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Interview in www.thesin.com
18/10/2004
Probably people from Russia haven't heard that much about you as a
band, therefore it might make sense introducing yourselves first. How did I
Adapt get started, how did you develop music-wise and in which projects
are the band members involved besides I Adapt?
Birkir: Most likele you haven’t heard shit about us hehehe. I am Birkir and I scream, sing, jump around and am basically obnoxious. Villi plays bass and is a angry, furry man. Ingi is the rock and riffs his guitar like there was no tomorrow. Elli bangs the drums with wreckless abandon.
I had had and idea about a hc band four a couple of years cos I was sick of all the metal in Iceland. I like metal but it was getting too much. Too many bands with the same riffs, no stage presense, nothing to say and those horrible cockie monster vocals. I had a hard time finding dudes to get this thing off the ground but me, Villi and Ingi became partners in crime and that’s when the ball started rolling. This band has kinda long history with boring details that I don’t wanna get into. It started playin early 2001 and things moved quickly cos we knew what we wanted to do. Play hardcore that sounded like hardcore and had more to do with hardcore/punk than the super metal of the day. We also wanted to make it perfectly clear that we would be in your face with a lot of the lyrics, be it issue orientated, political or personal. That’s how it is still and we’ve seen a lot of scene changes for the better in all this time. We’ve played countless of shows.
We’ve developed. No question about it. It’s faster, tighter but still tuneful and we’ve are making some twists and turns now that we weren’t capable of in the past. It’s always gonna be hardcore punk, always, but it’s hard to pin down how we sound and that’s the way we like it to be for I Adapt.
Me and Villi are playing a side project called Hrydjuverk (Terrorism) wich is fast ugly heavy hardcore punk in the vain og Artimus Pyle, Deathreat and maybe Consume. We have a split 7” out with Patient Zero in the UK as well as a debut mcd with the same name as the band. I think Ingi is involved in something with somebody. Elli is playing his own noisy rock/postcore extreme called Molesting Mr. Bob. He also plays in a rocking emo band called Vera.
Where did the name "I Adapt" come from? Are you happy with this name?
Birkir: While reading a manual to a car radio I saw the word “adapt”. So it hit me. Putting “I” in the front would make I Adapt sound really open to a lot of possibilities, just like life itself. The boy’s liked it and it really goes well with what life in general can be in the world, our own personal life’s as well as the life of the band. We’re happy with it.
Has punk rock and hardcore become too safe and predictable?
Birkir: I felt that way, but it’s only as predictable as we are our selves. There’s a lot to be found and learned through hardcore punk. New things to read and hear. If somebody says it’s all the same, that person is full of shit, cos how could he or she know? At least I don’t have a clue but when I go out of my way and dig through stuff I find out that some things in hc/punk are pretty un-safe and un-predictable wich keeps things alive. But the safeness issue is a double edged sword. I like the element of danger but I also prefer being safe cos the day to day life is the really dangerous. It can rot my soul, disable me and take all life out of me, if I let it. So hc/punk has away to ingnite some flames within me. And I guess the same can be said for a number of people. I also think it’s important for hc/punk to take itself out of it’s normal environment. For example, do a show where a outspoken hc/punk band or a radically diffirent sounding punk band plays somewhere were people won’t expect you to play. Get outside the safe zone and try to have an impact, for at least a moment.
A lot of people would say that punk rock (or hardcore, or whatever you
want to call it) will never change anything. I disagree. What's your
take on the subject?
Birkir: It helped me change and had a hand in aiding me with new information and ideas. So right there, hc/punk did change something! It won’t change the world, but it might influence individuals for a positive change and individuals change the world by doing things on daily basis. So I think hc/punk can change things. Obviously.
It's certainly a subject that's been beaten to death... but do you feel
there is room in the hardcore scene for "Christian hardcore" or other
forms of "hardcore" with religious motivations?
Birkir: It’s a difficult issue. I for one don’t like to judge people so I won’t pass judgement on christian people. I’m not into any religion cos it scares me to death. Also, I’ve seen too much bad shit steaming from organized religion. But it seems kinda sketcy when some people get together just because the have christianity in common. Is it Christianity first, music second? But then again, some people come together, make a band as a means to spread a political conviction. Christianity scares me, the new testament scares me… I don’t like it. But who am I to say what isn’t to be said in hc/punk? If the people are good, sincere and constructive I don’t have a problem with them. I dunna man! It’s obvious if some Christian band takes the stage and starts screaming that they are the torch bearers of the only truth, that they are better than others and other people are wrong and should be corrected, now then they can fuck off and eat shit.
