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Crunching the Creditors: An Interview with Entartete Kunst

Posted on May 20th, 2009 in AK Allies, Anarchist Publishers

For many in the Bay Area radical scene, the departure of Entartete Kunst later this month will mark the passing of an era. It certainly will for me.

EK is a collectively-run, anarchist a record label that has released and co-released twenty records and CDs in the last ten years. They began producing mainly electronic beats and pieces, but have recently added more rap to their repetoire. I first got to know Marco and Melissa (and others from EK) shortly after I started volunteering with AK Press (almost a decade ago). Their hard work, generous support, and comradely gestures haven’t been celebrated enough over the years. We wish them the best. If you are in Europe this summer, catch their tour dates.

Tell us about your newest single Mix Tapes and Cotton. What is the track about?

Drowning Dog: “Mix Tapes and Cotton” is a song about racism through the eyes of a child. When I was kid (in Florida), the KKK burned a cross in our yard, stabbed our dog and used to fuck wit us. So it’s really a personal story. It’s sayin’ that we are capable of dealing with racism and sexism together as a class and it’s the institutions—Government and Corporate—putting it on us that’s the real issue. It’s about how the working poor who are uneducated/brainwashed can funnel their anger into stupid acts like crossburning and talking shit, and how we (also the working poor) can deal with ignorant people Together. But when the institutions (middle and upper class) use racist ideas, and create policies that dehumanize and destroy lives or have money and power behind these ideas, it gets fucked up, dangerous, and deadly (i.e. prison industrial complex, military, housing, pollution, health, etc.). That’s kind of what I’m sayin’.

What’s happening with Entartete Kunst these days? Can you give us a brief history of EK and what you’ve been up to recently?

DJ Malatesta: We (Drowning Dog and Malatesta) are about to start a thirty (or so) date tour of Western Europe (Crunch The Creditors Tour 2009), thanks to the anarchist movement and our hard work over the years touring/building solidarity with some great people/collectives/groups/crews/etc. And we have, as you mentioned, a new 7” out now, available through AK Press and others like NatterJack Press, London Class War, Les Creations Du Crane, Irregular Rhythm Asylum, and many more.

I started this group along with two friends who had no anarchist education. We put out a compilation of electronic bits and pieces that had some political undertones, and then they moved on to do various other projects. At that point I started working with many diy producers/artists, mainly in the bay area, editing and compiling vinyl and cds and putting them out under the “Entartete Kunst” label—typically comps but some solo projects too. Breaks, poetry, weird beats, noise, etc.

The name “entartete kunst” means “degenerate art” in German. [We’re named] after an art exhibit called entartete kunst that was used by the German government in the 30s to try and ridicule radical art. We use the name for the label because we’re aware that we are thought of as degenerate by our Bosses…of all kinds: political, financial, social.

We booked at least sixty shows in the Bay Area during that period for a lot of acts (including ourselves) and put out twenty releases since ’99 —all totally financed from the few dollars left in various people’s pay checks and drug money :), occasionally paying for a release with sales of previous releases.

We didn’t become a collective until 2003. By this time, we were pretty sure that this was going to be a propaganda tool. For a while, it was four of us doing all the work, then three. I suggested we collectivize. We then went on to organize our first Europe tour (2003) and release the States Of Abuse 2 x 12 inch Vinyl and States Of Abuse CD (2004/5).

Right now, its Drowning Dog and Malatesta (of course this may change). We perform, record, write, and produce together. We released our debut CD together Got No Time CD (2007/8), Mix Tapes and Cotton 7” (2009), and are planning a bunch of releases for E.K. Inc.: a johnny NO cash 7”, a multilingual anarchist and libertarian communist-inspired vinyl/download rap-comp for 2010, and a new Drowning Dog release as well as countless other collabs and remixes.

DD: Got No Time is the debut CD for drowning dog!

The CD talks about how we don’t have any time for the important things in life. We spend most our time at work, working real hard, making other people rich 🙁  And usually producing stuff nobody wants and/or needs in our society—very, very few of us are ever able to reach our full potential.

So GNT is really a call out for the elimination of all the shitty jobs that we really don’t need in our society. I’m ready for a four-hour day, three-day work week (for a fuckin start).

And how about the future? You are moving out of the States and are settling in Europe. Why?

