Enemy of The Music Business - Interview with Barney Greenway of Napalm Death!

Enemy of The Music Business - Interview with Barney Greenway of Napalm Death!

Barney Greenway & Napalm Death have always been Leaders, not Followers! He is one of the most intellligent guys in the scene if you ask me. Not many lyricists can describe the world of shit we live in as well as the grindfather himself can. Therefore, I was deeply honoured and lucky enough to talk with him in person.

Agoraphobic News: You've  been at Exit festival before, right?
Barney Greenway: Yeah, it's the same stage, same thing....Deja Vu.

Agoraphobic News:  Can you tell me something  more about Apex Predator Easy Meat? The concept is tied to Multinational Corporations, Genocide of the Starving nationssort of thing..
Barney Greenway:  Well, it's even more specific than that... It's about slave labour and work practices within big companies.... Mainly, when I wrote it Iwas thinking about Asia, because exloatiation threre is pretty heavy. I mean, it's worldwide but in those places does even less protection of peoples. You know, labour rights.... So that was a thing and really and also to  kind of emphasise the thing that in some part of world some people's value is less. It shouldn't be that way. It's like  some people seem to matter less...they just do  because they  live in poverty. It's tied to exploatation which is almost like "class thing". So yeah, I was trying to emphasise that really in the genreal.

Agoraphobic News: In 1990 you released a split with John Zorn. How did that happen?  I mean, he was also a guest in Everyday Pox, right  ?
Barney Greenway:   Yea, it just happened. He wanted to do it, we wanted to do it and it just simply happened.

Agoraphobic News:  That must have been a great honor for you...
Barney Greenway:    Yeah, of course! But like a lot of good things it kinda  came together without too much... trouble, you know...

Agoraphobic News:   How do you deal with the fact that you're still Leaders, not Followers?
Barney Greenway:    Well, I mean, that is a matter of perception I think...We don't see ourselves that way... The primary focus for us is to do the best that we can with the  things that we do, weather people consider us leaders.. I mean, OK. But, you can't believe that of yourself  because then you become  complaisant and you don't do as good with your creativity. You have to always imagine that what you gonna  do is the very last thing you ever gonna do.  You have to. It keeps you on your toes if you understand the expression.

Agoraphobic News:  What do you think about monarchy? Some of your stuff like Vermin or Order of the Leech is pretty  anti-monarchic...
Barney Greenway:    I'm against the concept of monarchy. I don't wish to do those who are in monarchic families any harm , for we shouldn't harm any human beign... I mean, it applies to everybody but I think that monarchic system where it's like privilege  into birth and you get all these things for nothing basically. I mean, how can not be right, especially now, when there's people starving..?

Agoraphobic News:  There are always people starving...
Barney Greenway:   Sure, but you can adress the ballance by redistributing things correctly. You know.. The monarchic system is also underpinned by the belief that certain families because of their bloodline are somehow more divine. It's just stupid.

Agoraphobic News:  Can you tell me something more  about Enemy of the Music Business? It marked a 10 year anniversary with the classic lineup, incorporating Jesse Pintado...
Barney Greenway:   Yeah,  to be honest, I still love that album but I don't  really think much about it much . I didin't even know it was 10 years ... whenever that was... But yeah, a lot of people say that  it kinda restarted Napalm  in some sence.

Agoraphobic News:   So you''re Enemies of the music business but still, you're a part of it...
Barney Greenway:      Of course! And that's a thing. The point we were trying to make with that album  is that you can't do things differently. I mean anybody that sells a CD or a T-shirt goes around playing for...whatever. It's a part of it but it does not  run in the same way as the things that we knew back then were  so it's a different thing. Yeah, sure we are not a part of the  traditional music business because Napalm isn't. It wasn't. If we were, then we probably woundn't be here now.

Agoraphobic News:    It's a kind of a double-edged sword , right?
Barney Greenway:       Yes it is, but if you do things in the "right way" if you wanna put it like that, then you can do it differently to how some people might think.

Agoraphobic News:    And what about  the bonus songs on Apex Predator Easy Meat  such as Oh Pseudo...?
Barney Greenway:       Yea, those are the songs that... we had a few  left over and we just  put them on there. Basically, we picked an album track list to what we thought were the best and the most very songs to make it. And it's not necesarry that those of the songs  are bad.  A couple of the songs  are little bit more ambient you could  say, maybe...  They are lot longer as well in lenght and they didn't quite fit on the album so  we just kind of left them.

Agoraphobic News:    The income from your latest single, Earthwire is dedicated to the earthquake victims in Nepal, right?
Barney Greenway:       Yea, we wanted to do something for Nepal cause we played there ourselves , but we wanted to get  a charity that was independent  so that local people would drive in the charity  , as opposed to  the other way around . We thought it was really good gesture.

Agoraphobic News:    And what about  the Capital punishment thing in Indonesia??
Barney Greenway:  Yeah, Indonesia...  I'm against it. Always have been. Somebody asked me to appeal on behalf of some of the guys that are on deathrow in Indonesia... some of whom have sadly now being  executed for...  I'll continue to  campaign against the death penalty if somebody  asks me to get on board. I'm against it as a human being.

Agoraphobic News:    Are you a PETA activist?
Barney Greenway:  Well actually I'm not. I've done some stuff for PETA but I'm not an regular activist . I support a lot of different  pro-animal organizations. So if  some people come with the good idea, then I'll do it. I don't necesarilly join organizations... I do stuff independantly too as well....

Agoraphobic News:    What do you have to say to the fans of Napalm Death here in Serbia?
Barney Greenway:  Thanks for your  support! Stay human! Being human always is the most important thing !