GODFLESH INTERVIEW FOR VICELAND.COM

Hello Justin, what prompted the decision to re-convene Godflesh after all these years?

Hellfest were the catalyst for this reformation; they tried desperately for a number of years to get Godflesh to reform for that festival. It took some time for me to even consider it and go as far as asking Ben Green to do it. He responded so positively that it was inspiring and this prompted me to consider it too, and leave all the baggage behind.

What was it that made you specifically choose Hellfest and Supersonic as the scenes of Godflesh’s return?

They are two very exciting festivals, and Godflesh did not in its career, do that many festivals so they make for an interesting environment for Godflesh to play in. My only concern is volume levels these days are so controlled and minimal that it is impossible for GF to achieve the heights that it once did via suffocating volume, which could be possible all those years back.

Was the decision to play Supersionic a nod to your Birmingham heritage?

In some ways, yes. The organization begind the festival believe in Godflesh but the band only really played Birmingham frequently when it first formed. We barely played there after 1991!

Who else comprises the live lineup or is it just yourself and GC Green?

It is exactly as Godflesh was originally intended to be, and was for most of its existence: GC (Ben) Green, myself and machines.

How does it feel playing Godlesh material to audiences after almost a decade?

In some ways it has been bizarre. Largely we're playing to audiences who never saw Godflesh in the first place. That makes it all the more exciting though. It's hard now to say what Godflesh was after such a long break of almost 10 years. That is a longer period than Ben and I played together as Godflesh in the first place.

Is there any intention to record new Godlesh material?

There is some intention, but in practice it is a big question. I don't like expectation, since generally the larger the expectation the bigger the disappointment. I have new Godflesh riffs and ideas, but I have had for some time, even before the reformation. I am just unsure as to whether it should be considered seriously or not.

Will this reunion have any affect on the operations of jesu and your other ongoing projects?

No, not really. It's timely, due to the fact that I took some time off from releasing a lot with jesu at the rate I had been. There was a glut of jesu releases and eased back. For the last year or so I've been slowly writing the new jesu album, which is finally being recorded throughout this winter, aiming for a May 2011 release. So in some ways I have been able to let jesu take a back seat for now.

Has working on projects like Jesu and Final in the interim period affected how you approach the Godflesh material after all these years?

In some ways, yes. I haven't spent the last 8 years plus performing very aggressive or brutal material. Going back to the Godflesh sound required reaching back to those emotions, which was not in the slightest bit hard, it was just a case having to get to grips with performing in that context again. It took me some time to adjust to the way jesu would perform relative to Godflesh performances.

What can people expect from Godflesh’s show at Supersonic?

The Godflesh show that we always hoped to perform more often when we last existed; projections and minimal/maximal brutality. It should be every bit as claustrophobic as Godflesh was intended to be in a live environment.