Trust #199: Bremencore Special [Translated interviews of Acme, Carol, Systral, Per Koro Records and Kuschelrock Studios.]

Backstory: Being a fan of metalcore for a long time now, it's safe to say I may be obsessed with the genre, and one of my favourite things to do is tracking down interviews of bands talking about their influences and "archive" them on Rate Your Music for future reference. Usually, these interviews are easy to find on the web, though, I would occasionally search through the Internet Archive to find obscure zines so I can find more interviews.

Anyway, one style of metalcore that I've been itching to understand more is "Bremencore" or "Northcore," as it is known for its harsh, dissonant sound that's comparable to Rorschach. This sound came from the Bremen metalcore scene in Germany, pioneered by the legendary Acme. Compared to other scenes like H8000, articles on Bremencore or Northcore is pretty much non-existent. There's not a lot of interviews and most of the time it's a speculation.

Well, that pretty much changed since I've found an actual detailed article on the style and it's full of eye-opening interviews. (Needless to say, I was giddy as hell.) The article was written by Claude Müller and published in the 199th issue of the Trust Fanzine – which is German.

Obviously though, I had to translate it. I initially found the article in the Internet Archive, and, in lazy DIY fashion, I downloaded the zine as PDF and extracted the whole article online and put them through Google Translate. Of course, I polished the translation somewhat by adding context and whatnot, but being non-German means there's some stuff still that might be off. The translation took some time but the process became easier since I've found the whole article already written out on their website – which also means the downloading and extracting process could've been avoided. I feel dumb now.

But here it is. The following is the translated article:

Carol – A timeless band

The following article include interviews of Björn and Matze from Carol, Gregor from Acme, Dirk Kusche from Systral and Kuschelrock Studios, Markus Haas from Per Koro Records and others.

A band is founded, tours briefly, makes a record and disbands after a short time. The record hasn’t sold-out. So far, so good. There are many such similar stories. They are usually not told. When I read that the Bremen band Carol just had released a long lost record after 22 years and even played in occasional shows, I became interested. It was immediately clear to me that this story should be told.

The Acme myth – The story begins

The first time I took notice of bands from Bremen was more than 10 years ago, which had triggered hype far beyond Germany's borders and were stylistically-influential. They had created a unique combination of metal and hardcore, a musical monster. Acme, Systral, and Carol are often mentioned. When US bands toured in Germany, they would ask about these bands. Acme, in particular, seemed to be a household name. Numerous myths about them circulated. The band members were so young they had no driver's license and had their parents drive them to the shows. Hardly anyone knew someone who had ever seen the band live. They would have had nothing to do with the hardcore scene. At that time, their demo came to the USA by accident where it was reproduced and distributed unauthorized. They posthumously released an LP called "...To Reduce the Choir to One Soloist" on the US label Edison Recordings. There would never have been a euro pressing. Those who owned this record acted like it’s the Holy Grail as Acme had appeared and disappeared quickly. Nobody knew more about the whereabouts of the musicians nor the history of the album. The band was a myth.

The story of Bremencore and Carol cannot be told without Acme. Acme was the beginning of it all. Its drummer, Gregor, was ready to answer some questions for me on how Acme came to be so I could get to the bottom of this myth and learn something about how the story of the unique sound from Bremen started.

Interview with Gregor lwanoff of Acme

Hey, Gregor. You were part of the Bremen hardcore band Acme. How did the band come about and what were your influences, if you had any?

The band was created on the school playground. In the 5th and 6th grade I was interested in punk but was still too young to buy records. In the 7th grade, an older student gave me a cassette; the A-side was Extreme Noise Terror and the B-side was Napalm Death from the Scum album. I listened to it religiously and I wanted to emulate these bands. At some point, I got a small drum kit and founded Acme with friends from school.

