Pretty short one, yeah... I couldn't find several records and songs I've been listening to during this past week like ZI:KILL, PAYSAGE D'HIVER, UNIFORM, GILLES DE RAIS, REVERIE...
SALVATORE ADAMO "Inch Allah" (1967/BEL)
CAPTIVE "The Staircase" (2015/US)
WALL "Last Date" (2016/US)
DIAPSIQUIR "Minute De Silence" (2016/FRA)
JACQUELINE TAÏEB "Le Coeur Au Bout Des Doigts" (1967/TUN/FRA)
AMESTIGON "Winternacht" (2000/AT)
NAZI DUST "Invest And Sacrifice" (2009/US)
NASENBLUTEN "Intellectual Killer" (1995/AUS)
LAIBACH "Perspektive" (1983/SVN)
SYNDICATE "Jungle Muffin" (1998/AUS)
PAGAN HELLFIRE "Monuments Of Victories Forgotten" (2013/CAN)
Without any of Pierre Henry's songs I've been listening to during the week, SPIRITUS MORTIS's LP's tracks (only the entire album is available on YouTube, no cut version) and "Soul Idiot" by THE YOUNG GODS (just forgot to mention it).
Cheers!
SWINGO PORKIES "Un Jour Viendra" (2004/FRA)
OI! VALCANS "Skinhead! Skinhead!" (1999/JAP)
YOUTH ANTHEM "燃えよ" (1999/JAP)
PAINTBOX "Provided Railroad" (1998/JAP)
ROBERT MITCHUM "What Is This Generation Coming To?" (1957/US)
SÜHNOPFER "Messe Des Morts" (2014/FRA)
NON "Man Kills Self While Cleaning Gun" (1982/US)
櫻花 "Low Life" (1992/JAP)
鐵槌 "Patriot" (1992/JAP)
HANK WOOD & THE HAMMERHEADS "It's Hard On The Streets" (2012/US)
RUST "Suicide Sunday" (2014/AUS)
ROME "Hope Dies Painless" (2006/LUX)
ROME "Coriolan" (2016/LUX)
SABBATH ASSEMBLY "Bless Our Lord And Master" (2012/US)
THE SOFT MOON "Far" (2015/US)
STEVE VON TILL "Known But Not Named" (2015/US)
TANGERINE DREAM "Cold Smoke" (1970/GER)
TALK TALK "The Party's Over (live version)" (1982/UK)
あぶらだこ "Paranoia" (1985/JAP)
VIOLENT REACTION "Waste Of Space" (2014/UK)
VISIGOTH "Vengeance" (2010/US)
UNDERWORLD "Motorhome" (2016/UK)
CONCEALED BLADE "Bought And Sold (forget the rest of the record)" (2017/US)
GUTTER GODS "Chosen Few" (2013/AUS)
VISAGE "Mind Of A Toy" (1980/UK)
GAROFANO ROSSO "La Vera Storia Di Steve Sauro Dionigi" (2015/ITA)
SURVET SKINS "Paris" (2004/FRA)
ULTRAS "Keep On Fighting" (2016/US)
YOUTH CODE "What Is The Answer" (2013/US)
YOUTH CODE "Doghead" (2016/US)
COLD CAVE "Icons Of Summer" (2011/US)
AGNOSTIC FRONT "Genesis" (1987/US)
H O R D "Let Them Burn (Volcan Remix)" (2015/FRA)
H O R D "Deliverance (Mixed with Volcan)" (2014/FRA)
SYNDROME 81 "Pas Besoin De Toi (BLITZ cover)" (2015/FRA)
LITOVSK "Holding On (THE BURIAL cover)" (2015/FRA)
鉄アレイ"Too Bad" (1991/JAP)
BLITZ "Razors In The Night" (1982/UK)
九狼吽 "Unfare Equality" (2013/JAP)
IMMORTAL "Descent Into Eminent Silence" (1994/NOR)
I know I'm late, I've been busy all day yesterday. I couldn't post.
