Diesmal dachte ich mir, ich schreib mal Leutz an, die etwas mehr zu sagen haben als irgendeine Kapelle, die erstens eh von einem anderen Zine interviewt werden und zweitens die in vielen Fällen nix zurück schreiben bzw. ausser belanglosem Standardgeplapper nix auf dem Kasten haben. Da kam Eduard gerade richtig: Er schickte uns ein Paket mit ein paar Platten, die er mit Trabuc Records releaste. Und da mir persönlich die Beschreibung auf der Site auch gefiel, war das ein weiterer Ansporn, dem Eduard (und ursprünglich der Isabel: im Interview steht, warum da nix mehr geht) ein paar Fragen zuzumailen. Eduard weiß einiges zu berichten! Natürlich gibtz keine Übersetzung in's Deutsche. Und die Frage, die eigentlich Isabel hätte beantworten sollen (betrifft ihren Job und ihre damit verbundenen Gefühle) musste leider wegfallen...
Hi there, please tell us who is answering the questions and why you are running a label and where you are operating from, including a small history.
First of all I have to say that the original idea was to get this interview answered by the two people originally involved in Trabuc Records. The time has made the label and distro a one-man project, with the support of another but 90% carried by one person. My name is Eduard and i run Trabuc Records, a hardcorepunkcrust label with socio-political awareness and strong DIY feeling. We started the label while living in Holland, at the beginning of the summer of 2003, just few months before coming back to Carcaixent, our hometown, 40 km south from Valencia city, in the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian peninsula. Our main motivation was to keep ourselves busy with some project since we knew "our place" was dead in terms of alternative culture or political activity. Imagine the big change that supposed for us from living in a squat in a Dutch city to come back to our small town to our parents place or to a rented flat. The idea at the beginning was also to do other activities like screen printing, vegan/vegetarian cafés and catering, videos screening, an info-shop etc. We did some info-evenings with food and the distro and stuff. But the lack of spaces (we always had to ask for a place to do the activities to some youth or cultural collectives without much stuff in common with us) and the lack of feedback from the old "comrades" and younger supposedly motivated folks let us down (to the reality of our town) after few activities we did. Now all those project-ideas are reduced to the label and distro, and it's already a huge work.
I hope everybody knows that you have a website where people can check out your releases. But as for the completeness of this interview, please give us a short list:
Well, so far we've co-released and released:
- Opus Dead "Control" CD
- Mihoen! EP
- Human Bastard / Disundead - Split EP
- No Conforme / Caos OK - Split LP - Makiladoras / Radio Bikini - Split EP
- Yakuza Horror - Demo TAPE
- Holocaust In Your Head - S/T LP
And now is just out the split EP with Disease and Ultimo Preso. Makiladoras LP and Moho LP seem to be the next ones, before the year ends. And then Ekkaia compilation CD and Looking For An Anwser / Zanussi Split EP.
How and when did you get involved in Punk and in resistance?
I started being political aware and conscious when my first year of secondary school, at 15 years old. I got involved with a political-cultural collective here in Carcaixent, in a year or so we formed a student union in our school, then I got involved in leftist mass organisations and antifa collectives, and so on. In my 20ies I got burnt out and frustrated with those organisations, quite hierarchic and full of demagoguery and started travelling looking for new places, possibilities, ways of life, forms of organisation, experiences. Then I ended up living in a squat in Utrecht and getting involved in the punk hardcore scene. That was something that really impressed me, the whole thing of doing it by yourself, squatting a place, rebuilding it, cooking food, bringing bands to play, etc. I don't know, I had the feeling that it was something very interesting, no leaders, no political agendas, just own motivation and strength to "do something" with some more people. Something that mixed your everyday life with some political layer. Quoting somebody "not talking about revolution but doing revolution".
What's going on in the area you are currently living in? Are there some squats or groups/bands doing stuff? Feel free to bomb us with information.
