10-11-18

Documentation of a Protest, Anti-fascist Appropriation.

'Human Symptom' by Dead Objectives. Intelligent Fury!

Courtesy of Dead Objectives.

Manchester/Salford punks Dead Objectives is that rare and valuable thing, a band healthily comprised of 50% male and 50% female musicians*, y'know, very roughly mirroring the human race really, what an unusual idea! In 2015 they released a self titled 5 track EP and now at the end of 2018, they've unleashed their first full length album Human Symptom, 11 tracks of intelligent, well informed, incisive fury. In a society dominated by a media that will isolate events, disconnect symptoms from their causes, tell you what’s happened but not why here is the antidote, an album that points to structures and systems, that joins up the dots, reveals that our experiences are embedded in, and result from, economic and political structure. But this insightful lyrical intelligence isn’t at the price of the music, with Human Symptom Dead Objectives have released an album that hits your head and your feet.

First track up ‘Against the Grain’ reminds me of the struggles of Nigerian Ken Saro-Wiwa for the Ogoni people against the pollution of their homeland due to oil extraction and the dumping of waste (1), too easily we focus on the dangers caused by oil consumption forgetting the more localised devastation caused by oil extraction. This track says it all
“You undercut the people of the country for their resource,
cutting deals with corrupt leaders, from their pockets, for your own.
Your thirst for fossil fuels, shale gas and oil is archaic,
there are cleaner forms of power we can harness, we can hone.
After you destroy the environment we live in,
raping from the land all of the resource you can burn,
When it starts affecting your children and their living,
when there’s nothing left, will you listen, will you learn?”
All while the music builds, tense and unsettling-cracking start.

‘Grooming’ deals with the continual pressure we are under to accept and be assimilated into the status quo. Mark Fisher called it Capitalist Realism, the Situationists referred to ‘the spectacle’, the seamless representation of society and life from a capitalist perspective by the state, corporations and the media, the immersion of the individual in a system that tells you nothing else is possible, better just get on and make the best of this shit and stop dreaming, stop hoping. This track reminds us to not believe the propaganda, to remember that another world is possible and that resistance prefigures what could be.

Track 3 ‘Holy War’ and track 4 ‘Equality not Included’ engage with the power of brands and corporations, the latter track asking questions about where power really lies in a society where the blurring of the political and the corporate is pretty much complete and governments serve the interests of capital not the people, where people are only seen as exploitable labour and/or consumers,  
“There is no freedom in a world that's run by corporations,
corrupted governments bribed to change the legislation.
Big banks being bailed out by the countries where we pay our taxes,
despite all that, they have they put our lives under their axes.”
there’s a word for authoritarian capitalist governance by a political/corporate elite, now what was it? Begins with F…

Track 5 ‘New Environment’ slows the pace musically initially, with a nice riff going on in the background and the vocals intoned over the top before the whole thing bursts into furious life
“You pollute the air, you poison the earth.
Your oil isn't worth the destruction that you birth.
You pollute the air, you poison the earth.
We cannot repair the destruction that you birth.
You pollute the air, you poison the earth.
Your gas isn't worth the destruction that you birth.
You pollute the air, you poison the earth.
We cannot repair the destruction that you birth.”

You can probably guess what ‘May Poll’ is about! Musically this is awesome,  cue leaping around the living room with a clenched fist in the air!
“Communities lay in tatters, the UK's lost its soul.
Ever since you came to power, we've danced around the May-Poll.
You won’t stay too long in that ivory tower.
A phoenix born of Tory flames; the oppressed will rise to power.”

‘Hollywood Hegemony’ deals with the construction of self and the easy retreat into the model of masculinity propagated by Hollywood, a masculinity marked by aggression, consumerist status and competitiveness. Smart track, male punks have too often been content to leave exploration and de/reconstruction of gender alone, lamely reproducing male privilege in the punk scene. Maybe this track could contribute to a moving forward in that area in the same way that Idles have sought to reinvent masculinity?

Track 8 ‘Weapon of Greed’ is all big drum sound and guitar, sounds fantastic! Almost got a bit of 70s strutting Metally Glam about the verses! If 70s strutting Metally Glamsters had a sense of social justice! Great track!

I’m guessing ‘Narcissistic Tendencies’ is about a (psychologically) abusive relationship and is written from a female perspective. Sobering song-in some ways compliments ‘Hollywood Hegemony’, the female experience of that kind of masculinity.

Isn’t it great when an album doesn’t peter out musically!? ‘Accessorise’ will have you looking for the ‘Rewind’ button! Ace guitar work on this-brilliant riffing! Where’s that button again…”

Last track up ‘Martial Island’ is brooding guitar work and foreboding drums as we are reminded of the destruction of an island network, the Marshall Islands, by US nuclear testing.

This album is a thing of excellence, musically inventive and diverse, lyrically insightful it superbly critiques dystopia-in-the-making Britain in the 21st Century while also taking time to recognise both (global) interconnections and the struggles of individuals trying to construct meaningful, positive selves in an impoverished cultural landscape.

Buy it! Go and see them!

Listen to Human Symptom here


Bibliography.

(1)Ken Saro-Wiwa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Saro-Wiwa     

* Referring to biology here not gender...and Yes I know, that is why I wrote 'very roughly'...and Yes gender is a social construct that varies over time and space...and Yes Judith Butler would argue that our interpretation of biology through a two sex model is also a social construct.

Flea: The Band That Wouldn't Die!

Photo by Richard Davis (1990)

Originally active between 1987-93 Manchester band Flea carried forward the energy of punk reinterpreting it for a different time in a way that prefigured their (briefly) contemporaries techno punks ATR and Prodigy. Their angular industrial post punk ‘take no prisoners’ vibe seems to point to the future, kindred spirits to the ‘let’s see where this takes us’ experimental energies of the fragmented post punk scene of the early 80s. They are in many ways the antithesis of the cobbled together rock by numbers deployed by Oasis, another Manchester band from the same period. Flea, comprised of Art Carbuncle (bass and vocals), Boz Vile (guitar and vocals) plus a drum machine named Sissy, despite (/because of?) their spiky inventiveness and originality were somehow overlooked at the time as Madchester took shape followed by Britpop but…
It’s 2017 and Art is putting together a gig for The Cravats and wondering about a third band on the night when the idea of a Flea reunion gig occurs to him, Boz agrees, they get hold of an old drum machine and go for it! In the audience that night are German Shepherd Records and they like what they hear offering to put out a Flea release, the album, parasitic insects teach us humility, coming out in November 2018! The 8 track album consists of songs originally written and recorded between 1989-91 and like so much great music they transcend time. Intense, uncomfortable Flea sound like a band whose time has come.
Excited by an album that reminded me why I listen to music I contacted Flea to find out more about the band who refused to die, Art kindly answered some questions.         

