Hi,
sir Keule! How are you doing? Probably drinking dark beer with tons of candies,
I suppose?)
Thank
you - I`m fine. Ha , no dark beer... usually I don`t drink beer that often. Only
in holidays or at special events. I prefer to drink water, coffee,
fruitjuice...
First
and foremost question from me: how did you come up with a drunk elk on a logo?)
About
that funny looking elk - well it`s not drawing by myself.I took it illigal from
a popular german cartoonist ( Waltewr Moers ) for some reasons: if you see the
logo you can`t imagine what kind of music you will get ; it looks funny - even
if most messages in Grind /
Crust are more political and NOT funny and my main influences in early days
were bands from scandinavia.
Do
you remember the moment when you thought to yourself "man, I should start
a label"? What drove you into it 30 years ago?
Before
I started the label I already distributed friends releases and ordered some
stuff directly from the bands or the label to spread the copies to my friends.One
day some friends ( the band SM 70 ) wanted to put out another 7" and so
they asked me if I`m interested in releasing that 7" - together with their
bass-player ( Jens ) who started the label Thought Crime Records.
What
do you plan to release this year? What new hot records will appear on a shelves
by Rødel Records?
I
just released Earth Crust Displacement - d-takt noize 12"; co-released
Social Chaos - Dia Do Obito LP with a bunch of brazilian labels and will
co-release Cavernicular - Man`s Place In Nature LP ( will be out soon ) ; a Violent
Frustration / Cavernicular - split
12" later on and even MPG want to put out new stuff . But I only can release
a handful of stuff coz I also have to spread the copies to get some free space in
the basement for upcoming releases . It`s also a question of money - usually it
takes a while to get back the money I put into a release.
Few
people know that you are a fan of a deserted isolated places. Why do they
attract you so much? Tell us about your trip to Chernobyl :)
When
I was a kid I loved to play in lost houses / abandoned places . They were
pretty close to where I grew up and now I go there not to play but to take
pictures of lost places. The special interest in Prypjat / Tschernobyl grew up
a longer time. When it happened back in 1986 we had a outdoor party a few days
after the catastrophe – and noone of us knew if the radioactive fallout also
will reach Berlin - and than it started to rain . The first rain since the
catastrophe happened.... it was a scary feeling. So I decided 30 years later to
go there to take pictures . You need official papers to go there and the complete
area is fenced so you can`t go there without permission - and that`s why it is pretty
interesting to go there - no vandalism , no graffitis.... just lost houses and
nature. Our guide only took us to "safe" places with lower radiation
and also warned us not to leave the streets . The radiation in the streets is
pretty low - compareable to the radiation in Berlin - but if you leave the
street for 2 or 3 meters and go ito the bushe the radiation is way more high… we
had "Geiger-Counter" to messure the radiation to make the trip way
more safe - so you were able to check the area by yourself .
The
most successful release was the re-release of Agathocles / Morbid Organs
Mutilation (M.O.M.) - split 7" . the original japanese version was sold
out pretty quick so I asked both bands and the
label for a possible euro-pressing
followed by M.V.D. - stagnation of thinking 7". But usually I
repress my releases as often as needed.
You
also living a very active life. I know that you are making a living by teaching
people skiing. And you also travel a lot and climb up the mountains. How do you
manage to do all these things in your life? May I suggest that traveling brings
peace to your soul?
Yes
- I use to travel a lot , not only for skiing / snowboarding for myself - but
also for teaching kids how to snowboard . And I use to go climbing a lot . It`s
kind of a compensation of daily life . if you climb you`re only focused in the
route only. All stress dily bullshit is so far away in that time - it`s really
relaxing....
Your
label is one of the oldest, you supported a lot of great bands and helped them
to grow. But nevertheless, Rødel Records had to rest for some time. About 5
years label was inactive. What was the reason for this hiatus and what woke the
label up and brought back to business?
Well - in the meantime I
had some breaks in releasing / distributing stuff . One reason was the time
when I lived and worked in the south of Germany for about 2 years and I also
slowed down label activities for family reasons for about 3 1/2 years . I also
slowed down label activities for some personal reasons from time to time. I
think it`s normal if you also do other stuff beside the label to focus in other
activities some time.
What
about live shows? Do you come to gigs with bags full of distro? Do you enjoy the
vibe of this kind of congregation?)
Yep
- I use to take my distro to gigs to sell some stuff / give people the chance
to buy stuff directly so they don`t have to pay postage rates. It`s kind of fun
to go to gigs – not only for selling records. My main aspect to go there is to
meet people / friends to talk to. Some times I even didn`t know the bands and
was surprised by them . a lot of bands are live way better than on any of their
releases .
Don't
get me wrong, and I really mean no offense, it's a compliment, trust me) Keule,
you are few years left from becoming an old man now and you've seen a lot. So I
would like to ask you about old times of grindcore underground scene. Was it
much more different from what we see today in digital era?
Well
- I only can speak for myself and how it looks for me - I don`t know if others
woul see it in the same way . In my eyes the scene changed a lot . When the
internet grew up people started not to answer to normal letters and these days
the people even don`t answer to e-mails if they`re not interested in trades or
whatever . So I lost a lot of contacts. Especially the bigger labels seem to be
way too busy to answer mails from small labels - even if they know you for
nearly 30 years.... and people even don`t have that much money left for records
than back in the nineties when dily life was way more cheap. So most people
prefer to buy the new release of a well known band instead the first 7" of
a totally unknown band. My buddies / friends know they can give back a record
if they really don`t like it - and I even give friends releases of unknown
bands just to check them out and if they like the record they can pay it next
time when we meet .
By
the way, about that digital stuff. Have you thought about creating an account
on Bandcamp? A lot of people use it today.
To
be honest - I never thought about about a bandcamp account - the main reason is
I have absolutely no idea how to do that - and it is not my music so i`m not
allowed to put bands stuff online... In my opinion no label should do so - only
if they got the allowance from the bands - but i think it is up to the band
itself to put their stuff online.
Would
you tell us about how to get a record released by Rødel Records? I understand
that the most basic thing is that you need to like the record itself but still,
what are the instructions for the bands? Should it be digital or on physical
format?
Well
- when I started the label I only released friends stuff . These days it has
changed a little - sometimes I ask bands which I really like if they want to
put out stuff on my label - even if I know it will take a very long time to
spread all the copies... I don`t release stuff for money reasons. Other labels
just release stuff they can distribute fast and easy even if they don`t like
the music that much… but that`s not my main goal. I even try to care for
quality even if it is way more expansive. That`s why I only put out a few releases
each year.
Sorry,
but since you are a label owner, this question has become a tradition on
GoodGuysGoGrind, hehe) Ever thought about writing music and performing
yourself?
I
don`t have enough time to play in a band seriously coz of all the other
freetime activities . To play in a band needs a lot of time for practising and
live performances and I would be a lousy musician. Up to a not that high level
I may could become a "musician" but only with a lot of practising and
ona low level - and I think not everyone should play in a band . In my opinion
way too many people play in too many shitty bands - but as long as they do it
for the fun to hanout with friends it`s fine with me . But it`s not my cup of
tea - I even like a lot of different styles so it would be difficult to put into
just one band...
Label
and distro is not only about long queues in post offices and tiresome waitings,
but it is also rooms full of vinyls, tapes, CDs and other stuff. Where do you
store all this?
Yes
- you`re absolutely right.... most stuff is in my basement but also in the
living room and some stuff in the sleeping room. My flat looks like a record
store...
