The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The (International) Noise Conspiracy's first gig outside Scandinavia was an illegal underground tour of China on the month of the ten year memorial of massacre at Tiananmen Square. The I.N.C. are the ambassadors of the New Wave Of New Angry and are set to blow away the apathy of Nu-Metal and small time whinging of the British Nu-Sensative Scene's. We caught up with Ludwig Dahlberg to find out more about the band who set out be the perfect symbiosis of Elvis and Che Guevara and realized the prostitution of being in a anti capitalist rock band. Bring on The Revolution!!!
Q: The (International) Noise Conspiracy, in a mainstream
sense, are very much a lone voice in the fact that you are talking about
important issues. Do you find it a shame that music and politics are kept
separate nowadays?
A: Yeah, most bands don't talk about issues like that...not
to say that what they're saying isn't important...but we got into all these
ideas through music and that's what we want to do - just give it back to
all the people!!! Through all these political and punk bands we got exposed
to the ideas that we have today and I feel it is kind of separate because
people don't see politics as part of their life's. When people think of
politics they think of an old guy in a suit an tie and they can't see how
it connect to their life.
Q: You formed back in 1998. Was it case of you started
with the idea of forming a political band or you formed the band and lyrical
ideas then came very natural to you?
A: Were in a band and we play music so that's what it's
all about. But at the same time people listen to what you say if you're
in a band so it's just a good opportunity to use that position to say something
important. We have an agenda, but it comes kind of naturally because that's
what we want to talk about.
We all grew up listening to punk band so questioning things
comes naturally and that sense of feeling alienated like everyone, but
then connecting to a musical scene. We got into the politics through bands
like the Dead Kennedy's and The Clash, but musically were influenced by
so much.
Q: Do you find it an insult that the word punk is used
to describe great bands like the Dead Kennedy's and The Clash...and then
encompass bands like Blink 182?
A: Punk is basically just another youth culture that's
not going to change anything. If Blink 182 want to call themselves punk
they can, but it's not relevant to me. They're a big band and they talk
about nothing when they should be taking that opportunity to say something
important.
Q: In the punk generation a lot of the bands still
didn't walk it like they talked it. The Dead Kennedy's for example, Biafra
ripped off the other members royalty payments. One of the things you've
always done is walk the talk especially when you do things like Illegal
underground tours of China. There's no compromise with the (International)
Noise Conspiracy is there?
A: We wanted to start of big and crazy...and we lost
a lot of money. But we don't want to be part of a specific scene. These
ideas that we have are too important to be just talked about in an underground
scene like punk - that's not a youth culture anymore and I'm not going
to diss it because it was really important to us, that's why it is quite
dangerous to talk about what's true punk and whatever.
Q: You're trying to reach out to as many people as
you can and in the process you have to use the media as a means of international
communication. The idea that one day a publication could be covering you
as part of their arts supplement and then the following week possible whipping
up right wing propaganda the next day must be of some concern. Do you find
it strange that you are in bed with these people to a certain extent?
A: It is, but its also the only way to reach out there.
There isn't that much good media and it's kind of hard to reach out through
the good channels. And like I said you'll be kept within and underground
community. There really is no outside of the system unless you want to
be the Una Bomber and live in a whole growing your own vegetables.
Not to sound all cynical but you can't destroy or change the system from the outside because there is no outside. We have to be prostitutes too using all these commercial channels, our record label just signed us because they want to make money off us and we use them because we want to get our records out - it's all a necessary evil!!!
That can also be used as an excuse to not really care and that's not what were trying to say either - you have to change it from the inside. People hate us because were on MTV and people say how can you be an anti capitalist band when you sell T-shirts. We have to pay our rent and buy food and that's the truth - we have to prostitute ourselves!!!
Q: As well as the essay in the "A New Morning Changing
Weather" album sleeve notes which goes on further to explain the ideas
behind the statement "there is no outside", there's is also a suggested
reading list for each song on the album. Do you feel that you politics
are too deep to get over in a 3 minute song and hence your songs are really
just the tip of the Iceberg?
A: It's that and also the fact that unfortunately sometimes
people look to us for answers and we don't have a f**king clue. We just
in a rock band with some ideas, were not politicians or we don't have any
real answers to the world problems.
All those book references are just to show were trying
to be a stepping stone to people to get into those issues on their own
and look for their own answers in these books. Were just trying to make
understand that the revolution doesn't come from us - its up to everyone!!!
Q: It's so hard to convince a 40 year old who is set
in his ways that this way is right so in that sense the future lies in
the hands of the kids. If a 14 year old kid was reading this interview
and is interested in the issues, but doesn't necessarily know where to
start in terms of authors and books. Where would you suggest they started?
A: A lot of them are in the sleevenotes...but Karl Marx,
the Situationists and there's a really good British book called "Lipstick
Traces" which is about Situationism connected to the Sex Pistols. Also,
the Charles Mingus biography. But really you've got to just devour everything
you can and learn from that.
Q: The far right is becoming very visible across the
UK and Europe. With this in mind do you believe there can be a real
revolution in our life time back to socialist ideals?
A: Sometimes obviously you look at the world and just
get bummed out, but then you just try and think of the positive aspects.
The last couple of years so much has happened and the fact that 2 months
ago thousands of people protested in Rome or all the riots in Gothenburg
or Seattle. That was the theme of our last record, all these people taking
action, so just seeing that make you really positive about the future.
I don't know what the revolution is going to look like
and that is the whole point of revolution. Its up to everyone to make the
revolution and its going to be really confused and beautiful and funny
and weird all at the same time. You just have to strive for the revolution
all the time!!!
Q: Teenagers don't listen to politicians or necessarily
read political literature each night so it is down to rock stars and celebrities
to an extent. What do you think of the elder statesmen of rock like Bono
making political statements?
A: I don't know about Bono and who he represents. He's
kind of being everyone's spokesperson and he's sitting down with George
Bush. Like I said earlier, when kids actually understand that politics
is part of their life's whether they like it or not they will understand
that it can actually be interesting. You don't have to have dreadlocks
or listen to crass to get into politics.
I guess hip-hop is the biggest genre amongst kids today
so I'd like to see a lot of political hip-hop bands like Public Enemy -
if that happened there would be a riot in the ghetto's cos' that's what
the kids are into. We just toured with a Swedish hip-hop group act called
Loop Troop and we wanted to show it's not just about a specific genre of
music. We don't just want to play to rock and roll crowds!!!
Q: Finishing off and trying to bring together this
kinship between yourselves and bands like Miss Black America and Kenisis.
What does the New Wave Of New Angry mean to you?
A: Of course were upset with the way things are but more
in a happy, passionate way without trying to sound too pretentious. I guess
you can get pretty angry about all the bands were trying to react against
and as long as people are singing about things other than a broken heart
its a cool thing. You need the love songs too, but not every single song
needs to be about the girl!!!
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