Odpisani from Slovenia are no strangers to the pages of this zine. They have a new album and much more to say, so it was about time to interview them for Kraykulla.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE ODPISANI TO THE READERS OF THIS ZINE THAT DIDN’T HEAR OF YOU YET? COULD YOU PROVIDE US WITH BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BAND?
Band is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The genre we play is old school hard-core-punk, with some influences of crossover, street punk and new hardcore. We have played more than 1000 concerts all over Europe. We have shared stages with bands such as Faith No More, The Exploited, The Casualties, GBH, Booze & Glory,.. We have performed at festivals such as Punk Rock Holiday(Slo) Rockmaraton(Hun), Novi Rock,… In our discography we have 9 recorded products, 6 LP albums(Preobrat (1997), Partisan hard-core (2000), Šah Mat(2014), Prva vrsta (2018), Rebirth (2021) and Eternal Fight (2025)), 1 E.P. (Odpisani 1995), 1 maxi CD (Raised Fist (2020) and 1 split LP together with Toxic Youth(Ita) (2023), we have also participated in numerous compilations, HCWW vol. 2, Punk Rock Made in Europe #1,…
DID THE CHANGE OF LINE-UP HELP BAND TO GIVE IT A FRESH START? DID NEW BLOOD BRING NEW ENERGY AND, HOW SHOULD I PUT IT, A BREAKTHROUGH INTERNATIONALLY?
Yes, of course the change in the line-up brought freshness, a new impetus. And we can also be more active in concerts now, but we had quite a few problems with the previous line-up. The new songs are now in English, so it’s easier for us to perform all over Europe. I’ve always wanted to play outside our borders, because our music is not limited to one country. Also with the mentality of the current members, this has become more feasible.
YOU HAVE A NEW ALBUM OUT CALLED ETERNAL FIGHT. COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT SONGWRITING PROCESS, WHAT COMES FIRST, MUSIC OR LYRICS? ALSO, HOW WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS? WHERE CAN WE GET THE NEW ALBUM PHYSICAL RELEASE?
We released a new album Eternal fight, which was released by Wtf Records (Netherlands), Coretex records (Germany) and Monsterbilly Records (Slovenia). The songs are created by first creating the bass line for the entire song, then we polish the riffs with the drummer and guitarist and the whole piece becomes instrumental. Finally, singer Dario creates the final image of the song with his vocals. We recorded the album in Denmark with legendary producer Tue Madsen, with whom we have worked very well for many years.
You can get the album from the band FB page (write privately) and at concerts, or Coretex Records and Wtf Records websites.
NEW SONGS STILL HAVE HARDCORE PUNK HARSHNESS, BUT STILL THEY HAVE LOTS OF MELODY AND ANTHEMIC ALMOST STREETPUNK PARTS. DID YOU AIM FOR SUCH SONGWRITING, I THINK THE NEWER SONGS ARE BEST YOU DID IN WHOLE DISCOGRAPHY.
We are very satisfied with the new recordings. Our songs must also have sharpness, of course, because that’s how we’ve been since the beginning (haha). The pieces always contain their own instrumental melody, which singer Dario upgrades with vocals and adds that little something extra, which turned out to be superb on the new album. Personally, for me, our best albums are; Preobrat, which was sold out twice (2,000 copies) and almost every fan of HC-punk/punk rocker in the area has it. I would also highlight the album Rebirth, which is also sold out, but of course the circulation was smaller. I would agree with you that the new album Eternal fight is really our best album. Our experience is probably also present, after all, we have already walked quite a few kilometers on the music scene and performed on quite a few music stages, both small and large. Of course, our listeners will also have to confirm this when they sing the songs with us at concerts.
HOW ARE THINGS GOING ON SLOVENIAN HARDCORE PUNK SCENE? ARE THERE ANY BANDS YOU COULD RECOMMEND? HOW ARE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OLD SCHOOL GUARD LIKE YOU AND NEW BANDS IN THE SCENE? DO BANDS, PROMOTORS AND LABELS HELP EACH OTHER OR IS IT EVERYONE FOR HIMSELF?
I think the hardcore punk scene in Slovenia is alive, in some cities it is a little more present, in others a little less. I would highlight the bands that are doing well; Odpadki civilizacije, Reach AD, Sakrabolt, Spy Abuse, Hak Attack, Toxic Rats, Wasserdicht and others, if I were to leave anyone out. As for helping and supporting the bands, old school guard and new bands in the scene, there is a connection and some support and cooperation, but in my opinion it could be much better and the scene would also rise. Since this is also the meaning of hardcore punk, support the bands and also the local scene.
