Can you give us an introduction to Chulo?Chulo is a grindcore/powerviolence band from Bogotá, Colombia that started playing since early 2009. Its line-up began with Jorge (ex- Es-quizofrenia, Grito de Insolencia, Ceache, Yacüzzi and others...) play-ing drums, Sergio the bass guitar, Ricardo the guitar and Sebastián (ex-Yacüzzi) doing vocals. This line-up changed with Ricardo leaving the band and Sebastián taking both guitar and vocals. Later in 2010 Óscar (ex-BeatZarros) was added to do the vocals. With this line-up the band recorded their first stuff, which appeared on Grindcore Kara-oke and on DIY Noise. Recently, in mid-2013, Óscar left the band, and again as a power-trio, Chulo, recorded the splits with Filthpact, Pauci-ties, Beatriz Carnicero and Foiled (still unreleased).

What does the term Chulo mean, and how does it fit with the aesthetic of the band if at all?The term “chulo” here in Colombia stands for black vulture. In other Latin American countries it stands for other stuff, but we used it because of the bird previously mentioned. Regarding the aesthetic of the band, we decided to name it after something that disgusted people such as the punk we played. This filthy bird with habits such as feeding from carrion and living in dumps was just perfect. Also the typical Colombian word was short and easy to remember so it fitted exactly what we had in mind for the band.

I absolutely love the feral qualities of Chulo, even on more cleaner pro-ductions you don’t lose that raw coarse edge you guys thrive on, is this “savageness” a specific approach to your song writing or is it just how it comes out?It’s both. Our main approach is to deliver the power and the violence in every track, so what we usually do is to record all the instruments at the same time, so that it sounds just as we usually play rehearsing or live and then add the vocals. This gives the recording a raw and filthy sound, just how Chulo is, with clear vocals.

Are there any particular bands that contribute to Chulo’s overall sound and aesthetic?Yes, Crossed Out, Spazz, Neanderthal, Infest and punk medallo bands such as B.S.N., HP.HC. and Restos de Tragedia were our main influence for our target sound when we started the band (and still are). About the aesthetic, the influences are more of actual (recent) grindcore/powervi-olence bands such as Magrudergrind, In Disgust and Wormrot, to name a few.

Would there be any merit to saying Chulo continue in line with the punk tradition of protest? And what would be the lyrically themes used by Chulo?We aren’t activists and we don’t try to fit any “punk tradition” but defi-nitely there are some protest elements in our lyrics. We write about everything that crosses our minds and mainly about the daily basis of our lives. Living in a country like Colombia makes it impossible to ignore the injustices, violence, corruption, misery, exploitation and abuse that happen every day, so our lyrics in many of our tracks reject, criticize and denounce all of this stuff we are against and would like to change.

Do you feel living in a developing country known for violence, domestic terrorism and social upheaval adds anything to Chulo?Just as in the answer for the question before, all this adds some more direct background for the lyrics of the tracks that treat this kind of sub-jects.

A cliché for sure, but what are your opinions on drugs and narcotics?We aren’t straight edge or anything like that, we like to drink (a lot) and occasionally smoke weed, but we think no one should be substance dependent and that you have to be your own god without being a slave to any kind of drug or narcotic. Also we definitely are against all the violence and other disgraceful consequences that drug trafficking and dealing carry with them.

What misconceptions do you feel the world has about Colombia?Well, first of all that we’re all drug dealers or that we carry cocaine with ourselves every time to every place, second that every place in Colom-bia is jungle and that there are only small wooden houses (such as that first scene on that misinformed Hollywood crap called “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”) and third that is spelled “Columbia” or that we speak “Colombi-an”.

Chulo have done a great number of splits, how do you go about choos-ing who to do splits with?It just happens, I mean, we don’t get to choose who we are going to do a split with, sometimes we just get in contact with people from other bands and the idea just develops, sometimes friends put us in contact with other bands and some other times we just listen to a band we like and which we think it would be great to have a split with, and try getting in contact with its members and wait for their answer.

What significance do you believe splits hold in extreme music?Splits give the opportunity for bands to get to other audience different to their usual one, also to get to be known in other countries (if the split is shared with a foreign band), to share costs and make it easier to be released in a physical format and to make awesome new friends..

One split in particular was the floppy disk split with Gripe, was there any reasoning as to the use of an obsolete format?A: It was just a stupid idea we had a long time ago, and we just though “we’ll just give it a try”. We knew the floppy disk could hold up to almost one minute of a standard mp3 format, so we thought it would be a great idea to share it with another band half and half. By that time we were in touch with Brandon from Gripe and we’ve spoke of releasing something together, we told him about the floppy idea and he liked it so... That’s how it came out.

