaborate only for one track. Then we performed together for a one off gig at Slimelight in 2005 in London to support Pneumatic Detach.

It went so well that he asked me to join him for more gigs and two years we unexpectedly landed at the legendary Maschinenfest to promote Eva|3’s album on Fich-art! (Asche’s label)

DE: You can hear the influence of your riot grrrl period in your current music. Speaking of electronic music: what are the musical influences on Riotmiloo?

E: If we talk solely about electronic music, I am influenced by Haus Arafna and their side project November Növelet. I do like the integration of both harshness and melody. I love Deutsch Nepal too. He excels at converting emotions into music. Test Department, Coil and Throbbing Gristle inspire me a lot too. I am a huge fan of Beta Evers whose cold vocals and music give me goose bumps.

At the minute, I am really into Michael Idehall, Hide and Gazelle Twin. And I have a recently discovered soft spot for Lingua Ignota. I am going to share a stage with her on the 9th of April in London. I can’t wait! https://www.facebook.com/events/1964796276952596/

DE: Your gig at Trouwfest will be the first one in Belgium. La Pierre Soudée showed us Dirk Ivens is one your friends, are there any other Belgian musicians/bands you really like?

E: Yes, it will be my first time ever in Belgium. Thanks a lot for the invite. I am really looking forward to it. Belgium is lucky to have so many great electronic artists. Dirk Ivens is definitely a legend and a very kind person. He is very funny too. The other names that spring to my mind straight away are Imminent, Ah Cama-Sotz, Monolith and Solar Skeletons. There is also Empusae. His album, “Lueur”, really spoke to me to the point where it gave me goose bumps. I highly recommend it. Nicolas has a gentle soul and is a talented musician. I also admire C-drík’s musical knowledge and efforts to promote electronic music from all around the world. He is a good laugh too.

DE: La Pierre Soudée sounds very intense, I can imagine live it even goes deeper. How would you describe a Riotmiloo concert, what can we expect at Trouwfest?

E: It took us six years to make “La Pierre Soudée”. Each track is inspired by a real life story, documenting women’s suffering in the world. Each song was composed with a different artist. You can enjoy listening to the songs or if you choose to dig a little bit deeper, get to know each story, find out about the horrors inflicted by wars, by lack of compassion, by political and social harsh contexts. And then you can decide for yourself. Beyond music and words, where do you stand in our society?

My performances have often been described as intense, powerful, energetic and moving. The music creates an emotional journey ranging from dark ambient soundscapes to powerful rhythm and noise, supporting my vocal delivery that is in turn melancholic or intense. Visuals add another layer to reinforce my message courtesy of the brilliant haunting double exposure photographic work of Jessica Hosman. Expect a cathartic and hypnotic experience!

 

DE: Power electronics and noise in general are mostly a male-dominated genre. But nowadays there’s a fresh feminine air with acts like you, but also Pharmakon, Puce Mary, Sewer Goddess, She Spreads Sorrow... As a woman, do you think the audience/press treats you different and in which way?

E: I think Arts and Music in general are male-dominated (and not just in the making of it). Statistically, the audience is more male than female too. Is it because of bad experiences for women at gigs? Is it because the music is too harsh? On the other hand, many people, from promoters to the audience, seem to be open to something else. I have always been lucky in the sense that what I want to express and say resonates with others. Am I just lucky? Maybe, maybe not, who knows? I have the strong belief that there is space for women in the Arts. I welcome female and trans artists. In my humble opinion, diversity is somehow more interesting.

To be honest, I don’t feel the press has treated me any differently. Photographers are respectful too. People are in general very supportive. The worst that happened to me was being touched inappropriately during a performance in Paris and I lashed out at who I thought was the culprit. It turned out it was a gay friend of mine who confessed many years later. But I have female friends who have completely different experiences…

DE: La Pierre Soudée refers to Masculine Domination by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. In this work he describes how language symbolically defines and perpetuate violence against women. In lots of countries, women are still oppressed by men, often by giving it a religious twist. It’s quite a challenge to stop this madness. Do you think this will ever change?