In Valencia city there are 3 squats doing some activities at the moment, besides there's a political bookshop and 2 or 3 anarchist infoshops. But you have to go to Valencia city for that, nothing in our town or area. Only few environmental groups that opposes to the big plans for new golf resorts with hotels and villas. This is the big issue now down here, my area is just 10 minutes driving from the beach, constructors realized about the big speculative potential of mainly orange tree fields with small landlordship and low profits. People wish to have one of those golf-hotel-villas projects at their field to finally sell for a good price. It's sad but true. And it's everywhere, the only opposition comes from small green groups or leftist parties/collectives.
Eduard, you are currently working as an "eco-farmer" and you have studied Humanistic because of your disagreements with this thing they call "education". So we all know that the current education systems are systems to reproduce all the structures and tighten the chains. What are your feelings getting money through beeing an "eco-farmer"? How do you feel doing this job? Do you have to face authorities?
I actually didn't go to university. My will was to study History because I really like it. But I was very disappointed and uncomfortable with the idea of doing it "for a future job". Currently I work with 5 more people here in Carcaixent, in a bio-agriculture co-op. We basically work on orange fields, the co-op is formed by small owners and we work the land for them. These owners have their own jobs and sources of living but they have lands and are into the eco-agriculture so we take care of their small properties, normally family inherited lands. There's a couple of people coordinating the whole thing but we can decide almost in a 100% about our own schedule, and have quite good working contracts, for what's usual in the agriculture job market here. I feel very comfortable earning money doing this. At least is much better that other jobs I had and if I want to find the socio-political turn, it has some of it. Growing eco-oranges can be more political that just working in a whatever factory or office. I remember images of riots from last year, riots from dock-workers who were facing employment re-adjustments, my feelings were so mixed because they had the right to defend their jobs with direct action against the police, but their job was about building warships for the Spanish army. You know what I mean?? I had a trauma since my teenage thinking of what to do for earning money in life and not being "too much" inside the system, although we are all inside the system in one way or another. What I mean is that for me it's better to work baking bread than producing chemical shit in a factory.
What are your favorite forms of action? Please let the police know what you are doing, haha...
Your daily life can be a form of action, for me one of the most important. Other stuff... whatever you can do with an affinity group, people you know and trust, bite and run, no mass propaganda, no leaflet handing. I'm not really sure if any of those things really work nowadays. We are not in the 20ies, back then handing leaflets at the factory door could ensure you a big number of people willing to help or collaborate with the "cause". Nowadays they insult you because you don't work as much as them or you want to disestablish their position. Fighting state propaganda is more than difficult.
Do you think concerts, especially with D.I.Y. Punk bands can "recruit" new activists or simply can influence people who are not engaged in resistance and generally in happenings around the world?
I think most of the concerts we go are an "already converted ones" thing. To be honest, a bunch of weird dressing, freaking haired and crazy shouting-jumping people is not appealing to young "normal" people, none of them who walks by a squat with a horrible noise coming from the inside thinks "hey, let's check what's going on inside!", hehehe. As I said before, mass propaganda, thinking in "converting" people, making them aware about daily problems, and trying to get some of them involved in activities is harder than any other thing. But I must say that I always prefer afternoon-early evening concerts. It's so cool to have in few hours a benefit cafe, some video or exposition or whatever, and some noise from bands. That could make more (and younger) people getting interested not just in hardcorepunk but in lots of other things related to it. I really enjoy those concerts or happenings because you can talk with other people, interact, exchange information. Last one like this I went was in Barcelona, in La Rabia squat, organised by a free radio station called Radio Bronka. There was vegan cafe, a video about a community radio from a Brazilian city and 4 bands: The Spectacle, Horror, Requiem and Terror Y Miseria. I could see young people there and that's good. If you organize concerts which start at midnight young people cannot go because of parents scheduling and transport difficulties.
Problems with right wing fucks in your area? Police and state terror? Paranoia?