It was the way it sounds. We were quite young and everything was very contemplative. We all come from good family relationships, et cetera. Streetknowledge [I'm not sure about this reference] and all the Cro-Mags stuff, we only knew that from photos. My granny drove us to the studio to record the first single. There were no photos of us because we thought we didn't look cool enough. In 1989, I was at a Youth of Today show in Schlachthof/Magazin Keller [a local youth centre/venue]. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see them live, like almost all bands whose concerts I attended at the time. My parents picked me up around midnight since it was really late for me. Back then, the bands always started playing really late. Nevertheless, I was a huge fan of them. I also liked hardcore a lot. I found leaning against all punk rules great and beer and street punk was never really my thing. However, Acme has developed so slowly through these influences. Then, a band came out called Rorschach. They influenced our music a lot because I loved them so much. Our guitarist, with whom I wrote the songs, liked to listen Slayer. They also had a big impact on our style. Back then, metal was basically taboo for hardcore and punk. You just didn't hear that was far too commercial. That's why I never heard of Slayer. It wasn't until many years later when the reviews said that Acme sound like a mixture of Rorschach and Slayer I finally listened to them – and I agree we do sound like a mixture of both.

You were part of a scene, you might say, that shaped a certain sound. How was it back then? What started it and who was there?

In retrospect, it was like that when we did it but we never saw it that way. At some point this certain sound got bigger. This was also due to the fact that a few years after we had dissolved, we published the discography in the USA on a label that was well-networked. There were a couple of main cover stories about the compilation in the biggest international hardcore and punk magazines and that was where it started to really pick up. I got boxes of letters from all over the world. But that was years after we broke up. Up to this point, at least in my view, there was no larger scene and certainly no Bremen sound and whatever it was called later. We would never have presumed to give such titles.

We hardly ever played live in Bremen with Acme. We would like to, but the clubs such as Wehrschloss refused us, on the grounds that it was just screaming and shouting music. Accordingly, we did not have the feeling of creating something new or doing something great. We then played a lot outside of Germany; the people over there were more interested back then. Northern Germany in particular was very attached to punk. After a while, things went quite well abroad. Hardcore was bigger there. Refused was our opening act, et cetera.

Acme was always the same four people. Later, when Mörser, Systral and Carol came into being, there were often statements that say "with members of Acme" in advertisements and flyers but that was almost never true. Only our bass player played the drums at Systral. Basically, all of us only had Acme. We never made music on our last gig again, not alone and not in other bands. Not until today. There was only Acme and that was many years ago. I was often asked whether we were going to play live again. The Dillinger Escape Plan, for example, offered a joint US tour on which we should be headlining. We never did that. Today, I'm happy when I receive mail from countries that are very far away, like Russia or Indonesia or something and people sending homemade Acme merchandise.

The "Bremen Sound" is created

The town of Bremen was certainly of great importance for the creation of this formative sound. However, there's only one place where the bands' recordings were made. To be more specific, Acme, Systral and Carol recorded with Dirk Kusche at the Kuschelrock Studios. Dirk founded his band Systral after he recorded Acme. At that time, Kuschelrock Studios were known nationwide for its brute sound. The studio no longer exists, even if the sound lives on in bands like Mörser. I had the opportunity to ask Dirk Kusche a few questions about the creation of this place, which is important for the sound.

Interview with Dirk Kusche from Systral and the Kuschelrock Studios

Hey Dirk, I've heard a lot about the fact that you used to have the Kuschelrock Studios and there, among other things, Carol had recorded. Tell me a little bit about yourself and the studio.

Back then I hadn't even planned to run a studio. That is how it turned out. I had a bit of equipment for a little better home recording as a hobby and pretty much the first band to record with me was Acme. Without Acme, the studio would not have existed in this form. I would also say that without them, there would not have been this hype about Bremen in this scene. Acme was young, stylish and brutal.

You shaped a certain style with the bands you recorded back then. Some call it Bremencore or Northcore. What was new about it and how did this sound come about? And why does this sound originated from Bremen?