Here is the 47 playlist, minus some QUICKSAND DREAM's latest songs featuring on their last and beautiful LP "Beheading Tyrants" on Cruz Del Sur. Couldn't find the song I wanted to put on this playlist on YouTube so I really encourage you to be curious about it. Could'nt find some BAD VULTURES's song featuring on their 1987 "Gang Up: Skinhead Anthems" EP too, so you know the deal... Anyway, there are a lot of Japanese bands, you'll be satisfied (and disguted by some Polish black metal bands).
GRAND BELIAL'S KEY "The Seventh Enochian Key" (1997/US)
RENDEZ-VOUS "Euroshima" (2016/FRA)
SYNDROME 81 "Recouvrance" (2013/FRA)
SYNDROME 81 "Dans Les Rues La Nuit" (2015/FRA)
ONE LIFE CREW "Our Scene, Your Fear" (1995/US)
ABOVE THE RUINS "Hundred Flags" (1984/UK)
RIDE "Decay" (1990/UK)
ARSTIDIR LIFSINS "Heljarkvida I: A Helvegi" (2016/ICE)
THOR'S HAMMER "Love Enough" (1966/ICE)
ROYAL HEADACHE "Wouldn't You Know" (2015/AUS)
PAINTBOX "傷跡" (2000/JAP)
STRASBOURG "Jaguar" (2015/FRA)
TAU CROSS "Hangman's Hyll" (2015/UK/US)
TONY WAKEFORD (SOL INVICTUS) "The Fool" (1993/UK)
PEACEBREAKERS "I Don't Like The Looks Of You (live version)" (2014/US)
I'm pretty much in a poppy/rambling mood, perhaps because the weather just started to become grey and rainy here, I don't know. It makes me want to listen to cheerful stuffs, and think about my forthcoming trip to Nepal in 2017. Cheers.
MODERN LOVERS "Astral Plane" (1976/US)
TOLBIAC'S TOADS "Et Ils Passaient" (1994/FRA)
BLUR "Top Man" (1995/UK)
BLUR "Oily Water" (1993/UK)
PLASTIC SURGERY "Siamo Noi!" (1986/ITA)
SKIN DEEP "Boots On His Feet" (1985/SCO)
THE JAM "The Gift" (1982/UK)
SLADE "One Way Hotel" (1973/UK)
THE STYLE COUNCIL "The Paris Match" (1983/UK)
HAPPY MONDAYS "God's Cop" (1990/UK)
DAVID BOWIE "Always Crashing In The Same Car" (1977/UK)
LES JOYAUX DE LA PRINCESSE "Adieu Chéri" (2006/FRA)
ULTRA-VIOLENT "Where Angels Dare Not Tread" (1983/UK)
NEGATIVE APPROACH "Why Be Somebody That You're Not" (1982/US)
OCEAN COLOUR SCENE "Fleeting Mind" (1996/UK)
MOTT THE HOOPLE "Jerkin' Crocus" (1972/UK)
MOTORPSYCHO "Whip That Ghost" (1999/NOR)
G.I.S.M. "Document One" (1983/JAP)
NABAT "Lunga Vita Ai Ribelli Oi" (1984/ITA)
THE STONE ROSES "Fool's Gold" (1988/UK)
COCKNEY REBEL "Loretta's Tale" (1973/UK)
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS "If You Don't Want Me To Destroy You" (1996/WAL)
Saw RIXE for the first time this week, it was great. Yesterday, I've finished working around 1:30AM but I kinda appreciate giving a hand to a local venue and meeting some really cool crust punk in his forties telling me his personal experience within the hardcore punk scene. Thanks a lot buddy, it's was great meeting you!
I spent the rest of the night talking about addictions with two friends, while listening to DEATH IN JUNE.
