A NEW SPLIT WILL BE COMING OUT VERY SOON THROUGH GRINDFATHER PRODUCTIONS, S.B.S RECORDS & BLOODY LIPS RECORDS. A 2-WAY SPLIT BETWEEN AGATHOCLES AND G.I. JOKE THAT SHARES A MACHINE GUN BLASTING STRONG MAN. THIS SPLIT WILL SURE DELIVER DOSES OF CHAOS FOR THE MINCE/GRINDCORE LOVERS. THUS, HERE A BLASTREAMING OF 3 TRACKS TAKEN FROM THE SPLIT AND READ A SHORT INTERVIEW WITH NILS BELOW. | |
Hello there and a nice day to everyone in AGATHOCLES and G.I. JOKE camp!! First off, thanks for the inspirational mincing noise for all these years, and now thanks to you, NILS for answering this short interview. So, what's new in AGATHOCLES and G.I. JOKE camp in terms of releases and shows. And how's the current surrounding socio-politic- economic situation there [in GEEL particularly] and did it influenced AGATHOCLES and G.I. JOKE on lyrical and musical principles? Cheers mate, thanks a lot for your interest and the support. Well mate, we just played with both bands on a festival [NO SANCTUARY FESTIVAL] that I set up with some friends in our hometown. It is a festival we organized every year, this was the 6th edition. Well with Agathocles, we do some shows in Germany and Cz. Republic before closing this year. For next year, we easily start to plan. I hope we can do something nice for the anniversary of 30 years existence of Agathocles. With G.I. Joke, things running easily. We just wrote a lot of new songs since our reformation. For next year in 2015, we plan to do a tour in January that leads us to France and Spain. Later the year, we will play Grind the Nazi Scum Festival in Germany and I am still busy with arranging some other shows. Haha for Agathocles, the carrousel of releases still continue, but I’m very happy to announce the split EP G.I. Joke/Agathocles that is now in the pressing plant. I hope it will be out within this year. We hope to record some other new songs in this year too. Well mate, since the elections of this year, it has turned into a lot of shit. Tons of people voted the right wing and it seems a lot of social benefits going to be cut in near future. So I ask myself, where are our tax money will go?? My opinion is that, it have to be used for not making the gap between the poor and rich bigger. It have to be used to create chances for the people who have it less in FINACIALLY. In Belgium in general there is/was a good social security system, but it seems now we gonna step away from that. So yeah, of course this influenced us in our lyrics. Pity to say but there is tons of stuff that is actually happen right now that can give us inspiration! |
Could you pass on more information about G.I. JOKE as this is another band that you played in besides AGATHOCLES and ONANIZER. How you managed to steal time for being committed for these three bands?
Well G.I. Joke was formed in the summer of 2005 during a festival that was going on in Ieper. Me and the bass player [Giel] lives in Geel. The singer [Robin] and the guitar player [Maarten] living around 40km from here. We met 1st time in this festival called rotting in the sun. So from here, G.I. Joke was born. We played till 2008 and unfortunenately, I've decided to quite the band. I didn’t have the time to combined G.I. JOKE with Agathocles at that time. In this period, we played shows in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. We released a CD and split tape with Uitschot [a band of our ‘new’ guitar player in Agx].
Around the summer of 2013 I decided to call the guys to reform G.I. Joke again. Haha, well you ask me where I find the time [to admit I don’t know]. But I like to play every week on drums and with ONANIZER, it is not possible cause of the distance. Since Koen joined Agathocles, we can’t practice every week neither as he lives in a town ‘far’ away so I guess this is the reason that I reformed G.I. Joke again + I simply love this guys.
When did the idea of AGATHOCLES//G.I. JOKE split project being first mentioned? And how you managed to cope with it and produced the best for two bands in a single project? Well I turned up with this idea around April I think. Everybody was into it immediately when I proposed it. Koen recorded the songs from G.I. Joke with his 4- track. I wrote to some labels and soon it will be out. |
And you filled in for the drummer position in BESTIAL VOMIT for the last part of their VOMITTING OVER EUROPE 2014 tour. Where did the motivation came from to give your strength to play more and more despite your age?
