1.Furious greetings of Perú, Nevin! How going the things at Struggle Session?
Greetings from China! Everything in the world of Struggle Session is going great. We’re busy preparing to visit that other Great Wall on your side of the world. We’ve heard that Trump can’t stand for anyone to have anything better than what he has and wants a wall even bigger than China’s. China’s Great Wall didn’t keep the Mongols out but hopefully the greatest wall in the world will do a better job at keeping drunk American’s from ruining Tijuana. In all seriousness though, we believe in the freedom of movement for all people and are against all national borders. This July we’ll be playing on both sides of the wall with 25 shows in the U.S., Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. It will be our first time performing in North America and are excited to meet the bands and audience there!
2.Tell us how is form this destructive band of loud fast hardcore called Struggle Session? Hows been the begings?
The band formed in 2016 in Beijing, China. I had been living here and involved in the underground scene for awhile and the other members all arrived from their respective countries, Oliver from the US, Alfie from Australia, and Aaron from Canada via Morocco. We quickly bonded over a love for hardcore and the local Beijing punk scene and decided to get together and see what we could do. We had all played in bands before and it wasn’t long until we were averaging a show a week and planning tours around the world. It’s been a really fun time and very lucky that the four of us were able to meet in the way we did.
3.Loud discography of Struggle Session till moment?
Our first release was in 2017, a split LP with the South China band Die!ChiwawaDie! We had recoded a demo and had it mixed by a friend in Sweden. It was originally just to get the songs down but we liked the results so much we decided to release it ahead of our Spain and Morocco tour. We then released two split 7”s in 2018, one with the Korean band Arryam and the other with Brazil’s TEST. After our South American tour we were approached by a label in Beijing, Dying Art, to release a tape. We gave them all of our songs plus three more we had recorded with a friend in Korea. Now we’re getting ready to release a new 7” the tells the story of our 2018 South American tour. The 7” contains 33 songs in under 10 minutes and was super fun to write. It’s a mix of stories and inside jokes from our tour and the artwork, done by our friend Riot in Kunming, is amazing!
4.Chaotic influences at Struggle Session?
We all come for different countries and different backgrounds and bring a diverse set of influences from across the punk, hardcore, and metal spectrum. I’m the oldest and draw a lot of influence from 80’s US hardcore-punk as well as 90’s hardcore and power violence such a DS-13 and SPAZZ. Our bassist, Alfie, is influenced by grindcore, Japanese bands such as Melt Banana, and his local Australian scene. The drummer, Aaron, has played in a whole range of hardcore and tech-metal bands and was influenced by the Toronto scene as well as bands like Punch. The vocalist, Oliver, is from New Jersey and draws from a lot of the post-2000s hardcore, deathcore, and black metal scenes. The mix of influences has allowed us to create music that I don’t think any of us would have made on our own.
5.Some members of Struggle Session have another project parallel?
Yes, our bassist still plays with his Sydney synth-grind band Scrotal Vice and tours internationally twice a year. Aaron and I play in a Beijing-based d-beat band called MAI, and Aaron also plays in NYHC / crossover style hardcore band called Return The Truth. Oliver is working on a new project with some friends in New York, but it’s still super secret for now.
6.Nevin explain some more about actual hardcore scene from your city and recommend some bands.
The Beijing hardcore scene is going through a pretty interesting time with a lot more crossover metal acts and some newer styles coming in that didn’t exist in China before. A lot of the older bands draw from street-punk like Demerit, or from NYHC like Unregenerate Blood. The younger bands though draw from a much larger range of styles, we have thrash bands like Tumour Boy, d-beat bands like D-Crash, sludge bands like S.H.A.S., and fastcore acts like the Diders. There are also a bunch of punk bands and everyone shares bills making for diverse and fun nights.
7.Struggle Session knows hardcore scene of Southamerica?
Last summer we played 33 shows in South America including one in Hensley Bar in Lima. The tour was one of the most amazing experiences for all of us, covering seven countries including Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Panama. We were able to see a lot of local bands and meet some incredible people along the way. We only began to scratch the surface of what is happening in South America but what we saw blew us away. Some of my favorite acts that we played with included TEST (Brazil), Hauser (Brazil), Avitacion 101 (Montevideo), Rancho Aparte (Argentina), Karne Krua (Brazil), D.E.R. (Brazil), Hez (Panama), Los Crustaceos (Chile), Ruinas (Argentina), Dettonacion (Argentina), Intenta Detenerme (Chile), SAQRA (Peru), Zen/Aku (Colombia), and Aphorism (Brazil).