Could you run us through the story of Flea!? How did you get together? Did you have a clear idea of what you wanted to sound like from the start?
Me and Boz were living in the same deck access block, Charles Barry Crescent, in Hulme around 1987. Although, initially, we didn’t know each other, I guess we were united in the fact that we seemed to be the only two people who weren’t in a band in Hulme. We had similar tastes in music: The Damned, The Stranglers, and we had both played guitar and written songs in previous bands during our teenage years. I didn’t have any musical gear left in 1987 having had to sell it all to survive. I think it was Boz who approached me saying that he had a few songs half written and would I be interested in putting some bass to them. The songs comprised ‘Glam Sham’, ‘Death with a Vile Smile’, ‘Pacemaker’ and ‘Comfort Cracks’ (I think). Drummers were in short supply in Manchester at that time, so we borrowed a drum machine off our mates, The Slum Turkeys, and began rehearsing in the bedrooms of our respective squats.

Why a drum machine? Did it shape your music or fit best with what you were already doing?
The drum machine seemed to fit, naturally, into Boz’s unusual, angular approach to songwriting and also worked well with my penchant for creating space using thundering, repetitive, melodic, bass lines. The relentless rhythm forced us to tighten up our playing too. If you bear in mind that we lived a few doors away from the infamous studio/ illegal rave The Kitchen (on the top floor of Charles Barry) where the fledgling 808 State and A Guy Called Gerald were honing their craft, a drum machine didn’t seem quite that unusual. Plus, it was a lot easier to manage than humping a drum kit around.

parasitic insects teach us humility sounds like it has its roots in post punk, it brought to mind bands like Cabaret Voltaire, early Human League, DAF, what were your influences?
We were both highly aware of these bands but our real influences lay in bands like Big Black, Public Image, The Cravats and, for me, dub producers like Scientist. I like artists who bend things out of shape a little.

Flea coincided with the Madchester scene, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, James etc (1) but I've started reading K-Punk by Mark Fisher and in the Foreword it mentions an early 90s Manchester band he was in, D-Generation, who described themselves as 'techno haunted by the ghost of the punk' (2). Alongside the Madchester thing was there a more punk influenced scene going on as well that you were part of or were you out on your own?
There were lot of scenes going on in Manchester in the late eighties/ early nineties: Crust, Grunge, Rap, Avant Garde, Anarcho, Reggae, Indie, to recall a few. Madchester became the dominant one probably more from external Manc influences rather than any of the popular bands making a conscious effort to be part of ‘Madchester’. On a personal level, I worked as a roadie and sound engineer for bands that played with the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays and know that their members were heavily into Public Image, The Sex Pistols and Crass. We were all influenced by punk and we all knew each other in some small way and we all endorsed the spirit of punk to keep creating new things.
I think that a lot of people found Flea’s music hard to take and we were at the bottom of the pile but a lot of bands and good people had our backs. Dub Sex, Community Charge, The Inca Babies, and, particularly, The Slum Turkeys were all very supportive. A lot of American and Canadian bands started touring England in the early nineties, on the back of Rage Against the Machine and Nirvana’s popularity. Flea (and the Slum Turkeys) were able to slot in quite nicely in support of bands like No Means No, The Holy Rollers, and Fugazi in our local venues.

Britpop is sometimes dated as 1993-97 (3), did that influence your decision to call it a day or did life just move on?
I don’t think that either of us paid much heed to the influence of Brit Pop or any other scene. I think the last year of Flea was probably a difficult one for both myself and Boz. I was getting more absorbed into a career as a live sound engineer and Boz was playing more and more with The Inca Babies new incarnation; Houndgod with a Tumour. We both wanted to expand the Flea sound, but couldn’t agree if we should use a drummer or develop on our basic drum machine programming, perhaps with the use of a synth. We spread ourselves to thinly and this impacted on our ability to gel and compose with each other. That, for me, was when we called it a day.

In 1991 Baudrillard argued that the first Gulf War 'did not take place', he was pointing out that the reality of what happened and what was (mis)represented to the public via the media were two very different things (4). When I was watching a Youtube video of you playing live this summer (1) you introduced 'Golf Show' as being about the TV coverage of the first Gulf War comparing it to golf coverage, were you spinning off Baudrillard?
Well Baudrillard was right in his concept that the Gulf War was a product of, and driven by, the media. The media does promote war and the ways or actions in which wars are fought are consequently media influenced. It’s obvious when you hear populist war related soundbites like ‘Boots on the Ground.’
I think Baudrillard was writing that at the exact same time Boz was writing the lyrics for ‘Golf Show’. Let’s call it spooky coincidence.

Are you surprised how relevant that song still is with the increase in concern over 'fake news' ?
Surprised and disturbed.

Could you run us through the subject matter of some of your other songs? What informs and inspires your lyrics?
Paranoia about what is really going on behind Government closed doors – ‘Sick Bake’ ( as yet unreleased)
‘Banal’ – Is a kind of visceral scream and a rejection of personal events that were happening at the time.
‘Pacemaker’ was a conversation I had at a bus stop with an old man telling me how his whole life is now geared to whether his heart pacemaker will keep working. Apparently, he’d had a few blips. I’d like to think that modern technology has sorted him out now.

Flea ran from 87-93, did you carry on being involved in music afterwards?
I continued to be fully involved as a sound engineer for various bands while also writing lyrics and music for planned projects that never quite happened. I was in no rush to return to the stage until a few years ago with current band Dead Objectives.
Boz had his ‘There’ll Always Be Diseases’ (TAB-D) project and then after bass player Bill sadly died ten years ago, he directed his energies to various anti-folk style incarnations and film music.