Chulo also were one of the original Grindcore Karoake bands, how did you come to be on the net label?It’s kind of a lame story, haha. Anyhow, we had just recorded what would later be the “Odio a Primera Vista” and the Split w/ Tumor Ganas and for some reason decided to open a Twitter account for the band. There weren’t too much people to follow but among the few ones there was Agoraphobic Nosebleed and J. Randall. After seeing what he was doing with Grindcore Karaoke we decided to give it a try and send him some of our stuff. Fortunately he liked it and told us to send him everything and that he would take care of the rest. That’s it.

And what are your thoughts on Grindcore Karaoke and tools like band-camp?A: I think Grindcore Karaoke is one of the greatest ideas ever, which ob-viously was able to develop because of Bandcamp. What J. Randall did, promoting new bands, not charging for the download and making them unlimited is just punk as fuck. He could get to upload 3 new albums per day and feature great bands such as Wadge next to crappy unknowns just as us. We are and would always be very grateful with J. Randall and Grindcore Karaoke and would always encourage people to download our stuff, even if it’s available on physical format the only thing we look forward is that everyone can listen to our shit. Net labels help spread the band’s work and are totally awesome.

2013 was a busy year for Chulo, what can we expect in 2014?We have plans on creating new stuff, keeping the same sound and style we’ve had and recording for a split with Grinding (great grindcore band from Medellín) and maybe our first EP on physical formal (or maybe not, haha).

Another feature I love about Chulo is all the little nods it does to other bands, from the Spazz like intro to the Rabies split, the Hey Rot song, a sweet Assuck cover on the Paucities split and the HP.PV from (I forgot the band!), would it be fair to say Chulo wears its sources on its sleeves?The band you forgot is HP.HC from Medellín. Totally we are all music nerds and just come with stupid ideas to (some may say rip off) make some sort of tribute to bands that influence our sound and that we all love and listen to as crazy.

The best description for Chulo I have seen is “Stereo Vandalism”, do you feel this is a nice short description of what you do? If not care to offer your own?Anything that may describe us as something different from music and that may make your ears hurt would definitely suit for us. “Stereo Van-dalism”works just fine! We’ve used “Grind violence suramericano” which means “Southamer-ican grind violence” and also “Punk rapaz y carroñero” which is “Ra-pacious and scavenger punk” and more recently “Narco terrorismo sonoro” which stands for “Audio narco terrorism”.

Can you teach me any swear words in Spanish?A: Puta, malparido, hijueputa, gonorrea, carechimba... For the correct pronunciation you can listen to the first track of our side from the Split w/ Rabies “No Futuro”, hahaha.

How well received are Chulo in Colombia? Is punk at all popular? And what of its more extreme derivatives grindcore and powerviolence?Here grindcore and powerviolence is just starting to get a little big big-ger, when we say bigger we mean that maybe there would be around 30 people in one gig. Chulo has had a good reception by people here, most-ly people which now are friends of ours. Punk is popular, but mostly punk rock, psycobilly or NYHC.

Are there any south American bands you feel our readers should check out?A: Sure: Grinding, Hatröss, Des-Acato, Beatriz Carnicero, Perro con Kancha, Odioso Dios, Püdrëte, Rottensoil, Gordo Bastardo, Res Gestae, Beat the Boss, Los Crustaceos, Elasticdeath, Mohan, Lxs Jugadxs…

Random Question: “In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ So tell me – who lives and who dies?”I think it depends on what the sellsword believe it’s really important, if he is for example very catholic he would slay the rich man and the king, if he is very devoted to the king he would slay the rich man and the priest and of he is a greedy man he would slay the priest and the king... I would say “Slay the three of them!” Haha.

1. Can you give us a bit of context as to the who, what, where and why of Mangle?Three members. We pay homage to/rip off hardcore, punk, powerviolence and grind bands. Leicester. We do this for many reasons.2. I have always found Mangle to be one of if not the most dark and violent bands out there, just what is it that fuels the hellfire in Mangle?Our compassion less and selfish race.3. In my eyes Mangle manages to mix a catatonic blend of Powerviolence, Sludge and Grindcore, which artists would you say have been crucial in defining Mangle stylistically?Our stylistical influence is compiled from a very long list of bands from all genres and eras.We were influenced by these bands - HANGOVER HEARTATTACK, BRAINDEAD, GHOST/BASTARD, FUCK IT, HORRIBLE MESS, STOM-ACH, NARCOTIX UNIT, DIET PILLS.4. Mangle artwork always seems to match the visceral content, how much significance does art in music have and should it be representative of con-tent?Music isn’t one dimensional. When you listen to music and/or read the content accompanying the music your mind can sometimes creates images or scenes based upon your reaction or interpretation of what you are hear-ing and/or reading. The imagery we have used is just what we have found and felt to be complimentary of our tracks.

