Laibach: "We are in the" black list "only in Russia"

The avant -garde Slovenian group Laibach, known for its provocative by militaristic aesthetics, recently gave a concert in the northern bark E. This was the first concert of a foreign group in North Korea. 30 years ago, the Slovenian industrial collection was banned even at home, in Yugoslavia, now they traveled almost the entire globe- from New York to Pyongyang. Recently, they are not only happy only in Russia - in connection with the "high political risk of anxious reaction from local " Orthodox "activists." In 2014, Laibach released the album “ Spectre ”-the first studio pause in 8 years, and now their fans are waiting for the appearance of Deut and the fantastic and historical film “Iron Sky”, which largely consists of group songs.

- Let's start from the very beginning: what influenced the appearance and sound of the group at the time of its appearance? Where did the militaristic motifs come from?

-In the early 1980s, we dressed in the Yugoslav military uniform, because we themselves served in the army, played warlike music and considered themselves engineers of human souls. Unlike other Yugoslav groups, we were not obsessed with Western culture and thanks to this we developed the authentic sound of the time and place in which we lived.

The second reason why we wore military uniform was our desire to continue the tradition. Rock groups, in essence, are derived from military camping ensembles created in order to raise and support the fighting spirit on the battlefield. Later, brass and jazz orchestras began to transform into something new, and with the advent of electronic tools, rock groups appeared, which became a bare, improved version of such jazz ensembles. If you remember, until the 70s they all wore a uniform (even the Beatles and Rolling Stones ), and someone even longer. In addition, the outfits of Heve-Metalists and Pankov are also a kind of uniform. Then, in the 80s, we simply could not find a more suitable uniform than Yugoslavskaya (which we dragged from the army). Of course, the Nazi uniform created by Hugo Boss , was much more elegant, but then we could not get it. In addition, we considered ourselves the Yugoslav (and therefore partisan) group.

- What happened to Yugoslav music at that time?

- Nothing special. The same thing happened in music as in London, New York, Manchester, Berlin or Munich, but, in spite of everything, it was an interesting and exciting time.

-Are there any Slovenian, Yugoslav groups from the 80s who did not make their way to a wide listener, but deserved attention?

-In the 80s there were a lot of excellent groups: Bulldozer , Bastards , Children of Socialism , Berlin Wall , The Fourth Reich , Ciao CUNTS ! Videosex , Electric Orgasm , idols And many others. But they no longer exist.

-What do you think your stage image and music are still effective? You sounded faster and tougher, but otherwise little has changed over the past 30 years.

- We in Laibach do not like change. We change exactly as much as necessary to stay the same. Why are Laibach still relevant? Because we are - time.

- What is so timeless in an ominous appearance and is it sinister?

“We don’t know, is it sinister?” We definitely make the evil be nervous when it sees its reflection in the mirror that we hold in front of him. But we do not think that the Laibach mirror projects or reflect only evil pictures. However, the truth is the fact that the devil is a diverse, like us.

- Why did you organize a US Tour under the motto "Return Laibach To America "?

- Why should America be privileged and live without Laibach ? We cannot afford to ignore it to such an extent.

-Why did you have to raise funds for an American tour with a crowdfunding campaign?

- Because America is a country of hidden costs and because tour costs were higher than the total profit from performances. So elementary.

-Are you still forbidden in any countries? Are the causes of prohibitions change compared to what they were 30 years ago?

-At the moment, Laibach in the “Black List” only in Russia, where we were refused concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg in February 2015. Our Russian agent was instructed “from above” not to make Laibach concerts in connection with a “high political risk to cause an indignant reaction from local Orthodox Christian activists,” because we openly praise the satan.

Rock groups are a derivative of military marching ensembles.

- That is, you are prohibited in Russia, but allowed in North Korea? How is this possible at all?

- Everything is possible. Once we were banned for many years in France, and we had huge difficulties in order to find a bold promoter and a club, which finally gave us the opportunity to perform in Paris. Despite the fact that conflicts never arose at our concerts, new prohibitions appear all the time. It feels like laibach For no special reason, forces people to be nervous.

- Do you plan to return to Russia in the near future?

-I want to believe that in 2016. If we are invited, of course.

- So far, “Europe is falling apart,” as notes in one of your songs, what do you think of the situation in Eastern Europe?

- Eastern Europe is a big “political term” and will remain so until the countries, united under this name, will continue to behave as “Eastern Europe” (and it is not in the east here). If you mean the war in Ukraine, then it needs to be stopped immediately. Such wars are so old -fashioned and outdated that they should not exist today. People from Russia and Ukraine have too much in common to develop such conflicts. Of course, the way out of this situation will not be easy to find. Because any war is a business. This is beneficial for the military industry, for the black market, for the economy and feeds the media. People who were drawn into conflict are just related losses.

