Lone Spaceman Tackles the Issues that Matter with Curby of Obscene Extreme

Japanese translations provided by members of Anatomia

About a year and a half ago, I was “writing” for the Japan Times but hadn’t yet published a single article. I had been hired to write about the underground metal scene, but my editor hadn’t been too enthused about any of my pitches until I heard rumblings of the Obscene Extreme Festival coming to town. I convinced him that an underground vegan-friendly festival all about some of the wildest and most extreme music the world had to offer definitely counted as “news”, and he told me to get a hold of the man in charge. A friend quickly hooked me up with Curby Extreme, and before long I had my first piece published in a national newspaper. I remember the 2014 OEF Tokyo as being just as wild as I had been promised; all that was missing was the mythical Grind Banana (check out the OEF page for details of this rare and mysterious fruit). 

一年半前、ジャパン・タイムスで働いていた私は日本のメタルシーンについて寄稿する
ことになっていた。まだ記事という記事を書いたことのない新米でもあり、色々と提案はしてみたものの編集部は全く興味を示さず、オブシーン・エクストリーム
（以下OEF）が話題になってようやく記事を書けることになった。

食事まで菜食主義を徹底した世界随一のエクストリーム・ミュージック・フェスティバルが日本にやってくるなんて、これは大ニュースだよ、と上司を説得し、無事取材要請が下りる。友人の伝手で主催者のチュービーにコンタクトをとってもらい、あとは
万事順調、気付けば国内最大の英字新聞に自分の記事が掲載されていた。

２０１４年のOEFは期待を裏切らない盛り上がりで、注文をつけるとしたら
”グラインド・バナナ”があれば、といったくらいのもの。（このミステリアスな
フルーツ、グラインド・バナナについてはオブシーン・エクストリームの公式サイトをご参照ください。）

I owe a lot to OEF and Curby in particular, so when I was asked to interview him a second time I jumped at the chance. First and foremost I was anxious to hear how the last eighteen months had gone for him. In addition to having another child on the way (expected around November 20th - 27th, giving me hope for a Lion King-esque scene in which Curby holds his new progeny aloft at OEF Tokyo as the gathered extreme music underground bends on one knee), OEF has been traveling the globe and dispensing obscene music for eager fans. But did anything particularly exciting happen? 

そんなわけでOEFとチュービーには思い入れがあり、インタビューできると聞いて今回も二つ返事で承諾した。私は特に去年のOEFから今までの出来事、彼の家族のことが
気になって仕方なかった。（今月新たに授かる予定のお子さんがいるので、そのうち
親子のツーショットが拝めるかもしれない。）

OEFは世界中を飛び回ってエクストリーム・ミュージックのファンに音楽を提供
していますが、最近エキサイティングなことはありましたか。

Curby: “Yeah, lots of up and downs, as it goes in everyone`s life. The first OEF ASIA in Tokyo was simply an awesome experience and I still live on that memory! During those last 18 months I did OEF Australia in Melbourne (lots of new sick aussie bands!) and this year we already had our mother festival in the town of Trutnov in The Czech Republic, which was probably the best OEF in history! It was simply a great weekend and we had also two Japanese legends playing there - S.O.B. and UNHOLY GRAVE! Both the bands were awesome live and I'm very proud we could bring them to Europe! Just to name a few other bands that played great shows there, we had TERRORIZER LA, BULLDOZER, OBITUARY, HIRAX, PIG DESTROYER, VITAL REMAINS, SCHIRENC PLAYS PUNGENT STENCH, BLOOD, and of course a lot of newcomers which is quite typical and a big contribution of our festival.

チュービー：

皆の人生でも色々なことが起こるように、いい時も悪い時もある。初めて東京でやった時はとても感動して、いまでもずっと忘れることはないよ！あれからの18ヵ月間、
オーストラリアのメルボルンでもOEFをやって（オーストラリアのバンドはどれも
カッコいい！）今年に入ってから本国のチェコでも開催した。皆素晴らしい週末を
過ごせたと思うし、日本からも伝説のバンド、S.O.BとUNHOLY GRAVE、すごい
でしょ！どっちのライブも最高だったからヨーロッパに呼べたことを誇りに思う。あとは大御所で言うとTERRORIZER LA、BULLDOZER、OBITUARY、HIRAX、PIG DESTROYER、VITAL REMAINS、SCHIRENC PLAYS PUNGENT STENCH、BLOOD等。
通常通り若いバンドも沢山出て盛り上がった。

そして今年８月にはカナダで初めてのOEFをモントリオールでやったんだ。出演バンドはIMMOLATION, TRAP THEM（これ良かったね、やばかった！）、 MAGRUDERGRIND、AGATHOCLES、BROKEN HOPE、MALIGNANCY、PUTRID PILE、GRUESOME（デスメタル好きだったら聴いてみて！）DROPDEAD（相変わらず
速いぜ～！）

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I was pleased to see that his guileless, genuine excitement was just as contagious as ever, but unfortunately for fans of extreme music, not everything had come up roses in the previous year. For a festival funded entirely by ticket sales rather than any kind of sponsorship, running around the world putting on killer shows sure as hell isn’t easy. 

