Fast and short songs is hardcore. Itâs just as simple as that.
Letâs take it from the top, where does the name Pusrad from?
- The name comes from a song by Packes and my first hardcore band Raped Teenagers. Itâs on the first 7â, but the word is entirely fictitious and has nothing to do with the artist Pushead which someone in a review seemed to think. I think, even though Iâm not quite sure about it, that we intended it to be  a synonym for ârevolution.â The lyrics went something like this:
âTankar i mĂ€nniskor. Tankar i djur. MĂ€nniskor fria. Djur i bur. SlĂ„ dig lös. Klös, klös. FĂ„ngad i sin egen natur. PUSRAD!â
We chose the name to have some form of continuity between Raped Teenagers and what we are doing now. Itâs easy to remember, rolls of the tongue and doesnât mean anything. Perfect!
Personally I find that your sound differs a lot from Raped Teenagers, but at the same time you can still hear some kind of relation to it. Can you tell me something about the creative process in your songwriting and where your influences are coming from?
- Are you talking from a production point of view, because we havenât made a conscious effort to separate us from Raped Teenagers when it comes to that part. We simply go with what we feel sounds good. A deliberate strategy is that it shouldnât sound like anyone or anything else, because that is completely uninteresting for us as a band.
When it comes to what we listen to, Iâd say we grew up with that whole â77 punk wave. I guess thatâs what we have in common with all the hardcore bands that were active during the 80âs, because there really were no other sources for inspiration. Of course we, like everyone else, weâre swept away by the hardcore bands from the 80âs, like Discharge, Minor Threat, Gang Green, the Freeze and so on.
What really influences us is a difficult question to answer, but when it comes to hardcore we both love that early American stuff like Deep Wound, KORO, Gang Green, FUâs, HĂŒsker DĂŒ, Scream and Void. After that, in the mid-80âČs, we slipped into that whole symphonic rock thing, with the likes of King Crimson, YES, Jethro Tull and Gentle Giant. I guess all of the above inspires us in one way or another.
You mentioned KORO as an influence, and I think that is one of the best references you can draw from the sound of Pusrad. Still, one can not help to notice that you have quite a distinctive sound. So once again, how does the creative process look?
- Packe is the idea guy when it comes to the songs, and then we arrange them together at our rehearsals. We try to record every rehearsal to find out what works and what doesnât work. The process is pretty smooth and quick.
Lyrically, youâre on a boundary between being playful and political, which works very well because it never quite falls over completely to either side. How important are the lyrics for a song, and which ones are your favorites?
- Haha, are they really? I never looked at them as being playful? The idea is that even if we are preaching to the already converted weâre hoping weâre doing it with some kind of original twist. When it comes to which lyrics that are my favorites, itâs just too damn hard to chose.
Will we ever hear a song that is longer than one minute?Â
- Haha, who knows? Itâs not a goal in itself that the songs have to be short, but we just happen to like them that way. At least when it comes to punk and hardcore. Also, weâre probably consciously or unconsciously influenced by the hardcore punk we grew up with.
We have stripped away everything that we donât  think enhances the songsâ value. We like it when it just hits you and you canât really understand what happened. The short song concept also means that we never get tired of it all. Someone suggested that our music was hardcore for people with extreme ADHD and that may pretty much be the truth.
Creativity doesnât really seem to be something you guys lack, since youâve put out quite a few records already. How often do you get together to rehearse and make new music?
- Our goal was to rehearse at least one once a month but it turned out to be somewhat like every two months instead. Nowadays weâre so well rehearsed compared to when we started Pusrad and hadnât played together since 1992 when Raped Teenagers called it quits. In other words every two months is quite enough for us.
Although you are just two people you create a shitload of noise. Could it be that you donât need more than two people to play great punk music?
- Yeah, it seems to work just fine with only two people. At least when you keep it on our level which is just to rehearse and record stuff. We wouldâve probably been three people in the band if we had found a bass player that matched our style, but the fewer in a band the less compromises need to be made. Also, me and Packe are extremely like minded in terms of what works and what doesnât, which means that a third person would probably just make the whole process more difficult.
What about playing live? Will there ever be any Pusrad shows?
