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Main + Texts + Lyrics & Poems + Photos + Posters + Videos & Films + Interviews + Concerts + Discography + Reviews + History + Samples |
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EXCERPTS FROM INTERVIEWS
GIVEN BETWEEN 1999-2004 QUESTION: You seemed to favour written interviews that are a very depersonalized version of the interview principle. Why? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: This is the way we are – very depersonalized. And - if asked, we like to think twice, before we shoot. QUESTION: How many members are in Laibach just now and which is their role in the band? (Spark magazine, Prague, 2001) LAIBACH: Laibach works as a quadruple principle and therefore there are really only four members at any one time. But each member can unite many identities and collaborators within himself. QUESTION: What are your primary goals as musicians? (The Prague Post., 2002) LAIBACH: A:It is an insult to call us that because we are not musicians. We are only attracted to music that we believe to be more complex than ourselves and which is better than it can be performed; our primary goals naturally are to prove ourselves wrong. QUESTION: How is politics an important aspect of making music? How are the two things linked? (The Prague Post., 2002) LAIBACH: In history there are more great politicians with an appreciation of music than musicians with sense for politics – which only proves how limited and narrow musicians in fact are. Usually musicians are asserting that their music is completely non-political which of course is not true. Laibach uses music as a layer of bricks in the great wall we are building. Therefore music should first and last sound good, it should allure and enchant the ear, never mind the inner significance. All music as such is in any case meaningless noise unless it touches a receptive mind. To create a receptive mind we have to shoot using all the weapons we can marshal. And we have to mix everything which can or cannot be mixed, from politics to art. That is the real 9th symphony for us. QUESTION: The situation of the world has changed a lot since Jesus Christ Superstars, with the world trade center bombing, the war in Afghanistan and the recent war in Iraq. As a politically minded group, how do you view these events? (D-Side, France, 2003) LAIBACH: It appears as if Americans have got what they were asking for (just look at films such as "True Lies", etc.) and that Europeans have got what they deserved. Now Americans have to get what they deserve and Europeans have to decide what they really want. In reality what has happened during the past two years is nothing new; it has all been there before but everybody was pretending not to know about it. Now we know about it but we still pretend not to understand it. The war against Iraq was in fact directed against the European Union, and the hostile act of bringing freedom to Iraqi citizens was in fact taking freedom away from American citizens. So the war against Iraq (Iran, Syria, Palestine...) is not only directed against the EU but - within a certain inverted logic - it is also a war against America itself. QUESTION: Do these events change your way of working or your inspiration? (D-Side, France, 2003) LAIBACH: No, not really - they are just confirming our predictions. QUESTION: Laibach can't seem to get WAT reviewed without silly comparisons to Rammstein. I've seen lots of arguments about Rammstein stealing elements from Laibach in the past, mostly concerning vocal style and even logo design. I'm curious of your reaction to this.(Altercation, USA, 2004) LAIBACH: Laibach does not believe in originality and we don’t consider ourselves as sole authors and owners of our own ideas. Therefore Rammstein could not "steal" much from us. They simply let themselves be inspired by our work, which is an absolutely legitimate process. We are glad that they made it. In a way they did the dirty work instead of us. They also have proved once again that a good "copy" can be more successful in the market than the "original". Anyhow, today we share the territory: Rammstein are Laibach for adolescents and in reverse Laibach are Rammstein for "adults". QUESTION: The chessboard style of the logo on WAT is a great statement; I especially like the press photo of the band playing chess on it. Tell us the thought behind this. (Altercation, USA, 2004) Laibach: There is nothing much behind it; we invented the "chess for four players" game more than 20 years ago and we play it occasionally, when we meet. Chess for four looks like a Laibach cross expect it is made from five chess boards. Four players play against each other, creating flexible and quiet coalitions among themselves ,until the very end, when a single winner emerges. It is a very interesting game, full of intrigues and diplomacy, with the majority of deals made under the table. QUESTION: A title like "Anti-semitism" could once again put you under the censors' eye. Doesn't that and possible mis-readings of the track bother you? (D-Side, France, 2003) LAIBACH: Anti-Semitism today is again relevant and a very serious cultural and political problem and should not be ignored but solved once and for all. QUESTION: What were your feelings about performing the Jesus Christ Superstars material over such a long period? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: This programme almost killed us but we had to do it; our "pilgrimage of the cross" has brought us close to Christ and you don't walk away from him just like that. Beside, it's good to be good with people like Jesus. QUESTION: The new album is called "Wat". As there is no further information yet, it's hard to figure out, what's the meaning of "Wat". The track called "Wat" seems to deal with a self-description of Laibach's work and position. But with the lyrics of "Now You Will Pay" in mind, it also can stand for "War Against Terrorism". On the other hand, this sounds a little bit too obvious for Laibach. So, is there a meaning of "Wat" that you would like to explain or will this kept as a secret? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: Laibach is an enigmatic band and what meaning does enigma have if it has to explain itself? One definition less – one pleasure more! Besides, this abbreviation is very plain and simple and pretty obvious from the context - WAT is the new measurement of time. QUESTION: Talking about the war against terrorism: the face of the world has dramatically changed since 11/9/01 (or at least a lot of things came to the surface, which where kept in the dark before). Your opinion about it? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: The fact that the USA is the World policeman nr. 1 is nothing new. Maybe the novelty is that America is now also clearly acting as such – which is not so difficult, because Europe and other countries are so completely disorganised and too incompetent to be able to produce a serious common action or even a reasonable statement on any subject. Also the United Nations is soon going to become entirely irrelevant, same as the League of Nations was. Ironically, the three basic principles of the UN, as set by President Truman, are to prevent future wars by creating a global economic condition necessary for peace, to provide an organisation which could help countries settle their differences peacefully, and the third purpose was to provide an organisation through which the peace loving countries could act collectively against threats to peace by an aggressive country. America under Bush is practising only the last one, or at least that is what they believe they are doing. QUESTION: Please explain what impact this change had on Laibach as artists, particularly the idea of a "clash of cultures". (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: Laibach has no problems with the clash of cultures and civilisations. In fact the real poetry of communication lies in misunderstanding and we enjoy communicating with and through it; for us it is the only logical way. QUESTION:"Wat" is opened by "B Mashina". Is this a re-working of the track by the rock band Siddharta, which Laibach remixed some time ago and why is it included here? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: Slovenian rock group Siddharta invited us to do a remix of their song for their record of remixes - which we did. Somehow we found this song very inspiring and very laibachian, so we decided to do some additional work on it and include it on our WAT record. It talks about fate, money, universe, dreams, machines and the final day – all of them favourite laibachian subjects. There is some Blade Runner there, some Space Odyssey and some Solaris as well, even some Star Wars and Star Trek. All the great emotions of Eternity and of Time itself. We wanted to dedicate this version of the song to Noordung, the mad Slovenian scientist and pioneer of the space travel program from the beginning of the previous century. He proposed building a huge space station and moving the entire Slovenian population onto it, to preserve it and protect it from what history had in store. He died before he was able to realise his task, but his work inspired many. (Arthur C. Clark and Stanley Kubrick were both aware of Noordung, when introducing the space wheel in Odyssey 2001.) QUESTION: Talking about the track "Wat", which seems to deal with the position of Laibach, what do you think is the current situation for Laibach within their own strategies and goals? Or to put it in other words: Are Laibach happy with their work & situation at the moment? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: Happy?! Happiness is a warm gun! In the strictest sense of the word happiness comes from the satisfaction of needs that have been highly repressed. Laibach has no such needs in his depot. In Laibach satisfaction is guaranteed, because we never search for it. QUESTION:"Tanz Mit Laibach" has strong influences from DAF's "Der MussolinI" in its music and its lyrics. Would you agree with this opinion? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: This song was inspired by German-American friendship. We believe that good relations between Germany and America are extremely important in this difficult and sensitive time. Their friendship has been established during and after the Second World War, when America generously helped Germany to look at itself, to introspect and reinvent itself into one of the most prosperous, powerful and just nation states of the present time. Maybe Germany, which is finally becoming a central state of united Europe, will now soon have a chance to return equal help to America in her fight against their World of Evil. So firstly this is a song about the problems and solutions of this great friendship. But it is also a song about Laibach, about the joy and responsibility, which