RECHARGE INTERVIEW-2000

I HEAR RECHARGE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE DOUBLE LP COMP. "CHAOS OF DESTRUCTION-VOL. II"(RELEASED BY KAWAKAMY=DISCLOSE IN JAPAN,WHERE BESTHÖVEN APPEAR TOO)AND I GET TOTALLY SATISFIED WITH THEIR AMAZING MUSIC THEN I WROTE A LETTER TO THEM AND DO THIS INTERVIEW FOR MY ZINE...BJÖRN SAID ME THAT TIME THAT THE BAND BROKE UP AND THIS IS THE LAST INTERVIEW THEY ARE DOING FOR RECHARGE...THE INTERVIEW WAS PUBLISHED IN MY ZINE VERMYNOZE PUTRIDA NUMBER 25 IN 2000,IN ENGLISH AND PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE...HOPE ALL THE RECHARGE FANS CAN CHECK THIS AND ENJOY THIS...

VP=TELL US THE HISTORY OF RECHARGE...
BJORN=RECHARGE CAME FROM HANNOVER/GERMANY AND PARTY DERIVED FROM A BAND CALLED "CHEMICAL MAZE" WICH SPLIT UP IN THE MIDLLE OF 1992.AT FIRST THE SET ONLY CONSISTED OF "DISCHARGE COVERSONS".BUT WHEN THE DRUMMER CAME BACK TO GERMANY AFTER HAVING SPENT ONE YEAR IN ENGLAND WITH A BAND CALLED ´THE LOSERS´ IT WAS DECIDED TO PRODUCE OWN SONGS.IN A QUITE SHORT PERIOD OF TIME 14 SONGS WERE MADE UP.10 SONGS WERE RELEASED IN A 12 INCH EP NAMED "SILENT SCREMAS" AT AC RECORDS FROM PEINE.,THE REST OF THE SONGS HAVE APPEARED ON VARIOUS COMPILATIONS,AND ALL 14 ARE RELEASED ON A CD FOR JAPAN AND USA ON "TRIBAL WAR ASIA".IN MARCH 1996 THE NEXT RECHARGE LP/CD CALLED "HAMBURG 42" WAS RELEASED BY EPISTROPHY(THIS TIME ALL SONGS WERE SUNG IN GERMAN LANGUAGE).THE SAME MONTH,RECHARGE WENT TO TOUR JAPAN FOR TWO WEEKS AND SHORTLY AFTER THIS,NEW SONGS WERE RECORDED FOR A SPLIT EP WITH EXTINCTION GOVERMMENT FROM TOKYO WICH WAS RELEASED IN EARLY 1997.IN SEPTEMBER 1997 THE NEXT LP/CD CALLED "MENSCHEN,HASS,VERNICHTUNG" CAME OUT.FOLLOWED BY A GERMANY TOUR WITH "BAFFDECKY".IN 1998 RECHARGE WENT ON A CZECHOSLOVAKEIA/AUSTRIA/SWITZERLAND TOUR AND DID A SPLIT EP WITH `EXTERNAL MENACE`FROM SCOTLAND.AFTER THIS TOUR,BOTH THE SINGER AND BASSPLAYER(WHO HAD JOINED THE BAND IN 97)LEFT THE BAND,SO THE REST OF RECHARGE DECIDED TO FORM A NEW BAND CALLED AUDIO KOLLAPS.THEY WILL RECORD A SPLIT EP WITH WOLFPACK FROM SWEDEN WICH WILL BE RELEASED IN LATE 2000 BY EPISTROPHY RECORDS.A FULL LENGHT ALBUM OF AUDIO KOLLAPS IS PLANNED TO RECORD IN APRIL 2001.FIND MORE ABOUT RECHARGE AND AUDIO KOLLAPS ON OUR WEBSITES:RECHARGE=http://www.recharge.de AUDIO KOLLAPS=http://www.audiokollaps.de

VP=ARE YOU MEMBERS MAKING SOME OTHERS WORKS IN GERMAN SCENE?
BJORN=BESIDES WRITING FOR LOTS OF ZINES LIKE ´PLASTIC BOMB´.I´M WORKING AT A NON COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION WHERE I´M DOING A PROGRAM CALLED ´SATY PUNK´ WICH IS ALSO BROADCASTED VIA INTERNET SITE:http://www.radioflora.apc.de/musik/punk/punk.html.I´M ALSO WORKING AS A PUNK DJ IN A PUB IN HANNOVER AND I USEDTO ORGANIZA VARIOUS PUNK GIGS AND WOEK FOR A PUNK DISTRIBUTION.OUR BASSPLAYER PAUL AND ME ARE ALSO PLAYING IN A STREETPUNK BAND CALLED ´VENDETTA´WHERE MY GIRLFRIEND KIRSTEN IS DOING THE VOCALS PART.

VP=TELL US ABOUT THE LYRICS OF RECHARGE...
BJORN=IN OUR LYRICS WE DON´T WANT TO SAY:YOU HAVE TO DO THIS OR THAT,WE HAVE TO SHOW THE PRONLEMS SO THAT PEOPLE MAKE UP THEIR OWN MIND ABOUT IT AND REACT INDIVIDUALLY.

