Postoje ljudi koji sve što rade rade tako da u tome nađu nešto pozitivno. Promovišu, navijaju, podržavaju, guraju… Deo su nečega, pokušavaju da shvate nove trendove, tumače one stare pokušaje da se nešto promeni ovim novim generacijama koji nemaju vremena za prošlost. John Robb (Džon Rob) je jedan od tih, “promotera pozitivnog”. Usput je i pevač, muzičar, lider benda, pesnik, pisac, novinar, osnivač i gazda kultnog sajta Louder Than War i ko zna šta još. Više od četiri decenije radi to što radi i ne vidim način da odustane od bilo čega. Svoj bend, The Membranes, dovodi na turneju po Balkanu, u okviru koje će 8. septembra nastupiti u Elektropioniru. Sa Džonom su se dopisivali Svetlana Đolović (leksikonski deo) i Ivan.
PD: Kako biti relevantan posle duge pauze, šta je bila ideja vodilja u vezi sa ponovnim okupljanjem i novim albumom “Dark Matter/Dark Energy”?
John Robb: Bilo je vreme da ponovo stvaramo neku izazovnu muziku – glava mi je bila prepuna ideja koje sam morao da iskažem. Morali smo da idemo napred. Uzbuđenje je u nepoznatom. Verovali smo da je za bendove poput The Membranes najvažnije da napreduju. Nije nas zanimalo da se osvrćemo unazad, bili smo puni ideja i čim smo se okupili opet napravili smo dupli album. Nismo prestali da slušamo muziku, i to sve moguće vrste, staru, novu, znali smo, dakle, ko nam je konkurencija. Pošto dolazimo iz post-pank ere, podrazumeva se da su određeni elementi u muzici deo našeg genetskog koda koji dalje zvuče moderno – ideje da se razbije klasična struktura pesme, ponavljanje, građenje pesme oko bas linije a ne oko gitare – bile su ključne, a tu je bilo i interesovanje za mračniju/ “težu” muziku – sve te ideje su svevremene. Takođe smo naučili kako da stvorimo takvu muziku – kad smo bili mlađi imali smo ideje ali ne i veštinu da ih realizujemo, a sada imamo oboje. Muzika koja nas zanima ne prati pravila i nema razloga zašto da naš povratnički album ne bude naš najbolji album – sadašnja “obična” muzika je lišena ideja i energije i zašto bismo se mi onda povinovali tim pravilima. Mene zanima apsolutni performans – šamansko kanalisanje netipične energije – muzika te šalje na neko drugo mesto!
PD: U 2016. godini kakva je uloga diskografskih kuća, medija, kakav je muzički biznis uopšte?
JR: Sve se naravno jako promenilo – diskografske kuće su i dalje korisne za izdavanje albuma ali uglavnom više ne plaćaju njihovo snimanje, a onda opet muzičari zadržavaju sva prava nad svojom muzikom. Etikete pomažu da se muzika promoviše i staraju se da publika sazna da je neki album izašao – internet takođe pomaže ali ne može baš predaleko da se stigne. Sada imamo beskonačan broj mikro scena – malih muzičkih ostrva na kojima možemo da egzistiramo. Čini se da je u današnje vreme mnogo jednostavnije da te ljudi čuju, da dopreš do njih a opet uz sve nepovoljnosti – stvorena je nova vrsta muzičke industrije, pa i medija – čiji smo svi mi deo.
PD: Ti si osnivač i glavni čovek sajta “Louder than War”, kakvu moć danas imaju pop kulturni mediji? Da li ima mesta za neke ozbiljnije osim Pitchforka i Stereogama? Da li ljudi i dalje čitaju duže tekstove, mislim duže u odnosu na tvitove ili fejsbuk postove?
Ne vrti se sve oko Pitchforka i Stereogama – nema centralnih medija i onaj ko misli da je takav – vara se. Dobra strana interneta je u tome što svako može da pronađe svoje omiljeno muzičko mesto koje će da obilazi – ako volite black metal folk naći ćete posebne sajtove koji prate tu scenu – zaista vam nisu potrebni klasični mediji da procenjuju muziku koja se vama dopada i to je ono što mi se sviđa u vezi sa internetom – raslojavanje pop kluture, demontiranje klasičnih medijskih struktura – niko više ne može da diktira tok priče i to je dobro.
PD: Planirate li da objavite nastavak DM/DE? Da li si zadovoljan reakcijama na album?
JR: Napisali smo veliki deo novog albuma, na neki način to je povratak na Zemlju i ticaće se moći i oblika koje poprima priroda. Biće tu i mnogo toga još. Mi uvek postavljamo pitanja (ha, ha), tako je pankerski dovoditi sve u pitanje – čak i prirodu univerzuma – zato se tako dobro slažemo sa naučnicima još od kad smo radili koncerte pod imenom Universe Explained (Tumačenje Univerzuma). Naučnici i pank rokeri preispituju sve, čak i sopstvene teorije. Sam kosmos je apsolutno fascinantan – to nije neki apstraktni koncept – on je svuda oko nas sve vreme – svi smo mi kosmos. Ima toliko čudesnog i uvrnutog – od toga da li se veliki prasak uopšte desio, i ako i jeste, vreme se toliko ‘krivi’ da je nemoguće doći do njega, ili činjenica da zvezde na nebu više zapravo ne postoje, vreme je služilo samo da njihova svetlost dopre do nas, ili ideja multiuniverzuma – beskonačni univerzumi ili činjenica da je 79 % univerzuma nastalo od tamne materije i niko nije siguran šta je univerzum (možda je hologram!) promišljanje ovih ideja i koncepata je jako uzbudljivo.
