Interviews

(interview)REACH:”The basic principle isn’t a dress code, a hair style or some slang – it’s the attitude, the mentality.”

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Reach from Slovenia, Prekmurje region, are a relatively new band in the scene. They were already featured in this zine when I reviewed their debut demo. Now was the perfect time to talk with the guys about their band, music scene and state of hardcore in general and many other themes.

HI GUYS, WELCOME TO MY WEBZINE. IT HAS BEEN A WHILE REACH EXISTS AS A BAND, SO FIRST OFF, ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE THINGS YOUVE DONE UNTIL NOW?

JAN: Our guitarist Luka and drummer Benjamin started the band back in spring 2016 and later I joined the band as vocalist at the end of the year. During our first months we had our friend Tomaž on bass as a session player, but then this year in April, Jože joined as a full time bass player. So if we consider that I’m studying in Ljubljana and other guys all have full time jobs, we can definitely say that we are very happy with what we have accomplished so far.

YOU RECORDED ON DEMO E.P.AND I GUESS YOU HAVE MORE MATERIAL THAT DID NOT FIND PLACE ON THE E.P.SO WHEN IS THE NEXT E.P. OR FULL LENGTH ALBUM COMING OUT?

LUKA: Yes, of course. For the demo we just picked three of the best songs we had at a time, but we still have a lot of material. Currently we’re working on new songs and we’re planning to record a split with fellow Slovenian hardcore band Laid To Rest sometime in early of 2018. And after that we will focus on making our first EP.

YOU DID SOME GIGS IN SLOVENIA AND I THINK ONE IN CROATIA, SO DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY SPECIAL RITUALS OR PREPARATIONS BEFORE THE GIG?

JAN: Well, I think there is nothing special… yet! Everyone is just chilling, hanging out with other bands or just drinking beer. We warm up in the backstage, I also stretch a bit just to be ready for all the moving on the stage, but otherwise nothing special. We are still a bit nervous before going on stage and I think that with more and more gigs a routine will come by itself.

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photo by:Andreja Barbarič, taken from Reach FB page

YOUR LYRICS ARE PERSONAL BUT DEAL WITH SOME THEMES KNOWN IN THE HARDCORE SCENE. WHERE DO YOU GET INSPIRATION FOR THE LYRICS?

JAN: Most of the lyrics I wrote on the bus ride back home from Ljubljana. I guess, that was a good place to reflect back on what happened through the week, what I saw, heard, what bothered me and I just put it on the paper. Sometimes when me and my girlfriend go for a walk we try to “save” the world and some inspiration comes from these long talks and then sometimes I am listening more closely to some music and feel the same way as the band I listened to felt, and just try to write my own opinion about that.

PREKMURJE WAS KNOWN TO BE PRETTY BARREN AND POOR AREA, DOES THIS ALSO EFFECT YOUR INSPIRATION AND FEEDS YOUR ANGER AND FRUSTRATIONS? IS IT EASY TO GET A JOB IN YOUR AREA? HOW IS THE LIVING ON THE EVERYDAY BASIS?

LUKA: I think that at this time it is hard to get job anywhere in general, not just in Slovenia. You really have to be patient and you have to try many times. It’s true that Pomurje doesn’t offer many options so that’s why so many young people go to work in Maribor, Ljubljana or even abroad (Austria, Germany…). So there are two aspects that come out of it. Anger – because of the state of the country (or even the whole world) is in right now and gratitude – respect for people who helped us to be the people we are now, that sure was not easy.

DO YOU GUYS BELIEVE IN STREET JUSTICE? WHEN SOMEONE DOES HARM TO YOUR LOVED ONE AND THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM FAILS, DO YOU BELIEVE IN TAKING MATTERS IN YOUR OWN HANDS?

LUKA: Well, the whole ‘eye for an eye’ principle is really flawed. It’s an never ending cycle of aggression and pain. Life always finds a way to punish those who are exploiting other people for their own self-gain. Even if we don’t see it somewhere something isn’t going like they wanted it and they are just left with paying their dues.

WHAT ABOUT TOO VIOLENT DANCING? I KNOW THAT HARDCORE GIGS ARE NOT POETRY EVENINGS BUT I FEEL KINDA STUPID WHEN TWO OR THREE ASSHOLES DO KARATE DANCING AND YOU CANNOT COME CLOSE TO THE STAGE AND ENJOY THE GIG AND IN A WAY PARTICIPATE IN A SHOW.

