interview with Neocracy
Neocracy is a band whose music wants to combine as many genres and aspects as possible. They were formed in 2020 and have two full-length albums and singles behind them.
In the second 1/2 of 2024, the second regular CD (also digitally) will be released, so let's talk about it.
Alan – Hey guys, what's up with the band since the last interview? Do you already have a permanent drummer?
Volker – Hey Alan, beforehand we want to thank you very much for your support and for having us as your interview guests! And no, we don’t have a permanent drummer as of now. And we are also not looking for one. We decided to keep NEOCRACY as a studio/online project, therefore we are not actively searching for a drummer. We were fortunate enough that for our current album our good friend and former bandmate of one of Tim’s late bands Konrad Patzig played the drums on our current release „WHO TO BLAME?“. And we think he did an amazing job on the drumming for the new songs!
Alan – So who is the Neocracy for people who didn't hear the last interview?
Volker – NEOCRACY is a three piece band consisting of Franziska Stolze on vocals, Volker Pannek on guitars and Tim Pannek on bass and harsh vocals. The band’s goal was and still is to make natural rock music and combine it with certain elements of different genres, that the members have been influenced by. Lyricwise the songs evolve around personal experience and also some topics of a more global nature such as war, politics, romance and nihilism.
Alan – This year 2024, you released another series album Who To Blame? Compared to the previous album Pure Organic. Who To Blame? It is more integrated, and established in one musical genre. So you decided why? Listeners, fans didn't want so much metal? Didn't they want songs that went beyond rockabilly?
Volker – First and foremost we always try to achieve a sound construct in the songs that we as a band like to listen to. With the current album our goal was to be more upfront musicwise, more in the pocket. There are still a few parts here and there where a song gets interrupted or receives a different dynamic at a certain moment, but we tried to establish a more coherent structure to songs. Since Pure Organic received mixed critiques we took some points out of that and polished the songwriting a little more on the current album.
Alan - Who To Blame? How long did you shoot? Where did you record? How did it all go?
Volker – WHO TO BLAME? was recorded at gaebler-productions in our hometown of Eisdorf. Our producer Stefan Gäbler did all the recording, mixing and mastering, since we were so happy with his job on Pure Organic we decided to continue working with him. We hopped in the studio at the end of 2022, recorded most of the instrumentals, after that the drums in two separate sessions and then we went on to vocals. All in all it took around two years of hard work.
Alan – The album has only been out for a short time, but I'll ask anyway. Reaction, feedback on it?
Volker – Reactions have been mainly positive, many reviews shared positive thoughts, radio stations have the songs in rotation, so we think up today it was a great success. There is also a devastating review here and there, but everyone has a certain taste and the music we make if anything is special
Alan – Briefly describe the songs, what are they about? And how is the text embedded in the music? Do they correspond together?
Revenge – is about revenge fantasies everyone has once in a while. The song is quite dynamic and follows a classic verse chorus verse chorus bridge structure. The basic message is to not give in on hate and anger, but to value life.
Guilt – is a thought about soldiers fighting a second war after coming home, struggling with PTSD. In the current state of the world it is an unfortunately relatable and prominent topic. We also built a few samples from battlefields into the song, the riffage is mostly disturbing while the chorus has it’s own melancholy. The breakdown in the middle of the song represents memory-bombs hitting the soldier’s troubled mind.
Torment – is about being the victim of stalking and taking revenge on the stalker himself. Since it is a quite personal topic for us, we don’t want to get more detailed. You might just watch the music video and form your own opinion about the song ;)
Oblivion – is about dementia and a humans life being limited. It is about the impact you make on the journey of life. The song itself is quite uplifting, while the topic has a lot of meaning to us.
Stand Strong – is about growing up. Like an coming of age story if you will. The message is to always stand strong during Life’s challenging moments. Also notice the samba/polka part through the bridge. One of the more dynamic moments on the album.
Patience – is about political repression and repression in general. It’s a cry for revolution. While Franziska’s soft vocal parts describe the state of feeling repressed, Tim’s harsh rap vocals cry for war on the oppressors to reach true freedom. The dynamics of the song are underlining the message of action and reaction.
Image Of Unity – is our turn on media and propaganda keeping the people slaves to the influential and the rich. The song asks the listener if he is still able to think for him- or herself or if others are doing it for them. All in all it is meant to be a wake up call. Also the gang shouts during the main riff are there to wake the listener up.
Victim – is about feeling like a slave worker in a corrupt system where no one is interested in your work, your well being and so on. It is about the feeling of being nothing but a small screw in a big production machine, being replacebale and all in all irrelevant to the ones harvesting profit from your everyday’s work not caring for you.
Nordic Sky II – is the successor of the last song on Pure Organic. An answer to the love story of the first part. It’s the calm acoustic ballad and love song which has the purpose to ease the listener out of the album since the first part was also an acoustic ballad.
Alan – In the last conversation we had together, I asked about live performances, concerts. There you answered me that you don't play live. So how is it now?
Volker – It is still the same Alan, nothing has changed. We are all encumbered with our main projects. That’s why we are doing NEOCRACY for fun and the sole purpose of being a little bit more creative together.
Alan - Like last time, I'll ask the same question again. Funny experiences when shooting an album, video clips, playing. Something for fun.
Volker – When we recorded the gang shouts on Image Of Unity it was the first time that Volker and also Stefan our producer contributed vocals on any recording. A wholesome and very fun experience. Let’s say we all laughed at our German accents while singing in English ;-)
Alan – Do you already know any Czech or Slovak bands from the alternative scene? Maybe Lili Marlene?
Volker – Tim once played a show with his band This Room Is Alive together with a band from Prague called Toothwalker. They did some sort of Ambient Metalcore/Djent. He really liked it and the guys were really cool! Besides that unfortunately not, there is still some homework for us to do regarding Czech and Slovak bands!
Alan – You have a pilot video out that you released before the album was released. Will you continue this? I really liked the clip you have in the theater/cinema, it was well done. But you know that from last time.
Volker – There will be another music video (maybe at the end of this year). But it will be different from the ones we did before. We don’t want to give away to much yet. Make sure to stay up to date with us on social media so you can check it out when it comes out!
Alan - Question for the band. What musical genres do you draw your work from? And if you had to compare Neocracy to someone, which group would it be?
Volker - Let’s say it’s a wide mix of prog and hardrock towards nu metal, alternative and crossover. Franziska’s vocals also derive from pop. So it’s a colourful mixture.
The band itself always tries to be somehow unique. I (Tim) hear a lot of Rage Against The Machine, Linkin Park, Staind, Incubus, Evanescence but also stuff like Metallica and Accept in the songs.
It’s better if you and the readers check the album out and tell us what you think what we sound like
Alan – Thanks for the interview. We will hopefully have another in 2025 for the next album. If you don't get to play in the Czech Republic or Slovakia, then we will have an interview much earlier.
Volker – Thank you so much as always for having us Alan! Heavy Greetings and Ahoj! to the Czech Rock and Metal Fans and thank you for checking out and supporting our music!
https://www.facebook.com/Neocracy2021