There was a Flea reunion gig in 2017-how did that come about?
It was a kind of very last minute/ might never have happened thing. Boz and I had already discussed once or twice the possibility of having a Flea reunion but I didn’t expect it to progress further than the rehearsal room.
I had wanted to put The Cravats on in Manchester as they had never played here in their 38 year career. I also wanted Dead Objectives to support them. I’m not really a promoter, it was more a labour of love. Having set the gig and venue up, I was conscious that people might expect more than two bands to play. I didn’t really have any more money and was considering options when the possibility of Boz and me knocking out a few Flea classics, albeit a bit unrehearsed, sprang to mind. I contacted Boz and he was up for it. We had to borrow an old 8 bit drum machine, which was pretty basic compared to the HR 16 we used to use, but Boz managed to get about 4 drum patterns working on it and off we went.

You opened a Facebook page for Flea in 2014, about 20 years after the band had ended, to act as a collection point for all things Flea. Did you have a feeling that Flea was a band whose time was still to come, an idea that refused to die!? Or was it more of a response to ongoing interest in the band?
Boz did a Flea myspace in the mid 2000s too. We were both fond and proud of what we had done and it always felt to me like we never completed Flea. We both agree that we’d like to revamp the songs a bit and perhaps unveil the one’s we hadn’t quite completed such as ‘Banal’, ‘Sick Bake’, ‘Words’ and several others.

People have compared this second decade of the 2000s with the 80s as another decade of unrelenting neoliberal class war being waged by the Tories; impoverishment, abjectification, the running down of public/health services, the final dismantling of the post war settlement. Against that backdrop does the eventual release of a Flea album written in 89-91 seem particularly appropriate?
A lot of our songs addressed mental illness or the glossy packaging over the shit we really get sold.
It does seem that democracy is suffering from some kind of mental illness in 2018 and we are still being sold the same overpriced shit dressed up as gentrification, or must have consumable. Flea have still got traction.

How did the German Shepherd Records release of parasitic insects teach us humility come about?
It was that Cravats gig. Bob and Ian from German Shepherd Records were there and liked our stuff and offered to put Flea out. We’re very thankful for that.

Have you carried on writing-any chance of a second Flea album?
There is every chance of a second Flea album.

You've starting playing live again! How does it feel to be playing songs you wrote nearly 30 years ago, are they still a 'good fit'? Do they still feel like an expression of yourselves?
I’m surprised how the weirder stuff we did like ‘Head Shrinker’ and ‘Panic Button’ are now being enthusiastically received compared to the pleasant applause we used to receive when playing them back in the 80’s.

What has the last few weeks been like!? It must be amazing to have the album come out!
Great. Gotta thank German Shepherd Records for that.

Any plans for 2019-some more gigs?
We are both reprogramming Sissy (SR 16) the drum machine with some fresher sounding takes on the old songs and hope to record and play these live in 2019.

Check out parasitic insects teach us humility here


Bibliography.
(1)Madchester, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madchester

(2)Reynolds, S. 'Foreword' in Fisher, M. (2018) K-Punk; The Collected and Unpublished Writings of Mark Fisher (2004-2016), Repeater Books, London.

(3)Britpop, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britpop

(4)The Gulf War Did Not Take Place, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulf_War_Did_Not_Take_Place

Also referenced, Louderthanwar, (2018) ‘The return of Flea ‘German Shepherd Records release long-awaited debut for industrial techno-punk combo’ https://louderthanwar.com/the-return-of-flea/?fbclid=IwAR3mciO_SllOp5_MHXYDSmJosCL3snYmjxzjLBcAhNDdpOkA4xK12f7Q20Q

and, WithGuitars.com (2018) ‘Flea to release ‘parasitic insects teach us humility’’ https://www.withguitars.com/flea-to-release-parasitic-insects-teach-us-humility/?fbclid=IwAR2bMJ0ptwqzzFWZqAiv9P83KTZT1CXsR620P9JRIB8KwlCT_wH_iYhwEi4

Girls In Synthesis: 'Howling'.

Photo by Bea Dewhurst.

The people I work with seem to want to listen to retro commercial radio stations whose playlists are musical honey traps of lowest common denominator, innocuous, familiarity, lulling the listener into a soporific state, so they can be sold to the advertisers, cultural roundabouts always moving but taking the listener nowhere...the musical equivalent of a comfort blanket, ‘Keep Calm and Go Round In Comatose Inducing Circles’. Against the backdrop of late capitalism’s domesticating of so much cultural output Girls In Synthesis stand out like a searing, prophetic burst of uncompromising honesty, like a beam of condensed light, waking you up, reminding you of the importance of art as insurgency. Art as site of resistance, music as cultural resource in the struggle to remember and reproduce reality in a world of disorientating bollocks. Girls In Synthesis, inspired by the early DIY punk and post-punk movements, have had four releases so far The Mound/Disappear, the Suburban Hell EP, a Dub version of Suburban Hell and in May this year the EP We Might Not Make Tomorrow. October/November has seen them playing a series of gigs around the UK with a new 4 track EP Fan The Flames being released to coincide. It’s four tracks of jarring, exhilarating, intense, thought provoking neo punk, of utter relevance to working class Britain eight years into Tory rule. If you want an insight into working class experience in 2018 skip the mainstream media, give this a listen, elite corruption, greed, arrogance (the effects pictured on the cover), the experience of powerlessness, precarity, anxiety familiar to so many, the corrosive effects of being subject to, and internalising, the hostilities of society. Girls In Synthesis are important because they don’t just point the finger, they remind us that we are all infected and that our struggles for truth, reality and justice are as much internal as social/political. Musically Fan the Flames moves the band on again from We Might Not Make Tomorrow, as they continue to evolve and develop. 
To coincide with the EP release Girls In Synthesis have released a video of 'Howling' a track that combines Girls In Synthesis’ hallmark elements of ferocity, compassion and intelligence in a way that only they can. 

