German online music mag Laut.de released a series of interviews with various musicians and concert organisers about the ongoing pandemic and its impact on them.
Bent was interviewed as well (given the same questions as everyone else) and you can read the original German result here but I translated it for you, as well:
LAUT.de: It looks like there wont be any concerts this year as well. Do you still have stamina for it all or are you contemplating a job change?
BENT: Its hard, but its still manageable. Our setup allowed us some public grants, so we arent in crisis mode yet. We decided early on to stay focused: after we completed the new record last summer, we just stayed in our practice room and continued writing and recording. We dont know what will happen with that, but it gives you a purpose and helps you not to go crazy.
LAUT.de: CTS Eventim contemplated the option to tie concert going to vaccinating. The German Ethics Council declined giving any privileges to vaccinated people. How do you stand on the topic?
BENT: I think vaccination certificates are reasonable, so I would not have any problem with such a regulation.
LAUT.de: Conspiracy theories are on an all-time high. Despite polls showing that a majority of the populace supports goverment measures, support for mandatory masks, vaccination efforts and hard lockdown rules are dwindling. Are opinions divided among your friends too?
BENT: Not really. We are so incredibly annoyed by all this Trump- and Alt right-bullshit already, that we reject any new conspiracy theories by default.
LAUT.de: What did you learn from this break in history*? Did you change as a person?
BENT: I dont know yet. But we all saw how fragile our modern civilization is. I also know now that I can live longer with my family in a small space than I thought. But then again, I didnt have a choice anyway.
* they used the word "Zäsur" here which is a bit hard to translate. It means break, but I think its not widely used in English, at least not in the same way.
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