E: First of all, I’d like to widen the debate. Violence happens everywhere. I wouldn’t want to confine it to far away countries. You have open direct violence, which is spoken about a lot in the media, and you have slow, pernicious and hidden day to day violence. Female Genital Mutilation happens in Europe, in the UK, it is not just confined to Africa. I read yesterday about breast ironing supposedly in place to help prevent sexual harassment and rape. What kind of shit is that? The best prevention is to teach about consent!

What pisses me off is that governments, people in charge of writing laws, are mostly white wealthy men who will decide women’s’ rights. Let’s take for instance the topic of abortion. It is still illegal in Northern Ireland. And people in power like Trump make me feel like we are going backwards to darker times when people accept the very idea that it can be ok to “grab them by the pussy…”

And then there is hidden day-to-day violence like when a woman is shut down, interrupted more than men or even totally ignored. And have you heard about “the mental load”? To summarize, it is when one expects their partner to ask for help to do things, viewing this person as the manager of their household chores. Here is an interesting article if you want to find out more about “the mental load”: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/gender-wars-household-chores-comic

I believe change is possible but we have to implement it ourselves at our own level. And I am grateful that many people agree with me.

DE: On a scale of 1 to 10, how much would you describe yourself as a feminist, and what does this term mean to you, because for some people it has a negative undertone?

E: My definition of feminism is equality and same treatment for everyone. Who can be against that? Following this definition, everyone can be a feminist. It isn’t hard. I would give myself 10/10 of course. And if you take into account non-binary people, this means that they should also be treated with respect. The TERF movement (Trans Exclusionary Rad Feminism) is against that very idea and deserves not to be associated with what I call feminism. Their message is full of hate and discrimination. Mine isn’t.

DE: As I told you before, your work reminds me of the great Meira Asher. Have you already contacted her?

E: Meira Asher is very talented indeed. I know about her work but do not know her personally. I love it when music and song writing incorporate poetry as well as a message. When words and music complement each other to highlight social and political topics, then it takes Art to another level…

DE: Alongside your musical performance, both electronics as vocals, another eye catcher are your quite controversial lyrics. Another thing you have in common with Meira Asher, with subjects such as child marriages, war, landmines, AIDS,... Do you already have stories in mind to tell on a future album, and are you working on it?

E: I spend a lot of time reading articles and taking notes. The theme of “La Pierre Soudée” was abuse of women through story telling. I am currently working on another album. “Blackout” is more a study on mental illness and how it translates into feelings. I want to strip it out of all romanticism and explore a raw territory. Once again, I had to collate information from real life stories, watch documentaries, absorb various experiences and states of mind to be able to translate it into words and music. This time, it is just Eva|3 and me (and synths and patches.) I have recently uploaded a new track called “Folie à deux” which illustrates a story of shared madness where a couple tortured and murdered their nanny. She was "starved, tortured and broken until she could no longer fight. They took away her dignity and finally her life." May her gentle soul rest in peace. Here is the link if you want to listen to it: http://www.riotmiloo.co.uk/media.html

DE: As a French woman living in England, how do you feel about Brexit?

E: Well, I am a product of Europe. I was born in France and I decided to live in London. And I play gigs all over Europe. Until now, it was easy and convenient.

Most people in London are against Brexit. I love London because it has a great mix of different people and we all learn from each other. Even our mayor Sadiq Khan trolled Brexit with an ode to Europe using fireworks display for New Year’s eve. That was so brilliant!

More personally, I feel Brexit is a con; it is a broken plaster failing to contain the pus in England. Who in their right mind would think it is a good idea to go solo in the big wide world?

I blame politicians for this mess. They haven’t lifted people out of poverty. They actually created more of it. Our previous prime minister, David Cameron, used the referendum for his own political gain. Then he lost and resigned, passing on the hot potato to somebody else.

Our current prime minister is doing the same. Theresa May is using Brexit to sell her anti immigration and rotten ideas. She is anti immigration and anti poor.

I think many people were tricked into voting for it. But Brexit is not going to benefit them. In my opinion, there will be more and more suffering and more stories like in the movie “We are all Daniel Blake” by Ken Loach after Brexit.

By contrast, wealthy people will be fine. They have connections and ways to buy passports. Some of the richest businessmen are already leaving England and relocating somewhere where there is less tax, often in Europe.