Somewhere, I once read that all of this brutal metal-heavy hardcore from Germany got attention in the USA. Thanks to our historical heritage, we acquired the necessary credit. [I'm confused about that statement so it might be a mistranslation.] In any case, Acme was a hit like a bomb. Somehow everything was fine and the recordings were really good. From then on, everyone wanted to record like Acme or at least in the studio where Acme recorded their 7-inch. So, suddenly I had a well-booked studio. During this time, a lot of people were not from the scene themselves; somehow Bremen was suddenly popular, and the sound... bands that ended up pigeonholed in the Bremen sound or Bremencore were friends or at least knew each other well enough. You had the same musical preferences; metal was very popular. We didn’t play metal but you used the metal clichés quite bluntly. That was not new but may be special in this particular connection. And in the end, it was largely the same musicians who naturally used the same amplifiers, the same instruments and the same studio with the same microphones, rooms, et cetera. No wonder that similar character had crept in.

You played with Systral back then. Tell me a little bit about the band.

Systral started as a joke and pastime. The first recordings were first-take improvisations with a few important-sounding samples. Because we put it together in my studio, we immediately had a result that we sent to Zap [fanzine based in Homburg, I believe] for fun. There was a pretty good review. We were mistaken for being highly political and demanding. "You can't hear by the way." [Not sure what that means, it's possible he was referring to the review, quoted it and there’s a mistranslation somewhere. The actual quote could be something along the lines of "do not hear this, this band is highly political and demanding” – whatever that means.] Markus from Per Koro Records made a 7-inch out of the recordings. Only later did we form a real band with Sönke, the bass player from Acme and Andy, who later joined Carol, rehearsed regularly and played concerts.

How do you remember the recordings for the Carol record that is now coming out after 22 years?

Besides Acme, Carol was perhaps the most innovative band from this clique. Especially the recordings, which have finally been released after more than 20 years, were cumbersome, impetuous and stressful.

Does the Carol record still work for you today?

When I listen to the record today I still get very restless. So considering that, yes, the record still works after more than 20 years.

Before I let Carol's actual protagonists have their say, I want to get to the bottom of the founding myth again. I asked the then founding member Philipp Styra a few questions.

Philipp Styra, founding member of Carol

Hey Philipp, you played Carol at the time when I understood that correctly. How was it back then? How did the band come about?

I played drums in the first Carol lineup. Andy and I went to school together and we shared the rehearsal room with my other band, Queerfish, and Acme. Andy and I also wanted to make a harder band, and then we found Björn and Matthias Trenne – who came from Dirk Kusch's area. Acme, Queerfish and Carol were rehearsing at Forsteck in North Bremen. In general, we looked at bands for inspiration like Neurosis, Slayer, Citizen Arrest, Burn, Inside Out, and, of course, Acme. But, we also found bands like Iconoclast, Merel, "PC/emo" hardcore bands from the Ebullition Records/Heartattack environment great. [I’m quite sure that last part was a reference to the HeartattaCk fanzine.] We played our first gigs together with Abyss, Acme and Age, oftentimes in the G18 [local venue]. However, I left the band after the Prefabricated 7-inch was released to devote myself entirely to Queerfish. It was a cool time in the hardcore scene – quite new and exciting with a lot of bands…

Many speak in connection between Carol and Bremencore. Did you have your own Bremen hardcore sound?

Maybe the Bremen-Nord [North Bremen] sound. [Laughs.]

In Bremen, there were, of course, Acme, Carol, Systral, Abyss and then Wolfsburgern and Age, Love Records and then Per Koro/Markus Haas and not to forget the Gags'n'Gore Zine and Adelheid Streidel Experience. There are also the Viertel/Wehrschloss bands. It was a cool underground scene with lots of different sounds.

And how would you describe Carol's sound?

Back then we just wanted to sound hard and fat. Back then everyone loved the Entombed/Dismember guitar sound – the Sunlight Studio sound. But, of course, it shouldn't sound too metallic. Apart from the fact that, we, as musicians, weren't as good as the Swedes either.

1996 Reconstructed – The completion

Per Koro Records issued the compilation from the band Carol, which was recorded in 22 years ago. The call for reunion followed immediately, as did show inquiries. Why is someone still interested in it after 22 years?

Carol had only existed for a short time which was about two years, between 1995 and 1997. But even now, after 22 years, there is great interest. And the sound of the record doesn't sound old school at all. The record is still working. Exactly how it would have worked then. At a concert in Hamburg a good friend said about Carol: "Carol is a band that is timeless." That statement is good.

