They’ve pioneered E.B.M. (Electronic Body Music). They’ve been playing for more than 30 years and didn’t lose any of their strength or creativity, as we’ve seen from their gig at the Brussels Summers Festival. It was an honor for me to meet mister Dirk Da Davo, half of the Neon Judgement (the one who is most of the time behind the keyboard) to talk about punk rock, Orwell, and his holidays.
(There is a French adaptation of this interview here —but since he’s Flemish and I Walloon, we’ve done it in English. You know: Belgium!)
I’m going on holidays. Tonight, I’m leaving! I really need it because I was very busy with projects and music and work. So, tonight, it was saying goodbye to Belgium for a couple of weeks.
Forever?
No, not now. I still have too many things to do! But, yeah. Later on, I would like to go live somewhere where the weather is good and people are chilling. [laughter]
Is there a country you’re thinking of?
Yeah. Of course, Spain. Because of my last name. It was all planned like that! My artist name is « Dirk Da Davo ». During my career, people have always asked me: « Are you Spanish? —No, but I just love Spain! And I will be one day! » [laughter]
And where are you going now?
To Fuerteventura. It’s an island in the Canary Islands. It’s never too warm and never too cold. It’s a bit windy. I was there several times before and now a lot of artists go there, you know, even seventies bands like Slade and the Rubettes, all those people are living in Fuerteventura. There’s a lot of music there. Lots of talents, musicians also. Every time I went there, I’ve seen music and said « Oh! waw! This is good music! » And it’s on an island! It’s 3 000 kilometers away! So, the musicians have a very hard time to get concerts on a small island [laughter] to make money with their music and stuff.
Is it possible for you not to think about music when you are on holiday?
Hmmm… No. That’s not simple. It takes me most two, three days after I’ve arrived to really feel free… But it’s always in the back of my mind. It was like that since I’m 15 years old, so I guess it’ll never change! It’s hard to leave it behind… But that’s why I prefer islands to go to. You know, there is the island, you have water, it’s easier to cut. Last days, last week before I Ieave, I had this paper with all my schedules. It’s easier to drop things when they’re on a list, hm? I like it! Then you go and it’s ok. To cut the chaos! [laughter]
Actually, a lot of musicians tell me on interviews that music is all their life, that they couldn’t do anything else…
Yes, it’s a passion. It’s like becoming a priest or something, becoming a musician!
But you get more pussy!
[laughter] That’s right! I don’t know about the priest but… [laughter]
Well, yes: it’s a bit like a mission! I mean, when I was very young, I was 14 and I said: « I wanna do something that is a bit extraordinary and I’m also going to express myself. » So, when I was a kid, I used to paint and make drawings. And then, I met a friend who played guitar. He played guitar for me. That was mainly Neil Young songs and I said: « Yeah! That sounds interesting! » Then, he taught me the guitar. When I was 19, I bought my first analog keyboard and that was it: « Yeah! that is what I want to do. » And I got into it. And I got a bit lucky also: right time, right place. So, that’s 30 years ago now! Even more!
And I feel I still need to be creative, in paintings also, but I don’t find the time. Later on, I want to do different kinds of things to express myself. I survive like that! [laughter] It’s for my health! Mental health.
Who are you?
I am passionate. When I have a goal, I go for it. No matter the efforts it costs. I’m like a pitbull [laughter]: I bite, I don’t drop until I…
And I’m always worried, since I was very young, about the planet. The people. The system. I’m always thinking about it. More than I want. But it’s there. Something that I have to learn to live with. I guess.
Are you more worried about the planet than about yourself?
I was very inspired by 1984 by George Orwell. I was very young when I read it for the first time. It’s a breath-taking book, very impressive. It inspired me to write songs at the beginning of our career, TV Treated, Too Cold To Breathe… So, that is what is worrying me a lot. And it’s also frustrating because I feel unable to… to do something. I sing songs. But sometimes I wonder: are people listening to these lyrics? Very often, at the shows, I sing Too Cold To Breathe because these lyrics are about worlds cracking and falling apart. It was written 30 years ago and it’s still very… « now », these lyrics. So, that is what worries me, the system that takes your privacy, that takes your whole being. And politics also. I don’t like it.
It’s important for you to give a message but your music is really loud. It’s kinda difficult to listen to the lyrics.
Hmm, I can make acoustic versions! [laughter] Bob Dylan like! [laughter] That’s a possibility!
You see, when we started music, we wanted to impress. So, we used a drum machine and a big kick drum that went « paw! paw! paw! » So, when we started playing, at the beginning of the 80s, it’s was like « tscoush! » And people! It was the first time that they ever had an experience like that! Because nobody was doing these things at the time. We did it because we wanted to have a physical thing in the music. We wanted people to feel it in their stomach.
How did it begin?
We were 17 and we smoked a lot of joints [laughter] and then we started to play with a ghetto-blaster. We recorded our stuff and we were using the table like: this is the beat [beats on the table] and I had a melodica, Frank was playing the guitar and he did it like this [higher and stronger beats]… We all taped that and then few weeks later, we smoked joints again we listened to the tapes: « Oh yeah, it sounds interesting! Shouldn’t we be buying an electric guitar and a keyboard and we can do the same? » So, we really started from scratch.
Were you listening to punk rock at the time?
Yes. It was the end of the 70s… Before, we were listening to the Velvet Underground. A lot. They are also punks, you know. Very lonely… pre-punks. And then the Sex Pistols came and we said: « What do you have? What the fuck? We can do this! » What they can do, we can do, we just have to find the spirit!
Have you had the feeling that you were creating something new?
No. No, we just did what we felt that we had to do. At the beginning, the press was against it. They said: « Blah! Blah! These guys with their synthesizers, they are so boring! » But we kept doing it, we started to play in youth clubs three times a week. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Every week. Always came more and more. So, that made the vibe to get the press to us. So, it was quite a road! [laughter]
What turns you on in music?
Emotions. When something works in the studio, when you create and, you know, you put it loud and you get goose bumps! [smile] You feel like: « Yes! This is correct! » And that’s the emotion. The emotion is creating music. And other things.
And today also at the concert, when we play these songs live, some of them are really old songs but we try to give them a vibe that is always adventurous and is always different for us to do. That’s what keeps you going.
What turns you off in music?
The mass production business. In the last fifteen years, they didn’t do a lot to protect the musicians. It’s like nowadays, music is for free but if you are an artist or a musician, you can’t possibly do these things for free! So, I don’t like the business! I really don’t but I have to work with the system. And, as I told you before, the system, hmm… Hum hum!
Do you have a musical guilty pleasure?
Hmm… No. No, I don’t. No, I get straight emotions: I like what I like and if I don’t like it…
Do you have something new coming up ?
Yes. I also work with a project called Neon Electronics for some years now. It was quiet with Neon Electronics for five years because I do all my business myself, my bookings, all arrangements, my label… So, recently, I’ve fixed a compilation of Neon Electronics, which will be released on September, the 9th and it’s tracks taken from ever since I’ve started, in 1999, until 2012. I will do some shows then with the project.
With Neon Judgement, we’ve been working on cover songs to get a cover project to release but it’s long term. I guess, it will be released for 2015.
And then RadicalG and me, we are working on a new project. N.E., it’s called, it’s just initials of Neon Electronics. And we will be creating a new logo, a new sound and I want to release an album in March next year. So we have six months, now. Way to go! So, I’m scheduled!
Pictures: Gautier Houba