BENJAMIN: We are all those type of listeners who want to participate on a show to the fullest – sing-along, dance, stage dive, mosh. But we don’t really like crowd killing. Don’t get us wrong – we like hardcore dancing, good old mosh pit and circle pit but there is a difference between swinging your arms and kicking in the air or intentionally punching people around you.

DO YOU GUYS HAVE YOUR OWN REHEARSAL SPACE OR DO YOU PAY FOR THE SPACE?

LUKA: We share our space with two other bands from Pomurje (Odpisani, Cyphre Louis) but we don’t see them too often so it’s almost like we’re the only ones there. Other than that it’s nothing special. The rehearsal space is in Ljutomer.

YOU PLAY MODERN VERSION OF HARDCORE. DO YOU BELIEVE HARDCORE IS LIKE A LIVING BEING CONSTANTLY EVOLVING AND CHANGING? THE SCENE PURISTS CERTAINLY HATE THAT. WHAT IS THE STATE OF SLOVENIAN AND WORLD HARDCORE SCENE IN 2017.FROM YOUR POINT OF VIEW?

LUKA: We think that it really is changing and evolving all the time, just like us. There is always something new in the scene, something fresh and that’s what I love about it. I’m always surprised by the new things some of bands can come up with.

I really love what a small, underground scene like hardcore can accomplish and the most important part of this scene is the attitude, the view on the state of the world, that you can share and find a way to overcome obstacles in life.

I constantly hear people argue over what is and what isn’t “true” or “real”. Not just in hardcore but in every genre of music. And this is really where the hardcore stands out for me, because the basic principle isn’t a dress code, a hair style or some slang – it’s the attitude, the mentality. It’s about solidarity and accepting anyone and everyone for what he or she is, and also for you to stay true to yourself.

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photo taken from Reach FB page

WE HAVE COME TO THE END OF THE INTERVIEW, SO FEEL FREE TO STATE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE, MAYBE ANNOUNCE SOME GIGS YOU PLAY OR HOW CAN KIDS KEEP CONTACT WITH YOU? THANKS FOR THE ANSWERS.

LUKA: The main thing in the near future is going to be putting together a debut EP and of course, to play as many shows as we possibly can. The first one is on 14.10. in Gornja Radgona, then we’re playing in Kranj on 28.10., Ljubljana on 17.11. and later in 2.12. we’re playing again in Lendava with Slander and Hawser.

You can find all our show dates and news about the band on our FB and Instagram pages. If you’d like to get in touch with us just drop us a message.

Thank you for showing interest in us and doing this interview. Cheers from Pomurje.

http://www.reach-hc.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/reachhc

https://www.instagram.com/reach_hardcore

 

 

 

Columns

(columns)Kraykulla mad rantings:Our daily sexism

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Hello, Kraykulla here. We have not heard each other in my mad ranting columns for about two weeks now, so it was about time for a new one. There is one thing thats been bothering me and I just need to share it with all of you because I believe that you witnessed something similar in your lives.

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Last week I was coming to my work as usual. When I was entering the building where I work, one of my associates was just about to exit the building door and she was heading for the nearby store to buy herself something to eat for breakfast. One of my male colleagues was holding the door for her in mocked civility. When me and my friend warned him about the whereabouts of his eyes, he just laughed aloud and shouted at us not to be concerned because he actually was not looking at her ass, he was only looking at her tits. I became instantly sick to my stomach because all the other male colleagues laughed heartily at his remark and he was like a ideal male hero for them, who lighted up their morning and made their day.

Another example:the other day three of my work colleagues engaged themselves in most obnoxious talk about the women and their role in the society as being stupid, made only for kitchen and fucking. When one of my colleagues refused to join them, they told them that he is a pussy and that his turtle of a wife holds him on a tight leash. Say what, motherfucker? If someone told me that about my wife or girlfriend, I would place my Doc Martens so hard and deep in the guys balls, so he would remember it for the remainder of his days. The hardest part was that all the girls sitting around where laughing heartily at the remarks they are only good for cooking and fucking. I mean, come on. The guys are insulting you and you laugh? I asked the dude later why do you let them insult your wife? By that they also insult you because you love your wife, dont you? Youll do anything to protect her? Youll do anything for her? Why are you quiet then, motherfucker? Should I fight your wars? He told me that he doesnt want to say anything because they will turn his words in their favour. The hardest part of all that is most of the guys at my work consider those guys heroes and to them they are only having merry male jokes and to them I and couple of others are faggots who cant joke.

