INTERVIEWS

YACØPSÆ – INTERVIEW (SUPERFLUOUS # 2, 1992)

YACØPSÆ - ''Interview aus dem SUPERFLUOUS # 1, 1992'' 01    YACØPSÆ - ''Interview aus dem SUPERFLUOUS # 1, 1992'' 02

YACØPSÆ - ''Interview aus dem SUPERFLUOUS # 1, 1992'' 03

YACØPSÆ – INTERVIEW (NOISE ATTACK WEBZINE, 2002)

(Emu’s 2nd interview ever)

YACØPSÆ - ''Severed''-Motiv 02HOW’S THE BAND NOW? COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE FUTURE FOR THE BAND?

We are still Emu (drums), Stoffel (guitars and vocals), and Frank (bass). Currently we are making new songs for some splits and other freak stuff, which should come out in 2003. And we are going to re-launch the website with graphics and a HUGE amount of downloadable stuff. The future plans are to play gigs outside of Europe (USA, Japan, and Brazil), and to release our third full-length album in late 2003.

WHAT HAPPENED WHY YOUR DRUMMER LEFT THE BAND, DO YOU HAVE ALREADY NEW DRUMMER AS OF NOW?

????????? You are right that this interview is for YACØPSÆ?? (Sorry! I think, this questions not for you!) We changed our drummer in 1993 for the last time, as far as I know … :)

HOW’S YOUR RECORDING FOR NO ESCAPE RECORDS AND 625 PRODUCTION? IS THIS A CONTRACT OR JUST AN IDEA TO RELEASE SONGS FOR THE SAID LABEL?

?????????????? Really?? You know more than I know. (He, he, he … Sorry again! Wrong question!)

OK, TELL US ABOUT SOME OF YOUR RECORDS FROM OTHER LABEL.

We had a CD on SLAP A HAM, but that’s all we did in the USA so far. The split 10″ with ROT is going to be re-released from NUCLEAR BBQ RECORDS. That’s all I know of, so far …

CAN YOU TELL US THE MUSIC YOU PLAY AND TYPE OF LYRICS YOU WRITE? WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU, LYRICS OR MUSIC? AND IT’S LOOK LIKE MOST OF THE LYRICS YOU WRITE IS IN GERMAN. IS THERE ANY DIFFICULTY TO WRITE IN ENGLISH OR WHAT …?

The music is Fastcore with very meaningful lyrics, all written by Stoffel. Both is very meaningful for us, the lyrics have to be in german, because we cannot write such deep going lyrics in english. We don’t have the typical style of punk lyrics, like sex, drugs and alcohol, they are sometimes written like poems, you cannot translate into another language without losing its sense. We tried to translate some songs into english, but even a professional translator Stoffel knows very good, failed in doing it, so … Learn German. :)

DO YOU HAVE ANY RELIGION? WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT JESUS CHRIST OR ANY RELIGIOUS GODS?

In our opinion, there are no „gods“ and therefore there should be no religions, because religions are the worst type of manipulating the opinion and minds of human people to serve their ways of life. We would have NO big wars on earth, because fighting for territory should be out of time, except some assholes that don’t get the meaning of being free in this world. Sorry, but I can’t express my feelings in english, but I think you got the meaning.

HOW MANY OFTEN YOU PLAY IN GIG? DO YOU BEEN EXPERIENCE ALREADY TO BE RIPPED OFF BY SOME ORGANIZER?

We play about 20-30 gigs a year. We had some very bad experience so far, but we don’t care about it anymore. We just avoid places who are fucking bullshit, and persons who invite us just because we are sooooo fast, and to impress his or her friends. I cannot tell all the stories here, this would be too much, but as you can bet, there was some distortion between us and some places or persons … :)

YACØPSÆ - ''Zwerg''HAVE YOU EVER ALREADY BEEN TOUR IN OTHER COUNTRY? TELL US YOUR LATEST TOUR.

Of course, we played in Holland, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Sweden. Our latest tour was in April, where we visited France and Italy for the first, and definitely NOT for the last time …

BESIDES TO YOUR BAND WHAT DO YOU DO? IS ANYONE OF YOU HAVE THEIR OWN FAMILY ALREADY?

Yes, Frank has a wife, and one little boy. And in December, he gets his second child. Emu and Stoffel only have girlfriends, and HATE being married, and having children, because it’s so „normal“.

DO YOU LISTEN NOISE MUSIC (INDUSTRIAL, EXPERIMENTAL, HARSH, ELECTRONIC, ETC.)? WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT PEOPLE DOING THIS OR YOUR VIEW ABOUT THIS?

This is a free world. Everyone can do whatever he or she likes. I personally like music with heavy distorted bass and guitar, fast drums and breaks. And I like chaotic stuff with distortions and all that weird stuff. Drum machines can be funny, but only when they are insanely fast. I don’t like the usage of synthesizers and other computer-stuff, except for making FEW effects, and of course for recording the whole crap. So, my faves are bands, which make music with sweat AND the usage of their brains. I played in a Noise band (TUMOR), back in 1995, but even if this was pure noise, we made the songs before we recorded them, it was not only pure noise like so many bands in those years … And of course, we all love Pop-Punk like WEEZER and other combos, because it mixes lovely tunes and lyrics with hard guitars and nice riffs. But recently, I don’t listen much music, because I have a lot of work to do and no time to put on a record.

IF YOU LIKE WHAT IS YOUR FAVE NOISE BAND AND WHAT TYPE OF NOISE? ALSO SOME OTHER TYPE OF BAND WHO INSPIRED YOU A LOT, REASON THAT WHY YOU ARE HERE.

Hmm, like I said in question 10, really noise was THE GEROGERIGEGEGE and early ANAL CUNT stuffs, but nowadays there is no really fucked up Noise band anymore. They somehow got calm somehow, even if they still exist. But I’m not the music expert here in the band, I’m sorry … Inspiration … Hmm, we were inspired by old german Punk, first Grindcore like NAPALM DEATH, Metal, and of course fast (hehe … 10 years ago, it was very fast) Hardcore like D.R.I.! So without the bands from 1982 – 1993, we would not be here. But that is no reason to hype this influence as THRASHCORE … Do something new, guys …

HOW MANY RELEASES DO YOU HAVE ALREADY? COULD YOU TELL US A SHORT DISCOGRAPHY?

Phhhh … Nope. Just visit our website http://www.yacoepsae.de for info about the band. We have about 20 releases out on vinyl or CD, and countless samplers and bootlegs.

I’VE SEEN IN YOUR SITE THAT YOU’RE PLANNING TO MAKE A COVER-CD FOR POP-TUNES BANDS. WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS AND COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT IT?

Yep, it’s recorded and quite funny. We wanted to see, if we can cover Pop Punk bands and I think we made it quite OK. And we made two songs of our own, which have no or senseless lyrics this time. Maybe you can hear some of them soon, because we don’t have someone to publish it right now. I won’t tell too much here, because we are in the talks with the bands if we can use their stuff, because we covered it 100% and without improvisation.

IT’S LOOK LIKE YOU HAVE A FUTURE SPLIT 7” WITH FUCK ON THE BEACH, COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS AND WHAT DO YOU THINK THE DIFFERENCE ON THIS PROJECT COMPARE TO OTHER STUFF YOU’VE DONE?

The first thing is: It’s LIVE (with three guys, we had a 7″ with the old line-up, two). And it’s our first release in eastern Europe. That’s all so far. It was not our idea to ask FOTB for it, but we like it to be on a split with a japanese band, because we really would LOVE to play in Japan, but we have no contacts and no money … But time will tell, and I hope that we still exist in 5 – 10 years to earn money for a Japan tour. :)

YACØPSÆ - ''Girls''BY THE WAY, HOW EASY/ HARD TO MAKE AN AGREEMENT TO YOUR BAND, IF THERE’S A LABEL WANT TO RELEASE YOUR SONGS? WHAT DEMANDS TO YOU ASK FOR … DO YOU PAID FOR EVERY SONG OR JUST COMPLIMENTARY/ FREE COPIES? AND HOW MANY, IF THEY GAVE/ PAID?

We have some very nice labels here in Germany, who loves to put our stuff from us, because we are so uncomplicated. We send the music, the artwork and receive some free copies. That’s it. And, so far, they sell the stuff quite quickly, because we have quite some fans around the world, I think. So why not putting the stuff out here??? The CD on SLAP A HAM was our first release in overseas and was a nice experience. And maybe the next own LP/ CD will be released on another US label, but I won’t tell the name not to piss someone off … We don’t get paid for it and we even don’t get the studio paid. So we need some stuff for sale on gigs or tours to get the money back we spent making the records.

LAST QUESTIONS, WHO MAINTAIN YOUR WEBSITE?

