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King Kraut: Indeed.
To lend the conversation an unnecessary seriousness, can I offer you the "you" form?
MC Motherfucker: We've never done that, but we can give it a try.
King Kraut: What do you say to the fact that your band name is being used as a search term by the "Islamic State" and Boko Haram on the internet?
MC Motherfucker: I was annoyed that the people who stole our name had gained the upper hand — we are still suing them. But now our homepage is back on top when you Google it.
Zip Schlitzer: What outraged me was when I read the headlines: "Thousands protest against Terrorgruppe".
King Kraut: What were your expectations for a successful comeback?
MC Motherfucker: It's not like we just want to get on stage and deliver something quickly. I believe we were always a very good live band, and we wanted to be that again after our comeback. That's why we rehearsed for almost seven months before the warm-up shows at SO36. It used to be easier. When you start a band, you first have 5, 6, 7 songs, and can only play for a quarter or half an hour. It comes one after the other over the years. It naturally takes time to be able to play a longer set of over an hour.
Zip Schlitzer: What we had built up over the years, we wanted to bring out right at the first concert. That's obviously difficult.
Johnny Bottrop: Coming back from zero to one hundred fifty after 10 years was exhausting. But I would say we did well.
King Kraut: What has changed for each of you?
MC Motherfucker: It's a physical thing. We are incredibly exhausted after an hour and a half show. I had that ten years ago too, but you have to say, back then we played for two and a half hours. If you give it your all right from the start of the set, you quickly notice after half an hour how your energy runs out.
Zip Schlitzer: You have to manage such things better.
MC Motherfucker: Like a marathon runner who has to start slowly and then can give it a bit more gas at the end. You have to relearn that.
Zip Schlitzer: Interestingly, the audience has changed too. Because they are still so young. They can't possibly be the same as before.
Johnny Bottrop: They weren't even born when we released our first singles. Because they are only 18 or 19 years old today.
MC Motherfucker: And what's also different: Many of the old fans who were already there back then now have real beards. There were a lot of bearded people there.
Johnny Bottrop: What I find totally cool: all the older people who came to our concerts are totally tattooed.
MC Motherfucker: Tattooed, bearded fans.
King Kraut: I've noticed that you haven't played songs that are outdated in content because they refer to specific people or events live. Was that intentional?
All three: Yes.
King Kraut: Will there be new songs with current references?
All three: Yes.
MC Motherfucker: There are indeed, namely on our comeback EP, which has four songs on it, all of which have a current reference.
King Kraut: What drives you to repeatedly process familial relationships in your lyrics? "Incest in the Family Grave", "Grandpa", "Aunt Gerda", "Always Like This", "Child Madness"? This is a recurring theme. Is TERRORGRUPPE a family band?
Johnny Bottrop: Maybe it's because other bands only deal with big world and daily politics. We deal more with politics in the very small.
MC Motherfucker: You can always see how a society functions by looking at how a family functions. From this small society, you can then conclude about the big picture. It's probably much easier for us. You can write more tangibly about such events and don't have to be populist or even pathetic about it. You can say, my grandpa was really an asshole, so I can write a song about it. And many other grandpas were assholes too. Together, these grandpas were also a Wehrmacht that caused a lot of trouble, so please shut up now. That's how "Grandpa" works. And "Child Madness" is another aspect of family planning and politics.
Frank: The video for "Incest in the Family Grave" also hits this mark.
Zip Schlitzer: It's a kind of punk rock version of "I Want to Break Free" by Queen.
(General amusement at the realization of whose wake they are following)
King Kraut: What else can be disposed of after the abolition of Jürgen Möllemann and Germany?
Zip Schlitzer: What needs to be abolished is interest.
MC Motherfucker: But then you have to convert to Islam. And off to Iraq, Zip Schlitzer! So, I support that.
Johnny Bottrop: What?
MC Motherfucker: In Islam, there is no interest.
Zip Schlitzer: That's why they always kill each other.
Johnny Bottrop: So, it seems that it doesn't work without interest either. If instead of grinding for our rents, we all just killed each other... Whether that really has something to do with the fact that Islamic followers can't take interest, that would need to be investigated.
Zip Schlitzer: Now I'm questioning my own demand a bit. If that has something to do with it, then of course I'm for interest. I'm rowing back a bit now.
Johnny Bottrop: The economic expert Zip Schlitzer is rowing back!
King Kraut: You mention Helmut Kohl in the lyrics of the song "Finally!" Do you miss him as a beloved enemy image?