I simply could not refuse this Bestial Vomit tour haha. On one Monday, I received a call from a unknown phone number [after missing it several times]. So when I picked up, a voice told me; YOU CANT SAY NO. THIS IS A GRINDCORE CALL. It was Joseph, my old friend from Italy that moved to Peru a couple years ago. He told me the story about their drummer and a bit later, I booked the plane ticket. Unfortunately, I had only a couple of days to learn the songs. Also Diego [SOCIAL CHAOS] and Gianni who are in the band, are friends for years. It was great to joined them for 3 weeks and make a lot of mess with them.
If you may tell more about GEEL? How's life in this land-locked city? As the famous Saint Dymphna remains buried at a church named in her honour in GEEL, does /that mean that most of GEEL citizen are religious-devouted.
Haha holy crap mate. How you know about this Saint Dymphna? Well to say this. So far Geel is known as the city of the ‘lunatics’ cause of this history we have with Saint Dymphna. Still a lot of institutions and guest families taking care for people with disability. Me [and a lot of people who moved here] think that people who live here have a social and open behavior. Geel is a city that have around 37, 000 citizens. For me personallly from time to time, it is too small. If I could not escape here from time to time, I would get crazy here. But when I move back after tour, holiday,… I still have a feeling of coming home.
Well to be honest people are not religious in this city but they like to party!
And what if the FLEMISH MOVEMENT able to implemented a reunification of with the Netherlands for THE GREATER NETHERLANDS? Would that effect negatively on AGATHOCLES/G.I. JOKE operation as a band?
Well let’s see how it will go with this new government. So far, this theme is not that actual for now.
As in 2013, AGATHOCLES played in OBSCENE EXTREME FESTIVAL ASIA IN JAKARTA and as well as few DIY crafted shows in JAKARTA, SEMARANG, KEDIRI, BALI and BEKASI. Did the tour have any impact on AGATHOCLES or perhaps new viewpoints and thoughts on the archipelago, it's people and and it's DIY community? Do the DIY ethos important and relevant to be applied and empowered in a country such as INDONESIA?
Well Indonesia was a great experience. I was totally wondered about their DIY attitude and how big the punk scene is in there. I maybe can say they have the biggest punk/grind scene in the whole world. Crazy for a country where Muslim is the biggest religion so I wouldn’t expect this. The way of the support by doing [bootleg] shirts, releases,… is amazing. Also a lot of V/A releases released to support bands all over the world and spread their noise in Indonesia and abroad.
And how's the experience during the tour in BRAZIL a few months after Indonesia's tour? Since you've studied and being a social-activist yourself, did you saw any similar third-world related issues/problems in INDONESIA and BRAZIL?
Well to admit it mate, Brazil is my 2nd hometown. I feel so at home in this country. For me, it was the 3rd time I'm there. I love to play there or just be around and catch up with friends and get wasted on the lovely Cachaça.
Well, of course you see this kind of third-world problems. If I compare to Belgium for example, in Brazil/Indonesia you can just spot it more obvious in street. In Belgium there is more of a hidden poorness but also with the show off with people. People here in Belgium see the fancy/luxury products of others and they want to have it too. The only thing they can not afford it and put themselves in finacial troubles.
So I am more charmed about the mentality of people who live in Brazil/Indonesia who are happy with the things they have. In general, Belgium people are just greedy and anti- social. There more reserved and that you can’t say bout people in Brazil/Indonesia.
Ok, NILS, endless thanks to you for allowed this bastard to steal your time and forcing you to answer this short interview. It's an honour though. Any closing statement to be made about?
Cheers mate, Thanks for doing this interview and your support.
Believe in your chances for realize something. It starts with yourself to create – change – make things happened. DIY till we die!!!