PS: I've been listening to a lot more things during this past week but unfortunately some of these records aren't available to listen to publically on the Internet but you definitely need to listen to TOROIDH "The Final Judgement", TRUE LOVE "Heaven's Too Good For Us", and SWANS "The Great Annihilator" (definitely one of my favorite SWANS's release).
BOHREN UND DER CLUB OF GORE "Fahr Zur Hölle" (2013/GER)
CROSS ME "Numb" (2016/US)
FRUSTRATION "Arrows Of Arrogance" (2016/FRA)
BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE "Suffer Little Children" (1969/CAN)
THE GOSPEL TRUTH "Hunger Artist (live version)" (2016/US)
Went to the LGBTQ party last night and it was boring. At least, I had my nazi-gay friendly t-shirt.
Concerning the musical selection, this one's pretty messy and noisy: I've been listening to a few metal records I totally ignored when they came out and I think my mind does not want to listen to rap for a while. I also discovered this YouTube channel which is pretty cool. And this Chris Isaak's song sounds like a SMITHS's tune. Couldn't find any online version of HE SAID "Hail" but I definitely encourage you to listen to this record.
More or less my Pokémon Go! weekly quest OST (featuring one of the best US rap records released lately). So much different records, so much fun: you should all walk around 6 or 7 kms listening to music everyday. This is the best cure against boredom.
I'm pretty much an old fuck because it's been several months I didn't post anything but playlists. I guess there are not that much artists I wanna do an interview with right now. Plus, I've been listening to tons of really different bands lately, this is really hard for me to chose one topic amongst hundreds... Several weeks ago I planned to write some live report but that's boring. I hope I'll find some time to finish it... Anyway, here's week-end playlist number 14.
Really really short one actually: I've been listening to FUCKED UP/BOOBA's entire discographies lately and was pretty focused on these different artists (that's why, for the first time, I put three tracks from the same band in a playlist).
PS: The list is shorter that what I was expected cuz some of the artists I've been listening to are unavaliable on the Internet (like Drake on YouTube for example) and that's really pissing me off. Anyway the best record I've been listening to so far would probably be Sweden's GADGET "The Great Destroyer" because it's been ages since I've been seduced by some grindcore band/record and this album definitly rips!
Last week I was not able to drop you some playlist because I wasn't at home so here is a bunch of the artists and records I've been listening to during the last two weeks, really different kinds of music.
It's been a while since I posted some "decent" content here. But I'm glad after a few weeks of "week-end playlists" posts which allowed me to fill the gaps (!) to let you read this cool SYNDROME 81 interview with Fab and Jacky.
It took me a lot of time to translate these pages of interview (thanks to them for being quite cooperative!) because of motivation and winter disease (...). I hope worlwide punx will read with interest these lines dealing with Brest's life, and the gang's habits. Enjoy!
A few weeks ago you were playing Soupeur Festival in Bordeaux at VOID // BDX with LITOVSK which is originary from French town Brest too. The city's called "Brest la Grise" ["Grey Brest"] and both LITOVSK and SYNDROME 81 share the coldness of their sound which is quite similar to the town's History; which "symbols", historical or personal events linked with your local experience can be considered as the catalyst of your songwriting?
Fab: First of all: Brest's nicknames are officially "La Cité du Ponant" ["The Ponant City"], "Brest la Blanche" ['White Brest"] (once, there was a "Rock sur la Blanche" ["White Rock"] between 1986 and 1995) or "Brest la Rouge" ["Red Brest"], it depends of the times... We called that song "Brest La Grise" because for a lot of people, "the weather's grey here in Brest". (First praised as Brittany's most modern city during the fifties and the sixties, known as "Brest la Blanche", because of the massive use of white coatings which were the cheaper efficient water-repellent, and because of its other nickname "Brest la Rouge", the town's reputation was soon tarnished.)