- No, we will not be playing live. None of us have ever been that fond of playing live. Perhaps it all is because of the fact that 90% of the shows we did with Raped Teenagers in the 80âs and early 90âs sucked pretty hard. I only remember a few of them, and I guess those were the fun ones. Itâs simply not worth it to travel far away to put on a pissy show when you can sit in the comfort of your own home listening to punk records, haha. However, I did like to set up shows at the venue Skylten in Linköping, which is kind of weird if you think about it.
What did you do during the time that elapsed between Raped Teenagers and Pusrad?
- I was pretty disillusioned when this whole NYHC thing took over in the late 80âs and early 90âČs, which to me was just a total takeover by macho dudes and bullies. The music sucked so much horse dick that Pippi Lonstockingâs horse Little Old Man would stand up flat. It had nothing to do with what I associated with punk and hardcore, neither idea or music wise.
Everything about that music was regimented, rigid and boring, which made me dig myself deeper into the â77 punk. I played in a shitty ska band and in an excellent DEVO/NoMeansNo/power pop inspired band called Flakes. We even made a small attempt to start up Raped Teenagers again around 1995 which was when we first recorded the song âStupetâ, which is now to be found on the âSmart Tramsâ EP. In 1998 Packe began to play in the â77 punk inspired  band TV Eye, which is such a great band who just recently released their first EP.
But why start a new band and not just reunite Raped Teenagers?
- First off, Raped Teenagers is a terrible band name, and we really had no desire to try to ride on the back of our old merits. Also, Pusrad turned out to sound quite different from how Raped Teenagers sounded, plus we thought it seemed fun to start from scratch and completely unbiased.
Did you have any kind of plan when you decided to start playing together again?Â
- We did a reunion show with Raped Teenagers back in 2010, and it turned out way beyond our expectations. Packe and I felt eager to play hardcore together again, but since Packe lives in Mjölby and I live in Stockholm we decided to try to rehearse at least once a month. The goal back then was to make a 7â and then just see what happens. And well, the rest is history.
The reaction to your music seems to have been pretty positive, right?
- I think Pusrad is one of those bands that you either love or hate. You either think that itâs all just short songs that donât do anything for you because you donât see the point, or you are just like us who just press the repeat button when you listen to the stuff you like.
Iâm actually surprised that most of my favorite hardcore songs by other bands are as short as they are. Itâs probably only in recent years that I have begun to reflect on that fact.
Will you be able to live up to all of this on your upcoming releases?
-Â We feel no pressure to live up to anything, haha. We just do what we like, and will keep doing so as long as itâs still fun.
You have a another record on its way, and this time on the Signaler FrÄn Ovan label. Can you tell me something more about that, and why you chose to release it through them?
- The kind and pleasant Anders Nilsson from Signaler FrĂ„n Ovan got in touch with us early on in our career and wanted to release a 7â EP, and the idea was to release it before the âDömdâ 12â came out, but that never happened. I actually donât know much about Signaler FrĂ„n Ovan except that they have some great releases and that Anders is very dedicated to his work.
The album will probably contain about 10 songs, and the last one will be a cover of my first d-beat band Fight Back from back in 1982. If you like the early Pusrad releases, then you will probably love this one too.
Whatâs the plan for Pusrad when the new album is out?
- Well, another release I guess. It could be anything from a 7â to a 12â, haha. We really have no shortage of interested parties who want to release records. For example American Deadbeat Records want to release a 12â in the U.S, so Iâll guess weâll see what happens.
Sounds great, and Iâm looking forward to hearing it all. Do you have something to add before we call it a day?
- I think Iâd like to quote Sture Dahlström.
âVarje kvĂ€ll stĂ„r jag utanför Miss F:s sovrumsdörr. Hon ligger dĂ€r inne, styv som en staty. Allt liv Ă€r koncentrerat till hennes vĂ€ldiga svarta buske som svĂ€ller och jĂ€ser i rummet. Det borstiga könshĂ„ret vĂ€xer fram över golvet, trĂ€nger ut under dörren och fyller det ihĂ„liga huset, det ringlar in i min mun, fastnar mellan tĂ€nderna och pressar sig lĂ„ngsamt ner i min strupe och fyller magsĂ€ck och tarm tills jag ligger pĂ„ det hĂ„rda stengolvet som en packad tagelmadrass.â
You can stay up to date with whatâs going on in the Pusrad camp by keeping an eye on theirFacebook page.