8.Stuff available of Struggle Session at the moment? where punxs can find the stuff?
Our physical releases are all available in China through record stores like IndieMusic and internationally from Far Out Distant Sounds and our bandcamp. I know this is hard for fans in South America as shipping from both China and the U.S. is really expensive. Our new EP “Sudámerica Ruido y Amor” will be released on tape by several South American labels including one in Peru. We are also looking for labels to do tape or CD release of our 2016~2018 discography. As for digital all of our music can be downloaded for free from bandcamp or streamed on Spotify.
9.Plans for this putrid future?
We hope to survive this North America tour and then write our first full-length in the second half of the year. We’re planning a Japan tour in December and then who knows. We would love to get back to South America or do a more extensive tour of Europe. No matter what we are looking forward to making more noise and hanging out with friends around the world. We’ve met amazing people traveling in places such as South America, Morocco, Spain, and Korea and a lot of them have become close friends.
10.Last words Nevin and thanks for your time in this interview,something you want to add?
Thanks for interviewing us and keep it diy!
Cheers!
https://strugglesession.bandcamp.com/
1.Fast and furious greetings of Perú,Nico! How going the things at Bones Brigade Records?
Not bad at all, 2019 and 2020 will be years of represses of old releases & one new CHIENS vinyl
2.Tell us how is form this destructive label of grindcore called Bones Brigade Records? Hows been the begings?
I started the Label in 1998 with the first album of Last Days Of Humanity, at that time it was easier to be productive and it was good fun to work with bands.
3.Loud discography of Bones Brigade Records?
Heavy, loud and independant discography, from Grind to Sludge, From Death Metal to Powerviolence etc... no limit for alternative music !
4.Influences at Bones Brigade Records?
Bones Brigade Records is influenced by Hardcore life, frustration, weed, human stupidity. So easy to be pissed off in this world, so it's clear that producing something who sounds like revolution against unfair shit is normal !
5.Nico apart of Bones Brigade Records you have another proyect paralell?
Not right now ! 100% and only Bones Brigade Records.
6.Explain some more about actual grindcore scene from your city Nico,and recommend some bands.
Where i live, there is no scene, no bands or something interesting about culture... but i'm lucky to live very close to the Belgium border, so i go as much as i can there, because it's very good for shows, many bands, great atmosphere, good vibes, nice and open minded people. The bands i listen the most the last few weeks are, Travolta, Gewoon Fucking Raggen, Lifespite & Friendship, check them out, you won't be disapointed !
7.Nico you know some of grindcore scene of Southamerica?
Yes, i know few like Rot, Ratos De Porao, New York Against The Belzebu, Flesh Grinder, Hutt, Life is a Lie. I used to listen also when i was younger bands like Sepultura, Holocausto, Sarcofago, Mutilator etc... i still listen to it, can't spend a year without listening « i.n.r.i. » of Sarcofago at least 1 time !
8.Stuff available of Bones Brigade Records at the moment? where grinders can find the stuff?
Many cd's, lp's etc... are available right now on bonesbrigaderecords.bigcartel.com/, Girls and Boys feel free to write me at : info@bonesbrigaderecs.com if you need informations, help or whatever...
9.Morbid future plans?
First plan is to enjoy life as much as possible then repress old releases of the label who weren't since the 90's & 00's. Right now we are working on the new CHIENS 12 »EP, you can listen to the new songs on their Bandcamp.
10.Last words Nico and thanks for your time in this interview! Something you want add?
Thank you very much David for the interview and the interest of Bones Brigade Records.
Music is not only melodies and beats to dance drunk, it's also the perfect way to communicate your ideas against stupidity, to spit your frustration, to shout your anger about capitalism, xenophobia, homophobia, pollution.
Good luck to you Diego and your Zine.
http://bonesbrigaderecs.com/
1.Noisy greetings of Perú,Tim! How going the things in 1st Class Collapse?
Hey David, greetings from Germoney. Pretty cool that you’re supporting shitty little bands like us with your zine in South America! We’re doing pretty well at all.
2.Tell us how is form this destructive band of raw grind powerviolence called 1st Class Collapse? Hows been the begings?