Seriously, it's quite a difficult question... I apologize in advance for my moments of distraction. Concerning SYNDROME 81's lyrics, if we focused on the texts dealing with Brest, I would say we mostly deal with local inspiring miscellaneous. For example "Brest La Grise", "Recouvrance"... Brest is really connected to alcohol, it is indisputable, and we are used to feast with miscellaneous reports in the local papers, the notorious "Wasted, he..." That's usually funny but sometimes it can be gloomy. For example "Une Vie Pour Rien" ["Live For Nothing"] deals with my aunt on father's side shitty and miserable life, with the peak of the sordid miscellaneous. Brest's a military city too, once the city was known because of its "sailormen on a spree", especially concerning Recouvrance neighbourhood. Plus, I think when we were working on some songs in Jaja's apartment, with a view of la Rade de Brest ["Brest's roadsteed"], the military harbour, the railway station, the trading port, that's pretty much where the "Désert Urbain" song's inspiration came from, the town's harshness, like took by a breeze, beaten by the stream. I think we must expand the scope: Brest, like Le Havre or Cherbourg is a martyred city, entirely pulled down during WWII. Then, the city does not own any Historical architectural aspect due to the need of quick and efficient rehabilitation, you need to read "Barbara" from Jacques Prévert. Recently I got this academic book dealing with Brest rehabilitation, I just started to read it, it looks fascinating. Military vessels are grey, the buildings are usually dull, the weather is often grey and rainy, effectively: this helps to Brest drabness. I think I'm deeply characterised by my town, I won't do some pop sociology but I think we're products of our environment. Uneventful cities, cities of sights kinda bore me, I like the direct impact of no-frills cities. That's pretty simple: honking guys in Brest do not last long. They are not so much posers in our town. We are pretty declining in comparison to the rest of the country, it pretty much develops our character. Finally, there are quite a lot of books dealing with local rock'n'roll, written by Olivier Polard et Yan Le Gat, and you better read their vision of the local spirit than focus on my own analysis. To sum up, I would say the weather, the post-war rebuilding and its geographic location can explain all I was dealing with.
Jacky: What can I add concerning the songs composition...? I'd say Brest's influence is due to this constant rain I observe where qui compose. It's raining during the entire year but I must admit from October to April/May it's a fucking disaster, this time during the year always busts my hump, this "winter depression", but in the meantime I hate the heat. Musically speaking, my contribution with SYNDROME 81 is largely influenced by some Swedish bands recreating their sensation of isolation. So Brest kinda influences me a bit when it comes to make music.
SYNDROME 81 definitly reminds me two American and English bands you covered quite perfectly on two different releases (NEGATIVE APPROACH and BLITZ, on your demo and the split EP with LITOVSK). What makes these two bands pretty exciting? Why did you cover "Nothing" and "I Don't Need You" translating them in French?
Fab: I'd say CRIMINAL DAMAGE's also part of our influences! They brought me to BLITZ. We didn't literally translate "I Don't Need You", we kinda freely adapted it. In my opinion the lyrics weren't that good, let's play the game and cover the songs in French!
Jacky: As far I remember I came with the idea of writing "Que Dalle", as for "Pas Besoin De Toi". I'm a longtime NEGATIVE APPROACH fan, I've always like this very simple angry music with a hint of Oi! I discovered BLITZ later while listening to CRIMINAL DAMAGE and when you think of it, BLITZ were really precursory: since the begining they were playing some pretty aggressive Oi! for the time and then they turned into a post-punk band, you had to be daring to make such a transition! This band has always been ahead of its time, I like all of their periods. But, as to me, hardcore = punk = Oi! so SYNDROME 81 reflects all the cool aspects of US hardcore, well-hung Oi!, 2000s melancholic Swedish punk and good old French Oi! I'd like to cover LES COLLABOS "Tagadagada" in a future release.
By the way, why did you decide to sing in French?