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The other day one of my colleagues sitting across from me told the guy from the business associate company on the phone that she is a woman and knowing cars is not her job, her female job is to know how to cook and male job is to know about cars. Why are some of the girls like purposefully demeaning themselves? Is it because of the generations of conservative upbringing? Is it because of the fear that they will not be acknowleged in society because they can think with their heads?

Some days I just want to kick some of the guys heads in at my work. Such primitivism, such neanderthal thinking and I am sometimes ashamed to be a man.

If you try to say something you are weird and you are out of real world, as they say. Well motherfucker, I would rather be out of your world forever than living inside for a milisecond.

 

Reviews

Some movies I have watched lately!

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There are couple of movies I have seen lately and I would like to write something about them, whether they were good and fun to watch or bad.

First off, THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT 2 was a giant surprise that it came out at all, because I remember the first one not being so good, rather boring stuff, and they made a sequel.

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In this one, the girl that I guess survived the first one and the movie documentary crew travel through America visiting hunted scary attractions and hayrides looking for some which could scare them so two thirds of the movie represent some kind of weird commercial for haunted fair attractions across the USA. The last third of the movie turns into some kind of mindfuck psychological horror or at least it tries to be and in the end leaves you with bitter taste in your mouth not really knowing why or what happened to the characters. This one was a shot in the blank space and it is definitely not worth your time.

Going to the next one, or the next two to be precise. as I watched both JOHN WICK movies back to back. Many call these movies mindless shootout , nothing intellectually worth, but I guess they didnt make them to be mentally challenging, on the contrary, they made them to be action packed fun flicks for no brain pressure release fun watching.

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In the first one, John Wick(Keanu Reeves) is a retired mafia super hitman, whose wife Helen just died of cancer and left him a dog as a last token of her love?! and to have someone with whom he can share his grief. While one day shopping for fuel, the son of Russian mobster sees his Mustang car, decides it must be his, breaks into Johns house, steals the car and murders his dog. Unfortunately for the whole Russian mob organization in town, John Wick decides to move out of retirement and settle the score. This one has a pretty excessive bodycount and attractive action scenes that kept me attracted to the screen for the whole duration of the movie, so I really loved the first movie.

As for the second, tentatively called Chapter Two, the story continues in the same way. Upon hearing that he went out of retirement to settle the score in the first movie, Italian mafia boss burdens John with a hard task, but the one he must do, in order to stay alive and retire out of the previous life once more. Not all goes according to the plan, so once more there is bloodshed and general shootout all through the movie, so it is very similar to the first one, the only difference is that this time it went international in the story, not only in one town like in the first movie.

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In my opinion, the first one was somehow better. I cant really tell why, because in the second one, the bodycount is bigger, the action scenes are even more attractive but it just somehow didnt work for me.

Anyway, I am glad to see Keanu Reeves doing again what he did best in the past and that is making great action movies. I kinda missed him since the Matrix glory days.

 

 

Now is the time for some Asian, to be precise Korean flick. AGE OF SHADOWS is a Korean movie set in 1920-ies when Japan Empire occupied Korea and small band of resistance fighters played cats and mouse game trying to outwit and do some serious damage to the Japanese, who also had Korean collaboration police on their side.

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As it usually goes in those movies, the story is action packed and tense, but what fascinates me the most are the characters. The characters in such movies are so greatly written that they are usually so to say larger than life and you actually feel regret and happines and sympathize with them during the movie. If you expect action blockbuster here, dont watch this one, because, while it has many action scenes, this one is in its core spy drama movie. This movie was great and it only proves how much Korean film industry rose in the scene and somehow became I would dare say leading force in the Asian movie theatre with due respect to Chinese and Japanese movie industry. Anyway, if you are interested and like such movies, see Age of Shadows, you wont regret it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Power Of The Underground