5. We have talked about the art and music, but let’s talk about Mangle lyrics, who writes them? I always find Mangle lyrics to be bitter and sharp critiques of consumer society and the horrible afflic-tions people afflict on one another, am I interpreting them right? And what other themes and motives are behind Mangles barbed lashing tongue?Yes. Those two topics have been used. Worthlessness, idols and religion, power and control, general hatred towards modern day values and goals are a few other subjects we use.One of us writes the majority of lyrics, but all members contribute.6. You have a number of brilliant splits with equally repulsive acts ranging from Meatpacker, Sufferinfuck and Bite Down. How did you come about doing splits with these bands? And what are your thoughts on the split 7” platform in general?- Our first split 7” with Meatpacker was pretty simple. We were looking to put some demo tracks out and so put the word out asking if any bands were interested in a split. James (Meatpacker) was looking for the same sort of deal and got back to us.The split with Sufferinfuck was pretty much the same sort of thing - I was putting on a show in Leicester a couple of years ago (2011) and put the word out for support bands. Sufferinfuck got in touch and said they were up for it. It meant them travelling half the length of the country for it without a guar-antee and no other dates booked. We managed to sort them a contact for a house show in Leeds for the return journey at the last minuet, but they were prepared to make the 10-12 hour round trip just to play the one we were put-ting on. Not only do they have some killer tracks and play an even better set, but their efforts and ethos are second to none. A couple of weeks after that we asked them if they wanted to share a 7” and they were up for that too.Earlier this year (2013) we played a show with Discophobia - Brame’s other band. He got in touch a couple of weeks later and he asked if we wanted to do a split with Bite Down.Split 7”s are ideal. Two for one!

7. What has the reception been like for your splits? Are you yourselves pleased with them?The first 7” took a bit of time to get through, and for a while it was looking like we were going to end up in a Les McQueen scenario. But both bands were still young. Only recently has that record become reduced to the final few copy’s. The Sufferinfuck split sold very quickly as did the Bite Down split. Most of our recording sessions have been rushed and we don’t usually get to spend much time on them. Also traditionally something has always gone wrong that at the time wasn’t possible to rectify for one reason or another. For this we will always be critical about our records so far.One of us was pretty ill when we recorded the Sufferinfuck split and some of the vocal tracks on the Bite Down split got lost and the re-takes weren’t as solid.8. You guys have played a fair number of live shows, is it fair to say people are warming to Mangles acidic brew of powerviolence? Or do you guys occupy a niche in an already fringe scene?I wouldn’t say we occupy a niche. We play hardcore punk with intent.9. Is there any difference in sound and interaction between Mangle on wax and cassette compared to Mangle live?Our equipment changes occasionally and naturally our sound will change with that, but live; the drums will usually be hit faster/slower/harder, and the tones will be louder and heavier. I think its common that HC/punk/PV/grind/noise/sludge bands have a tame sound on their recordings in com-parison to their live sets.10. On the subject of shows and attendance do you think like myself that the UK is currently in a grind boom? And if so what factors do you think have bolstered the UK’s grind output?Their is currently a definite healthier number of respectable DIY grind bands around.I think DIY scenes in general are doing really well at the minuet in a good number of parts in the country. Some scenes are no longer opposed to having a mix of genres on the bill, just as long as the bands ethos is sound. Hopefully this will become the case everywhere, and as long as their is always a form of bullshit presenting us with a mindless alternative then I think people that are into the kind of ideals that tend to go with DIY HC/punk/PV... will always try to create a scene that they want to be a part of.

11. Am I right in saying that Mangle have not played outside the UK? If so would Mangle like to go continental or is it too impractical for such a venture?We have played shows in England and Scotland so far. Their have been several intentions and invitations to play overseas but somehow they have not gone to plan.We do plan on playing some dates in Europe next year (2014).12. Mangle have only released material on cassette and 7” vinyl, if Mangle were to do an Ep or dare I say it LP what would be the format of choice?The first format of choice will always be vinyl for us.13. You guys have one release on Grindcore Karaoke and have put up a few tracks up on bandcamp, what are your guys thoughts on using tools like Bandcamp to disseminate music? And at any point would you be making the entirety of your releases available digitally via bandcamp?Tools like Bandcamp and other such sites can be useful. It has helped us get contacts for shows in places we hadn’t previously played and occasionally people will email us for a copy of our record.After the records have been released for some time and the majority of copies have been sold then we will put the rest of the tracks up. This way it is fair on the parties involved in the production costs.14. You guys have featured in a number of comps: The Worldwide Power-violence Comp, The Only Good Tory and the Communal Grave Zine 10”, any others? And what significance do you feel compilations have, especially physical ones in an age where anyone can band any number of mp3’s to-gether and pass It off as a compilation.There have been a couple of event compilation CDRs, and a local DIY punk zine with CDR that we have also had tracks on. These were either put together for charity purposes, or to get some cash for the travelling bands fuel costs.Compilations are also ideal. People listening to it based on their interest of one of the bands featured on the comp gets to be exposed to the other bands; which they may not have discovered or have had the chance to dis-cover. Usually the bands on these sort of compilations either play the same or a similar genre, or compliment each others music/noise, and/or also share common interests.Any format of comp is healthy for any scene.

