🔻⚡️ 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗦𝗔̈𝗖𝗛𝗦𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗘 𝗭𝗘𝗜𝗧𝗨𝗡𝗚 (𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡) ⚡️🔺

German newspaper Sächsische Zeitung published an interview with Brian. He talks about the new album and its songs, why he left London, his drug addiction, the current situation in the world, David Bowie and his son Cody. Enjoy reading!

⭐️"𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧-𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩"⭐️

Photo credit: Mads Perch

After a nine-year break, Placebo are back with a furious album. Singer Brian Molko explains what drove him.

On "Never let me go", the first new Placebo studio album in nine years, Brian Molko gives free rein to his anger. The anger of the introverted frontman is a blessing for the new songs. Not for ages have Molko (49) and bassist Stefan Olsdal (47) sounded so spirited and overwhelmingly powerful as on the new songs. In a telephone interview, Molko talks about his escape from England, drugs and anger at the world.


𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 2016. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩?
📢 “The effects are only really seeping in now. Ultimately, it is yet another uncertainty that has come on top. Overall, I feel psychologically brutally heckled by all the uncertainties and threats that have been raining down on us for years. The Coronavirus has raised the question in my mind whether there is still a future for this band at all. No one can live on Spotify alone. I keep asking myself if I still have a job and what the future holds. Brexit and Corona was a twin demon for me, making me angry and depressed. I knew I had to get out of here or I'd break down physically and mentally.”


𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸?
📢 “Well, I won't tell you. In London, a lot of people knew where I lived. There were a number of kids hanging around outside the house waiting for me, even ringing the doorbell all the time. Then when I came out, they would follow me. That's why I keep to myself where I live now.”


𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?
📢 “Yes, that's me one hundred percent. I only want to appear in public as the singer of Placebo. Outside of my job I am reserved and shy. I don't need attention when I fetch bread rolls in the morning.”


𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 "𝘞𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨" 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯?
📢 “No. 'Went missing' is primarily a reflection on the close relationship I have with my addiction therapist. Whenever I relapsed, everything would suddenly go pitch black around me and I would disappear, in a sense, both internally and externally. When I would reappear, he would say, "Oh, you must have been off the face of the earth for a while." The song is also about how my addiction became visible to the public from time to time. A few times in Placebo's history I didn't make it past the first song of a concert.”


𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶?
📢 “The erasure of the self. The search for this disappearance, so that I no longer have to feel myself. Basically, I was running away from myself, from my own personality. For many years I didn't understand how much fear close people had for me. If you have a close relationship with an addict who disappears, you worry about their life and fear that you may never see that person again.”


𝘋𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺?
📢 “I have worked towards a lifestyle that is much, much more moderate over many years.”


𝘐𝘯 '𝘍𝘪𝘹 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧', 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧?
📢 “No, 'Fix yourself' is a fuck-you song. It's not about me, it's about all the lying fucking hypocrites out there. The song is directed at everyone who goes around thinking they have to spread their morals. Starting with the church. I don't let any priests tell me how to live or what to think. Let them start with themselves and change their own lives and attitudes!”


"𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘔𝘦 𝘎𝘰" 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺, 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘮, 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘪𝘵?
📢 “It's our lick-me album, that's right. It's by far the most angry and incensed thing we've ever done. And it's very focused in its anger and rage. I have a different, far greater clarity now than I used to because of my lifestyle.”


"𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴" 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰-𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴?
📢 “Only mockery. Nothing else. Although - yes, one more thing: contempt.”


𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴?
📢 “Sure, without my anger, this power-packed record wouldn't exist. As a compassionate person, I can't walk three steps without getting pissed off at the concentrated unfairness at every turn. I wanted to talk about what surveillance, predatory capitalism, greed and hate do to us from a human, empathetic perspective. There was definitely a lot pent up inside me.”


𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘌𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥- 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.
📢 “Yes, that's true. Much of what has to do with gender, sexuality and identity is no longer exotic, but has become part of the mainstream. Many of the debates we have today as a matter of course didn't even exist 25 years ago. Back then, the options were hetero, homo or bi. Nothing else. Even when it comes to questions of origin and skin colour, some things have changed for the better.”


𝘉𝘶𝘵?
📢 “I don't know if we really live in a less prejudiced world. You only have to look around in Europe. There are significantly more populist, i.e. far-right, leaders than 20 or 30 years ago. Do we really live with less resentment today, or is that an illusion reinforced by this little computer we carry with us 24 hours a day? I too believed that the world would become more peaceful and just, but we see that this is only an illusion.”


𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘪𝘴 16. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦. 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦?
📢 “Yes, definitely. He hardly knows what it's like to be carefree. He just suffered two years of the pandemic and now he's suffering under Putin. Damn. I'm a child of the eighties. In my day, there wasn't a security camera every ten feet, and phones were still connected by a wire in the wall. My son's world is nothing like mine anymore. He enjoys the technological progress. But what about the bill for this motley present and future that awaits him at some point? His mobile phone is de facto a medium of control too. It holds him hostage. But of course he doesn't see it that way. He only knows the dopamine kick that prompts him to keep scrolling.”


𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘦'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬'𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯. 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥?
📢 “I'm certainly not famous enough for a birthday party at Madison Square Garden. Oh, David. My friend and mentor. I think about him every day. I still get teary-eyed when I think about his last birthday, that was unspeakably emotional for me. It's a bit sad that David had to be terminally ill before I realised how much he meant and taught me as a person and as a friend. David showed me how to be a kind, approachable person and how to treat other people with decency. He was good to everyone he met. I admire him and I love him.”
(Sächsische Zeitung, March 25th 2022)
Translation: Silke

Post by Silke