Diverse scenkaraktärer summerar 2014 - Ramon (The Upset m.m.)

Paco avrundar 2014 med att låta scenkaraktärer från Sverige och utlandet enligt ett standardiserat formulär och ur ett subkulturellt perspektiv utvärdera 2014. De "intervjuer" som är gjorda med icke svenskspråkiga har jag låtit bli att översätta, såväl för att spara tid som för att inte omedvetet färga svaren.

Ramon får här representera den vänliga välklädda Katalanska scenen; till stor del scooterburen, välkomnande och till synes utan tillstymmelse till politiskt ok att bära. Karln spelar i The Upset, samt gör snygga illustrationer till små affärsrörelser, skivomslag, konsertaffischer etc.

Music Release of the year: 2014 has been definitely a good year for Punk & Oi!. When it comes to LP's my choices are: Noi!se – The Scars We Hide: That's one of those records I can listen to from the begining to the end several times a day and I still haven't got bored of it. Top quality streetpunk with brilliant lyrics and a unique sound. Bishops Green – Pressure: Some may say the Mini Lp had a stronger sound, and maybe that's true, but honestly, even if their debut was brilliant, I prefer the LP, it sounds rawer and has a strong 70's feel whisch is always something good. Also, Greg's vocals are simply awesome. Boston Strangler – Fire: That's the soundtrack of wrath. I'm not a big hxc fan, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't get much better. And the whole record has a stomping vibe that will appeal most aggresive Oi! Lovers. And for Lp's, I'll finish with No Resistance – VITRIOL: That's another band with a sound that stands out. They've around for a while but to me this is definitely the best they've released. Tons of late 70's punk rock and early Oi! influence, so if you're into Slaughter &a the dogs, Menace, early Upstarts you're gonna love this, specially the masterpiece called “Vade Retro Satana”. For 7”'s I'll mention: Victory/Brick Assasin split, easily my fav Victory songs there, but they don't have a weak one actually; The Clichés return “Bovver Boots”, Reconquesta “S/T” which is the best Oi! you'll ever hear in Catalan, at least until they release their debut album in early 2015; Concrete “Subculture Street Trooper” is pure aggro; and don't forget about Justice Blocc debut 7”, it has not been released on viny yet, but you can d/l those three songs and they are pure gold, good American Street Rock n Roll in the vein of Those Unknown and The Beltones. A lot of demos has been released lately too, don't miss Fatigue, with some Sydney Ducks members playing rough Oi! music with some hardcore influence.

Best gig of the year: I had a really great time at PSK in Stockholm, lovely city, nice people and an amazing line up. But my favourite has to be Beach Beer Chaos, because I was part of it and I had great fun, as a fan of the bands, and as part of the staff. 500 skinheads and punks having fun for half as week, no trouble and lots of great gigs and afterparties... can't ask for more. When you have people from around the world telling you they had one of the best weekends of their lives there, it worths all the work!

Biggest disappointment of the year/worst release: Don't like to talk shit, as longs as people is doing it for the right reasons, that means for the love of music and the culture, I'm ok with that.

Some other thoughts on the scene of 2014? Did something special, bad, sad or spectacular happen? Well, nothing bad. Spectacular... I dont want to repeat myself, but BBC'14 was something really important to us, it was the first time ever an Oi!/Punk Fest like that took place here and it was a terrific success! Also, it's nice to see all the up and coming bands, maybe there's a future for this.

What's your plans for 2015? Well, the band I sing in The Upset have just recorded an LP which I hope will be released during the first months of 2015, we're now working on the mix and I just can tell I really like what I hear! And we will be playing a few gigs around Europe if everything goes as planned! First stop at Bratislava's Street Punk Winter Riot fest! Also we hope to have news on Beach Beer Chaos '15, some difficulties have come our way, but we'll do our best!

Thanks for asking and good luck with Punk och Oi! Keep up the good work!