this is our first post in a new series of interviews with people close to Final Prayer. The interviews will revolve around different sets of questions related to the background of the person interviewed. What follows is an interview conducted with Chris of Let it Burn records fame. Chris has not only been part of the scene for easily more than a decade by playing in bands, most notably in The Blackout Argument, but he has released some damn good records. Chris also put out our first album, "right here, right now" some years ago, which he recently re-released with a ton of bonus tracks as some sort of early FP discography under the title "best of times". Whenever we meet with Chris, we all tend to have really interesting, and sometimes controversial, conversations, so this Q and A should make for a good read. Enjoy!
When was the first time you heard about FP and what was the occasion?
I heard about FP the first time, when their bassist Felix told me that he had started a new band. I've known him for ages, dating back to his first band DISRESPECT, and remember being kinda surprised that hey decided to play in a "tough" band again. His former project "Battle Royal" went in a completely different direction. I never got a hold of the 1st demotape Final Prayer released so I guess the first actual song I heard was "Every Man My Enemy" from their split with CRISIS NEVER ENDS. I remember that I didn't like the vocals too much in the beginning but was blown away by the plain heaviness this song carried and still does.
Why did you 'sign' FP and what were your expectations concerning the release?
For years I had a policy with Let it Burn Records of only working with people I personally know and trust. So I guess what gained my interest in the first place was, that I knew Felix was a reliable and dedicated person it would be great to work with. However it's easy to figure out that I cannot sign every friend's band simply because I like them (well, some labels do, Let it Burn doesn't). So it was a 4-song demo-CDR with pre-recordings of "Right Here Right Now" that made the decision very easy. This was by far the best european "heavy hardcore" I had heard in ages. I also liked their approach of adding socio-political lyrics since at that time the only topics tough bands sang about were friendship, loyalty and trust (Today it's more about Booze, Bitches and Pimpcars, which is even worse hahaha!). I didn't have too many expectations right form the start, in fact I never do when putting out a "first album" by a band. I just released it and did my best to let everyone know about it.
Sometimes bands make huge steps between their demo and their first album which can be perceived as a change of style, break with their past etc. Did you think about anything like that before FP entered the studio? Is there something concerning 'right here, right now' that you would have done differently if you would have been in the band at that time?
I know exactly what you are talking about and to be honest, I already had some hard times with bands changing their style drastically between every release. However, in the case of Final Prayer I didn't have any concerns like this. On the one hand because of their music-style. If you play tough, metallic hardcore there's not too much room for experiments. Sure, you can become a little more metal or write a bunch of faster, more hardcore-like tracks but the core of the music stays the same. On the other hand I quickly found out that everyone in FP loves what they were doing. They were (and surely are) 100% into it and I never saw any signs of "Oh, let's try to be real musicians and do something totally crazy like... jazz!!!" or anything like that.
As far as their debut album "Right Here Right Now" is concerned: No, I would not have done anything differently. This is the perfect hardcore album and I love everything about it. I love the songs, the sound, the artwork, the length, the spirit, simply everything. There are not too many records I would say the same about, so this means a lot. Definitely among the top3 albums I ever released on Let it Burn. I would have had a few "suggestions" for their follow-up album "Filling The Void" but "fortunately" I was not the one to release it, hahaha ;-)
If I remember correctly you signed FP without having the chance to see the band live first. Would you do something like that again? Did you feel like you were being thrown in at the deep end?
Usually we do not sign bands without having seen them live. It's simply an insurance that the band has a future at all. If a band sucks on stage they have exactly 1 year to improve, if they do not manage to do so, they are basically dead. Hardcore music lives from raw energy and power, something you can only experience to 100% at a show. However I had a good feeling about Final Prayer's live abilities. DISRESPECT was an amazing live band, the same with LIFEFORCE. It was kind of a risk signing them without having checked them out live, but not a big one and in the end Final Prayer proved to be among the best live acts in our roster.
'Right here,right now' has been release some time ago now. From a label perspective what has changed since then? Would you release the record to the same conditions again?
I guess me and Felix could spend nights and nights discussing this topic, hahaha! You can actually get an impression at www.blog.letitburn.de. Well, to cut it short: A LOT of things have changed since then and today it's simply not possible anymore to release a record to the same conditions. I always try to make the best offers possible but the financial risk has grown constantly mainly due to the fact that record sales (except for the ones at bands' merch-tables) have constantly decreased. You can easily tell from the amount of labels who quit over the last years, it has become almost impossible to break even with a record, not to speak of earning some money to cover the costs of an album that did not break even. I alway try not to sound winy over this topic so I won't go into more details. I just hope that bands, promoters, fans, bookers, agencies AND labels become more aware of the fact that strategies, prognosises, prices, offers, deals, conditions, etc. that worked perfectly a couple of years ago do not work anymore these days. It's time to rethink and reorganize.
Why the re-release of 'right here, right now'? Simply to make some money without having to invest in studio budget, artwork etc.?
First of all: we DID invest in a beautiful new artwork hahaha ;-) The idea came up once the original "Right Here Right Now" album was sold out and it was about time to do a repress. Usually a repress below 1000 copies does not make much sense and my prognosis for selling another 1000 copies of "Right Here Right Now" was pretty bad. So we thought about making it a completely new release, with a new artwork and, most of all, with a new "value" for the fan, listener, buyer. We added some rare and unreleased demos, split-songs and compilation tracks, called it "Best of Times" and thus created an "early discography" that documented what Final Prayer had recorded up to "Filling the Void". For the band it is a precious "time stamp", for the kids it is "value for money". We sell the CD for a really fair price and so far the feedback has been great!
How do you envisage the future of LIB rec.? It seems that some diy labels continue to operate rather well despite the 'crisis' that hit the music industry during the last decade, while others cease to exist. Where do you see the future of diy labels in the HC-Punk sector?
Well one of the basic ideas of a subculture is to stay functional far off what the mainstream does. So when the "music industry" suffers from a severe crisis it is still possible to run a small diy-record label, maybe even easier. However, as soon as you're among the - let's call it - 'semi-professional' labels you're kinda "playing with the big ones" and also suffer among the same preconditions as they do. It's easy to say: "well, why not break everything down to DIY-level then" but the things that "semi-professional" bands (same prescription here) such as Final Prayer, Teamkiller, Zero Mentality, To Kill, etc. expect from their label, may it be concerning promotion, distribution, reliability or simply general label-business, is far off DIY-level. And to be quite honest: I love the "level" Let it Burn Records is on. It is something that can be taken seriously but at the same time it is not something that can financially break my neck since I also have a "real" job.
So coming back to the question where I see the future of diy-labels: I think the process we have witnessed over the past 5-6 years will continue, maybe even accelerate. That means the smaller labels will focus even more on low-level, diehard-DIY bands/releases (limited vinyl pressings, etc.) and the big labels will continue trying to find out how to finally squeeze more money out of kids and bands. And Let it Burn Records? Well, we just do OUR thing.
Chris / Let it Burn Records (July 30, 2010)
A second part of the interview will be posted here next week, so stay tuned.