Fab: I wasn't necessarily comformtable with this idea, when we released the demo I couldn't settle for ages. Jacky suggested to sing in French so he will answer. I've already tried a few times to sing in French in previous bands but never entirely. But it was kind like a challenge which was interesting. Right now, with hindsight, I guess it is pretty obvious to sing in French: the range of possibilities is pretty wide. I guess it'd be pretty hard to sing in English again, I would think I sing some more enabling stuffs, nevertheless non-English speaking bands can release good stuffs singing in English! It's true that nowadays singing in French is back but speaking of French emo/screamo scenes they mainly sang in French (AMANDA WOODWARD, ANOMIE, DAÏTRO, 12XU, BÂTON ROUGE, CHAVIRÉ...). Scandinavian people, Swedish people in particular like TOTALITÄR, MASSHYSTERI, HERÄTYS (they're from Sweden but sing in Finnish) already have this bias of singing in their native language, in Spain too... But you also have YOUTH AVOIDERS, they totally nailed it at Soupeur Winter Fest and they sing in English!
Jacky: It's been 10 years since we were playing hardcore sang in English with Fab, during the early days of the band I said I couldn't picture myself making consistent music if we decided to sing in English again concerning this very specific style of music. It was kind of a challenge like if we mess things up people would make fun of us. Fab is a litterature freak, I knew he'll take up the challenge. Concerning the lyrical approach, Fab has always written about Brest no matter it was for GRAYHOUND, THRASHINGTON DC, POLICE TRUCK. That's his business!
Are they other Brest native artists known for having dealt with Brest's sadness?
Fab: Speaking of music I would immediately say Christophe Miossec, the man's a part of the city. His life and his lyrics exude Brest's life. Our friends from SPRAYBACK also wrote stuffs about living here. NIGHT STALKERS, POLICE TRUCK, THRASHINGTON DC, THE WEDGE were indoubtely influenced by Brest, though it's not explicit musically speaking with some melancholic stuffs. You also have Paul Bloas's huge murals, who have painted big characters on forbidden neighbourhoods, really "Désert Urbain"! Pierre Péron's drawings are worthy of mention too, they aren't all gloomy but those dealing with dealing with Reconstruction are pretty interesting. I don't know much people coming from street art, but Brest counts some street artists with cool works, for example on the trading port and abandoned hangars. Julien Zerelli wrote like 10 years ago "Flip-Flap ou l'histoire d'une reconversion" ("Flip-Flap - the story of conversion"), it kinda reflected Brest's crazy life too! Other famous authors like Robbe-Grillet, Tanguy Viel come from Brest too. Authors who do not come from Brest also wrote about the city... The other day, my buddy Raph (NIGHT STALKERS/POLICE TRUCK) told me about Jean Genet's book "Querelle de Brest" ("Querelle Of Brest"), saying it was a great book, I haven't red it yet, it's about sailormen's decadent life, Recouvrance may be where the scene takes place even if the author does not come from Brest. There's Jacques Prévert's poem "Barbara" about Brest since the reconstruction, right now I can tell you I stole some details from that poem to write "Désert Urbain" in the blink of an eye!
A friend told me he went to Brest during summer 2015 with his wife and children and wanted to visit Recouvrance because of it History and also because of your song too. Why did you write a song about this place? Are there other reasons than coming from Brest which have made you write about Recouvrance?
Fab: Amazing, you must be dealing with Fabien from FACE UP TO IT! Personnally FUTI! stuck with me so I told him: "I know you, you were FUTI!'s singer!" We chated a bit but due to the fact I was selling merch after one of our shows, people were buying stuffs we couldn't talk easily so we both give our e-mail adresses and virtually discussed. I was really to meet Fabien cuz FUTI! was a band I liked within the French hardcore scene. I'm sorry, this has nothing to do with the question but I needed to tell that story!
Writing about Recouvrance seemed so natural, it's like Brest's rise and fall. It's like dealing with the Lower East Side when you come from NYC, a lot of rappers deal with neighbourhoods they love too.
