This interview was first published on www.emofag.net
“We sing the praise of war. Not for the way it makes people die, but for the way it makes people come alive”. This is how Arditi (re)introduce themselves when their latest album was released earlier this year. Their music brings the war at your doorstep like a blood-stained letter from the front. Grandiloquent tales of glory and sacrifice stomping mercilessly on the battlefield, Arditi has definitely something to say and they say it well. So I couldn’t miss the opportunity to interview this great band. The questions took the form of an ABCD questionnaire where, as you’ll see, the duo played the game showing a great sense of humor. Unless…
emofag: A for ARDITI. Quite an interesting band name, did you know by the way that a guy named Pierre Arditi is a famous french actor?
Arditi: I did not know that. I don’t watch French movies that often. I don’t know the language too well and most French films I have seen have been way too arty for me.
e: B for BLACK METAL. What’s your actual thoughts on this scene? Does it still have the same importance in your life than it used to? Any bands you would recommend?
A: Obviously it is not as important to us now as it has been in the past. We still listen to the some of the Black Metal bands we liked back in the days and we kept a lot of friends from those days, but at least I am hopelessly out of date when it comes to new bands. I don’t listen to music that often and I definitely do not keep track of the current metal scene. My favorite Black Metal band so far has been the Norwegian band Thorns, but the upcoming releases of Swedish bands Ofermod and Nefandus might change that from what I have heard.
e: C for CARTER FAMILY. Do you also listen to Johnny Cash? What do you think of a biopic like “Walk The Line?” What about Arditi going Country? I mean, in the future will you experience outside the Martial Industrial frame?
A: I am a huge fan of the Carter Family and I like them a lot more than I like Johnny Cash. I like a lot of other old time country music as well, The Stanley Brothers, Jimmie Rodgers and others… What I really can’t stand is country music of the “Horse Jazz” brand, and I think Johnny Cash does not walk that line very steady all the time.
I already do a lot of music outside the Martial Industrial frame but I would never dream of calling it Arditi.
e: D for DER BLUTHARSCH. Still an influence? What do you think of their new orientation?
A: Up and down I would say. Some of the new songs are horrible and some are rather good.
e: E for EQUILIBRIUM. It’s your second album with them, do you think your collaboration will go further?
A: Yes, we are very satisfied with Equilibrium’s work and we have no thoughts on leaving them.
e: F for FUTURISM. What inspires you so much in this movement? How did you discover it? Any work from them (painting, litterature…) that you would particularly recommend us?
A: What inspired me the most in the Futurist movement was the glorification of action, and how they justified non-material values over material. I found out about them when I was at the university and a guy in my class who was really, really anti-fascist started rambling about how much he hated the Futurists and why, and from the way he described them they seemed like something I would like so I started searching for material. I would recommend the “Futurist Manifesto” to anyone. It is easily accessible and does not take a long time to read.
e: G for GLOBALIZATION. Is that something you stand against and why? How do you see mass-culture evolve over the next 20 years? Can things get worse than they already are?
A: Globalization will be the death of civilization if it is not stopped, and of course it could get a lot worse than it is now. We do not in theory have a world government now as I am sure we will have in shorter time than 20 years if people do not wake up to what is happening to us.
e: H for HATE. What or who do you hate the most in this world? Does Arditi feed on hate?
A: I can’t tell you what I hate the most in the world. I don’t think Arditi feeds on hate. We do not hate things for the hatred’s sake, we hate things that are opposed to things we strive for.
e: I for ITALY. There are a lot of connections between your band and Italy, is that a country you’d like to live in?
A: Yes, I could live in Italy. F. Soderlund of Puissance, who is one of my best friends, have an Italian wife so he has practical connections there, and if Sweden gets the prime minister I fear we will get in 2010 I will have to move somewhere.
e: J for JUSTICE. What would be ideal justice to your eyes? What about death penalty?
A: I cannot sum up my views of jurisprudence in any format that would fit here. I am a supporter of the death penalty for a number of reasons. One is that I do not believe a criminal has the right to force the cost of lengthy imprisonment upon the state.
e: K for KING, you’re living under monarchy in Sweden , what’s your thoughts on this? What would be your regime of choice?
