Maz - Label Owner/Festival Organizer
„Label, mail order and concerts for fast, dangerous things“ – how do you define fast and dangerous things in relation to music? Feel free to tell us something about the history of Spastic Fantastic Records (SFR).
Maz: SFR started back in 2007 - right in the middle of the cringe era of soft, overly serious German indie-emo-hardcore. That’s when blastbeats from the basement and dumb to straight-up stupid lyrics hit just right. And still today, we love fast music with lyrics that push buttons - without punching down.
Maz: SFR started back in 2007 - right in the middle of the cringe era of soft, overly serious German indie-emo-hardcore. That’s when blastbeats from the basement and dumb to straight-up stupid lyrics hit just right. And still today, we love fast music with lyrics that push buttons - without punching down.
You also organize the Spastic Fantastic Fest at the FZW in Dortmund every year. Since when and according to what criteria are the bands selected? Do you see the festival as a kind of portfolio extension of the label or is the festival a matter of the heart to give something back to the scene? Why always in the FZW?
Maz: The FZW is perfect for this - good location, solid crew, killer sound, and cold beer. We run the fest together with the Dortmund Youth Office. They call it cultural work - whatever. It’s just cool to give the kids an affordable show with shitloads of bands where bands get paid a bit more than just gas money, and the whole thing runs tight and pro. The lineup is friends of the label, bands on the roster, and sometimes touring acts that fit. Since day one we’ve kept it as diverse as possible. In the end, it’s still a fest by punks for punks - even if we don’t look like it anymore.
What challenges and difficulties do you have to deal with as an underground label those days? What criteria do you use to choose the bands you work with?
Maz: Bands need to fit - musically, politically, and as people. We don’t want rockstars or scum. The world’s gotten rougher and even on the left there’s constant infighting about certain ideologies. Staying open and willing to talk isn’t always easy. And pressing records has become a nightmare - too much of everything out there, prices keep going up, and no one’s got cash. It’s hard to stay stoked when you’re running on fumes and still have to deal with all this bullshit. But we still got that PMA!
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