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Diese Seite "Fantasies For An Electric Funeral" beschäftigt sich grundsätzlich nur mit Minimal/Synth/Goth/Punk, der zwischen 1977-1985 gespielt wurde. Ziel dieser Seite ist es, Bands und deren Musik vorzustellen. Im Idealfall soll damit einem Neueinsteiger bzw. Interessierten eine musikalische Orientierung mit an die Hand gegeben werden. Des weiteren handelt es sich bei dieser Seite um eine wachsende, d.h. die Coversection wird ständig erweitert. Vielleicht ensteht ja so auch ein kleines "Musiklexikon". Grundsätzlich aber erhebt diese Seite keinsten Falls einen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit! In unregelmäßigen Abständen werden kleinere Beiträge, Interviews, Photos etc. das Bild der Musik komplettieren. Eine Liste mit weiterführenden Links ist am Ende dieser Seite zu finden.
WISSENSWERTES
In unregelmäßigen Abständen
werden in dieser Rubrik Beiträge, Interviews, Photos oder sonstiges Material
erscheinen, die das Bild der Musik komplettieren und darüber hinaus den
Zeitgeist dieser spannenden Epoche skizzenhaft andeuten sollen.
|
Tommy Olsson
(of DC-Pöbeln) |
 |
Once again we had the opportunity
to interview an artist whose music is supported by our small website - this
time Tommy Olsson of DC-Pöbeln from Sweden. Probably most readers know
DC-Pöbeln's classic track "Bettan" - but do you know more about
the band? No? Nevermind.......me neither! So we'd better start the interview:
Although I own the DC-Pöbeln 7inch "Bettan" (see
cover scan!) I must admit that I don't know anything about the band. Shame
on me! So I think it would be nice to learn something about the band in general
first.
No need to feel ashamed. Few people know more than you, but I`m one of those
few, so I´ll try and sort this out, even though it´s a fairly complicated
issue; DC-Pöbeln (or sometimes Dagcenterpöbeln, or the shorter DC-P)
was concieved in the Swedish city of Örebro by "Guggi" &
"17" in the fine year of 1982 as a piece of confusing grafitti. Me
being "Guggi". As for "17", it feels like a bit of an outing
to reveal his identity as he is now a famous adult oriented rock-producer with
a great appetite for cholesterol, but what the heck; he was christened Johan
Kugelberg by his parents 40 years ago. That´s the line-up really, apart
from us there were no "members" as such; merely collaborators and
people who happened to own synthesizers and stuff. People unlucky enough to
cross our path. More a concept than a band; which is common now, but from where
we came unheard of then. DC-Pöbeln played live twice, and it is symptomatic
that the only person present on stage on both occassions was a rather distant
relation who performed some wacko kind of rituals without ever being asked.
Johan was on stage on the first event, and I on the other. (Oddly enough, both
concerts took place in museums) And "17" is not present on the recording
of "Bettan" (though he assembled the material that appears on the
b-side). Since both me and Johan/"17" moved quite often across the
map (I still do, by the way; he lives in Nicaragua now, so he don't have to)
recording sessions were sparse, but I believe there were 4-5 sessions between
1983 - 1994. However, both of us made stuff with other people that appeared
all over the industrial tape trading network at the time under the name, or
one of the names. I must also stress that "Bettan" is not typical
in any sense; in general we did not sound that slick, or that organised. Certainly
not when we were in the same room!
Johan Kugelberg? The man who compiled the first volumes
of the "Killed by Death" series and who is an editor of "Ugly
Things" magazine? The guru of diy-punk rock himself? What a surprise! Unbelievable…..how
did it come to this - were you schoolmates?
Yes, Killed by Fat - that's the one; and no, we did´nt go to school; we
just happened to be in the same place at the same time with similar interests.
First met him when I was 16, I think - we were both skinnier then.
By the way
I like "Bettan" a lot. Sure, I don't understand the lyrics but I regard
them as sounds so it doesn't matter to me.......although it would be interesting
to know what both songs are about.
