I had no pleasure to experience their enormously energetic live performance anyway I had the opportunity to meet them and realize what is all about. This interview was conducted in two sessions and pieced together so it seems a little bit artificial.

What do you think about this punk renaissance nowadays ?

Sincerely, it doesn’t affect me much. This so called punk rock is nothing more than a nostalgia after seventies and a rock’n’roll but a little bit rougher. I can’t feel such emotion for things I haven’t experienced. This is retro, backwards. I don’t like silly happy music at all. Even when  those bands have something important to say it is deactivated with their happiness. All, or almost all soft melodic pop punk bands suck. 

Could you explain what industrial means to you. Is JUDE often called industrial?

We’re called industrial and I have personally anything against it. I carry a kind of  emotion for this unimportant word. I like it. I have nothing to do with any kind of thechnophilia but I never stop to enjoy the sound of sledgehammer. Today’s industrial music became so fancy and fashionable. In my opinion its popularity nowadays is a simple boring fact within showbusiness. The majority of the bands are crap. The way they compose songs remind me of demos by low quality toy synthesizers. It’s crap with distorted vocals. One big nothing. For me true industrial bands also have tom have some brain. It’s not all about loops, electronics and some noise.

Describe please some sources of inspiration for your musical and ideological output ?

Those sources vary just from the closest environment to all media mystification. We try to explore that, the world of mass information, politics, history- this is very important for us. Today they become kind of a new artificial world. An industry producing its own clones which are replaced by the new ones day by day. Our intention is to mutate, reinterpret, and to confuse this network of weak parasites.

What about the music ?

I can remember times when we exploded listening to RATTUS and other Scandinavian bands. We liked DISORDER, BATTALION OF SAINTS, CHAOS UK and DISCHARGE of course. Later it was CRASS, CONFLICT, I didn’t  know English and the majority of lyrics was not understandable for me but their anarcho message was very close to our views at that time. Now things from the past are still very attractive for me but JUDE plays punk AD 1999 and we don’t look back for inspiration. There are still many good bands and it shouldn’t let you think that punk is dead. Some of the esthetics and  some ways of expression are now weaker, and not destructive for rock business, they became safe, more accessible than any time before. It occurs permanently but punk is still a threat and challenge. Besides all esthetics it is an attitude, message and all this indigestible core. There’s still many awful and amazing punk units like DYSTOPIA, DROPDEAD, HIS HERO IS GONE, ASSUCK, I can list many more…

Is your music a type of a sonic instigation or provocation in any sense?

Choosing this way to show things, to place ourselves in that context of confrontation we were aware that it can be seen as provocation.  But for what ? Acts of abuse ? Aggression ? To think ?  To hide or to fight back on the streets ? Its not a provocation for provocation’s sake. We are not revolution instigators in an ancient way. We show reality, we confront ourselves with this vision, imagery etc. We show facts, no fairytales or fiction. The interpretation is free but nobody can accuse us of sort of fake imagination. We are trying to give some way of seeing things, questioning man and world in general and it has nothing to do with that fucking end of the millennium crap. Our music voices our opinion but as Burroughs said medium is the message so our music carry a certain message itself.

Your lyrics are accused of having a negative, misanthropic and apocalyptic outlook on life and the world in general.

My lyrics are very close to this what we are showing on our videos but its words are not literally the same as what you are watching on the screen. It is hard to say all those letters and words are just the way to express my anger, colera, fury. It is shown in an extended context. Our spots are full of links to everyday reality. The video has a great input on the audience and it is very important in our performance. The pictures get the point across. Most of the words are not understandable within all this noise and the visuals are our main communication. We show our own vision and we struggle in front of it.

It seems to be confusing to your audience, I mean your use of nazi or quasi nazi imagery? Where it comes from? And what for?

JUDE are widely using the total iconosphere of nazi kunst, heroic socialist art etc. Monumental art. But also expressionism had an great influence on us. Our imagery. We show various symbols, we use old, archival documents, pictures, we connect them together with actual contemporary materials. I was always affected by the relations between mass ideology and fine arts. We try to deal with all those images and symbols without any prejudices or taboos. Our graphics, videos show violence, atrocities but those images were always present in  fine arts. Nobody question the dance macabre or ancient pictures of human vanity under the Latin phrase vanitas vanitatum omnia vanitas sunt. You also see violence, suffering on the paintings showing the martyrdom of the saints, prophets like St. Sebastian or John the Baptist and many others. I don’t know if our thing came from the same tradition. Rather not, we do something different. We operate in a different context. But I have a great interest in this vein in arts.

When did you first get into punk ?