Two months ago the police arrested around 20 people in our province accused to form and organised NS group, from different towns, after some weeks of attacks against properties from east-european people and north African people and some media attention. But here that's not the main problem with "fascists". The big issue here is the "fascist mafia" in Valencia centralized in a person called Jose Luis Roberto which is president of a fascist political party called España 2000, he owns a security company with contracts with almost every public institution, football stadiums, discos and pubs, villa's neighbourhoods and is the owner of a famous a gym where all those bouncers and bone-heads work out. And besides, he's the lawyer and president of the prostitution clubs' association. So he's very well connected to people in power let it be public powers, economic power or mafia/illegal businesses. I remember when a squat called Malas Pulgas in Valencia port area, was evicted a couple of years ago, they sent a bunch of private security bouncers to "defend that property from the dirty squatters", uniformed and armed, just for free, by themselves, without being required neither by the owner nor the police. This guy is finally building the unity between the right-wing parties and groups, traditionally divided and confronted by Franco followers, NS goups, catholic fundamentalists, etc. And it's getting dangerous because his message is easy to root among the masses. Inmigration, the defense of the "unity" of Spain against the catalan/basque/whatever "threat", homosexual marriages' new law, etc. are the issues where the half of the population can agree with them (the vast majority of Partido Popular voters). Few years ago, under the Partido Popular government, they were a bit lost and speechless because the PP policies were already quite pro-fascist. But now with social-democrat government they gain in strength because they see themselves as victims, within millions of PP voters. Their message is the same message than the PP and its media front (radios, newspapers, tv's highly influenced by their position and policies) it's just a matter of "political correctness". PP always tried to hide their links with Franco and cannot say certain things as mass politicians. But España 2000 don't need that self-censure. They are strong, they have a lot of money, and they know it's just a matter of time to build the great fascist Spanish party/movement they are looking for, a là frech National Front or as in other European countries. The 12th of October (day which remember the colonization of America by Spanish invaders, nowadays known as "Hispanity day") they organized a demonstration and some other activities in Valencia city with the motto "Proud to be spanish", right in the center, showing how powerful they can be and gathering fascists from other parts of the Spanish state. It's something to start being worried about. Valencia has the proper circumstances to become a fortress for those fascists because of the complicity of local/regional governments and the sharing of certain anti-Catalan message and policies and because is the area of action/work of Jose Luis Roberto's security company.
www.webs.ono.com/usr017/infonacional3/ (pics)
Since 5 or 6 years ago they keep demonstrating at least once a year against immigration and such. Nobody really could not do anything about that. The years with an antifa confrontative position, physically and on the streets, it always ended up with lots of arrested people on our side and huge media campaigns against the antifa movement, the crimininalization of side movements such as the squatter or the catalan independentist.
How are people in your area common with sexism? Both in the Punk "ghetto" and in the world "outside" of Punk.
Gender roles are given to us by the "education" process and the over-exposition to tv-propaganda-fashion etc. It's hard to realize and avoid certain attitudes. But I don't see any sexist conflict in the punk scene here. At least within the groups/activities/places I use to hang out. Of course no sexist behaviour is tolerated. But the different conceptions of sexism that different people has make it a bit difficult to unify, specially when it comes to parties or concerts with the alcohol and drugs involved and stuff. You always can find some asshole that doesn't get it. Still, most of the band members, concert organizers and stuff, are male. But in the meetings, in "asambleas", there's no big difference in number and participation between the two gender. In the "world outside" of punk as you call it, those pre-fabricated gender roles work better because of the lack of criticism of average people. So they keep things as they are on the TV, the way of how they get socialized, the way they interactact is mediatized, and we all know flesh is always a good selling point for them.
When a (Punk) band is playing on stage and you are listening and watching: Do you want to hear some stuff about politics between the songs (that bands make appointments) or do you want them to play their set straight ahead?
I don't really prefer one thing or another, I really appreciate info, quoting or explanations of song lyrics, but I don't think bands must do that. Some can be really interesting, especially if you have good sense of humor. For boring political speeches we have the leftist organisations. I love funny or cynical political statements. Mihoen! are really good at it. And I enjoy it when they have their inspiration day!!! Hehehe. As the "I don't want your revolution if I can't dance" I like to say "I don't want your revolution if I can't laugh or make fun".
Do you see any similarities when it comes to D.I.Y. Punk scene and the world "outside"?