we feel as messengers of freedom and missionaries of truth. We believe we can bring these two and other great nations together, if they will only listen carefully what we have to tell them. QUESTION:. Tanz Mit Laibach is described as a tribute to the alliance between German and American people. How does this relate to the SS skull symbol that was chosen for the hat on the single's cover? (Altercation, USA, 2004) Laibach: A Death is a Death, no matter what its origin and heritage. The death's head skull is one of the most widespread symbols in history of Mankind. Democracy as such symbolises the equality of all people in Death, no matter to which race, religion, nation or social class they belong. Death is the very essence of man; in fact our lives have no real meaning without death. Germany and America were the biggest mass executioners in the Second World War, with their guns turned on each other and everyone else involved. This should not happen again. We believe that German-American friendship is extremely important in these difficult and sensitive times for the entire World and especially for the future of good relations between the European Union and the USA. QUESTION: What inspired the imagery used for the accompanying video? (Altercation, USA, 2004) LAIBACH: The Dance Macabre (Death Dance), a beautiful 15th century fresco from a small Slovenian church. QUESTION: I guess, that "Achtung" deals with the concept of Dualism. Do Laibach believe in dualistic concepts and contrasts? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: Yes we do. Dualism rules the World and this song is explicitly talking about the attraction of the opposite, about the appearance of the subject and its hidden truth, about the difference between form and content, about the paradox of reality, reflecting itself in the virtual mirror… We found this problem very fatal and also very amusing, because in a simple way it explains the very formula of life in all forms. Achtung is the warning, telling us clearly, that we have to be very careful in understanding the differences between black and white: that progress is not yet victory, and regression is not yet defeat, that democracy is not yet freedom and imprisonment is not slavery by definition. QUESTION: You speak about "the end of reason" in "Satanic Versus" - is the end of reason something you would like to appear? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: The Universe has no reason to exist; why should we have one? QUESTION: What is the current situation with the NSK state? I have not heard any news about this in the last time. (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: Good. That means that the state is working quietly and smoothly and undercover. Nowadays NSK citizens are mysteriously multiplying and NSK Embassies are growing all over the world without bells ringing and without any master plan behind it. We ourselves are citizens of the NSK State, like anybody else, who can identify with the NSK codex. We don't have any control over it. Without its own territory NSK State exists everywhere, as a parasite, and it is slowly spreading its healing virus to its victims in all four directions. QUESTION: In this general "end of the world" mood, will the NSK State became a haven? (D-Side, France, 2003) LAIBACH: Not for lost souls: only for those who are not seeking salvation. NSK is a state of Mind, and to become a citizen, one has to have a clear idea about the Universe and about Eternity. We cannot offer anything more than that. QUESTION: In the new photos, Laibach are dressed in what look like German SS uniforms, (except for the Laibach cross, of course), while shopping, playing chess etc. pp. This can be viewed/explained on several levels, the most obvious may be that it shows how small the difference between "normality" and "extremes" can be. What did Laibach have in mind, when they decided to use these uniforms? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: We like all types of uniforms; usually they are so glamorous and so very unpractical that we really feel like aliens or man machines in them, despite the fact that their basic intention is supposed to be universality - a universal form. Very much like Laibach itself. QUESTION: The Slovene psychoanalyst Slavoj Žižek said, that Laibach proved, that ideology is nothing but an empty container, which allows everybody to take from it exactly what he needs at this moment. Do Laibach agree with this theory and does this characterisation still apply to your views on ideologies? (Sonic Seducer, Germany, 2003) LAIBACH: Yes, we must agree with Slavoj Žižek on this subject. Ideologies are like modern supermarkets; in fact they sell a lot of nothing but in the short term they give the consumer the sense of having everything. The effect on people is similar to that produced by drugs. QUESTION: WAT is much more electronic than your previous releases. Is there a specific reason behind that change in sound ? (D-Side, France, 2003) LAIBACH: Not really - we were always close to electronic sound. In fact, electronic sound was our very first primitive means of expression at the very start of our activities. Laibach freely uses and experiments with all the styles and forms – according to a certain inherent logic, which we cannot entirely control or understand. QUESTION: It seems that this time, the lyrics are more direct and less cryptic than before. Do you think it was time for