Me. :) But we’ll re-launch it in a few weeks with TONS of stuff for download and a huge amount of info about the releases, the gigs and about us in general. We currently have 75MB of web space, but I don’t think that it will fit into it, so we have to stock it up to 150MB with 15GB download limit per month. That should be enough. Stoffel said it would be the BEST website run by an underground band. We’ll see. But ANYTHING is better then the recent page, which took 2 hours to make with MS Word.

I THINK THAT’S FOR ALL NOW. TELL US MORE …

OK, this was my second interview and I hope that I answered the questions nicely. Thanks for your interest in our band and sorry if the answers are quite short, but I don’t have so many time, and I have not so much to say. :) And don’t forget to visit our website http://www.yacoepsae.de, and to see us live, and meet us in person (we have more to say there …). THANKS!!

YACØPSÆ – INTERVIEW (TRUST # 130, 2008)

40. YACØPSÆ - ''Interview im TRUST-Fanzine # 130'' 2008    YACØPSÆ - ''Shining''

YACØPSÆ – “Interview im TRUST-Fanzine # 130“ 2008

YACØPSÆ – FULL LENGTH-INTERVIEW (OX-FANZINE # 80 + # 81, 2008)

41. YACØPSÆ - ''Interview im OX-Fanzine # 80'' 2008

HAMBURGS SPEEDGRIND-KRAUTVIOLENCE-CHAMPIONS

SEIT 1990 BALLERT SICH DIE DREI-MANN-FORMATION AUS HAMBURG MIT BRACHIALEM UNGESTÜM BEI UNBESCHREIBLICHER GESCHWINDIGKEIT DURCH DEN UNTERGRUND. SIE ZIEHEN SEIT JEHER – UNBEEINDRUCKT VON JEWEILS AKTUELLEN TRENDS – KOMPROMISSLOS IHR DING DURCH. UND SIE HABEN EINIGES ZU SAGEN, WIE DAS FOLGENDE INTERVIEW MIT GITARRIST/ SÄNGER STOFFEL BEWEIST.

DU BIST IN KOLUMBIEN GEWESEN? WAS HAT DICH DAHIN VERSCHLAGEN?

Interessante Einstiegsfrage! Bis vor ein paar Jahren hätte ich selbst nie in Betracht gezogen, dort hinzureisen, obgleich meine Informationen über dieses Land und die dortigen sozial-politischen Verhältnisse glücklicherweise über das allgemeine, medial vermittelte Klischee-Denken/ Halbwissen hinausgingen und ich die zwei Reisen (November 2007 und Februar/ März 2008)  nicht mit einem beklemmenden Gefühl antreten musste.
Im Prinzip ging alles ganz unspektakulär vonstatten; ich erhielt im Laufe der letzten zwei Jahre über unsere MySpace-Seite immer wieder mal Nachrichten von kolumbianischen Bands/ Einzelpersonen, woraufhin sich festere Kontakte zur dortigen Szene entwickelten und man anfing, sich in einigen Dingen intensiver auszutauschen. Als meine Freundin Paola von POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS im September 2007 eine Europa-Rundreise, bei der sie einige Kontakte/ Freunde – quasi flächendeckend – besuchen wollte, aus privaten Gründen absagen musste, reifte in mir spontan die Idee, im Umkehrschluss nach Bogotá und Medellin zu reisen.

IRGENDWELCHE (SUB-)KULTURELLEN EINDRÜCKE VON DORT, DIE ES LOHNT, DEN LESERN ZU BERICHTEN?

Ich nahm in den sechs Wochen dort reichlich Eindrücke auf, wobei es absolut unmöglich ist, diese hier vollständig zu skizzieren.
Im Vorfeld einer solchen Reise sollte zunächst bewusst sein, dass Kolumbien sich seit Jahrzehnten in einem (im Prinzip nach allen Seiten offenen) politischen Desaster befindet, und dass es sich hier nicht einfach um ein idyllisches Urlaubsland handelt! Kolumbien untersteht einer überaus korrupten Regierung, die mittels eines demokratischen Deckmantels unter der Führung des rechtsorientierten Präsidenten Uribe agiert, jede Menge dubiose Querverbindungen zu paramilitärischen Organisationen pflegt, Beziehungen zur Mafia unterhält, gegen FARC und andere rebellische Splittergruppen zu Felde zieht, usw. Tatsächlich erscheint das Land nach dem Amtsantritt des derzeitigen Präsidenten bedeutend „sicherer“ als zuvor, da Uribe das Militär verdoppelte und prinzipiell keinerlei „offizielle“ Verhandlungen mit der FARC oder anderen Guerilla-/ Rebellen-Organisationen führt. Dementsprechend hoch (und in der Wahrnehmung beklemmend) ist die allgegenwärtige Polizei- und Militärpräsenz. Was die FARC und die meisten der revolutionären Zellen in den Provinzen und im Dschungelgebiet betrifft, so hat sich die Mehrheit im Ursprung aus einer maoistischen Ideologie heraus gegründet, um eine Veränderung der Verhältnisse mittels bewaffneter Kämpfe herbeizuführen, sich mit den Jahren aber immer mehr ihrer Ideale entledigt und zunehmend auf Drogen-/ Waffenhandel sowie auf Entführungen und Geiselnahmen (einhergehend mit konspirativen Abkommen zu Regierung, Polizei und Paramilitär) spezialisiert …
Soweit erst einmal ein grober Umriss der dortigen politischen Zustände. Ich denke, ich sollte mich hier ein wenig bremsen, anderenfalls könnten meine Eindrücke schnell die Kapazität einer Landes-Chronik annehmen … Aber um noch mal ein wenig auf die urbane Struktur einzugehen; im Stadtgebiet ist es grundsätzlich ratsam, sich mit einem gewissen Maß an Aufmerksamkeit zu bewegen und vorher Informationen über diverse „No-go“-Areas einzuholen (wobei es aber unnötig ist, verkrampfte Verhaltensweisen zu entwickeln). Die Menschen sind im allgemeinen sehr freundlich und in punkto Lebensart, Kultur, etc. am ehesten mit den mediterranen Völkern in Südeuropa vergleichbar. Unter „No-go“-Areas sind übrigens mitnichten ausschließlich Armenviertel zu verstehen; es gibt ebenso Bezirke, die einen erhöhten Anteil an Nazi-Skinheads aufweisen, welche bevorzugt Jagd auf alles Andersartige (z.B. Homosexuelle, Linke, Indigene und Afro-Kolumbianer) machen. Diese sind deutlich gefährlicher als ihr deutsches Pendant und nehmen bei Attacken auch ungehemmt Todesfolgen in Kauf. Zudem ist es in Kolumbien ungleich einfacher, jemanden umzubringen und im Anschluss daran nicht behelligt zu werden … Ich selbst sah zweimal vereinzelte Typen mit Hakenkreuz-Shirt und „88“-Zahlencode in einem Metal-Club herumlaufen. Auf meine Frage hin, warum solche Individuen nicht des Hauses verwiesen werden, bekam ich nur die lapidare Antwort, dass es eben zu riskant sei, einen Verweis auszusprechen. Man „löst“ das Problem halt durch Ignoranz. Und in der Tat; auf manchen Punk-/ Metal-Konzerten zeichnet sich ein ähnliches Bild, wenn Nazi-Skins im Publikum auftauchen. Eine vollends bizarre Qualität bekommt das Ganze letztendlich, wenn man bedenkt, dass 60 % aller Kolumbianer Mestizen sind und vielen Nazis ihre indigene Herkunft anzusehen ist …
YACØPSÆ - ''Exorcist''Stichpunkt „Subkultur“: Die Keimzelle aller politischen und subkulturellen Aktionen verkörpert definitiv das selbstverwaltete „Pieso 3“ in der Innenstadt von Bogotá. Optisch mit jedem anderen autonomen Zentrum auf der Welt konform und ein Biotop für verschiedenste Underground-Strömungen. Das Haus bietet Übungsräume, VoKü, Galerien, Druckerei, Werkstätten, Räume für Discoveranstaltungen, Konzerte, Diashows, usw. Ich sah dort u.a. Punk/ HC-Konzerte, Tekkno-Partys, eine Gothic-Night und Polit-Vorträge mit nervzerrüttender Industrial-Untermalung. Die Vielfalt der Veranstaltungen ist enorm! Für die Leute ist es primär wichtig, einen subkulturellen Knotenpunkt zu haben und dementsprechend aufgeschlossen sind sie in ihren Aktionen. Ansonsten finden Punk/ HC-Konzerte auch an anderen (raren) Plätzen statt, wobei es sich meist eher um normale Bars oder kleinere Clubs handelt, die am Vorabend beispielsweise eine Reggae-Band im Programm führen und Tags darauf indigene Gruppen auftreten lassen. Grundsätzlich spielen sich derartige Aktivitäten natürlich mehrheitlich in den Ballungszentren, wie beispielsweise Bogotá, Medellin, Cali, Bucaramanga oder Ibague ab (Konzerte finden im direkten Vergleich zu europäischen Standards durchschnittlich eher dreimal im Monat statt). Auffallend hierbei ist übrigens die höhere Intensität seitens des Publikums, welches die nach oben hin offene Blutpogo-Skala nicht selten bis zum Error ausfüllt (andererseits ist solch eine Hingabe bei den gegebenen Bedingungen auch wenig verwunderlich). Bands aus den Staaten oder Europa, die bereits in Kolumbien gespielt haben, lassen sich an einer Hand abzählen (auf Anhieb fallen mir NAPALM DEATH, sowie BLACK DALIAH MURDER ein), dafür bestehen aber recht intensive Kontakte zu anderen lateinamerikanischen Ländern, die dazu führten, dass auch mal Bands aus Venezuela (@PATIA NO), Brasilien (SEPULTURA), Mexico (ANARCHUS, CACOFONIA) oder Equador (RUIDO DE ODIO, TOCATTA Y BULLA) in Kolumbien spielten.
Stilistisch wird auf den Gigs gerne mal bunt durcheinander gewürfelt; Grindcore-Bands treten mit Punk-Bands auf, Hardcore trifft auf Thrash Metal, etc. An interessanten Bands wären u.a. I.R.A., EVITA, DEXCONCIERTO, CEACHE, YACUZZI, CENSURA, ESQUIZOFRENIA, MASACRE, HERPES, INFESTO, VENDETTA, G.P., ANTITODO, ESKORIA, RESISTENCIA, URSUS, POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS, INSUMISION, DESARME, DESADAPTADOS, CONFUSION, SUBSISTENCIA, FEA, LIBRA, RECHAZO, C.T.C., IMAGEN, BASTARDOS SIN NOMBRE, ATAQUE DE SONIDO, PARABELLUM, ELVIS PRESLEY, EX-KOMBRO, ANOMALIA, RESPLANDOR, FERTIL MISERIA, RESTOS DE TRAGEDIA, K.D.H., RES GESTAE, EXTREMO-D,  REENCARNACION, KONTRAORDEN, HUMANO X, L.P.A. oder ATOMOS zu nennen. Manche von ihnen haben sogar Platten mittels deutscher Labels herausgebracht (POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS bei CAMPARY RECORDS und CONFUSION über AMOK RECORDS). Einige dieser Bands existieren bereits seit knapp 20 Jahren (z.B. I.R.A., DEXCONCIERTO, HERPES, RESTOS DE TRAGEDIA), veröffentlichten diverse Platten/ CDs und sind partiell wahrscheinlich auch der Leserschaft bekannt. Wer einen guten Draht zu Teilen der südamerikanischen Szene hat, wird bestimmt an den einen oder anderen Tonträger kommen. Ansonsten ist es möglich, sich für weitere Infos über die kolumbianische Szene an Paola von POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS zu wenden: paokarpa@hotmail.com
Abschließend sei noch erwähnt, dass Punk/ Hardcore aus Deutschland sich dort einer überraschenden Beliebtheit erfreut. Vor allen Dingen beweisen die Leute eine gewisse Geschmacksstabilität und erbauen sich an den frühen BRD-Bands wie beispielsweise RAZZIA, HANS-A-PLAST, INFERNO, NIKOTEENS, A + P oder BLUT + EISEN und nicht an dem unsäglichen Schrott, der heutzutage unter dem Banner „Deutsch-Punk“ firmiert. So sah ich u.a. Leute in (Bootleg-)Shirts von RAZZIA, CANAL TERROR, CHAOS-Z, SLIMY VENERAL DISEASES und URLAUB IM ROLLSTUHL (!!!) herumlaufen …
Wie bereits weiter oben erwähnt – ich sollte meine Ausführungen beschränken. Wer tatsächlich mehr wissen möchte, darf mich gerne anschreiben: stoffel@yacoepsae.de

