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Valina Interview with Anatol Bogendorfer for
www.melodick.com in fall 2003
by Fabien Sale
When did you get the desire to constitute a band and play together?
When we were between 14 and 16 years old (that is nearly ten years ago) every now-member of Valina, I guess, had this desire to be in a band.
We knew each other from school and everyone of us started his own band. After 2 years those bands split up. I looked for someone playing the drums and "found" Claus who never played drums before. (He was an excellent guitar player too.) At this time I guess the simple desire to be in a band already had changed into the feeling that playing music in a band is the most natural thing we can do. Husbert joined the Conspiracy right after.
By whom has your band been influenced (music, cinema, literature) in general and each members of your band?
Honestly I guess everyone of us feels influenced by everything that surrounds him on each day. Yes, movies and mafia movies, friends, persons and enemies, magazines, newspapers and trash press, politics and political philosophy, erotic, art and sexual standards, the local bartender, the monthly rent, italian culture, southitalian women and austria´s nazi past, books and semi-scientific literature and tons of records which are a pain in the ass if you have to move them from one to the other apartment.
Musically ? You wanna hear some bands, right ? Well it´s hard to name even just a few bands, labels or records we love right now or loved in the past tense : Although I don´t know if this makes sense ....here we go : Ornette Coleman, Touch & Go, Anticon´s Indie Hip Hop Artists, The Jesus Lizard, Don Cab, Led Zeppelin, Nina Nastasia, Team Dresch, Wire, Sex Pistols and other pop musicians like Vivaldi and Richard Wagner, Sun Ra and Ramones, Johnny Cash, AC/DC, Albert Ayler, Steve Albini and his bands, a jazz band doing coverversions of Aphex Twin and Nirvana, fifteen people who fuck around with electronic music, 101 loud punk bands, 67 quiet solo artists, 7 local bands, some free jazz and my mama´s and grandmama´s sing-along on a tragic, strange and perverse date named 24th of december.
Do you have some difficulties to get known in Austria?
I wouldn´t call it difficulties. I guess it´s everywhere in the world the same situation for a new band. You have to deal with the same small problems when you start playing.(Except you are a fucking rich kid and call your boring band The Strokes) No matter where or who you are. No one knows you. No one pays you. No one thinks you are his new favourite band.....but why should they ? Everything takes it´s time. And it´s always your own decision how much time you wanna spend on things you do.
We exist now for nearly 8 years.
We are doing fine in Austria. And we are doing fine at some other spots on this planet too.
Are you satisfied of the way your album is received? (is it sold? About the critics?)
Look, I am satisfied in general about how the album turned out in the end.
I am happy that we got to know a lot of people and made some new friends through this album.
I am happy that a lot of people got to know Valina through this record.
I am happy that we are able to sell records on 2 continents.
And that there were a lot of nice people talking nice about us in their reviews.
But I wouldn´t associate all those positive feelings with the word "satisfaction".
I am maybe just once a day "satisfied"- that´s when there´s the perfect "crema" on top of my espresso !
How did you get the idea of recording with Steve Albini ?
Since we are fans of his work as a recording engineer, of his bands and his subversive politics concerning the music buisness.
Did you reach your expectations?
Yes, I think so.
And that´s easy for us as we don´t believe in magic things, wonders, money, major labels, God and other corporate industries.
What is the meaning of the artwork of the album?
It´s the silhouette of Charlie Chaplin.
And I think it fits very well to the musical and lyrical content of "Vagabond".
It seems to me your album has been influenced by Shellac. What do you think about this affirmation?
You are not the first one who compares Valina with Shellac. We are fans of this band as we are fans of a few other hundred bands.
It seems like people always feel forced to affirmate a "small" band with a "bigger" band. I neither have a problem with this nor to be named with the american band Shellac in one sentence.
If we are influenced by them? Yes I am quite sure about this.
Why did you call your album "Vagabond"?
I like the word. It sounds better than "Modern times".
What messages do you want to transmit in your album?
No particular message. There are a few stories told in the lyrics. There are a few opinions. My opinions. And as I am no artist, no journalist, no critic, no narcissist and no obvious fan of Valina - could there be any other reason why to interpret my own lyrics? I don´t think so.
What is the meaning of the sentence "the north the south you understand"?
It´s a very simplified idea. An endless political argument. A pessimistic quiet scream. An abstract statement. I do not believe in stereotypes, cliches and any form of political systems and religions, nor do I believe in revolutions - but the argument and fight for a less-assholes society has to be continued as long it´s so easy in this world to be an asshole.
Maybe it´s a black/white thought. But you know, I am no hippie. And I will never find a voice in someone else. It´s kinda natural and reasonable to me when there come enemies along with your daily life. Minus/Plus, Rich/Poor, the mind user/the stupid one, asshole/asshole, the norm/the interesting things in life, the system how to build a house/anarchistic clowns, the good will/personal failure - the north and the south, you understand.
It´s fucking everything and nothing.
