What do you get when you mix three Norwegians and one Australian…?
BULLNECK BALLERINA.
The Berlin-based band delivers hard and rough sounds with a touch of sensuality, think Gang of Four’s angular snarl colliding with Radiohead’s slow-burn ache, cranky and explosive one second, pulling you under into shimmering melancholia the next. The four behind it are Max and Jona on vocals and guitar, Mikael on bass, and Martin on drums. It’s been a big year for them. Beyond owning Berlin’s own scene, they’ve taken the sound on the road through Scandinavia, Spain and the Netherlands, And they’re not picky about the rooms either from punk squats,to runway shows and festival stages, you name it. So book them now!
If you haven’t listened to them yet, this fall will be your chance with their new EP dropping this fall.
EUGENIA KRYVYTSKA: Give us the origin story, how did you all actually meet, and how did the band come together?
MAX: We all moved to Berlin to attend a music college and I was about 3 weeks late to start my classes so I just jumped into a random classroom and Jona was there with a bunch of other people. I think we went to get coffee after class finished and there we spoke at length about Australian sharks. I met Martin the next day when I asked to borrow his lighter. Miky came later when we decided it was time for a second guitarist (he now plays bass).
MICKEY: I joined the band later, i met Martin right before he left for Berlin, we had jammed together a couple times in my hometown in norway. He told me to come visit but i didn’t think anything of it, i ended up visiting for a week and meeting jona and max. A couple months later Martin texted me about an apartment i could rent for a month and i went for it.
EK: Bullneck Ballerina, where does that name come from?
JONA: Me and Martin had been talking about Charles Bukowski for a bit, after a trip back to Norway I grabbed him my copy of Post Office, where the main character describes his boss as a «bullneck» which Martin found intriguing. Although in my opinion “Bullneck” on its own sounded too harsh, and needed a softener, or a touch of femininity maybe. So Max suggested Ballerina and we settled on that.
EK: What are your favorite songs to play live, and why those ones specifically?
MAX: I like Brave Ballet and Men and Mess, I just feel like we’re all in our best element on those ones. Everyones unique qualities shines.
JONA: For me its always been Curriculum, its a song that means a lot to me, and one of the few that I sing. Singing has always meant more to me than any other instrument.
MICKEY: I like playing Stalemate alot, our intro track is also super fun. I think I like those ones because they have such a crazy energy and build up, they have that thing that shuts your brain off when you play and it’s all instinct.
MARTIN: My favorites songs to Play would probably be Stalemate and Men and Mess, two songs of completely different caliber. Stalemate– fast, brutal and complex (speaking for the drums), while Men and Mess is a slow and quite straightforward song. But they’re fun for me in the way that it challenges completely different sides of my drumming, and I can put a lot of feeling into it in different very ways.
EK: Is there a place outside Berlin you’d love to play, other than the ones you’ve already been to?
MAX: Belgrade would be cool, I like the Balkan people and their music.
JONA: I would really like to play a sold out Urban Spree, would be great for a crowd surf. And our local bar “Omega”, which is not a venue at all.
MICKEY: Japan would be cool, the scene there seems interesting. Also Eastern Europe in general. If we’re talking venues then I have no idea really.
MARTIN: We’ve talked a lot about how sick it’d be to play in Japan. I guess a bit for the sake of travelling there but also because our impression of the punk scene and overall music culture is very raw and unique. I’d personally also love to go to south america.
EK: Playing Supamolly or Badehaus versus something like Brucstock, do you even approach those sets differently, or is it the same chaos everywhere?
MAX: We’ve pretty much played the same set for the last 2 years, I think it definitely changes from place to place but its never intentional. Then you look back at the videos and see the little changes.
JONA: A bigger crowd sometimes means a better show, in my experience its all about the possibilities for movement, lights and sound more than anything else, if we know these “big three” will be good then the energy rises, but generally keep the same approach to any concert.
MICKEY: We pretty much play the same way i think, at least i do. The set has a certain pace and we’ve always kind of followed that.
MARTIN: It’s pretty much the same attitude and chaos I’d say. I think everyone of us wants to give it our all whenever we play.
