“For us, music is always a reflection of society,” explains Culcha Candela in an interview.
Culcha Candela (“Hope”) have been in the music business for almost 20 years and are one of those bands that are not afraid to take a public position on controversial issues. On Friday (May 28th) the Berliners will release their tenth long player with the appropriate title “Top Ten”. In an interview with Mateo Jasik (42), Chino con Estilo and Johnny Strange (38), Mateo Jasik (42), Chino con Estilo and Johnny Strange (38) reveal whether the ten songs on it convey political messages, how they themselves react to criticism and how, in their opinion, the event industry can be helped in times of Corona the news agency spot on news.
You are releasing your new album “Top Ten” this week. Does it contain political or socially critical messages?
Chino con Estilo: There are no classic political texts. Of course, our attitude resonates in every song. For example, our current single “Hope” also contains a political message. Affected music with a raised index finger, however, has never been our thing. We always tried to avoid that. Nevertheless, it is nice to see that political songs are also heard again and meet the zeitgeist.
Johnny Strange: When we made the album, we did a couple of songs that addressed political issues. They didn’t end up on the album later, because these titles in particular often pull people down rather than motivate them. However, it is important to us that the songs are positive. That’s what we want to give people – the motivation to get out of there again. The biggest challenge with our music is to package messages properly. When it comes to Corona, we did that well in the song “Hope”. It initially transports a positive emotion, the content is conveyed subliminally.
Mateo Jasik: As a band we are already political. When we say “We are German” with our composition, then that offends a certain part of the population bitterly. For this reason alone we cannot claim to be apolitical. There are certain things that you simply cannot avoid.
How do you deal with criticism that reaches you because you, as a musician, also express yourself publicly?
Estilo: You run the risk of criticism when you express yourself. Freedom of expression is good and it goes in all directions. You can discuss and critically deal with things – which we also do, as long as no taste or criminal boundaries are crossed. We always try to facilitate exchange. As a band, we feel it is very important to make our position clear, even if we are not a primarily political formation. And we wish that more people do the same and that they don’t duck back.
Especially since you have a platform as a band.
Jasik: Yes. For us, music is always a reflection of society. We always try to soak up currents like a sponge, process them like a catalyst and break them down to their essence. Today you can no longer be apolitical, even if you make good-mood pop music like we do. Certain things are not an opinion, such as being a Nazi, homophobic or sexist. We do not allow any discussion of the pillars of our moral compass. But we definitely want to discuss other things like the corona measures.
You recently criticized the fact on social media that the European Football Championship should take place with spectators, but concerts are still banned despite hygiene concepts. How do you explain that?
Jasik: In terms of sales, the music industry is the sixth strongest industry in Germany, ahead of the car and travel industries. Nevertheless, it is mainly these industries that are given a helping hand because they employ a large number of people. Mainly self-employed people work in the music sector. In addition, we don’t have a lobby. No union or interest group with a foothold in politics.
And football does.
Jasik: Yes. Football generates a lot of money worldwide, but as an industry it is far behind us. Nevertheless, it feels like every politician is involved and you can tell what power football has. We musicians earn about as much with one gig as we do with streaming for six months. Everyone in the industry, however, has a different interest. So there are a number of factors why we have no control over politics.
What do you want from music lovers – for example better organization or public protests?
Estilo: The first thing to do is to create awareness that many people are currently slipping into precarious circumstances. We don’t mean ourselves as a band, but the many suppliers who are not visible: stage workers, sound engineers, lighting technicians and many more. They too are affected and have no way out. You have to name the problem and recognize it. Help would be good if the promised help flowed, but that is often not the case.
Strange: It is very difficult to organize all self-employed people under one roof. There are the Red Alert demos that we have attended, but there has been no response. I don’t feel that they met with much interest. Whether gastronomy or the event industry, politicians do not really care about either of them. Football is more effective in terms of the publicity. Everyone who sits in front of the television at home feels concerned because they want to watch football. That motivates politics.
Jasik: The lack of lobbyism is a problem. Hardly anyone knows how money is made in the music business. That’s why we tell our fans what you earn with streaming, for example, and what you can contribute as a fan. 270 premium streams correspond to roughly one euro of sales, of which we, as a well-established player in the music business, get 85 percent. With a newcomer band, that amounts to 15 percent.
“#Allesdichtmachen” just caused a stir. Did the irony-riddled art event, in which numerous well-known actors took part, make a difference despite the criticism?
Strange: Without the scandal, not so many people would have found out about it. It’s a curse and a blessing at the same time and some people have had to turn their heads for it. That’s not fair. I respect people who dare to do something like this anyway, because something has to happen.
Jasik: We know Jan Josef Liefers, for example, through mutual engagement in social projects. He’s a nice guy. There are many issues these days that simply need to be addressed: police violence, institutionalized racism, sexism, homophobia. At the same time, many people are just overshooting the target.
There is a very fine line to walk on.
Jasik: Yes. People are very sensitive to what one shouldn’t deny them. But it doesn’t all have to be broken down into camps.