When you say "both songs" I take it that you mean the b-side? Not
really a song, but ok...that´s a professional gravedigger talking about
his job and everyday life and the conclusions he`s made about life and death
in general. It was broadcasted on the national radio and we kind of, eh, rearranged
it a bit for our own amusement...perfect b-side, really. "Bettan"
is more or less about being in a bar and falling in love with the female bartender
and order more beer than you need only to get her attention - never a good strategy...but
the lyrics takes a surreal twist after the opening lines, so it´s hard
to tell if it is really "about" anything; and it ends with these samples
of a guy speaking about his dreams...weird shit.
As you also say, "Bettan" is not the
typical sound of DC-Pöbeln. I guess the two other songs that I know ("It
actually never started" & "En sekund") that are more industrial/noise
like are more typical for DC-Pöbeln. Why then isn't something of this kind
on the single instead of the untypical "Bettan" song?
There was no typical sound of DCP until 1985, when we made a racket based on
Bo Diddley, and gave the same treatment to Television´s "Little Johnny
jewel". "Bo Diddley" is to be found on compilation album "Modern
popmusic according to de Selby" released by Konduktör late 1985 (see
cover scan!); "Little Johnny Jewel" is included on my own retrospective
2 x CD "C´mon Doc it´s only a scratch 1979 - 1999", released
by Balkong in Norway 1999. "Bettan" was my piece lyric-wise, but musically
the work of Göran Kinnander - who, by the way, did´nt know of the
records existence until several years later. It´s my vocals; to call it
"singing" would be to stretch it a bit far, dont you think? It´s
kind of spoken, really. The other tracks you mention dates back to 1981 - 82.
As for a discography; that would mean lots of research into tapetraders from
the 80`s; but on vinyl there´s nothing apart from the 7inch and the comp.
There´s supposed to be a CD of the last session in 1994, but I have not
seen it, nor do I have a copy of the tape. It sucks, because I remember it as
one of our more inspired moments, covering everything from Whitney Houston to
Psychic TV with cocktail hammond organ, bongos and guitars completely out of
tune, but I never had a copy.
Perhaps you know that "Bettan" was compiled
on a bootleg CD-sampler series called "Tribute To Flexipop" that is
available for about 17 Euro. What do you think about those people making money
with unlicenced songs? Is it ok for you?
Well, I don't think anyone makes any significant money here. And the label of
the "Bettan" 7inch clearly states "No Copyright", so I´m
not gonna come down on someone who digs it enough to bootleg it and whine about
getting paid some 20 years later. The odds on that happening aren't great anyway.
And being a bit of a record-sniffer myself, I know bootlegs like these serve
a very valuable purpose - where would you otherwise find a copy of a record
pressed in 500 copies in a distant country many many yearsago? To be against
it would mean being in favour of a lot of good stuff getting lost forever; there
would be no "Pebbles", "Back from the Grave", or "Killed
by Death" series. And frankly, the Flexipop discs seem to boldly compile
what has not been before; it´s creative archeology more than anything
else - I just wish they would send me a copy, so far I´ve only read about
it.
Yes, you are right; without the Flexipop series I wouldn't
know "Bettan" for example and I wouldn't have searched for the original
record to buy it. It seems that the Flexipop series is also very successful
in opening up a market for obscure 80s music. And regarding modern electroclash-bands
(e.g. "Fisherspooner", "Chicks On Speed", "Artists
Unknown" etc.) I even think - perhaps due to Flexipop and other comparable
series - the influence of obscure music of the 80s have a more profound effect
on the contemporary music scene than ever before; same thing with 80s fashion,
style, film, graphic and art in general. What do you think why?
Because the legacy of the 80`s is so vast, and goes way beyond the tv-shop box-sets
of crap I didn't want to hear then and certainly not know. Remember, these were
the post-punk prime times: anything in contemporary music that´s even
remotely interesting can be traced back here - and don't forget Whitehouse,
still going strong, just getting better after 25 years of white noise! Also,
of course, it´s the golden age of DIY records, the birth of goth, the
resurrection of garage punk, amongst loads of really cool stuff and weird shit.
