[kj] Rencontre avec Martin Glover aka Youth (Killing Joke) (The Unchained)

Sat Nov 24 01:00:31 EST 2018

https://theunchained.net/2018/11/14/rencontre-avec-martin-glover-aka-youth-killing-joke/
(Google translation)

[image: youth.jpg]

*MEETING WITH MARTIN GLOVER AKA YOUTH (KILLING JOKE)*
NOVEMBER 14, 2018 MAT-THE-UNCHAINED

On the occasion of Killing Joke's forty years concert at Cabaret Sauvage, I
spoke with bassist *Martin Glover* (aka Youth), also a producer, writer and
publisher. The character has been around as a producer that he works even
with a size like *Paul McCartney*! An exciting interview mixing music,
politics and spirituality.

*Hello, it's been forty years since the group was created. How do you
explain such longevity?*

*Youth  :* Things probably had to happen like that. All this defies
rational explanation. It's amazing that we have survived so far, especially
in the original line-up. We would never have imagined that at the time. Jaz
(Coleman) is used to saying that success is survival. It may be because of
success that we have survived. The wheel continues to spin.

[image: image.jpg]

*Next to Killing Joke, you worked in production. What can you tell me about
your career?*

*Youth  :* It's amazing when you look to the past. I did not really intend
to become a producer. I came by accident but today I am very happy to be
able to produce records. I worked hard for that.

*You left the group several times and you joined him again ten years ago.
Why ?*

*Youth  :* I joined the group again in 2008 following the death of *Paul
Raven* . We played on this occasion a memorable concert in a room in the
corner. On the other side of the Parc de la Villette, it seems to me. I do
not remember exactly but it was maybe the Trabendo ...

*You are also known as a publisher and even a writer. Can you tell me more
about that?*

*Youth  :* Yes, I have a new publishing house and have published mostly
poetry so far. At this point, I think it's time for me to publish other
things, new collections of poetry, new authors and new books. I have been
writing for a long time but have not yet published my writings. What
interests me most is to publish and encourage writers to write. One of my
best achievements was the book "Freak Philosophy" which is a collection of
interviews done by myself over a fairly long period of time and which
brings together writers like *Terence McKenna* and *Ken Kesey* or an artist
like *Roger Ramone*. I asked them about their philosophy and their
inspiration. I am very proud of the work done with my first Dragonfly
Publishing House. It was very exciting to work with someone like *David
Tibet* from Current 93 and the Italian DJ *Gaudi* . Regarding the latter,
there is also an album to come in December.

*You're also a member of an electro band, The Fireman, with Paul McCartney.
How was this collaboration?*

*Youth  :* It's amazing. It started when I offered to remix his albums. I
then came to propose to him to create a new sound from his recordings.
That's when Fireman's first album arrived. It is a very experimental
project. It's as exciting as having worked with a band like *Pink Floyd* .
It's one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. I learned a lot from
this collaboration. I am one of the few people who have worked with *Paul
McCartney* .

The Fireman 'Sing The Changes' <https://youtu.be/0wQmHhlZlfg>

*Killing Joke is known to be a politically engaged group. What about your
own political convictions?*

