DER BLUTHARSCH

ITime Is Our Enemy!

originally appeared on Kronic

So Albin, why “Time is thee enemy”? and also do you think we are living in an age where time is so little that for many becomes an enemy?

Well, over the years I discovered the real and only enemy – at leats the only one you can`t fight against and win. I am now nearly 40 years old, and every day I see how time runs away, and the older you get, the faster it gets. I do not know how it is for others – but for me it is so little. Otherwise, I life my life very extense, as every day could be the last one, and you anyway never now, tomorrow I could be death. But – if I die, I die happy and knowing that I allways did what II wanted. As well, I think “Time” nowadays is a problem of society. Everyone is used to be fast, to life fast and people don`t take their time for the essential things in life. This is a global phenomen, and even a global problem. If I think about economy, people are used to have everything fast, and the media and big companies suggest people that all has to be fast, that everyone has to life a fast lifestyle. I mean, it is pathetic, isn`t it? We now life in a world of consumption – people buy shit they do not need – no one needs a new, mobilephone every half year – exept the big companies who want to sell it to get more profit at the end of the day. It is sad to see this evolution, especially as it goestotally against the envirement. We destroy our planet with our stupid consuming habits.

I have read that your last work is also a tribute to an old TV serial also intitled “Times is thee enemy”? Is this so?

No, I am not even aware of this serial. Interresting…. I have to find out.

In your last works you are getting into a research of sound that I would have never expected. No more longer the heavy impact and the foggy atmospheres of the first works, but a much more subtle work on sound...

Maybe, I do not really think about what I do, when I do music. I like to experiment a lot and just do music I like, without any musical or stylstic restriction. Allowed is what I like. But, of corse I am glad that there is an evoluion in sound.I mean, honestly, it would be boring if I would allways do the same, wouldn`t it? For me a good band is allways a band who can surprice me with their next work.. and if people get surpriced by my next album and get something they would never have expected, I am happy. But as well there is allways an evolution in Der Blutharsch tself. I started as a one man project after having worked more than 7 years in another band, so first with Der Blutharsch I wanted to try out more ambient/experimental music, and over the years I changed my stlye, also because more people got involved into Der Blutharsch. To date we are 4 people in the band – and after having started working with Jörg B. – who is our guitarplayer and having Marthynna and Bain in ntuhe band. There is more focus on classical “songwriting”. But I consider this as a good evolution.

What about the decision to have a video - that also was transmitted on an international tv? Or was it just an occasion for sex food and good wine? And of Music of Course!

I am a person who allways wants to try out new things and learn new things. So, one day, after a good bottle of Vino Rosso I decided, that I would like to do a video. So, I started with the idea and over the weeks worked it out to what now turned out to be the video. It was a great tme, very bussy..I had to write a screenbook, arrange the technical things, check lcations to shoot the video, arrange the financial side etc. So, I did nearly everything myself, but to be onest, I had a few friends helping with filming and other stuff, anyway – even if it was very stressy sometimes, it was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed. And, I am really happy with the result. One day, when we release the “making of” – maybe, people can see about all the fun we had.
And yes, the video has been shown several time on various music channels in Europe. As well, we have been number 3 at Lettland national Radio in their top 25 for 3 weeks, and since 9 weeks we are under the best 6 – before bands such as Limp Bizkit, Blink 128, The Muse and others, so obvioulsy the video helped to promote Der Blutharsch a lot.

In 2003 there haven't been DB concerts in Europe. Now the new tour will start, will we have some novelty in the show? Perhaps some un-announced special guest?

I decided to not play any concert in Europe for 2003, as I had performed about 70 concerts in 4 years before that year, so I thought it would be time for a break – too much is too much. And as well, I had to concentrate on my sidelabel HauRucK! As it increased a lot and it is now taking a lot of my time.
Right now we are in the last rehearsals for the tour, and of corse we will have a few new things. We nw have a fourth member on stage, Jörg B. – who is a great guitarplayer, he is coming from the “straight edge” szene, although now he is drinking… J (fortunatelly – being in Blutharsch and not drinking wie would be a sinn…!) – so he is really good guitarplayer. As well we have a 5 th man with us, who is doing the sound..so I hope to avoid any fights with incompetent soundengeneers in the future.

Always regarding live shows, can you tell us exactly what happened in Chicago in occasion of the Death In June, Der Blutharsch and Changes gig?

This is a totally pathetic story. Some anarchist groups decided that we shouldn`t perform that night in Chicago and started to spread a lot of shitty stories and rumours. The accused DiJ to be “antiGay” – I mean, well…. How pathetic can it be to accuse an open gay artist to be anti gay? Then they wrote, that Der Blutharsch is a white power band – well, what sahll I say? I mean, they really know NOTHING about us, but the best part was that they accused Robert Taylor of Changes to have been involved in “killing of black people” – I mean, when this happened, what they accused him about, he was 12 (!!!) years old…. The veneu has been owned by a jewish guy, and he decided – as he knew us and our music, to let the night happen, but he got seriuos threats, so he had to cancel. We offered these people that vthey can have a talk with us and the club, but they refused. They only wanted to attack somene. We swapped venue – and in the end some protesters came to protest. We talked to them, and they didn``t knew us, our music, or anything else. They just wanted to come to have a fight, nevertheless who te enemy was. In the end they attacked two innocent goth people, one had to go to hospital. I mean, these people tried to stop “facist” (what they thought) bands from performing, but they used methods which were much worse. They started shouting “against racism” right in fromtz of me exactly the moment when I was talking to an afroamerican fan who has been travelling 6 hours to get his Blutharsch collection signed. I mean, who more bizarre can it get?
Anyway – one of the attackers now is in prison for committing crimes and has been prosecuted by FBI “anti hate” deparement, so faith ha s a long breath.