I don’t even remember it exactly, it was circa 81(I was 10) when i heard the word punk first time. I got involved later but immediately I started to listening to punk, hunting for music, then much later, hanging around with some people. Punk had a very bad reputation than and was totally banned by almost everyone. This fact of course had a big impact on me. I knew nothing about it but I was touched and immediately became a punk with a chain, some funny badges, pins and so on…

What bands would you cite as influences?

I’ve said about it, JUDE was influenced mainly by reality. Another big impact comes from the seventies industrial- SPK, THROBBING GRISTLE, punk hardcore, CRASS, CONFLICT, DISCHARGE and various different sources. KILLING JOKE, SWANS, GODFLESH, BIG BLACK etc etc. Music and ideas are inseparable. When you listen to the music you can hear many more. I can talking about it for hours…

Describe your views on the technology.

Technology ? All is about technology now. Its all around. In today’s world technology is used to control and surveillance. In the cities there are more and more zones with permanent TV monitoring. It’s the next sign to prove that we live in such illness. Sick times. In opposite, in the situation when more people have more hi tech knowledge they can neutralizate the omnipotence and the monopoly of the state and the system (whatever it means now). Knowledge is the power.

Does today’s world have its own propaganda ?

Yes, of course today’s version of thirties propaganda is publicity, multimedia, advertising. Microsoft, Hollywood all sorts of impact on the people. The influence of politicians, heroes, movie stars is now replaced by mass  culture icons. Rock`n`roll is also a sort of fascism as is  big sport, olympics and other showbusiness areas with big propaganda, leaders and mass rallies, shows etc. See THE RESIDENTS on Third Reich Rock`n`roll or CONSOLIDATED’ Friendly Fascism. I think they told something clever.

What is the meaning of the Ultimate Obedience title ? What your lyrics are speaking about ?

Ultimate Obedience was about flexing your neck, the great part of our lyrics dealt with this subject, the immortality of the master/servant relation inside human life everywhere and all deformations which come together within. The power is not only an institution or a pact based on centralization. Its presence is inevitable almost everywhere, all human relations include this root. Want it or not. It’s permanently everywhere.

What do you think about drugs ? What are your views on ?

All I can say here is fuck drugs. I hate dope and especially its impact on people in punk hardcore community. I don’t make a division between soft and hard drugs. I don’t believe in this bullshit and I suppose the soft weed is far more shitty than hard corrosive amphetamines for example. Its popularity and easiness make people weak, filled with apathy and ignorance. Make them more and more selfish.  Hatred for lazy potheads, hatred for this so called drug culture. Could I ?

What is the meaning of  88 ? It appeared in your prints.

It’s simple. This is the eighth letter of the alphabet. For today’s nazis it means HH -Heil Hitler. We cite it and say fuck you all or so. It shows clear the meaning of somebody’s choice. Look, they cipher their message under certain numbers. They write 18 and you read it: Adolf Hitler. Have you heard about the 14 words ? Fun, it means: „we must secure the existence of our race and a future for white children’’. It reminds the ancient Kabalah. Today’s nazis try to make a friendly image of themselves. Pure propaganda. Read Friendly Fascism by Bertram Gross. It calls for a powerful response.

Before the interview you’ve told me about your anti nazi actions… would you tell us about that ?

Ok. somebody may wonder but we were always involved in anti nazi activity. We used to act directly, attack nazi meetings, disturb speeches of their leaders, had arguments on the streets, and were also attacked. Sometimes we used violence etc and I have to say: it worked out here. Now it evolved, we do it in a different way. We are present, we participate in all anti nazi demos here, print flyers, stickers etc. We distribute leaflets about nazi activity in our city. I wrote a report about nazi violence in Lodz, it was cited in a big local newspaper, we deal with mass media, recently we organized a press conference concerning this problem in Lodz.

Tell me about JUDE future plans etc

I’m still not satisfied with what we are doing. The main problem is the lack of possibilities and places to play. Useless to talk about. Despite all difficulties many people are afraid of our… I don’t know exactly what. It seems to be based on certain rumors or so… We are open to all sorts of discussion and explanation we try to show our music to more people. All opinions are welcome. Recently we have released a 10 inches split with DYSMORFOFOBIA from Warsaw and a new cassette under the title Sickness Bag, it appears now in LAGART FACTORY (P.O. BOX 7, 20 – 530 LUBLIN, POLAND) I hope when you see us in the future you’ll see different stuff. Progress. Work in progress.

Where do you get motivation to do all this work?

Its hard to explain. Its an obligation. Necessity. Its the only way to erase all this madness. To throw away the filth of everyday life. It exorcise us. First of all it became  our nature and main occupation.

Any closing comments?

Everyone  showing interest in the activities, music and all JUDE output- If you have any questions or if you like to support us in any way – feel free to contact us.