PIT TALK

“If we didn’t have that, you could easily be listening to it in maybe a
couple of years time, or even decades ago in Eastern Germany and the
feeling stays the same. The thing is also that we need to add to this,
we don’t live in Nazi Germany now. It’s different now. But with this kind
of technology and the way it’s being used we could quite easily end up
back there.” He continues after apologising for the silence. Clearly the
topic makes him feel uneasy, and it’s almost possible to feel the tension
in his voice through the internet connection on which we are speaking.
“Privacy and creativity are really connected.” He enthuses, clearly
back in his element. Listening to him discuss topics like this lays to rest
any doubts about whether or not the band truly mean what they say on
the records. They’re not writing about these topics because they have
nothing else to write about or because it is simply what is expected
from them at this point in their career; they do it because they’re
passionate about them and they genuinely affect their art. “People
might know that from having to write something personal like an email
to their parents, and someone like a teacher or anyone is looking over
your shoulder whilst you write. It’s just really hard to focus and be open.
I think that that’s what’s important to consider. How this intrusion of
privacy affects people, and how they start to self-censor. This is what
needs to be talked about. “
Atari Teenage Riot are not the only band who are driven by politics,
with acts such as Anti Flag and Propagandhi now carrying the flag
left behind by the likes of Bad Brains and Dead Kennedys. What
separates ATR from this movement is their approach to writing lyrics
discussing these topics. “We don’t write songs about something that
could be gone in a week, or reversed or forgotten,” he explains. “I think
the problem with some political bands in the past is that they talked
more about the present. A specific president or a decision made by a
politician or some new law or something. This is more what we as a
band talk about in interviews or something. We try to make our music
sound more... timeless, you know?”
The one thing that differentiates the group from any other hardcore
band currently operating within the industry is their relationship with
technology. Bands such as Enter Shikari or Crossfaith use traditional
instruments alongside their electronics. Atari Teenage Riot do not.
Instead they use nothing more than, as the name would suggest, Atari
computers to produce sounds.
“I think it’s interesting because when you have a traditional punk
band or a metal band they really hit their instruments hard, and hitting
it harder makes the sound get harder or louder.” Empire points out.
“With an Atari, you can bang on the keyboard as much as you want
with your anger, but it won’t get harder. We find other ways to make it
sound aggressive.”
34 PIT TALK
In a scene that is almost as concerned about the authenticity of an
outfit as it is about the music they produce, they admit that in recent
years the backlash against them has calmed, and they have begun to
ignore it. “Twenty years ago people would get really mad about this
stuff, but not anymore.” He laughs before screaming down the line in a
faux-American accent. “YOU’RE REPLACING THE DRUMMER! THIS
IS A HUMAN BEING! YOU’RE SUPPORTING THIS EVIL MACHINE! It
sounds like a total joke, but people would actually want to start fights
about this stuff, especially in the kind of squats we were playing.”
“WITH AN ATARI, YOU CAN BANG
ON THE KEYBOARD AS MUCH AS
YOU WANT WITH YOUR ANGER, BUT
THE SOUND WON’T BE HEAVIER.
WE FIND OTHER WAYS TO MAKE IT
SOUND AGGRESSIVE”
When confronted about the lack of activity planned for the band in
2015, Empire simply shrugs it off. “What is maybe important to know is
that in 2010 to 2014 we played more shows than in the whole of the 90s.”
Perhaps it’s fair enough given this revelation that the band would want
some downtime, but that is clearly not what is planned for when they do
eventually get off of the road. “There was just this point where we were
like kay, we want to spend more time creating music. We really feel like
we’ve not made enough over the past 5 years.”