Seit über einem Jahrzehnt unterwegs und nach ihrem Neustart 2017 stärker denn je, zählen CF98 aus Krakau heute zu den energetischsten und herzlichsten Pop-Punk-Bands Europas. Nach Touren durch Europa, Japan und Großbritannien bereitet sich die Band nun auf die Veröffentlichung ihres neuen Albums Stupid Punk vor, eine Platte, die Nostalgie, das Lebensgefühl von Millennials und die bedingungslose Liebe zur Szene in sich vereint. CF98 verbinden ihre Skate-Punk-Wurzeln mit modernen Pop-Punk-Melodien und ehrlichen Texten und zeigen: „Stupid Punk“ bedeutet, einfach man selbst zu sein. Mit Herz, Humor und voller Hingabe.
Frontstage Magazine: Your upcoming record is called Stupid Punk. What does the title mean to you, and how does it reflect the themes of the album?
CF98: Hi everyone! Well, the title of the new record is Stupid Punk cause this is a new genre we invented and we are a little sarcastic haha. Pop punk is everything for us, it’s truly a beautiful, not totally serious, and diverse world, but it’s not OG punk for so many people out there, why not calling it stupid for fun then? Also, at the end of the day, we just try to find a place where we belong, our home in this music scene. We put our all hearts, time, money and energy into this band, our music and connection with people, we’re still here. This is unconditional love and for sure there are people who would call this sacrifice: stupid. Also there are many millennial topics, being in your 30s or early 40s, feeling too old to be young and too young to be old, feeling as a grown up 17 year old pop punk teenagers etc. Ahh there is more than one reason for the title.
Frontstage Magazine: You’ve been active for many years, with a relaunch in 2017. Looking back, how do you feel the band has evolved musically and personally since those early days?
CF98: Well, there are less dramas, we are all here because we truly want to be, we love music, our friends, priorities are set, life is more or less figured out. We matured together and developed this cool ability to talk whenever someone is not feeling ok. In terms of music, we are finally ok with not having to prove anything to anyone. For years we had this tendency, that if we don’t put 20 riffs, 800 words and melodies into a song, people will not listen to us (if you ever tried to cover f.e. Dead Inside you know what I mean). We don’t need to impress everyone, we just want to lift people up with our songs, spread kindness, appreciation and supporting one another. We believe this is punk AF.
Frontstage Magazine: Poland isn’t traditionally known as a hotbed of pop punk. How has coming from Krakow shaped your identity and outlook as a punk band on the European scene?
CF98: As you said, pop punk was never a thing in Poland, only big names in this genre ever play here, there are few bands playing this kind of music. Deciding on playing pop punk was not easy but we just followed our hearts and we couldn’t do anything about it. Our hometowns and Kraków (where we live now) definitely gave us punk values, community, support and people we learned so much from. It also gave us political awareness we would not build any other way. But every time we play a homeland show it also gives me the anxiety that no one will show up.
Frontstage Magazine: You’ve shared stages with legendary acts like Die Toten Hosen and played major festivals such as Punk Rock Holiday. Which live experience stands out as the most formative for CF98, and why?
CF98: Shows you mentioned were absolutely great not only because there were so many people enjoying our music, but also – the crowd like that is starting to “live on it’s own”. People are having fun together AND with us, everyone matters and everyone is important, they forget about shitty world out there for a moment. We had many shows we will remember for that reason. We have the best people out there and we truly appreciate every single person.
Frontstage Magazine: The new album still carries your skate punk roots but introduces modern pop punk and genre-blending elements. What inspired you to expand your sound in this direction?
CF98: We made a skate punk record called THIS IS FINE. We believe we’ve done everything in that genre we are capable of, for now. We really felt the need to experiment, put electronic sounds into our songs, make more songs in mid-tempo, work on the melodies and not overcomplicated vocal lines. We just wanted to make good songs people would like to sing with us at shows and so far, it’s working.
Frontstage Magazine: Your single “1993” is nostalgic yet energetic. Can you tell us more about the story behind that song and what memories it captures for you?
CF98: The whole idea of that song was to make fun of ourselves as we are true pop punk millennials raised on that 90s and 2000s music, myspace and mp3 players. We really wanted to make a song about our generation, not totally serious but also capturing the vibe of the songs we love from that times: Teenage dirtbag (by Wheatus) or Cadillac song (by Mest).
Frontstage Magazine: You’ve toured extensively across Europe, the UK, and Japan. How do audiences differ from country to country, and how have German crowds treated you so far?
CF98: German people are always super supportive, they like and know how to party and they love everything about melodic punk rock. This is a paradise for a band like ours to play there. Japan was a totally new experience for us; we’ve never played for so energetic and enthusiastic crowds. They give it all and feel the music with their whole bodies. That was mind blowing. UK on the other hand, needs some time before they like you and trust your music has a quality. It’s not easy with them but once you gain their trust, they are absolute sweethearts. We toured UK in 2018 so it was a long time ago but we are coming back to play Manchester Punk Festival in April 2026 and we are really excited about it.
Frontstage Magazine: Punk is often about community and DIY ethics. What message or feeling do you most want fans to take away from Stupid Punk and from a CF98 live show?
CF98: We would like people to listen to our new record and to feel something, be nostalgic, be motivated, be appreciated, lifted up, understood or less alone. We would love people to remember that if you want something badly in your life, you are the one responsible for making your dreams come true. There are many things around this new album we made DIY as we’ve learnt how to do them (like recording guitars, vocals or editing lots of videos). Nobody is going to do the hard work for you but there will be also lots of amazing people around you, that you will build a great connection with. They will support you and it will all “click” with them. Focus on them, not the haters. There is magic in this cruel world when we lift people up instead of bringing them down, and we need to remember about it especially now. This record is full of 2000s pop punk energy, it’s about being young at heart, still growing up, loosing friends and trying to figure life out. Even though we are not 19 any more.
Bildrechte: Offizielles Pressefoto