CAN YOU LIVE OF YOUR MUSIC? WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO FOR A LIVING? HOW IS LIFE IN SLOVENIA IN GENERAL? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF RISING TIDE OF EXTREMISM AND RIGHT WING THROUGHOUT EU AND REST OF THE WORLD?
It wouldn’t be bad if we could make a living from our music, but that’s not our primary concern, even though we work professionally and have been in the scene for many years. We put a lot of effort, time, money and energy into our music, and you just have to enjoy it and love it. There’s no other way. In general, hardcore-punk and similar music genres are rarely played on commercial radio stations. There are also few record stores, but fortunately such music can be heard through social networks, at concerts, festivals. Each of us also has a regular job, with which we earn enough to live. Life in general in Slovenia is quite good, unemployment is low, even workers have their rights and maybe that is why there are fewer rebel and punk scenes and punk bands and too much folk music. (haha) Yes, right-wing extremism is unfortunately on the rise, history repeats itself and it seems that it has not taught us anything. In my opinion, also because ordinary people are being convinced of a better tomorrow, of a better life, of course wrapped in the word democracy, which is dictated and financed by capital and works for the own needs of a handful of people. But the best tomorrow for people is peace and respect between nations and being human!
DID YOU GUYS TOUR A LOT? YOU PLAY LOTS OF SHOWS OUTSIDE YOUR SLOVENIA. WHAT IS THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IN SHOWS ABROAD AND IN SLOVENIA?
Yes, we still play quite a lot. It’s true that we have more concerts outside Slovenia than in Slovenia, in my opinion we are the Slovenian band with the most concerts outside Slovenia. Slovenia is a small country and you quickly get around to a few good clubs around the country and then you go to concerts abroad. Here we meet a lot of new faces, friends and then these friendships remain permanent. There is no big difference between concerts in Slovenia and abroad. It’s always nice to see a mosh pit in front of the stage. Especially when this happens after the first couple of riffs have been played and when the audience sings a part of the song with us. Abroad, we are even more pleasantly surprised that some already know our songs, while others hear them for the first time, but they make a real mosh pit in front of stage. This really gives us energy to continue creating.
CAN YOU STILL REMEMBER FIRST SHOW OR SOMETHING THAT GOT YOU INTO HARDCORE AND PUNK SCENE?
Yes, it’s interesting that all the original(first) members of the band had already played in different bands before Odpisani, from death metal (GRB), thrash metal (Skeleton Key), indie rock (The search for what), jazz core (Not why Yes) and we weren’t very successful, although some of the bands listed were promising. Maybe that’s why we called ourselves Odpisani (engl.Written off), but also because of the music genre that was never the trendiest. Because even then many people considered us written offs, but that didn’t mean we wouldn’t come back better, even stronger. Haha. We combined all our experiences from that time into the band Odpisani.
I would like to highlight one incident at the beginning of the band’s activities, we only had one rehearsal and we were already well-tuned for the first concert, which turned out to be very wild, we played on a truck in front of the Ficko bar in Ljutomer and at that concert I smash my head, but I still played the concert to the end and after the concert, covered in blood, I went to the emergency room to have my head stitched up. But then I realized that this is what I enjoy. And it’s still like that today.
30 YEARS OF THE BAND IS BEHIND YOU. CAN YOU REMEMBER THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE BAND AND LOWEST POINT OF THE BAND? WHAT DOES FUTURE HAVE IN STORE FOR ODPISANI?
Well, in these 30 years, there have been several high points.
Perhaps the most memorable was when we were the opening act for Faith No More in Ljubljana at the Tivoli Hall, where there were 7,000 people. That was a really great feeling. And also that the year after the band was founded, we were chosen as the most promising band of the year and played at Novi Rock at Križanke in Ljubljana. The following year, we were also chosen for the festival The best of Novi Rock 91-96, which was also at Križanke in Ljubljana.
I would also like to highlight the performance at Punk Rock Holiday in Tolmin, it was also unforgettable. That atmosphere and location, really every punk-rock fan should visit it. The band’s worst moment was when after the second album we were in a kind of frozen state, which fortunately thawed after a few years, and when our first label Statera (LJ) went bankrupt. At that time, they had big plans for our band. I don’t know what the future will be like, it’s unpredictable, let’s be surprised, but we’re planning a good album promotion, concerts, festival appearances, partying and drinking beer with friends (haha) and let’s hope it lasts for the next 30 years.
CLASSIC ZINE QUESTION FOR THE END. DO YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING OR SAY SOMETHING I DIDN’T ASK YOU? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INTERVIEW IN KRAYKULLA.COM
Yes, love hard-core/punk music, and similar genres, and hate racism.
Also support local bands, concerts, zines and make the scene stronger.
Thanks to you too Vlad for the interview, keep up the good work with your web zine, you’re doing a great job.
Hard-core-punk still lives
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