Not much indeed, it's just a way of doing things. It just depends what's your aim. It's like if you decide to go to a travel agency and order a holiday package with transport, hotel, entertainment and stuff that is already organized and prepared by an other person or on the other hand you decide to pack your stuff and go by yourself, a good map, some info and energy. We could say that it has not anything really political. It's how you take it and how you use it. It's a mean, not the aim.
As for the label: Do you prefer to release a band with a certain (Punk) style or don't you even care (message is essential)?
I'm quite open minded when it comes to musical styles. Since very young I listened to heavy metal (thrash, death, etc), ska, oi!, folk, political mixed styled music (very influential in political movements here) reggae... but I keep punk as my all time favourite. So now I think that's translated in a wide vision about punk and all it's subgenres. I have not a certain style I prefer to release, although crust could be a common link, but it goes from crust, to hardcorepunk, to grindcore, stoner-sludge, metal, and whatever makes me dance, move, shout or jump. I could have a great time listening to a grindcore band and then you play some other similar band and I can't stand it. Or with two punk bands. It's more about bands and people than music styles. And about the message, of course I think it's important. Playing in a band gives you some power, the power which gives you a microphone and lyrics in your songs, the power of expressing something and having people listening. If you use it to talk about bullshit like decomposing corpses or infected wounds or a drunken night out, or how sad are you because life sucks and stuff you are wasting something very precious. I don't mean lyrics must be serious and political in a 100%, but they have to express something interesting.
What will be the next releases on Trabuc Records? Please also describe the band and their style of music.
In the next few weeks/months it will be out the vinyl version of Moho Cd "20 Uñas" which is a great record from this great band. They play a brutal stoner hardcore, with some sludge parts and punk feeling. I wasn't really into the "slow thing" but this band has much more energy and anger than lots of fast punk bands I've seen lately. The Makiladoras' "In Eigen Hand" LP is coming first I think, and Makiladoras mix in a perfect measure punk and metal, in capital letters, really cool riffing, good worked out songs, very interesting lyrics and whole record concept (about genetic technology in all different senses and influences). Then the Looking For An Answer / Zanussi Split EP, grindcore and harsh thrash from Madrid and Valencia, with the crusty thing thrown in and a very cool DIY attitude. Later on, Ekkaia -late discography- CD, compiling their last three vinyl releases, doing the emotional and raw crusty thing, very angry and passionated. For the next year we have planned the release of Leadershit first LP, with members of Ekkaia, Caos ÖK, Cementerio Show and Cop on Fire and it's basically a mix of crust with some rocking, metal and emotive bites. Ambulance / unknown-band-yet split EP, is planned for after, we still have to find the band who will share the vinyl with these Swedes who play a very cool, emotional neo-crust. It's meant to be Derrota on this release, a rad band from Valencia with members of Adiaphoria and Zanussi in it, but it has to be confirmed yet. And there's some verbal arrangements with some bands for the future but nothing sure yet. In the meantime, I hope I have finished the Trabuc Records Compilation CD, when all the bands send their songs, that's soooo hard. Anyways, for more info about releases, MP3s and future projects check www.nodo50.org/trabucrecords.
Do you think people, especially in the so-called First World will recognize their chains and take control of their own life?
I don't think so at all. Today people have the key for a lot of information. But everything just turns only entertaining. The spectacle, the will to be rich and famous, the consumerism. People think that they are more free than ever just because they have, or pretend to have, money to spend in the shit advertised on TV by a famous pop-star.
Okay, let's come to an end: What are you reading at the moment? What are you listening to at the moment?
Listening: Ufff, too many things. It took me some different days to answer the interview so it sounded a bit of everything: Deicide, Reincidentes, From Ashes Rise, Knifed, Down To Agony, Neurosis, Totalitär, Ruidosa Inmundicia, Mihoen!, Asschapel, Limp Wrist, Destierro, Nashgul, etc. Some of the bands that really caught me lately have been Destierro, a basque band playing a very cool, dark, metallic crust, and Ruidosa Inmundicia, I'm sure you know these last ones!! These two bands impressed me a lot!!
Reading: I have to finish a book about living in the fast lane, a book for stressed businessmen that my father recommended, it has some interesting points but I hate the perspective of the whole thing (the system is not wrong, it just need some adjustments, ya know). It's called "In praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed" from Carl Honore. Right beside my bed there's also a book about the Palestinian struggle against the Zionist occupation with a historical perspective, and a alternative newspaper called "L'Avanc".