WAS TUT SICH AKTUELL IM YACØPSÆ-LAGER? WAS MACHT DER HH-UNTERGRUND?

Gegenwärtig sind wir eifrig dabei, neue Brachial-Eruptionen für ein weiteres Album zu kreieren. Nachdem die aktuelle LP „Tanz, Grosny, tanz …“ für unsere Verhältnisse fast schon zu abwechslungsreich ausgefallen ist, haben wir beschlossen, bei den kommenden Stücken alles Überflüssige wegzulassen und wieder mehr in die Richtung unserer „Einstweilige Vernichtung“-Platte zu gehen. Allerdings wird das neue Album mit Sicherheit etwas schneller und hektischer ausfallen. Abwarten … Manch einer mag in diesem Zusammenhang von Stagnation sprechen, wir bezeichnen es lieber als Konsequenz!
Ich erwähnte es erst kürzlich im TRUST-Fanzine, da dort eine ähnliche Frage gestellt wurde; in der Hamburger „Szene“ haben wir eher eine Zaungastposition inne. Für uns ist es generell nicht wichtig, „Teil“ eines wie auch immer gearteten Konglomerats zu sein und von einem artifiziellen „Zusammengehörigkeitsgefühl“, welches auf Verhaltensnormen und ähnliche Zwänge baut, zu zehren. Darüber hinaus leben wir recht isoliert im östlichsten Teil Hamburgs und bekommen so von Haus aus weniger mit, wie sich der Hamburger Untergrund entwickelt. Wahrscheinlich weiss ich momentan besser über die kolumbianische Szene Bescheid, als über unsere lokale. Kurios, nicht wahr? Nichtsdestotrotz darf ich meine ausdrückliche Empfehlung für die beiden Hamburger Bands X-BLENDER und SCHRANKAFFE aussprechen, die mich ums eine oder andere Mal angenehm an BÄRCHEN UND DIE MILCHBUBIS oder HANS-A-PLAST erinnern. Darüber hinaus kann ich THE GENTLE ART OF CHOKIN’ und INSTINCT OF SURVIVAL der Leserschaft ans Herz legen! Erstere wären stilistisch wunderbar bei SLAP A HAM, DEEP SIX, 625 oder SIX WEEKS aufgehoben; Letztere führen in authentischer Weise den Spirit von alten BOLT THROWER, AMEBIX, HELLBASTARD, AXEGRINDER und DEVIATED INSTINCT weiter. Apropos: man mag es sich kaum vorstellen, geschweige denn unserem Sound unmittelbar anhören, aber diverse ältere Hamburger Bands wie z.B. RAZZIA, MONDIAL, HERMANN’S ORGIE, BUTTOCKS, ASCHE DER ROSEN oder BOIKOTTZ hatten einen starken Einfluss auf unser Schaffen!

IHR SEID MITTLERWEILE SEIT MEHR ALS 15 JAHREN IN SACHEN HARDCORE/ PUNK UNTERWEGS. WAS TREIBT EUCH NOCH NACH ALL DEN JAHREN NOCH IMMER AN?

Um genau zu sein, sind wir mit der Gruppe seit August 1990 aktiv. In den frühen 80ern traten wir, wie wahrscheinlich die meisten von Euch, lediglich als harmlose Konsumenten im Kidpunk-Outfit in Erscheinung und machten ab ’85/ ’86 in diversen Punk-/ Noise-Bands erste unbeholfene Gehversuche, die aber eher eine belustigende „Ich entdecke mein Instrument!“-Qualität innehatten.
Von „Antrieb“ kann in diesem Kontext keine Rede sein, denn wir sehen uns weder als Märtyrer für oder gegen eine „wichtige“ Sache, noch sind wir fahnenschwingend für einen erlesenen Kreis wie beispielsweise Punk/ Hardcore unterwegs. Es ist vielmehr die enge Freundschaft untereinander, die uns inspiriert, aktiv zu sein! Darüber hinaus ist die unbeschwerte Lust am Geräusch eine wunderbare Methode, lyrisch all die Dinge, die einen bewegen, komprimiert zu transportieren und sich mittels dieser Geballtheit zu erbauen. Zugegebenermaßen etwas selbstreflektiv, aber dafür lassen wir Außenstehende auch an unserem persönlichen Wahnsinn teilhaben …

IM SONG „MIKROKOSMOS“ THEMATISIERT IHR DEN VERHALTENSKODEX IN DER HC/ PUNK-SZENE, STELLT IHR DIE IDEOLOGISCHE VERKRUSTUNG IN FRAGE, DIE EHER EIN KOMPLEXES SYSTEM AUS TABUS UND REGELN ETABLIERT HAT, ALS WIRKLICHE FREIHEITEN. WIE WICHTIG IST EUCH DENN DIESES GANZE LABILE HC/ PUNK-KONSTRUKT TROTZDEM NOCH? BESTEHT DENN EIN UNTERSCHIED ZU ALL DEN ANDEREN TOTEN?