Recouvrance is a symbol of Brest. Within the collective imagination, it's the quintessential den of iniquity. When you say you're going to Recouvrance, you said it all. "We ended up in Recouill'", for the inner circle. Once, we had a good time going to every local hangout on the main square with friends, going to different bars for each round, it was pretty cool, we started pretty early, we met two old scenesters with whom we spent the night, it was pretty crazy. One of them paid for all of us during a good part of the night, all in cash, don't know where he had the money, he gave us money for the cab to go to a night bar on the Left Bank, and when the bar was closed, same deal: we got back to Recou to finish the night at 5:00AM eating pizzas in a restaurant drinking rosé, it was crazy. And this guy started to talk about gloomy stuffs like what is it to know what killing someone is... This is how we set the stage. Debauchery place... Historically speaking, it is a gateway and a way out of the Arsenal, it was formely a place with a lot of life, with a lot of bars where former Arsouille workers and sailormen, came to throw their pay. It was also the prostitutes neighbourhood. The Navy's activity has shrunk and led to a reducing staff concerning the Arsenal, so the neighbourhood has pretty changed, not mentionning the tramway's relocation yards in Brest. Miossec also sings about Recouvrance in his songs.
Plus, when you come from the Left Bank, you take Recouvrance's bridge which overhang the Penfeld, Brest's river, and the Arsenal which edges the docks and lead to the Right Bank Recouvrance. Then you turn on the right and take Borda street where remain minute traces of Brest's nightlife. Here there were restaurants which were opened until late at night, we already ended up there a few times in the early morning when there was nowhere to go, here you could find old-school prostitutes who could tide you over selling you beers. Here you can reach the historical jail from Brest, Pontaniou, which was basically a Navy prison from the middle of the nineteenth century and became a house arrest since WW2 which remained in operation until 1990. Can't tell you how outdated was the building in the end, by the way some rockers from Brest have enjoyed the flair of this prison but no defamation here, sorry! The prison's still here, don't know what they're waiting to rehabilitate it. Actually it's a pretty good symbol for the neighbourhood, we switched from a greeting marine life to a degrading neighbourhood and somehow to a sad party mood, a neighbourhood falling apart. Even though this place continues to deteriorate it's still a debauchery place in Brest. What makes me laugh is that the Town Hall recently recovered some of the Arsenal's buildings and is gonna build a new area, up with the times to make Brest the new Barcelone (just kidding), seriously the city does not need this! Near Pontaniou there is Saint Malo's street, Brest's last cobbled street, one of Brest's only historical details the Town Hall totally neglected but for decades this lady Mireille and her association called Vivre La Rue ("Let The Street Live") carry on a smear campaign to save and rehabilitate this street. I'm done with the walk in Recouvrance! But you know, dealing with Recouvrance is a serious political issue for me! Indeed, we sing about this fantisized Recouvrance which once made the entire city live in the song "Recouvrance". We also sing about the symbol of this falling Brest because of a really impoverished neighbourhood. You also have some iconic places like Saint-Martin, Guérin's place or Bellevue which AL KAPOTT claimed to be locals. To conclude, on one hand I'm pretty surprised this track means something to people who do not come from Brest but in the other hand it's an anthem dedicated to dying cities, or at least lose a part of their History, and those which make you wanna commit suicide and actually I think it is universal! Shit I do not like to say things like this, like if I wanted to intellectualise SYNDROME 81, does it sound a bit pretentious?
From remember, three 80s bands coming from Brest captured the minds of street punk and Oi! aficionados, particulary one of them which featured on the Chaos En France V/A Comp: LES COLLABOS (1982-85), CRIMINALS DAMAGE (1983-?) but also because they were the spearheads of French R.A.C. street culture, I'm of course dealing with BRUTAL COMBAT (1982-?), one of their bass players also featured in CRIMINALS DAMAGE.
