Originally written by james_ubaghs · 1 March 2013
Iceage appeared seemingly out of nowhere in 2011 with their impeccably ferocious yet anthemic debut. New Brigade was a thrilling concoction of dark post-punk that still held a melodic tinge, but played with all the fury and abrasion of the finest of hardcore. It was the work of a band seemingly fully formed out of the gate and was all the more impressive for the bands young age, Iceage were barely into their late teens. It showed there was still plenty of musical potential to be wrung from being an angry disillusioned young person equipped with the traditional instruments of rock and roll.
It was also a real word-of-mouth success that, despite the democratizing potential of the internet, rarely seems to organically and unexpectedly occur. New Brigade went from an initial 500 print run intended for their local Danish scene, to receiving worldwide acclaim and recognition. They’ve since done a whole lot of international touring, and have singed to Matador, who’ve put out their solid sophomore album You’re Nothing. The new album finds them going for a dirge-y, dense and more abrasive sound that at time recalls the like of Flipper, but is at its most interesting when they expand their stylistic touchstones beyond the traditional tenants of hardcore. Album highlight ‘Morals’ takes its structure from a 1960’s Italian pop ballad, and features some prominent piano work. They may be incredibly reluctant to discuss their musical influences in interviews but it’s clear that they have a far reaching and intriguingly idiosyncratic taste in music.
Yet despite their musical successes they’ve also been dogged by consistent criticism and controversy, much of which focuses on the groups alleged use of fascist aesthetics. At the very least it’s hard not to concede that they do appear to have at least superficially appropriated some of the signifiers of the far right, what with their obsession with runes, which have frequently been employed by neo-Nazi movements, and their wearing KKK like hoods and lighting things on fire in one of their early videos. The lyrical vagueness on New Brigade could again be used as supporting evidence, with its vague lyrics about marching across the land, and unity. It’s the sort of provocation that plenty of other punk groups have gotten up to in their day, and as ultimately questionable as these sorts of antics may be, the point does need to be made that there is a clear distinction between appropriating some of the aesthetics of fascism and actually being a jack booted bigot yourself.
Of perhaps greater concern was the news that Iceage were selling branded knives as merchandise at gigs, which whatever way you cut it isn’t the wisest or most responsible of acts. Prior to the release of the new album we sat down with Johan Surrballe Wieth and Jakob Tvilling Pless of the group to find out about their new LP, and to try to clear the air around some of the controversy surrounding Iceage. Speaking to them in person it became apparent that they’re neither Malcolm Mclaren-esque media manipulators, nor closeted white supremacists trying to infiltrate the world of alternative music for god knows what nefarious ends. No instead they’re exactly what they appear to be on the surface; that is a group of talented, incredibly young musicians with fine taste in music, that have aimed for obnoxious provocation in the past, and who don’t engage in a great deal of critical self-reflection.
So how did the new album come together?
Johan Surrballe Wieth: Very well.
I mean how did the writing and recording process go?
Jakob Tvilling Pless: It’s been long.
Johan: Lots of processes. It spans from just a couple of days after we recorded the first album that some of the songs came together, up until a day before we had to record the new one. It spans over a long time.
Would you say your recording process in the studios changed, or do you feel like you’ve developed?
Jakob: Developed in the sense that I think we all know much more how we wanted things to sound, and how we wanted everything to be.
Johan: And we were all more into making it.
Jakob: Yeah.
Johan: I don’t know how to explain…more focused…on like doing it well. In some ways we’re more mature.
Do you feel like your influences have changed at all?
Johan: They’ve become broader.
What are some of your influences?
Jakob: There’s loads.
Johan: Everything.
What are you listening to right now, any new bands you’ve recently discovered that have caught your interest, or old bands?
Jakob: Listening to a lot of stuff all the time.
Johan: There’s nothing specific that we listen to, listen to everything its really broad.
Is there anything you don’t listen to? Anything you hate?
Johan: There’s nothing I hate, I guess there’s stuff I don’t listen to, that often. I think I can enjoy most things.
You listen to more punk, stuff along those lines?
Jakob: I think it differs.
Johan: Not really.
Jakob: In the car on this trip, we’ve been mostly listening to classic rock, and electronic music, and some country and stuff.
Johan: A small bit of hip hop.
Your sound is often described as post- punk, are there any specific post-punk groups that have influenced you?
Johan: I think we’ve turned away from all the traditional classic post-punk stuff. I still listen to it, but it’s definitely not where I draw my influences from in writing music.
What is the state of the Denmark punk scene right now, the one you came out of? Has there been more attention after your success?
Jakob: Around our group of friends there has been a lot of attention.
Johan: They appreciate the attention, but it’s not absolutely necessary for the bands to do what they want to do. You can do it yourself.
What is the story behind the Iceage branded knives you were selling?
Johan: (Laughs) It’s amazing about these knives, it was just the idea of a friend in the states that it would be fun to do, and then it became a crazy big thing. It was just a strange merch thing to do.
Jakob: It was just a friend of ours, who said “hey we should do this, should we make these knives?” And we were like “Yeah actually we should”.
Johan: “Yeah that sounds like fun, you can do that.”
You’re not slightly concerned that somebody might get stabbed or an accident might happen?
