This interview was first published on www.emofag.net
It’s truly an honor for us to open this interview section with one of the most gifted musician in the actual scene, whatever the place, whatever the genre…
Superstars of the Martial Indus Rock scene, Albin Julius & his band Der Blutharsch will release their long-awaited new album in october 2007.
In the meantime, we decided to contact the man and ask him questions on his work, his life and everything in between…
Sure that some his words, especially in his music taste, will freak out some hardcore purists of the Indus scene out there but that’s the way Albin Julius does: like it or leave it!
Enjoy!
NB : Cette interview a été réalisée en anglais et est donc retranscrite dans sa langue d’origine. Pour les non-anglophones en galère de sous-titres contactez-nous par e-mail pour obtenir une version française de l’interview. Ce même principe sera appliqué pour toutes les interviews à venir dans ces pages.
emofag: I get in trouble with my boss because I have to go to on tour for 15 days and this pisses him off, what would you do if you were me (and I know perfectly you aren’t)?
Albin Julius: Well… I can’t tell you. I have never been in that situation, as I never had a job, so I think you should decide for yourself. I think, of course, that a tour is always more important than a job, as music is my life. But I think you should judge well, you have to get the butter on your bread somehow.
Fortunately, with all my gangmembers, they have cool jobs and can easily take one or two months free, which makes life for us easy. Next time, maybe, do a better planning and get some holiday for this time.
e: A new album is expected in a few months, what can you tell us about the direction it takes? Der Blutharsch keeps on evolving since its very beginning so what about now? Martial Rock n’ Roll? Indus Cocktail Music? A back-to-the-roots album?
AJ: Well. Fortunately, we keep on evolving, it would be poor if we would always do the same thing, and from my point of view it would be boring. I evolve every day, so should be the music.
The new album is getting more psychedelic than anything we did before… I am very happy with the result, and as we nearly finished the album, two songs are still to be mixed, I am really satisfied. This album marks the 10th year anniversary of Der Blutharsch, and I am happy with what we reached over these years and where we went to. As well, the release date is my 40iest birthday… So two good reasons to celebrate! We will be in Barcelona then, and be sure we will party!!!!
e: Did you start recording or are you still writing the new stuff? How do you work when it comes to songwritting? Are you still the main man in DB music?
AJ: We already recorded all songs, and, as I mentionned, except two songs, all songs are allready mixed. In june we fly over to Scotland to do the mastering, and then it is done.
Well, I am still the main man in DB, as I am the only original member… But the others got more and more important over the years as well for the songwriting in the studio. I first did ALL my music alone, meanwhile I work most of the time with Jörg on the songwriting, if you want to call it songwriting, as most songs just “happen” in the studio, and we still work as I used to do, take a piece and form a song around. Bain was here for one month, so he did a lot of vocals, and Marthynna did vocals and organs on this album as well… But I am still the “captain of the boat”.
e: I’ve noticed that you get closer and closer to a “real” band… Didn’t you think now about giving names to your songs? (NB: All DB songs are untitled)
AJ: No. It would make life to easy for journalists, fans and radio stations…
e: I’m a bit nostalgic of the first DB albums, I guess I miss the ambient side of it… Do you think you’re definitely done with this kind of stuff?
AJ: Yes… I am. Especially because I lost interest in this kind of music. I like Rock n’ Roll these days, and therefore got influenced by other things. Although Jörg says that the new album is in the vein of the old stuff, I can’t really hear these things in the new songs. But, in the end… I don’t really care.
e: The video on your last album was really good. Who directed it? Did you handle the artistic direction part of it? Is this something you plan to do again with the next album?
AJ: It was done by an Italian director named Davide Pepe… He worked with Diamanda Galas and other artists as well. He is a really talented guy, the video he did for us won a few prices on art video festivals –i.e. 3rd place on the Rimini video festival– and I am happy to be able to have such people working with me. He did the video by himself, so he developped the concept for it following my music.
I have plans to do a video again but not for the new album, as the thing I have in mind needs a lot of preparation and time is too short… I think that for next album we’ll have something done again.
e: “Smoke can burn your eyes but only people can make you cry” (NB: Inserted in the package of the last DB’s album), is this a quote of yours? It sounds really emo don’t you think?
AJ: It is a quote of a song from Roy Orbison. Great stuff. Roy Orbison is one of the big and dark musicians of his time. Great sleezy music, but really dark lyrics. And, yes… it is emotionnal isn’t it? Only peole can make you cry…
e: You did this picture in the “Fight Club” style, I suppose you loved the movie, right?