What do you think of each band? Did they really mark their time and local minds? Fashion detail: this famous CRIMINALS DAMAGE and BRUTAL COMBAT bass player, if he still lives in Brest or is still alive, still sports his "down the street deli" uniform: big gut, great Gallic mustache and big glasses?
Fab: LES COLLABOS and AL KAPOTT (even if they came lately they really marked the time and the minds) became closed to those of us who were playing in THRASHINGTON DC. Those I know have always supported us as individuals, we pretty often meet them at the bar, during shows or at Fred's (COLLABOS) tattoo shop. I won't speak about BRUTAL COMBAT. I'm not interested in that band, I never was. I let people who are obsessed with the eighties being obsessed with the eighties. Of course, they left traces and they sometimes are mentioned during chats but I do not care about where is the bass player, the singer right now, full stop. All I can say is that COLLABOS and AL KAPOTT guys and their mates are cool dudes. Back in the days, they were the first guys from Brest listening to BLACK FLAG and stuffs. I have a great respect for LES COLLABOS who wrote Brest's first hardcore song "Agenouillé Dans Les W-C" . Sometimes it's funny when eighties punks tell you tales of that time!
Jacky: I like to chat with the old timers, they always some cool tales to tell you. What's weird is that they pretty much all hung out together whereas they had different political views. I guess customs change with the times... For the record, BRUTAL COMBAT boys still hang out in the aera but they settled down but I got no specific information about this fat mustachioed.
Bordeaux, where I've always lived, has also a funny nickname - "La Belle Endormie" (The Sleeping Beauty). I've always thought this nickname was pretty obvious, for example concerning the punk epiphenomenon: not much booking crews, old stories of suspicious and rivalries that cannot be lost on every town... But, when you attend to a show like this Soupeur Fest where bands like SYNDROME 81, YOUTH AVOIDERS, CHEAP RIOT, GASMASK TERRÖR, FAUX and LITOVSK co-stared, this nickname becomes meaning less: diverse audiences because of bands with different styles, people coming from other French cities, friends from everywhere, smiles on every face... Anyway, great party!
What was your feeling about this time together, on stage, backstage or at the bar of the club? Do you think during this kind of events glee all these different ways of thinking specific to these different street cultures elites intrinsic to punk become meaningless?
Fab: It was like playing between two road rollers, shivering. GASMASK TERRÖR and YOUTH AVOIDERS are war machines, I haven't seen GASMASK TERRÖR for ages and YOUTH AVOIDERS for almost two years and the level they reached is just crazy! I was shivering during LITOVSK, Brest's best band of the year! I really love them!
This event made me think about what my man David from Lyon once told me: he does not need to see American bands performances anymore, they can stay home because he'd just seen in a few weeks French bands killing it on stage (TRAITRE, GASMASK TERRÖR, ZONE INFINIE and so on). Since Soupeur Fest, I know what he meant. And it was a pleasure to see a lot of people again and meet a lot of people too which it's often the case speaking of punk High Mass! BY the way, getting back to French singing: it's amazing when you switch on a karaoke mood when the audience knows the lyrics, it's exciting when you sing and pretty relaxing because you're voiceless because of your shitty physical condition, it's more than appreciable haha!
Some of you played/play with THE NIGHT STALKERS, THASHINGTON D.C., POLICE TRUCK, COUPE GORGE, LITOVSK (the list goes on!), why do you think SYNDROME 81 is different from these different bands?
Fab: We were the first ones among the other bands you mentionned to try to sing only in French. Apart from that I see no difference: each band tries to play a specific aspect of hardcore and punk so obviously they're pretty different, but only LITOVSK had the good idea to not include Jacky in their line-up! I think with SYNDROME 81 he explores his sensitivity and inner demons (like alcohol haha!).
Jacky: LITOVSK let me record them, it's worse haha! Each band has specific influences so there are not that much similarities apart from my face. But it's still hardcore/punk so the differences remain on the form rather than the content. To answer to your question, SYNDROME 81 is by far the more melodic band.
