Defrage Reload

Many names. One band.

We have carried four names. The core of the band, the songs and the reasons we play have stayed the same.

1. 2007
   DefrageFounded in Pärnu. First studio recordings in Tallinn: “Male, Female, Equal”, “Sign of the Times”, “Save Us from Religion”. The first track was played for the first time to friends at the Che youth centre in Pärnu.
2. 2008
   DefrageAudience award at the Noortebänd final at Rock Café, Tallinn. Concerts all over Estonia. A music video shot in Patarei prison went on air on MTV Estonia.
3. 2009
   DefrageMTV Estonia award for best music video, “Save Us From Religion”.
4. 2013
   DefrageA year of touring in Europe. Nova Rock festival, Austria.
5. 2014
   IllumeniumOur singer left. We kept the songs and went on under a new name for seven years.
6. 2019
   IllumeniumOur most recent concert: Musikmesse, Frankfurt.

   

7. 2021
   California CondorThe pandemic. No one knew what came next. We found a badly injured bird, still alive, and took it to a vet. The name came from that day.
8. 2022
   California CondorWe stopped performing live. We will not play concerts until the war in Ukraine is over. That decision stands.

   No concerts until the war in Ukraine is over.
9. 2023
   Defrage ReloadWe took back our first name, because it is our story.

Since 2007 our songs have been about equality, freedom, human rights and the protection of minorities. The titles of our very first songs already said so.

Defrage Reload releases

Year	Title	Format
2023	Revelation One	Album
2024	Pharmakon	Album
2024	Fray	Album

Met us on the street?

Defrage Reload is an independent band. We have no record label, no distributor and no sponsors, so our music travels hand to hand. Across the European Union our partners share our CDs: people who believe in underground music and bring it to streets, concerts and places where music lovers gather.

Each partner works independently and acts in accordance with the laws of the country they are in.

• You decide the amount. No one has to take or give anything.
• Every track on the CD is our own music.
• Listen first if you like. Our videos are on YouTube.
• “No, thanks” is enough.

Treat the people who share our music the way you want to be treated.

We are aware that a defamation campaign has been launched against us. False stories have consequences. Since this campaign grew, people in our team have been insulted, shouted at and physically attacked on the street, and it keeps happening. Our female partners have been verbally abused and sexually harassed. These are young people sharing music.

Our partners never answer with aggression, and they never will. If you disagree with us, write to us. Never take it out on a person in the street.

Every attack and every fabricated claim is recorded, and it is being dealt with. We do not blame anyone who shared a story in good faith. But a false claim does not become lawful because someone else said it first. Those who start, spread and amplify fabricated stories should know that this carries legal consequences, for them as well.

Straight answers

Are you a real band?

Yes. We started in Pärnu in 2007, won Estonian awards, played festivals in Europe and have released albums and videos ever since. Our story is above, year by year.

Why don’t you play concerts?

Our most recent concert was at Musikmesse Frankfurt in 2019. Then came the pandemic. In 2022 we decided not to perform until the war in Ukraine is over. We keep writing and recording.

Why so many names?

Each name marks a turning point: a singer leaving in 2014, the pandemic in 2021. In 2023 we went back to our first name. A band that wanted to hide would not return to the name it started with.

Why do some songs appear again?

When singers left, we re-recorded our strongest songs with new voices, new arrangements and new masters. Next to them we keep writing new songs.

Is your tour bus broken?

No. Stories about hardship are not allowed in our band. Not a broken bus, not a broken instrument, nothing. We offer music and nothing else. People listen, they like it, they choose to take a CD. If anyone tells you a different story, write to us.

Then where do these stories come from?

We are the target of a defamation campaign. Claims about us are repeated from post to post and video to video, and most of the people who write about us have never once asked us a question. A campaign like this cannot run on its own. It needs other people to carry it: people who share, react and repost without checking, most of them in good faith. Every share makes it louder, and the ones who gain are never the ones who share. Don’t take the bait. If you have a question, ask us directly. We answer.

How do I know who to believe?

Look at the storyteller as closely as you look at the story. Did they ask the band a single question? Do they repeat stories that have circulated online for years, without checking them? Do they protect themselves with lines like “I’m only saying what the internet says” or “I have to be careful what I say”, and then let you draw the conclusion they will not state? Do they earn from every view, every click and every angry comment? A suspicion sells better than a fact. Before you decide who is misleading whom, ask who profits from the story.

Are you a poor band?

No, and we have never said we are. Not online, and not to a single person on the street. Nineteen years of independent work have built something real. We are not ashamed of that. Strength takes years to build, and it is meant to be used for good. That is what this band is for.

Do you use Ukraine to sell CDs?

No. Alongside our music we hand out flyers in support of Ukraine, and have handed out hundreds of thousands of them. We never collect money for Ukraine and never use Ukraine to sell a CD.

Are you a scam?

No. A scam takes something and gives nothing back. Every person who takes one of our CDs gets a CD full of our own music. No one is ever required to take one, and “No, thanks” always ends the conversation. Whether to take a CD, and how much to give, is a free choice made by an adult with the music already in hand. A decision made freely does not become a scam later because of something read online.

Water on its way

The war in Sudan has driven hundreds of thousands of people into refugee camps in eastern Chad, where clean water is scarce. We are preparing a project to bring water to these camps. Our promoters have travelled there to see the conditions for themselves. Children there are waiting for it.

This is not a reason to take a CD, and it is never mentioned on the street. We tell you here because it is part of who we are.

Write to us

Questions, feedback, or a meeting with one of our partners that did not feel right? Write to us. We read every message.