Who’s the sexiest: Tyler Durden or Robert “Meat Loaf” Paulson and his big tits?
AJ: Yes… I liked the movie… For a short period of time, Hollywood did really great movies… Unfortunately they turned back to stupid blockbusters. My favorite Hollywood movie of this time is “The Big Lebowsky”, absolutely perfect and very anarchisitc in its own way.
Who I consider the sexiest? Yes, I think Robert Paulson. In fact, he is the only sexy person in the movie.
e: Do you know the french director Gaspar Noe? His first movie “Seul Contre Tous ” (“I Stand Alone”) is really awesome, i’m pretty sure you’d enjoy it…
AJ: Yes… I know… I liked “Irreversible”, I even liked “Seul Contre Tous” more… But then I found “Dobermann” really disappointing and cliche… But, well, you can’t only do good movies. But “Irreversible” is really tough, and I liked the method he used to tell the story reverse.
Another french movie I really liked is “Baise moi!”. I have to say that France always had a good cinema tradition, and I like a lot of older movies… From the sixties and seventies… I am a BIG fan of the french police movies form from the seventies, with Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin. And, well, I have to confess that I LOVE Louis De Funes… since I was a child ’till today.
e: Top 5 favorite movies?
AJ: Oh… Making top lists is always stupid… I have far more than 5… I could make a top 200 probably, but I don’t think that makes sense.
e: It was a big shock to me when I discover The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud (NB: Previous Albin Julius’ band) ten years ago and since then I still wonder: Do you need to be in a particular mood to create such vibrant atmospheres, what inspires you the most?
AJ: No, I just did it then… Maybe I was in a strange mood generally then, but I can’t really remember. It is too far away for me, timewise and emotionnally. It doesn’t mean anything to me anymore.
e: I know you piss on Hip-Hop, however some of your sampling work in your early albums is quite similar to the approach of some “martial” Hip-Hop bands like Jedi Mind Tricks, Army Of The Pharaohs or Killarmy. Do you know these bands? Are you curious about how they sound or do you still think Hip-Hop is shit? Is that because this music and its whole culture doesn’t inspire you at all?
AJ: Well… I once said I hate Hip-Hop, I was mainly talking about American gangsta and mainstream Hip-Hop then… Simply because I didn’t know too much about Hip-Hop then.
I had my big “WOW” experience when I went to see a concert of Dälek a few years ago together with Steven Stapelton (NB: The man behind Nurse With Wound). He introduced me to Hip-Hop so to say. I was deeply impressed and Dälek opened my mind a lot. Since then I like some stuff quite a lot, especially the German artist Jan Delay. He is really funky, really good and heavy, although I don’t know if they do real Hip-Hop… And I really like Outkast, when I DJ, I play their music sometimes. So, well, I think I officially have to excuse myself and say “Sorry!” to all Hip-Hop-ers out there.
Well, meanwhile, I only see the world divided in good music and bad music, and I judge very individually. I am a big fan of Gorillaz… Five years ago if you would have told me that, I would have laughed. But I consider this is a good step to get more open, in music, in mind and in anyway… It is a good experience to get more open, as I since discovered a lot of groovy things in life.
e: Did you listen the new Throbbing Gristle album? Genesis P. Orridge freaks me out every time I see a picture of what he became, don’t you think he should have been casted to play the Robert Paulson character in “Fight Club”?
AJ: I just listened to it last time, I went to see a concert and they played it before the show. I was not really impressed… Too arty for my taste, and well, what can you expect from a band who only get reunited to make money!?
But I did see TG two years ago in Turin and it was really great, especially the second set when Genesis was allready drunk and really started to perform very intense. I will see them next sunday, they perform in Krems, a nice town at the Danube, 40 kilometers from where I live, and I am looking forward again to this show, as it will be for sure a party weekend.
I like the transforming of Genesis as well, he is a really extreme person, in all aspects of life and very, very nice. I organized a Psychic TV (NB: The band before TG) concert two years ago in Vienna, and had the pleasure to deal with him… And, well, forget TG nowadays… If you ever have the chance to go and see PTV, DO IT!!!!
e: Any tour scheduled for next winter or did you give up the idea of giving concerts due to the fact that you seem to attract a bunch of morons everytime you put a step outside?
AJ: Well, we decided not to tour anymore, as it simply takes too much energy off you, but well, one year of not performing live… Hmmm, we might change our thoughts about this. At least, we’ll perform in London in November, not as DB but as Albin Julius + Friends… We still don’t know what we will do there, but I think it will be quit experimental and psychedelic, we’ll see….