Why this record had to be released and how it feels for the band to play the songs after such a long time, I wanted to know that and a lot more from them.

Shortly before Carol's first show with Mantar in the slaughterhouse in Bremen after more than 20 years, I visited Björn and Matze and talked to them about what all this means to them.

Interview with Björn and Matze from Carol

You are releasing a record that you recorded 22 years ago. Why is that?

Björn: The longing for perfection. So, well... [Laughs]. It was really a wish to finish this because of how it's embarrassing when we're only 73 [possibly a typo, it could be 37, referring to their age] and then realized: "Oh shit, we still haven't managed to get them out." And that would be a real shame, because we are proud of it and therefore it had to be released at some point.

Matze: Yes, at first we didn't release the record because we broke up. That was no longer important. We noticed much later that the recordings are somehow quite good. Maybe we should bring it out again. From there it took forever again, also because the master did not show up at first. We put everything in motion to get this master tape back, but we didn't manage to do it. So we had to do a pre-mix. Markus Haas from Per Koro and Dave Williams from Eight Floors Above then made the record out of it and we liked it.

Why do you still get people interested after such a long time, how do you explain that?

Björn: I think you can tell right now, many of the people who used to hear that are now rediscovering it. They haven't heard it every day for 22 years and thought: “Oh yeah cool!” But they are rediscovering it now and that is, yes, you know that with yourself that it is always very nice to be reminded of such a past phase that time. Then it comes up again, you take this record out again to reminisce. And I think that just a few people are enjoying the fact that it comes to life again, they deal with it again and noticed: “Oah, that was kind of cool!” It was a long time ago, but somehow it was nice. I think it still keeps it alive.

Matze: But, somehow it was never really gone. When we tour with Mörser, the topic is already there. You know these bands from Bremen somehow. Where does that come from? I have no idea. I always wonder why the interest lasted so long.

The hardcore scene in Bremen in the '90s, what was going on back then?

Björn: What was going on there? So uh, we weren't really in the scene. We hung out a lot in Grünstraße, we hung out in Friesenstraße, we did a lot together privately, many of us lived together, and that was a large group of friends. We also liked to deal with ourselves and mostly satisfied ourselves. I would rather say that, it was a small scene in another scene. And there was a lot going on, of course. We were young instead of seriously studying, we were just making music and everyone you knew made music in some form and then somehow it happened that some said: “Oah, we have to do something together!” And then, the idea for Mörser came around, et cetera. We just sat together at the table, had a drink, listened to the music and had the idea at some point: “Oah awesome, we're doing something really hard." [Laughs.] What other band names did we have for Mörser first?

Matze: Uhh, I don't remember that anymore.

Björn: Me! It was Nuke Assault! [Everyone laughs.] So you can imagine it roughly as it happened back then, in the kitchen when we were sitting at the table and were happy: Nuke Assault is awesome.

Matze: One night we went through the bars and after that night all the lyrics were finished, so... almost. There was a little bit more, but the first record, the Two Hours to Doom, it went really quickly.

Björn: Exactly, so I think it was so busy... that we all wanted to make music with each other, there were enough things to get upset about at the time and we let it out.

And what were your influences? Were there any role models or anything that made you say you want to make really aggressive music and how you want it to sound?

Björn: Rorschach!

Matze: Acme, of course!

Björn: Acme, Rorschach, Assück, Bolt Thrower, the stuff where you thought, “Cool, we'll do that too!” I can still remember that the Rorschach record totally influenced me personally.

Matze: Neurosis! I thought it was good.

Björn: I've never really been... Yes, but clearly, Acme, Rorschach.

Matze: Back then, Acme had recorded with Dirk in his studio in Meyenburg and he later showed us: “Here, take a look at what the little boys from North Bremen are doing!" That was an eye opener. 

So there were numerous influences. Then why did a certain Bremencore sound emerge? How do you explain that?