A: In theory I have no problem with monarchy if it is strict monarchy and the monarch stands for acceptable ideals. I am in favor of any system with very centralized power and do not really care what the head of that power is called. The Swedish monarchy though is probably one of the worst examples in the world. They have no political power at all, and thank God for that considering the genetic quality of our royal family.
e: L for LIVE. Will we ever see you playing live? What would be your location of choice for an Arditi show?
A: We have been talking loosely about playing live since we get offers for shows quite regularly. We haven’t done it so far but maybe we will in the future. Personally I would like to play in Pyongyang or Teheran but of the realistic choices Russia or Belarus would be nice.
e: M for MISUNDERSTANDING. What’s the biggets misunderstanding about your band?
A: That we are die-hard Nazis.
e: N for NATION. What are, according to you, the essential values inherent to a nation? Are you guys patriot? Would you fight, I mean on the front, for your country?
A: The way things are in Sweden today I would be more likely to fight against my country, but of course nations are essential to us. Both to counter globalism and to keep people with similar ideals together in a natural way.
e: O for OMNE ENSIS IMPERA. Please describe to us what we can find in your new album… In what is it different from the previous one?
A: Of course it is a little different from our previous albums but you can still easily hear that it is Arditi material.
e: P for PROPAGANDA. Is it the most efficient weapon of all times? I’d like to know your thought on 9/11…
A: I think subtle brainwashing is more effective than downright propaganda, but propaganda is no doubt a more noble way to go. I think the 9/11 attacks were justified. If someone keeps shooting at you for a long enough time, sooner or later you will stop cursing the bullets and go for the shooter.
e: Q for QUESTION. What’s the dumbest question you’ve ever been asked?
A: I was once asked in an interview if I liked the Swedish band Therion. That is a pretty stupid question to ask someone you know to be married to someone of the opposite sex.
e: R for RELIGION. What’s your view on it, do you count yourself among the “Sons Of God”? How do you consider the expansive rise of fundmentalism in the east?
A: I approve of most fundamentalism. Fundamentalism breeds polarization which helps people keep track of who they are.
e: S for SAMPLES. What’s the part of samples in your music? How do you usually create a song?
A: We have used samples quite extensively. I won’t go into detail about how we write our music.
e: T for TECHNOLOGY, the futurism celebrates new technology, machines, speed etc… Do you also share this enthusiasm for new technology?
A: Not in the sense that I buy a new cellphone as soon as a new model is released, but I share the Futurist´s weakness for heavy machinery and advanced weapons.
e: U for ULTRA VIOLENCE. Mankind seems more comfortable with violence than peace. How do you explain that?
A: Violence is an unavoidable consequence of the conflicting wills that will always exist in mankind.
e: V for VICTORY. The Smell Of Blood But Victory. Is it the only thing that matters in the end? Victory at any cost?
A: Yes. If the things you are trying to avoid are horrible enough, or the things you are trying to achieve are beautiful enough, any means are justified.
e: W for WAR. Please explain to us in what it is a factor of self-development and the importance it has in your music?
A: War wakes people up. The comfort of peace is like a drug that degenerates people. War, or the threat of war, makes them focus on what is real and important again.
e: X for X-RATED. What do you think of censorship? Is it something you ever experienced?
A: We have not been censored in the sense that someone edited our material against our wills. We have been unable to sell some material in some countries though, which is also a form of censorship.
e: Y for YGGDRASIL. As scandinavians do you share some beliefs with your elders?
A: I am sorry to say I do not believe the universe is a big tree, and I am quite sure that lightning strikes is the result of electrostatic induction and not a guy with a hammer riding a goat-wagon. I like some of the ideals of the old Scandinavian world as they are portrayed in the sagas though.
e: Z for ZARDOZ. A great movie by John Boorman where Sean Connery hangs out in orange underwer with a Colt 45. Did you see it?
A: No I did not.
Arditi
OFFICIAL ARDITI WEBSITE:
http://www.arditi.tk/
OFFICIAL ARDITI MYSPACE PAGE:
http://www.myspace.com/arditisweden