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Who are The Bombs Of Enduring Freedom ? When did you start ? what's the name about ? Do you cooperate with other musicians ?
I (James Fogarty) pledged allegiance to the flag of The Bombs Of Enduirng Freedom in 2007, as a direct result of the continuing carnage of "Operation Enduring Freedom" which seems to represent an end game of the agenda of a New World Order (in my opinion, this is being finalised by the manufactured collapse of the world banking system). T.B.O.E.F was officially formed when i relieved my long running experimental metal project Ewigkeit of duty, for which the last two albums were released on Earache Records. It's quite easy to see yourself as seperate from whats going on around the world, but i was really surprised to discover that there is a factory which makes components for missiles less than a stones throw away from my home - a large group of protesters and anarchists gather there every week - it's quite a spectacle to watch and certainly keeps the police busy ! Although I write / programme / produce the music, i do enlist the help of individuals both personally and unwittingly. There was a recent collaboration with Wil Pace form Norm Rejection (a politico-hardcore metal band from Malta - they have a release on DTM). He provided some cool lyrics and vocals for the track "2 State Revolution" which is on the new ep 'Kalashnikovs and Car Bombs'. 'Al Qaeda' and the 'Kids of Kabul's Kalashnikov Choir' contributed to the EP too (on the track "Insurgents in Dub") - as did 'The Back-Street Whore of Haditha' (on the track "Baghdad").
In reference to the track "Portect and Survive", how much of a reality is all out nuclear war becoming again? What are your impressions beased on recent developments ?
Well - the track "Protect and Survive" ont he new EP is sarcastic statement about the reality of what a nuclear war would bring, but I personally doubt it ever would. People were shitting themselves during the 'Cuban Missile Crisis', but (in my opinion) the whoe thing was totally staged. People's fear is just a testament to how much power the media had back then. When you have like 2 TV channels, it's pretty easy to convince people of anything. How are we gonna die ? Aids epidemic ? Flesh eating disease ? Global Warming ? it's probably gonna be more like something totally boring like old age.
Samples play a great part in your music, how much of them are staged? What is real?
All the samples are real - i mean, I dont make them myself. If you're asking are they taken out of context and edited - totally ! Thats my right and duty as an audio artist. Its an art in itself - some people do it very badly, because they just dont "get" how to do it, but some artists manage to use something to greatly enhance the significance and sound of what they do - i'd like to count myself with the those ;-) I've been messing around with samples since 1997 - it was frowned upon then as being too closely associated with Electronic music - but I never really cared about that.
Whats the new EP 'Kalashnikovs and Car Bombs' all about ?
Thematically, that it's a fucked up world we live in. It was written ove the last 10 months - around the time i started, there was a massive insurgency in Iraq which has been quietly crushed since - know how they did it ? Well, the US military came up with a great idea to just employ them all as a private police force ! Genius ! Musically, it's about pushing the boundaries on my own personal musical vision. I have messed around with incorporating different styles before, but never as the core sound - that is where this EP differs from anything I have done before.
You have surprised us all and decided to give away The Bombs Of Enduring Freedom's debut album as a 'free download' - why is this ?
I think that if people hear something they like, they will buy it (just liek when we used to copy tapes). Now we're down to the last box of 100 CD's, I think it's fair to share it with everyone else. Once the copies are all sold, they may even become collectable. One thing is for sure, a physical CD version will never be re-issued. Once they're gone, they're gone.
What is your target audience ? Who do you think your fans are ?
I have absoluetly no idea who the fans of 'The Bombs Of Enduirng Freedom' are to be honest (maybe it's best not to know !). I guess that a large amount would be people who followed what I was doing with Ewigkeit in the later material (for me that is basically 'Radio Ixtlan' and 'Conspiritus'). Ewigkeit dealt with quite abstract themes and non-reality ; I suppose when I think of Ewigkeit there is this hit and miss beginning, then a stoner period and ending with 'Conspiritus' which kind of took it up to reality. The Bombs Of Enduring Freedom's debut album was the logical progression from 'Conspiritus', but i think the 'Kalashnikovs and Car Bombs' EP is something I would never have done with Ewigkeit - it is truly new territory, though there is a track called on the album 'Starscape' and that (believe it or not) started off as an experiment with Drum'n'Bass like 10 years ago. Also, I messed around with DnB on one or two tracks I wrote for The Meads Of Asphodel, so it has always been something that has been in the back of my mind to do, but that i only just now feel free enough to commit to.
What's the message you're trying to deliver with this new ep 'Kalashnikovs and Car Bombs' ? Do you beleive in violence as a means of conveying a message? Is musical violence a lot safer? Have you ever been threatened in any way because of your political beleifs / lyrics / music?
I did get a few emails from patriotic americans who were pissed off with the whole 'Bombs Of Enduring Freedom' project, and when Black Smoke's 'Post Terrorist Modernism' EP was originally released in 2004, a New York Fire Fighter emailed a death-threat - he just completely missed the point. I myself can get quite angry myself about stuff that's going on in the world, and get pissed off about people's elitism, ignorance, stupidity - but it's all a point of view. Someone who knows loads about football can be intelligent to one person, just as someone who knows a lot of stuff about world history and politics can be an idiot to another. I dont think i'm more justified in my opinions than anyone on else the streets to be honest.
Now, tell us why you initially founded Death To Music ? what kind of role do you play in this expanding communal project ?
Well - I founded Death To Music to basically release 'The Bombs Of Enduring Freedom' debut CD. When I left Earache there were 5 or 6 labels who were willing to release a new Ewigkeit record, but i sat down for a few months and came to the conclusion that I was just "done" with that project. I had taken it as far as I thought I could without re-treading over old ground (something that loads of artists and labels are happy to do). So, I thought - "f**k it, i'm gonna have a go at releasing something and completely bypass the traditional ways" - Then I took all my music back, and gave it away for nothing. It was about this time that I had 2 or 3 people contact me who suggested developing 'Death To Music' a bit more into what it is today. These days, I just take care of basic web-editing. The content and everything else is managed by the "Forward Attack Sqaudron" (which now consists of 4 people who we all agreed should remain anonymous for the time being). I'm really not doing too much for Death To Music these days, which is great because then I get to concentrate on the music. In general, I have never looked back. I learnt some great lessons from all the arseholes I had to deal with in the past, and 1 or 2 former associates (still to this day !) find the energy from somewhere to try their best to cause problems for me - I guess I can only take it as a compliment - i for one couldnt give a shit about what any of these people are doing these days. I just take their negativity as a gauge of their miserable personal lives.
What does the future hold for The Bombs Of Enduring Freedom ? For you as an artist ? Any last words ?
I'm not sure what the future holds, and it kind of makes it much more exciting. There are a few big events on the cards at the moment, perhaps enough to keep me busy until I am 30... I'd like to say thanks to whoever is still reading this, and thanks to all those who have supported my work over these years !
Interview originally to be found on DeathToMusic.com, used by permission and request.
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