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Hero-worship? Maybe. When news came down that wewould be allowed to interview Justin Broadrick of Godflesh I became quiteexcited. After all,Godflesh has set the standard for extreme music by goingagainst the norm.Furthermore, Godflesh paved the way for machine music andbands like Pitch Shifter by combining elements of techno, industrial anddeath/doom into one unique package.
We caught up with Justin at his home in Whales,taking a well deserved breakfrom touring to support Songs of Love and Hate,their fifth album. We spokeabout technology and how it is helping/hurtingthe underground. We spoke atgreat length on the differences between musictrends in Europe and theUnited States.
Robert: I read in a recent interview that you aredoing hard disk editingusing Cue Base. How is that working out?
Justin: All the songs from the Love and Hate albumwere done on an AppleMac. I did everything on a Power Mac. I just went mad,cutting things up and using all kinds of plugins and all sorts of stuff.The songs could only be realized, as far as I'm concerned, on the AppleMac in terms of computer technology.
Robert: Computers have given us the power thatrecording studios once had.
Justin: Exactly.
Robert: Given computers and the internet, can yousee a time where the deathgrip held by the major music corporations -- Sony,Time Warner, Columbia,will be loosened?
Justin: Yeah, yeah, I know exactly what you aretalking about. The fantastic thing about the internet is that nobody hascome along yet, they're trying to censure it, but they haven't tried tocorporately dominate everything. The internet is pretty healthy at the moment-- I guess that they'll try, they will try to stop it. It is the only freeform medium. The internet is so tremendous. I love the power of it. I cansend music files to people. I would like to get into ISDN so we can do livethings over the net and stuff. It is good because it is bringing power backto the artist as well as the people in between, as well as labels. The artiststhemselves are getting more hands on. It is really an exciting time. I can'tgo a day without my Apple Mac
Robert: I see a time when it will be possible todownload an album right off the internet and drop it to the burnable CD.
Justin: That is when you will see Sony and theothers try to take over. It is scary stuff. This is the first time thatpeople have had communications without censorship.
Robert: I've seen some start up net radio stationsso I can't imagine that the FCC can be too far off. They will want to licenseand tax and put the small guy out of business.
Justin: Exactly
Robert: Speaking of the net, I went to Earache'shomepage and looked at your official page on their site. They describe Godfleshas a "Noise Partnership." Do you agree with that analogy?
Justin: No, not at all. The best site for Godfleshis an unofficial site called "Crumbling Flesh." A guy that callshimself the Slavemaster runs it.That is an excellent site. It is a hugesite with loads of images. It is the best one I've seen. The one on Earacheis horrible. It is terribly out of date, seven years out of date. I've lookedat it once or twice but it really sucked. That site angers me, there isnothing going on; there is nothing updated; there is no information. Itis piss poor. They could do better than that.
Robert: I would think that they could have a contestor something. They could probably get someone to do it for free.
Justin: True. For a start Godflesh is not a "partnership."Of the many records that we've made, only two of them were done by justtwo people. Also being seen as a noise thing is taking away from what weare and what we do.
Robert: Is it made worse by having your own labelsay that? Justin: Yeah, that's it ya know. It is an easy way out for themto just say that. We are more than just noise. There is a lot of depth towhat we are and they just generalized. Us Besides, we are not too sure aboutwhat we are.
Robert: Funny you should say that. I had a goodfriend that I turned on to Godflesh and he said, "If people lived insideof volcanoes, this is the music that they would listen to."
Justin: Yeah, I like that. People come up withbizarre images about Godflesh. I like that, it is enjoyable. We get people'simaginations going. The downside is that because it can't be pinned downit is not always the most popular music. Which is not what it is designedfor. We never envisioned that we would be playing stadiums. I see what wedo as being very honest. That is quite important to us and I feel very pureabout what we do.
Robert: STREETCLEANER is what really turned meon to Godflesh. Even today when I talk to people about Godflesh, STREETCLEANERis what they immediately refer to. Does that bother you living in the shadowof that album?
Justin: It was a very fresh sound at that time.It really changed a lot of things and it made a very big impact. The downsideis that when you create something unique like STREETCLEANER you always haveto live in the shadow. Sometimes I get down about it but sometimes whensomething touches you, whether a book or movie, you can't help but compare--nothingwill match the original impact. People develop expectations. It is a generalization,but a true one. I think about the things that I like and I, too, have expectations.
Robert: STREETCLEANER was Earache's 15th release.As far as I know, Godflesh was the first band on Earache that didn't featurea drummer. What kind of support did you get from Earache? Did they pressureyou to use a real drummer?
Justin: The drum machine was of no consequenceto them. They were very supportive at the beginning. They didn't questionanything we did; they wanted to see how things would go. It was so heavy.They were excited because it was weird and it was going beyond convention.It had the power of heavy metal but it wasn't a heavy metal band. They sawthe drum machine as being a part of the mechanical thing. They just letit go.The initial stumbling block with the drum machine was with live audiences.We knew we hit the right point when people started questioning what we we'redoing. The wheels were rolling.
Robert: You mentioned audiences. Lets talk aboutthat. I spent five years over in Europe and the metal scene and the undergroundscene was so different. For example, I had to attend huge outdoor fest tosee bands like Kreator and Obituary. These bands do not do so well in theUnited States. What is the difference between the American and Europeanaudience?
Justin: The metal scene in Europe is much biggerthan in the states but it is not easy for bands that are on the fringe.. . band like Godflesh. We have a better time in American than we do inEurope. We play to bigger audiences. Our first tour in England was withNapalm Death. People were screaming at us, "You're too fuckin' slow"and "where's your drummer." People were spitting on us. We kindof enjoyed it, not in a masochistic sense but in the confrontational sense.The funny thing was that two years later the same people that were spittingon us were now stage diving to Godflesh. It was the media; the media turnedaround and said, "It is ok for you to like this." The first timewe played with Napalm Death in America people were going apeshit for Godflesh--right over the top. The metal scene in Germany is health and big but veryconservative.
Robert: That is true. Had metal had the same popularityhere in the states as it had in Germany it would have been a three-ringcircus. Here, they just take anything with the slightest hint of popularityand blow it out of proportion. Every two-bit grocery store will try to capitalizeon it. When something is popular they will manipulate it for all it is worthand then bring up the next product from their product line.
Justin: Exactly, MTV is responsible for a lot ofthat. That is why the internet is so good, at least you have some sort ofempowerment going on. Backhanders dominate MTV and no one can penetratethat. MTV in Europe is a tad bit more open than in the states.
Robert: MTV Europe was a bit better. They stillhad the headbanger's ball and sometimes bands like Carcass would host. Youwould never see that here.
Justin: They got rid of it over here too. Theyreplaced it with a show called "Super Rock." It gives them a licenseto show anything even closely related to metal to include alternative. Nowyou see bands like Radio Head and Motley Crue. It is so funny to see bandsthat are not true to themselves.
Robert: If you weren't doing music what would yoube doing?
Justin: I can't imagine life without music. I wouldhave to be in a position where I had never heard of music. I have to existwith expression; I have to be creative. Maybe I would be doing art, perhapspainting. I gave up art to do music but that was at a very young age.