PD: Kojih pet pesama The Membranes bi izabrao kao nekakav DNK benda?
JR: Spike Milligans tape recorder, Myths and legends, Universe exposes into a billion photons of pure white light, Do the supernova, Hum of the universe
PD: Čest si gost u ovom delu Evrope (Balkan) šta je ono najbolje sto si primetio u vezi sa ljudima, muzikom, politikom, obicajima?
JR: Što se muzike tice, ovde postoji sjajna neotkrivena scena – puno raznovrsnih i odličnih bendova za koje recimo u Britaniji niko ne zna. Zbog jako lošeg i strogog viznog režima vrlo je teško da bendovi dođu u Britaniju i zato mi puno toga propuštamo. Ovde je politička situacija vrlo kompleksna i mi odande imamo jednu potpuno autsajdersku predstavu o tome. Proveo sam neko vreme u Ljubljani i to je dobar grad – bio sam na muzičkoj konferenciji MENT i čuo dosta dobre muzike – Repetitor je bend koji bi uspeo da napravi nešto u Britaniji – oni su sjajni, ali to je samo vrh kreativnog ledenog brega. Tu je naravno i Lajbah koji postoje već decenijama – njihove ideje, te umetnička i izvođačka strana nastupa su hipnotišuće.
>> Svetlanin leksikon sa Džonom Robom <<
Mercury Rev su otkrili da su ‘u snovima uvek snažni’, kakav je ‘ti iz snova’?
John Robb: Ja živim san! Inače, te dve reči su dosta mutne. Najmanje mi se dopada ideja da je univerzum kompjuterski program kojim upravljaju supernapredna bića. Teorija kaže da su oni stvorili Veliki prasak i ceo novi univerzum je nastao kao projekcija, te da mi zapravo ne postojimo – očaravajuca i prilično uvrnuta teorija koja baca sasvim drugo svetlo na pojam realnosti.
U pesmi “How To Fight Loneliness”, Wilco predlaže da se stalno smejemo. Šta bi bio tvoj savet?
JR: Razgovarajte sa ljudima – oni su usamljeni baš kao i vi.
Kris Kristoferson je davno objavio da je sloboda samo druga reč za ‘nemam šta da izgubim’. Da li bi se složio s njim?
JR: Sloboda, naravno, ne postoji – svi smo zarobljeni samima sobom.
Mrzovoljni stari Morisi jednom prilikom je pevao: “lako je podsmevati se, lako je mrzeti, treba imati hrabrosti da budeš nežan i dobar”. Šta si do sada naučio o svojim jačim stranama i slabostima?
JR: Sve tvoje jake stane su istovremeno i tvoje slabosti. Ono što te čini jakim je tvoja Ahilova peta – divlja energija upravlja svim oko sebe i uništava sve oko sebe. Ljubav koju ulažete u svet oko sebe vas takođe troši.
Šeril Krou je zaključila jednom prilikom da ako te nešto čini srećnim ne može da bude tako loše. Šta kaze tvoj soulsearching – šta te čini srećnim?
JR: Ha! Zaviši šta te čini srećnim – ko zna šta Šeril čini srećnom. Sreća je precenjen i apstraktan koncept – kao kad morate da se smejete na fotografijama. Melanholija ponekad može više da ispuni čoveka nego sreća.
Da personalizujemo staru izreku ‘ nema poklona kao što je vreme’ – šta je za tebe najveći poklon?
JR: Biti živ i gledati čudo i haos svega – to je prilično neverovatno. Muzika je pokušaj da se zvukom razume haos.
I na kraju, ‘stvaranje muzike je najbliže…?’
JR: …vrhunskoj komunikaciji na svim nivoima – duhovnom, seksualnom, intelektualnom…
JOHN ROBB: Talk to people – they are as lonely as you are [English version]
PD: How to be important or relevant after a long hiatus, what was the main idea behind the comeback and later with “Dark Matter/Dark Energy”?
John Robb: It was time to make some challenging music again – my head was exploding with ideas and they needed to get out. We had to got forwards. The thrill is the Unknown. We believed the whole point of bands like the Membranes was to move forward. To keep going backwards didn’t interest us so when we came back we wrote a whole double album because there were so many ideas. We also listen to music all the time of all types whether old or new so we knew what to measure ourselves against. Of course we came out of the post punk era and some of those hallmarks of sound are part of our DNA and still sound futuristic – the idea of breaking down formal song structures, repetition and building songs around the bass instead of the guitar were key as well as in interest in darker and heavier music/ these ideas are timeless. We also learned how to create this music – when we were first around we had the ideas and not so much the capability and now we have both. The music we are interested does not follow rules and there is no reason why we can’t return with our best album – in normal music the ideas and the energy are long gone at this stage but we are not tied down by these rules. I’m interested in total performance – the shamanic conduit of Maverick energy – music takes you to another place!
