Interview with Mendeku Diskak
An interview with Eduard of Mendeku Diskak, a record label from the Basque country
After meeting him in the hills of Euskadi (Basque Country), we decided to have a chat with Eduard of Mendeku Diskak (Revenge records in Basque), punk, hardcore, and oi! label based in Euskadi. Knowing that there is a lot to say, the very short intro ends here, enjoy this interview!
Radio Punk: Kaixo! As promised, here we are for the interview! After our last meeting (thanks again for your availability) I had a lot of questions in my head, but let’s start from the beginning… In case someone doesn’t know you, would you like to introduce yourself? How long has Mendeku Diskak existed and the usual things…
Mendeku Diskak: Hi Max! Thanks for your interest in Mendeku Diskak!! My name is Eduard and I’m originally from Valencia, I moved to the Basque Country in 2014 and the label started in 2017. I was friends with some members of the band ORREAGA 778 before moving here, we knew each other from other punk bands they were involved with in the past and once I moved here we used to hang out quite often. Then we started collaborating: driving them to gigs with my van, taking care of their merch, helping out with their internet presence, etc. At some point, it came up with the idea to release their records and that’s how the label started.
RP: One thing that immediately struck me is your extreme passion, for music as well as DIY, which can be exemplified by the second promo tape (which you let us have and it’s a blast), would you like to explain the idea behind this and the first tape? Why produce a tape of exclusive tracks in 2022?
MD: The idea was to do something different in order to promote new releases and at the same time support the punk media projects like radio programs, fanzines, webzines, etc, sending them songs that were not available on the internet so that could attract attention to their projects. With social media, youtube, etc it seems that they are losing importance because bands can “communicate” directly with fans, so it was a way of giving them preference and highlighting their job in the scene. A part from that, I’m not a fan of the spam promotion on social media, it makes me lose interest when a band or a label is promoting insistently even months before the record is out, posting this and that, rehearsals, recording sessions, sneak peeks of their cover art, etc, etc, it’s too much for me. So I didn’t want to do the same and I came up with the idea of releasing a promo tape with songs that initially can just be listened to on the radio programs that play them. In general, people loved the idea and it had a great impact.
RP: Another aspect that I find very interesting: I’ve noticed that you pay a lot of attention to detail: you can see it for example with the production of the Ogro cassette, or if you notice the utmost care in the various vinyl (paper weight, inserts, etc.). It seems to be a good way to give importance to the punk subculture/counterculture and sometimes a little is enough, would you like to tell us your opinion?
MD: As with the Promo Kasetea, I wanted to do something a bit different with the other releases, and the way is using different materials for a more personal/original touch. If we press all our records at the same pressing plants and use the same type of cardstocks and finishes, it’s sort of boring, industrial production for mass consumption. But it’s not easy at all, I’ve been struggling with different print shops, high costs, delivery troubles, etc, so I’m not sure how’s gonna be in the future. Making things different is always more difficult and more expensive, but I think it’s worth it to buy nice-looking releases with great printed materials. I get very disappointed when I buy records and you can see that they used the cheapest option for the printed materials, it’s like they don’t care, they just want to save on production costs. So for my releases, I didn’t want that. Besides the fact that nowadays everybody can “consume” music in many cheap/free ways thanks to the internet, songs just become files online, and for me, it’s very important also the presentation, the art, the image, the textures, it’s like a piece of art that you can listen to, see, feel/touch, etc. I think people who make the effort to pay for a physical release deserve something nice in return, not cheap and shitty stuff.
RP: We are very pleased to see that you often produce bands in their early days, it’s a good bet for a label and we believe it is at the same time essential to keep punk alive. So we take the opportunity to ask you what you think of the Basque, Spanish, and Catalan scenes… in short, do you see anything new? Is there turmoil?
MD: Yeah I’ve released lots of new bands, demos, demos pressed on vinyl, I think it’s important for the personality of a label to bring out new bands that are the in same line stylistically. I love to discover new bands and if they make an impact on me and fit in with what I think is Mendeku’s world regarding to the music, the ideas, and the art, then I offer them to work together on a release.