15. Which current domestic and foreign bands out there do you guys feel our readers should check out?FETUS CHRIST. VACCINE. 16. Like every other musical project made of good musicians I am going to go out on a limb and assume that you guys are also members of other bands, if so could you enlighten us to which ones and what one can expect from them?Matt is the vocalist for TOECUTTER HC. They play fast hardcore punk that is not unlike XBR’A’INIAX. They always play tight and relentless sets.17. What are the prospects for Mangle currently? Any more to be had, or dare I dream it, an LP on the horizon?We should have a few more releases this year in various formats. Cas-sette, EP/Split 7”, and LP (or more splits).18. Is the housed three lines of the Mangle logo a nod to Black Flags four bars?Yes/No/Coincidental/Intentional. It is a nod to Hangover Heartattack and Braindead.19. Random Question: You get to revive one dinosaur species meant for the British countryside, which one do you choose?Tusseladd

IGNORANCE

APA

THY

BLINDS

KILLS

FRACKING ASSHOLES DON’T GET IT

NOISE IS THE ONLY POLLUTION WE LIKE!

A). Yes and no. The whole haircut/ beat down, chugga chugga type was rife back then. Man of which have fallen by the road side since.It was kind of fun really, being lumped on to bill with the windmill kids and all that, to go on and just gravity blast them and leave them be-mused. But it wasn’t like that was every show, it must have been around that time we must have made friends with bands such as The Atrocity exhibit and such. It seems that the UK grind scene is thriving right now, to me it’s the healthiest it has been in a long time. Bands such as The atrocity Exhibit, Human Cull, Oblivionized, The af-ternoon gentlemen. And All dayers/ fests such as Bleh fest and Kin hell fest. It’s amazing. You guys have played a lot, from buddying up with Wormrot round Eu-rope, a stream of UK events and fests to crossing the Atlantic for a well received USA tour, what significance do you feel touring has? And how would you say it has influenced Evisorax?

A). Touring/ playing live is incredibly significant in the sense that it gives you the opportunity to show audiences what you’re really about, it’s one thing to play a C.D but another level to have that full force and vibe delivered in front of you. To see the passion and feel that energy.It also gives you the chance to meet other bands and network in the sense of working together, making friends with other bands to collabo-rate with and tour with.To me it’s the highlight of creating music. I pretty much ask this at every interview with a mumbled response, yet I know from sharing many a pint with band members there always is a funny tour moment, what would be yours?A). Haha, one that always sticks in my mind is when we were on tour. Waking up rather dishevelled and hung over, a band member who shall remain un named went to use the bathroom to take a piss. I was stood in the kitchen a joining, a moment later I heard ‘’Oh fucking hell!’’. One of our members, mid stream realised that he was actually pissing into a sink and couldn’t stop. It was just how devastated he was when he realised and how badly he felt.

Could you just give us a rundown of who is Evisorax and a brief history behind the band?A). What is now known as Evisorax, formed in 2005 by myself (Dan) under a different name. Over years of endless line up changes and developing the sound and the musicianship I aspired to. Our most recent line up change taking place in 2011, post ‘’Isle of dogs’’ September tour with Wormrot.The band has had several releases over the years, toured with Wormrot in England, Ireland and Europe and most recently did a tour on our own in the U.S.A. Covering the east coast, from New York to Miami and back.Back in 2007 Terrorizer magazine named you guys as one of the UK’s best newcomers, what do you feel about such a bestowal of a title and do you feel it was one deserved?A). It was a very cool thing to be given, purely as it was voted for by readers. It was a nice confirmation of acknowledgement.I do feel it was deserved, we worked our asses off as always and that was a credit to the fact.You guys were on a 2 year hiatus, small by some standards but a signifi-cant by others, what prompted getting Evisorax back out there?A). That hiatus was not a decision made collectively, but rather imposed upon the band. This was due to the vocalist (Pete Worth) and drummer (Keith Murrary) at that time, leaving the band.It took me some time to find new members, write new material. Then the new drummer (Simon Brotherton), had a knee injury which re-quired surgery. Thus extending further the down time, however we were never inactive, just having to wait to get back out.So there was never a prompt to get back out there, it was hell having to be on ice for that time.What differences are there with the live scene in the UK now as oppose to 5 years ago? As I recall in 2007 the UK live scene wasn’t so receptive to grind, promoters often bundling it with metal bands and the like, a contrast to the many dedicated shows the genre receives now, was your experience similar?

