Japanische Kampfhorspiele is a group currently positioned at the forefront of the German grindcore scene. With the release of their newest effort, "Hardcore in the 1st World", JaKa delve into further experimentations with the grind sound, incorporating progressive elements which push the boundaries of this extreme genre. The group displays a high degree of technical ability which emphasizes the ardent nature of their craft. Recently, I was able to catch up with Drummer/Co-founder Christof Kather to get the dirt on the group’s latest happenings.

Erin Fox: I've noticed it mentioned several times in bios that you were/are a drug addict.How does this affect the group?
Christof Kather: Very well. JaKa wouldn’t be the same if I wasn’t.

E: Who are some of the artists you draw inspiration from, grind and otherwise?

C: it’s not just artists we draw inspiration from. Most of all its television and the life in the first world. I like Frank Zappa because he understood to combine everything, music, lyrics and artworks to an entire art work. And though he was very progressive, humor was also allowed in what he did. Of course musically we don’t want to compare us to Frank Zappa – but to his by-accident-concept.

E: Why do you choose to write only German language lyrics? Do you feel that this decision restricts your audience?
C: Did the fact that Brujeria sing Spanish restrict the audience? Maybe a few people. But others just like Brujeria because of that. I think it’s the same to JaKa singing German. I write German lyrics because my English is too bad to say what I want to say. And after all – we are Germans.

E: Is there any way fans can obtain the internet EP of covers?
C: Everyone is able to download everything we did from our http://www.jaka-archiv.de. Except the latest two CDs.

E: Speak for a moment about the art of grinding...
C: Grindcore means an attitude to me. Musically we are more a death-thrash-black metal band. Grindcore is the thing where every kind of patchwork is allowed … and it has not to be that serious. Grind against peer pressure.

E: How many songs has JaKa written to date?
C: Puh, I don’t know. Maybe around 70.

E: Tell our readers about your live performances as of late...
C: our live-set includes 22 songs of the past 5 years. With new second guitarist Robert and super-frontman Bony we have the ultimate lineup to play live. Since we have German lyrics the audience often sings along – in Germany. Let’s see what it will be like in Holland where we will play our first gig in a foreign country in the end of this year.

E: How did the deal with Bastardized come about?
C: I replaced the Six Reasons To Kill drummer for a while in 2003. The guys who are doing Bastardized played in this band. So I had the possibility to enervate them with JaKa. First they were not sure if a German-singing grind band with an ill name would be that cool on their label. Today we are their best selling act.

E: Are there any German acts you feel comfortable sharing a stage with? C: Yes. Das Krill and Bleich. E: How do you feel you stack up against the rest of the grindcore pack? C: JaKa is no pure grindcore band. I don’t like genres. JaKa have our own style since we found a very own mix of hard elements – lyrically, musically … the JaKa style is not that but kind of funny. E: How did the addition of a vocalist assist in composing your tunes? C: the vocal-lines often are done before the music is. Normally a JaKa song starts with the drumming on which the vocals are written. Finally we write the guitars. The music is very percussive, less melodic. So this way to write works.

E: In six years you have released a large amount of CDs. Does JaKa spend a great deal of time in the studio? Do you see yourselves as a studio band or as a live band?
C: I like recording more, but playing live is also nice. We don’t want to play that much to keep everything exciting for us and the fans. JaKa were just 2 times to the studio. Everything before the Fertigmensch EP was self produced at home.

E: What was the best show you've ever performed at?
C: I think the last one in the German grindcore capitol Wermelskirchen.

E: With 6 JaKa members, how does the band go about writing songs? Is it a group effort, or does one or two members bring in an idea?
C: The last record was written by just me, Klaus and Bony. But the actual lineup is not that old. Maybe things will change after we play together for a time.

E: How do you feel the response to "Hardcore From The 1st World" has been? What is the significance of that album title?
C: Hardcore from the 1st world. Hardcore is an English word also being used in Germany. It could mean HC music, porno but also is used as an adjective. Live in the first world is hardcore. The responses from the underground are very good. Commercial ‘zines just have to learn that the underground band JaKa on the small underground label Bastardized is the new hype.

E: Will you be supporting this record for awhile, or preparing another studio effort?
C: Next we want to do a split with Das Krill. Then an all German cover-album with only German songs of the past years on it. Nearly no metal artists – but don’t mind, we will translate everything into metal. ‘JaKa metal’.

E: Any new songs written since the release of 'Hardcore'? Any titles?
C: No titles yet but a lot of lines. There’s music for one song by now.

E: What guitarists does Daniel admire? And Klaus?
C: Daniel has been replaced by Robert. I don’t know which guitarist he adores. And Klaus? I don’t know. I guess none. I don’t have a favorite drummer at all.

E: Your bio identifies the band as 'Grindpunk', do you attract a lot of crossover fans from the punk scene who aren't necessarily into death metal and grind?
C: Punk is a similar attitude like grind is. In my opinion. Since the lyrics are very important to JaKa we call it grindpunk. Fuck the genres. Our fans are totally mixed. There are also a lot of guys who normally don’t listen to hard music – but like JaKa because of the lyrics and the attitude.

E: What do you feel the best song on 'Hardcore in the 1st World' is, or which is your favorite to play?
C: Every song is good and enriches the whole thing. My favorite to play is Abflussbestattung.

E: What else can we expect from JaKa in the next year?
C: The split and the cover album. Maybe another JaKa album. Let’s see.

E: Any parting messages for the fans?
C: Eat wartoy, feed pig meat and fur to your children and burn your money…