Next spring we might play at a festival or two, and then we’ll start working on a new album, maybe when we’ll release this one we might do a few dates to promote it.
e: To end with it: what are your current thoughts on the controversy about your band. You always say you don’t care but things must piss you off when you do hundred kilometers to hear you say that your show is cancelled because of some shit-heads’ propaganda?
AJ: Well… I, to be honest, am simply bored by such things. We get accused with things we never did and never happened. Most of the people who slander us don’t even know the music and just use false quotes which I’ve never said in this way. Yes… It is boring, especially to see what methods people use to fight something they don’t like without any understanding by using exactly the same methods of the things they fight against.
e: French press is particularly pathetic about you and your label… What’s your opinion on that? Is there a particular reason for them to talk shit on you? Did you break the heart of too many female journalists over there?
AJ: Well… I don’t know. I have only been aware of an article of a french music magazine, but I think that they are maybe only jealous. Not too many French bands in this scene have international success… And the only two french bands I have on HauRucK! (NB: Albin’s label) sell a lot worldwide and get a lot of attraction. Maybe this might be a reason, I don’t know, I don’t care. The success of what we do counts more for me than some stupid people who write stupid things.
Generally I keep this way with journalists and critics, at the end of the month the only critic which counts is the payment on my account.
e: Any further collaboration with Douglas (NB: Douglas P. from Death In June)? I mean, “Operation Hummingbird” is a wonderful album… My girlfriend works in a strip club and she does most of her shows on it…
AJ: Well, I would really like to see this show… Next time I am in France, let me know where she performs.
Further collaboration, maybe… I don’t know. We are both busy with our own projects, and for the moment I don’t want to waste my energy and ideas for other things than Der Blutharsch, we have a lot of things to be done, and plans for the future. But who knows, never say never!
e: You did some remixes for Wumpscut… Do you enjoy the band or the dude, maybe both? Would you give some of your stuff to get remixed? If so by who? Do you think Wumpscut could make a good score for a porno flick?
AJ: Yes… I did meanwhile 3 remixes for Wumpscut, he has done two for me and he’s working right now on another remix of the title track for the new album. Curious to see what will come out. In the same time I asked two other friends to do remixes… One by Derniere Volonte, one by English band Naevus which will release a great album in june on HauRucK!…
I like remixing stuff myself, sometimes I like more working on music other people did, and would like to remix more songs in the future. But I would like other band to remix my music as well. And also from other genres, which I consider much more interesting. One of my favorite remixing wishes would be The Dandy Warhols and Queens Of The Stone Age, bands I totally worship, but well… Maybe remixes from Dälek could be a good and interesting thing as well?
e: What are the artists you’re listening these days?
AJ: Many… Gorillaz, Earth, The Dandy Warhols, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Raconteurs, Low, Queens Of The Stone Age, Black Mountains, The Black Angels, Lee Hazlewood, Nick Cave as well as Grinderman, Soulwax, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, The Good The Bad And The Ugly, Franz Ferdinand… I mean, everythig I like…
e: The first DB album opens with a “Lili Marleen cover”… Have you ever thought of doing an album with these old folk militaria cabaret songs mixed in the Albin Julius style? A kind of compilation including some of your samples, speeches etc…
AJ: Not really… I did choose this song only because I really like it and love it. It is a great song… One of my top 10 list. And, it is quite funny… Did you know that this song, which often gets connected with the national socialists got banned by them for a while, because they considerd it “ungerman” ’till they discovered it is a bad idea to ban this song as it was far too popular? The guy who wrote it got killed later in a concentration camp. So, in the end it’s a very complex and tragic song, if you consider the circumstances. But, the song, itself, is simply beautiful.
e: By the way, Albin Julius, is that your real name?
AJ: Yes… It is my real first name…
e: Is your music & label activities enough to put some food (and wine) on the table or do you also work for the Austrian Secret Intelligence Service for a living?
AJ: I live from Der Blutharsch, and not too bad. Just bought a big house in the woods 16km outside of Vienna and built my own studio in it… So, I can’t really complain.
HaurucK! is more a hobby, all money I make goes directly into new projects. For me it is a good way, I see HR! as a privilege to release music from people I like, and as I don’t want to make profit with it I don’t have to release music just to have something to sell, I can really choose the music I love to be released. A “win-win” situation for me.
e: The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath A Cloud CDs are around 100 euros on e-bay… I’ve read somewhere that you plan to re-issue those masterpieces, true? What comes to your mind when you look back in the days? Is there a band on earth for which you would spent so much money?
