Q: Congratulations on the new album. I think the album is 100% RASTA KNAST. Didn't you feel tempted to change your style a bit?
RASTA KNAST: Thank you! From our perspective, there are actually a few innovations on the record, for example, with "Hounted House of Sligo" being our first English song or with Moritate, a piece that has been around for a few centuries. But we consciously decided how we want to sound, and therefore all innovations occur within the framework of what makes Rasta Knast. If we feel like doing other things, we do them elsewhere; for example, Atti and Nils also play in other bands on the side. But as Rasta Knast, we want to maintain our style. On "Tertius Decimus," we also experimented a bit with "Vingar" and "Das Ende der Welt II" - but when we set out to make a new album, it should sound like Rasta Knast; the style is what defines the band. We want to create new songs with new lyrics - but we want to stay true to Trallpunk, after all, this music genre was the reason for the band's formation.
Q: The lyrics of your album seem a bit darker, more resigned, and melancholic to me. How do you see that? Do the lyrics reflect your actual mood?
RK: The lyrics definitely represent a mood that we have at certain moments, but it's not like we wake up every morning and think, "There will never be peace again"... at least not most of the time;-).
Melancholy is certainly something that is not foreign to us, but there are always good and bad moments in life, and when we are on the road, there is usually a lot to laugh about, and we have a lot of fun.
This also largely depends on what we are currently dealing with. When we think about various political grievances and injustices, anger and bitterness are unavoidable. If the topic is, "Tonight we are playing with the nice colleagues from X in Y," that's more of a reason to celebrate.
Q: That's a good segue to my next question. You are playing some gigs with Alarmsignal and Johnnie Rook. How did that come about and how do you see this package?
RK: The idea came from Johnnie Rook. Micha (Note from the editor: guitarist of Johnnie Rook) asked us if we would be interested in joining. Johnnie Rook are really nice colleagues, and we have had a good friendship with Alarmsignal for a long time, so the decision was not difficult. It was as fun as expected to play and celebrate together in Berlin and Dresden. It's always cool to be on the road with bands you know and like. You can borrow amplifiers, guitars, and similar things from each other - or scrounge drinks; for example, Johnnie Rook always brings Micha's excellent licorice liqueur;-)
Q: How do you like Alarmsignal and Johnnie Rook?
RK: Both are great bands in their own right. Alarmsignal plays rather rough German punk, always with a raised fist, which nicely embeds itself in the listeners' minds with catchy choruses. Top-notch German punk.
Johnnie Rook combines several styles. A pinch of punk, a pinch of metal, a bit of something else, and a little bit of whatever, but always garnished with beautiful melodies. Johnnie Rook is a fantastic live band.
Q: You have already played several tours in Brazil. Is another tour in Brazil planned?
RK: No date has been set yet - but sooner or later we will definitely tour Brazil again. It is always a grand exotic experience, and we have many good friends in Brazil, especially the guys from Agrotoxico and Flicts. You always look forward to meeting up, and you can usually pick up right where you left off when you last met, even if that was months or years ago. That is really something special.
Q: I imagine that touring in Brazil is quite different. Please describe how one can imagine that.
RK: Actually, there is not much different than here. The music scene itself is just much larger, and the solidarity among musicians and fans is not as split as it is here. People support each other more, regardless of whether they come from the punk, hardcore, or metal scene.
The tours there run just like here, only the scenery on the drives is hard to top.
Q: How do you see the situation in Brazil compared to previous years? Also regarding environmental destruction there.
RK: Brazil has been on the rise since the 70s and is closing the gap with the wealthy "Western" countries. This began under the military dictatorship, as the apparent political stability attracted investors. But due to the still gigantic gap between the rich and the poor (which always carries a high risk of political instability), not as much attention can be paid to environmental protection as here; there are urgent social problems - such as poverty, gang crime, favelas - and to solve these within the existing political system requires money, as less poverty leads to lower crime rates and thus more money FOR and less necessity OF security and social spending.
To create this prosperity, the country has to present itself as an attractive location to Brazilian and foreign investors, for example, by allowing deforestation and creating monocultures, which then harms the environment.
As worn out as it sounds, ultimately these are again effects of global capitalism, to which Brazil, like other countries, must submit its economic and ecological strategies. The poorer a country is, the more the environment usually suffers.
Q: How do you see the situation in Germany regarding growth and environmental,
nature, and animal protection?
RK: In the market economy system, growth is necessary for many people to have a decent life (jobs, etc.), and sadly, the market economy is treated as something for which there are no alternatives. And this, cynically, at a time when the flaws of the concept have long been and are now most clearly showing. Instead of thinking about alternative systems, the existing crumbling system is being preserved with all its might (keyword: bank bailouts, etc.). And in this existing system, prosperity is partly necessary to protect nature, because money rules the world, as we know. And Germany is comparatively rich, and relatively much is happening here in terms of environmental protection. However, that absolutely does not mean that it is enough! There is still a lot of educational work needed at all corners and ends, especially regarding meat consumption, which, in addition to animal cruelty, is also totally inefficient (if the feed grain were globally DIRECTLY "fed" to people, there would be no hunger), while I generally reject the killing of animals for whatever "purpose." It is sad that, due to the apparent necessity of the market economy, one must constantly fight against the current, because in the short term, environmental and animal protection is not profitable - and far too few think long-term in this hectic, competition-driven, elbow society.
Q: What is planned for RASTA KNAST in 2012 and 2013?
RK: First of all, we will be more active live again; we had taken a little break for the recordings. Certainly, we will also make some trips abroad in the next two years; Spain and South America are at the top of the list, and Sweden has also been a while ago. We will see, and when the plans become concrete, we will definitely announce them online.
So keep your eyes and ears open and go to the concert of the band when they play near you. RASTA KNAST not only belong to the spearhead of German punk but have also influenced many bands with their style.
