RADIKALKUR / JASON
Split Lp
LP,
Bloodshed666
Bloodshed 666 are important proponents of the Austrian DIY- and
anarcho-punk-scene, but instead of sitting in dark alleyways, parks or
shopping malls and bumming cigarettes and small change from passer-bys, they
rather get down and dirty and do something worthwhile. Like releasing
records. No, this time I am not being cynical. They have also released the
BBS Paranoicos / EMS – split album, but it took them almost two years to
get from that record to this one here. And in their world, nothing has
changed. More truthfully, their ideal of the world as it should be hasn’t
changed. The world itself has become quite a lot worse, as you all know.
Their ideals, which combine political viewpoints such as anti-globalisation,
anti-capitalist, autonomous activities and a more harmonious and peaceful
society, with personal ideals, such as friendship and working together with
respect and unanimous decisions (as in democratic) also hold true for the
bands they release. I am sure, they check every release with their personal
politics and that is just as good. Everyone who runs a label should decide
for himself, what he wants to release, right? Well, yes, but if your reasons
are terribly wrong or opposed to mine, I will tell you so, that is my right.
Having said that, let’s move on to the bands. Radikalkur are from
Austria and the started of as rather stupid, generic German punks but have
evolved a lot since then, which they prove ten times around in the most
energetic and compact fashion. I guess, you’d describe their style as a
fast mixture between crusty punk and (metal-)hardcore with very diverse
styles of singing and a big dynamic between slower parts and fast, trashy
parts. There are some samples here and there and they fit very well, so this
is very good overall. But that is only music. With this kind of music I am
much more interested in the political messages of the band, and there are
plenty. From the international squatters-logo to songs about abortion,
famine, discrimination but also very personal lyrics about the scene (of
course), against emo and the hopelessness and despair everyone of us will
feel at one point or another. There is so much wrong in this world, that you
just have to feel overwhelmed when thinking about it. Radikalkur make a
point of stating that they live for an anarchistic utopia, so I’ll repeat
that here.
What is anarchy you ask? It is the absence of artificial authorities.
Yes, it is that easy. But noone with a sane mind wants artificial
authorities? True, because everyone with a sane mind is an anarchist.
(paraphrased from dialogue between Günther Nenning and Hermes Phettberg
some years ago.)
Jason and Radikalkur met each other during some shows they played
together and became friends. Ain’t it great how these networks work? The
music of Jason, who are from Brazil, is more diverse than that of
Radikalkur. This might be an effect of either Brazilian recording-practices,
i.e. recording whenever possible in various locations on different places,
or of the fact, that this is a compilation of the “best” (who decided
that) tracks of their three records released in Brazil. Jason are more
in-your-face and more old-fashioned than Radikalkur, but no less effective
or impressive. Their lyrics are more encrypted and very interesting to read,
which means I am not at all sure what they are about, but some things are
truly running afoul in Brazil. It is another proof for me that people and
places are more different than usually suspected. Or are you able to imagine
living in Brazil? Not in some privileged position or hotel, but like the
people who grew up there? I don’t think so.
