Don't care about podcast 001: Thomas Reitmayer

Don't care about podcast 001: Thomas Reitmayer by Datzee on Mixcloud

Playlist:
01 Charles Bukowski - On People
02 GG Allin - When I Die
03 Tomoyasu Hotei - Battle without Honor or Humanity
04 A Band of Buriers - Slides By
05 Hallowed Butchery - Abolish the Pulpit
06 iconAclass - Heat Down
07 Lorraine - First
08 Nelson Riddle & His Orchestra - Lolita Ya-Ya
09 Forgetters - I'm Not Immune
10 Bad Brains - Sailin' On
11 Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect Device
12 Warsaw - They Walked In Line
13 Bauhaus - She's In Parties
14 House of Pain - Pass The Jinn
15 El-P - Deep Space 9mm
16 Small Brown Bike & The Casket Lottery - Under Pressure
17 The Murder City Devils - Rum To Whiskey
17 King Dude - Lucifer's the Light of the World

English version: 

Datzee: Who is, what he did and why would we remember Thomas Reitmayer???

Thomas Reimayer: There are many different opinions about who Thomas Reitmayer is, depending on who you ask. I sport a massive beard, I love coffee, and I make things look nice in print (some call that "graphic designer"). I publish printed matter under the name Create & Destroy Press, I write, I collect books and records. Sometimes I get a bit tipsy. I used to run a record label back in the day, I was part of a record store and skate shop, I published a photo book, a shitload of fanzines, a professional magazine, I set up DIY shows ages ago, to name just a few projects I was involved in. Why someone would remember is up to the person, I hope it's because I made a positive impact or inspired that person. I can be quite the loudmouth, so maybe the next person would remember me because I insulted them. Either way is fine with me.

Datzee: Where was this mix recorded, and on what kind of equipment?

Thomas Reitmayer: I believe that the tools are of lesser importance, but I will gladly answer. I would not want to know which guitar was being played on the first Clash album. It takes away some of the magic for me personally. I did this mix here in my office space in Wien-Simmering, on my computer, with a pirated copy of Magix Music Maker 15. Simple drag and drop with only a little bit of blending and volume adjusting, no mix tricks, no nothing. Just like I would do a DJ set.

Datzee: Is there anything, in the future, anything we could expect from mr. Thomas????
Oh, definitely. I just can't sit back. I seem to lack an off switch. What can expect is too actually see less of me in person, because I will be a married man very soon - and having "stay home" tattooed on my fingers should give you an idea. As for future projects, we are currently in the editing phases of the first novel by my dear friend Paulo Doms that I will release on Create & Destroy. My wife and me just have started a zine project together, I will be re-designing and re-"releasing" the left over copies of an old Austrian hardcore record to make them available again and introduce them to a younger generation. I have some more - vague - book plans, an art project in progress, and many one-offs like limited edition t-shirts, screenprinted show posters, the occassional record cover or two... I will not get bored I guess.

Datzee: You have released a lot of stuff form ex Yu bands, and you know a lot of people form Ex-YU. Any useful knowledge about "western Balkans" culture???

Thomas Reitmayer: Well, not really. That lot of stuff actually just was one album by a band from Croatia called Nikad. They were amazing, and I put it out (like any other record I ever did) because I was stoked about the people and the music. The Yugo connection has always been there. One of Austria's neighboring country is Slovenia, and Croatia is just around the corner as well, so it was inevitable to run into people from these countries at shows and make a friend or two. My knowledge (however "useful") is limited to Sljivovica and other homemade moonshine, Ajvar, Sarma, and other cuisine treats. Oh, I designed a book about Western Balkan economy for an academic NGO a few years ago, but I don't remember what it said.

Datzee: Is there any need for blogs and podcast in new world order??? And if there is, what it could change????

Thomas Reitmayer: No. There is no need for blogs and podcasts, just like there is no need for new records, new books, or live shows. Still, it's great that they exist and that people do things. I love how "democratic" - for lack of a better term - media has become: anyone can have an opionion and make it heard, no matter how limited the reach. I am not sure about the potential for change - one impact for sure could be introducing people to stuff they might not know, and I would consider this a small victory. On the other hand, take something like Indymedia as a shining example of what actually CAN be achieved. The possibilities are endless. An ancient Chinese curse says: "May you live in interesting times". We sure do.

Datzee: Your personal opinion about DIY estetics today and what about collapse of music industry today!!!

