Wywiad z GREEN ARMY FRACTION

 

GREEN ARMY FRACTION - power electronics project from Sweden. Harsh inudstrial sounds mixed with offensive vocals. The result is powerful music which is truly against the modern world with all it's false myths and false hopes!

Why did you choose such name for your project? It brings strange conotations with eco-terrorism and with the Red Army Fraction too...

In the beginning, GAF was a concept project based on radical ecology (the “ecofascism” of Pentti Linkola, the ideas of Ted Kaczynski and so forth). This was partly just a concept, and partly a product of my personal interests at the time. As for the connection to the Red Army Fraction, the entire sense of the term was of course changed when “red” turned to “green”, and this was the whole, rather simplistic, point. Initially I also dealt quite much with various forms of terrorism and resistance movements of different kinds, without necessarily making a statement concerning my opinions on the issues as such, so the name felt fitting. As of now, the name has little to do with the themes I deal with, but I still find it acceptable. If nothing else, Green is probably my favourite colour.

What equipment do you use to create GREEN ARMY's sound?

Initially I used computers a lot, but since it is both boring and difficult to produce the type of sound I want with purely digital means, I now mainly use field recordings and primitive effects. Some editing is of course done digitally, and at times I use whatever strange equipment I can find, or even once again computers. I am flexible on this issue.

Tell us something about origins of your project - why did you start to create industrial/power electronics sounds and when? What is more important for you: sound (music) or message?

I began doing industrial somewhere 1999-2000, and I am thus quite new to the game. As for the why, I can’t really answer. After a background in black/pagan metal circles I felt somewhat tired of that form of expression, especially since I had most certainly outgrown most if it ideologically. I had had some contact with the scene through Cold Meat Industries since I was very young, and around this time I also got in contact with people like K of SURVIVAL UNIT/HEID, who introduced me to other facets of the industrial scene. Of course, to some extent, it is also a matter of going to the far audial and conceptual extreme, though I think this factor has been more important to many others than it has to me. The need to be “extreme” for the sake of being extreme or for shock or “artistic” value is certainly no longer an important motivation to me. I communicate views, or as of late perhaps rather perspectives, to the listener and the music and concept are only vehicles to accomplish this expression, so to the latter question I would obviously answer “message”, in one sense or another.

One of your albums is titled "Conservative and Full of Hate". Is it a description of your own views? Or maybe it is only a provocation and irony?

It is most certainly a description of my views, though not a purely glorifying one. Conservatism, in the broad and “radical” sense of the term, has become (and has, in a sense, always been) very natural to me, and when asked about my political views I would tend to describe myself as a reactionary. I don’t believe in the universal man of the French revolution, I do not believe that man (or woman) is or should be the measure of everything, and I am not interested in social engineering aimed at constructing an earthly paradise oriented towards the satisfaction of sensory needs. So, my world-view is at least in principle pre-modern, and this I am comfortable with.
The “hate” part is somewhat more complicated, since feelings of hatred accompany, and has for a long time accompanied, a large part of my daily life. This is, in part, since the surrounding society is so at odds with my own way of thinking (given my general social functionality, and even grades in school, I can exclude the possibility that my opinions are the product of me being somehow an “outsider” in the first place), but also simply a flaw in my personality. Hatred destroys the one who hates far sooner than it destroys that which is hated. It tends to fuel itself and direct itself inwards, not to mention the fact that it distorts ones vision and corrupts the soul in general. This should not be seen as some form of pacifist statement on my part, but simply a statement of fact. The state of most “extremist” organisations (on either side of the spectrum) proves this beyond the shadow of a doubt – hate comes to define doctrine, lock positions and generally cut people off from that which really matters. Part of GAF is simply dealing with hate, and redirecting it in a somewhat constructive way. In other words, transforming hate into somewhat justified “anger”.

It seems that you are strongly inspired by integral traditionalism. Why is that so? Do you think that there is a future for this idea in our "beloved" modern world?

This is a topic I could write about without ever coming to an end, so I will try to limit myself strictly.
I’ve studied politics, philosophy and religion for my entire life – from reading illustrated accounts of Greeek, Roman, Egyptian, Chinese and Roman mythology when I was 5-6 years old, up to my present studies of Meister Eckehart, Vedanta, catholic and orthodox theology and so forth. The direct notion that all authentic religious forms have a common root came to me quite early, but my conception was then limited by the fact that I was perhaps 15 years old and listened only to blackmetal, reading mainly Nietzsche, making “authentic” the exact same thing as “pagan”, and making me spending quite some time identifying gods between different cultures with each other, and even more time trying to make these gods into mere psychological representations of mental or natural phenomena. Of course, during this time I also read a lot of the Satanic Bible, “Book of the Law”/Thelema and similar texts of debased ultra-individualism, and anti-Christianity was the top priority, as it tends to be within the black metal culture. As time went on, I kept on studying various things, but essentially remaining within a Nietzschian-naturalistic framework, trying somehow to build a “religion of the world”, as opposed to transcendentalism and supremacy of the spirit over matter, which in my view was the very same thing as the judeo-christian heritage.