'Jesus Was a Punk': Peter118, Pop Punk and Christianity.

Photo courtesy of Peter118.

Punk has never been short of strong convictions, from the Sex Pistols’ slightly incoherent class rage to The Clash’s more considered socialism to the anarchism of Crass, early punk was awash with strong beliefs, fortunately most of them progressive. Fast forward to Anti Flag and then again to Adequate Seven. In the contemporary era Lost Cherrees and Truth Equals Treason stand out for me but there are plenty of of other punk bands who wear their political convictions on their sleeves. Punk has had a slightly more ambivalent relationship with musicians and bands whose convictions have been more spiritual than political. They have always been there of course, Bad Brains’ Rastafarian beliefs, and post X Ray Spex both Poly Styrene and Lora Logic were part of the Hare Krishna movement. There is also an intriguing film The Taqwacores, based on a novel of the same name by Michael Muhammad Knight, about a group of Muslim punks in New York, which is well worth a watch and played a part in the rise of real life Taqwacore bands (1)!
The problem for punk, I guess, isn’t spirituality per se but the social conservatism of many religions and in USA and Europe this has been particularly obvious in the Christian Church which has a bad track record of social oppression and colluding with the state. However sometimes spirituality can be a resource drawn on by the oppressed in their struggle for freedom and dignity against their oppressors, Liberation Theology being one example.
Christian punk bands are pretty easy to count on the fingers on one hand for most of us, (early) MxPx and (the excellent) Crashdog, (hmm still leaves three fingers), but there have been/are plenty more as a quick Google search reveals. One of them is Peter118. Originally a side project of Peter Field, the Stoke based band started in 2012 and is currently comprised of Peter (guitar /vocals), Janine (bass) and Sam (drums), their first release Make It or Break It came out in 2015 followed by Need You More (2016), a split EP In Stereo (2017) and an album Anthology and Live in L.A. (2018).
Following a heads up from The Punk Lounge I contacted Peter for an interview to find out more about Peter118 and the compatibility of punk and Christianity.        

Could you tell us a little bit about Peter118, how did you get together? Had any of you been in other bands beforehand?
Peter118 started in 2012 as an acoustic project going into bars in clubs ands singing punk songs. I met the drummer Sam at an acoustic night at a local museum in 2014 in Stoke on Trent - my hometown. That night Sam jumped onto the Cajun drums and joined Peter118 instantly. At the time my bass player was Andrew Derbidge however he moved to London in 2015. Janine joined on bass filling in for Andrew, Janine then took her place in the band following her first gig -she  had two weeks to learn all the songs before she played her first gig at a church youth group evening in Bloxwich, Walsall. I previously played in Christian bands such as the Ambassadors of Shalom and Risen from Ruins. Prior to that I was in a secular punk band called Senseless for 10 years where we did an EP and supported punk legends such as Stiff Little Fingers, Bouncing Souls and TSOL. Peter118 was always a side project, however in 2014 the song ‘Radio’ was played in Japan by a DJ called Mike Rogers which then led to having airplay and exposure all around the world.

You identify as 'pop punk'-who do we put your album alongside in the CD/Record rack?
Green Day, Rancid and the 90s punk rock sound.

Have there been any bands that have been major influences on you?
Peter118 brings a fresh sound of pop punk. We are influenced by the 90s punk rock sound and bands of the 70’s like The Sex Pistols and The Clash. Peter118’s sound is a mixture of Green Day, Blink 182, Sham 69 and The Sex Pistols.

How does a song come together in Peter118, is it a very collaborative process or one main songwriter?
I usually come up with a guitar riff or tune , then write lyrics with Janine's input and we then take it to band practice and the song develops.  

The band seems to have taken a massive leap forward musically between 'Break 'em out' and a more recent song 'Wasting'! What happened!?
We continue to write and play lots  of gig's. The more we practice and play more ideas come into the band. 'Wasting' is taking our sound back to the original punk rock roots. ‘Wasting’ was our first track to get played on 'Kerrang' radio.

You are very happy to identify as a 'Christian' punk band. What does that mean? How does a 'Christian' punk band differ from other bands? Motivation? Lyrics?    
Peter118 plays to God and does not look to man’s approval. We believe we have something to offer to people - a hope in Jesus Christ, our lyrics talk about life and can offer hope and  truth and can show people that there is a God that loves them.

In an interview earlier this year Janine commented that 'Jesus was a punk', citing his (direct) action of overturning the tables of the money changers in the temple (in part a simultaneous attack on state, religion and treasury) and radical teachings (2). Would that be part of your understanding of punk that it should disrupt the status quo and contribute to moving society forward to something better, that it should at least 'speaks truth to power'?
Jesus challenged the religious teachers of his time offering a hope to people- he healed the sick, he showed us to help the poor. Jesus hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors and the homeless.  Punk challenges unfair systems in society and defends the working classes and the oppressed people in society. Jesus loves the punks and I think he would be on the streets with the punks and homeless showing them love and compassion.

What sort of subject matter do your songs engage with?
We sing about life and peoples struggles offering them hope and truth. The new song 'For Your Glory' is an example of this.

What do you think punk can learn from Christianity?
Forgiveness and Love.

What do you think Christianity can learn from punk?
I think Christian Churches and Christian radio  can learn to embrace punk culture and music. I know some churches that put on regular Punk shows and Christian radio is now embracing more punk music and bands.

I completely get that there could be an overlap between progressive punk and the person of Jesus-challenging the powers that be, identifying with the poor and marginalised, egalitarian attitudes, desire for social justice-but generally punk is antagonistic towards the church due to its track record of patriarchy, oppression and collusion with the state-where would Jesus be happiest..mosh pit or choir stalls?
Jesus would be in the mosh pit.

What has your experience been of playing live-have you generally had a positive response?
I would say that we have had a positive experience of playing live- people enjoy the live show and message.  We do get a lot of negativity on social media but in person I never see this.

When are you going to repent of wearing that American flag jacket (surely a symbol of hegemonic oppression to many) and burn it? And will you promise to live stream the burning?!
Never, the American jacket is awesome, however I do get strange looks when I go to my local pub wearing it.