Who are the other bands coming from Brest we must listen to?
Fab: LITOVSK, LITOVSK and LITOVSK.
Jacky: LITOVSK, LE MAMOOTH (garage punk), SECTEUR PAVÉ (melodic Oi!) but nothing more to listen to...
2015 was a pretty solid year for SYNDROME 81 with the release of "Désert Urbain" EP (on Destructure (France) and Foreign Legions (USA), the split 7" with LITOVSK (on Backwash Records, Destructure Records and Emergence) and you also got a track featuring on "La Force Dans La Oi!" (UVPR Vinyles) with TRAITRE, RIXE and OUTREAU.
What do you think of each release? Are you satisfied with these three releases, even proud of your work? Speaking of the "La Force Dans La Oi!" comp, what is your opinion about the other songs featuring on that record?
Fab: Speaking of "La Force Dans La Oi!" Volume 2, we pretty much all know or have met each other for years, so it was pretty consistent to do it together. It's Ben from Une Vie Pour Rien who managed to release the record, whom I don't know. I'm pretty satisfied with the results, Ben released a pretty neat record! Speaking of this compilation, I had a crush on TRAITRE, their track is so amazing, and better than what they ever recorded. Personally, I'm really glad for having released three records this year. It was pretty harsh because of our schedules and the geographical distance (Brest/Ouessant/Rouen). Luckily, Jacky has recorded everything, without him everything would have been impossible. He spends a lot time and energy doing this. Speaking of the SYNDROME 81/LITOVSK split 7", we share a musician and Jacky is in charge of recording us since the early days so It was pretty natural. Since their begining, to their disappointment, I really like LITOVSK, so I was really motivated to make this record happenned. So far, this is their first and only song sung in French and the result is so good. Too bad they do not want to try to sing in French sometimes because it sounds really good on this track. And THE BURIAL's cover is also really good, to be honest I did not know this band before and it was great to discover them, it was less conventional than our cover and I like to discover new bands through covers! And what is even cooler in my opinion concerning this specific record is that we both recorded a track dealing with Brest and it wasn't premeditated because we did not discuss about it. Pretty cool coincidence! Finally, the EP on Destructure was a great opportunity because Nico [who runs the record company] and I know each other for more than a decade, back in the days when he was playing with HIPPIES OF TODAY, and it's amazing he released one of my bands's record! I was selling his records in my little distro... So this record came out naturally and Nico's work is really good! Plus, we asked Vincent (All Cats Are Grey) we knew at the same time to do the artwork and we really enjoyed the result! Anyway I think it's just great how people who know each other since more than ten years manage to work together! Concerning the tracks, I let the people judge, I think we try to benefit from all sides on this EP while trying to be consistent!
Jacky: The best idea a band can have is to buy something to record their materials and stops expensive studio sessions punk bands like ours can't afford. What a blast to piss you friends off trying different takes again and again!
What's SYNDROME 81 2016 schedule?
Fab: Killing rock'n'roll with our next release on our friend's Jérémy from Lille record company Build Me A Bomb. He started the "Single Serie" collection with SHORT DAYS featuring on the Volume 1 two, three years ago, we were cool with the idea and asked him if he could add us to the thing. The idea is to record a 7" with a really representative single of what we usually do on A Side, and cover or record something different from what we usually do on B Side. TRAITRE will be releasing Volume 2 on March 2016, and we will be Volume 3. It must be available on May 2016, the cover art is done and we recorded and mixed the tracks. We also hope to record some songs for a split record, if our schedules match, with our Swedish friends from URBAN SAVAGE. Then we will keep on working more seriously on an LP to make it happen in 2017 on Destructure.
Final word?
Fab: Thanks for the interest, it was one of the most interesting interviews I had the opportunity to answer to. I hope that reading it you'll feel as much entertainment than I did while answering to it.
Jacky: I'm surprised with Fab's quality of answers, this prick isn't lying!