チュービー：
の純粋に興奮する姿は、見ているだけで気持ちが若返るような不思議な力を
持っている。しかし喜ぶ私をよそに、課題は多く残されている。スポンサーを
一切付けることなくチケットの売上だけで質の高いライブイベントを提供するのはそう簡単な話ではない。

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Curby: “...It's getting harder and harder to do an underground festival. It seems like people only want big commercial festivals with really expensive tickets. It pisses me off and I am slowly losing my motivation. 

I don't understand it...if we want to stay independent we need support, but we don't want to sell OEF to big companies and do advertising for huge multinational corporations. So it all depends on our loyal fans. I still love extreme music. I really like to search for new bands and show them to the die-hard fans at OEF, it makes me really happy!

...I worked really hard on [Obscene Extreme America] for at least for 10 months, but the result was terrible. So I'll quit doing the OEF WORLD tour...still not sure about the Japanese OEF next year. I love Japan and Japanese bands, but it's very hard to do a festival outside of my country. I can confirm that we'll do OBSCENE EXTREME 2016 in Trutnov, Czech Republic, between July 13-17th so try to come over guys!” 

チュービー：

フェスの開催は年々難しくなってきてるよ。金儲けのためのフェスティバルにファンが流れていってしまっているんだ。チケットだって高いのに。気が滅入るっていうか正直な話、理解に苦しむよ。独自のやり方を貫き通すためにはサポートが必要なのに。それがなかったらOEFを大企業に売り渡して奴らの広告を出さないといけなくなるんだ。
そう、だからファンのサポートに全てがかかっているよ。音楽が好きであることは絶対に変わらないから、すごくいいバンドを見つけてOEFに来る本物のファンに見て
もらいたい。それが俺の幸せなんだ！

ここ１０ヵ月はアメリカのOEFの運営を頑張ってたんだけど、正直うまくいってない。

世界各地でやるのは難しいね。日本も来年はどうなるか。日本が好きだし日本のバンドも大好きだけど、チェコ以外でフェスティバルをやるっていうのはむずかしいかな。

来年本場のチェコはトルトノフ、いつものオブシーンは７月１３日から１７日の予定で
やるから、頑張って来てくれよな！

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It appears that for fans of extreme music living in Japan (which naturally includes pretty much everyone involved with Kaala), there’s still a living hope that OEF will return to Tokyo. But even so, anyone with either the means or the desire should -- nay, must -- get out to Kurawood on the 20th, Club SEATA on the 21st and 22nd, and then Kurawood again on the 23rd. I asked him which bands I absolutely must not miss, as well as his impression of the Japanese underground scene and Tokyo in particular:

日本のファンは既に次回の開催を切に願っているが、まずは今月２０日は会場Kurawood、２１日、２２日はClub SEATAにて、そして２３日は再びKurawoodにて、特に今回は目白押しのバンドが
盛り沢山。

“Of course, to see S.O.B. in their homeland must be something very special. That's a pure grindcore madness! When they played in the Czech Rep. this year, they were one of the best bands...though they don't speak English and they couldn’t communicate with the crowd, their show was simply devastating!

As a death metal freak you must see the DEATH STRIKE show! That will be something special and hard to see! And of course you need to join us at SEATA in Kichichoji as well, because we are bringing over the death metal legend Paul Speckmann and MASTER! Paul Speckmann and his horde will play two special sets for you guys!

It's the same with some other bands we are bringing over like ROMPEPROP and MALIGNANT TUMOUR for example. And of course I am more than happy that we booked Japanese bands that are
world-wide famous and really unique, like MELT BANANA and MERZBOW! I have always loved Japanese bands as well as the scene because it's original and special. The musicians there want to bring something different and are not just blindly following their idols, and I love that! And I'm surely not alone!

チュービー：

ホームでのS.O.B.を見られるのはとても良い機会だね。グラインドの王者たる狂気だ！去年チェコの方で演奏してもらったときはやはりトップクラスのバンドだと思った。英語のMCなんかなくった
って観客はもう大盛り上がりでさ、ライブがすごいからね！

デスメタル・フリークならDEATH STRIKEは観ないとね！超絶レアだよ。吉祥寺のCLUB SEATAでも伝説のポール・スペックマン率いるMASTERがあるし。二日間それぞれのセットリストを特別に
用意してくれているそうなんだ。海外勢のROMPEPROPやMALIGNANT TUMOURも同じような勢いだね。日本のバンドも独創的で世界的知名度のあるMELT BANANAやMERZBOWがブッキングできたこと、とても嬉しく思ってるよ！

日本のバンドって独特でいいよね。盲目的なアイドル崇拝じゃなくて自分のスタイルを
持っていて、ファンはそれを理解してるんだ。そう思っているのは俺だけじゃない
はず！

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[Regarding Tokyo]...ha ha, what a question...unique is the word that perfectly describes Japan! Everything is unique! I'm really serious about this answer! Man, Tokyo is insanely huge for me. I live in a small place that has less than 400 people all together, so you can imagine how I feel in Tokyo but it's great for a few days! I have been in Tokyo two times but it is not enough...you can always discover something new and fresh! But I wish I could do a real open-air festival like in the Czech Republic. It’s incredibly difficult to do it in Japan, but nothing is impossible. 5 years ago I didn't believe that I would be able to do Obscene Extreme in Japan, and look what happened. So if you're a wizard I need some place in Tokyo that will be cheap enough and open for our freak-friendly festival!” 

