Mob 47 interview with Chrille

MORBIDZINE: Hello Chrille! How’s everything going? We’ve seen Mob 47's tour schedule is quite packed. How did people—both old fans and new ones—react to your first official show in Stockholm after 20 years?

CHRILLE: Hi, yes the old bastards have to play for our fans while we can. The reaction was fine, it was a powerful feeling.

MORBIDZINE: What motivated you to play again after 20 years? And what kept Åke and Chrille together for so long? Most married couples don't last that long!

CHRILLE: It was a pure coincidence that we started the band again. In summer 2005 we had the opportunity to borrow a rehearsal room and another reason was that Chrille’s neighbor Johan played bass. In autumn the same year, some people started to pester us to do a gig in Stockholm and since then we’ve done some gigs. It is easy to be friends when you live 60 mil from each other.

MORBIDZINE: The band released Dom Ljuger Igen last year. Will there be a new full-length, mini album, or split from Mob 47 anytime soon? If so, can you share a bit? For example, will there be different political or social themes that haven’t appeared in Mob 47’s lyrics before?

CHRILLE: We will not record any new songs with Mob 47. It’s fun to make new songs but when we do gigs people just want to hear old things. We have something else in the pipeline but it is a secret hehe.

MORBIDZINE: Dom Ljuger Igen really shocked me—in a good way—because the band still preserves that fast, raw, furious, old-school Hardcore Punk/D-Beat style with raw riffs, aggressive D-beat drumming, and gritty, angry vocals like early Mob 47. What kind of feedback did you get from your loyal Swedish fans?

CHRILLE: Thanx, great that you like it and that we shocked you haha. We had good response from the Swedish punks and that’s great because you never know what they think after 20 years.

MORBIDZINE (Sodom): Have you considered re-releasing another old record besides Kärnvapen Attack? Also, are there any live video recordings from the 1980s that the band plans to release?

CHRILLE: I don’t know but it would be fun to do some re-releasing. Unfortunately, we have no live recordings from that time. That’s a shame.

MORBIDZINE: You’ve said you were influenced by bands like Poison Idea, M.D.C., Gang Green, and Minor Threat—but Mob 47 sounds unlike any of them. So what’s the secret ingredient that made Mob 47 such a unique and powerful hardcore band?

CHRILLE: We are influenced by bands as Poison Idea and Minor Threat but it’s difficult to play the same type of music. The magic touch is Åke and his guitar riffs, I do not know how he does but it sounds good.

MORBIDZINE: Many bands are influenced by you of course. Which new bands are you into these days?

CHRILLE: There are many good bands that we listen to but we like fast punk most, really like Lautstürmer, Irritation and Kontatto.

MORBIDZINE: What does “Mob 47” actually mean?

CHRILLE: Jugga (our first bass player) found a weapons depot—I think it was 1982—in the woods and on the wall it was written MOB 47.

MORBIDZINE: Have you heard the recent Disensitise album from Discharge? What about the return of Amebix?

CHRILLE: Honest... I have not heard Disensitise and Amebix. If an old band wants to start to play again, so why not?

MORBIDZINE: What are your picks for the best and most legendary Hardcore Punk releases ever?

CHRILLE: Poison Idea – Pick Your King EP Crucifix – Dehumanization LP Discharge – Why EP Anti Cimex – Victims of a Bomb Raid EP

MORBIDZINE: Mob 47 was founded in 1983, and I wasn’t even born then. Now I’m asking you some questions you've probably answered a thousand times, and you might be the same age as my parents. That feels a little funny—what do you think?

CHRILLE: Hehe I think it’s good, it proves that you never get too old for this shit.

MORBIDZINE: There’s a story about a portable studio in the band’s early years. We know many legendary releases were recorded there. Do you remember any special memories from that time?

CHRILLE: I am an old man and my memory is not so good my young friend hehe, but it probably happened a lot of fun things in Bowling Studio...

MORBIDZINE: Some people call your music "Kängpunk", others call it hardcore punk, Swedish dis-core, and so on... There are many definitions. What do you call it? Is it “mangel”?

CHRILLE: I agree with bla.bla.bla... Call it mangel or kängpunk—I don’t know.

MORBIDZINE: Punk and hardcore originally began as a form of rebellion against the corrupt system in countries like the UK, USA, and Scandinavia. But nowadays, especially in the US, we see many so-called punk bands serving the very system they used to fight. What do you think caused this degeneration?

CHRILLE: We are still angry at the bastards who are destroying our world, but everyone has the right to have their own opportunity.

MORBIDZINE: Have you ever listened to any hardcore punk bands from Turkey?

CHRILLE: Don’t be angry now, but I have no control of Turkish hardcore. I must go down to you and discover it hehe.

MORBIDZINE: A political question—do you laugh at people who expect miracles from Obama just because he replaced Bush?

CHRILLE: Not laughing at poor people. Hope it gets better with Obama. Bush is a shithole and will always be.

MORBIDZINE: Thanks a lot for the interview! We hope to see a Mob 47 gig in Turkey someday—it would be a great cure for starving hardcore punk fans. Any final message?

CHRILLE: Thank you, hope we can come down to Turkey some day and show you some Swedish Mangelpunk or whatever you call it. Take care and cheers.