EK: Who’s inspiring you and your sound right now? How did you land on what you sound like?
MAX: For me Iceage is a huge influence. I like the raucous approach to guitars and drums. The whole band sounds like its falling apart continuously but is also so tight.
JONA: Im either pulling it out of my ass or my subconscious, very little idea of where things comes from. Can usually hear a bit of radiohead in my songs, but there is nothing i listen to that sounds anything like bullneck. I do love the band Fangst though.
MICKEY: It’s hard to out a finger on that, we all listen to alot of music and take bits and pieces from there i think. There is the occasional obsession every once in a while though, where i guess a certain thing really peeks through.
MARTIN: I think one of the beautiful things about this band to me, was that we all came from quite different backgrounds in music. I was always playing more subtle groovy stuff, like desert blues or with Sámi artists where a lot of the focus were dynamics and improvisation – in other words very different from fast punk beats. So somehow I merged my experience into the whole soup. I always really enjoyed the Sounds and spirit of post punk, but I wanted to play it my own way – so it ended up being a bit more drum and bass/breakbeat-sy. As for right now, I’d like to explore more dynamic and maybe soundscapey things again, think of fex yo la tengo or tortoise.
EK: Do you have alter egos or characters when you’re on stage? Do they have names? What’s going on in your head right before you go on?
MAX: I never have had characters, I dislike that idea quite a lot. If it’s me making the music and so why would I need someone else to perform it.
"I listen to a lot of Bjork before we play. She hype."
JONA: I approach the performance (when I sing) with a lot of theatrics, try to make myself look like the song.. in a sense. But when I am playing guitar its just rock and roll. Maybe I’ll give him a name.. like “Victor”.
MICKEY: No we do not. as for what I am thinking before going on stage, usually I am either very drunk or freaking out so not too many thoughts going on. It’s always chill after the first song though.
MARTIN: I don’t have an alter ego exactly, but for sure playing live and in the pace we play with bullneck – it’s quite a release of held back tension and feelings for me. It’s a free space of expression in a way, which I don’t feel like I have in any other settings. Usually just adrenaline.
EK: What’s the ugliest or most uncomfortable feeling you’ve turned into a song so far?
MAX: All the songs are quite different lyrically but I say the heaviest part about that is that they all are laced with some form of Berlin flavoured misplacement.
JONA: Communication failure.
EK: How’s the new EP going to be different from what you’ve put out before?
MAX: I think its more refined maybe, in the studio we had a lot more fun messing about with different gear and adding instrumentation. So its more of a studio recording then a live recording like we did last time.
JONA: There is a whole new sound in the upcoming singles, they are all very different from what was. Also very different tracks from one another. Shooting out chaotically into many new sounds. Its gonna be a blast.
MICKEY: It’s just going to be a continuation of the previous one as the songs have been written for the same set. It should have been one big album but we felt like we had to get some stuff out there and we had limited studio time.
MARTIN: I’d say a bit more put together and thorough than the last EP. The last one was a bit more raw and youthful perhaps
EK: What’s the most unhinged crowd reaction you’ve gotten at a show?
MAX: When we played in Oslo last a gave my guitar to someone in the crowd and they started playing ‘Sweet Home California’ mid song.
JONA: Groupies.
MICKEY: Supamolly was great, I don’t remember too much, but I remember that crowd standing out.
MARTIN: Nothing truly unhinged I guess, but a full crowd at our 8mm show felt pretty mean.
EK: If someone’s hearing you for the first time tonight, what song do you want stuck in their head tomorrow morning?
MAX: Men and Mess so they can relax through their hangover.
JONA: Probably the outro of our next single Curriculum, the guitars are great. One person said it made them “levitate”. Which made my day.
MICKEY: Probably Brave Ballet, I’d like that one to be kind of the highlight. But I think that’s just me.
MARTIN: Near to Dear.
EK: Last words?
MICKEY: Thank’s for coming to the shows the last year, it’s been a trip!
Words
EUGENIA KRYVYTSKA
Photography
B/W PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIE BISCHOFF
BULLNECK BALLERINA