This is an Interview I did with Philipp (drummer) sometime ago, when RITUALs latest record just came out. I somehow almost forgot about it. I guess, for the German and European readers, there's nothing more to write down about the band. Everyone knows them. Not everyone loves them, though. But when it comes down to current hardcore bands one can not deny their impact.
Read what Philipp had to say:
Who are you, what are you doing in Ritual and do you think, Joy Division could have been the biggest Rockband since the Beatles, if Ian Curtis didn't commit suicide?My name is Philipp, I maltreat rather than play the drums for Ritual. And no, I don’t think Joy Division could have become that big. There seems to be something morbid about music lovers that makes me believe that it was Curtis’ suicide that made the band as legendary as they are today. Maybe people think that it makes the band more authentic or whatever. But since these are only speculations Kraftwerk will remain the second greatest band of all time.
Ritual may be the hardest working German Hardcore band, when it comes down to Touring, Updates and the actual fact, that there's always been some talk surrounding the band. Even during the time last year, where nobody really knew, what was going on with the band, the band has been a semi-huge subject on message boards etc. Why do you think, this is?I really don’t know. Now this is a disappointing answer, I know. But first of all, I have to say that we didn’t really recognise the ongoing talk about the band in the time that we were absent. Anyway, I’ve come to get the impression that people feel like they have to have a clear opinion on us. I’ve witnessed some discussions about us on some different messageboards, where people would divide into haters and lovers and almost nothing in between. And although this may sound absurd, I really do like that in a way. If we really make people want to talk about us, be it positive or negative, it feels like we’re taken seriously and that’s wonderful.
You had the chance to tour Europe a couple of times. Compared to other (European) bands, you already did so at quite a young age. What was this like in the beginning of the band?This is ridiculous: The first show we ever played was the beginning of our first tour that we did with The Facts. At that time we had another band that was supposed to do the tour, but that band was quite unreliable and only a few weeks before the tour it was clear that this other band couldn’t go. So we said we could do the tour with our new band – and we did. Looking back on that tour I still think it was amazing. We had just recorded a demo and when we played in Stuttgart we got to know Tassilo who later released that demo as our debut 7”. It all went pretty quick since then.
When Ritual started, the band-members were in their mid-teens. I guess, your age has been a big Extra for the band. You most likely have been one of the youngest persons at most of the shows. Now, since we're in touch for some years, have you noticed any change ever since?Sure. I think that’s the natural process of getting older, while younger people are getting into hardcore. You’re right: When we started, we were probably the youngest people on the shows we played. Today, I believe, we’re at the average age. I often hear or read people complain about young kids at shows being homogeneous, looking stupid or whatelse might be annoying to them. I think this is really dumb. I would like to see these people at age 15 or 16 and I think they weren’t different at all.
Speaking of your age. The band's been around now for a while. Are there some points in your "career" where you wish, people would not have witnessed you? Like, some things the band stated or whatever? I know, this doesn't sound too special, but (older) people tend to forget, that with the Internet there has also come a time, where almost everything's been documented.Not really, I think. As I said before, I think it’s just natural being young and enthusiastic about certain values or whatever. I consider this more like something you need to go through. Indeed I might have said a lot of stupid things, but I view that more as a stage of development that I had to leave behind.
I know, it's an unfair judgment, but in the beginning your band has always been labeled a vegan straight edge band. Now, this actually was never right and it certainly is not anymore nowadays. This label has attracted some people who most likely would never care about you as a band music-wise (also lyric-wise, I think). What are your feelings on this?I have never seen us being labeled as a vegan straight edge band actually. Three of us were and still are vegan, but that was never really a topic for us as a band, except for one older song called “Saints” that deals with the hypocrisy that is maintained by a lot of carnivores to justify their way of eating. It’s not about preaching to these people, but about criticising the discourse on this issue. I think I can say I still fully support the idea behind that song.
On that straight edge thing: Indeed we all were straight edge in the beginning. We never really wanted to make a big thing out of it, but since all other myspace-pages were already taken we chose to have Xes around the band name. For that reason a lot of promoters also put the Xes on flyers. We always hated it, but in the end it was our fault, of course. Today two of us drink. Deni dropped the edge and our (not so) new bass player Pascal never was. Straight Edge has always been a personal choice. This should be very easy to understand. Many people still don’t.
Why people are attracted to us is something that we obviously don’t have any influence on. And we don’t want to either. We can’t control what people want to see in us, so to me anything is alright, really. More than that, I applaud different people coming together at our shows. We’re not making music for a specific audience.
Your newest output is called "beneath aging flesh and bone". What does the title refer to?It’s a line from our song “Somewhere in the Rain”. To me, that song is programmatic, because it reflects many motives that also appear in other songs on the record. We chose “Beneath Aging Flesh and Bone”, because to us it summed up what the record is about. And if you ask me what the record actually is about, to me it’s about the struggles of growing older with all the paradoxes that are connected with it: believing vs. losing faith, falling in and out of love, living with other people and being alone.
You have used quotations and sound-samples in your music/designs. Why did you do so? I know, it’s not that unusual, but I never asked myself why. So, maybe could you help me?John Coltrane once said: “It’s like a big reservoir, that we all dip out of.” It’s like that. That’s how pieces of art are connected with each other. Some quotations are more subtle than others, but you know art doesn’t come out of nowhere.