Johan: Yeah but I think if someone wants to stab another person that doesn’t have anything to do with them, I mean if someone stabs someone I don’t think they just do it spontaneously- spontaneously stab someone because they have an Iceage knife.
Jakob: Also those knives are really small.
Johan: I mean you could still stab a person with it that’s sure.
Jakob: If I wanted to stab somebody, I’d probably use another knife.
Johan: I mean an actual accident, someone cutting themselves that happens. But it’s not like you can’t get knives anywhere else.
But does it not concern you to be associated with weapons?
Johan: I mean I really didn’t see it as a weapon. I mean it’s just like… I don’t know. I can see the stupidity of doing it; I see that it is in some ways kind of really idiotic. But in other ways we really haven’t sold many of them, and we didn’t really make a lot of them.
Is it not slightly risky behaviour? If something did go wrong could it not harm your band, and your reputation?
Jakob: The knives?
Johan: What do you mean by go wrong?
Assuming somebody was stabbed, even if you have faith that your audience wouldn’t do that, if the worst did happen would you not say that it’s risky?
Johan: Yeah, yeah, but then I would also say that any fan of ours could take another knife that didn’t have our logo on it and stab someone.
Jakob: I mean if someone is going to stab someone with one of our knives…
Johan: If you are referring to a situation where someone has bought one of our knives and all of a sudden thinks it’s a good idea to stab someone?
I’m saying hypothetically it could happen. There are gigs where people get stabbed. There was a Swedish House Mafia gig where 3 people got stabbed. I’m just saying it’s a possibility.
Johan: No that’s very true, yeah yeah. I just don’t think selling knives motivates people to stabbing other people. I think that a lot of other stuff motivates people into stabbing people.
Are the laws on knife ownership in Denmark quite strict?
Johan: We don’t sell them in Denmark.
Is that part of the appeal you think?
Johan: I think you’re putting a lot of thought into the fact we sold these knives. We just did because it seemed like a stupid thing to do. There’s not really an appeal to it I guess.
I just think it’s worth reflecting on these things.
Jakob: We didn’t reflect that much about it, it was just like “hey do you want me to make these knives for you”, and we were like that’s a great idea. I mean if someone is going to stab someone that person if fucked up and it’s not the knives fault.
Johan: People are dangerous.
That is an argument. Do you like to provoke people?
Johan: Once again the knives thing…
I mean in every sense.
Johan: I like emotions from people, I don’t necessarily need to provoke anyone into feeling offended, no, or sad, or angry. I like to make people feel something. Not necessarily bad, happiness would be nice as well.
But could you see how the knives could be provoking, was it intended to shock?
Jakob: Not at all.
Johan: We didn’t think about it as a shocking element no.
Are you interested in politics?
Jakob: No.
Would you say you have any political views?
Johan: Well I consider myself to be left wing, as a private person. But it has nothing to do with my music.
Would you ever consider expressing political elements in music?
Johan: Not in music never.
What would you say to the allegations that you flirt with right wing imagery as a band.
Johan: I would say that is ridiculous. And hopefully with this next new record we could get over that allegation.
I'm not saying that your right wing, or facist, but could you not see how some of your imagery could be construed as right wing?
Johan: Mention one thing.
In the video to ‘New Brigade’ you’re wearing pointed hoods and lighting things on fire, and that resembles the Ku Klux Klan. I’m not judging I’m just saying that it could be an aesthetic choice.
Jakob: It wasn’t intended…
Johan: It was just for the sake of looking like a cartoon. It wasn’t intended to make people offended, or make it seem like KKK, or any association with racist organizations.
Jakob: It is more about being a fuck, and going to the park and setting things on fire.
Johan: It really doesn’t mean anything you know. It’s just pictures we put together of stupid things.
But you could argue that all images have some sort of meaning.
Johan: You say that?
I’d say that. Not to say that you’re right wing, but a lot of other bands have used the same imagery. I’m just wondering if it was a conscious decision to explore these aesthetics.
Jakob: If people get the impression that we are right wing, that that is really unfortunate.
Johan: I mean it’s very interesting what you say that symbols hold a great meaning, and it is strange how different people interpret different things into it. I think it is important to take the power away from symbols.
Jakob: Also I don’t want to explain that I am not right wing. If people claim that I’m Nazi or anything, then it’s them who are the judging ones and not me.
Could you not see how there could be ambiguity? For example allegedly there were fans making Nazi salutes at one of your gigs? What happened there?
Jakob: No that was also wrong.
Was that for a different band?
Johan: No,no, no. There was one guy who we know, and he is not a Nazi. He’s…
An asshole?
Johan: No, the gentleman you are referring to is an alcoholic, and he’s nice but he is a sad man. He’s not a Nazi, he’s not right wing, he is just is an idiot. And he is always drunk. And he shouldn’t be doing stuff like that.
Jakob: But we didn’t play when he did that, it just occurred during the night.
How much longer do you see yourselves going for?
Johan: It’s very hard to say, until it’s not fun anymore.
Is it still fun now?
Jakob: Yeah of course. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here.
What would you say Iceage are about?
Johan: It’s about four friends playing music.
Jakob: It’s about friendship, and enjoying it.
Johan: For a very long time.