Wir fühlen uns dem fragilen Leichnam namens „Punk“ noch insofern verbunden, als dass wir in frühester Jugend ganz entscheidend von ihm geprägt und sozialisiert wurden. Allerdings sollte für jeden zugunsten dieser „Kultur“ irgendwann auch eine persönliche Abspaltung von – ich nenne es mal – „konservativen“ Werten, die jede Bewegung zwangsläufig mit sich bringt, eine individuelle Weiterentwicklung folgen, anderenfalls bekommt es meines Erachtens nur eine anachronistische Qualität, die der Ursprungsidee zuwider läuft. Mal ehrlich, nostalgische, konsumorientierte Retro-Spektakel wie beispielsweise PUNK & DISORDERLY oder Veranstaltungen wie PUNK AM RING, FORCE ATTACK und wie sie alle heißen, sind Realsatire pur und unterscheiden sich nicht im Geringsten vom archaischen, hedonistischen Charakter des WACKEN-Festivals! „Punk“ ist heutzutage in vielfacher Form ausserordentlich gesellschaftsfähig, und wenn ich mir parallel dazu den alten BLITZKRIEG-Klassiker „Frisch aus England“ ins Gedächtnis rufe („Das Sid-T-Shirt, der Clash-Badge, das Pistols-Poster …“, etc.), dann sehe ich einmal mehr keinen Unterschied zu den stoischen Alltagsleichen, gegen die so gerne aufbegehrt wird …

42. YACØPSÆ - ''Interview im OX-Fanzine # 81'' 2008EURE TEXTE SIND SEHR KOMPROMISSLOS UND ANGREIFEND, EURE MEINUNGEN ZU VERSCHIEDENEN THEMEN WERDEN SEHR DIREKT ZUM AUSDRUCK GEBRACHT. SEHT IHR DAS EINFACH ALS ZWANGSLÄUFIGEN AUSDRUCK DER SICH IN EUCH ANGESTAUTEN WUT GEGENÜBER BESTIMMTEN DINGEN ODER TATSÄCHLICH ALS VERSUCH, ÜBER DIE KOMBINATION AUS VERBAL UND MUSIKALISCH KOMMUNIZIERTEN INHALTEN, DIREKT VERÄNDERUNG BEIM REZIPIENTEN ZU ERREICHEN?

Ich empfinde unsere Inhalte nicht ausschließlich als kompromisslos oder zwingend angreifend. Manches Mal wünschte ich mir im Nachhinein sogar fast, ich hätte dem einen oder anderen Text eine Prise mehr Nihilismus beigefügt oder meine misanthropische Seite besässe eine höhere Tragweite, um den zu Papier gebrachten Gedanken mehr Gewicht zu verleihen. Aber letzten Endes hängt es eben von der jeweiligen Thematik und meiner emotionalen Verfassung ab. Im übrigen denke ich, dass aggressive Prosa nicht automatisch mit brachialen Klängen einhergehen muss (geschweige denn den Anspruch vertreten sollte, eine direkte Veränderung herbeizuführen), sie kann auch – lösgelöst vom „musikalischen“ Gerüst – für sich alleine stehen und eine nicht minder intensive Durchschlagskraft entwickeln.  Aber davon abgesehen, verstehen wir unsere Texte eher als Kommentare zu bestimmten Dingen, die aus einer ganz persönlichen Sichtweise resultieren und frei von jeglicher Absolutheit sind, was „Wahrheit“ oder Veränderungsansprüche betrifft.

ZUM THEMA „VERHALTENSKODEX IN DER HC/ PUNK-SZENE; TABUS UND REGELN“: AUF EURER WEBSITE FINDET MAN EINE „NO-LIST“, WELCHE EINE KLARE ANSAGE ZUM UMGANG MIT YACØPSÆ IST. DA GEHT ES UM GAGEN UND ÄHNLICHES. EINE NETTE LISTE VOLLER TABUS UND REGELN, AUCH IM YACØPSÆ-LAGER …

Zunächst einmal stellt sich die Frage, inwieweit jede/ r für sich „Tabus und Regeln“ definiert und dem einen negativen oder positiven Wert beimisst. Ich kann mit diesen Begriffen wenig anfangen und würde eher von persönlichen „Maßstäben“ sprechen, wobei diese qualitativ auch nicht zwangsläufig mit „Gesetzen“ gleichzusetzen sind und wir – in Bezug auf unsere „No-List“ – uns schon einen weiten Spielraum lassen. Wir agieren durchaus lebendiger, abseits vom gängigen „Schwarz oder Weiss“-Schema, und darauf basierend haben die meisten Punkte in der Liste eher Empfehlungs-/ Orientierungscharakter.
Abschließend könnte ich den Kernpunkt der Frage zurückgeben: Wie können gewisse Dinge funktionieren, insofern Du keinen Rahmen absteckst und Dir damit nicht Deinen eigenen Freiraum schaffst? Ich jedenfalls würde nicht jeden Depp auf meine Fete lassen und auch das OX existiert/ agiert nur in der gegenwärtig bestehenden Form, weil es Vorgaben, bzw. persönliche Maßstäbe gibt!

IHR BEWEGT EUCH JA EHER IN EINEM MUSIKALISCHEN ISOTOP, ERREICHT NUR EINEN KLEINEN AUSSCHNITT AUS DER GESAMTEN GESELLSCHAFT. LÄUFT MAN DA NICHT GEFAHR, NUR DEN LEUTEN VON DER SCHEISSE IN DER WELT ZU ERZÄHLEN, DIE ES SOWIESO SCHON WISSEN?

Das hängt vom individuellen Anspruch ab. Ich denke, ich wäre schnell frustriert und desillusioniert, wenn ich die Intention hätte, die Besucher unserer Konzerte zu bekehren, bzw. die Welt im Gesamtbild zu verändern. Wie auch, und wo sollst du anfangen? Letzten Endes sind die Unterschiede zwischen der Punk-Szene und dem Teil der Gesellschaft, von dem diese sich abgrenzen möchte bestenfalls marginal. Auch hier werden subtile Faschismen produziert, finden Hexenverfolgungen statt, gilt das römische „Brot und Spiele“-Prinzip, etc. Grundsätzlich sind wir an einer persönlichen Entfaltung des Individuums interessiert, und da ist es nicht von Belang, welcher elitären Subkultur du angehörst. Der Startpunkt liegt ausschließlich bei Dir selbst und das nächste erreichbare Level wäre dein direktes Umfeld, auf das du eventuell einwirken könntest. Von daher macht es wenig Unterschied, ob du nun als „Musiker“ oder als Müßiggänger aktiv bist.

YACØPSÆ – INTERVIEW (NOISE # 10, 2009)

43. YACØPSÆ - ''Interview im NOISE-Fanzine # 10'' 2009FIRST OF ALL, THERE IS YOUR DECISION: TO REFUSE WRITTEN INTERVIEWS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?

Well, the first point was: I’ve been pretty bored by the same old questions (“When did you start?”, “What do you think about porngrind?”, “What’s the meaning of your band’s name?”, etc.). The other point was, that I spent a lot of time in front of the screen to answer many interviews. At least for nothing, because in 90 % of all cases, I’ve never seen a fucking free copy (although it has been promised, in advance). So I decided to stop!

WHATEVER, BECAUSE OF SOME EMAILS I SENT TO YOU, YOU ACCEPTED. IN A WAY, EVEN IN AN INTERVIEW, THE PERSON WITH WHOM YOU’RE SPEAKING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE INTERVIEW ITSELF: YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT PROMOTION, YOU ARE EXPECTING SOMETHING FROM A DISCUSSION WITH A „JOURNALIST“, DON’T YOU?

Absolutely. I never did any interview just for “promoting” our band. Personally, I always prefered the individual exchange of informations, personal views, etc. In my opinion, that’s the way it should be. So I’m glad, that I never got any offers from “bigger” magazines, fortunately. In addition to the first question: I’m absolutely not against interviews in general, I just don’t like it to waste my time for nothing and to be ripped off, at last – that’s all.

ACTUALLY, THIS POINT REVEALS A GLOBAL STATE OF MIND: THIS IS MORE THAN JUST BEING A MUSICIAN, IN ITS END. IT MEANS MUCH MORE. BEHIND YACØPSÆ, THERE’S A HONEST APPROACH, A LIFESTYLE, CHOICES …

In some measure you’re right, but don’t conventionalize it bigger as it basically is. This is just one point of our whole state of mind, and we’re not that kind of band which is rejecting interviews just to create an artificial cult status (like Black Metal bands usually do it). We are interested to communicate!

AS YOU PRECISE IT IN THE BOOKLET OF „FASTCOREGRAPHY„: MUSIC ISN’T JUST A PURPOSE, IT’S ONE PART OF YOUR INDIVIDUAL LIFESTYLE. LYRICS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO, MOST OF ALL, THE HONESTY WITH THESE LYRICS: IF YOU PREACH SOMETHING, DON’T MAKE THE OPPOSITE … AS YOU SAID, IT’S SO EASY TO TALK ABOUT WAR VICTIMS, WHEN YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT IT IN YOUR DAILY LIFE …SO I’M CURIOUS ABOUT ONE THING: HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR IDEAS, YOUR LYRICS, YOUR POINTS OF VIEW, YOUR PURPOSE?