AJ: As I mentionned… It doesn’t mean anything to me today, and I never listen to the music I did then, but I never listen to a Blutharsch album after it is released as well. We talked about a possible re-release of TMLHBAC a while ago, but It has just reminded me why I split up with Elisabeth then and I don’t want to have these things in my life again, I don’t want this negativism. Since we split my life got simply so much better so that I don’t have any emotions about this time.
e: What’s a good day in Albin Julius’ life?
AJ: Every day is a good day in my life!
e: To me, the best track you’ve ever done is the last track on the second “Smell Of Blood” CD, there’s almost a biblical (no offense) feeling in this song, something unique & beautiful…
Could you tell me more about this song and especially the samples on it?
AJ: I can’t remember the song… So I can’t say anything about it.
e: What do you love/hate the most about your country?
AJ: Austria is a beautiful country to live, and there is nothing I really hate about my country. What I love about it? The good food, the nice people, the good relation to culture here, the politeness of the people and their sleazy way of life… I couldn’t imagine any other country to live… Simply because I am used to it here… Of course I think there are many other good places to live on earth. But life in Austria is simply easy and still quite cheap… And that’s nice.
e: Have you ever been to France? What do you think of our country?
AJ: Many times… And I like some parts quite a lot… What I do dislike is Paris, as it is too big for me, too hectic and too dirty… But the countryside is really a nice place to be in France.
Generally in France I feel a certain constant agressivity amongst people… But maybe this is only a feeling I get as a stranger. Fortunately me and Marthynna talk perfectly French, so as soon as you talk to a french person in french, they can get quite nice and polite…
e: Any good place to have a drink in Vienna?
AJ: Thousands!!!
Vienna is full of wine gardens and nice coffehouses… We have many cool bars and cocktailbars as well… And not to forget the great restaurants… Drinkin’ is an important part of Austrian culture… Most Vienese songs are about drinking. Drinking and death.
e: You got a new studio right? can you tell us a bit about the equipment in it?
AJ: I rebuilt my old studio… Only my studio has the same size than my old appartement in Vienna had now.
First I bought brand new mixing desks (a 36 + 24 expander) Soundcraft Ghost… Then I expanded my recording to 32 tracks and will upgrade to 48 soon… I bought some quite old equipment, like a Korg MS20, Polysix, Korg Delta etc… Some old organs (Farfisa, Rheem Mark VII), stingmachines (the same Pink Floyd used as well did Air), set up a complete drumset etc… The new album has been recorded without any use of my samplingmachine, quite interresting, if you consider that for a few albums sampling was the only thing I used to create my music. But I like to work this way now… No sampling, no computer… Good old stay analog… Thousands of knobs to turn.
e: What are your future plans with HauRuck!?
AJ: For now we scheduled the new Naevus album, followed by a limited 7” inch Of Derniere Volonte, a LP re-release of a Changes album and the new Bain Wolfkind MCD, then we go into summer break and for autumn have allready scheduled seven releases as well…
e: If life is war, does death mean peace?
AJ: As my mother always says: “You can sleep when you are dead!”
e: Well, that’s it, thank you for your time, I must say that I support you since a long long time so thank you for this great music and see you around!!! The last words are yours…
AJ: Thank you for your interest and your support!
And don’t forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed.
We then exchange a few e-mails which I consider an interesting add to this interview:
e: All right, thank you very much for the words & the pics, you rock!!!
AJ: Thank you… Well, we try to rock!!!!
You know: “uniforms are allways changing, Rock n’ Roll will stay forever!”
e: No more questions for the moment but more to come when I’ll hear the album…
AJ: Well… You will have to wait a while…
e: Funny that you love Louis De Funes, I was recently talking to a friend and we both agreed that this man is a total genius…
AJ: He IS… Really… I like his anarchistic way of acting…
e: Anyway the upcoming album “sounds” good, good thing that you’re more into Rock music.
AJ: Well… I think so as well… It gives you much more “freedom” to do whatever you want…
e: Thanks again Albin and I’ll let you know when the interview is online….
AJ: Good… Merci!
e: And yes: Gaspar Noé didn’t directed “Dobermann”, he only plays a small role in it, this movie was done by Jan Kounen who also directed “Vibroboy”: a mexican demon attacking people with a chainsaw topped with a dildo, fuck yeah…
AJ: Oh… That sounds quite interresting…
And, well, your girlfriend stripping to “Operation Hummingbird” sounds interesting as well…
Albin Julius
OFFICIAL DER BLUTHARSCH WEBSITE:
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