Thomas Reitmayer: Oh, is there a "collapse"? I would not know. If so, it's well deserved. To my knowledge, vinyl sales have gone up again - a 17.7.% increase since 2011, making a total of 4.6. MILLION records being sold, and I don't even that this is the real number, taking all these small bedroom labels into consideration. In all honesty, this is not a collapse by any standards to me, just necessary adjustments. It's no surprise that major labels are whining and crying: they have signed soulless bullshit "artists" for years, even decades, sold throwaway products like CDs for ridiculous prices, and sued downloaders. This is nothing but a long overdue kick in the ass. Sure, times are hard for independent artists. So what? They have always been. People have always "pirated" music. 20 years ago, people would tape their records and share them with their friends. Today, they download. Only the means have changed. As for DIY aesthetics, well... that is a different beast. There is a whole new level of professional, and whether that's good or bad is not for me to say. One hand I find it amazing that people actually can record a whole album at home on their computers, put it on an artist-friendly platform like Bandcamp, and make some money back directly, without any middleman, distributor, agency, you name it. On the other hand, and this is what rubs me the very wrong way, is the tendency towards a new - as I call it - economic professionalism. There are 4654654785 "tour bookers" who have no fucking clue at all. Every second band with just a downloadable demo not only has but WANTS six different t-shirt designs. They want a record, a tour, and they want to break even. They think they "deserve" it. That's bullshit. You have to roll up your sleeves, get dirty, work hard, get a few bruises, come back home, and start all over again. Maybe this is a very old fashioned work ethic, but to me, it's tried and tested. I stopped doing the magazine I published because I did not WANT to deal with the professional side anymore. Most artists that I know who "do well" do well because they have worked hard for this, for years and years. It was an organic growth, not something forced, no business plan, and I don't hear anyone whining about "deserving better". It is what it is. Great art will always find it's way to the people that appreciate it. It might take a bit longer without a promotional machine behind you, but it will happen. And the people that appreciate it are the ones who are willing and understanding enough to pay for it.


                                                     

Srpsko-hrvatska verzija:

Datzee: Ko je Thomas Reitmayer, sta je radio i zasto nam je bitno da ga upoznamo?

Thomas Reitmayer: Postoje različita mišljenja o tome ko je Thomas Reitmayer, u zavisnosti od toga koga pitate. Furam veliku bradu, volim kafu, i stvari izgledaju lepo na štampi zahvaljujući meni (neki bi me zvali ‘grafički dizajner’). Izdavao sam štampane stvari pod imenom Create & Destroy Press, pišem i skupljam knjige i ploče. Ponekad se malo napijem. Nekada sam, u svoje dane, vodio diskografsku kucu, bio sam dio prodavnice ploča i skate-erske opreme, izdao sam foto knjigu, mnogo fanzina, izdavao čak i profesionalni časopis, vodio DIY radionice pre sto godina. To su samo neki od projekata u kojima sam učestvovao. Zašto bi neko ovo zapamtio je ipak do te osobe, nadam se zato što sam ostavio pozitivan utisak ili zato što sam inspirisao tu osobu. Mogu da bude poprilično lajav, tako da bi me možda sledeća osoba zapamtila jer sam ga/je uvredio. Koji god od nabrojanih načina je ok po meni.

Datzee: Gde je ovaj mix snimljen, i uz kakvu opremu?

Thomas Reitmayer: Verujem da su alati manje bitni, ali ću rado odgovoriti. Ja ne bih volio da znam koja se gitara koristila na prvom Clash albumu. Meni lično to oduzima čaroliju. Ovaj mix sam načinio ovde na mom kancelarijskom prostoru u Wien-Simmering-u, na mom kompjuteru, sa piratskom verzijom Magic Music Maker 15. Jednostavan “drag’n’drop” sa samo malim prelazima i podešavanjima volumena, bez mikserskih trikova, ničeg. Isto kao što bi da radim kao Dj.

Datzee: Da li ima neceg, u buducnosti, sto mozemo očekivati od g-dina Thomas-a?

Thomas Reitmayer: Oh, definitivno. Ne mogu samo da sjedim i ne radim ništa. Izgleda kao da mi nedostaje prekidač za gašenje. Šta možete da očekujete zapravo jeste manje mene uzivo, zato Što cu biti oženjen uskoro – imajuci “stayhome” tetovirano na prstima, a sami znate šta to predstavlja. Sto se tiče budućih projekata, trenutno smo u preuredjivačkim fazama prvog romana od mog dragog prijatelja Paulo Domskoji-a, koji ću izdati preko Create & Destroy. Moja žena i ja smo upravo počeli zine projekat zajedno, i redizajniraćemo i ponovo izdati jednu kultnu Austrijsku hardcore ploču tako da bi mogli ponovo da budu dostupne, i da bi mogli da je predstavimo mladjim generacijama. Imam još nekoliko apstraktnih planova za knjige, umjetnički projekat u začetku, i mnogo jednokratnih stvari kao što su majice ograničenog izdanja, show postere, pokoji cover za ploču ili dve… nece mi biti dosadno, izgleda.

Datzee: Izdao si puno stvari od ex YU bendova, I poznaješ dostaljudi iz ex YU. Da li imaš neko korisno znanje o kulturi “zapadnog Balkana”?