PD: In 2016. what is exactly the role of music biz, record companies, media?
JR: Of course it has massively changed – record labels are still useful for releasing records but unlikely to pay to record them but that way you retain your copyright. Record labels can help promote the music and make sure people know the music is out – the Internet helps with this but there is only so far you can go! What we have now is endless micro scenes – small Musical islands we can all exist on – it feels a lot easier to get heard in these times across the world and yet despite all the doom and gloom there is a music industry of a different type – same with media – we are all the media now.
PD: You are the man behind “Louder than War”, what do you think about the power of the music/pop culture media now? Is there place for anything other than Pitchfork or Stereogum? Do people still read longer articles, I mean longer then twitter or facebook posts?
JR: It’s not all about Pitchfork and Stereogum – there is no central media and its a mistake for any media to think it is the central media – the good thing about the Internet is that everyone has their go to places for music – if you are a black metal folk fan you would find specific websites to access information on these scenes – you really don’t need a mainstream media to cast judgement on your music scene and I like this about the Internet – the fracturing of pop culture – the breaking down of the dominant medias – no-one can dictate the narrative any more and that’s a good thing.
PD: Are you planning a sequel to “Dark Matter/Dark Energy”? You asked a lot of questions there 🙂 Are you satisfied with the feedback?
JR: Yes – we have written most of the next album – in a sense it’s a trip back down to Earth and an album based on the power and landscape of nature. Of course with lots more tied into it. We are always asking questions (ha ha) – it’s punk rock to question everything – even the nature of the universe – that’s why we get on so well with scientists and we know a lot of scientists from doing our Universe Explained gigs. Scientists or punk rock in its proper definition – they question everything even their own theories. The universe itself is eternally fascinating – it’s not some abstract concept – it’s here around us all the time – we are in the universe! There is so much wonderment and weirdness – from whether the Big Bang actually happened or whether it did but time itself curves so much it’s hard to get to the Big Bang or the fact that all the stars in the sky don’t exist any more it just took all this time for their light to get or the idea of the multiverse – endless universes or the fact that 79 per cent plus of the universe is made up of dark matter and no one is even sure of what that is or that the universe maybe a hologram! Thinking through any of these ideas and concepts is thrilling!
PD: Can you choose 5 songs by The Membranes from the very beginning ’til now, as a some kind of band DNA?
JR: Spike Milligans tape recorder, Myths and legends, Universe exposes into a billion photons of pure white light, Do the supernova, Hum of the universe
PD: You are frequent guest to this part of Europe (Balkans), what’s the best thing you notice about people, music, politics…
JR: In a musical sense there is such a great undiscovered music scene here – so many diverse and great bands that people back at home in the UK don’t know about and because of the really bad visa laws in the UK, it’s very hard for these bands to get known in the UK and we are really missing out. Politically it’s very complex and we can only ever get an outsiders point of view in the UK – from the outside looking in. I spent a bit of time in Ljubljana and it’s a good city – I go to that MENT music conference and get to see some good music there – the band that would do well in the UK is Repetitor – they are great but that’s the tip of a creative iceberg and of course there is Laibach who I’ve been into for decades and whose ideas and artful and playful presentation is hypnotic.
>> Svetlana’s Q & A with John Robb <<
Mercury Rev revealed that ‘In my dreams I’m always strong”, what would you say for your dream self?
I’m living the dream! The two worlds are very blurred – I like he least idea of the universe being a computer programme being created by super advanced beings. The theory goes that they created the Big Bang and a whole new universe as a projection and that we don’t really exist – it’s fascinating and quite twisted but throws the idea of reality into a whole new light .
In ‘How to fight loneliness’ Wilco suggested ‘Smile all the time’, and what would your advice be?
Talk to people – they are as lonely as you are.
Kris Kristofferson declared long ago that ‘Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose’. Would you argue with that?
Of course there is no freedom – we are trapped by ourselves.
Grumpy old Morrissey back in a day realized: ‘It’s so easy to laugh, it’s so easy to hate, it takes strength to be gentle and kind’, and what has you life thought you so far about your strengths and weaknesses?
All your strengths are you weaknesses – what makes you strong is your Achilles heel, the wild energy that drives everything on also destroys everything. The love you put into the world also burns you.
Sheryl Crow figures ‘if it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad’, what does you soul searching say – what makes you happy?
Ha! Depends on what makes you happy – who knows what makes Sheryl Crow happy. Happiness is an overrated and abstract concept – like having to smile in pictures. Melancholy can sometimes be a far more fulfilling place to be than happy.
To personalize the old saying ‘there’s no present like the time’ what is the greatest gift for you?
Just to be alive and look at the wonder and chaos of everything is pretty amazing – music is an attempt to make sense of the chaos with sound.
And finally, ‘making music is closest to…..?
Ultimate communication on all levels – spiritual, sexual and soulful.