*Youth :* I would say that everything we do is political, whether it is
conscious or not. I am not affiliated with any party or political doctrine.
We are influenced by various political currents. We have different points
of view within the group. I consider myself an anarchist with a liberal
tendency. Jaz has a more left-wing conception of anarchism. We seek above
all to live in community according to our own rules in order to find
happiness. We all feel that in recent times, politics has moved far away
from reality. We created our own political culture. Jaz was against the
British intervention in Iraq but that was not. That's why he took the New
Zealand citizenship. We point out the hypocrisy of our politicians. The
world has become as we described it 30 years ago. Our policy is to create a
new "summer of love" as in the days of hippies. Even though our music is
violent and powerful, we preach peace and happiness. Music is the cure for
problems. The virus may contain part of the virus. Killing Joke is for us a
therapy in a world of violence and aggression. Our music reflects that. Jaz
says that Killing Joke is a way for us to express the violence that is in
us. Personally, I do not share this point of view. For me, music is more
about reconnecting with the cosmos and the natural elements. The magical
side of our music is more important to me than violence. Even though our
music is violent and powerful, we preach peace and happiness. Music is the
cure for problems. The virus may contain part of the virus. Killing Joke is
for us a therapy in a world of violence and aggression. Our music reflects
that. Jaz says that Killing Joke is a way for us to express the violence
that is in us. Personally, I do not share this point of view. For me, music
is more about reconnecting with the cosmos and the natural elements. The
magical side of our music is more important to me than violence. Even
though our music is violent and powerful, we preach peace and happiness.
Music is the cure for problems. The virus may contain part of the virus.
Killing Joke is for us a therapy in a world of violence and aggression. Our
music reflects that. Jaz says that Killing Joke is a way for us to express
the violence that is in us. Personally, I do not share this point of view.
For me, music is more about reconnecting with the cosmos and the natural
elements. The magical side of our music is more important to me than
violence. Our music reflects that. Jaz says that Killing Joke is a way for
us to express the violence that is in us. Personally, I do not share this
point of view. For me, music is more about reconnecting with the cosmos and
the natural elements. The magical side of our music is more important to me
than violence. Our music reflects that. Jaz says that Killing Joke is a way
for us to express the violence that is in us. Personally, I do not share
this point of view. For me, music is more about reconnecting with the
cosmos and the natural elements. The magical side of our music is more
important to me than violence.

*You mentioned the spiritual dimension of Killing Joke. What about your
religious beliefs?*

*Youth  :* I'm not in the religious side. My influences range from Buddhism
to Christianity. What interests me is mysticism. I am interested in the
thought of *Helena Blavatsky* (1). I see the group as a mystical element.
For my part, I am rather in a pagan state of mind. I am interested in
druidism, shamanism. Jaz and Paul were in the past part of the *Hermetic
Order of the Golden Dawn* (2). Geordie is an expert in gematria (exegesis
of the Hebrew Bible in which the numerical value of the letters and
sentences is added in order to interpret them ). Within the group, we all
have different centers of interest in spirituality. Regarding *Aleister
Crowley*(3) I recognize him qualities. I find it interesting but I do not
really like his philosophy. Occultists like *Gurdjieff* (4) have said
things with which I completely agree. I do not know if I want to live
constantly in this world of spirituality ...

*Tell me about your project with David Tibet ...*

*Youth  :* The project is called *Hypnopazuzu* and we released an album
last year. It is a very esoteric and magical project. A second album is in
preparation.

<https://youtu.be/6og3CfiydlA>
Hypnopazūzu (David Tibet & Youth) - Magog at the MayPole
<https://youtu.be/6og3CfiydlA>

*What are the short-term projects for Killing Joke?*

*Youth  :* We are just talking about it within the group. We have the
project to release a new album and many other projects but nothing concrete
at this stage. We have lots of ideas but we can not get along on that
(laughs).

*Something to say about the atmosphere in Killing Joke?*

We get on pretty well with Jaz because we have the same age, the same
astrological sign. Relations that we maintain individually with each other,
different from those that we maintain on a collective level. Sometimes it's
Geordie who gets the upper hand in the group. But it can also be me or Paul
or Jaz dominating. We are pretty brutal with each other. Geordie and Jaz
live in the same street in Prague and they are never seen outside of the
tours. When Paul Raven was still alive, it was the same. As we spend a lot
of time together on tour, we do not necessarily want to hang out together
the rest of the time. However, I have a lot of projects with Jaz outside
the group. I also have a side project with Paul, *Transmission*. A new
album must also come out. We all do things next to Killing Joke with the
exception of Geordie who is only Killing Joke. It's fantastic to play
together!
____________________________________________________________________________
Notes:

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Blavatsky

2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hermetic_order_of_the_Degine_Abb

3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Gurdjieff

Interviewed and translated by Mathieu

(Article translated by Google Translate)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist4.pair.net/pipermail/gathering/attachments/20181124/6f39ef56/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: youth.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 46642 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist4.pair.net/pipermail/gathering/attachments/20181124/6f39ef56/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 14022 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://pairlist4.pair.net/pipermail/gathering/attachments/20181124/6f39ef56/attachment-0003.jpg>