Lima, Peru based post rockish screamo / hardcore quartet LÖRI (members of ANGKOR WAT, PROCRASTINACIÓN 1 YO 0, RECIKLAJE and JUAN SÁYAGO) have teamed up with us to discuss their recent impressive record “OBTUSION//AVERSION”, local DIY scene and share loads of bands and labels recommendations worth checking out. See the full interview below.
LÖRI‘s mixture of cathartic post metal, atmospheric post rock and bewildering screamo / post hardcore hangs together really well and the strength of these varied parts makes for a truly satisfying whole. The soundscapes of “OBTUSION//AVERSION” are rich and filled with lots of emotions, tensions and melancholic melodiousness that will make you get inspired instantly.
LÖRI is: Victor (vocals), Sajid (guitars), Hugo (bass), Omar (drums).
Hi guys! It is not often we conduct interviews with artists from Peru. I’m so glad you’re here to change that :) How are you? How’s Lima? Please tell us a bit about yourselves, your closest neighbourhood and what’s currently making headlines in Lima?
Hello Karol, We are good thank you!, Lima is a big city, top 5 in more crowded cities in Latin America you can find different independent things like music, artist and with the gastronomic boom you can find a lot of places to eat and do tourism.
As we live in a centralist country we can see this difference with other places around Peru, Lima is overdeveloped than other cities and this brings different types of crime around the city that is what you find mostly in headlines.
Usually, Headlines talk about crime and also full of yellow journalism about trendy trash TV programs (“reality shows” that most of Peruvians watch) that creates in most of the cases smokescreens to hide what the corrupt state is doing.
Besides that, Lima is an interested place where you can learn a lot and have too much fun with anything that you proposed to do.
Great! Please tell us a bit about your backgrounds, experience & taste in music and your other musical endevours.
Hugo: Since I was a little kid I started listening the commercial stuff that you find in alt rock radio stations or tv, then I started listening punk when I get many compilations like Punk-O-Rama, Punk and disorderly, some ska trojan boxsets that I bought in pirate versions also some Peruvian stuff around 2000’s, this got me into more underground bands and sub genres, always keeping the message of what is punk, more than a simple musical genre or fashion, the antifascist/antiracism/antihomophobic/no-religions and DIY message. Musically now I listen many music styles like punk/hardcore/crust, metal, post metal/rock, world music, jazz, Peruvian cumbia, etc I have no boundaries on what I listen.
I’ve played in other bands like CATASTROFE (grindcore), RECIKLAJE (crust punk, we recorded many stuff you can find on discogs), playing bass and guitar respectively. And recently reliving JUAN SAYAGO (post-rock) project in bass.
Sajid: My first approach with rock was with BLINK 182 and DEFTONES in late 90’s, also from childhood grew up listening to salsa, referring as Hector Lavoe, Ismael Rivera, Cheo Feliciano, etc. But what made to believe what LÖRI was the whole school of French hardcore post: DAÏTRO, AMANDA WOODWARD, BELLE EPOQUE, Etc. Projects. I’ve had were ANGKOR WAT (skramz) and JUAN SÁYAGO (post rock), another project besides LÖRI is PROCRASTINACIÓN 1 YO 0 (Emo punk) who also plays Omar.
Basically we got the same influences in common, for this interview Victor and Omar wasn’t here, but Victor was singing in ANGKOR WAT and Omar also plays drums in PROCRASTINACION 1 YO 0 and PEDORNO (‘melodic’ punk).
How did it happen that you came to form this band?
LÖRI was formed in 2013 with Sajid, Omar and Hota(Juan Sayago, Angkor Wat, Hiroshima/Nagasaki) as a parallel project to our others bands, we played together and recorded the first EP with 5 songs, the split with ESCALERAS from Argentina with 2 songs, then went Hugo on bass and we recorded the split with YUSUKE with 3 songs that was released in 12” vinyl, after this (in 2014) Hota left the band for personal problems and Victor become part of the band as vocals, we started playing more than before and creating new songs from the scratch to finally recorded our first LP, mixing all of our influences.
How are you challenging yourself to seek new sonic avenues, original sounds and engaging output for more and more demanding listeners? How do you approach your creative process?
I think that we agree basically a group of people with similar tastes, into the punk/hardcore, and genres that explore new sounds, as well as a taste for other distant rock genres. Everything flows according to our influences, and we put together into a punk hardcore band.
Did you have a sense that a lot of great bands are consciously trying to make the form more complex and epic, to experiment with style? Would you say it’s a natural way of storytelling through your music, as well?
