It comes from Salzburg GLUE CREW. Their new album “Glue and let it stick” will soon be presented live. Jürgen Plank spoke to the band about the music business, which is the subject of one of the new songs, as well as about live experiences and making music in times of streaming. The musicians also talk about how they create musical connections between punk and rap and why they also incorporate ska, Austropop and dialect lyrics. What all this entails? Freddie Mercury, Manu Chao and Heintje has something to do, the band also breaks up during the conversation.
Musically, you create an unusual mix of punk, ska, rap and Austropop. How did this come about?
Thomas Mulitzer: In addition to our roots in punk rock, we have always had influences from ska and reggae, and since we sing in dialect, some songs leaned towards Austropop. This means we have a wide spectrum of punky Austropop or Austropop with a punk feeling and can therefore cover a lot musically.
Benedikt Emig: There are four of us now and we wanted to make an album that reflected our diverse influences, everyone throws ideas into the work process. The new line-up has brought together a lot of ideas that we then worked out together.
I have often heard from Austrian bands that the individual musicians started out in the brass band. You also use brass sections, what was that like for you?
Thomas Mulitzer: Our bassist Wolfi began his musical socialization on the trumpet, and I played the clarinet for a long time and was actually in a brass band until the age of 18. You might even hear this in some songs, for example “YN/YNG” features a tuba, a trumpet and a trombone, which creates a nice polka feeling. Polka definitely has similarities to punk when it comes to rhythm. “King of the Losers” also features a trumpet and a trombone, but the song leans more towards Latin.
I would also see these cross-connections towards Latin America, why did you add this Latino touch?
Andreas Posch: Wolfgang is a big fan of Manu Chao, by bands from Mexico and Spain. He always brings a reggae or Latin feeling into our music.
Manu Chao you don’t name it with a song title, but for that Machine Gun Kellywho also makes a mixture of rap and rock musically.
Thomas Mulitzer: Many people say that Machine Gun Kelly Bringing punk rock back into the mainstream. Wolfgang took up this topic and wrote a song that is just like he would imagine a song from Machine Gun Kelly introduces: pop punk with rap elements. Since none of us really do Machine Gun Kelly hears, we don’t know whether we succeeded in the endeavor. The song’s lyrics are also cool, it’s about the pursuit of independence and the urge to no longer meet society’s expectations. Life is too short to conform or put up with haters.
“ALL IN ALL, THE MUSIC BUSINESS IS VERY DIFFICULT, BUT WE WON’T GET DOWN”
On this record you repeatedly discuss making music itself. One song is called “Business” and refers to the music business in a critical way. A song against the music business, although of course you’re right in the middle of it and on a label Spotify etc. are. How do you see this area of tension?
Thomas Mulitzer: The more you look into it, the more you see what a sh… Business that is. Conditions are often precarious, not just for musicians, but also for everyone else involved. When it comes to funding, it is still the case that so-called high culture is supported much more than popular music. And if you operate in a niche, that doesn’t make it any easier.
Or the streaming topic: platforms like Spotify earn a lot of money and the bands get little to nothing. The majority goes to the big acts, and the small labels and small bands are completely lost. All in all, the music business is quite difficult, but we won’t let it get us down.
Glue Crew (c) Ludwig Seidl
In the song “5 Million” you say: we continue with music even though it is so difficult, even though we have to travel a long way to a concert and are poorly paid. Is this a true story that you are telling with this song?
Thomas Mulitzer: There’s this joke or meme where a band loads equipment worth 5000 euros into a car that’s worth 500 euros and then they get 50 euros for the gig. For us it’s often the case that we drive for hours to a gig, even though we’ve just come from work, and on the way we argue about some stupid little thing, but then when you’re on stage you realize how nice it is . When you see people having fun and dancing, the whole thing suddenly makes sense again.
Benedikt Emig: Playing live is really cool when you notice that people are moving and following along. Or come here after the concert and say you enjoyed it.
“THE GLUE CREW IS SALZBURG’S BEST EXPORT GOOD SINCE THE MOZARTKUGEL”
Your texts are often critical, but there is always a humorous level. How important is humor to you?
Andreas Posch: Very important. You can complain, but if you’re always grumpy, it’s no fun if you’re upset all the time. You can express a lot through humor. Whether life-affirming or critical, humor is a good and important way.
Benedikt Emig: Life is serious enough, you should have some fun.
What do you do? Glue Crew out of?
Thomas Mulitzer: Die Glue Crew is Salzburg’s best export since the Mozartkugel. Hotter than Pongau rowanberry schnapps, sweeter than Salzburger Nockerl and more energetic than a pallet of Red Bull. At least that’s what our promo text says. We express ourselves in the songs the way we can, we say what we feel and think and make music that comes from the heart. And we hope you can feel that.
Do you wish that 30 people at concerts would soon become 3,000 and subsequently 30,000, a full stadium?
Andreas Posch: Last year it was a bit like this: one day we played in front of 600 people, then there were 30 and the next day 150. This contrast of a full house and a few visitors. They always say that you should play in front of 5 people just as you would in front of 5000. That’s basically what we do because those who are there have the right to get a show and a performance.
Thomas Mulitzer: If one out of 30 people comes up to us after the show and says they liked it, then it’s worth it.
Benedikt Emig: The stadiums are coming soon.
When I hear the album title “Glue and let it stick,” I immediately think of climate adhesives.
Thomas Mulitzer: The title came about because of our band name Glue Crew offered. This pun has been there before and has taken its own path through the climate stickers. We’re basically in favor of demonstrating and rebelling, especially when it comes to preserving our planet, but we didn’t actually want to make a political statement with the album title. It was primarily about the play on words.
When would you get stuck?
Andreas Posch: On the guitar. Basically, everyone should stick where they want as long as it doesn’t endanger anyone else.
Benedikt Emig: Or at the Bräustüberl-Schank during curfew.
At the beginning of the song “La Famiglia” you included an original sound from Federal President Van der Bellen, which is about democracy. Do you currently see an imbalance with regard to democracy that you wanted to address?
Andreas Posch: Yes, yes. I wrote the song at a moment when another political scandal had happened. When we play the song live and make daily political announcements about it, you can see that unfortunately we never run out of topics.
How did you record and produce the new album?
Thomas Mulitzer: We produced the album with Oliver Zülch, who also works with bands like Granada or The doctors is working. We were there last fall Auratone Studio in Bavaria, the people there used to Queen and Led Zeppelin recorded and there were some exciting things to discover, like equipment Freddie Mercury has used. In February we were there Northern Studio in Bremen, where already Heintje worked on his hits. Thus the spirit of floats Freddie Mercury and Heintje about our album and accompanied the production. Everyone has to find out for themselves whether they can hear that in the songs.
Thank you very much for the interview.
Jürgen Plank
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Live:
November 10, 2023: Rockhouse Salzburg (with Coperniquo and Public Sanity)
November 11, 2023: STWST Linz (with Die Partie and Revoluzza)
November 17, 2023: General store Vienna (with Iro cheese and Bonjour drops)
18.11.2023: Music-House Graz (mit HC Roth und S.I.G)
December 2nd, 2023: Kulturhof Villach (with Franz Fuexe)
01/12/2024: culture:platform St. Johann im Pongau (with High Transition)
26.01.2024: Smoking St. George
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Links:
Glue Crew
Glue Crew (Instagram)
Glue Crew (Facebook)