About the scenes, like everything in life, you can find a lot of mediocre stuff and a little bit of really good outstanding stuff. What I always look for in the bands I release is that they offer something different and special, not the copy of the copy of the cliche, I appreciate originality and personality. Some bands and people (potential record buyers or concertgoers) are happy with the standards and not stepping out of the line, and I’m fine with that, but it’s just not my thing. My main focus is on those who have a more critical approach, a different eye, and taste, the ones who are able to assimilate, filtrate, and produce something with a twist rather than copy or replicate, so they can do something really unique and personal.
RP: Out of context question, you’re not Basque if I’m not mistaken… can we ask you what led you to go and live in Euskadi? Would you like to tell us an anecdote about your move?
MD: Yeah I’m from Valencia, but I was sick and tired of living there, needed fresh air, wanted to change my life at the moment. Me and my girlfriend felt that the Basque Country was a good option, we like the weather, the mountains, the musical-cultural-political history, the fact that is in many aspects like living outside of “Spain”, we thought we were going to have a better chance in life being here, that’s why we moved.
RP: A topical question, what about Spotify, Bandcamp, Youtube? I ask because while chatting we touched on the subject. Do you see social media as an opportunity to distribute music or do you also see a danger that music can sell out and DIY lose importance?
MD: for the bands, all means of promotion are always good, especially with younger generations that base their lives on their phones. As a record label, I basically use Bandcamp because I like the setup, it’s like a showroom where you can click in and listen to or download all the releases of the label, all together and organized chronologically, it looks nice, it’s useful and makes sense. I hardly post anything on the label’s Youtube channel, only a few videos from the bands I release. About Spotify i don’t use it and I don’t really have any interest. But I encourage the bands I release to post their stuff there if that helps reach more people. At the end of all they are all means to an end, in the internet era the means have changed so we all should adapt, but personally, I still believe i’m just a record label, I release records, that’s my job.
RP: An inevitable question about Basque punk, starting with Kortatu and Negu Gorriak up to more recent times many bands have decided to sing in Basque, a strong political choice if you consider that in Franco’s time speaking Basque was illegal… Do you think this choice is still maintained or do younger bands prefer to sing in Spanish or English to be more ‘understandable’ and to target a wider market?
MD: It’s been always bands singing in Spanish and bands singing in basque, from the early punk bands some chose basque language, like Kortatu (although the early stuff was in Spanish and they learned basque along the way) Delirium Tremens, Baldin Bada, Jotakie, Hertzainak, Zarama, most of these bands came from basque speaking families and smaller towns. Then you have Cicatriz, RIP, Vulpes, Eskorbuto, Vómito, La Polla Records, coming from bigger industrial cities/towns, some of them from families that migrated to the Basque Country from other parts of the Spanish state, who didn’t really speak basque nor used in their songs.
Nowadays this split still exists, although since the 80’s kids learn it in school and must have a certain level of proficiency, not all of them choose the basque language for their lyrics, let’s say the bands that do it it’s because they have a more activist approach to the language, it’s still a political battle and they want to reflect it with their songs or just because it’s normal for them to express themselves in basque because they are natural speakers. I guess some bands that choose Spanish feel more comfortable to express themselves in Spanish, probably thinking that they can have a wider audience or simply they don’t have that activist approach to the language issue, they just don’t care that much. The ones who sing in English…I don’t really understand why they do it, if they think it’s gonna give them more exposure I doubt it. You get exposure when your music is good. And the most terrible thing about singing in English is having a thick non-English accent. It sounds like a joke.
I personally prefer that the bands I release from the Basque Country would sing in Basque, I think it’s a beautiful language, aggressive sounding, unique, complicated, diverse, but at the end of all it just depends on the bands themselves, whatever they choose I have to respect it.
RP: Having touched on political themes we ask you, how important is politics to you in the choice of the groups you produce? You note that there are a number of shared values (anti-fascism and anti-capitalism for example), but how much weight does this have for you?
