INTERVIEW

I was recently interviewed for a Spanish 'zine, which you can buy from http://www.dejavuhardcore.blogspot.com.es/2012/12/uhp-n-10-diciembre-2012recien-salido.html


Here's the English version.


1./ short story of the band... 

We are JACKALS; we formed a couple of years ago with a slightly different line-up to now. We are based in Norwich which is a city in the East of England, a couple of hours away from anywhere.



2./ to start up i would like to know which stuff you already recorded and also released.... aaand how do you release? I mean if you use diy labels?

So far we have released a 7” which was basically a demo, and three split 7”s which came out in 2011. This year we released a tape titled Survival Instincts and a new 7” called Everyday Fabric which is, in my opinion, the best stuff we’ve recorded by far. Survival Instincts was released by our friend Sean’s label, Youth Camp Records and Everyday Fabric was released by two of our friend’s labels, Boslevan Records and Parade of Spectres. All three are DIY labels and I’m fairly confident that this is the only way we will release any music in the future, as it suits our ethics and politics more than any other method.

3./ how do you define a do it yourself label or band?

I’m sure this has been better defined by other people in the past, but for me DIY is about self sufficiency and the realisation that having total control over your band’s output and only working with your friends and people (whether it be labels, people who put on gigs, or anything else) who share your ethics is the best way of operating. To me it seems that anything other than DIY results in the possibility of compromise, ripping people off, being co-opted for other purposes and putting up with bullshit getting in the way of the reason we are a band in the first place- to play gigs and to make music.



4./ do you know something about spanish scene? would we see you on a future to play alive on my country??

Pretty much everything I’ve heard about Spanish punk is great although I wouldn’t claim to be an expert or anything. In the last year or so I’ve seen SUDOR, LA URSS, GLAM, and UNA BESTIA INCONTROLABLE in the UK, all were great. Also, bands like INVASION, CRIMEN DE ESTADO, ATENTADO, FIRMEZA 10, ABSURDO and DESTINO FINAL have released some of my favourite records of recent times. I think my absolute favourite of the last 5 years or so is OTAN- Sociedad Despreciable, what a fucking great record!! I of course also appreciate the older bands like MG 15, ANTI/DOGMATIKSS, GRB, HHH etc. etc. I love how the best Spanish punk is really stripped back and raw but still absolutely ripping. Even though I don’t understand the lyrics most of the time, the link with anarchism is really inspiring when you’re seemingly surrounded by apolitical people and bands who throw around the term ‘PC’ like it’s about anything other than not being an ignorant dickhead. We’d love to come over to Spain and in fact we’ve recently started talking about trying to play some gigs there next summer as part of a Euro tour.



5./ how do you define your sound....? do you like to think your music is different or you prefer to think it s just the old punk with some new ideas?

I prefer to leave any definition of what we sound like to other people, but we aren’t exactly ripping up the rule book as far as punk and hardcore goes. That said, I do think we manage to combine a fairly diverse range of influences into something that might not be our own, but at least escapes obvious comparisons to whatever else is currently popular.



6./ what do you think about people like me that still love to do an fanzine on paper?

I did the same myself up until a few years ago and have plans to do the same again, so I’d always look to support someone doing a fanzine on paper. The internet is great for many things, but there’ll always be a place for people doing paper fanzines, providing the writing is worthwhile of course.



7./ what could be considered your mainly influences??? musically and lyrically...

Usually whatever I’m listening to a lot at the time, so currently it’d be bands like DISCHARGE (as always), RUDIMENTARY PENI, UNITED MUTATION, CITIZENS ARREST, UBR, WARHEAD, NO TREND, NEGATIVE APPROACH. But I’m sure that’s different for every member of the band. Lyrically we tend to just write about whatever we think is relevant politically or socially. On the most recent record for example that has included nationalism and militarism, how conspiracy theories are generally bullshit which detract from real issues worth protesting about, how healthcare companies are inevitably focused more on profits than human lives and the end result of that, the way that states deal with crime and punishment and how sexual violence is often a product or escalation of the modes of everyday interaction and normalised misogyny, which is where the title Everyday Fabric comes from.



8./ what do you think about the use of drugs? do you think must be a link between punk and drugs?

Tom, who plays drums, is straight edge, but the rest of us are not. I think current drug laws and attitudes towards them in the UK and beyond are completely outdated, but I don’t think drugs are important to punk as good music can be made with our without their influence.



9./ are the people of the band interested on politics?

I’d consider politics as very important to the way the band operates and to us as people. To start with the lyrics were not expressly political, but as we have got older and become more informed I’ve felt more strongly that the lyrics we write should reflect this, to the point which political issues are the major source of inspiration. I personally would generally align myself with anarchism and the rest of the band all believe in ‘leftist’ causes such as feminism, environmentalism and equality.


10./ how is the scene on your area??

I put on gigs in Norwich fairly regularly which are usually well attended and I manage to get some good bands to play here. It would be good if there were more active local bands but that is nothing new and definitely not unique to Norwich. Considering its size and location I think Norwich has a strong scene, the only reason that would ever change is if people started becoming apathetic.

11./ Next plans?

As I mentioned before we hope to play again in Europe next year for a longer stretch so that it something we will be organising soon alongside some more gigs in the UK. We’re also (as always) writing songs for our next release which I think we will aim to record early next year.