The Uk grind family is pretty close knit as is grind in general, do you feel this intimacy is a vice or virtue for grindcore?

A). Virtue all the way, we link together. Promote one another, support one another, the whole deal. I love to be a part of it.

To date all Evisorax releases have been on CD, whilst there is no real hiearachy of formats often Vinyl is the norm and a much coveted for-mat, what are your thoughts on the various formats and what reasoning does Evisorax use in choosing a format?A). Vinyl is something of which I have always wanted one of our releas-es to be on, thankfully this time we have been granted such a gift.Generally when self releasing we have based it on cost, basically because we pour all our own money into it and have to ensure we can get the most out of it. Such as dividing it between shirts and other merch such as CD’s, artwork costs, printing costs etc. You really have to make your money stretch when doing a self release.CD I don’t see how you can fail but it doesn’t have the same feel as vinyl. That feeling of having a special item.Tape is also a nice collectable these days, something of which Epileptic media was kind enough to do a short 50 cassette run of for the Isle of dogs re-master. They were sold pretty quick from what I remember.I know they seemed to have been sold out as soon as the were put out.

Would Evisorax ever be inclined to do a split? And if so who would be your choice of wax mates?A). Yes, very much so! The list is endless: Warfuck, The Atrocity Ex-hibit, Napalm Death, Human Cull, Oblivionized, Horse Bastard, Solid noise, Wormrot, Cloud Rat, Maruta, Nunhex, Priapus, Mother Brain……. it goes on. Far too much greatness to pick from.

Is it true you guys got to play on a boat in the Liege gig? If so I deeply regret not going.A). Yes, a highlight from our European tour with Wormrot. That was the inside out club in Liege, Belgium.That was a surreal experience and one of which I will always remember, even whilst playing I had fleeting moments in my mind of ’’we’re playing in a boat……on the sea?!’’, you could certainly tell when a ripple bobbed the boat. What can you tell me about the bond two bands share that tour togeth-er?A). Well, thankfully our experiences of being in close quarters with bands have always been positive. With Wormrot, it was the absolute best. It was like being a touring fami-ly, nothing but laughs, beers and living in one another’s armpits.I remember thinking how funny it was when we had to sleep in cot like beds one night, getting back to the room pretty drunk and just seeing everyone in their cot like beds snoring away. When we reached Obscene Extreme festival in 2012 was pretty special, we were all on a mission to party and catch all our favourite bands. Socially and economically there has been a traditional North / South divide in the UK, would you say this divide reflects itself in music or the scene at all? A). No, I wouldn’t say there is what so ever. We’re all interlinked and close in my opinion. Ourselves and The Afternoon Gents in the north, The atrocity exhibit in the Midlands and Human cull and Oblivionized in the South. We all work together and have a great time and drink when we’re lucky enough to be on the same bill together. No elitism or divide what so ever. We work together, help one another out and have a great time.Bleh fest is a great example of such, as is Kin hell fest.Like I say man, there is no divide, we’re all stepping up, working togeth-er and pushing our genre as much as we can and then some!It’s a genre and UK collective to be truly proud of.

A). Hahaha, I can’t say any of the above has fuelled my energy when playing. Just beer and hatred. I’m a purist, haha.Is guitar necks catching fire a constant nuisance for Evisorax’s high fric-tion play style?

A). Thankfully I was able to invest in a spare axe or two this year, when one is in use the other is being re-sprayed with flame retardant liquid.You guys have delectable teaser to your upcoming release what can you tell us about it?A). That it is the fastest release of Evisorax, the tightest, and most proud of a record of ours I have been to date.It’s got a curve ball in there that will knock some off guard, the wait is almost over.

Random Question: Gandhi, Kaiser Wilhelm and Aristotle wish to join Evisorax, you only can choose one, what will be there role and why did you choose them other the others?

A). Ghandi, but only after he has been conditioned for rage. I’d love to see the man of peace screaming ‘’FUCK OFF DICK HEAD’’ with his guitar, flip flops fling all over the stage. Though I’d have to splice Aristot-le’s beard onto him. Got to have a beard!

