After Fakti, It’s Time for More Critical Thinking and Action, and Above All, Rock’n’Roll (2013)
Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Interview date: 01.03.2013
After a few years of quiet, the moment Slovenia had been waiting for finally arrived. After the outpouring of Strup, the Prlekija collective of hard-hitting grunt rockers decided to tip an above-standard, bumper crop of new music into the bowls of ever-hungry listeners. On top of the sound, it comes enriched with extras in content and design – poetry that calls for social awareness and revolt against autocrats. Fakti is an unusual and, for Slovenia, damn demanding mouthful. That’s exactly what I expected from Dežurni krivci and hoped for, but until the last second I wasn’t sure the new dose of rocker gold would be as biting as the previous ones. There were lots of questions and not so many answers, but since the guys from Sveti Jurij ob Ščavnici deserve a quality, full-on presentation, long-time founding member and drummer Igor Ketiš served up his dose of truth and revelations for our readers. Getting it out of him took a bit of effort, but step by step, across computer screens, the door did creak open a little onto the primal rebel soul of nonconformists and rebels with a cause.
Rockline: You’ve been active as a band since 1996, and you’re marking that venerable stretch with your fourth album, Fakti. How does Fakti differ from your earlier work, and how come you decided to go a step further this time, so that alongside the music the package now includes something we Slovenes have always carefully nurtured, though who knows how regularly we actually read it – poetry?
Igor Ketiš: Fakti is an album built on poetry, a collection of poems by Marko Čuš, our guitarist. When we started rehearsing again after a two-year break, we were in a bit of a creative slump, or rather we had no real idea what to do. One day Marko brought these poems of his to rehearsal and offered them up. He wrote them during that break, and a few while the record was being made. When we read them, we knew right away this was it. The next difference on the record is that our singer Leon doesn’t have a guitar in his hands, he’s just the vocalist. Because the poems were written as poems (poetry) and not as songs for music, with verses and choruses, Leon needed that freedom to pull it off. Of course the other instruments then adapted to that too. Another difference is that we recorded the songs live. We rented the cultural center in Ruše, set up a studio there and had everything recorded in two days. The producer, engineer and recording guy is the same as on Strup, Hannes Jaeckl.
Rockline: Working with Hannes already proved on Strup to be a factor that gave you added value and a fuller musical expression. How did the studio collaboration differ from Strup this time, on this trek through the eras of Fakti?
Igor: Hannes is a guy with a huge amount of studio know-how, and we became friends while recording Strup and hang out quite often. He’s the kind of guy who becomes a band member while recording and chips in with ideas on the songs themselves. Our wish on Fakti was to capture and present a »live« feel, and we did that by not recording in a studio. The basic idea behind Fakti’s sound is that liveliness – we wanted the non-studio sound we’ve got when we play on stage.
Rockline: Every album has a rough start. How did the writing go this time? Did everyday obligations dent the flow of your creative juices at all? How was the vibe in the band?
Igor: Marko wrote the lyrics for the album, there are 30 in the collection, 12 of them set to music, and we wrote the music together. It grew out of jams at rehearsals: at first we’d jam and then work up the good ideas. After our break and getting back together, the vibe in the band was much better – we cleared things up in our heads a bit and saw that all four of us really need the band. Everyday obligations of course affect the work in the band, but the experience you gain from that kind of life enriches it.
Rockline: These days records get presented with proper music videos, so I’m wondering if you’ve got anything lined up for Fakti? What, who and how will you use to break the ice this time?
Igor: A video for the song Sloni has already been shot, made by the GBTM crew, Matej Kolmanko, Dominik Fras and Gregor Purgaj. We work with this crew at gigs too, since the concerts come with a video projection that’s their work. All the official photos were taken by the excellent photographer Dominik Fras. We’re really happy with these people, because they also found some meaning in this project, and above all the will to create. The whole team deserves the credit that the entire Fakti – I mean the book, CD, gigs, photos, video, animations – looks the way it does.
Rockline: Despite your long track record, plenty of people, especially younger listeners, may not have caught up with you yet. How would you describe the pure essence of Dežurni krivci, and what’s the guilt you voluntarily shoulder through your work in the band? Can you lay out your story in a bit more detail (how you found each other, where the name came from, how your musical expression took shape? What about the lineup changes, and can you give a relaxed evaluation of the band’s whole 17-year history)?