Björn: Maybe because such characteristic bands came from Bremen in a short period of time. Acme, Systral, Carol, Mörser, and since some of them were the same people, the sound was certain. We all took Dirk in. This sound was then widely distributed within an underground scene, which I thought was well-networked at the time, and not only stayed in Bremen. And that was somehow well received. And we don't know who made Bremencore out of it now, but everything somehow needs such a label and then there was that.

What did you experience with Carol then?

Björn: I prepared a bit for this question [grins.] I really wanted to say that we played in Joiners [music venue] in Southampton, so, of course, we all did but there’s a personal reason why I said that. There I was on the same stage where Oasis had only played shortly before when they weren't so big, but only English kids who wanted to be wide and make music. [Possible mistranslation, I’m not sure on the correct wording.] Because there were small pictures of performers everywhere in this shop that appeared there, including Oasis. I thought that was kind of cool back then. I'm an Oasis fan. Now that is out. [Possible meaning: “I’ve wanted to say that for some time.]

Matze: Now it's out. What I like to remember: When Björn and I accompanied the New York band Merel through Great Britain, when we dragged their merch into the store in Glasgow, our single suddenly ran in the store. Although no one knew we were showing up as Carol's road crew. That was amazing! I immediately became nervous.

Björn: Ey, Björn! Now listen to it! Whaaaaaat?

Matze: Our record! Here! In Glasgow!

Björn: Yes, that was such a highlight!

How many tours have you played with Carol?

Matze: I think it was two.

Bjorn: Yes, two.

Motze: Yes, of course, we also played a few concerts in Germany but the fact that we were really on the road was two short tours. That was once England and once through Germany.

Björn: And then often on weekends, a lot in Holland. It was usually going on Friday afternoon, evening and Saturday evening, back on Sundays. So I still remember that we did a lot in Holland, now and then in Belgium.

Motze: Ieper was very important, the Ieperfest when it started. We were there with Systral. The whole Bremen bands played there.

Björn: Which is really big now, right?

Matze: Yes. Incredible. Now it’s all Biohazard and something. And it's not so much fun anymore, I think.

How is it to hear the record now, after 22 years?

Bjorn: Great!

Matze: Exhausting! Because I always have to hear what I'm actually playing and then I have to practice it. [Laughs.] No! So if I listen to it when I’m relaxed, then I think that too, then I think it's great!

Björn: Can you say that? Yeah right.

Matze: That was so long ago, I didn't do it at all!

Björn: That was the other me. [Everyone laughs.] No, but it is fun to listen to it because it still works in my eyes. And it's not like we say: “Gosh, we would do it much better these days,” or “the sound is vintage.” Rather, the sound is still fresh and it also makes a little proud that it was so long ago but somehow the time has survived, without making you think, “Yeah, come on, it was the beginning of hard music, other people do it much better today,” that's not true!

Matze: Yes, I thought back then that the record was just not recorded properly. That bothered me a lot more in the past. Now I see it from a distance, see it as a whole product and then it seems to me like a coherent painting. That's how I felt. So I find the playing very charming now.

Björn: Nothing is as charming as not being able to master your instrument. [Everyone's laughing.]

You're playing a couple of shows with Carol, was it a challenge to play the songs again?

Bjorn: Yes.

Matze: To what extent, like from the music direction?

Or a technical challenge and remembering exactly what you are playing?

Matze: Well, from the music direction, we make more metal with Mörser, but still hard music. So that wasn't the big problem. I have playful memories of me exactly of the things from back then: “Oh, I have to play it here so quickly and that's difficult!” I might be able to do it a little better now, but it's still difficult sometimes. Then what happened to us last time, should I tell you from the rehearsal room?

Björn: Yes, of course!

Matze: We often have to rehearse without Andy because he lives in Berlin. So we only rehearsed with drums and vocals. We started a song and then after a break – we continued to play and realized something was wrong. Wait a moment! We're doing something wrong! But, what is it?

Björn: We noticed that we all three continued to play exactly the same other song. [Everyone's laughing.]

Matze: And everything has to work out in four weeks!

What are you currently doing and what else can we expect from you?

Matze: We are currently practicing our old pieces. And then we do a few more shows and I assume that will be over in October at the latest. We don't want to bring it back to life.

