Drawer B:
With Refused your lyrics packed as much punch as your delivery, but with The (International) Noise Conspiracy you have to refine your bark into a prettier package given the more traditional structure of the music. That said- do you find The (International) Noise Conspiracy to be as potent a political outlet as Refused was?

Dennis Lyzxen:
I think that the Conspiracy is a far more potent and radical manifestation than Refused ever was. There is a certain preconceived notion about what a political band should be like, sound like, and look like, which makes the boundaries for this type of expression very limited. I think that with The Conspiracy we are playing on other emotions than with Refused, more to the point and focused, but also more entertaining and passionate. WE are also trying to inscribe into the project the idea that music is actually irrelevant and the only thing that matters, if we are speaking of a political context, is what you can do with it. WE see The Conspiracy as a project not limited to stupid youth cultures but more a project directed towards everyone that likes music and politics. Political change has nothing to do with the suits that we all are wearing.

Drawer B:
Do audiences respond to/act on your message whether they agree with it or not? Or, do they just enjoy the music and forget the point? Or do they even give a shit at all?

Dennis Lyxzen:
The important thing to ask ourselves is what else can we do and how can we best talk about political issues and not really be concerned with how people react. Some people dance, some people get pissed off, and some people get really exited, but the important thing is that no one leaves a show missing what we are all about.

Drawer B:
What is it that you hope to accomplish by inciting political upheaval in the underground/punk community?

Dennis Lyxzen:
Nothing. Punk is not really important, but a change on a wider scale is what matters. Revolution has nothing to do with life/stylistic ideas, but it should be based on there actually being people out there. So, the question is then, why play punk rock music? ‘Cause that is what we know and that is where we come from, but we are not content within the small world of petty politics and rules for freedom. We will play to anyone that likes us or anyone that we think deserves it.

TO limit yourself to one scene won’t bring about anything. But, there is also a plan to get people to realize that none of this matters (zines, records, or shows) without education, organization, and direction.

Drawer B:
It’s tricky peddling socialist and anarchistic propaganda in a medium that is as inherently capitalist as rock and roll. How do you justify being in a band that clearly has a product to sell and markets said product with live performances and videos?

Dennis Lyxzen:
Everything is up for sale and there is absolutely no way to avoid the capital, so we are trying to use the means that we have in front of us to destroy what is in front of us…

We see no real difference between working for a record label or a factory or a grocery store. We are all workers slaving away to the man.

Drawer B:
In the liner notes to Survival Sickness you undermine the effects of performing live or even recording your own ideas by saying that the true art is in creating the ideas not documenting them. Are you just playing devil’s advocate, or do you truly believe that recorded music and live concerts are stifling and stale?

Dennis Lyxzen:
Well, our whole critique was that nothing is creative after it has been created. Sure there is something nice about seeing a band play, but it has nothing to do with the creative process. Also we have to see that the emotions that we as a band are giving to the audience are used emotions that people pay to take part in. Instead of living these emotions themselves, they buy them from performers; thus, adding to the division and the myth of the creative artist and the consuming crowd. Still, if we would fully believe that we could achieve nothing with music we would do like the Situationists and stop producing art. Instead we think of it all in a very pragmatic way: we have an idea, we have a vehicle….

Drawer B:
Obviously, success was a not a big motivation for Refused, considering the fact that the band broke up on the verge of its most successful album. Do you regret not exploiting that attention more for political pursuits?

Dennis Lyxzen:
No.

Drawer B:
The Shape Of Punk To Come sure didn’t sound like a band that had run out of steam or ideas. How could a record that powerful have a band that “wasn’t into it anymore” behind it?

Dennis Lyxzen:
That was the whole thing- the album is good because it is a band on the verge of implosion. We were all into different shit, and we managed to keep it together for that record but after that… we knew it was a dead end…

Drawer B:
You’ve mentioned in interviews before that a lot of bands are content to regurgitate other people’s ideas and then fail to push things any further. Are there any current bands that do just the opposite and push the envelope in your estimation?

Dennis Lyxzen:
Not really. There are people out there creating great stuff but nothing that really blows my mind.

Drawer B:
The (International) Noise Conspiracy’s music is steeped in 1960’s garage punk and whacked out soul. How are you pushing the envelope compared the complacency of other punk bands? Can the music itself inspire revolution, or is it all up to the lyrics?

Dennis Lyxzen:
Emma Goldman said: “if I can’t dance to it, it is not my revolution.” And The Conspiracy is a band that is all about soul and dancing and passion, and we think that any revolution without those feelings will be miserable, so if we get people to dance then we get people to live for just a short moment. That is why we play music that is happier and more positive than most punk stuff out there…. Then again we never claimed originality…