Thomas Reitmayer: Ne baš. Tih puno stvari je zapravo jedan album od benda iz Hrvatske koji se zove Nikad. Bili su fantastični, izdao sam ih zato što sam bio uzbudjen oko muzike koju su ti ljudi svirali. Yugo konekcija je uvijek bila tu.Jedna od Austrijskih komšijskih država je Slovenija, a Hrvatska je tu odmah iza ćoska, tako da je bilo neizbježno naletjeti na ljude iz ovih država na nastupima I sprijateljiti se sa pokojom osobom. Moje znanje (koliko god “korisno”), je limitiranana Šljivovicu i druge domaće proizvode, Ajvar, Sarmu. Oh da, dizajnirao sam knjigu o ekonomiji zapadnog Balkana za jedan akademski NGO pre par godina, ali ne secam se sta sam rekao.

Datzee: Da li ima neke potrebe za blogovima i podcastovima u novom svjetskom poretku? Ako da, sta bi oni  mogli promjeniti?

Thomas Reitmayer: Ne. Nema potrebe za blogovima I podcastima, kao što nema potrebe za novim pločama, knjigama, ili nastupima uživo. Opet, super je sto postoje isto I što ih ljudi rade.Volim kako su, u nedostatku boljeg izraza, “demokratskiji” mediji postali: bilo ko može da ima mišljenje i da ga ljudi čuju, nema veze koliko ti je ograničena dostupnost. Nisam siguran o potencijalu za promjene – ali jedan od načina bi sigurno bio da ljudi sve više saznavaju o stvarima koje ne znaju, i to bi bila neka vrsta male pobjedeedom. S druge strane, uzmite nešto kao DIY - kao sijajuci primer šta se sve zapravo moze postici. Mogućnosti su beskonačne .Stara Kineska kletva kaže: “Dabogda živeo u interesatnim vremenima”. Zaista, i  živimo.

Datzee: Koje je tvoje lično mišljenje o DIY estetici u današnje vrijeme, i da li nam dolazi  kolaps muzičke industrije?

Thomas Reitmayer: Oh, postoji li “kolaps”? Ne bih znao. Ako da, onda je zasluzen. Koliko znam prodaja ploča se opet digla – povećanje od 17.7% od 2011. godine, što je ukupno 4.6 miliona prodanih ploča, i ne znam da li je to zapravo stvarni broj kada se uzmu u obzir male diskografske kuće. Po mom standardu, ovo uopšte nije kolaps već malo prilagodjavanja. Ne čudi me što glavne diskografske kuće “kukaju” i “cmizdre”: obavezni su da se brinu za “bezdušne” usrane “umjetnike” godinama, prodaju proizvode za baciti poput CD-va po urnebjesno malim cijenama, i tuze ljude koji skidaju muziku. Ovo je ništa osim dugoočekivan “šut u guzicu”. Sigurno je, vremena su teška za nezavisne umjetnike. Pa sta? Uvijek su bila.Ljudi su uvijek “piratizovali” muziku. Pre 20 godina, ljudi bi snimili svoje ploče na kasete i dijelili sa ljudima. Danas, download-uju.Samo su se sredstva promjenila.Sto se tiče “DIY” estetike, pa… to je drugačija zvijerka. Postoji čitav novi nivo profesionalizma, i da li je to dobro ili loše: nije na meni da kazem. S jedne strane mi je čudesno da ljudi zapravo mogu da snime čitav album sami kod kuće, stave je na platformu poput “Bandcamp” koja je prijateljski nastrojena prema umjetnicima, i zarade koju kintu direktno, bez posrednika, agencije, “srednje osobe” – birajte opcije. S druge strane, a ovo me jednostavno nervira, a to je da tendencija prema novom – ono što ja zovem – ekonomskom profesionalizmu. Postoje 39349484403030 knjiških bookera koji nemaju blage veze sa životom. Svaki drugi bend koji ima jedva jedan demo album za download ne samo što ima jedan, vec ZELI 6 (šest) razlicitih dizajnova za majice. Hoce da izdaju ploču, da budu na turneji da “dobiju svoje”. Oni misle da to tako mora, da “zasluzuju”.To je proseravanje.Moras da zasučeš rukave, isprljaš se, naporno radiš, dobiješ koju modricu, vratiš se kući, i sve počneš opet ispočetka. Mozda je ovo zastarjelo načelo rada, ali za mene je isprobano i istestirano. Prestao sam da radim časopis koji sam izdavao samo zato što nisam htio vise da se bakćem sa profesionalnom stranom. Većina umjetnika koje poznajem koji su “dobri”, su dobri zato što su godinama naporno radili da bi takvi postali.Takav rast je bio “organski”, a ne nešto isforsirano, i bilo je bez biznis plana, i ne čujem ih da iko kuka kako “zaslužuje bolje”. Tako je kako jeste.Odlična umjetnost će uvijek pronaći svoj put ka ljudima koji je cijene. Možda će trebati malo duže vremena bez “promocionalne mašine” iza vas, ali će se dogoditi. A ljudi koji to cijene su oni koji su naklonjeni i dovoljno razumni da plate za to.

                                                                                    

Thanks for pics and mix/Hvala za mix i slike: Thomas Reitmayer
I hadn't time to translate on time so THANKS for time and translation/Nisam imao vremena da napravim prevod na vrijeme, i jedno veliko HVALA za vrijeme i prevod: Piper Blured