Reading Julius Evola, and later other perennialists and integral traditionalists, sort of broke this spell over my mind, and also sorted out numerous concerns that I had had. I realized that the very concept of materialist individualism and anti-authority inherent in 99% of all modern critique of Christianity was in fact, and had in fact been, the fundamental problem, and not the solution. This in turn moderated my view on Christianity quite much; though I am still not a Christian, I would never call myself “anti-Christian” again, and indeed the very “transcendentalism” I hated so much earlier is now perhaps the most sympathetic notion within the Christian faith, to the extent that it still exists within it, that is.

”Integral traditionalism” does have numerous built-in problems, though. First of all it is a theoretical construct, which lacks the organic character of religious and traditional esoteric systems. Though in many respects “correct”, and certainly a gateway towards an understanding of man and his relation to Creation far superior to that of most moderns, it is still just a philosophical system. It may, as René Guénon claimed, be a description of “pure metaphysics”, but it IS certainly not metaphysical in itself, and no spiritual path in itself either. Julius Evola had several doctrinal issues, sometimes going very far in notions of “magical powers” to be “tapped” and “mastered” by man, in a way which is quite alien to my view of the world.

Furthermore, as your question implies, its political and social ideals are indeed as far away from present reality as anything could possibly be. The point is, that it is still a very useful individual tool to increase ones understanding, and provided that ideas of this nature keeps permeating suitable individuals, it is indeed possible, if not flat-out unavoidable, that the tide will turn and the perversion which is the modern world will eventually collapse, or transform, into something far superior.

Green Army Fraction

Ciąg dalszy...

On your concert photos we can see that you use video projections. Could you tell us something more about that?

Like most power electronics-acts I use video projections. The content of these projections has varied over the years, from the early gigs with a simple chaos of “cool” images ranging from the logotypes of terrorist groups to whatever shocking imagery I could find (though I’ve never used “gore” images, and only very few sexual ones), to the present ones, where they are more planned and principled.

On your website we can see links to the sites like "Opus Dei", "Society of St. Pius V", "Zen Buddhism Virtual Library", "Bhaktivedanta" etc. What is religion for you? What do you think about modern Christianity and what about so-called "neo-paganism"?

I think I have gotten into this somewhat already in the question about traditionalism, but I will elaborate a bit.

My fundamental spiritual viewpoint, abstracted and generalized, could be summed up as follows. Man is a product of the absolute – of God – which is unchangeable and superior to all forms and limitations. This is the root of man’s will, which is truly free (since it is a “gift” from the one thing that in itself is completely unconditioned and self-sufficient). This will, however, is severely limited by its own choice to proclaim individual independence from the original Principle, direct itself towards sensory objects, which are limited (and limiting), changing and, in a sense, unreal. Because of this, man remains fundamentally unfree, and it is his duty to aspire to remedy this condition. I would say this notion sums up the abstract “core” of most initiatic religious forms, and germs of it are obviously to be found in exoteric religious systems as well, from Christianity to so-called “Hinduism”. That is not to say that this particular way of expressing it is “more true” than any of its specific applications, quite the opposite, but it is most likely the easiest way to communicate the point in itself to an audience which will tend to think philosophical-theoretical and even atheistically.

As for paganism, I would tend to subscribe to the Evolian view on this issue, dividing it into “solar” and “chthonic” forms of religious practice (though I am at times sceptical about his way of using these terms in other cases). Large portions of paganism were simply directly related to the naturalistic world – proto-scientific attempts to conjure up fertility, luck or riches for the benefit of the community or the physical self. I can add straight away that virtually all Neo-Paganism I’ve encountered has been of this nature, with people dressed in Lord of the Rings-inspired clothing, sacrificing fruit to some bloated Goddess. Of course it is of no interest to me what-so-ever, other than as an example of how the modern pathology constantly reproduces and even praises the most debased elements of past ages.
The solar form of paganism comes closer to what I have described previously, though seldom in a direct fashion. Here, the aim and ideal is the permanence of the skies and the sun, and the religious practice is directed towards heroism/contemplation and stability in the face of the hostile and changing world of impermanent forms. The goal is to ascend into the heavens, and join the principles of creation and existence in a world free of permanent death. Usually it is expressed mythically and indirectly, and of course it is likely that this interpretation and division is not always applicable (nor always correct – obviously very few examples of purely solar or chthonic religious forms are to be seen in times accessible to history). I believe there have been scattered attempts to revive cults of this nature, inspired by the writings of Evola, but I must say I am more than sceptical. Reviving an organic spiritual system which has already died may very well be impossible, though it is a project which has interested me for the better part of the last decade, so discussion on the issue is always welcome.