We’re 4 boys playing in a band and we’re all in our mid 30ties to 40ties. So, for sure we all played in bands before and doing/did other projects. Me (Drums) and Wing (Guitar) are playing together since our really early days. I mean like more then 20 years. We started with a wannabe punk/metal band (before the internet - hehe) like most teenagers do. After the years we split and founded a more brutal deathmetal band. Then this also splits in 2015 and Wing, me and the former bassplayer decided to start a new band in 2016 going more into direction powerviolence, grind, hardcore. Luckily we found Basti, a great singer from a (no longer existing) local HC-Band – he did the vocals on our EP-Tape “Endverbraucher. Sadly, he had to quit his performance in 1CC due to job reasons. A few months before that, Peter the bass player, also quitted because of family priorities. But then we found Chris for bass guitar at a concert he organized and later on Christoph for the vocals. When Basti quitted we’ve been very frustrated to get a new singer, cause the rehearsal room is located in the middle of nowhere. But after a Facebook post we found Christoph just 10 minutes later. This was pretty good luck. Today 3 of us traveling around 1-2 hours to meet for rehearsals, but it’s great and we really love what we do.
3.Discography of 1st Class Collapse?
Ha! This story is quickly told. Due to the member changes we just made one EP/Demo “Endverbraucher” so far. It came out on Hackebeil Records / Wooaaargh Records / Ecocentric Records – 3 great labels for niche, underground, blastbeat bands. BTW: “Endverbraucher” is the german word for “end customer”. But when you think about it word by word, it also means “mass consumption till the end”. We did some separate songs for different compilations on “Grindcore Worldwide” from Indonesia or “Fast//Violence” a Tape from Knochentapes. But there will be new stuff later this year. Since we changed our singer, it sounds more raw power violence then the EP tape. You can check this today by our live videos on YouTube.
CD-R / Version
TAPE / Version
4.Influences at 1st Class Collapse?
We just took influences from what we like: Weekend Nachos, Magrudergrind, ACxDC, Henry Fonda, Ground, Gets Worse… – there’re too much to list them all. But when we started, we thought about to sound like Weekend Nachos or Nails. Since our latest member changes it changed a bit more into power violence style.
5.Some members of 1st Class Collapse have another proyect paralell?
Yes Sir, let’s start with Christoph. He’s doing vocals in CAPT. CAVEMAN, maybe the most brutal thing you’ll find on German market for raw power violence. This a for-sure-listen-to-them! No guitar – just bass guitar – Super brutal – super fast. Chris is known for his job in MINDFLAIR, a more sludgy grind band, they’re existing for a long time right know and are also strong. Wing plays bass guitar in a kind of melodic death metal band called GORDON BISHOP. There pretty new right now and just started working on first songs. To me, I’m lazy. But I have the idea to join or found a Doom Band in the future – maybe in a style like Monolord… let’s see. On the other hand, I’m helping two good friends in EASTWOOD with graphics at a tape label called HACKEBEIL RECORDS.
6.Tim explain some more about the actual grindcore powerviolence scene from your city and recommend some bands.
We don’t have that one city we’re from, cause we all don’t live in the same area. But to me it feels like that Grind and PV is getting more traction here since a few years. There are some great festivals like Grind the Nazi Scum, Grind here right now, Dräschfeschd or the Fast Fest. I live close to the city of Cologne and there are noisy concerts let’s say 10 – 15 times a year – which is great. German bands I strongly recommend are: Capt. Caveman, Mindflair, Eastwood, Burt, ill, Trigger, TFB, Sanitys Dawn, Alteri, ARNOxDÜBEL, Hässelhöff, Schlund and a lot more for sure.
7.1st Class Collapse knows the grindcore powerviolence scene of Southamerica?
I believe this would be the right question for Christoph. He’s a “Living Wikipedia” for those bands worldwide. Too me it starts and ends with Ratos de Porão. But – invite us, we’re pretty easy, handsome and always good for opener slots – hehe.
8.Stuff available of 1st Class Collapse at the moment? where the grinders can find the stuff?
We’re pretty out of stock at the moment. There are just less then 5 Tapes left, CDs are gone, some shirts are left and we have patches and stickers. But on our bandcamp you can download everything for “pay what you want ” (including 0). You can find us on:
1stclasscollapse.bandcamp.com/
facebook.com/1stclasscollapse/
instagram.com/1stclasscollapse.grind/
youtube -> search for 1st Class Collapse
9.Morbid future plans?
Trying to destroy this planet later then earlier. We’re going to record new stuff in June. Release will be later in the year. Then we have some german shows locked and a gig on “Grind here right now” Festival, which we’re pretty excited about. In November we’ll do a mini tour (4-5 days) with our friends in TFB. This will cause to headaches and hangover till Christmas.
10.Last words Tim and thanks for your time in this interview! PLAY FAST OR DIE!
We have to say a huge thank you. It’s not typical that I got a message from Peru for review/interview. Move your asses to shows, see all bands then, support small bands at their merch table, make your own concerts, support small venues, be a good person, fight racism and go vegan.