No doubt that Evisorax’s popularity stems from your particularly ag-gressive breed of music, I think part of the success also lies in releasing your come back release, Isle of Dog’s on GrindcoreKaroake, what are your thoughts on this quasi-music encyclopaedia-label? And digital distribution methods altogether?A). I think it’s a positive thing with the unavoidable direction that the internet has taken music, making it a disposable art to a degree. No one has to go out and buy nor have that wait and anticipation for a release.It’s making the best out of the situation.Though I personally prefer to own physical copies, especially within this genre. The home made touch and presentation. Knowing the lengths the bands have gone through to release physical copies on a plethora of formats.I know I’ve personally sat on a floor, surround by a thousand CD’s, and had to cut out one thousand stickers to place on them. It takes a long while to get rid of a numb bum after all that!Thankfully within this genre, being a nerd and collecting vinyl’s and releases is taken with pride. Essentially perhaps benefiting from both worlds, being able to download the release to have on your Ipod but then receiving the physical copy in the post das later.To be honest, the way that the internet has made everyone a bedroom rock star, it does enable you to wade through the less high quality shall we say. Enabling you to be sure you’re investing in something you will enjoy.Another feature about Isle of Dog’s was that it was one of the first “prominent” releases to feature Arif ’s artwork, how integral is artwork to a release?A). If you’re un familiar with the band or the record then the answer has to be very much so. Essentially it’s the first point of interest to someone discovering oyu for the first time at a merch stall.But also, a record should be a complete package. Made streamlined and marry up with the content within.It would make no sense if pig destroyer released a record of beautiful meadow, all happy and joy! Haha.

1. Before we say anything is it Everydayhate all as one word or Every Day Hate as separate words?A: I prefer it all as one word, looks better!

2. Can you give us a bit of background about Everydayhate?A: I start EDH in 2002, before which I was doing tapes and a zine, it’s a long story. At the beginning I was into brutal death, grind, gore grind, and in my zine I was doing interviews with bands of every kind of extreme music. And then one day I started listening more and more to grindcore records, so I decide to start doing a grind label, I changed the name, and the game started all over again again, the results of which you can see now.

3. And what is it that you hate every day?A: If you had asked me a few years ago the list would have been long, but now it’s not so easy to explain what I hate. I don’t want to talk about politicians, corruption, globalization, wars... and all that shit that sur-rounds us, life is too short to be pissed off all the time, but when I meet two-faced people (especially in the underground) I hate them.

4. Do you have a specific process as to what releases you put out? I mean do you contact the bands, or do they contact you or do you use a crystal ball to determine whether a release is going to be a EDH or not?A: Sure, I have a crystal ball ahahahha. I have 1 rule: I need to enjoy the musick, so if the band meets these criteria I can work with them. Sometimes bands contact me, sometimes I contact them. We usually know each other already from various Festivals/ shows. I’m not sure if you know, but I also book shows in Poland. For example, in the past I was doing Mosh It Up festival and this was a good opportunity to get to know new bands – that’s how I met the guys from Warfuck and Infest.

5. With a number of your releases EDH is but one label in a multi-label type deal, do you think multi-label deals are becoming a more popular choice for labels and bands? And how does it change the dynamics of releasing a release?A: Are you asking about collaboration between labels? Yeah I love them. It’s better for your wallet (especially when you’re a 1-man label), dis-tribution (labels are usually from different countries) and for the band (they don’t have to wait several months for record). But of course I will still be releasing records only by myself, because it’s better for your cata-logue, and I feel great if I can do good work for some band! In fact more small labels have recently popped-up doing only collaboration. I believe they are 100% grind musick maniacs who want to support bands, and it’s more like a hobby, so they all have my support!

6. EDH was one of the labels behind the Nakay / Unholy Grave 5”, what are your thoughts on the smaller than 7” formats, do they really justify the cost and is it a purely novelty item?A: When the guys from Nakay asked me about co-releasing that split I was happy as fuck, I love UG and a 5-inch looks just awesome. In fact the cost of production is not relevant to the content, but why not? I love vinyls and would like to accumulate on my releases list all available sizes (I still need to do 6”, 7”, 8”, 9”, 11”), one day I will get them all hahahah-haha. 5-inch records are intended for 100% collectors, their value is sentimental.

7. Flexis are becoming somewhat popular now, do you have an opinion on this cheap format?A: I think that Flexi vinyls, 5 “eps, vinyl postcards are issued for purpos-es of hobby, sometimes for fun, sometimes for enhancing the aesthetic appeal, but who said that they are cheap? These are a typical collector’s edition, and maybe one day I will release something on flexi.