I feel artists will suffer too. Who will want to come to the UK if they don’t feel welcome? I won’t blame it if people stick their fingers at England. I kind of sadly expect it. It will become harder for British artists who are already struggling to cover expenses to play abroad.

But rightly so, a good friend of mine told me that politicians never really help artists anyways. So I guess it will be up to us to unite and find ways to make it work. We love you Europe! ;)

DE: Last but not least, this burning question: why do you want a fly as a pet?

E: I found those words grabbing. So when they popped into my head, I decided to make something with them. The life story behind the song "A Fly as a Pet" actually comes from a book called “The good women of China.” It talks about a girl being abused and breaking her own bones to end up in a hospital and escape her life as well as her oppressor. There, she experiences the soft feeling of the wings of a fly on her skin for the first time. She decides to adopt it as her pet. In the end, she becomes really ill, crushes the fly by accident and mad with herself, spreads the dead fly on her wound and dies from sepsis. It is a tragic story really… 

foto's 1 & 3: Sev Denis, foto's 2, 4 & 5: Stefan Alt

Riotmiloo

La Pierre Soudée op Bandcamp

Trouwfest #3

Schwarzblut: I think that the subjects of freedom, identity and the celebration of diversity that go through the album are a reflection of the time in which we live.

Four years after 'Gebeyn Aller Verdammten', Schwarzblut returns with 'Idisi'. The group does not repeat itself but chooses to explore new ways with the new record. The depth of meaning and composition, however, remain constant. We witnessed that in our conversation with front man Zeon Schwarzblut.

Your new CD is called 'Idisi', a reference to the Germanic goddess of vegetation. Why this title and how does it relate to the total concept of the album?

 

The word 'Idisi' comes from the 9 / 10th century "Merseburger spells" (German: the Merseburger Zaubersprüche), written in Old High German. The first of these two spells is a "Lösesegen" (spell for release). It describes how warriors captured during the battle are freed from their fetters by "Idisi". We use this text for "Eiris sazun idisi", the opening track of our album. The "Idisi" mentioned in this text are supposed to be Valkyrie-like goddesses, possibly related to Norse mythology, where a dís ("lady", plural dísir) is seen as a spirit or feminine deity associated with fate. The Merseburger spells are the only known texts of the Germanic pagan faith that have been preserved in Old High German. We chose "Idisi" as the title for the album because of the reference to the eternal desire for freedom and as a tribute to the power of women in the past and the present.

'Gebeyn aller Verdammten' dates back to 2014 and was rightly considered as your best work to date. It took four years to come up with a successor. Why so long?

Our 2014 album received a good reception indeed. And because we never repeat ourselves, we opted for new ways for the next album. We decided early in the writing process to concentrate on the roots of the Germanic and Frankish languages. This of course requires study time and we have taken that time. In our search we found beautiful texts from the 13th, 9th and even 6th century. These texts have a sound and rhythm that are very inspiring to me. They immediately invited to compose music. The old languages and texts have an abstraction that works very well with the dark, vocal and rhythmic music on our new album.

We have noriced a great evolution since your last work. Where you used to choose hard beats, you have become much calmer on 'Idisi'. A conscious choice?

Idisi is an album that has been created in a very organic and intuitive way. With the arrival of Gijs van Ouwerkerk, we had three vocalists who could contribute this time. And that really invited us to use a lot of harmony and chant vocals in the songs. By putting the tempo’s a little lower, there was more room to let the voices 'speak'. We have experimented a lot in the studio with community singing and free improvisation. That has produced beautiful pieces such as "Eiris sazun idisi", "Die Zeit geht nicht" and “Vogala”. More than before we have also recorded organic instruments for the album such as violin, nyckelharpa, hurdy-gurdy and percussion.

Until now you mainly used German texts. The new album is much broader linguistically. We hear Latin several times, the first written (Old) Dutch sentence on 'Vogala', fragments of Turkish and Romanian, but especially a lot of Medieval-German. Why this diversity?

