Interview with Kontora Kooka

Interview with Kontora Kooka

http://www.myspace.com/kontorakooka

http://www.ourstage.com/epk/kontorakooka

GJF: Greetings! For a start, introduce yourself and your band, please.
Kook: Danila Telegin – bass, Timur Taziev – drums, and me – Vladimir Elizarov – vocal and gui-tar. There’s another one- Anton Ernezaks – who sometimes takes part in our concerts.

GJF: How have you come into the music? What were the first steps in your music activities?
Kook: Vodnikov street, in the region of Bread Square, go down and turn to the right. Playing in the yard with big guys.

GJF: How did Kontora Kooka meet together? And what about the stage names of the band members – Kook, Doctor, Taxman, Engineer? Are they related to the real life or to any metaphysical senses?
Kook: I want to make you sad. No any metaphysics. All works according to their “names”. And by the way – no any Doctor, no any Taxman, no any Engineer in our group. I think you dug this from our old website. Did you see the words “go to myspace” there? But stop – there is no information on myspace too – I deleted all when we abused. Well…Now we are together again – info should be restored…

GJF: «Kontora Kooka»’s music has the strange sound, which is difficult– maybe even impossible – to define well. You call your way of creation work «Lo – End»; it’s quite interesting to know what you put in this definition.
Kook: You think I must put something in it, don’t you? Maybe you are right. In a few words – it is a test of perception of basic buttons. It is the most correct formula upon this time. If you want to know more – go to our MySpace page.

GJF: Do you see in lo-end any philosophical generally applicable conception, or it’s only hookup of some artistic methods which hasn’t reflections in real life?
Kook: Not at all. I think it is only communication.

GJF: Have Lo-End any relatives in world of art? (If we try to discuss not only abut the music.)
Kook: All arts are being relatives.

GJF: What did urge you to creation of this sound? Are there any musical references, maybe some favorite kind of music? And what is your source of inspiration in general?
Kook: I think I look to anti-orientation. Walking like on the mines field… It’s too much traps. It’s a source of my inspiration.

GJF: You played covers on «Beatles», «Bauhaus», «Velvet Underground» and «Joy division»… What were these songs? Did they mean something special for you? Are there any records?
Kook: «Eleanor Rigby», «She’s in Parties», «Venus in Furs» and «Shadowplay». Great songs, really. Just these songs help us to avoid the traps. There are no records. We play them on our con-certs only and not often. Stop…except Bauhaus we have the video files…

GJF: Which contemporary bands can you call colleagues, and are there some see any relations in musical aspect with? May be you want to share the stage with some of them (Russian or foreign, whatever)? Do you open anything new in contemporary music, maybe you find something you want use in your own?
Kook: You have another five questions in each one…On the same scene? Why? I think there are no purpuses. To be honest, rock music – 95% of sheet. Only 5 % makes this genre to develope and to not to let it down. If you try to write a novel – you will fail or it will be a bad novel at last. But near-ly everybody can take guitar and make a record. And that is good. The main new thing for me – possibilty to break on through all dependings. In this case Lo-End is a good helper.

GJF: Nevertheless, there are 5%, and the point of interest is who can be reckoned among these 5% in your opinion. It’s interesting not because we need any systematization, but isn’t there anybody whose musical activities could deserve your attention and approval?
Kook: Could deserve? What are you talking about? There are main 10 buttons – push them! I look for groups which always bring me something new. I don’t take care about mistakes if I feel freedom from their music. But I have a bad memory for names.

GJF: To the point, you have mentioned novels, literature. This ratio – 5% of propulsive people, it can be used for any kind of art, science and so on, and it may be right always, at all times. What can attract interest besides the music in this attitude?
Kook: All that concerning basic buttons. Politics, astronomy, philosophy of communication. It’s funny to see how some hooked on power freaks can lead millions by the nose. If would everybody keep on trying to search true around…The main problem of 21 century will be 5 – 95.

GJF: Tell us about your last album. Besides the fact it is the implementation of Lo-end, what else does consist meaning content of its songs?
Kook: I will tell you a strange thing now. You don’t get a song good if you can’t say in one sen-tence it’s idea, or in one phrase, or somehow else. But on the other hand the song can touch you and live long when it’s impossible to say exactly what the song is about. I think so.

GJF: What about your concert activities? How does it go, who is your public? Do you plan any tour with new album promotion concert program?
Kook: Certainly concerts will be soon. We take all advances. Presentation will be in Moscow. Our label does it. If it’s going to be tour – we’ll take it. We have very different audience. On the whole – middle link managers.

GJF: What do you plan to do after you new album comes out? You have some mixes on Einstur-zende Neubauten, do they mean you want change your sound?
Kook: Mixes recorded before Lo-End. Change sound? Interesting thought. No. Not now. If you have something – tell us. We’ll get it.

GJF: Another one question about mixes. They look like they aren’t «official». Can you tell some-thing about their history?
Kook: It’s better to keep silence about nonofficial mixes. You may have problems with offi-cial…but nonofficial is out of speaking. It’s very simple. Take somebody’s stuff and complete it with your own. And than think – it should be necessary to ask original. Maybe he doesn’t like it.

GJF: Tell us some random fact or story about yourself, which can characterize your personality.
Kook: When I was a school boy I hated Sunday evenings.

GJF: In some interview this thing had been told: «In the world of music there is no one nearest and dearest. And someone who is little to music can’t be near to me». Is there any limit between musical and physical worlds? Why is it so?
Kook: Yes. That is right. Everybody do for himself in music .And in practice I don’t have relations with people who’re out of music. And there are no borders between music and physical world. All the same – have to eat, to drink, to sleep and go to work.

GJF: To your way of thinking, how can you identify if a musician is successful or not? What is success for you?
Kook: Very simply. Those who are failure begin to unclasp trousers before toilet door. The suc-cessful ones – after.

GJF: Is there anything you sacrifice or you are ready to sacrifice for the art?
Kook: One of my friends said – only fans can live in our music world.

GJF: What is your attitude to the social life (so-called social units)?
Kook: Family – is the main thing. If it doesn’t disturb you.

GJF: And if we look from the other side – how do you see you place in social life? If you try to look at yourself from above and on the third hand?
Kook: I have seen myself from this point two times – nothing interesting.

GJF: And your final words.
Kook: Please, don’t be strict to me.

Nikolay ‘Tacitus’ Polyakov
Pall ‘Nattsol’ Zarutskiy
«Grave Jibes Fanzine”