- So far, the Germans are concerned about the revival of nationalist sentiments in society, the Russians support this “patriotic” tendency. As usual, this is an “empire against world evil”, in the role of which all other countries act. Long familiar rhetoric. How can you comment on this good good madness?

- Both German and Russian madness go into romanticism roots. But while in German madness there is always some reason, Russian madness has no reason. But there is a soul.

- You travel a lot, see different people. How do people in different countries react to your music?

-We came to the conclusion that people are people and that applause, in general, everywhere sound the same. If there is a difference, then it arises from different contexts that we create and in which we perform.

Laibach for no particular reasons forces people to be nervous.

-Can you tell anything about the second part of the Finnish film “Iron Sky” , now collecting money for crowdfunding platform? In it, the actors are Jesus, Hitler and Putin, more precisely, his reptiloid version. Coincides Lee this image With Yours representation O Putin ?

- Unfortunately, we are not entitled to reveal the plot of the film now, only the director can afford it. “Iron Sky - 2” is a film about the history of mankind, in which we will see many important historical figures responsible for the course of history. Putin, being one of today's political leaders, is only one of the characters. We cannot judge his cinematic image, but for the creators of the film it seemed a fairly significant figure to include it in the script.

- In one of the trailers for the film, your song “ Rossiya ” is used. What inspired you to create it?

- We wrote this song in 2006 for the Volk album . She was perfect for a trailer and really liked the director. The team of the film “Iron Sky” and, in particular, the director Timo Woorensola are large fans of the Laibach group, and the Volk album largely inspired them to create the first part of the film.

- How did you end up in North Korea? Are you able to free this people and does it need liberation?

- A good question. North Korea already seems released, and we are really not sure whether they need additional freedom from the West (or the East). Time will show. We performed in Korea because we (politely) were invited. The concert was part of the cultural exchange program between North Korea and Europe. The name " The Liberation Day Tour ” (“ The Tour of the Liberation Day. ” -Ed. ) Appeared due to the fact that we performed in Pyongyang just during the 70th anniversary of the release from the Japanese occupation.

-English rock band Fat White Family on her Facebook page asked to join your performance in North Korea. Would you take her with you?

- Fat White Family sounds interesting. In general, we are quite open to all kinds of cooperation with people and groups, when there is such an opportunity and if the context is appropriate. For an event in North Korea, we collaborated with many people from around the world.

Russian madness roots into romanticism.

- It seems that you are very carefully talking about a concert in North Korea. What could have happened to you in the worst case if there was any misunderstanding between the group and the authorities?

- We did not specifically carefully (except for the inherent politeness), but if there was an unforeseen conflict with the inviting side, it could have developed so that the next time Laibach would not have the opportunity to come to North Korea, and it would be very disappointing.

- Speaking about misunderstandings: how often are you not misunderstood and presented by the media, authorities or spectators? Have you heard the accusations of popularizing totalitarian aesthetics?

- To be honest, we love when we are incorrectly interpreted. There is no better interpretation of Laibach than misunderstanding! In fact, there are no incorrect interpretations of Laibach - they are all correct.

- How would you describe the typical Laibach fan ? I saw how you performed in Berlin in front of fans of Gothic and alternative music. At the same time, I heard that neo -Nazis wandering your speeches in Russia by mistake.

-There is no characteristic Laibach audience. We do not choose it, there is no difference for us - we accept everyone. We did not see the Nazis on our speeches - they have not been written on their forehead. And, to be honest, we do not seek them.

There is no better interpretation of Laibach than misunderstanding!

- Could you make a forecast for humanity for the near and distant future? Globally - and for Eastern Europe in particular.

- Certainly. But we cannot take responsibility if we are right. How Ray Evans sings: “The Future is not outs, to see. Que Sera, Sera. What Will Be, Will Be. " In other words, what will happen. One thing we can say: if Eastern Europe ceases to behave like “Eastern Europe”, it will be in order.

- What is the main risk for the current younger generation?

- In the past, we had a “lost generation”, was “generation x ”, “ y ”, “ z ” ... It seems that the biggest problem of the upcoming generation is that there were no letters left in the Latin alphabet. Now they are trying to introduce us “generation of alpha”, “beta” and “gamma”, but these generations are associated only with technological inventions like iPhone , iPad and so on act only as distributors of these products, and not as social formation with their own mind and emotions.

- Is it worth it to fear the Nazis on the dark side of the moon, as in the film "Iron Sky", or the threat is closer than we think?

- Depends on what to call the "dark side of the moon." Knowing the plot of the Iron Heaven - 2, we can only say that a real threat to humanity lurks in another place. And it’s not so difficult to guess where exactly.