You've had an album out this year and have been playing live regularly. What are your plans for the rest of 2018 and going into 2019?
We have a new EP at the end of November to finish off this awesome year, 3 brand new songs and it’s a split EP with an American band. Can’t say much more than this at this stage. 2019- more shows and new song writing, maybe also another USA tour.

What writers and albums have you been enjoying lately?
Roam- Great Heights and Nosedives. I love that band, awesome songs and riffs. We met Roam at Slam Dunk and would love to do some shows with them.

Bibliography.
(2)Taqwacore https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taqwacore#Disenchantment
(1)Wheeler, S. (2018) Jesus was a Punk Upon this Rock https://wheeler-steve.blogspot.com/2018/08/jesus-was-punk.html?spref=fb

Active Slaughter: Back And Still Bothered.

Photo courtesy of AS. Photograph by Lara Homaidan.

Formed in 2001 Active Slaughter released two albums, Ave a Butchers (2003) and 4t2ude (2009) plus an EP Smash HLS (2002) before they disbanded and took an enforced hiatus in 2010. But they are back! Reforming in 2016 they released  the EP Tomorrow’s Too Late in 2017 with 3 tracks that confirm that Active Slaughter have lost none of their compassion, vision and sense of outrage. Prophetic in a society where a media savvy alt right have been mainstreamed and the destructive has been accepted Active Slaughter, now comprised of JJ on vocals, Trev on drums, Trystan on guitar and Mark on bass, are an important voice. With a new album on the way it seemed like a good time for an update on how things are going for the band!      

Could you give us an overview of Active Slaughter's story so far? There has been two chapters haven't there, 2001-10 and then you reformed in 2016 (1)?
JJ: Formed in 2001 and disbanded in 2010 just before I went to prison (Animal Liberation).  Reformed in 2016. I’m sure we would have reformed sooner but as part of my licence conditions I was not allowed to do Active Slaughter as we were seen as too political/extreme. So I was told by an anti extremist Scotland Yard officer, who was overseeing my probation, that if I did Active Slaughter whilst I was on licence my licence would be revoked and I would be returned to prison.
So reforming had to wait due to prison and licence conditions.
From the first era we released two albums and a single. From the second era we have released a single so far and we’re currently recording a new album which should hopefully be released for December.
The original lead vocalist didn’t want to do the band again so I stepped up to lead vocals since the reform. Previously I was on guitar and backing vocals. Trev is still on Drums, I’m not sure I could ever play with anyone else on drums, probably because I never have done!
When we reformed in 2016 Phil and Jeannie stepped in on guitar and bass but then we had a lineup change in 2017 and Trystan (Lost Cherrees) and Mark (Liberty) took over on bass and guitar. We have a solid line up now and they’re also really good friends of ours.

Are you all in other bands as well? Did I spot a Lost Cherrees and Mindframe connection?  
Trev: I’m in Mindframe (and Anthrax) and Trystan’s in the Lost Cherrees.

Trys: I’ve also just joined Left For Dead on bass cos I’m trying to be in as many bands as Trev!

What were the main reasons for reforming? Music, message, relationships?
JJ: All three of the above!

Where would you place Active Slaughter politically? Anarchist, or do different members hold different positions and political thought is always evolving so reluctant to attach a label to yourselves?
JJ: I would say as a band and each one of us hold a lot of views that could be regarded as anarchist views. Whether we’re all anarchists or not I’m not sure. I don’t really regard myself as an anarchist as such as I don’t really like to attach a label and I also think to be an anarchist you must have a lot of faith in the human race, I personally don’t.

Your most recent single 'Tomorrow's Too Late' came out last year on Grow Your Own Records, and you're playing on their Mini Tour later in the year. Are they a label you have a particular affinity with?
Trev: I’ve known Gary who does Grow Your Own Records (and who’s the vocalist in Anthrax) for about a million years and know that he’s a sound bloke, so when he started the label it seemed kinda logical that we’d be on it. It’s a great, completely DIY label that has quite a diverse set of bands on it, which is another factor I personally like a lot.

Your songs deal with a range of political and social issues, I think that most recent single engaged with animal rights (whaling and vivisection) and scandals around sexual abuse (1). Have you found your songwriting deals with different subjects since you reformed or similar subjects but different perspectives as it is six years on?
JJ: I think the same sort of views but I would say maybe some different perspectives, but only slightly, from the first era which ended 8 years ago.

Trev: Unfortunately a lot of the stuff we sing about hasn’t changed much in all the years we’ve been doing the band, so the subject matter is largely the same now as it was in 2000. The perspectives might change slightly but generally it’s stuff that we wish we didn’t have to be singing about nearly 20 years down the line.

What influences your lyric writing, reading, personal experience, discussion?
JJ: Lyric writing anything from the 1980s through to the modern era of anarcho punk. There have been and are some great bands.  

Trev: For me it’s a bit of all the above.

Is there much of a change in the Active Slaughter sound between 2010 and 2018?
JJ: I would say quite a bit yes. I enjoy the new AS a lot more than the old. I think musically we are a lot tighter and better now as well. Our music has slightly changed in that the sound is quite a bit more “harder” than it used to be.

Trev: The new line up pisses over everything we’ve done before.

Trys: I know this one is more for JJ and Trev, but since joining I’ve loved the way we’ve all worked together, and reckon any change in the AS sound reflects the way we’ve all been able to have an input on the songs old and new.

You were in the studio recently-can we expect a new Active Slaughter release soon?
JJ: Oh yes! It will be a 12” released on Grow Your Own Records.

As an anti-fascist band what do you think of the call by some, including John McDonnell, for a reconstituting of the ANL and RAR to combat the reemergence of the far right? Good idea or completely different situation to the late '70s/early '80s with a need for a different response?
JJ: I think as with animal rights, fascism and racism should be tackled on all fronts and everywhere. So anything that does this I support and can only be a good thing.

As a band who play all over the UK how do you read the political mood in Britain, have people realised austerity is class struggle, appropriation through dispossession, and are ready for a change?
JJ: I think if it wasn’t for the Daily Mail, The Sun and all the other scum I think the political mood of the country would be a lot better. But instead, these newspapers influence and brainwash a lot of the working class into thinking that immigration and Muslims are the reason why the country is in such as mess.
Of course there is still a massive opposition to all this and there are still many who believe in class struggle instead of race war but unfortunately it’s not enough to bring about the change we all desire.