Generally, I would never create any lyrics just to back an image/ stereotype up. All our lyrics are absolutely real, and we definitely live the contents as good as possible. On the other hand, in many cases, a human being is living out it’s personal antagonism, and concerning this matter, I’m the last person on earth who’s blaming/ judging people about that. I just dislike hypocrisy.

ACTUALLY, DON’T YOU FEEL TOO MUCH ALONE? BECAUSE I GUESS, THAT MANY BANDS IN GRIND/ CRUST SCENES ARE TALKING ABOUT POLITICAL ISSUES, SOCIAL ISSUES, ARE GIVING THEMSELVES A REBEL IMAGE, BUT WON’T EVER REFUSE SOME CAPITALIST MODERN COMFORT …

Uhm, I guess, it depends on an individual case. I mean, a band like CHUMBAWAMBA gave the best proof, at last. They never stopped presenting/ living their ideals/ ideas, although they signed a contract with the industry. They showed that it’s possible to do a clever balancing act without being hypocritical. In my opinion, they are more “true” (strange word, I know) than many underground-based bands with artifical, battlesome slogans.

2008 = 18 YEARS FOR THE BAND. WHAT DO YOU REMIND ABOUT ALL THESE YEARS? ABOUT YACØPSÆ, ABOUT YOUR CHOICES, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE PRESENT GRIND-, PUNK- OR HARDCORE-SCENE?

Phew, it’s impossible for me to count all impressions in a frame like this. Of course, I kept them all in my mind, but where  to start? Basically, I just can say that we’re still satisfied with all the things we did so far, how things were growing, etc. We always had the control over our stuff, nobody had a bearing on our work, etc. And we will continue in that way, for sure! I just regret all the bad gigs we played and the shitty records we did …
Well, about the current HC-/ Punk-/ Grind-/ Whatever-scene … It’s still thrilling to discover new and interesting bands, but nowadays it’s way more difficult, because there are too many bands around. Just to name a few of “newer” bands which I like: IRATE ARCHITECT (progressive Death-Grind/ Germany), THE GENTLE ART OF CHOKIN’ (thrashy Speedcore/ Germany), JESUS CHRØST (Power-Violence/ Holland), ROTTEN COLD (Death-Grind/ Austria), URSUS (Thrash Metal/ Colombia), X-BLENDER (female-fronted, wavy Punk Rock/ Germany), etc.

AND 18 YEARS LATER, THINKING ABOUT SCENE’S „DEVELOPMENT“, AND ITS AUDIENCE, BUT ALSO ABOUT YOUR EVOLUTION AS HUMAN BEINGS WITH PERSONAL IDEAS, AND ABOUT DEVELOPMENT OF THE WORLD, DO YOU THINK THE PLACE OF YACØPSÆ IN THIS WORLD IS STILL THE SAME? AND THE PURPOSE, YOUR EXPECTATIONS?

YACØPSÆ - ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre''In general, we prefer/ expect any kind of (positive) developments. Stagnancies are just senseless. But it depends on its own quality, you can’t take (too) many things as one common point. We are not around to recover the world, and we always understood our lyrics as comments, so how could we know the “absolutely truth” or placing ourselves (as a band) in a “leader”-position? We just want to give some impulses, and all what we expect is, that people think/ act for themselves. I mean, we are not CRASS or the DEAD KENNEDYS, we are just a little Punk band from Hamburg, nothing special …  

IN A WAY, I GUESS THAT THE ANSWER IS IN THE EXPLICIT TITLE „TANZ, GROSNY, TANZ …“ …

You’re right. “Tanz, Grosny, tanz …” is our cynical altercation about the war in Chechenja. Somehow, I’m surprised that we apparently are the first band which is dealing with it.

TALKING ABOUT THE ALBUM, IS THERE ANY PRECISE REASON WHY IT HAS BEEN SO LONG BETWEEN THE PREVIOUS ALBUM AND THIS ONE (EVEN IF YOU RELEASED SOME 7″, ETC.)?

Well, as you already mentioned, we did some 7” EP’s in the meantime, and lot of other things, related to the band. We played many shows, did the “Discoregraphy” 2 x CD, etc. And I spent much (!) time for the lyrics, at last!

AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO REISSUE MOST OF YOUR SONGS WITH „DISCOREGRAPHY“ AND „FASTCOREGRAPHY„?

In the first time, I’ve never been so happy about this projects, caused by the big work (writing liner-notes, etc.), but the “pressure” was growing. Everybody said: “Come on …”, etc. So I agreed, at last. Frank and Emu were outright enthusiastic, but it was me who had to write down all the shit. Retrospectively, I can say that the “Discoregraphy” was well-done, because there’s much to see/ read and it offers an authentic overview about our early days.
The “Fastcoregraphy” was a funny accident. One fine day, a guy from Peru dropped me a line to get a kind of “permission” to release some of our stuff, because it is hard to get any stuff of us over there. I agreed to send him a bunch of our songs, based on the fact that he spread it as a tape or CD-R. Later, he requested for some artwork, lyrics, etc. I sent him the stuff and told him to create an own artwork, caused by my lack of time. A few times later he’d written me that the CD is on its way to the pressing plant. That’s what I call “youthful enthusiasm”, haha. No doubt, that guy was really cool and we’d appreciated his support a lot, but if I’d known before that this project will turn into a real CD, I’d changed everything in advance (different running order of the tracks, liner-notes, etc.)!

ACTUALLY, IT’S QUITE A GOOD IDEA: NOW I CAN TALK ABOUT YACØPSÆ IN A PRINT-MEDIA. SERIOUSLY, I THINK GRINDCORE IS QUITE WELL-KNOWN NOWADAYS, MORE THAN BEFORE. AND THERE’S STILL THIS POSSIBILITY: MAYBE THERE ARE NEW PEOPLE, TOO YOUNG, 10 YEARS AGO, WHO ARE ABLE TO LIKE AND UNDERSTAND YOUR MUSIC, YOUR MESSAGE, THE ENTITY YACØPSÆ. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS?

First, I want to observe that we hate to be labeled as “Grindcore”, but anyway …! About the other point, I never wasted any thoughts about the age of our listeners, because everybody is welcome. Though, as I mentioned before, we really appreciate the “youthful enthusiasm”, and so I’m always excited to see the next generation following, because every new movement is bringing along new impulses!

I GUESS THAT YOU’RE PLAYING LESS SHOWS (I’M QUITE SURE, IT’S RIGHT FOR FRANCE). HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS? I MEAN, IS THE BAND TIRED WITH LIVE, OR DOES THE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE GRIND-SCENE BECOME A BRAKE (LESS SQUATS, MORE CHARGES, ETC., ETC.)?

Anyhow, in the past we played five times in France, and the next shows are already confirmed for March 2009 (Paris, Bordeaux and Marseille). Aside of that, we play very well a lot of gigs (most of them outside of Germany). Just take a look at our MySpace-site – every show we did, is listed. We are absolutely not tired of playing live, and there is definitely no lack of possibilities. It just depends on our time, that’s all. Far from it, nowadays are more opportunities to play live, in my opinion.

I WAS TALKING ABOUT A „WELL-KNOWN“ GRINDCORE, SO I’D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THIS NOW: SINCE YOUR CREATION, GRIND/ CRUST HAVE REACHED BIGGER LABELS (NASUM, REGURGITATE, DISFEAR, BRUTAL TRUTH, FOR EXAMPLE), BUT THEY MANAGED TO HOLD ALIVE AN UNDERGROUND HARD CORE. DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS POINT? OR DO YOU THINK THIS HARD CORE HAS DISSOLVED?

We already shared the stage with all the bands, you’d mentioned, and I absolutely can confirm that they are (still) “pure”. I just think that some general aspects became more professional, but that’s fine with me. Some of these bands are managing a perfect balancing act between beeing underground and using professional structures. Actually, the best way, if you would ask me …

YACØPSÆ - ''Goreface''AMONGST GUARANTORS OF THE STATE OF MIND, THERE’S AN IMPORTANT EVENT: OBSCENE EXTREME FEST. IT GUARANTEES THE STATE OF MIND, A PLACE FOR FANS, FOR BANDS, FOR A GENERAL FREEDOM …

Yes, I agree. As I described in the question before, OEF might be another good example for the balancing act between beeing down-to-earth and professionality. We used to play several times at OEF, and it has always been a pleasure, although we dislike open-air festivals. Curby is definitely a cool person and supported us a lot!  

AND THERE ARE, OF COURSE, SOME UNDERGROUND LABELS, ACTIVISTS, SOME PEOPLE. IN FRANCE, WE CAN’T MISS WHAT BONES BRIGADE HAS MADE. DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT BONES BRIGADE?

Nicolas/ BB is another absolutely cool person. We used to sleep in his house for one night during our short three-day-tour through France with our crazy brothers in crime, SYLVESTER STALLINE. What can I say? We are looking forward to meet him again in March 2009. That guy rules in every way. Wish to meet more people like him!

