Feine Sahne Fischfilet

Feine Sahne Fischfilet - what is that and can you morally justify calling for the consumption of living beings in your band name?
Finally, a different initial question regarding our name than "How do you come up with such a stupid name?"
Now to the question: At Aldi, there is Feine Sahne Fischfilet, and regarding whether we can morally justify it, we can answer with a clear "Yes". Our name does not say "Eat Feine Sahne Fischfilet or you'll get punched in the mouth". We haven't shoved a fish down anyone's throat, unless the person wanted it. Moreover, parts of the band really enjoy eating fish.

One can already recognize a latent readiness for violence in this statement. To what extent do you see yourselves as a music association / politically extreme alliance?
Where do you see that?
We see ourselves as 6 people who are excited about life, make music, and are interested in politics, thus also politically engaged. We also find it cool to notice that we are not stagnating musically. How one wants to label us is up to each individual.

As an enthusiastic reader of the 2011 report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, I am of course warned that you pose a significant danger to democracy. How does such a one-and-a-half-page personal tribute in such a document affect your own mindset?
One's own mindset feels confirmed in the belief that this agency is useless. A state apparatus that finances Nazi groups, significantly supports Nazi terror groups like the NSU and their environment, and merely copies from the internet in reports like those of the VS MV, would do well to dissolve itself, in our opinion.

Did you know before the report was published that you would be mentioned in detail there, or have the constitutional protectors ever made the effort to contact you or your environment? Have you considered legal action regarding the use of your logo or excerpts from your homepage?
Of course, there are always attempts at contact from state authorities within the antifascist scene. If there were any explicitly because of us, we know nothing about it, which may not be a good sign;). We had no prior knowledge of the publication and we can't say anything precise about legal steps yet. Everything is still too fresh for that. If one does something like this, it should certainly be well thought out.

You personally visited the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution with a gift basket as a thank you for the good publicity. How did that come about and what was their reaction?
We thought we would poke a little fun at the VS, and it ended up working out better than we had hoped. The video that can be found online reflects the situation best. That the press spokesperson then mentioned that his daughter thinks we are cool was just the cherry on top;).

Did you plan from the beginning of the band to also be active in antifascism besides music, or is music merely a means to an end to make your voices heard?
No, we were excited to make music, thought Nazis were stupid, but did not see it as a means to politically move anything. It was fun to rehearse and play concerts. Over time, we became more politicized as people, and thus it went hand in hand with the band.

Does the attention from the constitutional protectors strengthen your political work under the motto "now more than ever" or do you think twice about future actions?
Well, this is not the first time we have faced repression from Nazis or the state. Of course, one thinks about it, but for points where we have a clear stance, we will represent them and not suddenly say that we consider "Bratwurst eating against Nazis" to be the right thing.

Your presentation in the report from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has also caught the attention of major media outlets like Spiegel. What have been the reactions of the mass media towards you so far, and are you consciously trying to draw advantages for yourselves or the cause from this?
In what way do you mean "drawing advantages"? Of course, it’s cool when larger media take on such topics, and so far, the articles have mostly been quite critical of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. We think that’s good. We find it good when one does not remain stuck in their own swamp but perhaps reaches other people with such contributions.

You now have the chance to carry your music and the necessity of antifascism further than just within the somewhat manageable scene. I think of Irie Révoltés, who are played on the radio but continue to carry their message outward. Can you imagine that for FSF in the future?
Sure. If people are excited about it, we think that’s cool!

According to a new study, 16% of the population in East Germany can be classified as right-wing extremist, and 39% are xenophobic. What are the everyday problems for you in such an environment?
The NPD sits in the state parliament here, and the Nazis are continually expanding their structures. There are regular attacks on migrants and alternative youth. Many people perceive the NPD as a normal party and are not bothered by it. One just has to look at people's mouths, and one will quickly realize that racism is right in the middle of society.

What do you say about the chart success of a band like Frei.Wild, which openly expresses its love for its homeland in its lyrics and public statements?
It makes us want to vomit. Music for idiots. But since there are more assholes in the world than cool people, such nationalist assholes are well received. It doesn’t shock us. We still want to vomit!

You have now switched to Audiolith. What were the reasons for that, since your music styles don’t seem to fit perfectly together?
They are cool. We are cool. They are political. We are political. It fits, in our opinion, more than well;). We don’t hold much to this box-thinking regarding music genres anyway. It wouldn’t suit us at all. None of us only listens to punk.

Your sound on the new album has become somewhat softer than before. Is this a conscious change that you discussed before the recordings?
Hmmm. We don’t perceive that personally. With songs like "Riot in my Heart" or "Stumpfe Parolen", we think we still have a few harder songs on our new album. We just rehearsed together, threw out a few song ideas, and in the end, it was these 11 songs. We like it varied.

You celebrated the release party for your new album on November 3rd during the Antifa action day. What were your impressions of that day?
One word describes it quite well. Goosebumps. Over 100 people at the lectures, 600 people in the province at a concert of ours, and we had to write to Audiolith again on Sunday evening that they need to send us new CDs;). Just a dreamlike evening, with way too many impressions that one couldn’t really process all at once.

Since things are going so well now, what are your plans for the future? You still have a series of concerts ahead of you; how do you plan to proceed afterward, also in the long term?
Well, we are excited that this continues for a long time with the band. For the band members, Feine Sahne Fischfilet should take up a certain part of their lives, and that’s nice;). A next album should of course come, we are looking forward to festivals, and we are aiming for a tour in Indonesia in 2014.

Do you have special connections to Indonesia, or why did you choose this particular Asian island nation?
Friends of ours have lived there for longer periods before. Hopefully, a drunken idea will become serious.

Then I would like to thank you very much for the interview and give you the opportunity to say a few personal words to the constitutional protector who is reading this interview for the purpose of countering left-wing extremism.
Thank you, dear VS person. Hopefully, because of you, I won’t have to work soon, otherwise no one would have been interested in our music;)

The recently released album "Scheitern und Verstehen" by Feine Sahne Fischfilet is already being repressed just a week after its release. Their concerts are also packed. Is this all due to their switch to the Audiolith label? Not only, because the mention by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of the "explicitly anti-state political alliance" certainly plays a significant role in the attention the band is now receiving from outlets like Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung. Singer Monchi answered my questions during a very eventful time for him.