Is the punk scene still something that encourages social/political activism, it's DIY ethic encouraging involvement in wider society or is it more that those already concerned find a 'home' in punk ?
JJ: I definitely think it does yeah. Not just in the U.K. but all around the world. There seems to be still a good load of the younger generation coming through as well. Of course those of that state of mind will also find a home in punk, maybe this is why we all did? But punk still encourages this sort of thing and I believe it opens our minds up, especially when we connect with other people who often have much to teach and tell us.

Which way round has it worked for you, did punk encourage you to stay engaged, Active Slaughter as a musical expression of the rest of your lives, or were you 'brought to consciousness' by punk?
JJ: I would say both of the above! Punk has had an influence on me definitely.
I would say though it’s actually been more the friends I have met over the years through punk than the bands I have listened too.

Trev: I think I was “brought to consciousness” by punk originally but Active Slaughter has definitely been a vent for the views, opinions and hopes that I have for certain things.

In an interview earlier this year a band commented that their radical politics had scared off local promoters and prevented them from getting gigs (2). Have you had any similar experiences?
JJ: I know for a fact previously (and maybe still today) our views on animal liberation has had an effect on not getting some gigs. But then again it has also got us a load of gigs. It’s always going to happen I guess when a promoter lets their views get in the way of putting on a gig. Of course to some extent though I guess we all have to do that sometimes!

Is there always a tension in the punk scene between those who see punk as inherently political and those who wish it was just vapid loud fast music plus fashion accessories?
JJ: I’m not sure if there’s a tension over this. There is often a tension though if the latter decide to spurt out racist, sexist, homophobic nonsense of course, or when they say they just sit on the fence (we all know which side that means they lean to!)

As musicians involved in punk for a couple of decades how is the DIY punk scene doing, have you been encouraged by it's evolution?
JJ: From what I’ve seen there are a lot of young people putting on gigs and playing in bands still. The punk sound with the younger generation seems to have changed quite a bit over the years, but the spirit still seems to be there.

What bands/musicians have you been enjoying lately?
JJ: I wish I could get out more often and see more bands but I’m quite a busy person so often the only gigs I can get to are those I’m playing at. I’ve really been enjoying Mindframe in recent years (Trev’s other band) we often play together so I get to see them play a lot and I never get bored with them. Their new stuff is fantastic as are all the new Anthrax releases, Bug Central, Shot, Jawless, Grand Collapse, Eastfield, Oi Polloi.... loads of bands. Hopefully Lost Cherrees and Liberty will have something new out soon, which I can enjoy also. Lads?!? 

Trys: Loads of stuff, and agree with all of JJ’s, and particularly like Grand Collapse when stomping to work and Eastfield when wandering home. Two of the best recent albums that spring to mind are the new Filaments, and Spoilers have just released a cracker as well.
Chaz Hayward’s Global Resistance Records HSA benefit 7” series is also awesome.
Other than that I can say that Lost Cherrees are currently writing and have 8 or 9 new tunes done. So there will be more to come.

What is the rest of 2018 looking like for Active Slaughter, are you out and about, are there plenty of opportunities to see you live?
JJ : We have a gig in Norwich coming up soon and a small tour of the north and Scotland in December. Currently open to offers of gigs, but right now I think all of our thoughts are on the new album, getting this right.
Thanks for the interview!

Photo/Logo courtesy of Active Slaughter. Photograph by Lara Homaidan. Logo by Iain Ball .

Bibliography.
(1)Brown, N (2017) Tomorrow’s Too Late - EP Review https://louderthanwar.com/active-slaughter-tomorrows-too-late-ep-review/  
(2)Interview: Art As Resistance: NurseOnDuty https://www.echoesanddust.com/2018/05/art-as-resistance-nurseonduty/
Also used in Intro https://activeslaughter.bandcamp.com/  and
Active Slaughter https://www.discogs.com/artist/1787438-Active-Slaughter

1 Weekend + 12 Musicians = Riot Grrrl Sessions!

 Cover artwork by Malin Ringsby. Photos by Anna Ledin Wirén & Emil Pilsäter.

Recently my partner and I spent a few days in Stockholm (awesome place and not necessarily expensive), our time there happened to coincide with the Stockholm Fringe Festival and on the programme was an exhibition of, and talk on, something called Riot Grrrl Sessions, this called for further investigation! Riot Grrrl Sessions is an ongoing music and art project in Stockholm, the brainchild of punk musician Canan Rosén who knew the world needed more Riot Grrrl music but was pondering over the quandary of how, when everyone was already so busy with their existing bands. The solution? One weekend in September 2017, one studio, a dozen riot grrrls from a variety of bands and genres writing, rehearsing and recording an album, with everyone involved in the project being women, non-binary or transgender people. The world’s first Riot Grrrl Sessions! The result? A 13 track album, suitably entitled The First Session, released in February this year to enthusiastic responses, one reviewer commenting ‘Unashamed and awesome, the Riot Grrrl Sessions brings together brutally fantastic melodies and awesome choruses that will get stuck in your head, the more you listen the more you love this album, 9/10 (1)’ and another that ‘The album captures everything that was riot grrrl during the movement’s heyday (2)’!
If good art is the successful transposing of the artist’s idea into their chosen medium then Riot Grrrl Sessions nailed it and in snatched conversations at the busy hub of the Fringe Festival I asked Canan if she would be happy to do an (online) interview about the project, she kindly agreed.  

Riot Grrrl Sessions is such an exciting, fully realised album! It’s amazing that it was written, rehearsed and recorded all in one weekend! Can you talk us through that weekend? Where did you get together, was everyone there the whole time?
Thank you and yes it’s such a huge and cool thing we did! We spent three full days, Friday to Sunday in legendary Swedish studio Riksmixningsverket (owned by Benny from Abba). We were 12 musicians and everyone was there the entire weekend. Also we had Linn, studio manager and head of recordings and production, Katharina, studio assistant and second recording engineer and Frida, studio assistant who later on did master the entire album. The studio is quite big which led us to possibilities to work parallel during the days. We made suggestions on which musicians that should play on which songs and then we made a schedule so when one line up was in the big recording room another one was finalizing songs and rehearsing in the kitchen area. On the second floor we recorded additional vocals, guitars and such. Everything at the same time. It was crazy work but lots of fun!