Let’s switch topics a little; talk about music. You once told me your Top 5 Bands which you kind of grew up with. Please share them with us.Here we go…first and foremost: The Beatles – When I was a kid, I loved my parents’ Beatles records, especially the Red Album, although my mother had a mispress that included the first LP twice, so I never got to know the second LP until I was older. I remember listening to The Beatles as a child and, for the very first time in my life, having a premonition of what’s cool about music. Today I still love The Beatles, but now I prefer the later, more experimental Beatles period that began with their album “Revolver”.
Oasis – My love for Oasis began at the time I wanted to start playing in a band myself. I was 12, when I bought “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?”. It totally blew my mind, it became my purpose in life. I started playing the drums and founded a “band” with my then best friend. We started playing cover versions of Oasis songs together. When I later got into hardcore, I started disliking Oasis for two years or so, because I thought that their rock’n’roll clichés wouldn’t go together with my punk ideals. At age 17 or 18, I finally rediscovered them and today I believe it’s a privilege living on the same planet than the Gallagher brothers, haha. Their break up is sad, but I’m hoping Noel’s solo record is going to make up for that.
Refused – I think this is the band that finally got me into hardcore. I liked their energy and the political approach to music they had. “Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent” became my new favourite record and from there I started to discover the world of hardcore. I got into Inside Out, Chokehold, bands like that. “Songs to Fan the Flames” also made me want to start playing in a hardcore myself. Today I don’t listen to Refused anymore really, although I think I still like the records. I think they lost their appeal to me, when I found out that they copied a lot from The Nation of Ulysses.
The Smiths – Looking back from today I could laugh myself to death how I was a fool to believe that probably no one else in the world could relate to The Smiths and Morrissey as much as I did when I was 16. That’s almost everything I can say about this. This band is larger than life, but everyone knows this anyway.
Blumfeld – Now this is actually a rather young love. I discovered Blumfeld when I was 19 and it took a very long time for them to grow on me. This band evolved from Hamburger Schule-Indie with a clear Deutsch-Punk spirit to pop music in its purest sense. Distelmeyer’s lyrics range from cryptic to blatant. Although mistaken for easy-listening this band is definitely not easy to get. But then finally they got me and today I claim Jochen Distelmeyer to be my new Morrissey.
You were a big Moz/Smiths Fan as a teen. What was it that got you so attracted to them? And do you sometimes fear that you’ll become this sort of Die-Hard Fan in his 40ies, working as a teacher, single and psychotic… well?Working as a teacher? Yes. Single? No. Psychotic? Yes. I’ve already crossed that topic in the previous question. This will sound trivial, but I believe what makes Morrissey so great and inescapable is that his lyrics always seem to understand you. He kicks you in the showers and he grabs and devours. I think I can say that today I developed a healthier relationship towards him. I still like him and all that, but I’m not that fanatic anymore.
I know that you discovered the beautiful world of Dreampop/Shoegaze a couple of months ago. What is it that keeps you interested in all different styles of music? Please name your current Top 5 Bands you discovered in the last couple months? And why?What keeps me interested in many different musical genres probably is the fact that all the different moods in life need a different soundtrack. I guess it’s really as simple as that. So here’s my Top 5 of new discoveries:
Ja, Panik – In fact, I love pop music. Since Blumfeld is one of my alltime favourite bands, I got interested in Ja, Panik as well, cause they claim to be deeply influenced by Jochen Distelmeyer. Musically they sometimes remind me of old British bands like The Jam, which is surely a good thing. If you don’t fear being labeled a cliché student, give them a try. (It feels really weird writing about a German-speaking band in English.)
Psychic TV – I know Throbbing Gristle for quite a long time and have a rather difficult relationship towards them (which I think is very normal probably). I had always thought that checking out Psychic TV isn’t a good idea, when you haven’t even stomached TG. But when I finally listened to Psychic TV, it struck me that it’s actually way easier to listen to PTV than TG. Psychic TV are special, there’s no other band like them, really.
Kreidler – They’ve just put out a new album called “Mosaik 2014” that I admire very much. They’re from Düsseldorf and their music is also in the tradition of that city. In the 90ies they even collaborated with the legendary Klaus Dinger (RIP) and their new album sounds absolutely futuristic. The best description that comes to my mind: Krautrock translated into the digital age.
J Mascis and the Fog – Yes, this is actually ridiculous: For a very long time now I worship Dinosaur Jr., but I’ve never managed to listen to J Mascis’ solo project. When I finally did so, it totally blew my mind, and I wondered to myself why I hadn’t done so earlier. Everyone, try “More Light” for pure genius!
The Human League – I bought a cheap record from The Human League in a secondhand-recordstore and found it was complete bullshit, but then I listened to their album “Dare” and that album is actually a true jewel of classic 80ies pop music. Listen to it!
Since you do not only listen to Hardcore and Punk, do you think there could be a point, where you’d say you can’t play in Ritual anymore? Because you kinda lost touch? Are there any other musical projects you’re involved?At this point, I don’t think so. I could only imagine that someday we may reach a point where we realise that we don’t really sound like hardcore anymore. But that would only mean a natural progression of our sound, so in a sense it would still be hardcore. Anyway, besides listening to music from various genres I still feel that nothing beats the energy of a hardcore show.
There are other musical projects I’m involved in. Tora Torapa is kind of a post-rock outfit, but all the people involved constantly neglect that band, so it barely exists. Then we had a pop-punk band called Goodbye Sweet Halo, but we don’t do anything anymore. And last week I started a Krautrock-band with my friend Pogo from Press Gang, but that will just be a jam-band. And at the same time my substitute for drugs.
That’s it. Any last words?Thanks for everything. Worship Ebbing!
