2024-03-26 19:18:27
The Slovak band Korben Dallas has just released the album Pohyb!, on which they return to straightforward rock-burning songs. However, Slovak politics is also in motion, which has worried not only the cultural scene since Robert Fico’s comeback. In an interview with frontman Juraj Benetin, they talked about anti-government demonstrations, but also Bratislava’s architecture, workaholism and tall men who sing about their insecurities.
While Korben Dallas sounded more electronic and psychedelic on the records Bazén and Deti ryb, on the new album Pohyb! you’re going back to a rockier sound. Are you missing the more raw energy of your early work?
Yes. We lost one member to covid, Ľubo Petruška stopped performing with us, and we were so afraid if our band would even survive the pandemic. In the end, however, we came out of it rather hardened, and in the last two years, even in a weakened line-up, we played very strong concerts. That’s why we wanted to use that power and record an album that would work well live. We stripped down our sound to the very basics – Lukáš with bass, me with guitar and Ozo behind drums. This energetic song clocks in at around two and a half minutes. At concerts, we now play between eight and nine songs from the new album, so our concept has exactly fulfilled its purpose.
I myself discovered you about ten years ago thanks to the song Beh. When I played your new album, it seemed to me that you were going back to one of your biggest hits, both musically and lyrically. For example, I perceive the opening Železný vlak as the anthem of all hurried workaholics. How would you like the album Movement! did you thematically characterize yourself?
Workaholic anthem is, I think, a fairly accurate name for the Iron Train. And you’re right that we have a lot of songs about work on the record. Elsewhere, I sing again: “Today is a day that you just have to survive, yesterday was like that too.” All three of us have very complex professions full of responsibility in addition to music. Lukáš Fila runs the publishing house behind Denník N, I run the largest Slovak architectural studio, and Ozo Guttler is in turn responsible for the communication of the strongest network of Slovak radio stations. We get up at five in the morning and we’re constantly peeing.
We ourselves have already accepted that we are like that, we have stopped being ashamed of workaholism. There’s no need to beat yourself up about it when you’re doing what you enjoy. At the moment we are even preparing another album because I was on vacation and I wrote a lot. Lukáš is constantly writing lyrics, so we now have about forty of them in stock. After all, few Slovak bands release an album every two years.
Soon you’ll be like the Beatles, who released at least one a year in the 1960s.
But the Beatles didn’t have to work as architects or publishers. That’s why they also recorded better records. We follow the motto: “Inspiration is for amateurs.” We believe that quality must eventually emerge from quantity. So far, we have managed to record at least one thing that shined on each album. On the last record it was, for example, The Theory of Everything, which several people have already told me is their favorite Slovak song.
Korben Dallas – You Blame | Video: Korben Dallas
How do your heavy occupations go together with the band life, which tends to be rather disorganized and takes place mainly at night?
I would describe it with the words: “Work hard, play hard.” For us, playing in a band is the perfect opposite of our professions in every way. It allows us to take off our suits and shirts for a while, travel from country to country and hang out with just a bunch of guys.
I would like to stop at one more text from your new album. In Am I Good Enough? you sing, “I’m hanging on your lips, I’m hanging on your gestures, I’m hanging on your recognition.” Are self-doubt and fragile self-esteem a topic you deal with yourself? Whether as a musician, an architect, or a person in general.
Of course. But the text was written by Lukáš and I think it’s a bit of trolling on his part. The image of a tall frontman singing suggestive songs to women in the front rows undermines insecurities, which suits me tremendously. It’s actually the opposite of hip hop.
Instead of macho gestures, you admit doubts.
Yes, which is a motif that has been repeated in our lyrics ever since the song Otec. But it is not a pose, just an authentic mirror of our inner life. Although we are relatively successful, hardworking and at first glance confident, insecurity is a natural part of us. We all deal with what we could have done differently, when we did the right thing and when we didn’t. At the same time, admitting doubts can be a manifestation of inner strength, perhaps greater than just macho gestures. It suits the rappers, I don’t mind them at all, but not us.
Women in the front rows will certainly appreciate this honesty.
Not only women, the composition Otec, for example, resonated mainly with men.
We met near the Prague Center for Architecture and Urban Planning – a brutalist building that you obviously like. At the same time, the Czech public does not like these uncompromising buildings from the socialist period very much. Can you name what you appreciate about Brutalism?
The same thing that I enjoy about neoclassical architecture from the 19th century and good contemporary architecture – that is, the tremendous amount of attention and determination that the authors devoted to their projects. In the CAMP building, which Karel Prager had built for his studio, for example, I am fascinated by how it innovatively communicates with the surrounding terrain and the adjacent Emmaus Monastery. If the building is made of glass and the upper floor floats in the air, I don’t care so much anymore. If someone came up with an almost identical proposal, but couldn’t implement it with such sophistication and quality, it wouldn’t work nearly as well.
Buildings from the socialist period define Bratislava much more than Prague. Whether it is Slovak Radio, Slovak National Gallery, Prior or Hotel Kyiv. They are also kind of sloppy and non-contextual. Even on them, however, I admire the incredibly honest execution, which we can no longer achieve today. Among other things, because instead of craft production, we build everything industrially.