People will have you believe it was the time of Boy George and Spandau Ballet
when it was really the golden age of Einstürzende Neubauten and the Native
Hipsters. It wasn't just hairgel, you know.
Regarding the cover of the single and the mentioned vinyl-sampler....eh
well…do you like Betty Page?
Well, I´m a man, right? Funny thing is, we were early on that one; ten
years later she was everywhere and all the stuff we were sitting on while pouring
saliva on our right hands got reprinted and blown out of proportions. It´s
not exclusive anymore, which I find a bit boring, really. I have other obsessions
these days...
Which ones:-)?
This one´s pretty cool: sexlink1
and this one certainly dont suck: druglink2
- click on "Evil dope" - and, ah, I work too much, but every now and
then I enjoy a good beating, give and take.
Hm...sick pic....are you the one wearing the high-heels,
aren't you:-)?!
No, God forbid - a man in heels! That's disgusting!
Hehe! ...as you also said one of your obsessions is work.
What are you working on?
Busy right now preparing a lecture at the art academy in Bergen; but most of
the time I spend writing art criticism; I´m also a single parent... Before
that I was an artist with a nasty reputation for sexually explicit videoworks;
I also worked part time in a piercing studio and, ah, yes, a fetish shop; whips
and bondage gear and other cool stuff that´s handy to have at home. But
I would say I´m more or less a fulltime freelance writer at the moment.
So you don't make music anymore?
Oh yes, I do, occasionally, but for the moment I´m
too busy.
Well, if you have some new tracks just let us
know. By the way I read in the net that your 2CD "C´mon Doc it´s
only a scratch 1979 - 1999" spawns a huge variety of music styles. On that
website even Black Metal was mentioned. Is that CD still avaiable?
Balkong Helgesens gate 82D N-0563
Oslo Norway tel +47 22 19 66 24 - I think their e-mail is balkong@online.no,
but I´m not quite sure about that.
There might be a few copies left, but as for the black metal-connection I must
say that´s very exaggerated - I`m not sure where those words come from,
but on the other hand I´m very found of black metal, but I did´nt
really catch on to it before I was 40.
Sounds weird to me but I'm a Black Metal lover
too. And so I will try to get a copy:-). Also many thanks for the interview
and the soundfiles! Hope we keep in touch.......
(ak)
DC-Pöbeln
"En Sekund" (mp3/ 4,7 MB) click
here!
"It Actually
Never Started" (mp3/ 8,6 MB) click
here!
both tracks were recorded ca. in 1981-1982
"Bettan
Star I Baren" (mp3/ 6,6 MB) click here!
"Dödgrävaren" (mp3/ 6,4 MB) click
here!
both tracks were taken from the only 7inch of DC-Pöbeln released by Konduktör
in 1985
"Fist Fuck
Force" (mp3/ 1,3 MB) click here!
recorded live in 1985
"X Mas
Card" (mp3/ 2,9 MB) click here!
released on the tape comp. "Putasserie" in 1989
- - - - All soundfiles and photos are used by permission of Tommy
Olsson.
We say thank you! Enjoy! - - - -
Bisherige Beiträge in dieser Rubrik:
Interview with
Simon Patterson aka "Spoon Fazer" (in english) - 19.10.2004
Interview mit Karl Bathos (ex-Kraftwerk)
aus der Süddeutschen Zeitung (auf deutsch) - 30.08.2003
WEITERFÜHRENDE LINKS
Hier sind wie, der Name der Rubrik schon sagt, einige Links zum Thema Minimal/Goth/Synth/Punk zu finden. Ok, es sind nicht viele, aber lieber ein paar wenige und dafür gute, als einen unendliche Wust an Müll. Also schaut doch mal dort vorbei!
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