Legendary Swedish punk pioneers Refused are gearing up for an Australian tour in January 2017. It will be first time since since their reunion tour in 2012 that fans will get to experience their energetic live show and hear material from the new album Freedom. BRAYDEN EDWARDS talks to REFUSED frontman Dennis Lyxzen ahead of their show at Metropolis Fremantle on Thursday, January 26, 2017.
Although Refused originally disbanded in 1998, vocalist Dennis Lyxzen has never strayed far from the path of a punk rock frontman. His other musical projects The International Noise Conspiracy, INVSN and AC4 have kept him on the writing, recording and international touring circuit and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He is enjoying a day off that is rare since the Refused reformation in 2012 and took a moment to chat to us about the upcoming tour.
Refused last came to Australia in 2012 as part of a reunion tour but that seemed like a one-off and we weren’t really expecting you back again. Now that you have a new album out and are continuing as a group will the tour mean something else or feel different to the band?
When we did the reunion tour in 2012 it felt like before we played the first note we had already won the crowd over because there was so much excitement about us being back. Now with the new record out and us being more of a contemporary band the mood does change a bit. We’ve been more of a proper working band this time around. There’s definitely a different vibe to it.
It seems like the bulk of your success and your legacy as a band eventuated after you initially broke up in 1998. How has it been experiencing such fanfare and enthusiasm for songs that maybe you didn’t get at the time?
When we broke up in 1998 we broke up with a sense of defeat. When we released Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent in 1996 we toured all over the world and felt like we had a lot of momentum and in the 90s thats when we peaked.
But when we put out The Shape Of Punk To Come a lot of the hardcore kids that liked us weren’t that into it. They thought it was pretentious and they didn’t really get it. We toured for six or seven months on that record and every show felt like defeat. We weren’t getting along and we were at each other’s throats the whole time. We weren’t as well rehearsed as we should have been and we broke up feeling like it was kind of a fiasco. So to be able to come back and play the songs the way they’re supposed to be played and having people appreciate them now is quite phenomenal actually.
And for the new album and these new tours, do you have new skills and experiences now that maybe you didn’t have before?
When we were around in the 90s we weren’t a big band. Or maybe we were a semi-big band but in a very fringe sort of scene. But now we are more of a big deal so when we came out with a new record there was a lot of talk about it. I think that every night we play now there is a feeling of gratitude. When you first start a band the plan is to make music that people connect with and moves them and to be able to go out every night and play songs and see people lose their minds is a privilege and it’s very humbling. Since we’ve put out Freedom it’s been a great run. It’s been different and it’s been a bit more work but that’s been great too. I’m used to working all the time anyway.
Given that a lot of your earlier songs have a strong political message, do you find it hard to deliver them live nowadays when so much has changed since the time you wrote them? And I mean not just in the world but your personal views as well?
I think people have an assumption that politics is something you choose to sing about or choose not to sing about but it’s never been like that for us. The political ideas that we have were never an image. It’s not like we sat down and said ‘I have a really good plan for selling records, let’s pretend to be fucking crazy anarchists. That’s gonna be a real hit with the kids’.
That was never what we set out. We just wanted to write about shit that we cared about and shit that we thought about and on every record I’ve ever put out the political ideas have always been there. Sometimes it’s right in your face and sometimes a bit more subtle but it’s part of who we are as people.
Different music has different languages and the language of Refused is a very extroverted and in-your-face political sort of language. When (Refused drummer) David Sandstrom and I decided to write a new Refused album the first thing I did was go down to Stockholm and we just sat in our hotel room for two or three days and talked about politics. And we used those conversations as a template for the ideas that became the Freedom album. I don’t think theres a single line on Freedom that isn’t overtly political. That’s just the people we are and the reputation that Refused as a band has.
So what’s on the agenda for yourself and Refused in the remainder of 2017?
After the tour Refused is going to take a break for a while and everyone is going to focus on writing new material. I’m actually flying home before everyone else because I’m making a new record with my band INVSN that’s happening in February. So next year is going to be an INVSN year for me…write Refused stuff and tour with INVSN. Realistically in a year’s time Refused will get together and write and record a new record. But in the short term though I’m really looking forward to getting to Perth, hanging out and especially seeing the Bon Scott statue.
Refused play at Metropolis Fremantle on Thursday, January 26, 2017 with special guests Sick Of It All and High Tension.