Christianity, finally, is obviously (even in its most decayed and pointless forms) superior to any form of secularism or atheism. However, Christianity in general is in a sorry state, having largely retreated into being exactly nothing but the “system of morals” which Nietzsche and his followers accused it of being. Personally I would say that the orthodox and catholic forms are the ones still somewhat connected to the original tradition as such, whereas Protestantism is little but a prelude to the modernist-secular frame of mind. That is not to say that there are no protestants with a living and functioning faith, but should I ever chose to make a serious move towards Christianity (still at this point rather unlikely, for certain reasons yet to be resolved), I would most likely turn to Catholicism, despite all the flaws and shortcomings which have developed during the last centuries.

"Caste War - Back in their place" - tell us about the main idea of this album. It seems that you fight with egalitarianism and the idea of people's equality - probably the main mythos of post-modern, liberal-democratic society...

This is only one aspect of the album’s concept. Egalitarianism is of course an absurd ideology, even if you view it from the most secular, pragmatic and “realistic” view possible. This does not mean that I automatically sympathize with anything “anti-equal”. While the violent levelling of all qualities in communism and the collectivist pseudo-individualism of democracy are certainly problematic, I don’t have that much positive to say about zoological racism, claiming man is simply a product of “natural processes” which can and should be tampered with as any other material substance, either. The animal violence of many aspects of the “far right” furthermore have nothing to do with heroism in its true sense, but should at best be seen as the reaction of primitives against negative phenomena, and at worst the perverse entertainment of rootless man-beasts playing with ideology to motivate sadism and violence. Nonetheless, your impression is correct. The main idea behind the album is, as most of my present work, “anti-modern”, in the sense outlined elsewhere in this interview.

"Dirty Bitch (Feminist)" - one of your "most controversial" titles... What do you think about whole that "feminist movement" and the conception of "modern women"?

Once again something I could write too much about. I am of course against any notion of equality between man and woman. Our functions are ideally different, and society should reflect this. Certainly there must be room for exceptions – physically weak men can’t very well be expected to do extremely challenging work, and masculine women cannot be categorically banned from anything construed as “male”. Still, my basic view is that each individual should strive to realize the ideal form of his/her own being, and conforming ones sex/gender to an ideal type is a fundamental aspect of this. This does not mean that sexual violence or abusive behaviour towards women is an irrelevant issue, but it does certainly mean that the feminist attempt to attribute criminal abuses and individual shortcomings to the existence of gender differences or power structures rooted in sex and gender is an absurdity. Different hierarchical positioning is not the same as abuse and “oppression”, but this is something the left (or the liberals) will never understand. I must stress that while my anti-feminism is radical and absolute, any actual misogyny in my music/artwork or personality should be viewed as somewhat humorous in the first case, and as something I myself would view as problematic in the second case.

Are you active in other projects or bands?

Numerous, though not many which are very relevant at this point in time.

Your plans for nearest future... Will you release your next albums in Steinklang?

Not that many, as far as GAF is concerned. Perhaps some gigs, if time allows and no other problems ensue. Some releases will also be announced in the near future, a quite large number of cassettes will be released during 2008. I don’t know where my next full-length album will be released, since it is not even on the planning stage yet.

There is your CD "Chlorophyll Flood" in polish distributions. Did you have any contact with Poland or Poles? Do you know our postindustrial scene?

“Chlorophyll Flood” is an old one. It has its charm, but is of course vastly inferior to most things I have produced at later dates. Concerning Poland I have not had much contact with poles at all. I did an interview with Rob Darken eight years ago or so, when I was working with a black metal ‘zine, if that counts. Like those of many western Europeans, my first associations when hearing “Poland” is grey, functionalist-communist style concrete buildings and people walking around looking pale and unhappy. Of course this is most likely quite far from the truth, at least today. I know that moral standards are in some ways still higher there than they are here, though I don’t know how much of that that is “media hype”, given Sweden’s extremist views on family life and sexual deviance. I don’t think I have much knowledge of polish music at all. I know polish NSBM, which is quite charming in some ways (though ideologically in many ways miles away from me), but that’s basically it.

...and your last words for our readers:

I think I will settle for a simple thank you for the interest. Anyone feeling interested in the music of GAF should of course check it out one way or another.