DJM: The movement is strong there in comparison to here, and more class conscious. We want to work with many people; unfortunately there are only a handful of groups here who are into what we do or show support for our politics or music. But there are some… including AK Press and Red Emmas.

People take way less anti-depressants in Europe…that’s better for fighting back.

DD: For the pizza.

Entartete Kunst, and you as individuals, has been a part of the Bay Area anarchist movement for quite some time. Can you let us know a little bit about the things you’ve been involved in and what changes you’ve seen in the Bay over the last dozen-odd years?

DJM: I, for one, have been at most of the anarchist get-togethers in the Bay Area over the last ten years, and, if anything, I’ve seen it grow (911 period ) and then get smaller (last two years), at least interest-wise from the general public. There’s many reasons why this may be the case, but to be really honest, I think the people who are most vocal in the Bay Area are of the wrong class, and therefore keep the ideas firmly in their own culture. That’s my thoughts. On a positive note, there are some groups who are somewhat aware of this and have started their own working-class groups, unless I’m mistaken—like the Modesto Anarchist Crew.

You’ve done a few tours in Europe now, and have been exposed to various anarchist movements across the pond. Can you compare and contrast your experiences with anarchists here and there?

DJM: If you’re a committed anarchist you’re a committed anarchist. They have different circumstances there: the mindset in Europe is way more communist (in a anti-statist sense) than here and that’s important I think…although its not one or the other. We have to be aware we’re all connected and can’t survive on our own.

DD: Compare and contrast, well … Europe is different, not better or worse, but different, has different context, different place, different laws, history. Always use what you have, when you can, with what you got, where you’re at.

We are able to go to these spaces in Europe—centri sociale, squats, art spaces—the first couple of tours it was very strange to me that these spaces exist: “You’s have social centers funded by the government?!”

And the idea you can squat a place for years and NOT get your brains blown out. Pretty fuckin’ interesting, not quite like American property culture/ laws. Sure, we may occupy places in the States, but it’s not the same. It’s mostly in undesirable locations, not downtown, city-center shit, and it usually wont last very long, and doesn’t get much support from the community.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much, if any $ put into culture. Most the $ in America goes to military and police.  Funding spaces to grow critical thought or creative inquiry isn’t quite at the top of the list. They just need cheap hands to clean their shit. Educating people and cultuarating (might have made that word up) people, might cause problems. Dont think. Shut up. Clean shit. Make us money. 🙂

This isn’t really part of the question you asked, but one thing I think is important and cool is that, it’s great to get all the groups we meet on tour in contact with each other, who maybe otherwise didn’t even know each other existed. Because we go to different countries, we are able to meet so many great people, crews, anarchist, radical groups. It’s so important we know each other exist, cause ya know its ‘rough out there, ya know whatta mean? We need each other.

What hip-hop are you guys listening to these days?

Collectif Mary Read, La K Bine, Comrade Malone, Mentenguerra, Microplatform, La Plataforma, The Edger, Beast, Keny Arcana, Kurzer Prozess, Direct Raption, Cuba Cabbal, Acero, Arapiata, Gente Strana Posse.

When most folks think about hip-hop they certainly wouldn’t associate it with anarchist politics. Tell us a little about the anarchist music and hip-hop scene? Who were some of the progenitors and who are you impressed with these days?

DJM: There is, and was when we started, a punk scene that touches on anarchist ideas and organizes itself collectively and autonomously, so they had created networks that we still seem to benefit from today, as the kids today are into all kinds of music not just one.

We have seen a sharp rise in new anarchist hip-hop acts, mainly in Europe and Central/South America, in the last few years…although, ironically, Emcee Lynx of Oakland is the first anarchist rapper I’d heard around 2000.

Obviously there’s been a lot of protest/critical rap over the years BDP, KRS ONE, Public Enemy, The Coup, Dead Prez, Immortal Technique, but none that could be said to be specifically anarchist. The list above in the previous question is who we are impressed with most right now.

When and where is the EK going-away party

We’re too busy to organize one…maybe when we make it through customs.

For your listening and viewing pleasure:

MP3s:

Mix Tapes and Cotton (from EK’s new single!)

Micro (an as-yet-unreleased track!)

Videos:

May 2008

October 2007