In the last years the DB merchandising has increased in its variety with new and interesting articles. What made you realize such objects, in some cases very distant from the usual gadgets of a musical project?

I am in the really lucky position to have many loyal fans who buy my merchandising, so I can do stuff I allways thought might be a nice gadget. I allways try to have a little bit of sarcasm involved into everything I do, so I think doing some of the merchandising is more a joke, although it gets quit handy to have your own “beerstone”.

Why was the roman section of HauRuck created? A personal vision of the "Pure Roman Style"?

I started to know these people who do HauRucK!SPQR over the years, one of them beeing Claudedi of Ain Soph, a band I have been a fan since ages! And Vinz – and they proposed me to start a cooperation. I thought that this would be a good idea. H!SPQR has three main activities – one is releasing records of Italian bands (although I continue to release Italian bands on HauRucK!) as well – but HR!SPQR is good in fnding new talents. Then it is a distribution for WKN and HauRucK! And they are organizing concerts as well.Besides, they are supporting me a lot with Italian wine… so, I think – this is the best part in our collaboration. No, to be honest, it works really well together. And as I am a big lover of Roma and Italia – I was really happy to have this collaboration happening. As well, as it means having Ain Soph on HauRucK! for the future. And, hmmm… when we decided to join forces, it was in Roma, in summer with about 45 degrees… we all were totally sweating and drinking a lot…. If this is the “pure rojman style” – so shall it be.

Can you explain us the decision to exclude NovySvet from the HR family?

This has many reasons, but I do not want to talk about internal things.
Some people come, some stay, some go and thzen better people come. That`s life.

You are without doubt one of the more active and discussed actors of the industrial scene. DB, producer of dozen of bands, festival organizer of world relevance, sound assistent! (the infamous and gigantic "Blot" of Blood Axis). In a word you never stop. How can all of this match with your private life?

Work is my private life… well. Not totally, but… Well, I am in the happy situation that I can oife from what I am doing, so I have not to waste any time with beeing a slave of society, abnd therefore can concentrate 100% onto what I want to do. And, a day has 24 hours, and my mum allways says: “you can sleep when you are death” … I learned this lesson. But, well, if you work concentrated and you know how to do things, it doesn`t take that long, so I have some free time as well. I am as well really happy that I found a girl which has nearly the same interrests than I, beeing music, art, travelling or even eating and drinking – so we can do many things together, and therefore this safes me a lot of time. I mean, it would be bad if I would have a releation with someone who doesn`t share the same interrests, and therefore I would have to separate and split up my time into work and “family”. But, as I said, if you work concentratde it all comes out easy. I think I am a good organizer, and I,.e. setting up HauRucK! I took me not more than a total work of 16 hours.

And now an odd question. What is your personal suggestion for those who come and visit Rome?

If you are in Rome, do as the Romans. I mean, Rome is beautiful, but very chaotic, so people should be aware of it, and take this as a apecific atmosphere. I enjoy allways. Then, besides the ususal tourist things, people should try to find the little secrets of this town. I mean,I have been in Rom now at leats 10 times allways for some days, and still I discover some nice and “atmopsheric” places. Fortunatelly I as well have some good friends in Roma, which show me some hidden secrets. So, I think I know allready the best places in Roma for eating and drinking. My suggestion – not coming to Roma and do just sightseeing, as most tourists do, but I never do this. If I visit a new destination I go there, enjoy, hang arround, go to a café and do only a little bit of the traditional sightseeing, as I know if I like the place I will come back one day.

A comment on the next Hau Ruck!/WKN releases

For WKN there is WKN 21 ready now, which is a one sided “ with a remix of “Time is thee enemy!” – and it will be available on the tour. Then of corse a new album, which I will start working on end of this year, and I think it might be available end of 2005.

For HauRucK! – I have the festival in May – so there will be the obligatory picture 12” for the festival with exclusive tracks of the bands… and as I heard them allready I am looking forwards to this compilation. Then I have 2 7”es of new bands, one is an austrian “true” Neofolkband named Graumahd, which is the band arround our guitarplayer Jörg B. and really good. The other of an Italian new band named “Varunna”. I release the full length album of Elli Riehl and a 12” o0f a NNW side project. The new CD of Novo Homo is in production and hopefully ready for the tour. New albums for this year should as well be expected from Inner Glory, Spiritual Front, His Divine Grace, Derniere Volonte (a best of, C.O.Caspar.

And to end… many messages for the friend.. just one for the enemies!

For the friends: Vino Rosso

For the enemies: Love!

www.derblutharsch.com - www.hauruck.org - www.hauruckspqr.com