Punk in 2023. Watch out. But punk in 2023 made by girls and boys who haven’t even turned twenty. What’s going on? Well, what exists in Tenerife a collective called Hermano Mono that brings together various projects that put the Islands in the world punk spotlight. Tensö, Akelarre and Eskolopendra are proof that 40 years later, punk looks fresh and different to each new generation to the point that when younger creators look at other more urban disciplines, this group turns to noise, the protest and distortion. Because? Miranda, guitarist for Akelarre and singer for Eskolopendra, explains it: «The punk that we live in today is something new, it’s not like that rancid nostalgia for the past that reminds you of your old man who wore a crest and chains in the eighties. Punk today is a symbiosis. A social and cultural movement must attend to the context in which it lives, it must be awake and aware that generations change their aspirations, models and dynamics”.
Jo C, Tensö’s drummer, narrates it in another way: «We are an anarchist gang that is not going to be asking anyone for permission to do what we want, we are not going to wait for them to give us the go-ahead to do what we think we should. it is really important in a time like today: self-management culture. We are what we are, rats wanting a breath of new air.
Tensö are the ones that get the most attention, especially outside of Canary Islands to the point that his first serious concert was on the Peninsula. The causes are the same as always, the years go by and the structural problems of music do not change: «To play here the opportunities are between zero and few thanks to the fact that the management of culture is in the hands of old councilors who do not represent the interests of a youth thirsty for alternatives. The bars with live music that are not for tourism are repressed, with a police force and a town hall always attentive to a noise complaint from a facha neighbor. The politicians we pay to manage culture don’t do their job, and what’s more, they repress those of us who do culture. Send eggs!» protests Hernán, singer and guitarist for Tensö and drummer for Eskolopendra.
The alternative again is self-management. For the next March 17 and 18 they have set up the new edition of Kaos on the farm: «It will be a two-day event: the first will be talks, workshops and games, and the second will be concerts. We will play from Tenerife Tensö, Akelarre, Eskolopendra and Ma Pogo. From outside the islands they will perform Haren (from Murcia), Mazmorra (from Barcelona) and Collisión y Amor, from Valencia. The idea is to contribute something different to the ring and the usual parties, that if you do not have money, come anyway and lend a hand, “they describe. All the information is available on Hermano Mono’s social networks. If you have any doubts about what punk is like in 2023, go.
‘Get diyei’
Can you ask the DJ for songs?
I listened to Isa Calderón on the weekly Deforme podcast affirm exhaustively: “No, DJs are not asked to do so.” You are left wondering how ingrained the concept of asking a DJ for songs is ingrained in popular culture. It got to the point that a few months ago the song Play Bad Bunny was released, the sure work of a producer fed up with being asked for songs by Benito.
The requests are once again a topic of conversation between DJs, who tell each other thousands of anecdotes about each one more juicy. If you are one of those who ask for topics, rest assured that you are the protagonist of those talks, your ears are ringing (like ours) because we have laughed… with you.
The request thing is a subject of tension between DJs. I am surprised by colleagues by profession who say that they neither admit nor tolerate petitions. They may be overconfident in their musical knowledge. Requests can sometimes be obvious, but they help discover new artists and stay on top of trends that yes, dear DJ, you might miss. They are an excellent pulse to see what works and continues to work. We DJs have a much lower tolerance than our audiences and we tire quickly of artists and songs that have a dance life longer than our patience.
The question goes in other directions. The DJ profession is vast, ranging from the large medieval fortress-like setting of a mega electronic festival to the intimacy of a party with colleagues. The range of requests is as wide as that. It makes sense to be asked for songs at a wedding, in a small joint, in places where both the selection and the DJ are accessible. It doesn’t make sense to ask for songs from an established DJ who is hired for who he is.
I tell my DJ colleagues not to castle and to be kind, that many requests make sense and that there is nothing more beautiful than making those who we have to make happy happy. And to the dancers, don’t castle and be friendly, use mobile text applications above all (it is almost always impossible to hear them and we are too concentrated to leave everything to hear them, nothing more comfortable than a quick look at a screen) and before ordering, think about whether what you want to hear just fits the site and the session. In general realize one thing, the best request is to see if people dance or not dance. And that’s why they put us DJs in a prominent place, to see if we can get the magic of making them dance.
These are times of videos on YouTube and therefore of small and direct editions. It’s been years since the single returned as a powerful format. Long live the music in short. There are four novelties with a Canarian stamp. Emeritus launches with Los 80 Pasan Factura I live under a volcano, Pistol and Silver together again in a saga that comes from the Royal Family and that culminates in this quartet with the well-known Poti and Pisti: fast and direct punk with a charge in the melodic part . Arico is a particularly crude singer-songwriter who released a shared single with the Sevillian Páramo, who curiously contributed the track titled Fuerteventura. Arico recovers the first composition of his previous project Pernambuco, with the impossible name Kwashiokor. Two exclusive releases on Bandcamp. Fajardo recovers Qué quiere el hombre, an old composition recorded during the sessions of the sublime long duration Insights in power-trio format: Fajardo is great in all formats. DOM, for his part, maintains his philosophy of electronic lo-fi by turning the concept of a love ballad upside down with Me gusta, an exciting display of sincerity.