Well, we think it’s not new, musically many bands we hear from Spain, France, Japan, Russia, etc are doing it some time ago only in the underground probably 10 to 15 years ago ’till now, you could say that now there are bands that are exploring something similar with an upgrade in quality recording, conceptual lyrics and art, there is more support and more “big” diy labels supporting this.
What are some of the messages behind this project and goals of running it?
The lyrics of our last album are introspective, we narrate a criticism into us as human beings and as we are blinded by so much that is presented in society, a society that tells you what you should do and should not do and how to fight against this, first from within us.
OBTUSION//AVERSION is the name we gave to the album.
Obtusion, medically we are referring to a blunder of the senses and mind, we use that meaning and assign it to a person who falls within these patterns that society imposes on you. Aversion becomes rejection, rejecting it once realizing everything that I saw in my being.
Is this band stronger as a literary / lyrical rather than musical pursuit? What do you see as the relationship between your musical and instrumental side?
Musically we like that the sound makes us feel what the lyrics tells us, ie, you can not listen a melancholy sound that suddenly becomes chaotic, and behind this have a letter of positivism or joy.
The lyrics plus the instrumental, are a supplement that goes hand in hand.
Your previous records were a mix of different styles and moods. Even with the blending in of various outside punk influences, does LORI feel like a punk / hardcore band to you? How do you guys label what you do with this group?
As we have said before, our influence comes from punk, in the background LÖRI is considered a DIY punk band.
However if we go by what the genre, we believe we play hardcore mixing from screamo/skramz, post rock, shoegazing and some crust. It is hard to explain.
Ok guys, so how do you go about live shows? How much touring do you see yourself?
We play regularly in Lima, with bands group of friends, Lima has small scene comparing with other countries. We may be playing a show or post indie rock, as also playing a show with bands crust / grind / metal.
A couple of months ago we played with DEAFHEAVEN on their tour in Lima, they chose us for openers, it was great because we like the band.
In December we are gonna make a tour to Chile, they have a bigger scene than ours, it will be great.
We would like to play at the Fluff fest or Cry Me A River, It will be so cool if they invite us to take part, we also hope tour by USA at the end of next year, that depends more if we find labels or friend who can take us, Europe or US will be really great to visit, there is where our big influences come.
Speaking of touring, tell us more about your local music scene. How thriving it is and it’s organized?
The independent music scene of Peru is a very small scene, we all know each other at least by sight.
Sajid run a label called LaFlor Records with other closed friends of LÖRI, they release independent bands de punk, indie, folk, hardcore, etc.
In itself there are other small scenes of punk, melodic punk, crust/d-beat, stoner doom, hardcore youth crew, metal(this scene is bigger for sure) but as everywhere are woefully small and yet are divided, we think that is not good for the growth of independent music, if we seen from that point of view.
Please share some names of bands, labels, zines, bookings and other DIY related stuff worth checking out.
Peruvian Labels: LaFlor Records, Cuaderno Roto, AntiRudo, Toxiko Records, Necio Records, Terminal World, Contra Orden, Barricada discos, Ogro Records, Dooom Records, Buh Records.
Bands: Hugo: I say friends bands and other bands of my personal taste, which are recorded so you can listen: DIOS HASTIO, RECIKLAJE, LOS REZIOS, SISTEMAS DE ANIQUILACIÓN, AGRESOR, MAESTRO CANIBAL, KAOS ENDEMICO, RADIO GARAGE, PONCHO NEGRO, JUAN SAYAGO, EL JEFAZO, REINO ERMITAÑO, LA IRA DE DIOS, THE SATELLITE.
Sajid: There are a lot of good bands: UN VIEJO ARCOÍRIS, BUH, MILLONES DE COLORES, 18 BITS, KALI IUGA, FIESTA BIZARRA, PARAHELIO, THE TERRORIST COLLECTIVE, PAROXIMIA, INCENDIOS FORESTALES DEL VIEJO CONTINENTE, KÍNDER, WAY 98.
Ok guys, lastly, I’d like to ask you about making a living as a musician. Common perception is that money friendly businesses and mainstream media doesn’t have an interest in independent music, making it hard to live off. Do you believe that idependent art is something one can pursue as a “career”?
I think it’s hard to make a living as a musician, more if you play something not common and independent.
Never saw the option of music = work, we will not profit from this either, we do not consider musicians have not studied music we are empiric all does not go by feeling and passion, and if it helps us to give some criticism, message, meet new people around the world, see new places, it is rewarding.
We have our work related to our professions, Victor and I are software engineer, Sajid is an agroindustrial engineer and Omar is psychologist.
Thanks so much for your thoughts. Please feel free to wrap it up and leave your final words. Cheers!
Thanks for this wonderful interview!
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