Telkens wanneer er weer een schijfje van onze Duitse grindvrienden Japanische Kampfhörspiele op de mat valt slaat de benieuwdheid toe. Wat voor rare fratsen zullen ze deze keer uitgehaald hebben? Na het album met alleen maar covers van Duitse (alternatieve) hits ‘Deutschland Von Vorne’ (2006) en de officiële introductie van de term popgrind op ‘Rauchen Und Yoga’ (2007) komen ze deze maand op de proppen met de MCD ‘Luxusvernichtung’. Alle nummerflarden die maar niet volledige nummers wilden worden zijn bij elkaar geflikkerd, resulterend in een fragmentarische grindorkaan van 54 tracks in negentien minuten. Alle reden om even bij te praten en de achterliggende gedachte te achterhalen. Het woord is aan zanger Markus ‘Bony’ Hoff.
How are Jaka doing at the moment? We're all doing fine. Right now we are preparing for our tour with Macabre and rehearse some songs we haven't played live yet cause we're tired of playing the same old shit over and over again.
You are about to release your new EP ‘Luxusvernichtung’ on your own label Unundeux Records, featuring no less than 54 songs! How did this idea come into being? Over the last couple of years we had collected lots of lyrics and riffs that never grew into real songs. On one hand they were too good to throw them away. On the other hand we didn't wanna wait till they fit into songs for the next long player. ‘Luxusverichtung’ means ‘Extinction Of Luxury’ and that's exactly what this EP is. The idea for our own label resulted out of a discussion about whether to stay on our old label or sign to a bigger one. Since we always did everything ourselves (production, layout, merch, booking, management etc.) it was just the final step towards total freedom.
The first 54 songs together last only for 19 minutes or so, but the 55th track lasts just as long. Upon closer inspection it actually seems to comprise of more or less the same music as the first 54 songs, but without the vocals. What was the idea behind this? Since there's vocals from the first to the last second on this EP we felt that the riffs were pushed into the background a bit. So we decided to add all the instrumentals in one track for free at the end of the CD. And you can have a nice karaoke evening with that track as well :)))
And aren’t you afraid that some of the bits and pieces might actually have come in handy in the future while writing new material? Our attitude has always been to give things away instead of keeping them. I am not afraid of having no new ideas when it comes to writing a new album. Since we are six guys in the band there's always plenty of material we can choose from.
Since a lot of the material was probably already there and not specially recorded for ‘Luxusvernichtung’, should we see it as a more or less in-between release? And does it comprise literally all the leftovers that you had, or are there still numerous other excerpts waiting to be released? What you hear on ‘Luxusvernichtung’ is only a minimum of the unused stuff we have. The pile of unused song fragments is really huge. Don't know if everything of it is ever gonna be released. We're gonna concentrate on the new album first.
Your latest full-length ‘Rauchen Und Yoga’ is already from 2007. On that album you more or less introduced the world to the term ‘popgrind’, which described the music perfectly! Is it your goal to produce a form of grind/extreme metal that is as accessible as possible? To be honest we just chose the term ‘popgrind’ prior to the album release to shock some people who were afraid Jaka would sell out. We may have a hookline here and there but we will probably never do an album that is easily accessible.
When can we expect the next full-length JaKa effort and can you already shed some light on the development of the popgrind sound? By now we probably have half of the material completed. We will continue writing after the tour. The material will be typical Jaka-style with lots of surprises here and there. Some songs are a bit longer than the usual 1,5 minute grind-eruption.
The title ‘Luxusvernichtung’ translates into English as wealth (or luxury) destruction. Should all luxury be banished in the world? What should the effect be according to you guys? It depends on how you define luxury. If it means the things that make life easier it should not be destroyed. If luxury means useless stuff nobody needs then destroy it wherever you see it. Or to say it in the vein of Kreator: destroy what destroys you!
And how is luxury valued within JaKa? I mean, owning the ‘best’ equipment for your ends could be viewed as a luxury in certain aspects, right? If you knew what kind of trashy equipment we play you would not ask this question:))) Our drummer still plays his tiny cheapo-drumset for beginners and our bassplayer still uses the amp that was already shit when it was manufactured 35 years ago. Music sounds good as long as you play good. Fuck expensive equipment. If you put an idiot behind a state-of-the-art-drum-set he will still sound like an idiot.
Your new release is the first on the new label unundeux records, which is owned by yourselves. How difficult is it in the age of the financial crisis to start up a new record company? It turned out to be a lot easier than we thought it would be. All we needed was a distribution company and someone who had a clue about promo. It took about three phone calls and that was it. Since we don't do the label as a full time job and don't have to make certain amounts of money each month from it we don't care about things like the financial crises. We would rather have total independency than prosperity.
By the way, JaKa is as should be known, a band that has always produced music that is partly driven by social criticism, as the financial crisis is something that (is said to) affect us all, I am curious what your thoughts/analysis of the whole situation is. I think that things like these will keep happening as long as mighty people are allowed to make big decisions that will ruin everyone but themselves. All you can do is try to survive and keep going.
And why did you decide to start up your own label? Were you not satisfied with your last home(s)? And will you be releasing all your future work on your own label? We were absolutely content with what Bastardized did for us and we are very grateful about that. But as I already said founding our own label was just the final step towards total independence. I think that all our future release will be put out by ourselves. But you never know.
And you are actually also releasing the new album by Eisenvater, your fellow countrymen. Why did you decide to sign them and how do you expect the album to do? The first three Eisenvater-albums from the 90s had an enormous influence on the Jaka-sound. When they heard that we had covered one of their songs they contacted us telling us that they had reunited. We became friends over the years and when they gave us an advance copy of their new album
it blew us away. There was no reason for us not to sign them. The album is out now for a week and the sales so far are more than satisfying.
Recently you also did a split with Eisenvater. How did that cooperation come into being and what do you think of the end result? We just asked them and they said yes. It was a very important release for us since it was somehow the beginning of our own label even if it was released on ‘Power it Up’. I like our songs on it very much since they represent a totally different side of Jaka.
Looking at your live history, Jaka have never really been on really long tours. It’s usually just a couple of dates in a row. What is the reason for this? We will continue Jaka as long as it is fun. Touring for several weeks in a row would destroy the fun. None of us makes a living on Jaka. We all have our ordinary day jobs and don't have to pay our rent by touring the world. We are doing this because we want to and not because we have to. If Jaka became our bread and butter we would soon start arguing over royalties and all that shit. On the other hand we are all in our thirties. After a handful of gigs we definitely need a long rest :))))
In a couple of weeks you are supporting the mighty Macabre in Europe. That should be pretty cool! How did you get on that tour and what do you expect from it? The guy who booked the tour asked if we would co headline and we were available. What we expect? Some nice shows, a couple of beers and lots of fun.
Well that is it for now, thank you very much for your time, enjoy the Macabre tour and hope to see you soon on that one! If you have anything to add for the Lords of Metal readership, please go ahead Come and visit us on tour if you want to. If not so stay home and read a book.
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