Your last words! Thanx a lot for answering!
Thanks very much for letting me express some of my thoughts on your webzine. It's something very unusual to me but I think it's very cool to have the chance to say something about what I do or think. Keep up the good job!!! (I wish I could speak german to understand more of your work, hehehe)
Eduard.
(Öltsch)
Hi there, please tell us who is answering the questions and why you are running a label and where you are operating from, including a small history.
First of all I have to say that the original idea was to get this interview answered by the two people originally involved in Trabuc Records. The time has made the label and distro a one-man project, with the support of another but 90% carried by one person. My name is Eduard and i run Trabuc Records, a hardcorepunkcrust label with socio-political awareness and strong DIY feeling. We started the label while living in Holland, at the beginning of the summer of 2003, just few months before coming back to Carcaixent, our hometown, 40 km south from Valencia city, in the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian peninsula. Our main motivation was to keep ourselves busy with some project since we knew "our place" was dead in terms of alternative culture or political activity. Imagine the big change that supposed for us from living in a squat in a Dutch city to come back to our small town to our parents place or to a rented flat. The idea at the beginning was also to do other activities like screen printing, vegan/vegetarian cafés and catering, videos screening, an info-shop etc. We did some info-evenings with food and the distro and stuff. But the lack of spaces (we always had to ask for a place to do the activities to some youth or cultural collectives without much stuff in common with us) and the lack of feedback from the old "comrades" and younger supposedly motivated folks let us down (to the reality of our town) after few activities we did. Now all those project-ideas are reduced to the label and distro, and it's already a huge work.
I hope everybody knows that you have a website where people can check out your releases. But as for the completeness of this interview, please give us a short list:
Well, so far we've co-released and released:
- Opus Dead "Control" CD
- Mihoen! EP
- Human Bastard / Disundead - Split EP
- No Conforme / Caos OK - Split LP - Makiladoras / Radio Bikini - Split EP
- Yakuza Horror - Demo TAPE
- Holocaust In Your Head - S/T LP
And now is just out the split EP with Disease and Ultimo Preso. Makiladoras LP and Moho LP seem to be the next ones, before the year ends. And then Ekkaia compilation CD and Looking For An Anwser / Zanussi Split EP.
How and when did you get involved in Punk and in resistance?
I started being political aware and conscious when my first year of secondary school, at 15 years old. I got involved with a political-cultural collective here in Carcaixent, in a year or so we formed a student union in our school, then I got involved in leftist mass organisations and antifa collectives, and so on. In my 20ies I got burnt out and frustrated with those organisations, quite hierarchic and full of demagoguery and started travelling looking for new places, possibilities, ways of life, forms of organisation, experiences. Then I ended up living in a squat in Utrecht and getting involved in the punk hardcore scene. That was something that really impressed me, the whole thing of doing it by yourself, squatting a place, rebuilding it, cooking food, bringing bands to play, etc. I don't know, I had the feeling that it was something very interesting, no leaders, no political agendas, just own motivation and strength to "do something" with some more people. Something that mixed your everyday life with some political layer. Quoting somebody "not talking about revolution but doing revolution".
What's going on in the area you are currently living in? Are there some squats or groups/bands doing stuff? Feel free to bomb us with information.
In Valencia city there are 3 squats doing some activities at the moment, besides there's a political bookshop and 2 or 3 anarchist infoshops. But you have to go to Valencia city for that, nothing in our town or area. Only few environmental groups that opposes to the big plans for new golf resorts with hotels and villas. This is the big issue now down here, my area is just 10 minutes driving from the beach, constructors realized about the big speculative potential of mainly orange tree fields with small landlordship and low profits. People wish to have one of those golf-hotel-villas projects at their field to finally sell for a good price. It's sad but true. And it's everywhere, the only opposition comes from small green groups or leftist parties/collectives.