It must have taken a huge amount of organising?!
Hahahahaha TELL ME ABOUT IT! We also had two ”studio moms” making sure there was coffee, fruits and candy. They also went to pick up our food each day. You work so much better if you eat and drink! We also had two still photographers working shift documenting everything and also a film crew of four people recording every step we made. So a lot of people running around!

Had you all met previously?
Nope, for some people in the project it was the first time they met. It was like: “Hello, I am insert name let’s go record a rock song together!”

Was it easy for musicians from different bands and genres to get ‘in synch‘ with each other?
Almost every musician in this session has been active in the punk/rock/hard rock community which are genres that has quite a lot in common. One of the musicians, Katja, hails from the electronic scene, but she might be the most badass of us all making dirty, distorted superfast techno and such haha. All of us are professionals and very nice people so everything worked out super cool.

What was the key concept behind Riot Grrrl Sessions?
To make riot grrrl music in a very limited amount of time with a lot of musicians involved. And that everyone involved in every step of the project needs to identify as a woman, non-binary or transgender person.

Did the idea for the RGS weekend gradually take shape or did you know from the start that RGS would take that form?
Oh, I didn’t have a clue. At first I just wanted to start a riot grrrl band. But when I asked around people didn’t have time for that. They were too busy with their other bands, other careers or popping out rock babies so Riot Grrrl Sessions happened because I had something that needed to be solved. Because the idea of NOT making riot grrrl music wasn’t an option.

Was it a very organic, evolutionary creative process or did it have to be very quick and decisive in order to complete the album?
I think both. We didn’t have time for working with a lot of details but we still tried to keep a very open mind about everything since this was a very different process than what all of us are used to. I think the separatist take on the project made it easier for everyone to feel safe and focus on being creative rather than spending energy on claiming your space as a musician etc. We could get to work immediately so to speak.

How did the songwriting process work, did people come with rough ideas that the group then worked with?
We had rough sketches for almost every song. They were more or less finished. This was a real challenge I tell you. But if someone had an idea everyone was 100% more likely to say ”Yes, let’s do that” instead of hesitating, trying 1000 different ideas etc. I think that’s a good recipe for punk songs since the best punk songs (according to me) are very uncomplicated and straight forward.

What sort of subjects did the songs explore?
I think the lyrics really is what separates Riot Grrrl songs from ”any” type of rock song. The lyrics are in line with what the riot grrrl movement is all about. The fight for equality, the right to decide about yourself and your body, descriptions about how fucked up parts of our society is and how we’d rather want it to be, pro-masturbation songs etc.

Could you unpack ‘What I Want’, ‘Unicorns’ and ‘I Eat Boys Like You For Breakfast!
‘What I Want’ is a cool garage punky song with almost a spoken word verse. It’s like a long wish list on how we want this world of ours to be!
Every kid loves ‘Unicorn’. It’s like a kid song in a punk outfit. The message is powerful and empowering that you should always be yourself (unless you can be a unicorn of course). It comes with a bubble-gum powerpop outfit which some people love (and some people don’t haha).
‘I Eat Boys Like You For Breakfast’ is about dudes coming out as ”feminists” but doesn’t have the wildest idea what they are talking about. True posers that keeps on oppressing women thinking they are doing the exact opposite.

Has Riot Grrrl Sessions been ongoing? There was an exhibition and talk about RGS at the Stockholm Fringe and I think you are hoping to have a documentary out at some point…?
Yes, this is the aim of the project. We want it to be a platform where we can make whatever we want to make. I love the idea that riot grrrl isn’t just about music, it’s about all different art forms and ways that you could express yourself in. I want the project to be whatever we want it to be. A girls rock camp organisation here in Sweden, Popkollo, uses the saying DIT - do it together, instead of DIY - do it yourself. I think that’s pretty much sums up what I’m after with Riot Grrrl Sessions!

What has the response been like to RGS? Has it connected up with similar things happening in other places? Or inspired similar things…?
Well, the thing is there are no similar things like RGS. Not even in other rock genres (or maybe any genres). So this kind of WORLD UNIQUE THING we have made should blow the internet and media away. Which would have been the case if we’ve had thousands of cash money to spend on PR. Which we didn’t. So first and foremost: we did this thing for our own sake. When it spreads, which it has, it’s like a wonderful bonus. Riot Grrrls from all over the world have made contact with us praising our thing. I mean if I inspire one person it makes me happy so this is super cool! Also, it’s a great opportunity to grow a riot grrrl network. We have the internet these days you guys!!! Let’s get in touch goddammit!

How can people get to hear the album?
The album is streaming on all the common streaming services. But we also made vinyl! you can buy them from our record label’s homepage (https://www.gmrmusic.se/product-page/riot-grrrl-sessions-the-1st-sessions-pre-order-black-vinyl or contact us through mail or social media and we’ll figure something out).

So what is next? Will there be a Riot Grrrl Sessions II?
Next up is finalizing the documentary from the first session. When it’s finished we will be working on spreading the documentary. When word gets out it’s easier to sell records and merchandise which is the only way to finance another possible session! This goes for all bands. If you want musicians to keep going you also need to support them because in 99% of all cases bands and projects like these doesn’t make any money. Even though how much you’re in love with the world of DIY everything costs. An important reminder to all fans out there!

Check out the album here

Thanks to Canan for time and words.


 Bibliography.
(1)Caswell, V. (2018) ‘Review: Riot Grrrl. The Riot Grrrl Sessions’. https://thinkinglyrically.wordpress.com/2018/06/25/review-riot-grrrl-the-riot-grrrl-sessions/
(2)Decoursey, J. (2018) ‘Riot Grrrls, Riot Grrrl Sessions (The First Session) http://shockwavemagazine.com/riot-grrrls-riot-grrrl-sessions-first-session/

Hekla: 'Constantly In Motion and Evolving'

Photo by Sigga Ella.

