JJ Koczan of The Obelisk recently conducted an interview with Justin Broadrick of Godflesh and Jesu-fame, and it features questions focusing on a new Godflesh album, Jesu’s latest, Imperfection, Self Indulgance, Roadburn and much more.
The Obelisk: How was your Roadburn experience?
JB: Roadburn’s a fantastic festival. It’s such a shame, because you’d think something like that would happen in the UK or particularly the US on such a grand scale, but it doesn’t (laughs). I did really enjoy that night. To be honest, I felt like that was the most coherent version of Streetcleaner ever played. And we played those songs to death in 1989, 1990, 1991. Being so much more mature, it felt much more controlled. It was a really enjoyable experience. It felt like we were actually in control of it, as opposed to when we used to play those songs 20 years ago – it was probably most of the charm then as well – it didn’t feel like we were in control of it then. It would run away from us, and it was awful messy as well. I felt like that performance was really streamlined. We were really satisfied, and after, we heard people were really happy with it as well, but since, I’ve heard people moaning about this and that and all the rest of it, and maybe it wasn’t quite as good as I thought, but we felt it was really good.
The Obelisk: I thought it was pretty good.
JB: People were mentioning they had so much fun, but then come more comments, and it was quite disappointing, but that’s what it’s all about. You make music, some people love it, some people fucking hate it (laughs). Making the music we do, I expect that way more hate than love, but particularly with a thing like Streetcleaner, I guess, it’s not the sunniest record ever made. It’s a hard record to play in a way, because it drudges up a lot of emotions that were experienced so many years ago. Not to sound overly dramatic, but you relive a fairly negative album. But it was really good. We really, really, really enjoyed that performance, and just Roadburn generally, was a fantastic, open experience. It’s excellent.
The Obelisk: It’s interesting you brought up reliving the emotions that went into making the album while playing it so many years later. Watching your set, it kind of looked like it. Less a performance in a performance sense of getting up and putting on a costume than re-immersing yourself in it.
JB: Absolutely. Some people have said that to me, that it appeared as if there was an element of genuine pain to the performance, which is absolutely genuine as well. It really did bring out some… As expected, when we were rehearsing the material – it’s all emotional – but not to the extent as when it’s being presented in a live situation. There were so many things right about the performance – the volume, the setting, the stage size, and the size of the feelings as well – that I felt really utterly connected. That was the thing. And in a really bizarre sense as well, because that connection is pure disconnection, in a way, and that’s what Streetcleaner is all about. It really fucking hurt, that performance. It was quite bizarre.
We’ve played as Godflesh around recently, infrequently, there’ve been performances in a similar setup, a larger setup, and it’s been all quite right, but the drama of it is definitely overwhelming in some respects, but that’s what the intention of those records and the intention of Streetcleaner. It is an angsty record written by a couple of teenagers, and it still resonates now. In fact, even more so, to some extent. To me, it didn’t feel like some retro, regressive, treading water thing. It actually felt about as current as things get, oddly enough.
The Obelisk: It helps that there are hundreds and hundreds of bands out there trying to sound just like it.
JB: (Laughs) Well, that’s the thing. The Godflesh sound is a real accidental sound, in a way. A lot of people have tried to emulate that sound, but again, it just like Jesu, it’s the same set of imperfections. It’s flawed. Inherently flawed, again, but it’s the emotional content. It’s not about the quality of musicianship or programming or any of this stuff. It is purely the emotional connection. Godflesh, like Jesu, is a very English thing. It exists in some form of a cultural vacuum, but it’s definitely born from a certain set of circumstances and a certain environment, and I think it’s almost hard to emulate something that is so of its origins. That’s how I feel about it.
The Obelisk: How do you mean, its circumstances and origins?
JB: I think in terms of the emotions that [Streetcleaner] is born from, the frustration and confusion, my upbringing and the environment I existed within as a child, etc., etc. For me, it’s a complete product, it’s a complete connection and musical interpretation and expression of those environments, those sort of headspaces that were recovered. In a way, it could be quite easily dismissed as being angsty, because when Streetcleaner, when we recorded Streetcleaner, I was 19 years old, and you can almost be forgiven for any bullshit you come out with as a teenager, you know what I mean? But I’m quite aware of that, and I was quite aware at the time that this could be perceived as pure angst, but it isn’t. In hindsight, and now 20 years later, 21 years later or whatever, it feels just as current, because none of these emotions really have changed so much, they’ve just become more articulate.
I now see those environments clearer. I think because I moved away from those environments as well, what Birmingham in the UK was as growing up in the ‘70s – the depressed neighborhoods I existed within as a child from a poor family. I’ve gone away from those environments. I now live in a nice place in rural countryside. That’s what I hoped for, that one day I would get out of that shit. But I guess that’s what it brought back for me, a lot of that childhood stuff, which is of course entirely character building as well – or character destroying. A combination of both for me, I think. But our childhoods become clearer as we get older sometimes. It’s only after I got some distance from it that I felt it all made sense to some extent. For those reasons, Godflesh is – to some extent, Jesu is more of a rural, personal – I was going to say “hell,” but that’s way too extreme and Jesu doesn’t cover that kind of emotion that Godflesh explores that’s quite clearly mostly negative.
The Obelisk: Do you see yourself ever bringing Godflesh back to do new material? Would you want to explore that kind of stuff again?
JB: We’ve discussed it, and to be really honest, there’s probably a good chance we’re going to do another album. I think it’s just going to be a long time coming. That’s the thing. And that isn’t only just because we’re so busy with multiple things. We just want to make a really relevant record as well. It would be horrible to do something that taints the back catalog. But I personally feel we made enough records that tainted the back catalog anyway (laughs).
Toward the end of Godflesh, I’d been quite vocal about being thoroughly dissatisfied with some of the releases, for such a variety of reasons. I already have some material, but I just keep messing with it. Nothing’s been recorded, as much as I just keep toying with riffs and beats and so on. But it is, once again, it’s probably almost full circle, as vehement as the first couple of records. It has none of the ambiguity that was in play towards the end of Godflesh, that was trying to stretch genres and become a bit more hybridized. It’s much more pure and focused and utterly brutal, I think.
But again, who knows how long it’s going to take to realize this. We’ve certainly talked about probably trying to record the new Godflesh album next year. That’s the sort of goal at the minute, and seeing how it goes from there. But yeah, it’s a tough one. It’s a really tough one.
Tags: Godflesh, jesu, JJ Koczan, Justin Broadrick, Roadburn, Roadburn Festival, Streetcleaner, The Obelisk
This entry was posted on Saturday, May 7th, 2011 at 9:44 am and is filed under 2011, Interviews, Roadburn Recommended . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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