ACTUALLY, THERE’S SOMETHING REALLY OBVIOUS IN YACØPSÆ: YOU ARE DEEPLY „TRUE“, GENUINE, UNDERGROUND. MANY BANDS WITH THESE QUALITIES ARE VIOLENT, BUT A BLOODY MESS ON STAGE: AND YACØPSÆ IS VERY PRECISE, MAYBE PROFESSIONAL WITH ITS OWN MUSIC, WITH ITS OWN BUSINESS (FOR EXAMPLE, ON STAGE, WITH AN AWESOME EMU). IN A WAY, BEING BETWEEN THIS NATURAL (FREE) MENTALITY AND A KIND OF PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOUR IS A KEY-POINT, ISN’T IT?

I am not sure about our “professionality”, because I never wasted any thoughts about it. It just came along that way. We dislike the term “true” (even if I used it for CHUMBAWAMBA), only Metal-bands use it to create a kind of good reputation. We are interested in just to be ourselves, without any artificial attitude, show or gimmick. That’s the only way to be, in my opinion!

I REALLY BELIEVE THAT YACØPSÆ IS AMONG THE MOST RESPECTED BANDS, AND RESPECTFUL. THERE AREN’T MANY PEOPLE WHO KNOW YOUR NAME, BUT ANYONE WHO HAD, JUST ONE DAY, SOME INTEREST ABOUT YOUR BAND, CERTAINLY ACCEPTED YOUR PURPOSE, YOUR SOUND. FOR EXAMPLE, MYSELF. I DISCOVERED THE BAND (THANKS TO A FRIEND WHICH FOLLOWS YOU SINCE ABOUT 10 YEARS). TO YOUR MIND, IT IS A NICE „FAME“ FOR YACØPSÆ?

We really appreciate it, but this is another point we don’t waste any thought about. Sorry, dude, but I don’t know what to say. On that score we are very decent!

REALLY IMPORTANT,ALMOST A SYMBOL: YOUR LYRICS. BY REFUSING TO SING IN ENGLISH, MANY CURIOUS NON-GERMAN PEOPLE CAN’T UNDERSTAND YOUR WORDS. BUT IN THE OTHER HAND, YOU’RE CLAIMING THE MOST UPRIGHT AND GENUINE PURPOSE YOU COULD DO, YOU’RE GIVING TO YACØPSÆ AN OPTIMAL MEANING (ONLY THE NAME OF THE BAND REVEALS SO MANY THINGS). AM I RIGHT?

We choosed to write the lyrics in German, because that’s simply our native language. And if you want to give something a 100 %ly, authentic meaning, you should do it in the speech you’re grown up with. In our early days, we never thought that somebody, outside of Germany, would give us any attention, so we didn’t add translations to our lyrics. Nowadays, we should take care about this point and I guess, we’ll append english explanations on our upcoming releases. A straight translation of german lyrics makes no sense, because our language deals with different vocabularies, and can’t be translated 1:1 without distorting the whole meaning.
About our name, we choosed this one accidentally in the first three months of our existence (it’s the plural-form of the name “Jakob”), but in advance, we already knew that we won’t choose a “brutal” name (it’s ridiculous, in our opinion). One fine day, a friend of the first drummer came around to watch our rehearsals, his name was “Jakob”, and so it simply happens. We changed the letters, related to an old german Punk-tradition, because it looks more cool, and that’s it.

MY MAGAZINE (NOISE MAG) IS SPECIALIZED NEITHER IN GRINDCORE NOR IN METAL. ACTUALLY, WE ARE SPECIALIZED IN NO PRECISE MUSIC STYLE: WE JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT ARTISTS WE RESPECT, ABOUT ARTISTS WHO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO OUR MIND, WHO ARE GENUINE, NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF MUSIC IT IS (WE DON’T TALK ABOUT DIMMU BORGIR, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, HAHA …). IT’S SURELY THE MOST ECLECTIC MAGAZINE IN FRANCE. DO YOU CONSIDER MUSIC AS WE DO? OR DO YOU ALWAYS NEED SOME KIND OF VIOLENCE, OF ABRASION, OF DIRT IN ORDER TO PERFECTLY FIT IN A SOUND?

Personally, I prefer music which owns a special draft, and so I don’t care much if it’s Thrash, Frognoise, Metalcore or Pop-Punk. We like many different styles of independent music. Here are just some examples, and you’ll have an idea: ERIC’S TRIP, ANARCHUS, TRIVIUM, THE DICKIES, THE ELECTRIC EELS, ZERO BOYS, CEPHALOTRIPSY, LUKE, TAMPASM, ANGRY SAMOANS, HAZEL, DEMOLITION DOLL RODS, UZI SUICIDE, DEAD KENNEDYS, SINIESTRO TOTAL, EMPALIGON, TEENAGE HEAD, INFA RIOT, ASH, SCHOLASTIC DETH, TOY DOLLS, IRATE ARCHITECT, BIZARRE X, BERURIER NOIR, LARSEN, DECIBELIOS, LUDWIG VON 88, etc. The list is endless. Aside of that, I like turkish, kurdish and lazish traditionals, too. I’m open-minded. Frank prefers melodic Punk Rock and 80’s Hardcore/ Thrash,  Emu listens to the old classics (GANG GREEN, D.R.I., SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, etc.), and some early 90’s Death Metal-/ Power-Violence-stuff (SPAZZ, CROSSED OUT, ENTOMBED, NAPALM DEATH, etc.). But back to the core-point of the question; if I would run a zine, I would act in the same way. No borders! I would feature all bands which are special!

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, STOFFEL. FOR YOUR TIME, FOR HAVING ACCEPTED TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING ELSE?

First I have to apologize the long delay, but I’m always very busy with different things. And last (but not least) – thanks a lot for the interview!

YACØPSÆ – INTERVIEW (SHORT, FAST & LOUD # 25, 2011)

44. YACØPSÆ - ''Interview im SHORT, FAST & LOUD-Fanzine # 25'' 2011TELL US ABOUT THE EARLY YEARS OF YACØPSÆ (HOW YOU GUYS MET, WHAT AREA OF THE COUNTRY, HOW YOU GOT INTO PUNK/ THRASH, MAIN MUSICAL INFLUENCES AT THE TIME, ANYTHING INTERESTING).

YACØPSÆ has been formed more or less accidentally, back in early Summer 1990 (I suppose, it was in late July or in the beginning of August). We are located in the Eastern parts/ suburbs of Hamburg/ Northern Germany, and at this point of time, some hyper-active parts of our local Punk-/ left wing-scene squatted successfully several houses in this area. One of the squatters was formerly member Pattex, our first drummer. So one fine day, I was visiting some friends in a new-squatted building and they introduced me to him, while he was painting his room. We talked about different things and both of us had no musical activities at this time. Pattex used to play guitar in a shitty band called THE DDL’S, producing really crappy covers of early 80’s Punk Rock from Germany, and my previous band S.D. JESUS (fabricating dark and melancholical Punk, something between early THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN, THE SMARTPILS and XMAL DEUTSCHLAND) broke up  a few months before. Actually, it was no big deal, because both of us were unsatisfied with the musical direction of these bands, anyway. So we said: “Let’s try something new!” Pattex and me got into the whole “Punk”-thing in the early 80’s (around 1981/ ’82) and aside of the “classics” such as SEX PISTOLS, RAMONES, BLACK FLAG, THE DICKIES, DEAD KENNEDYS, SUBHUMANS (UK), GENERATION X, 999, ADAM AND THE ANTS, etc., we were totally into the 2nd wave of early 80’s German Punk/ Hardcore like UPRIGHT CITIZENS, TRIEBTÄTER, VORKRIEGSPHASE, MANIACS, WUT, RAZZIA, BETON COMBO, TARGETS, CHAOS Z, STOSSTRUPP, SLIME, THE NIKOTEENS, NEUROTIC ARSEHOLES, BOSKOPS, BLUT + EISEN, INFERNO, TOXOPLASMA, CANAL TERROR, NORMAHL, DER K.F.C., BRUTAL VERSCHIMMELT, and tons of other bands. From around 1984 – 1987 we discovered faster bands like BOBWIRE, RAPT, HEART ATTACK, early D.R.I., FEAR ITSELF, LÄRM, ATAVISTIC, early S.O.B., NUNFUCKERS, HEIMAT-LOS, SEPTIC DEATH, ATAQUE FRONTAL, WINTERSWIJK CHAOS FRONT, early HERESY, PROTES BENGT, B.G.K., ZERO BOYS, THE SWANKYS, 3. KATEGORIJA, CONFUSE, SATANIC MALFUNCTIONS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, CHEETAH CHROME MOTHERFUCKERS, PUKE, UPSET NOISE, OUTO, DAYGLO ABORTIONS, SIEGE, NEOS, DEEP WOUND, SM-70, PANDEMONIUM, REVENGE OF THE WHORES, early GANG GREEN, MOB 47, early CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SUDDEN IMPACT, early NAPALM DEATH, ZYKLOME A, INTENSE DEGREE, and so on. In addition, we’d been blown away by some early sloppy-played Lo-Fi-Death/ Thrash/ Black Metal-stuff (NECRONOMICON, BLOOD, PARABELLUM, NECROPHAGIA, BULLDOZER, REENCARNACION, DESTRUCTION, BLASFEMIA, NEKROMANTIE, REPULSION, etc.). We used to trade tapes with people from around the globe, so we got almost every week new, interesting and amazing stuff from the world-wide underground. It was fascinating … Well, just not to bore the readers while specifying countless bands, back to the main topic: A short time after we’d met each other, Pattex and I went into the rehearsal-room of THE DDL’S, based in a catholic youth centre. Prior to that, we tried to assure several friends to join the “band”, because we had nobody for the vocals and no one for the bass-guitar, as well. Obviously, we had no success and so I became a “shouter” while shredding the strings at the same time. Actually, from the start of the idea to form a band, I just wanted to play the guitar, nothing more, nothing less, because I hate my voice (even today). Pattex was more blessed, he just needed to play the drums. Nevertheless, somehow it fits and we created our first noisy’n’short tunes without bass-guitar, logical heavily inspired by other (bass-less) two-piece-bands such as SATANIC MALFUNCTIONS (still one of my personal all-time faves) and ACTIVE MINDS, even though the afore mentioned bands had a big impact, too. Within the following months, we continued fabricating more thrashy smashers, but still had no idea for a name. Although somehow, accidentally, a friend of Pattex, the vocalist of THE DDL’S, showed up for a few times, just to watch our rehearsals. While making jokes about using somebody’s name for the band, we’d taken his sur-name (“Jakobs”) – turned into the plural form –, and got it, incidentally: “Jaköbse”. We changed some letters, because it looked more cool, and by the way, it’s a kinda old “tradition” in German Punk, to demonstrate names or words consciously wrong, just to show, you don’t give a fuck about grammar nor some special meanings. Anyway, later I’d drawn the logo, and that’s all, actually. By the way, we were so happy about having a name, eventually, so we used a photography of Jakobs as a cover for our very first demo tape. On the other hand, the first time, when people heard our name, they thought, we would play some “Fun-Punk”, because the pronunciation sounds so “sweet”. But at last, we always were able to prove them that “black” is “white”, hehe. And we never ever had the intention, to have a “brutal” name with a crackbrained signification.