“Admitting doubts can be a sign of inner strength, perhaps greater than macho gestures. It suits rappers, but not us,” emphasizes Benetin. | Photo: Jakub Plíhal
Prague is sometimes perceived as an open-air museum of dusty historical buildings, but since the 1990s almost no iconic buildings have been added. How do you see her?
Completely different. In my opinion, Prague is an extremely multi-layered city, and the tourist part is only one of its elements. Just look at the more distant districts, which have a different character. For example, yesterday I visited the Baba housing estate, which I didn’t know much about, and I thought it was fantastic. In Prague, one can walk through history and observe how the city has continuously developed. Its strength lies precisely in the fact that iconic buildings are not so important here, and inconspicuous ones play a much more fundamental role. Icons are a dangerous thing, Bratislava is a shining example.
How is Bratislava from an architectural point of view?
I love Bratislava and I co-create its architecture myself. But it is a city that lacks historical continuity. During the 20th century, the architecture there was completely rewritten almost every two decades, depending on who was in power at the time. A small provincial town grew into a metropolis that everyone wanted to reinvent. Whether we are talking about the period of Austrian and Hungarian domination, the first republic, the Slovak state, socialism, federalization, or post-revolutionary capitalism, each brought its own icons. Bratislava is a city of surprises, which is neither a plus nor a minus, it’s a fact. And just as it does not make sense to protect all the buildings in Bratislava, icons should not be built in Prague at all costs.
Instead of worrying about the city’s lack of iconic buildings, you think we should be more interested in how public space serves the needs of residents.
Exactly. The space between buildings is sometimes more important than the buildings themselves. Take, for example, the floodplain where we are sitting right now. When we walked here, we passed by several houses from the 19th century, but we didn’t notice their facades that much. We were much more interested in the fact that it was nice and we could stay outside by the Vltava. I am not saying that public space in Prague could not be improved. But I think there are a lot of places where people feel good.
“What took Orbán years, Fico managed in a few months. The cultural scene has a voice that they are trying to use. We will probably just have to add more,” says Benetin. | Photo: Jakub Plíhal
We cannot ignore Slovak politics, which has been going through turbulent times since the return of Robert Fico to the post of prime minister. How do you perceive the government’s leaning towards Russia or the unfinished criminal law reform?
The situation is serious and of course affects everyone. The cycle we are experiencing now began with the murder of Ján Kuciak and Martina Kušnírová. I myself participated in anti-government protests back then, at the end of each demonstration I sang the Slovak national anthem. Social pressure at that time reached such proportions that Fico left and was replaced by Pellegrini. Unfortunately, riots in the streets brought Matovič to power, which only brought another wave of chaos. Even though people had another alternative, for some reason they didn’t choose it. Not only did Matovič’s government, with its erratic actions, serve Slovakia to Fico on a silver platter, but at the same time it caused him a desire for revenge.
In my opinion, Fico is just a human wreck with a poisoned heart at this point. It awakens an aggressive atmosphere that continues to divide Slovak society. What took Orbán years, Fico managed in a few months. In elections, the majority always wins, which from time to time chooses someone sane, but often supports someone insane. Fortunately, democracy also has other institutions at its disposal, be it free media or independent courts. That is why Fico’s government is now fighting with public radio and television, the constitutional court and the president. In the near future, the key will be who replaces Zuzana Čaputová.
The change in the government set-up also affects your industry. Since last October, the post of Slovak culture minister has been held by TV presenter Martina Šimkovičová, who is infamous for her outbursts against migrants or the LGBT community. Almost 190,000 people have already signed a petition for her resignation. Is there an atmosphere of defiance in the cultural scene now?
Yes, I see it that way. But I don’t think musicians or actors are the worst off. No way. Entrepreneurs, journalists, but also honest people who would like to go into politics have it much more difficult. Nevertheless, the cultural scene has a voice that it tries to use. We’ll probably just have to add more.
At the end of February, you sang the Slovak national anthem again at the end of the anti-government demonstration in Bratislava, which took place on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kušnírová. Is social involvement self-evident for you, or do you carefully consider how much you should be involved in protests?
A musical career is more of an addition to me, I mainly make a living from architecture. That’s why I have more freedom as an artist than if I were financially dependent on the band. But Korben Dallas’ songs were always highly personal, we never commented on the social situation in the lyrics. Engagement is not so natural for us. So far, I myself have decided to participate only in demonstrations organized by civil activists. I did not accept the offer from the party-organized protest, even though I like the party in question. In Slovakia, we have already experienced many times politicians who seemed to be fine one day, but behaved completely differently the next day. One could then blame oneself for supporting them.
Do you believe that better times await Slovakia again?
Of course. All of us in the band are optimists. But of course the world is complex and we often don’t understand each other. I myself have a hard time understanding why some Slovaks like the fact that Fico wants to reduce the penalties for thieves. But I try to listen to people with a different political mindset. From a long-term perspective, it seems to me that it is most essential that we at least partially reconcile. To find at least some anchors that can hold our society together when we no longer agree on the media we trust or the politicians we vote for. Preventing the collapse of society is even more important than defeating Fic.
Video: Prague is in a straitjacket. I can’t even look at something, says architect Eva Jiřičná (February 6, 2024)
Spotlight – Eva Jiřičná. | Video: Jakub Zuzánek