8. Every so often I come across a story, like someone selling a punk jacket for thousands of pounds, or people buying hard to find 7” for hundreds of pounds even the Suffering Mind 2” sold for about L80 – do you think that price on records/merchandise should be treated like a free market com-modity or is there something unpunk/immoral about selling such stuff for such high prices?A: A very difficult question to answer Alex. For some, certain publications are invaluable, for others it is a piece of plastic on which you can earn 50 pounds. I’m not sure if this is the right approach, but on the other hand, if you have in your collection a lot of vinyls, including several copies or certain things, and prices on auction sites are high, so why not to sell it for 80 pounds. Underground records govern their own rights, and are usually limited, so it’s first come first serve. After purchase, you can then decide what you want to do with the plastic disc, you can listen to it or you can sell it.

9. I think you have updated your store recently, but I am pretty sure at one point you had nearly a thousand items on sale and if not you easily have hundreds of items on sale at the moment, how do you keep track of it all? Do you have a system or does it resemble something of my morning routine of upturning everything to find something?A: In the past, when my catalogue was smaller, I practically did it all by memory, but now it is simply impossible ahahhahaha. Now I have everything written in an excel file, but still there are errors sometimes. I’m just a regular guy, and I try to do my job well. It doesn’t happen very often, but if I do make a mistake, I always try to reward the customer. I have a special room where I keep boxes with records and merchandise organized.

10. Your presence and store is a regular thing at festivals, would you say that your attendance at these festivals is more social or more work? Or are they one and the same?A: Its more social, I do not treat EDH as regular work, it’s more like a hobby. I enjoy festivals, partying with friends from around the world, sometimes I will have known somebody for 10 years from emails/ letters/ trades and one day we finally meet, it is a great feeling! For example, for the last 2-3 OEF editions Oscar from The Arson Pro-ject with Emil helped me with the merchstand, so we have a great time together, we talk, drink, smoke and sell some grind records eheheheh and have fun all the time. Also for 4 or 5 years Karol from SMG and I have been traveling to PlayFastOrDont in the Czech Republic. There we have a merchstand together, so we help each other and have time to talk about grind life ahhahahahha Festivals are sick, I love them! One day we should to travel somewhere together.

11. Let’s talk a bit about technology, what are your thoughts services like soundcloud and bandcamp? Do you feel they endanger labels such as yourself or are they a tool for labels to use.A: A long time ago I was copying tapes and sending them in the mail, after that I was doing the same with CD-Rs, and now we have soundcloud, bandcamp, myspace, youtube and many fucking other things, unfortunately, I’m probably a bit old-fash-ioned and do not keep up with all these, but of course I try to do everything as best as I can. Of course it’s a great way to promote because everybody can listen to the album, share the link or send to a friend from the other side of the globe in a second. Information can now be sent anywhere very quickly. It’s probably great, right?

12. One thing I notice about EDH is that you sell a lot of CD’s, Vinyl and shirts, but have no cassette tapes for sale, is it not a format you enjoy or want the label to get involved in?A: Maybe one day, its not so easy to find space for all the cool stuff that you can sell. I know from the past that tapes need to be treated more carefully than CDs. So maybe one day I will release on tape again. I have a few ideas but because of financial rea-sons it will need to wait a little bit.13. EDH has had some killer releases and bands under its belt, do you take any pride or joy from that or are all bands created equally?A: Yes, Im fucking proud to work with bands like Captain Cleanoff, Disturbance Project, Facada, Massgrav, Archagathus, Naka’y, DER, Aberrant, Haemorrhage, WARFUCK, OJCIEC DYKTATOR, INFEST, Livet Som Insats, Fredag den 13e, IN-TERNAL DAMAGE, WHORESNATION, DOOMSISTERS, SAKATAT, UNHOLY GRAVE, NICE IDIOT, SAY WHY?, LYCANTHROPHY, NEUROPATHIA, MES-RINE, Infanticide, G.O.D. and many others. I want to thank to all bands who have wanted to work with me, and who believe in EDH!

14. All your releases and distro items are on ebay and listed in zloty, do you feel that being located in Poland and listing your prices in Polish people pass over your distro at all?A: Its so fucking simple, 1euro is around 4 polish zlotych, so if you want to buy something you can do it easily. If you dont have ebay you can always drop me an email, and I will calculate the price in euros or us dollars. Im thinking about doing a webstore, Im working with 8merch, I was trying bigcartel, discogos and many oth-ers. Maybe one day I will do a regular webstore, its cool to have your own site with your own graphics and all that other cool stuff, the problem is that everything that I’m doing with my label I’m doing myself (website, fliers, label logo...) and I don’t have too much time to learn how to use css or programs where I can do a webshop Maybe one day I will fix that, or maybe I will ask somebody for help.