MC Motherfucker: No, I don't miss him; he's still here. And the effects of his politics are still felt. Angela Merkel is the "Helmut Kohl of Today".
Johnny Bottrop: That's really true. She took a lot from him. Waiting it out, saying nothing...
MC Motherfucker: Eating Saumagen.
King Kraut: I didn't have this information before.
MC Motherfucker: She eats her Saumagen every day, believe me. Secretly.
Zip Schlitzer: As a web conference. With Helmut together.
King Kraut: In the same song, you refer to Sarrazin and Berlusconi, who have also been off the radar for some years since their biggest outbursts. Is the Terrorgruppe running out of enemy images?
Johnny Bottrop: The song is indeed a bit late in this regard. But after Sarrazin, the next populist is already in the starting blocks, has already written his book, and will present it at the book fair in October.
Zip Schlitzer: And then we are faster. Then we just need to change the names.
Johnny Bottrop: We actually think it's good that Sarrazin is currently failing. He has expressed such extreme right-wing theses about heredity and the genetics of foreigners living in Berlin, an SS doctor would say the same as he does.
King Kraut: Is there something you would say you want to achieve in your music?
MC Motherfucker: I think the aspiration of every band, no matter what music they make, is always to write the perfect song. The one that crawls into everyone's head immediately and stays there, that unfolds its effect 100%.
Zip Schlitzer: For me, it has already been the case while listening to music that I eventually stopped searching only for music styles, but only for perfect songs. No matter what genre they come from. You hear a song, and it's either particularly good or not.
Johnny Bottrop: Fortunately, we are not as limited to one style as other bands. We have a broader range.
Zip Schlitzer: In the past, we also had brass instruments and such things. That's why we tried right from the start to incorporate an organ firmly.
MC Motherfucker: You suddenly have a different sound aesthetic, with which you can also play differently. For example, a basic concept for this EP and newer songs is to bring in more 60s trash and pre-punk elements.
Zip Schlitzer: When we work out new ideas, you never know how they will ultimately sound.
MC Motherfucker: Especially since we approach it quite differently after these ten years of break. I still remember that with the last album we made, "Fundamental", the cocoon we were in became very tight. Subconsciously, you pay attention to what listeners expect from you, and unfortunately, you often stick to that. That was not the case after ten years at all. We didn't have that whole burden, and it was very refreshing.
King Kraut: Is there now a chance to hear certain TERRORGRUPPE pieces live that couldn't be implemented before, especially from your catalog of old songs, due to the organ?
MC Motherfucker: We are currently reflecting on our concerts from this summer. For example: The song "Arbeit sein muss bleibt", which we previously played rather sporadically, was firmly in the program all summer because it gained a completely different mood through the organ. And we liked it better that way.
Also the song "Keiner hilft euch". Because Eros Razorblade plays saxophone, we could play it again in the direction of the studio recording. Previously, it was more of a punk number with offbeat live.
Johnny Bottrop: For the piece "Amerika", there is always a totally awesome third feedback guitar on the studio recording. You could now also play that with the organ. Or "Ultimatives Liebeslied". Eros Razorblade could even do the second voice because he has such a high voice.
MC Motherfucker: That was a very elaborate vocal arrangement.
Johnny Bottrop: That was very hard to play live. We only did it once.
Zip Schlitzer: So more B-sides now.
MC Motherfucker: No, but we will never do that. It would be a bit silly; people are already waiting for the hits that are important to them. Live, you always have to leave certain songs as highlights in the set.
Frank: How is it for you, who
When I sift through my musical favorites from the critical time as a teenager, I essentially come to the realization that not every music ages well. Some of it was the right kick for us pimple-punks back then, but in hindsight, it doesn't have the substance to excite me even today. All the more I was pleased that even after decades, the opus of TERRORGRUPPE still holds enough good ideas, details, and musical savoir-faire for me to enjoy it. This became even more relevant when the Kreuzberg punk rockers decided to storm the stages again after years of hiatus — oops! — to the relief of many they put on a good show. Also, the fact that they are producing new music again has already been acknowledged in this fanzine, although the band has obviously just played the sound they feel like on their latest EP. Is this still Aggropop?
The guitarists Johnny Bottrop and MC Motherfucker, along with bassist Zip Schlitzer, calmly countered silly questions with silly answers, but also took the time to reflect on their own music and history in peace.
Part II can be found here.