Eduard, you are currently working as an "eco-farmer" and you have studied Humanistic because of your disagreements with this thing they call "education". So we all know that the current education systems are systems to reproduce all the structures and tighten the chains. What are your feelings getting money through beeing an "eco-farmer"? How do you feel doing this job? Do you have to face authorities?
I actually didn't go to university. My will was to study History because I really like it. But I was very disappointed and uncomfortable with the idea of doing it "for a future job". Currently I work with 5 more people here in Carcaixent, in a bio-agriculture co-op. We basically work on orange fields, the co-op is formed by small owners and we work the land for them. These owners have their own jobs and sources of living but they have lands and are into the eco-agriculture so we take care of their small properties, normally family inherited lands. There's a couple of people coordinating the whole thing but we can decide almost in a 100% about our own schedule, and have quite good working contracts, for what's usual in the agriculture job market here. I feel very comfortable earning money doing this. At least is much better that other jobs I had and if I want to find the socio-political turn, it has some of it. Growing eco-oranges can be more political that just working in a whatever factory or office. I remember images of riots from last year, riots from dock-workers who were facing employment re-adjustments, my feelings were so mixed because they had the right to defend their jobs with direct action against the police, but their job was about building warships for the Spanish army. You know what I mean?? I had a trauma since my teenage thinking of what to do for earning money in life and not being "too much" inside the system, although we are all inside the system in one way or another. What I mean is that for me it's better to work baking bread than producing chemical shit in a factory.
What are your favorite forms of action? Please let the police know what you are doing, haha...
Your daily life can be a form of action, for me one of the most important. Other stuff... whatever you can do with an affinity group, people you know and trust, bite and run, no mass propaganda, no leaflet handing. I'm not really sure if any of those things really work nowadays. We are not in the 20ies, back then handing leaflets at the factory door could ensure you a big number of people willing to help or collaborate with the "cause". Nowadays they insult you because you don't work as much as them or you want to disestablish their position. Fighting state propaganda is more than difficult.
Do you think concerts, especially with D.I.Y. Punk bands can "recruit" new activists or simply can influence people who are not engaged in resistance and generally in happenings around the world?
I think most of the concerts we go are an "already converted ones" thing. To be honest, a bunch of weird dressing, freaking haired and crazy shouting-jumping people is not appealing to young "normal" people, none of them who walks by a squat with a horrible noise coming from the inside thinks "hey, let's check what's going on inside!", hehehe. As I said before, mass propaganda, thinking in "converting" people, making them aware about daily problems, and trying to get some of them involved in activities is harder than any other thing. But I must say that I always prefer afternoon-early evening concerts. It's so cool to have in few hours a benefit cafe, some video or exposition or whatever, and some noise from bands. That could make more (and younger) people getting interested not just in hardcorepunk but in lots of other things related to it. I really enjoy those concerts or happenings because you can talk with other people, interact, exchange information. Last one like this I went was in Barcelona, in La Rabia squat, organised by a free radio station called Radio Bronka. There was vegan cafe, a video about a community radio from a Brazilian city and 4 bands: The Spectacle, Horror, Requiem and Terror Y Miseria. I could see young people there and that's good. If you organize concerts which start at midnight young people cannot go because of parents scheduling and transport difficulties.
Problems with right wing fucks in your area? Police and state terror? Paranoia?