MD: Honestly not much anymore, I’m 42 and in my youth years politics had great importance for me and everything I did. But the years pass by and the disappointments, the frustrations and the questioning comes, it doesn’t mean that one is switching sides or believing in opposite ideas, it’s just that you give it less importance to the fact of voicing constantly strong opinions or tend to relativize things a bit. I don’t have the need for a constant political speech anymore in my life. I prefer when facts speak, not when there’s much talk and propaganda. I run a record label and my main focus is the music, of course with proper lyrics or nice ideas involved but i’m just releasing records, not political campaings. I did it in the past so I felt I had to do something different this time. I obviously will never release anything that goes against my principles, can’t stand any sexist, homophobic or racist shit, that’s obvious, and none of the bands I work with would ever have lyrics promoting fucked up ideas or attitudes.
RP: Let’s go back to simpler questions, would you like to tell us an anecdote of the craziest/weirdest/funniest thing that happened to you with a band or at a concert?
MD: To be honest I can’t really think of really funny stuff, maybe it was funny when it happened or among the people that happened to but remembering it out of context doesn’t seem so funny. I had a few weird encounters with police officers while driving bands on your, in France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Spain, the Guardia Civil are assholes and very politically motivated. In general it’s been always the “are you carrying drugs?” thing. In Poland a couple of police officers tried to rip me off showing me a fake radar stating that I was going too fast, after a discussion and with the language barrier we could go and they didn’t see a fucking sloty from me…
Getting lost on the road is something nowadays seems impossible to believe, but yeah, I did tours before the GPS was common and that shit happened, asking for directions, going round and round the same area without finding the spot, etc etc.
Got a bunch of flat tires on the highway, not fun at all to unload the whole van and change tires… Got terribly sick a couple of times, one with respiratory problems, another one with terrible stomach ache, another one with a broken finger because of a bar fight, I couldn’t drive on that tour anymore, the bandmembers did, had medical assistance in France, then again in the Netherlands, the whole tour went by and I was most of the time on strong painkillers that made me sleep almost the entire driving time…
I’ve seen death really close to us when a huge truck had a crash on the lane next to us on the highway when going through a bridge over the sea in Galicia… I still remember it perfectly and talk about that sometimes with the people who was traveling with me in the van (one of my old bands)
RP: We’re about to run out of questions, you’ve been in the business for a while, you’ve even had a chance to step on stage… Do you have any advice for young labels or small distros?
MD: Not really, I mean, maybe what worked for me doesn’t work for other people or vice versa. And I’m not sure if I’m really in the position of giving advices to anyone. There’s a lot of stuff you have to learn by yourself, everything related to the work with the pressing plants, the printers, dealing with bands, etc etc, you learn on the way, learning by doing, I keep making mistakes and learning from them, that’s life I guess. You have to try to do things first for yourself, how you feel them and how you want them, and then for others, because if you try to make everybody happy, if you constantly try to please others before yourself, at some point you’ll get frustrated, and people is gonna use you.
RP: Before we say goodbye, as we usually do, let’s ask you something not strictly related to punk music, ie: favorite film/favorite book? Favorite non-punk record?
MD: I don’t really have any list of favorites, I enjoy films that are telling a good story and they catch your attention with that. I loved some classic stuff like The Godfather movies for example. I also enjoy most of Tarantino’s stuff, most of Ken Loach movies, Kubrick, sci-fi and dystopian stuff, or Spanish directors like Eloy de La Iglesia (El Pico 1 and 2, Navajeros), Jaume Balagueró (Los Sin Nombre) or Alex de La Iglesia (Acción Mutante, El Dia De La Bestia, La Comunidad)
About books, I don’t really have any favourites either, some books made an impact on me because of the age, the time when I read them, my life circumstances, etc. I can tell you the last one I read is “I’m Not Holding Your Coat” from Nancy Barile.
My favorite “non-punk” are definetly from metal bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Slayer or Metallica, mostly their early stuff, I have no interest in whatever they did after the first few records. I also love ACDC. The last ones I got for my collection were the soundtrack of the 6th season of Game Of Thrones (bought it basically just because of the song “Light Of The Seven” ) some hip hop like Wu Tang Clan and Notorious B.I.G. or some Death Metal like Necrot and Undergang.
Interview by Max
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