We heard you would record a split with russian hardcore band Unconform.
Is it so? How can you comment on it?
Birkir: We met some dudes at the Ieper fest some years ago that were close friends of the Uncofirm boys. They gave us their cd wich we really liked. So we thought it would be interesting to release a split with these new friends, seeing as those dudes were also involved in releasing stuff. They liked the idea. I hope it’s gonna come to fruit. I haven’t heard from them in a while. If they read this, get in touch!
Are a lot of hardcore-kids involved in radical resistance activities?
What kind of struggles are you involved in and what are some recent
developments you'd like us to know about?
Birkir: No. Not many of them are. But I can feel it growing. Kids becoming more aware of the fact that they to can have inpact. Well, I protest as much as I can and the band is always happy to play issue oriented shows to provoke awareness or benefit a cause. I think in this day and age, just speaking out is a form of radical resistance. So I do my part in speaking out and stand for what I believe in. The same goes for some members in the band. I also engage in direct action once in a while and those cases are more than often linked to environmental and animal rights issues – cos nobody is doing that. I and my partners aim to do more.
What's your home scene like now? Are there any other Island hardcore
bands kids around the world need to know about?
Birkir: It’s damn good. Shows are fun and on regular basis. We get US and European bands to join the party. One thing I complain about the most is kids lack of interest in what’s happening around them after the show like I touched on in my last answer. How can we take the positive experience and actions demonstrated in hc/punk and put it on the streets so to speak, add it to the “real life”.
People need to know about: Fighting Shit, Hryggjandi Sannleikur, Dys, Innvortis, The Best Hardcore Band In The World, Hryðjuverk, Terminal Wreckage, Drep, Vera, Future Future, Kimono to name but few… All worth your time. If any of you need more info on this, just email my ass…
That said - are any of the members of I Adapt straightedge?
Birkir: No, but we love the edge. We admire bands with mature approach on the edge in their lyrics and actions. And those bands do exist, believe it or not!
What's more important to I Adapt: the music or the message?
Birkir: Since I’m the one answering your questions I can only say what I feel. For me, with I Adapt – what we say, project and do is more important than the music. That’s what we set out with in the beginning. On the other hand, I’m in another band where’s the music is way more important than the words that go with it, you know.
Any bands or people that currently inspire you? Any up and coming new
bands we should know about?
Birkir: My grandpather continues to inspire my. Some of my friends do too in diffirent ways. Some might inspire my with their ideas others inspire me by just being the dweebs that they are. They might help me enjoy life more when I get too heavy or serious. My girlfriend is a huge inspiration to me in her ways cos she doesn’t stray away from her convictions and is always solid as a rock. Her parents inspire too. Hip Hop artist Sage Francis is one you have to look out for and listen to what he has to offer. There are other artist that I fail to remember at the moment cos my brain is fried from sitting in front of the fucking computer all day!
What can we expect from I Adapt in the future? Tour and release plans?
Birkir: Things that are certain include a UK tour in December to push a split that we hopefully will have released there with the UK band Drive Us Against. A vinyl version of NO PASARAN is now available from Malarie records in the Czech Republic. A cassette is due in In Our Hands records in Polland. The cd will come out on Reality records in Belgium. In January next year I’ll be going to Costa Rica to work kids that live on the streets, so I Adapt will take a break from playing but I’m sure the boy’s won’t stop playing together and writing songs. We aim to record a 7” before I go though.
Would you like to send anything to the Russian kids & www.thes1n.com
Last words!
Birkir: First off, thank you for good questions and a feature in your zine! We have a mission to make it over to at least 2-3 Russion towns when we tour. I hope you enjoy the interview and if there’s anything just get in touch. If it’s band related email I_Adapt_HC@yaoo.com, if you wanna write me directly email birkirAS@yahoo.com
I sincerely hope that you Russian kids nourish your local scene first and formost cos a community like this is not to be taken for granted. A lot has to be done to keep it alive and relevant. First your scene and community, then the foreign bands. This is our website: www.iadapt.tk
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