Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2011

Metropolis heard from Atari Teenage Riot’s Alec Empire about his band’s reunion and new album Is This Hyperreal? before their set on the final day of the Fuji Rock Festival.

You are now in the court of journalism. Everything you say can and will be used against you…
As long as you quote me correctly, because people are now deliberately misquoting me to make their point! For example, someone said I’m against the internet. I don’t know how you can be against the internet—it’s like saying I’m against electricity. Was that in reference to Is This Hyperreal? Yes. The song “Digital Decay” takes a term used by programmers, which refers to the theory that if the internet gets too controlled, people will not use it anymore. I think we’ve seen the start of this—when people censor themselves on social networks for example, they stop being open. An atmosphere is created that I remember from East Germany, where people want to hide their true selves online. If it gets too controlled then people will leave the internet, which would be a lost opportunity for this technology, because it should provide different views from what we get from the major news corporations.

The internet has become all encompassing since Atari Teenage Riot broke up. Are things different for the band now?
Not so much. When we started, because of the type of cyberpunk music that we do, we were selling mp3s early on. We were early adopters. What’s different, and what I prefer now, is that I can give more information to people about what we say—for example, if I am misquoted I can correct that. It’s important that you can give your side. In the ’90s, if you were taken out of context people would have been left with an open question, and now they can ask us directly. I love this debate. If you say certain things you have to be ready for attacks and to justify your opinions.

What have you been attacked over?
In Germany, if you say the internet should be free from control, most people freak out. A lot of people still think the state should protect them, but I think we live in a different time. The government only protects the interests of corporations. When we say stuff like this, people from the traditional left wing in Germany freak out because they want more state control. They come from the idea that authority is a good thing if it represents the majority. I think we live in an age where things are more fragmented and there is no such thing as the “ordinary citizen.” That’s what we see in pop music. No artist can reach a wide majority the way they used to even 30 years ago. It’s a good thing, but a lot of people fear fragmentation.

Has your audience changed with the reunion?
This record was almost an accident. If it wasn’t for that one show in London last May I wouldn’t have made it, because it wasn’t just old fans coming out, it was 20-year-olds. It seems like a lot of young bands reference us. So suddenly there was this new audience that saw us for the first time.

We’ve had a few high-profile reunions at this Fuji Rock. What makes a reunion work?
Ours happened when CX KiDTRONiK suggested joining the London show. I told him right away, I’m glad you offered to come along, but they will slaughter you, because if you try to step into the footsteps of Carl Crack you will lose. It doesn’t matter how good you are, the original guy will always be better. But KiDTRONiK said, I won’t just sing his lyrics—I’ll rewrite the stuff from my own perspective. And that is when I thought, OK, let’s confront people with something different, because if only old fans come to the show it’s going to be awful. Look at it as a software update: you have a basic idea, but then adapt it to the current times. Trying to relive the past never works.

It sounds like the band is in a good place. Will you continue to tour?
I have to warn people—it’s not something we’re going to do for the next five or ten years. It was interesting to make the record, but it’s a problem if people assume Atari Teenage Riot is a traditional band and that we’ll continue to have the same lineup. Atari Teenage Riot is about the energy, not the rock star thing.

What about a return to Japan?
There were supposed to be some Japan dates in October but we will be in Europe. Hopefully at some point—let’s do it!