To the risk of sounding like a broken record, we love international Punk and Hardcore at TTL and Bogota, Colombia’s Muro is a prime example of that. Their furious and relentless sound combines the better parts of American, Japanese and Scandinavian greats, while following the footsteps of Colombia’s ripping Hardcore Punk legacy. This produces a familiar yet very original sound which, underneath its brazen aggression and speed, layers an undeniable attention to melody. While their aptly named 2017 LP Ataque Hardcore Punk seemed hard to top, their 2020 follow-up Pacificar is simply a force to be reckoned with. Not often do we get to see bands like Muro live but thanks to their hard-working ethics, we were lucky enough to get steamrolled by them in August 2019, in Montreal. This interview was conducted live, after the band’s set. Technical difficulties delayed its release until now but we are glad to finally share it with you.
Muro’s latest LP, Pacificar is available through Fuerza Ingobernable Discos, Adult Crash and Beach Impediment Records (USA). Also, make sure to check out the Muro-related Casa Rat Trap Collective in Bogota, dishing out incredible design.
Colombia needs your help! For the past several weeks, protests and violent repression have been shaking Colombia’s streets. Initially spurred by opposition to a proposed tax reform, demonstrators succeeded in forcing the government to suspend the plan. However, the fight continues for anti-government protesters, fueled by gaping social inequities and brutal police actions that have claimed the life of several dozen defenders so far.
You can support their cause and the people by donating to several grassroot organizations. You can find a listing at https://www.soscolombia1312.com/campaigns, or head over to https://www.gofundme.com/f/sos-c0l0mbia. You can also PayPal to the Muro-vouched account oscar9116@hotmail.com (see @narcoiris7 on Instagram).
You can also pick up the fundraising compilation La Masacre Continua, packed with 21 great Punk bands.
What have you been listening to lately?
Carlos (guitar)
I like to listen to a lot of current bands but sometimes I find it a little bit hard to find someone that I find make songs and not a style. The latest record that I have liked is by KOHTI TUHOA from Finland. They are going to release a record and it’s really cool. For me, it’s in between PYHÄKOULU, a Finnish band, and KILLING JOKE. This new record, I really like it and I liked the Ihmisen Kasvot record that they did this year or last year, the LP. I also try to find old bands that I don’t know. Like this band ZERSTÖRTE JUGEND, with members of VORKRIEGSJUGEND from Germany. Those are the things that I have been listening to the most lately.
Juan (guitar)
In this moment, I like Anarcho-Punk from the 80’s, like HAGAR THE WOMB. I also like a lot of dark music, Post-Punk bands, New Wave. I am between these two styles. Also, before, I listened to a lot of Oï music and UK ’82. But now, I’m more interesting in the dark music.
Rafael (drums)
I like so much to go to the roots of the styles of music. In the beginning or maybe in the middle of life of Muro, I liked to listen to Disco music because I think they have really good beats and the drum give so much personality to the sound, the relation between the kick and the snare. Right now, I listen so much to Proto-Punk bands, I really obsess with Scott Asheton, the drummer for STOOGES because even if he doesn’t want to make a good thing or an important thing, he does. For me, it’s important to give that kind of sound, more groovy, more aggressive, more primitive to Muro because I think in Hardcore Punk music, the drums are so easy. The groove is that elastic thing that make it a little bit catchy, you know? For me, it’s important to give that to the band because I think for us, it’s important not to make a style, it’s important to make a song. So I listen so much to Stooges, TELEVISION, ALICE COOPER. You can hear that lazy thing in the drums, but that’s part of the band, in the center.
José Darcy (vocals)*translated by his bandmates*
Right now, I’m trying to listen to things I haven’t listened to before. I’m the oldest in the band, I come from the 90’s. I’ve been collecting all my life but now, I’m on a quest to find some music that I haven’t heard before. It’s a good thing that I’ve been involved with Punk for so long but I’m interested in a wider spectrum of music. We’re all interested in other kinds of music and it gives us a rich background. We were talking about the fact that there is no one record that all of us in the band like, just because we come from different backgrounds and context. We have always been punks and involved with Punk and that’s the main thing but I don’t think it’s our core thing to listen while we are working. We work together, live together, so we try to find other places in music that can bring something new to what we are doing.
Can you each name one song that you would consider to be perfect?
Carlos
I will go for something easy, I really like Sotaa from TEMPERE SS. What I really enjoy about it is that I will be 32 this year and these were people that were like 16 and they were pursuing a simple, catchy sound that I could get into. Even if I don’t know the lyrics, I know every part and how it goes. It is a song that has been covered by a couple of bands from Colombia, we see it when we go to other towns. In the end, I really like how close it is to this idea of Hardcore Punk, not to think too much. I really like that song. Also, my favorite song now, is called A Tale Of The End Of The World (Juttu) by the band DESTRUCKTIONS. *Humming the riff and drums pattern* I’m really searching for songs like this because at Punk gigs, there’s always a Disco or New Wave kind of after-party and I would like to someday DJ danceable Hardcore Punk songs, and I think those two are perfect songs to dance to.
Juan
I don’t know the name of that song, but the first off the most popular record by PSYCHE, that band from Finland. What makes me think about this song is how they mixed it. Super aggressive beats and super aggressive bass with really danceable melodies on the guitar. They mix it in a perfect way. For me, it’s dark but also heavy. They have a perfect mix of the things that I like in a song.