Björn: Because it's too tiring. For me it was the case that I had to try it out and couldn't say, “Yes, of course! We do that, we play live again.” I didn't know what would happen if I do vocals like that again. It was during rehearsals that I thought, “Okay! I don't feel totally stupid and it's not too strange to me.” From a technical point of view, it's awesome and not that I think it's good for the voice, but it's so much fun that I just risk it now, even if I probably won't be able to speak afterwards.

Matze: When we started thinking about reuniting, we thought that would be a really nice ending. It used to dissolve like that, not because we were arguing or something. It was just like that, Andy went to Berlin and the band no longer existed. You can still watch the last concert on YouTube, watch it and then, that it was it? It was kind of sad.

Björn: Nobody would have expected it. A year ago, it was unthinkable that we would play live again someday. It started so in May that it got more serious that with Markus [Markus Haas/Per Koro Records] with the cover and everything got serious.

Matze: Markus Haas of Per Koro has always asked for the last ten years, "What about Carol? It could come out next week." It took a few more years but thanks to his suggestion, everything got going again. I still play the same bass! By the time I looked through our photos, I saw how long I've had it. My first bass, bought at the age of 15, from Dirk [Dirk Kusche/Kuschelrock Studios]. Incestuous! Later we all lived together, Dirk, Sönke of Acme, we... [points to Björn].

Björn: Everyone in the same house. It was such an exchange… And Hajo, who also played with Carol… A type of hardcore flatshare. 

Where was the flatshare?

Matze: In Walle.

Björn: Right under the television tower. M-m-m you don't notice. (Everyone's laughing.)

To make nails with heads

The band members of the bands that are now part of the Bremencore sound were friends. They influenced each other and that was certainly decisive for the creation of the Bremencore sound. All releases of this group of bands were released on Per Koro Records. Markus Haas, the founder of Per Koro Records, was living in Bremen at the time. He now lives in Bielefeld. The label still exists, however, and Markus was partly responsible for the release of 1996 Reconstructed after 22 years. A good reason to ask again what made him do that.

Interview with Markus Haas from Per Koro Records

When and where Per Koro Records was established and what was its purpose?

I founded Per Koro during my civil service in 1992. At that time I was still based in Heidenheim [Swabian Jura]. That sounds more eloquent than it really was. I started putting together international tape samplers when I was about 14 years old and ran a small mail-order called Terror Vertrieb for mostly fanzines, tapes and some vinyl. Even then it was a dream of mine to release a record.

During my community service I had some money for the first time so that I could/wanted to invest this. At the time, I was quite busy with concert tours and animal rights patrons and that's how I got to know the Luxembourg bands, Subway Arts and No More. One thing to another came and the first vinyl release was born.

The goal at the time was I just wanted to realize myself a little bit, publish something that means something to me, musically and in terms of content, and support bands that thought similarly, ticked… whatever.

You recently released a record 22 years after its creation with your label Per Koro Records. Why did the record have to appear and not just disappear into the recess?

Because I'm a miserable Swabian and I paid for the recordings at that time. No... the record should have originally been released as a split LP with Hard to Swallow from Great Britain in 1996/1997. Both Carol and Hard to Swallow had disbanded and the majority of the members lived out their musical streak in new bands. After Carol's death it led to the rise of Mörser, so the Carol recording was somehow increasingly forgotten because both the Carol members and I wanted to release it new, up-to-date as a label. Per Koro's wedding [might be an expression that couldn't be translated, but it's possible it could mean the "golden age"] was from 1995 to 2000, when I published quite a lot. From my own self-image, I also preferred to invest money in current and new releases rather than in a posthumous one. The topic of compiling Carol's discography into one LP has been discussed between the band and myself over the years, but never put into practice. In my defense – I pass the buck to the band – I also have to say that I was never really in possession of usable recordings and had no artwork. In 2018, I was bored to some extent and digitized all of my releases or archived them for me personally, and after listening to the recordings several times I contacted Björn and Matze and finally wanted to do it. Fortunately, everything finally worked out and I am more than satisfied with the result.

