Poljski heavy reggae sastav Paprika Korps uskoro stiže u naše krajeve (Zagreb 18.4., Pula 19.4.). Nakon više od 20 godina postojanja, aktivno se približavaju brojci od 1000 koncerata. Koji je recept postojanosti Paprike Korps otkrio nam je Piotr Maslanka, vokalist i klavijutarist benda. 

Reggae hr: Vi ste jedan od prvih inozemnih dub/reggae sastava koji su u redovnom intezitetu počeli nastupati u Hrvatskoj. Kako se dogodila ta povezanost hrvatske publike i Paprike Korps?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): Organizirao sam Krakowu koncert američkog benda Pleasure Forever i njihov menadžer spomenuo je Vedrana (op.a. Menigu)  iz Zagreba koji voli dub/reggae. Poslao sam mu našu kazetu (da!) i tako je počelo. Vedran je tada svirao u Radikal Dub Kolektivu, voljeli smo taj bend. Kasnije smo upoznali mnoge prijatelje koji se brinu o nama svaki put kad dođemo u Hrvatsku.

Reggae hr: Imate dobru statistiku: 23 godine postojanja, 25 obiđenih zemalja, odsvirano preko 200 koncerata. Koji recept za ovakvu aktivnost?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): Prema kalendaru naše web stranice odsvirali smo 851 koncert, a to ne bi bilo moguće da se ne slažemo. Imamo tu sreću da smo gotovo istih godina, iz istog grada i gotovo se uopće ne svađamo. Postoji još uvijek isti avanturistički stav svaki put kad uđemo u kombi i to je prirodno. Za razliku od drugih bendova, izbjegavali smo nepotrebne rasprave. Možda zato što uopće nismo glazbenici već gomila prijatelja koji su odlučili vidjeti malo svijeta imajući bend?

Reggae hr: Prati vas nadimak "The Heavy Reggae Travellers", no koliko je teško provoditi toliko vremena u kombiju?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): Za mene nije. Navikao sam se na to. Zaspim vrlo lako. To je pitanje pripreme uma za dugo putovanje. Ako imamo dugu cestu ispred i ne postoji način da se to izbjegne, samo prihvatim stanje stvari i vozi. Uopće se ne žalim na to. 

Reggae hr: Kroz godine napravili ste dobar omjer tekstova na engleskom i domaćem (poljskom) jeziku. Koje su mane i prednosti za oba koncepta?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): Poljski (kao hrvatski pretpostavljam) je prilično tvrd jezik za korištenje u pjesmama. To ne teče tako lako, pa je engleski uvijek bio naš prvi izbor.

Reggae hr: Zašto ste se odlučili za kombinaciju stilova (dub/reggae/punk/elektronika…), a ne za jedan smjer?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): To nije bila odluka. Kada smo se upoznali ispao je heavy reggae. U bendu je uvijek postojao jaki, "teški" front, a drugi - reggae, koji se borio za opstanak. Srećom, oba fronta su uživala i još uvijek imaju snagu dub glazbe.

Reggae hr: Ima li izgleda za novi materijal uskoro? Zadnje smo slušali “Homemade Babylon” 2016.
Piotr (Paprika Korps): Postoje bendovi koji lako prave nove pjesme. To nije slučaj s Paprikom Korps. Naš vođa Marcin mora to osjetiti. Obećao je novi album prije svoje četrdesete tako da to znači... Da, 2021, najnoviji.

Reggae hr: Dajte nam neku zgodu s jednog od nastupa u Hrvatskoj.
Piotr (Paprika Korps): Uvijek je teško sjetiti se smiješne priče, ali svi koncerti na Punta Christu, Monteparadisu su bili ludi. Bili smo preplašeni da će naš reggae biti mekan za publiku, ali je uvijek bilo dobro. Oh, i sjećam se jednog hrabrog punk rockera koji je spavao na pozornici, s jednim uho u zvučniku - cijeli koncert.

[english version]

Reggae hr: You are one of the first foreign dub / reggae bands who regularly began to perform in Croatia. How did this connection between the Croatian audience and Paprika Korps began?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): I was making a show in Cracow, Poland of US band called “Pleasure Forever” and their manager mentioned Vedran from Zagreb who loves dub/reggae. I sent him our cassette(yes!) and this is how it started. Vedran played in Radikal Dub Kolektiv, we loved this band. Later on we met many friends who takes care of us everytime we are in Croatia

Reggae hr: You have good statistics: 23 years of existence, 25 countries visited, over 200 concerts played. Do you have any recipe for this activity?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): Well according to our website calendar we played 851 shows and I’d say it wouldn’t be possible if we don’t like each other. We had this luck to have nearly the same age, the same hometown and we actually nearly not quarrel at all. There’s a still the same adventurous attitude everytime we enter the bus and this is natural. Comparing to many bands I manage we avoided lots of unnecessary discussions. Maybe it’s because we are not musicians at all, rather bunch of friends who decided to see a bit of world by having a band?

Reggae hr: The band follows the nickname "The Heavy Reggae Travelers", but how difficult is it to spend so much time in a van?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): For me it is not. I got used to it. I fall asleep very easily. It’s the question of preparing mind for a long travel. If we have a long road infront and there’s no way of avoiding it I just take it as it is and drive. I wasn’t really complaining about it at all

Reggae hr: Through the years you have made a good ratio of texts in English and in Polish. What are the weaknesses and advantages of both concepts?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): Polish (as Croatian I guess) is pretty hard language to use in songs. It doesn’t flow that easily, so English was always our first choice.

Reggae hr: Why did you decide to combine styles (dub / reggae / punk / electronics ...), not one way?
Piotr (Paprika Korps): It wasn’t a decision. We just met and this was our heavy reggae. There was always a strong “heavy” front in the band and another – the reggae one, which struggled to survive. Happily both fronts enjoyed, and still do – the power of dub music.

Reggae hr: Can we expect new material soon? We last listened “Homemade Babylon” 2016.
Piotr (Paprika Korps): There are bands who makes new songs easily. This is not Paprika Korps though. Our leader Marcin needs to feel it. He promised new album before his 40s so it means, yes, 2021, the latest.

Reggae hr: Give us some interesting thing from one of the performances in Croatia.
Piotr (Paprika Korps): It’s always hard to remind funny story instantly but all of the shows in Punta Christo, by Monteparadiso were crazy good for us. We were bit scared that our reggae will be to soft for the audience but it was always good. Oh and I remember one brave punk rocker who slept onstage, with one ear in the speaker – the whole show.