I believe that an artist is always influenced by his or her contemporary environment. And we as well. I think that the subjects of freedom, identity and the celebration of diversity that go through the album are a reflection of the time in which we live. Fear, polarization and propaganda are just as much part of the past as part of our present. Polarization always comes from fear, from not understanding the value of diversity. Lack of understanding stems from a lack of communication and connection. Music is about communication. Our music is our way of communicating and learning about other cultures and customs. For this album, Hannah Wagner helped us with the pronunciation of the Middle High German texts, the Romanian singer / actress Teodora Ionescu helped us with the Romanian parts and our Iranian colleague and friend Reza helped us with the Farsi / Persian parts. This process of sharing and learning was an enriching experience. I believe that having strong cultural roots and a sense of belonging to your own culture is a solid starting point to meet and explore other cultures. And because suffering and suffering is also a given in the world, we were not afraid to record a number of cruel texts about war and persecution.

The album comprises the 'Palästinalied', a song from the time of the crusades that has often been covered. What has driven you to make your own interpretation of the song?

On the album, this song connects the Western and Middle Eastern worlds, in the form of a 13th century text written at the time of the 5th Crusade. We have really made our own version of it by adding vocal harmonies, spoken lyrics in Latin and very intense percussion. The song also contains the majestic game by our German friend Georg Börner (Sangre De Muerdago) on the nyckelharpa. His medieval stringed instrument gives the song a mysterious and Eastern character. Hannah Wagner (Saeldes Sanc / Helium Vola) and Angelika sing these songs as a duet, which really gives the song a fighting and melodic character.

'Lied der Freiheit' seems to fit very well with the Schwarzblut concept. Can you tell something more about that song?

The text of this song is a poem by the 19th century Swiss poet Gottfried Keller. In this poem he formulates the concepts of time, truth and history in a surprising, new way. It was logical for me to put this text on music because it gives an interesting conceptual context to the old texts we use on the album.

To round off the album you use a poem by the Persian Sufi poet Rumi, after the German translation of Friedrich Rückert. The music also sounds very oriental. What did you want to achieve?

In a world where polarization and populism in the media form the issues of the day, we choose a different course. I do not own TV and use online media in moderation. As I said, I believe that an artist is always influenced by his or her contemporary environment. And that having strong cultural roots and a sense of belonging to your own culture forms a solid starting point for meeting other cultures. This song is such a meeting. The text of 'Ghaselen des Dschelal-eddin Rumi' consists of the German translation of works by the Persian poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273). Rumi was the leading figure of the Sufi movement in medieval Konya. He philosophized about the benefits of tolerance. The meaning of his words inspired me to give this song a deep, Oriental sound. Partly through the use of Arabic singing by Hammam Al Sayid. The Rumi text we use is a translation by Friedrich Rückert from 1819. We already used texts from Rückert on our albums Das Mausoleum (2010) and Gebeyn Aller Verdammten (2014).

The collaboration with Hannah Wagner of Saeldes Sanc is in the spotlight. You already worked together on the single 'Virginis Memoriae' in 2015 and in 2017 with the EP 'Wildes Herz'. How did you get to know Saeldes Sanc and how did you decide to work together?

In 2015, we first released a split single with Hannah. She is a great talent and a very nice person. So while working on "Idisi", the idea arose to make a mini-album with her. After a meeting with Hannah at the Wave Gotik Treffen in her home town of Leipzig (D), she came to Deventer (NL) a few months later to work with us in the studio. When we were together, an inspiring work atmosphere arose in the studio. We exchanged ideas and suggestions to take the best of each other. I worked on the compositions and recordings of both Saeldes Sanc's and our own songs. I look back on this with great pleasure. Although you can send music files all over the world via the Internet at lightning speed, the musical result is so much better and more personal when you actually work together in one studio. And you can hear that on "Wildes Herz".

Do you already have any idea what the next step for Schwarzblut will be?

We have had two release parties in the Netherlands behind us. In the fall we go back to Germany for performances. Of course new musical ideas are bubbling up again. So they will also find a way to a next release. There is also a video clip for the song Vogala in the making. Keep an eye on our website and sign up for our newsletter. That is how you first hear what is coming on.

Interview: Xavier Kruth

Pictures: Xavier Marquis