In connection with Carol and some other bands of the time one speaks of “Bremencore“ or “Northcore.” What are these labels all about? Was there a special sound in the northern Germany or in the Bremen hardcore scene?

Hmm, where to start… As far as I know, the term Northcore was brought into play by Gonzo/Lebensreform, a band from Hamburg at the time, which was also on my label. But the term was stolen. It originated in the ’90s Swedish hardcore scene. There were also three festivals in Bremen-Farge under the Northcore banner, at which mostly bands from northern Germany played. Ultimately, a few bands from the north adopt this adjective in order to promote external cohesion, friendship... et cetera, to signal.

Nothing big – in the end it was anything but an elite circle of like-minded people, where people had to beg for admission. The term Bremencore, or more commonly the "Bremen School" probably comes in three equal parts at the expense of my Per Koro label, of course, the great local bands of the time (including Acme, Carol, Systral, Mörser) and Dirk Kusche with his Kuschelrock Studio. In a nutshell, I was local, loved the sound of the local bands and published their stuff and made sure that they were available in Europe or worldwide. All of the bands were with Dirk in the Kusche rock studio to make their recordings. I think both the terms, Northcore and Bremen School, can also serve as a clever promotional attribute.

How did this special sound come about?

Well... when to put it casually, a dozen people initially share incestuous bands and more or less have the same musical preferences and use the same studio, I think a certain sound crystallizes out. The characteristic Bremen sound is, if you're honest, just a perfect cocktail of stolen samples from bands like Rorschach, Citizens Arrest, Slayer and others – the godfathers.

Through the releases of the groundbreaking Acme 7-inch and my own Per Koro releases, Carol, Systral and a little later Mörser, and the relatively good distribution of these releases, the special sound was already publicly known in Europe or worldwide and ultimately also celebrated in part. As already described before, in my opinion, Dirk Kusche [Systral] also had played a part in this, along with me that led to the creation of this smallest genre... in quotation marks. ["Genre."]

After the first releases, bands from all over the republic came to record with him. His musical preferences then naturally flowed into the respective recording, so that bands from the south were also decorated with the stamp Bremen School or Bremen Sound. It kind of took its course and the special sound made its rounds.

Some bands from that time were even known across the pond. How did that happen?

Because, basically at that time I not only sold a large part of the releases in wholesale, but also exchanged them in large numbers worldwide. For me it was and is still important that a release circulates as widely as possible – the band is happy when their release is offered internationally, et cetera. Exchange is more effective, in my opinion.

It is more or less a mixed calculation. Exchanging items from the United States traditionally always go away well in this country, whereas items from like, Poland, Slovenia, et cetera. stand like lead on the shelf despite good quality. My friend Jan (now makes Assault Records in Bremen) supported me at the time because there was no widespread internet, et cetera. at that time from 1995 to 1998. He then wrote to the Americans by email from the university computer, so the stuff could circulate worldwide.

Are there still “Bremencore” or “Northcore” bands today?

I haven't lived in Bremen for almost 15 years. But from a distance, there were or still were bands that made this typical Bremen sound and still do today. Fortunately, there are also Minion, Zodiac, Mizanthrop and Mörser.

What are the current reactions to the Carol record? Does it still work after 22 years?

For me, the record still works after all these years. I don't find the sound too antiquated by today's standards or anything. I really like the part. Ultimately, I'm happy when a release from me is also well received, but I usually go for a release very selfishly. I have to like it first and foremost. Carol definitely does. Of course, the majority of the people who bought the 7-inch and the Bremen sound in the ’90s probably bought most of it. So rather, the +35 clientele.

I think for the effort that I did – sending out a handful of promos, some Facebook and Newsletter Alarm [not sure on that last thing], the part went away more than satisfactorily. I've been taking the part off my wholesale list for at least a few months. Of the 500 pieces, I have already gotten rid of about 120-140 via my shop by single order. A reprint would also be worthwhile if the band would postpone a few more live shows. In my opinion, live presence is the best promotion.

Interviews: Claude Müller

Photos: Reunion Show April 2019 Schlachthof, photo: J. Weingärtner, Carol

"Thank you to everyone who helped me research this article."