Complot (Bronswick) – Interview with Nikolai Ada
www.myspace.com/complotbronswick
Nattsol: I had many tries to know something about your line-up. But I didn’t find any information. So tell me please about the replacements and the reformations in it. Who used to write music and lyrics?
Nikolaï Ada: From the beginning, COMPLOT is a variable geometry band, with a fixed base, but many musician crossed the history of the group and participated in its life (anneli Maria Dreker from Bel CANTO, Peter Principal from Tuxedomoon, Maitre Nono Manzanza Tsakala from Zaire…etc…)
(Here is a link to the page of our site and some informations for all musicians who participated in the COMPLOT( members 2008 are Nikolaï Ada/ERT/Peking O/Pierre Fablet/Paolo “c”» Uccello)
http://www. iconaki. org/complotgeneal. htm )
Since 1988 I write texts, but there were on “L’image oubliée” : Arnaud LE Brusq, on “Maiakowsky”; “Darkroom‘s delights”: Patrick Chevalier, “Iconoclasmes” with the participation of several song writers: The Fanou Braz, Manu Norma Loy, Dominique Dalcan … etc …
Nattsol: So you had (and still have as I know) the play based on the life of Maiakovskiy. What was it? Tell me more details. Did you have some other plays?
Nikolaï Ada: I was in the 70s very touched by poetry and life of Maiakowsky artist in his time engaged in the revolution but also very critical and then it is also love the character that was Maiakowsky we hit. We wrote a song “who killed Maiakowsky” which raised the question of his death, Why did he kill himself? Too many questions about the Soviet system? or unhappy in love? In any case it was a great poet. He left us unforgettable works «”la flute des vertèbre” (The flute of vertebras) and many other beautiful poems.
Nattsol: That’s really interesting to know about that coldwave era. As I understand there was the huge influence by some post-punk and so-called ‘goth’ bands. Tell me more about it. What was it actually? And how did you start? What was the original idea of ‘Complot Bronswick’?
Nikolaï Ada: We met in 1980 (the Brusq Arnaud 1er singer, Yves André Lefeuvre (aka Peking O) drummer, Mauriice Chesneau (aka Paolo Uccello C) painter / graphic designer and I, Nikolai Ada to the guitar. We were influenced by groups as Can, ….Bowie…., Kraftwerk, the Sex Pistols or Eric Satie … but also movies. The Italian cinema of Fellini, Russian Esenstein or cinéastes of the French New Wave: Godard etc … literary works: Lautréamont, Baudelaire, Maiakowski or more contemporary writers such as The French : Le Clézio … painters like Picasso or Yves Klein and then … “The case Bronswick” an animated film Canadian handling mental image … the 25th image “image subliminal” Television advertising to sell all the ”crap”… the question of manipulation of minds, by what authority they are always been at the center of our thoughts and inspirations …
Nattsol: So tell me more about this film.
Nikolaï Ada: I saw it in the early 80′s. Some lady was complaining about buying dog food, despite the fact that she doesn’t own one. It’s a funny fake documentary about a conspiracy involving TV sets and people being brainwashed into buying goods compulsively.
”The Bronswick Affair” is a lively spoof of television journalism, exposing the excess of consumerism fostered by a steady stream of commercials…
Nattsol: The music of ‘CB’ was changing from album to album. And the changes were rather global. Even may be style changes. Sometimes it’s difficult to imagine that such songs as ‘Little girl’, ‘Who killed Maiakovskiy’, ‘Born in a cage’, ‘Sparks’ and so on are the songs of one band. What was that? You were growing up in music or you just tried yourself in different things?
Nikolaï Ada: Since the beginning of the group we have the rule to avoid rigid rule, «it is not the function of the COMPLOT (conspiracy) to create static universe» is one of our «slogan» preferred. Our artistic evolution is a bit like the logic of life on Earth through life by meeting people, situations which we turn, even if we change remains a part of the origin of what we are, with our identity,
Le World moves, we move … but there is the energy of «rock» and questions about the world around us.
We could say that we have had our periods (a little as Picasso, in all modesty) white, brown, again white and red today…Dream..
”Red Dream” But we are always COMPLOT.
Nattsol: You shorted the name of the band. Why did you do it? Because the style was changed?
Nikolaï Ada: In France people call us COMPLOT (conspiracy), it is easier to remember, and then the idea of conspiracy is to ask questions about the handling of mind by some powers whatsoever, too, remained «the bronswick case » (bronswick affair) seemed simplistic.
Nattsol: As I know, the band was dead after 1996. What were the reasons? What were you doing after 1996? Were there some side projects of the band members?
Nikolaï Ada: We have never dissolved, it is a false information, we have composed for the theater until 1999: creating music for Coy «the space of a moment», directed by Dominique Dolmieu ( Tasks dark the con, Paris in 1998 and 1999). Then we just made a haul and have everyone working on projects around the group, me with a French choreographer Bernardo Montet, then from 2000 with director Jean Beaucé for whom I created the sound of the universe Cerisaie Anton Chekhov (2001), history of Mary according to a text of the photographer Brassai (2003) and ..130 grams.. theatrical fantasy around the shuffleboard (2004), Iceman (creation in 2006). In 2004 I also participated in a coin Coy of «Wild Pansy» and Annie Lucas for the creation of Land, text Paol Keineg , created in the theater of Cornwall in ..Quimper.. in ….Brittany….. I also «March Drive» a group with ERT and a Moroccan singer (2000/2003) and we worked with «ARKAN» with ERT
Nattsol: When was the ‘resurrection’ of ‘Complot’? What is it now?
Nikolaï Ada: We found 2 years ago to create the music show «ICEMAN» piece by Jean Beaucé rise from the work of Eugene O Neil
«ICEMAN COMETH ‘Iceman proposes as game situation, the expectation – and dangerous illusion – the savior (Messiah), the beautiful speaker whether political, religious, trade representative artiste or … The subject was very interested.
This work has helped to create the music as we play together now
The group is being formed to the scene of ERT : Voice, Synthesizer, trumpet, Nikola Ada : voice, Guitar, Peking O : Battery, Pierre Fablet : Guitar, Paolo Uccello C : graphics.
Nattsol: Do you keep in touch with past members of ‘CB’? Do you know what are they doing now?
Nikolaï Ada: We are always in contact with some former members of the group , for example : Arnaud Le Brusq the first singer and now he writes books …
The bass player Pascal Humbert (Bass on Darkroom’s delights) he lives in the U.S. and he make music with “sixteen horse power”.
Nattsol: Tell me about shows of Complot. What was that actually?
Nikolaï Ada: We just resume beginning concerts and it’s really great. We should have a concert series to February 2009 (Paris, Rennes., Quimper ….St Petersburg ?Moscow ? Why not?) For the release of new album
Nattsol: Do you think that coldwave era is over?
Nikolaï Ada: I don t know? Everything is only eternal resumption, but in a different way, then let us recreate the life in music….
Questions: Pall ‘Nattsol’ Zarutskiy
“Grave Jibes Fanzine”
