An Old Chris Is Better Than Two New Ones

Chris Liberator talks about the present and echoes of the future…
When were you last here?

The last time I was in Russia was a couple of years ago — I played in Piter, but it was a brief visit. I hung out in your country fairly often in the early-to-mid 90s. I used to bring over my colleagues from the Liberators movement. I have to admit that back then Russia seemed a completely wild country to us. I could go on for a long time telling scary stories about those times, but they also left a whole host of positive memories.

Yes. I've always tried to convey the spirit of anarchism and its ideas in what I did. I like that energy of punk resistance, which definitely fed acid-techno. I like that in punk the songs sound like political slogans. Punk radicalism carried a powerful political charge. Its whole "message" hit you right in the face, whereas in techno the presence of ideology is less obvious. It acts on the masses more on a subconscious level. If we're talking about the effects punk's ideas had on us, then the "do-it-yourself" ethic is worth mentioning — we all follow it — and our couldn't-care-less attitude to money. We'll never sell out.

Mostly I studied language, but I was also into philosophy. I was a fan of the metaphysicians, starting with Descartes and his "I think, therefore I am". I was preoccupied with the questions of why we exist, whether our world is real, whether there is a higher mind. In the end, I chose to side with Jean-Paul Sartre, who held that there is no God, no life after death, and that we ourselves bear responsibility for our actions.

The name came from a party. The flyer had a spaceship on it from a TV show called "Blake's 7". The ship was called the "Liberator", and so, accordingly, was the party. No "liberating" meaning was put into the name. It's just that after that party we all became Liberators — Chris Liberator, Aaron Liberator and Julian Liberator. There was more chance than divine providence in the choice of name.

I like vinyl — it sounds considerably better. However, I did put out a few mix CDs many years ago. The best-known one probably came out in the Trust The DJ series. I had the album "Set Fire", as well as a couple of albums recorded together with D.a.v.e. The Drummer. We performed together under the name Ha-Lo.

Of course, sometimes I get terribly tired. 15 years of non-stop parties, endless touring — sometimes it just fries your brain. But I still enjoy making music, I love the young crowd.

The full version of the interview used to prepare this piece is in Time Out magazine©