Cult of Youth är bandet som kommer ta Neofolken till massorna. Eller i alla fall hipstermassorna. Det är först under senare år som jag upptäckt att band som Current 93 och Death in june namedroppas frekvent på diverse musikbloggar som för några år sedan inte hade tagit i mörkklädda musikstilar med tång. Symptomatiskt är väl att metall har blivit ganska populärt bland de tidigare så hiphop och rnb fixerade musikjournalisterna. Cult of Youth verkar dessutom vara ett av få band som har något bakom pannbenet, läs bara denna kloka förklaring av bandets politiska relation:
I think that a lot of people that come at post-industrial music and culture from an outsider’s perspective don’t really understand what’s actually going on and they jump to hasty conclusions. This happens from both sides, the right and the left. I like to look at the relationship between industrial music and fascism as being comparable to the relationship between rock & roll and sex. Industrial music is music of the mind (remember Throbbing Gristle served to basically make academic 20th century classical music accessible to a rock audience via the cultural climate of the punk explosion) whereas rock and roll is music of the body. It’s all pornography. Fascism is a forbidden philosophy, and forbidden philosophies titillate the mind in the same way that dirty pictures titillate the body. Even the best of us have fallen into using it at times. Although the music of Cult Of Youth is a far cry from the nightmarish sounds of Slug Bait or Hamburger Lady, there is a clear cut cultural map that ties us much more closely to TG than to a band like, say, the Rolling Stones.
Something that a lot of people misunderstand about the “military metaphor” is that it serves to strengthen, inspire, and empower the listener. I’ve always thought that martial music serves the purpose of invigorating people so that they have the strength to take on their daily battles with the self. I know that when there were times in my life where I felt lost or out of control I was drawn to art and music that basically said “Pull yourself together! Carry yourself with dignity and stand tall.”
Another thing that bears mentioning is that I didn’t always have the sense of social responsibility that I have now. I never really thought that anyone would even hear my music outside of myself, a few friends, and a very niche audience. These days I think a lot about the transformative powers of art and music and I feel grateful that I’m a position where I can actually say something that’s going to reach people. Now that the situation has changed, the content has changed to reflect it. We’ve all gotta grow up some time.
If you were to ask me what drives me right now, it is the concept of making “liberation music”. By that I mean I feel driven to create works that serve to ease the suffering of those in pain and inspire people to seek out liberation from all oppressive forces. The music of Cult Of Youth is the music of freedom, and anyone that tells you otherwise is a damn fool.
Cult of Youth - The new west