YACØPSÆ - ''Zombified''TELL US ABOUT THE EARLY GIGS, BANDS YOU PLAYED WITH AND THE STATE OF THE SCENE IN YOUR AREA AT THE TIME.

We rehearsed almost half a year, and did our very first show at a birthday party in a local youth centre. It was in the middle of January 1991, and two more bands shared the little stage with us. The first one (A-LA-SKA) was a crappy (but even funny) bunch of school kids/ nerds, playing really bad covers of old German New Wave-hits and typical Rock-themes. But everything’s been played more slow and sloppy than the originals, because they were unable to do it better. YACØPSÆ was the 2nd band on the bill and the little crowd (most of them were friends, anyway, hehe) enjoyed it. By today’s view, I would say, it was a really shitty set. We had not that much songs to play for an appropriate time, though it was funny. We just repeated some songs, haha. By the way, I still own it on video and on tape. Perhaps, we will add it to a DVD-release in the future, who knows?! The last band (DERIDER) was a local Hardcore-band, and their singer has been the birthday boy. It’s important to mention, that our current drummer Emu was playing for DERIDER at this time, and while our set, we spontaneously did a cover version of NAPALM DEATH’s “Deceiver” with him on vocals. Needless to say, that it was crap, but as I mentioned before, it was funny, too. Well, the following few shows were nothing special and we played exclusively in our local area, because we had no demo tape, no good contacts, etc. We shared the stage with different bands from our area (only a few of them were “Punk”) and to be honest, not many people enjoyed it. They were impressed by the tempo and the shortness of our songs, but otherwise, they described us just as “Noisemakers”. Our local scene has been very active in doing political things (squatting, anti-fascism, etc.), but all the bands here were absolutely lazy. They played exclusively in the outlying districts, did a demo tape or two, and that’s all. None of them were trying to play outside of Hamburg, getting in touch with bands or fanzines from other cities/ countries, it was strange. I guess, we were the only band in our area, which tried to escape off the Eastern district. We sent tapes to fanzines, traded stuff with bands from other cities to catch up shows, and so on. Nevertheless, good local bands of the late 80’s/ early 90’s were A.N.E.E.B., DERIDER, STRAFE MUSS SEIN (“Punishment must be”), MEANS TO AN END, SIBERIAN GUNS, ASCHE DER ROSEN (“Ash of the roses”), MONDIAL and THORSTEN HALT’S MAUL (“Thorsten, shut the fuck up!”). I’m sure, nobody of the readers is familiar with these bands, but anyway, it doesn’t matter, because they existed just for a short period. Only MONDIAL and A.N.E.E.B. (pre-ASCHE DER ROSEN) made it on vinyl. MONDIAL contributed one track to a well-known “Hamburg-Punk” 12” LP compilation on WEIRD SYSTEM, called “Waterkant Hits”. Later they turned more into “Post-Punk” and published a self-released 12” EP. A.N.E.E.B. appear with one song on the V/A “Bullshit Detector 3” double 12” LP (CRASS RECORDS), and by the way, this one’s including NAPALM DEATH’s very first contribution on a record, too. A 2nd 12” LP compilation, called “Wie lange noch …” on DOUBLE A RECORDS, contains two further tracks of them. At last, as I told before, this was an exceptional case.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FIRST RECORDINGS, EARLY DEMO RECORDINGS, HOW DID YOU RECORD THE DEMOS? HOW DO YOU RECORD YOUR RECORDS NOW, DIFFERENCES IN RECORDING, PLACES YOU LIKE/ DISLIKE TO RECORD, ETC.

Due to the lack of possibilities, we recorded our first demo tape, the first 7” EP (“Krank ist normal”) and the split 7” EP with ACTIVE MINDS in the same room of the youth centre, where we played our very first show. We even had no real engineer, we just placed the social worker of the venue behind the mixing desk and kept it simple: some microphones had been placed and all the stuff was recorded – completely live – straight to the tape (even the vocals). Ok, on both 7” EP’s, the vocals were done extra, but apart from that, during the first recording sessions, we never used any overdubs or stuff like that. And actually, that’s still the way, how we do our recordings, nowadays: we play the basic tracks live (guitar, bass and drums), I add the 2nd guitar and the vocals, and that’s all, no big deal. We like the spontaneous feeling/ vibes in general, but I have to admit, that 90 percent of our early recordings are really really bad, in my opinion. But anyway, it seems to be the natural progress for each band, and by the way, I would like to hear the very first recordings of CAPITALIST CASUALTIES, hehe.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FIRST RECORD, HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR FIRST RECORD, HOW DID YOU RECORD THE 7″? RELATIONSHIP WITH LABEL, ETC.

We met Keule/ RÖDEL RECORDS at one of our first “out-of-town”-shows, somewhere around Berlin. We played in a squat with W.B.I. and PINK FLAMINGOS, and if I remember right, Ade, the drummer of SATANIC MALFUNCTIONS, who contemporaneous was visiting Jens, the bass-player of PINK FLAMINGOS, introduced us to each other. Accordingly, we had a long talk and he offered us, to release our first 7” EP. Back in Hamburg, we soon entered the afore mentioned and well-known youth centre with some lent equipment and started to re-record most of the material, which had been already known from the first demo tape. We added some new and unreleased tracks and did the whole session (23 tracks total) within one day. Again in the unprofessional way, without any overdubs, sloppy-played and a huge pressure of time. We finished the recordings with the vocals, and they are the main reason why I still hate this record so much. The youth centre was going to close its doors soon, and there was just one hour left to end it all. So I did the vocals within one hour under pressure, in a crampy way, and I had no opportunities to change anything, afterwards. Personally, I’m still satisfied with the roughness and the spontaneity of the record, the songs in general, and even with the lyrics, but the vocals and the bad sound are responsible therefor that I really dislike this shitty piece of plastic.

YACØPSÆ - ''Horrorschädel''SO THEN YOU RELEASED A TON OF RECORDS, TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE RELEASES AT THIS TIME, STORIES BEHIND SOME OF THE SPLITS, ETC.