VP=YOUR FAVORITE BANDS AND INFLUENCES?
BJORN=A LOT OF THE OLD ENGLISH 80´S BANDS LIKE ONE WAY SISTEM,DISCHARGE,THE FITS,UPROAR,EXTERNAL MENACE,ETC...BANDS WE GREW UP WITH.WE ALSO LIKE OLD BANDS FROM FINLAND TERVEET KADET,RATTUS,APPENDIX,BASTARDS,ETC...AND OF COURSE ,BRAZIL OLHO SECO,INOCENTES,RATOS DE PORÃO...ALSO A LOT OF GRINDCORE STUFF LIKE NASUM,KRISIUN LATELY.

VP=TELL US ABOUT THE OLD GERMAN BANDS...
BJORN=MOST OF THEM DON´T EXIST ANYMORE OR DOING SOME BORING ROCKSTARS SHIT STYLE OF MUSIC.THEY DID GOOD MUSIC IN THE PAST,BUT MOST OF THEM CAN´T LIVE UP TO THEIR OLD QUALITIES NOWADAYS.

VP=TELL US ABOUT THE GREAT GERMAN BANDS FROM TODAY...
BJORN=THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD BANDS TODAY;IN OUR REGION THERE ARE BANDS LIKE FRISTLOS ENTLASSEN(STREETPUNK),OR METASYSTOX(HARDCORE PUNK),SOME MORE WELL KNOW BANDS ARE; OXYMORRON(OI PUNK), STOMPER 98(DTO),KORRUPT(HARDCORE PUNK),BAFFDECKS(DTO) AND RAWSIDE(DTO).

VP=WHAT IS PUNK TO YOU?
BJORN=FOR ME PUNK IS A TOTAL WAY OF LIFE.I WANT TO DRESS DIFFERENT AND I WANT TO THINK IN MY OWN WAY.I´M DOING THE WHOLE PUNK THING NOW FOR 20 YEARS BUT I´M STILL TOTALLY INTO PUNK.I DON´T LIKE PEOPLE WHO REACT STUPID WHEN THEY´RE DRUNK AND PITY THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY DON´T GET ANYTHING GOING IN THEIR LIFE.PUNK FOR ME IS AN INDIVIDUAL WAY OF THINKING AND NOT A FASHION.MORE PEOPLES SHOULD BE ACTIVE AND CONTIBUTE SOMETHING TO THE WHOLE PUNKROCK THING.BUT NOT FORMING STUPID LITTLE POLITICAL CORRECT GROUPS.PEOPLE SHOULD UNITE AGAINST ALL FASCIST SCUM IN THE WORLD AND NOT FIGHTING EACH OTHER.

VP=WHY "RECHARGE"?
BJORN=WE CHOOSE THE NAME BECAUSE WE WANTED TO "RECHARGE" THE OLD SPIRIT OF BANDS LIKE "DISCHARGE",SO TO SAY THEIR AGRESSIVE AND STRAIGHT-FOWARDED LYRICS AND MUSIC.

VP=TELL US THE DISCOGRAPHY OF RECHARGE...
BJORN=SEE QUESTION 01 FOR DISCOGRAPHY.APART FROM THIS,WE DON´T HAVE ANY DEMOS OUT,THERE ARE SOME LIVE RECORDING ON TAPES FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

VP=THE 3 RECHARGE TRAX IN THE FUCKING GREAT COMP. DOUBLE LP "CHAOS OF DESTRUCTION" VOL.II ARE LIVE FROM JAPAN! WELL TELL US ABOUT THAT TOUR IN JAPAN...
BJORN=WELL,OUR SILENT SCREAM 12" WAS RELEASED AS A CD VERSION IN JAPAN,SO THE GUY FROM TRIBAL WAR ASIA ASKED US TO PLAY SOME GIGS THERE.IT WAS VERY INTERESTING THERE.WE PLAYED TOWNS LIKE TOKYO AND NAGOYA AND MET A LOT OF NICE PEOPLE.THE JAPANESE BANDS WE PLAYED WITH WERE VERY FAST AND BRUTAL AND EXCELLENT MUSICIANS.THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS THAT WE LOST A LOT OF MONEY.SO I WOULD ADVICE EVERY BAND TO FIND A DECENT ORGANIZAER BEFORE GOING ON A TOUR IN JAPAN.

VP=WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT BRAZILIAN SCENE?
BJORN=I MET PEOPLE FROM RATOS DE PORÃO AND OLHO SECO WHEN THEY WERE TOURING IN GERMANY AND GOT TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE BRAZILIAN PUNK SCENE.WE ALSO USED TO LISTEN TO A LOT OF BRAZILIAN BANDS IN THE EARLY 1980´S WHEN COMPILATIONS LIKE "GRITO SUBURBANO" WERE ALSO RELEASED IN GERMANY.WE WOULD LOVE TO TOUR IN BRAZIL!

VP=WHAT MORE ELSE?...FINAL WORDS...
BJORN=CHEERS AND PROST TO ALL BRAZILIAN PUNKS.KEEP YOUR HAIR SPIKED UP! PUNK´S NEVER DEAD!!!