Shortly after our recent FUGAZI Special with Nathan Gray of BOYSETSFIRE, Ripcord Records is kind enough to check in to our pages with another track premiere and interview in support of their upcoming compilation Silence Is A Dangerous Sound: A Tribute To Fugazi. Today, we are joined by one of our favorite post rock infused post hardcore bands from Europe: Córdoba, Spain’s VIVA BELGRADO! The creative quartet produced their version of “Repeater”, released on the album of the same name in April 1990, and now refreshed by Viva Belgrado’s trademark layers of sound and texture.
Silence Is A Dangerous Sound: A Tribute To Fugazi is being released digitally and as a double CD (a one-time limited pressing of 500) on 1st October 2021 by Ripcord Records, and all profits made are going to the Tribe Animal Sanctuary in Scotland. The compilation features covers from Authority Zero, Belvedere, Shai Hulud, La Dispute, Tsunami Bomb, Chamberlain, Viva Belgrado, Into It. Over It., ZAO, Jonah Matranga, STORM{O}, and a lot lot more artists from all across the world.
PRE-ORDER HERE!
Read the full interview with VIVA BELGRADO below:
Hey there. Thanks so much for joining us here on IDIOTEQ. It’s a great pleasure to host a special feature in support of this amazing compilation release. Please tell us how you got involved.
Thank you Karol, it’s always a pleasure to be back on IDIOTEQ. We received a message from Charlene asking us to participate and we didn’t hesitate. We’ve never released a studio cover before, but it happened we had some studio time booked so the timing seemed to work out for us.
Can you speak a little more about your perspective on FUGAZI and how you see them in relation to other top influential bands and authors our there? How much of an influence had they on your musical evolution?
Fugazi has been a great influence for us, may be not as much directly on a musical level, but definitely on the way of doing things. It’s one of the bands we admire the most and one of the ones we’ve listened the most to as fans. I think they are proof that things can be done a in a different way and still work out on a professional level.
What was it about the band that inspired so many artists, including bigger names, who appreciated FUGAZI in early 90s, and hundreds of DIY bands to become better writers themselves or even to pick up an instrument and form a band in the first place?
I think it’s precisely the passion and ethics they put into their work, apart of course from their great musicianship. Their work is a true form of prefigurative politics, they did things the way they thought they should and could be done, and they were always loyal to it, instead of simply writing about it or complaining.
Have you been lucky enough to see them perform live?
We wish, but we were too young when they were still active!
How did you set about choosing this particular song and reworking it your way?
We wanted to choose between Epic Problem, Public Witness Program and Repeater. At first we wanted to translate the lyrics to Spanish, our native language, because we’ve always been fans of reinterpreting lyrics from other languages. But when we finally decided on translating Epic Problem, the track was already picked and we thought there’s no possible way to translate Repeater while still making sense, specially because it references a very particular context. So we finally left it in English. We felt a little pressure though because it’s one of their most popular tracks and we didn’t want to screw it.
For the cover we basically maintained the same structure but added a few layers of noise and delay and screamed the vocals, just as if it was a Viva Belgrado song. For the occasion we also had our friend and engineer for our 3 albums Santi García, who made some extra vocals and mixed the song.
Can you give us your top 5 Fugazi tracks every newbie should check out before diving into their catalogue?
Wow that’s hard, every album and track is quite different from each other. But for a newcomer I’d say these, because I feel they were the ones that got me hooked before diving into the richness and complexity of their discography:
- Waiting Room
- I’m So Tired
- Blueprint
- Repeater
- Break
Ok, so since we’re here, let’s go ahead and touch base on the rest of your work and plans for the next months. First off, how has the Covid pandemic affected you and your fellow friends in your local music scene?
We had an amazing tour with more than 50 shows around Europe, South America and Japan for Bellavista that had to be cancelled. Shows in Spain started to reactivate under special conditions during last winter, but for DIY shows it’s been almost impossible yet. We’ve been lucky enough to be able to do some shows in theatres with a seated audience, which has been an interesting experience.
Where do you think the pandemic and its impact on the music community is headed in the next couple of months?
It seems that thanks to a broader part of the population being vaccinated, shows will start to reactivate with lesser restrictions, although we feel it’s still pretty early to go back to pre-pandemic shows. The professional sector of the industry has had a serious impact, many venues have had to close down or convert themselves to food places, etc. On the other hand, DIY spaces, thanks in fact to their voluntary, passion-driven nature, have been able to survive and popular help has been provided when asked for. The crowdfunding campaigns for spaces like Arrebato or La Residencia in Spain are proof of how much people value these spaces and how strong the bonds forged among the DIY scene are.
Ok, so finally, what are the other projects you are busy with at the moment?
We’ve been recording a couple singles that hopefully will be out soon!
Great! Thanks so much for your time. Feel free to share your final words and take care! Cheers from Warsaw!
Thank you, long live IDIOTEQ <3
Hear more covers of FUGAZI featured on Silence Is A Dangerous Sound: A Tribute To Fugazi:
- NATHAN GRAY – Bed For The Scraping
- STORM{O} – Break
- SHAI HULUD – Great Cop
- COUCH SLVT – Full Disclosure
- THE DARLING FIRE – Reclamation
- TSUNAMI BOMB – Walken’s Syndrome
- BELVEDERE – Styrofoam
- LA DISPUTE – Strangelight
- FAILURE – Waiting Room
- BODEGA – Provisional
- INTO IT. OVER IT. – Instrument