Laibach to take a stand ? (D-Side, France, 2003) LAIBACH: Laibach always took a stand; we always stood up and we still stand still. QUESTION: The global mood of the album is very gloomy. It's like "dancing above the abyss". Are you ok with that? (D-Side, France, 2003) LAIBACH: We are O.K. with that; times are tough and everything is "dancing" at the edge of the abyss, but let’s go further and show our strength and courage by dancing above it. QUESTION: Are there any bands or musicians performing today that you particularly enjoy? (The Prague Post., 2002) LAIBACH: We like to listen lots of different music, but concerts and musicians are usually making us very bored. QUESTION: What would you tell an audience member to expect from your live show, especially if he has never heard you perform before? (The Prague Post., 2002) LAIBACH: Don’t expect anything and you will get more. Don’t watch too close for you may be blinded by light. And don’t applaud; we have it on the tape. (Elgy magazine, 1999 QUESTION: Why did you record so many cover versions? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: We are not doing cover versions but re-makes and reinterpretations. We are adopting and recycling the »original« material and instead of making copies we produce new (original) material with new content and meaning. It is basically a question of alchemy. QUESTION: Why did you choose to work in anonymity? Are members of Laibach always the same ones? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: The members of Laibach are always the same, even when they change. Anonymity has chosen us; we believe in the universal mystery, which has nothing to do with individual frustrations and individual ego; universal mystery is not constructed to fit a man, it is constructed to fit Universe. A man can no more posses a private mystery than he can possess a private sun or moon. Mystery – if it is universal – cannot be privatized. Laibach works as a team (collective spirit), following the example of technological production. We reject individuality as meaningless for the evaluation of our work, which, as we believe, should be examined only on the basis of the laws of which it is made. We do not believe in the originality of authorship and we claim that plagiarism does not exist. Why should we then use names? QUESTION: After many records based on politics, your Jesus Christ Superstars album was about religion. Why? Do you feel that religion has filled the gap left open by the lack of real politics? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: In fact it was an album about the entertainment industry and pop culture (heavy metal and musicals) in relation to religion. QUESTION: War in former Yugoslavia re-ignites in the last few months, this time with intervening NATO. What's your opinion about this conflict and the role the western countries play in it? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: Yugoslavia was created in the period of late surrealism and hypersocial realism. It came to its climax in modernism, and began to dissolve in postmodernism. In fact, it was an eclectic retro-formation and not a homogenized modernist surface. The war in ex Yugoslavia was the logical result of the end of the utopian dream. On the other hand this seemingly anachronistic war might as well be the last battle of the IInd World War on European soil – the final division of Yugoslavia (50/50 %), as it was planned in Yalta by the allies and later blocked by president Tito), or it might be the final historic clash between Serbs and Albanians, between the Ottoman Empire and Orthodox Serbia, between Islam and the Christian world, between Ustasha and Chetniks, between catholic Christians and orthodox Christians, between East and West. It could also be the muscle showing »polygon« struggle for a prestigious position between USA and EU on the troubled territory of the Balkans. Maybe it is nothing more than a desperate fight for lost identity in the world of aggressive globalism and cultural unification. Or maybe it is just a cynical substitute for the grand narrative, lost at the end of history. Probably it is just as much a direct result of a clumsy integration policy of the EU "Club of the Privileged". Time will tell. QUESTION: As Laibach seemed to foretold many events of the last two decades (the war in Yugoslavia, the fall of USSR…). What would be your predictions for the future, in the Balkans and the rest of the world? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: We cannot predict the future; we live in the loops of present time, constantly decanting into the past that simultaneously lead us into the future. We are therefore already today the future of our tomorrows past. And so are the Balkans and the rest of the world. QUESTION: Are you still opposed to the European construction? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: We never were. Daily politics is not our concern. But we are warning that any union is based on exclusion of the others. The history of Europe is the history of regions and history of differences. Western Europe is forming a unity on the basis of economic and not spiritual postulates, out of the market rules and not out of ethical motives, because of fear and not because of courage. If formal European unification will not include the full co-operation of Eastern Europe (together with the »troubled« nations and states), it will lead to a new radical division of the Continent (war in ex Yugoslavia, for instance). On the other hand the unification principles can easily damage cultural differences, and the melting pot of nations and cultures can produce a really stereotypical supermonster within the Unity, whereas the increased growth of technocracy, bureaucracy and politocracy, on the other hand, can completely deform – if not abolish – the last traces of uselessness and non pragmatic metaphysics. QUESTION: Once you said that "fascism is the product and the shadow of the democracy". How should we wipe out that shadow? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: By two possible means: 1) by switching off the sun - the body which defines ("illuminates") the shadow; 2) by wiping out democracy itself - the body producing the shadow. QUESTION: Why did you create the NSK virtual state? What do you plan to attain with it? Who are your citizens? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: The NSK groups cannot serve or submit themselves to any existing limited national and political system or territory, therefore they have decided to form their own state, a state in time, a state of mind. In its fundamental acts NSK state denies the categories of fixed territory, the principle of national borders, and advocates the law of transnationality. Beside the members of NSK groups the right to citizenship is open to everybody all over the world, people of different religions, races, nationalities, sexes and beliefs. The right to citizenship is acquired through ownership of the NSK passport. NSK state is the ideal form of the state; it is based on self-management, non-alignment, peacefully coexisting (as a parasite and a virus) within existing systems and it daily materializes the classical utopian dream. QUESTION: Even a virtual state needs a form of governance. What should be the ideal government for the NSK? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: The government of consciousness – which reigns but does not govern. QUESTION: You have an image of a very serious and dogmatic band. But does humour ever takes a place in Laibach's work? Is there any irony in your selection of songs and visuals? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: Not that we are aware of it. We are taking humour deadly seriously and we only practice the kind of humour that can't take a joke. QUESTION: Your choice of visuals is also very ambiguous, with that nazi-like pictures by artists like John Heartfield who was a staunch opponent to Nazism, but for anyone, who doesn't have the keys, it seems pretty obviously nazi. Why did you choose (again), to work on these levels of visibility and comprehension? (Elgy magazine, 1999) LAIBACH: Laibach room is not locked. Anyone can step in, with the key or without the key. Or he can watch only through the keyhole if he prefer to do so. QUESTION: Do you feel that you have followers in your avantgarde style? (MF DNES, CZ, 2002) LAIBACH: No one can be "avantgarde" following somebody; "avantgarde" means that you are always at the front, like a soldier. By definition Laibach is not avantgard but retrogard, which means we go backwards, and therefore no one can follow us from behind anyway. QUESTION: Do you admire Josip Broz Tito? What’s your opinion about his role in the history? (Spark magazine, Prague, 2001) LAIBACH: We admire every dictator; they are like children – innocently pure and evil, impressively irresponsible, creating their utopian world and destroying it in the end, without being able to care about or be interested in the consequences. Tito, whom we consider as one of our spiritual teachers, was a freedom fighter and a creator of such Utopia; without him there would be no independent, non-aligned and socialist Yugoslavia and without him there would be no fall of this Yugoslavia. Without him the history of the Balkan nations in the first half of 20th century would be less heroic, but the history at the end of the century would also have been less tragic. Moreover, he was a man of a great style and charm, showing his people how good life can be! How could anybody resist him? QUESTION: Which is your opinion about religion? Many people believe that religion is another form of totalitarianism and manipulation... (Spark magazine, Prague, 2001) LAIBACH: Religion is opium for the masses, an illusion, which derives its strength from the fact that it fits our (sexual, spiritual, material) instincts and desires. But religion is also what the individual does with his own solitude. If you are never solitary, you are never religious. QUESTION: How do you imagine God? (Spark magazine, Prague, 2001) LAIBACH: As a verb, not a noun. QUESTION: In your Kapital album, there is one interesting sentence in French, something like: Kapital, cest la douleur! Can you explain it more? Kapital is pain... why did you use French language in this case, which is not very typical for you? (Spark magazine, Prague, 2001) LAIBACH: Not everything can be expressed by one language only and the devil in us likes to speak different languages. The French word “douleur” is, in its structure, pronunciation and sonority very similar to the American word "dollar" – an internationally recognised monetary symbol of capitalism. And it seems that these two words are also etymologically connected. That explains everything about the equation between capital, capitalism and pain. |
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