東京の街についてはそうだね、ユニークだよね。本気で言ってるよ！チェコでは人口せいぜい
４００人くらいの町に住んでるから、全く違う土地に来た感じっていうのはあるよね。でも観光
するにはぴったりだ！

今まで２回来たことがあるけど、何度訪れても見尽くせない、いつも新鮮な驚きがあるよ。
オープンフェスやりたいけど日本は難しいだろう。でも５年前は日本でOEFをやるなんて考えも
しなかったことだから不可能はないよね。

魔法使える人、フリーク達の集まれる安い場所都内で押さえてくれ！

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Well, you heard the man. If you’re a fan of extreme music and haven’t yet been able to attend any of the Obscene Extreme events, you can either scrounge up the airfare to the Czech Republic or come out this November to Asakusa Kurawood and SEATA in Kichijoji! 

彼からは以上だ。まだOEFを体験していない方、チェコまで来年の旅費を確保するか、今月浅草と吉祥寺で会おう！

OBSCENE EXTREME ASIA 2015

November 20-23, 2015

Kichijoji Club SEATA + Asakusa Kurawood

Tokyo - Japan

http://www.obsceneextreme.asia

https://www.facebook.com/ObsceneExtremeAsia

https://www.youtube.com/user/ObsceneExtremeFest

https://twitter.com/oefasia

https://instagram.com/obsceneextremeasia

Facebook event : https://www.facebook.com/events/1625536501009648/

Tickets

JAPAN

http://www.obsceneextreme.asia/jp/21

WORLD

http://www.obsceneextreme.asia/en/tickets

OBSCENE EXTREME ASIA 2015
RUNNING ORDER

FRIDAY 20.11. 2015 - Asakusa Kurawood

17:00 - 17:25 : (25 min) ANAL VOLCANO 

17:40 - 18:15 : (35 min) RECTAL SMEGMA (Netherlands)

18:30 - 19:05 : (35 min) 2 MINUTA DREKA (Italy)

19:20 - 20:05 : (45 min) ROMPEPROP (Netherlands)

20:20 - 20:40 : (20 min) MERZBOW + special guest SELF DECONSTRUCTION

21:00 - 22:00 : (60min)  SxOxBx 

SATURDAY 21.11. 2015 - Kichijoji Club SEATA

13:00 - 13:25 (25 min) LITTLE BASTARDS 

13:40 - 14:05 (25 min) BARBATOS 

14:20 - 14:50 (30 min) ACUTE 

15:05 - 15:35 (30 min) DARK HORSE (Australia)

15:50 - 16:20 (30 min) CARCASS GRINDER 

16:35 - 17:05 (30 min) RECTAL SMEGMA (Netherlands)

17:20 - 17:55 (35 min) PALM 

18:10 - 18:55 (45 min) ROMPEPROP (Netherlands)

19:10 - 19:55 (45min)  UNHOLY GRAVE 

20:10 - 21:00 (50 min) MASTER (Usa)

SUNDAY 22.11. 2015 - Kichijoji Club SEATA

13:00 - 13:25 (25 min) CORBATA 

13:40 - 14:05 (25 min) NOT A NAME SOLDIERS 

14:20 - 14:50 (30 min) SU19B 

15:05 - 15:35 (30 min) FUCK ON THE BEACH 

15:50 - 16:20 (30 min) GONGURI (South Korea)

16:35 - 16:42 (7 min) SEDEM MINUT STRACHU (Slovakia)

16.55 - 17.10 (15 min) DECHE-CHARGE (Canada)

17:25 - 18:00 (35 min) ANATOMIA 

18:15 - 18:55 (40 min) MELT BANANA 

19:10 - 19:55 (45 min) MALIGNANT TUMOUR (Czech republic)

20:10 - 21:00 (50 min) MASTER (Usa)

MONDAY 23.11. 2015 - Asakusa Kurawood

15:00 - 15:30 (30 min) TAINTED DICKMAN 

15:45 - 16:15 (30 min) MECOSARIO 

16:30 - 17:00 (30 min) DORAID 

17:15 - 17:50 (35 min) 2 MINUTA DREKA (Italy)

18:05 - 18:45 (40 min) CSSO 

19:00 - 19:40 (40 min) ROSEROSE 

19:55 - 20:40 (45 min) MALIGNANT TUMOUR (Czech republic)

20:55 - 21:40 (45 min) DEATHSTRIKE (Usa)