Phew, actually, I personally have no favorite releases of that time. I’m very self-critical about that, and sometimes, I wished some of them would never had seen the light of day. I’m still satisfied with most of the stuff, we did after our first four 7” EP’s, but the early years? Uhm … I dunno. It’s not because of the lyrics or the songs in general. It depends more on the bad sound, some artwork and the vocals. The splits happened more or less accidentally. We are huge “fans” (actually, “close friends” fits better, above all, I hate the term “Fan”) of ACTIVE MINDS, and we know them personally since their first live-appearances in Hamburg, back in 1987/ 1988. We just asked them after we got the possibility to do a 2nd 7” EP on the new founded label THOUGHT CRIME of Jens/ PINK FLAMINGOS. They simply agreed and so we worked it out. But I have to point up, it definitely was something special for us, to share the record with one of our favorite bands. Our 2nd split 7” EP with INNER CONFLICT was an accident, too. One fine day, I’ve been “harassed” by a kid, from which I’d never heard before. That young guy (I suppose, he was 16 or 17 years old …) dropped me a bunch of letters, because he wanted to release something of us, at all costs. I told that kid several times, that we presently are not able to give him any new and unreleased stuff, because the split 7” EP with ACTIVE MINDS has been published a short time ago and we first had to create new tracks. Though, he didn’t stop asking, and somehow, I was impressed by his persistence, so I just sent him acceptable live-recordings. Afterwards, he told me that it will be a split 7” EP with INNER CONFLICT, a brand new band from his local district. Usually, we choose our split partners, because we always want to be sure not to share a record with some dickheads, but at this point of time, we had no further informations about them, of course. We agreed, after we’d been in touch with the band for a short while, because they were really cool. By the way, this was the band’s first release and they’re still active. Within the years, they did a bunch of releases, tours and political activities. Some weeks ago, I accidentally met their drummer at the POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS-show in Hamburg, and he told me, that they discovered a sequence number of the split in somebody’s bedroom. This is notable, because just 300 copies exist, and these days, people still ask for this “rarity”. On the other hand, after the record has been released, I’ve never heard anything of that kid, anymore. Rainer, the bass-player of INNER CONFLICT, later told me, that the kid was under pressure, somehow. His parents forbid him to continue with “Punk”, doing records and things like that. So he just disappeared … Strange. The following split 7” EP with VASELINE was scheduled as a 4-way-split 10” LP with VASELINE, INTESTINAL DISEASE and B.R.B., but Axel (shouter of VASELINE and owner of TVG RECORDS) never received any material of B.R.B. and INTESTINAL DISEASE, so it became just a split 7” EP with an horrible cover.

TELL US ABOUT TOURS: YOUR EARLY TOURS, DO YOU LIKE TO TOUR? BEST TOURS YOU DID? GOOD STORIES? TELL US ABOUT RECENT TOURS, BEST NEW BANDS YOU SAW, ETC.

To be honest, we’d never been that much into real and long touring. Of course, we generally like to travel and to play live, but we dislike to be on the road for several weeks or months. In example, DROPDEAD toured through Europe for half a year (they must be absolutely crazy, in my opinion, hehe), but that would be way too much for us. We always went on tour for just one week or 10 days, that’s pretty enough for us. We even do many short tours for three shows or something comparable. That’s more fun and we’re able to play good sets, without being burnt out, caused by bad conditions (endless driving, less sleep, etc.). Just for not to create a wrong impression, we’re often on the way, and we played in 21 different countries, so far (Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Northern-Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and USA). Another important point is, to have a good partner to tour with, otherwise it means nothing but stress in many ways. Fortunately, we always toured with great bands/ persons such as ACTIVE MINDS, SAID & DONE, SANITYS DAWN, JESUS CRØST, MAGRUDERGRIND, UNHOLY GRAVE, FUCTOFF and some more. Even many of the local bands were recommendable, within the last tours. Just to name a few: SCAPEGOAT, SPIKE PILE DRIVER, THE DAY MAN LOST, HANGOVER HEART ATTACK, MAKE THEM PAY, DECEIVER, SPOONFUL OF VICODINE, CHAINSAW TO THE FACE, etc. No idea, if all of them are still active, but they’re definitely worth to be checked out.

WE HEARD FROM SANDRO ABOUT A TRIP TO COLOMBIA, WAS THIS WITH THE BAND OR PERSONAL TRIP? TELL US ANY PUNK/ GRIND NEWS FROM COLOMBIA.

Half and half. Primary, it has been a personal trip, but within the four journeys to Colombia, it happened more or less accidentally, that we were able to play three shows (with a partly line up and some different alternate members) in Bogotá and Medellin. Since some years, Paola, the drummer of the all-female band POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS, is a very close friend of mine, and that was the main reason to start visiting this country. It’s absolutely impossible, to review the whole impressions or to draw a complete profile, because you have to consider the social and political circumstances, caused by a more or less subliminal civil war between paramilitary, guerillas (FARC), government’s squads and some more involved hostile groups. It’s a dangerous country with a high murdering rate, kidnapping, drug problems, a huge poorness, and even the police’n’military-presence is way too big. Nevertheless, most of the people over there are very friendly and affectionate. And of course, in Colombia exists a huge Punk’n’Metal-scene with tons of bands. It’s impressive, that many of them are active for more than 20 years. I.R.A. (the first Colombian band, which played at CBGB’s), FERTIL MISERIA, DEXCONCIERTO, CONFUSION, HERPES and MASACRE, just to name a few. Even the so-called Fastcore/ Power Violence-genre has got some really great bands: CEACHE, YACUZZI (using our writing, very funny), RES GESTAE, ESQUIZOFRENIA, LA VENDETTA and some more. For the whole scene, it’s not easy to set up regular shows or doing far-reaching actions. Everything seems to be true underground. Instruments are expensive, rehearsal-rooms are rare, and places to play or just to hang out are seldom, too. Usually, bands play in little bars or dirty backyards under unimaginable easy conditions, it’s really admirable how they manage it. On the other hand, within the last few years, more and more “bigger” bands started to play concerts in Colombia. Apart from Heavy Metal-shit like IRON MAIDEN: NAPALM DEATH, BLACK DALIAH MURDER, SODOM and DESTRUCTION already played there. In January 2011, I met the guys of MISERY INDEX, doing their first show in Bogotá. So I guess, more and more bands from other countries will follow, bit by bit. Back to the native bands: fortunately, I had the chance to see many shows of Colombian acts, even the 25 years-anniversary show of REENCARNACION, an influential raw Death/ Thrash band, light years ahead of its time (the same counts for PARABELLUM, HERPES, BLASFEMIA and NEKROMANTIE). I met a lot of people, playing in different more or less well-known bands, and most of the stuff is really worth to be heard. So I would recommend the following bands (Punk/ Hardcore/ Death/ Thrash/ Grind only): POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS, I.R.A., SEPTICEMIA, EVITA, DEXCONCIERTO, CEACHE, YACUZZI, SANGRE Y FUEGO, CENSURA, ESQUIZOFRENIA, MASACRE, HERPES, INFESTO, VENDETTA, G.P., ANTI-TODO, ESKORIA, RESISTENCIA, URSUS, INSUMISION, DESARME, DESADAPTADOS, CONFUSION, SUBSISTENCIA, FEA, LIBRA, RECHAZO, C.T.C., IMAGEN, BASTARDOS SIN NOMBRE, ATAQUE DE SONIDO, ORGANISMOS, PARABELLUM, ELVIS PRESLEY (best name ever), EX-KOMBRO, ANOMALIA, RESPLANDOR, FERTIL MISERIA, RESTOS DE TRAGEDIA, BLASFEMIA, NEKROMANTIE, HOLOCAUSTO, K.D.H., RES GESTAE, EXTREMO-D, REENCARNACION, KONTRAORDEN, HUMANO X, L.P.A., ATOMOS, SITUACION NEFASTA, and many more. Some of them doesn’t exist anymore, but all of them did records, CD’s, tapes or CDR-releases. So it’s definitely possible to get any stuff. For further informations about the scene, or if somebody’s interested in political things, feel free to drop Paola (POLIKARPA Y SUS VICIOSAS) a mail. She will be helpful (paokarpa@hotmail.com). 

YACØPSÆ - ''Zombiemotiv''UPCOMING PLANS FOR YACØPSÆ (NEW RECORDINGS, SHOWS, TOURS, ANYTHING HAPPENING).

Last year, we did new recordings for a bunch of different releases. We re-recorded our very first 7” EP “Krank ist normal” plus two bonus tracks, because we thought, it would be a perfect kind of “gift” for our anniversary-show (20 years of YACØPSÆ), but almost nothing has been released, so far. The main reason for the delay is: we’re still not satisfied with the mix. So actually, it will be out too late, because now, we’re 21, hehe. Aside of that, we had recorded 13 further tracks for a split 10” LP/ CD + bonus 5” EP with IRATE ARCHITECT, one track for a RUPTURE-tribute 7” EP compilation, one song for a split 7” EP with AMEN 81, and another track for the “100 in 10” 12” LP compilation (this one’s already out). In addition, soon we’ll create a new homepage, far beyond from the common Facefuck/ Myplague-shit. The site will include all necessary informations and a complete archive with all our played shows, all flyers, tons of pictures, all releases, etc. And last but not least, currently, we are talking about to set up another short tour, next year. Maybe in Colombia or in the USA. Watch out!