Igor: It’s probably true that the younger generation doesn’t know us as well as the slightly older one, since in recent years we haven’t been on stage that much. I think a band can really only be got to know live, on stage. All that unlimited information we can get through the internet only allows a superficial acquaintance with a band. So we hope a young person is still independent and curious enough to go and check out the information the media serves up. If so, I think people will get to know us properly at gigs. The band’s story goes something like this: in 1996 we came up with the idea of having a band. We were already good friends before that, we were all into music and we all played acoustic guitars. Then Leon bought himself an electric guitar, I was into drums, Marko was always a super guitarist anyway, and Tomas said he’d pick up the bass. We chose the name because we had to, and Dežurni krivci seemed like the best idea, plus it reminded us a little of ourselves back then in our parts. Then came the work and rehearsals. I have to say we rehearsed pretty often, twice a week, no matter what else was going on. We were always full of ideas, and when we had enough songs we recorded the first album, without thinking that it could be better later. We believe you should record the material when you have it ready and then not fiddle with it endlessly, and that way there’s also no problem with the band’s development not showing chronologically across the records. Over the years the albums Nikogaršnje mesto, Kakor Človek, Strup and now Fakti came out, and in between there was one acoustic one, Izštekani, recorded on Val 202. Gigs were always the most important thing to us, and quite a few piled up over the years. The band’s sound itself came with experience. I always say a band that hasn’t been around for 10 years isn’t a band – they can be excellent musicians and whatever, but what a band has can’t be learned. You only get it through experience, gigs, hanging out, riding in the van… We never changed members. Dežurni krivci can only exist in the lineup we’ve got – if one member changed, there’d be no Dežurni krivci. That could probably only happen if one of us goes off to »jam« in the next world, and even that’s unlikely. Looking back, we see we wouldn’t change a thing. We’re happy with what we’ve done – every experience shaped our development, both in the band and in life
Rockline: As a band you’ve always been socially critical. I always say the environment shapes the person, and as one of the rare musical phenomena from Prlekija you write your narrative in your own garage-grunt way. By your own account, how do you actually differ from the competition across Slovenia, Europe or the whole world, and after so many years of creating, is there more fatalism, optimism or pessimism in your music compared to the beginning? What has changed, and how, in terms of content, form and the artistic freedom of the creative collective from day one to today?
Igor: We’ve always put a lot into the lyrics, they matter a great deal to us. Most are in Slovenian because that’s what we know best, and even the English lyrics were always discussed to death and proofread by Melea (Werefox), who really has a command of English. That’s probably where we differ from a lot of bands, certainly not all, since there are bands with excellent lyrics too. Sometimes it amazes me when I hear some pretty bad lyrics and think, didn’t they even read them before they put them to music? 🙂 Anyway, I don’t like judging other bands, and it’s best if others judge what’s good about us. I think our lyrics have been similar in a way from the very start. True, on Fakti they’re all by Marko Čuš and written thematically, i.e. it’s one story from 1991 with a look toward the future. All the lyrics are »hard«, real, but in many of them you can see a way out of the situation, i.e. a positive future. As for artistic freedom in creating, we never had any limits. We always did what felt right to us and made sure we reminded people of others as little as possible and copied no one.
Rockline: Judging by the sonic molting from album to album, numerous and diverse musical influences come out in your sound. Which direct sources can you point to as the DNA of Dežurni krivci? Which names, maybe books or films, could you add to the list of what defined you as a band on day one, and how is it today?
Igor: More than books, I think films and above all music have influenced us. We’ve listened to a lot, we talk a lot about good films, and the fact is we have similar tastes, and all of that shapes us. It’s impossible to list which films or bands influenced us, there are too many. It is interesting, though, that music critics have sometimes heard bands in our songs that we were hearing about for the first time.
Rockline: Given that you’ve charted your course well this time with the label God Bless This Mess, I’m wondering what the collaboration is like and what plans you’ve drawn up together, both with the label and among yourselves? Besides conquering Slovenia, can we expect an invasion of stages beyond our borders (if so – where and when)?
Igor: We’re very happy with GBTM. We know each other, trust each other, help each other, and for everyone it’s a hobby. So it’s the best partnership so far. First we’re looking at gigs around Slovenia, we’re hoping for a few festivals in summer, and in autumn maybe abroad too – the Balkans is closest to our hearts. We’ll see, we’re not stressing about it and we’re letting it flow however it flows.
Rockline: Following the new commandments of music publishing, your record is this time also available as a completely bodiless download. I think that with the arrival of the internet, making music got much cheaper and easier on the one hand, but a big part of the magic was lost too. Signing a label contract, releasing a record and continuing a discography used to hold that magic for creators, in a way where the listener has something concrete to hold in their hands. What’s your take on this, what’s your vision of the label future, and what’s the fate of tomorrow’s creators?
Igor: Gigs have always been the most important thing to us, which is why we put Strup online for free too. We saw that was a good move, because people came to the gig already knowing our music and lyrics. And if someone wants the product in their hands, they can buy it. We always put a lot of effort into the design too – besides being an excellent poet, Marko is also an excellent designer. The big labels will figure it out, they got too rich anyway. I just hope not by meddling with legislation and squeezing people purely out of a grab for profit. For independent bands, music being swapped for free is only a good thing and means more gigs.
Rockline: SAZAS has its share in this story too, leaving a bitter aftertaste in many mouths when it comes to musicians’ creative work. Are there any healthier alternatives for protecting musicians, and if so, what kind?
Igor: I don’t know much about the legislation around rights protection, but I do know SAZAS, with its vagueness and rules, isn’t the best option. SAZAS is also a problem for clubs that run and put on non-commercial gigs. All these rules and invoices take away people’s will to work. Protection should kick in when someone steals your work and puts their name on it, or when someone uses it for commercial purposes. Everything else seems pointless to me.
Rockline: The closing thought and a word to Rockline readers is entirely up to you, guys.
Igor: The closing thought would be: people, think for yourselves, don’t blindly believe the media, go to gigs and be good. It’s all worth it! See you at the gigs!
Rockline: With this last act of this round of the mailer, I sincerely thank you for the effort and energy you put into the interview, for both your time and your thoroughness. I hope we meet soon, and I wish the whole crew a good, creative, experience-rich and financially rich year, one that leads us out of the artistic recession at the very least and pours a good dose of hard-hitting rock with balls into our ears and hearts!
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