Let’s be honest most music you hear after a certain age can be slotted in alongside already known musicians and bands, placed into a rough category, your musical universe starts to assume a shape. For writers the ‘sounds a bit like’ go to is quite handy, nothing wrong with common points of reference, a common framework. BUT every now and then you hear something that is so utterly different that you can’t, and possibly will never be able to, slot it alongside something similar. Henry Cow from the ‘70s still sound unique to me, I’m yet to hear a comparative band, and now there is another, Berlin based Icelandic musician Hekla Magnusdottir! 
One Sunday night in August I was listening to The Freak Zone on Radio 6 when her track ‘Hatur’ came shimmering out of the radio, otherworldly, ethereal, music from another set of assumptions about the relationship between sound, structure and the human psyche.
The ethereal beauty of Hekla’s music is based around the combination of theremin (not an instrument many of us are familiar with) and her voice, the video to 'Ekki Er Allt Gull Sem Gloir' contextualising them within an Icelandic landscape.
Already Hekla has had two releases and music included in a French film Les Garcons Sauvages with her new album ‘A’ coming out in September on Phantom Limb.
Intrigued by her music and it's eerie, fragile beauty I contacted Hekla in Berlin, where she now lives with her family (1), to find out more...

I was listening to 'The Freak Zone' on Radio 6 when this enchanting, atmospheric beautiful music came on, it was 'Hatur' off your new album, some British readers may not have heard of you, could you tell us a little about yourself musically?

I started to learn cello at nine and then went to study composition in university. But I think my approach to composition is not classical at all. I just like to improvise and play with effects and also like to make drawings and patterns that I then try to play with various different outcomes.

I've only ever seen the theremin being played by John Otway! Could you tell us a little bit about it? Why did you decide to take it up as an instrument?  

The theremin is an electronic music instrument. You play it by using your hands to manipulate the electromagnetic fields emitted by two antennas, one for pitch and one for volume. It was popular in 50s science fiction movie soundtracks. I had heard about the instrument and when I saw it in a music store I just decided to buy it on a whim.

Have there been any artists or musicians that have particularly inspired you?

Pamelia Stickney, Clara Rockmore and friends of mine doing music. Especially female friends doing their own thing is most inspiring to me.

You are also part of an Icelandic surf rock band, Bárujárn (1), do you play the theremin when with the band? Are you looking to create very different sounds with Bárujárn than in your solo work?

Yes! Around 2008 I was at a bar and the band members just told me to go grab my theremin and I just did sound effects, I didn't even know the songs. I definitely do very different sounds with Bárujárn. When I play with them now I do less effects with them, it's more haunting melodies while by myself it is much more experimental so it has totally flipped.

How does a Hekla track come together? What is the creative process, or does it vary from song to song?  

It does vary, but usually I start with improvising for a while and I record that and then I work more on the pieces that I most like. Then I will do variations in different keys until I find the right spot. But then there are songs that just start from a nice sound that comes out of an effect and I try to build something around that.

What sort of subjects do your songs explore or is it more of a transposing of emotion into music?

They are more of a transposing of emotion into music. The lyrics are mostly about emotions and not stories.

You have an album 'Á' coming out in September on Phantom Limb, how did the recording process for the album evolve? Is it like creating a sound collage of different recordings and combining them? Is it a balancing act between improvisation and structure?

I recorded it by myself at home. I am not looking for perfection; I do enjoy imperfection. Some recordings are even from my phone; it is exactly like a collage of my favorite sounds from a variety of times. After I improvise I will add layers and layers on top of each other and some have absolutely no structure and others have maybe a bit but not a super clear one.

Your music sounds like abstract art, an ethereal sound sculpture or soundscape, do you think it has been influenced by Icelandic culture or terrain?

I am very visual at least, I really like having something like video art or movies or music videos in the corner of my eye while I improvise. I think Icelandic culture is definitely very open minded for the arts, but there could be more funding from the government into music institutions and more proper concerts venues.

Has your music changed at all since moving to Berlin (1)?

I have performed a lot more since moving. That makes me do more variations on my songs and so everything is always constantly in motion and evolving.

I love the idea of theremin hand motions being transposed to notation (1), it seems appropriate for your music to also have a visual expression! Could this be the start of a parallel career as a visual artist!?  

I already do some graphic notations! You can see them here: https://www.heklaheklahekla.com/notation.html I was thinking to offer some merch based on them at some point.

You recently played in Darmstadt in Germany, how did it go?

My Boss looper didn't work so I unfortunately had to skip two songs, but now that I got home it works again. I guess Darmstadt did not want to hear those two. Other than that I think it went pretty well!

When you play live is there a lot of improvisation or are you aiming to reproduce a song as recorded? Is it even possible for a theremin based song to be the same twice?

I really am not going to bang my head trying to do a perfect copy as it is almost impossible to do on the theremin and I would just find that so boring, also. I love that it is kind of alive.

When you play live does the immediate environment affect what and how you play at all? For instance the differences in atmosphere and architecture?

Your mood while playing can affect your performance, the theremin is very perceptive to the tiniest movement and having a good atmosphere and architecture can definitely improve your state.

One of your songs was included in a French film Les Garcons Sauvages (1)-how did that come about?  

I did one half of the soundtrack, mostly very atmospheric songs, Pierre Desprats did the other half. I met the director while he was doing a short in Iceland and I sent him some music. It then was about 3 or 4 years until I heard back from him. I sent him some more music and he seems to have liked it. I have yet to see the movie.

And a very important question, is there any chance of seeing you play live in Britain any time soon?

Aha! I am doing a release concert at the Servant Jazz Quarters in London the 15th of October! See you there?

Hekla also plays The Cube Microplex, Bristol on 16 Oct 18, much thanks to her for the interview.

Bibliography.
(1)Jonsson, S.G. (2017) ‘Playing The Air: Hekla, Her Theremin and the Possibilities’ https://grapevine.is/culture/music/2017/09/06/playing-the-air-hekla-her-theremin-andthe-possibilities/