I have the impression the music of your band is sometimes very melodious and sometimes complex. What was your intention?
I don´t lie if I tell you that there has never been any special intention.
We are no concept-band.
What we do is spending days,weeks, months in the rehearsal room. We try to create songmaterial or elements that sound interesting and exciting to us.
Or let´s say we try to find out what is interesting for us (at the moment).
I have more or less concrete ideas, sometimes. But those concrete ideas get abstract at the moment when 3 people try to realize this ideas by playing their own instruments. It´s a mess. And it takes time to clean house. In the end there should be a song we like in general and we´re sure that we´ll like to play live. We never think of a song as a "complex" or "melodious" one.
What do you prefer? =to play in a concert or to make an album
These are two different things. Not compareable with eachother. I love both and don´t prefer the one to the other.
It´s like having sex with someone else or do it yourself.
One week you like to record an album - the following week you wanna play the songs live.
The one day you don´t have a boy- or girlfriend and you enjoy masturbation. The next day you feel like going out and fuck with somebody. And you like it.
Just to do one thing means boredom to me. Some people think different. In this case I guess they are either intellectuals or grew up with a catholic single mum.
What is your behaviour on the stage?
What do you mean? We go up there and play our music live. Sometimes we enjoy it and sometimes the audience is doing the same.
I don´t think we behave different on stage than not on stage. We just have our instruments with us and we try to entertain some people including us.
Sometimes I talk a little - sometimes not. The same like during the rest of the day.
There are no special show elements. We are quiet persons. I think our sex factor is a little different to the one of Elvis Presley. I am sorry.
What are your projects for the future?
We soon gonna record a split 7inch with the Minneapolis based band Sicbay.
We´ll tour Europe with them in February and march 2004. At this tour I will come to Poland for the first time in my life. I´m looking forward to that.
There´s the plan to go on a tour in the US in april or may.
We don´t think of a new record now.
Husbert and Claus are students. They´re gonna be doctors, crazy or rich soon.
I will continue to work and try to learn the italian language.
Do you know some french bands ?
Hapi Uiz, Cheval De Frise, Les Thugs, Double Nelson, Cheuvreul, Ned, Moller Plesset.
What questions do you like to be asked?(you may answer)
1) Could you imagine to answer these questions on a laptop at 2am in your bed waiting for the news on the radio if Schwarzenegger is going to be the next gouvernor of California or not?
Answer: No, why are you askin´?
2) What´s the time now in Valina country?
Answer: 2:30 (Conan Time) !!!
What do you think of the list of bands and albums given below ?
I have choosen these band because I think they have a link with your music or with the actuality , or because these band have played in austria and maybe with you
White circle crime club "these are the secret..."
In the beginning I just knew that they are our new labelmates on Conspiracy Records.
Then I organized a show for them in Linz.
I think that they are a great band.
I guess some people would call this emo-core. I don´t know what emo-core means. "Pretty Vacant" is a hit.
They look like typical belgians. Tall like giants - because they get french fries already as babies.........
sonic youth "dirty"
Sonic Youth was the band that turned my ego and soul into punk rock when I was 13 years old. With "Goo" and "Daydream Nation". As I prefered the musical "Sonic Youth-punk attitude" to the "Deutsch-Punk"-bullshit some of my older friends were into.
They were kinda important for my musical socialisation. Right now I don´t think that they are as exciting and innovative as they used to be.
mineral "end serenading"
I don´t know them.
Robokop kraus "tiger"
I think they are good. We played with them in Toulouse. They know what they are doing. They are nice people. I am sure there are no influences on each other. Day After is fine label.
monochrome "ferro"
They let us stay in their apartment when we recorded our first record in Stuttgart. I bought the "Radio"-record before because of the cover artwork and liked the music too. "Ferro" isn´t close to the point I think. We´ve met eachother recently again in Lyon. They are nice.
shellac"at action park"
When I heard Big Black for the first time I was blown away completely. I was 16 and felt strong in a particular personal sense.
Albini´s Shellac were important too as I was convinced by them to a way a band should sound on their records. Nothing better than listening to the natural sound of a band on a well made high quality record!
chokebore "motionless"
We played once with them. That´s a while ago. I liked the "Anything Near Water " record. I didn´t buy the other records. I think this band is ok. Troy Bruno fucked with a friend of mine for a while. She was depressed later. Teenage angst.
fugazi "repeater"
It would be a honour to play with them once. They´re the best, of course. I don´t think that we are musically influenced by them a lot. 123repeater
sleepers "cut off"
I don´t know them.
sum 41 "does this look infected"
I don´t know them either.
system of a down "toxicity"
A friend of mine is a carpenter. He listens to this band, John Zorn and Napalm Death while he is working. He thinks they´re funny.
I laugh at work. But I don´t listen to music then.
the ex "dizzy spells"
I guess I like the band a lot although I don´t know all of their records. They are one good example for how to be a politcal band that is able to play exciting music at the same time.
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