15. With so many distro items trading must be an integral part of EDH, have you ever been ripped off in a trade? Feel free to name and shame.A: Shit happens, and I’m not sure if people want to rip me off, or if the package was lost. I have a few people on my list with whom I will never work again, but I see that they doing good in the underground scene, so I don’t want to talk about them. Like I say, shit happens.16. Do you yourself play in any sort of band?A: I would love too, but I suck. A few years ago I was playing in a band People Hate, with Daro, Cielen and Dzus from Suffering Mind, I was the vocalist. Great times, I recorded a song with them ahahhahah. We played a few shows, and I quite enjoyed that time. But let’s talk seriously now. After recording I was disappointed with the final result. If I’m not doing this 100% well it is better to step back. So I decided to work with the label only. Sometimes it’s hard to make a decision like this, but that was the only good one.17. One thing I really like about EDH is its patronage of art, I don’t just refer to EDH releases, but I also refer to the mass of stickers with every package and that there are a number of iterations of the EDH logo. How important is the visual aesthetic to music and labels in your opinion?A: Like you can see its fucking important to me! Its great to work with good bands, everybody knows that, but I’m proud if somebody likes my work with EDH (Its an underground brand). I’m so happy when I see somebody in EDH merch, or using my stickers, damn I’m doing this for me, and thank you all for support! Almost all art I do myself, although sometimes I ask professionals like Rafal Kruszyk or Pap-adaPeluda to do something. Anyway I think when you have a label one of the most important things is the visual aesthetic. You need to have good logo (and tons of stickers with this logo), and good quality merch. (continued on next page)

I don’t want to be like a parasite and just take everything from the bands, I want to do something myself, and need to do it right. I don’t have to look too far for inspiration. I work in skateboard/snowboard store and every day I see tons of marketing stuff for people, and some of the companies like Emerica, Volcom, Analog, Carhartt, Etnies, Ride, Libtech, Gnu, Antiz and many oth-ers give me a good lesson on how to treat your customers professionally. I’m very pleased that you appreciate my hard work, I’m an open minded guy, so if you have any ideas Alex, just let me know.

18. And would there be ever a time where you would turn down a release on visual grounds? Either of poor quality, or of extreme subject matter?A: Answere is so simple: FUCK NO!!!!

19. What advice can you give to any aspiring labels and distros?A: I’m not sure I can give any specific advice, Im just a 1-man diy under-ground label. Everyone should do what makes him happy, so if you enjoy your work its good way.

20. What is your guilty pleasure music wise?A: Damn I listen to every kind of music I think, but sometimes I love to listen polish hiphop music, some of them have hilarious lirycs ahahahhahah

21. I have been going to Poland pretty much on a yearly basis and I have seen some great changes in the country, from growth, de-communisation and the EU, do you feel that cultural exchange specifically as music or punk culture has been part of Polands growth or has it always been there in one shape or another?A: In fact, the changes are very fast and very visible. As you know, there are proponents and opponents of change, and you can never please everyone. In fact, in the last 20 years in my country there have been a lot of changes, even you noticed it. I think that the changes are visible in our culture, so also in underground music. Many years ago we had a very strong GC scene, now unfortunately it is very changed, I can count the bands on one hand. Is that good? I don’t think so. It’s hard to live in Poland, so people just leave. There are many changes here but not all of them are necessarily good.

22. Do you have any idea what it is about Poland that has produced such an affluent Grindcore scene, its small but its great! Even Polish grinders that have come to the UK have come to do great things (Grindfather Productions, Make Noise Not War Records, the former and current drummers of Atomck)A: We are motivated by beautiful womens, vodka, and a sad reality hahaha!

23. Satisfying a personal pet theory of mine: do you have a cat? (Every grinder has a cat) ahhahahahahaA: At the moment I don’t have a cat. A long time ago I was living in an apart-ment where my friend had a cat, and I loved him! So I’m not a typical grinder in that respect ahahhaha because I have a spider. Do you like spiders?

24. How did you get into Grindcore?A: When I was 12 my sister brought some cool tapes to our house, it was Metallica, AC/DC, Kat (polish metal band), so I started listening to them non-stop. I started dressing in black like every metal kid at that time ahahhaha. At my school I met some new friends and through them I came into contact with the best death metal/ grindcore bands, from Napalm Death, Terrorizer to Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse. Then everything was simple, copying tapes, trading them and so on. One day I get an OEF flier, so in 2000 I went to Trut-nov by train with one backpack. Since that time I have been going there every year. This is the shortest version of my story. I would like to thank my sister and my buddy Bartek (RIP).

25. Random Questions, Fill in the blanks:a. Dear God look at the size of those BOOBS. b. look out behind you, its a ZOMBIE!c. Don’t drink the water here, it’s filled with TOXIC FLUID!d. I know a man who can do INTERVIEW with me!

Thank you very much Alex for this great interview!