Two months ago the police arrested around 20 people in our province accused to form and organised NS group, from different towns, after some weeks of attacks against properties from east-european people and north African people and some media attention. But here that's not the main problem with "fascists". The big issue here is the "fascist mafia" in Valencia centralized in a person called Jose Luis Roberto which is president of a fascist political party called España 2000, he owns a security company with contracts with almost every public institution, football stadiums, discos and pubs, villa's neighbourhoods and is the owner of a famous a gym where all those bouncers and bone-heads work out. And besides, he's the lawyer and president of the prostitution clubs' association. So he's very well connected to people in power let it be public powers, economic power or mafia/illegal businesses. I remember when a squat called Malas Pulgas in Valencia port area, was evicted a couple of years ago, they sent a bunch of private security bouncers to "defend that property from the dirty squatters", uniformed and armed, just for free, by themselves, without being required neither by the owner nor the police. This guy is finally building the unity between the right-wing parties and groups, traditionally divided and confronted by Franco followers, NS goups, catholic fundamentalists, etc. And it's getting dangerous because his message is easy to root among the masses. Inmigration, the defense of the "unity" of Spain against the catalan/basque/whatever "threat", homosexual marriages' new law, etc. are the issues where the half of the population can agree with them (the vast majority of Partido Popular voters). Few years ago, under the Partido Popular government, they were a bit lost and speechless because the PP policies were already quite pro-fascist. But now with social-democrat government they gain in strength because they see themselves as victims, within millions of PP voters. Their message is the same message than the PP and its media front (radios, newspapers, tv's highly influenced by their position and policies) it's just a matter of "political correctness". PP always tried to hide their links with Franco and cannot say certain things as mass politicians. But España 2000 don't need that self-censure. They are strong, they have a lot of money, and they know it's just a matter of time to build the great fascist Spanish party/movement they are looking for, a là frech National Front or as in other European countries. The 12th of October (day which remember the colonization of America by Spanish invaders, nowadays known as "Hispanity day") they organized a demonstration and some other activities in Valencia city with the motto "Proud to be spanish", right in the center, showing how powerful they can be and gathering fascists from other parts of the Spanish state. It's something to start being worried about. Valencia has the proper circumstances to become a fortress for those fascists because of the complicity of local/regional governments and the sharing of certain anti-Catalan message and policies and because is the area of action/work of Jose Luis Roberto's security company.
www.webs.ono.com/usr017/infonacional3/ (pics)
Since 5 or 6 years ago they keep demonstrating at least once a year against immigration and such. Nobody really could not do anything about that. The years with an antifa confrontative position, physically and on the streets, it always ended up with lots of arrested people on our side and huge media campaigns against the antifa movement, the crimininalization of side movements such as the squatter or the catalan independentist.
How are people in your area common with sexism? Both in the Punk "ghetto" and in the world "outside" of Punk.
Gender roles are given to us by the "education" process and the over-exposition to tv-propaganda-fashion etc. It's hard to realize and avoid certain attitudes. But I don't see any sexist conflict in the punk scene here. At least within the groups/activities/places I use to hang out. Of course no sexist behaviour is tolerated. But the different conceptions of sexism that different people has make it a bit difficult to unify, specially when it comes to parties or concerts with the alcohol and drugs involved and stuff. You always can find some asshole that doesn't get it. Still, most of the band members, concert organizers and stuff, are male. But in the meetings, in "asambleas", there's no big difference in number and participation between the two gender. In the "world outside" of punk as you call it, those pre-fabricated gender roles work better because of the lack of criticism of average people. So they keep things as they are on the TV, the way of how they get socialized, the way they interactact is mediatized, and we all know flesh is always a good selling point for them.
When a (Punk) band is playing on stage and you are listening and watching: Do you want to hear some stuff about politics between the songs (that bands make appointments) or do you want them to play their set straight ahead?
I don't really prefer one thing or another, I really appreciate info, quoting or explanations of song lyrics, but I don't think bands must do that. Some can be really interesting, especially if you have good sense of humor. For boring political speeches we have the leftist organisations. I love funny or cynical political statements. Mihoen! are really good at it. And I enjoy it when they have their inspiration day!!! Hehehe. As the "I don't want your revolution if I can't dance" I like to say "I don't want your revolution if I can't laugh or make fun".
Do you see any similarities when it comes to D.I.Y. Punk scene and the world "outside"?
Not much indeed, it's just a way of doing things. It just depends what's your aim. It's like if you decide to go to a travel agency and order a holiday package with transport, hotel, entertainment and stuff that is already organized and prepared by an other person or on the other hand you decide to pack your stuff and go by yourself, a good map, some info and energy. We could say that it has not anything really political. It's how you take it and how you use it. It's a mean, not the aim.
As for the label: Do you prefer to release a band with a certain (Punk) style or don't you even care (message is essential)?