Rafael
I think about all the songs of the record Funhouse from the STOOGES were the basis of Punk, how it is more fast and more aggressive. To me, that album Funhouse is gold. It also sets the basis for New Wave too. I can’t say one song but I can say that album is perfect for me. I listen so much to Funhouse because I want to learn how these guys made this. I want to learn because I want to make these for Muro. It’s a difficult question because I like so much to put my mind in the music when I am on tour. For me, it’s all in the moment. Right now, it’s Funhouse but maybe in a year, if you asked me, it would be different.
Carlos
It’s also a conversation we have had about aggressiveness. We don’t like tough guy Hardcore, because basically we are not tough and we are not big people. And we are against power.
Rafael
The cool thing about this is, it doesn’t place rules about how to be, like a man or like a woman. You know, the concept of the Stooges is good and it’s important because it gives freedom to the personality of all people. It broke all mind structures at the time.
Carlos
It’s like Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. It’s not a really tough character. He’s aggressive and terrible in other ways. It was cool to see another type of aggression in a movie, it’s a release of energy and violence where it’s not supposed to be someone hurting people in the community.
Rafael
And also, it’s party music and I always want to dance!
José Darcy
My favorite song is Schizophrenia from SONIC YOUTH. I have been singing this song since I was 15 years old. It’s mesmerizing how it can be a really simple song that balances between being clean -because the guitars are really clean- and a lot of dissonance that makes it really dirty. It’s also about how it’s driven by the drums and how it’s developed to a point where these dynamics gets really complex. It goes down at a point but still goes through. There’s also a really important part that has spoken word and it’s really hard to put in a song without being corny or ridiculous. It all makes the whole piece being really simple and dissonant but with a Pop sensitivity that makes it good to hear. I think it’s also what we try to do with the band and after a gig like today, where he’s really loud, it’s hard to tell but that’s what we try to. Even if you don’t know the songs, some parts will make it memorable.
Do you remember the first time you appreciated music? Is there a song or a record that really made you a music fan?
José Darcy
When about 5 years old, we went to this rural place, to somebody’s house, and they were playing a GLORIA ESTAFAN tape. As an adult, with the distance, I realized that it had a lot of elements and things going on. And it was like fun! That was my the first experience with music.
Carlos
I was going to say The RAMONES or something like that, but he made me think and it’s not true. When I was six or so, I was going with my parents also to the rural areas to see our relatives and I heard EL BINOMIO DE ORO. It’s a singer called Rafael Orozco, and I remember my parents telling me that I was really sad because this guy was killed in this violent thing. I also remember RAFAEL ESCALONA this really fun and memorable music that’s part of the folklore and will always be in you. It reminds me of my grandfather. I never made a purpose of learning these songs, but if they play, I might know the lyrics. All these things are really rooted in me. Also, people make fun that I look like this singer now. *Haha*
Juan
I think it also happened when I went to the rural area. We were in a restaurant and I saw these people playing music live, a kind of music that is typically to the West of the country, called Llanera. It’s like music for cowboys.
José Darcy
What I find interesting is that every instrument and people playing was a different universe, especially because this music doesn’t have any kind of commercial intention. Not even like us, with the intention of traveling. In rural areas, people just do it as an expression of what they live, for example, hunting or their daily life. I find a really interesting relationship between music and the individuals, as a narrative to talk about their context. I don’t even belong to the context anymore because I was born in the city, I cannot really relate to the universe they were talking about.
Rafael
For me, music always was a really important thing for my father. He was a system engineer, a nerd, and he was always seeking information, like on the internet and that kind of things. That gave us knowledge of the world of music. He would always buy songs and vinyl records. When I was a child, he played me all kinds of records, like QUEEN or SHAKIRA, her first record.
Carlos
I think besides Juan who’s five years younger than us, that would be the only record that’s common to all of us. There’s like this fight between Alanis Morissette and Shakira.
Rafael
My father played me CÉLINE DION, ANDREA BOCELLI, that kind of thing. Music always was a thing in my life, always, always. My father woke me on Sundays with music turned up. “Welcome to my life!” So music is a natural thing in my life. I wanted to learn how to play guitar so he bought me a guitar. My favorite instrument was guitar but when I realized that I cannot play solos I said, “okay, maybe drums is better for me.” That was the story. My father was a nerd and for me, that was good because I can make music now. My father couldn’t because he worked so much but he’d always tell me, “you have to have a band because I can’t.”
What’s the most memorable show that you’ve ever seen?
Carlos
I really liked K-Town Hardcore Fest in Copenhagen because it was a kind of goal for me. I would see it on the internet and I just admire what is happening there. When we went there, we saw this festival ran by volunteers and a lot of people putting their work. Fighting all types of corporate ways of doing things and for me, with Punk, it makes sense to be doing these kinds of things. When you can really do a parallel circuit of music, without involving state or companies. How the only way to make it happen is because of people’s effort. Also, we played really good that day, we felt like people shared what we were living. It was the first time we were playing a big stage and it was not difficult because you feel so away in your own bubble. It also opened the doors to be doing more things. In general, it was a really great show because there were so many good bands and when we get the chance to travel, it’s about watching all the other bands play. It was so rewarding to see so many good bands in the same place. Yeah, I think that was my favorite show.
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