I'm quite open minded when it comes to musical styles. Since very young I listened to heavy metal (thrash, death, etc), ska, oi!, folk, political mixed styled music (very influential in political movements here) reggae... but I keep punk as my all time favourite. So now I think that's translated in a wide vision about punk and all it's subgenres. I have not a certain style I prefer to release, although crust could be a common link, but it goes from crust, to hardcorepunk, to grindcore, stoner-sludge, metal, and whatever makes me dance, move, shout or jump. I could have a great time listening to a grindcore band and then you play some other similar band and I can't stand it. Or with two punk bands. It's more about bands and people than music styles. And about the message, of course I think it's important. Playing in a band gives you some power, the power which gives you a microphone and lyrics in your songs, the power of expressing something and having people listening. If you use it to talk about bullshit like decomposing corpses or infected wounds or a drunken night out, or how sad are you because life sucks and stuff you are wasting something very precious. I don't mean lyrics must be serious and political in a 100%, but they have to express something interesting.
What will be the next releases on Trabuc Records? Please also describe the band and their style of music.
In the next few weeks/months it will be out the vinyl version of Moho Cd "20 Uñas" which is a great record from this great band. They play a brutal stoner hardcore, with some sludge parts and punk feeling. I wasn't really into the "slow thing" but this band has much more energy and anger than lots of fast punk bands I've seen lately. The Makiladoras' "In Eigen Hand" LP is coming first I think, and Makiladoras mix in a perfect measure punk and metal, in capital letters, really cool riffing, good worked out songs, very interesting lyrics and whole record concept (about genetic technology in all different senses and influences). Then the Looking For An Answer / Zanussi Split EP, grindcore and harsh thrash from Madrid and Valencia, with the crusty thing thrown in and a very cool DIY attitude. Later on, Ekkaia -late discography- CD, compiling their last three vinyl releases, doing the emotional and raw crusty thing, very angry and passionated. For the next year we have planned the release of Leadershit first LP, with members of Ekkaia, Caos ÖK, Cementerio Show and Cop on Fire and it's basically a mix of crust with some rocking, metal and emotive bites. Ambulance / unknown-band-yet split EP, is planned for after, we still have to find the band who will share the vinyl with these Swedes who play a very cool, emotional neo-crust. It's meant to be Derrota on this release, a rad band from Valencia with members of Adiaphoria and Zanussi in it, but it has to be confirmed yet. And there's some verbal arrangements with some bands for the future but nothing sure yet. In the meantime, I hope I have finished the Trabuc Records Compilation CD, when all the bands send their songs, that's soooo hard. Anyways, for more info about releases, MP3s and future projects check www.nodo50.org/trabucrecords.
Do you think people, especially in the so-called First World will recognize their chains and take control of their own life?
I don't think so at all. Today people have the key for a lot of information. But everything just turns only entertaining. The spectacle, the will to be rich and famous, the consumerism. People think that they are more free than ever just because they have, or pretend to have, money to spend in the shit advertised on TV by a famous pop-star.
Okay, let's come to an end: What are you reading at the moment? What are you listening to at the moment?
Listening: Ufff, too many things. It took me some different days to answer the interview so it sounded a bit of everything: Deicide, Reincidentes, From Ashes Rise, Knifed, Down To Agony, Neurosis, Totalitär, Ruidosa Inmundicia, Mihoen!, Asschapel, Limp Wrist, Destierro, Nashgul, etc. Some of the bands that really caught me lately have been Destierro, a basque band playing a very cool, dark, metallic crust, and Ruidosa Inmundicia, I'm sure you know these last ones!! These two bands impressed me a lot!!
Reading: I have to finish a book about living in the fast lane, a book for stressed businessmen that my father recommended, it has some interesting points but I hate the perspective of the whole thing (the system is not wrong, it just need some adjustments, ya know). It's called "In praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed" from Carl Honore. Right beside my bed there's also a book about the Palestinian struggle against the Zionist occupation with a historical perspective, and a alternative newspaper called "L'Avanc".
Your last words! Thanx a lot for answering!
Thanks very much for letting me express some of my thoughts on your webzine. It's something very unusual to me but I think it's very cool to have the chance to say something about what I do or think. Keep up the good job!!! (I wish I could speak german to understand more of your work, hehehe)
Eduard.