| RAI KO RIS : DIY PUNK FROM NEPAL |
| THE INFOSHOP in Kathmandu,Nepal Hi this is Sareena. The INFOSHOP on Lazimpat (opposite Mahaguthi shop and the Gallery Cafe, in the same compound as Himalayan Cashmere Co. and Gallery 9) is up and running. Many d.i.y releases of all genres, CD-Rs at cheap prices, zines. We’ve so far had film shows (of live bands or documentaries), workshops on silk-screening own t-shirts, music workshops, and pot-luck lunches!!! Anyone can organise an appropriate little event there if they wish. Take it into your own hands. It’s become kind of like a youth club (and I’m the oldest fuckin’ witch there!) We just like hanging out there all day and reading all the zines from around the world and talking shit, loudly, in a place where punk is blasting all day!!! Infoshop Cole Barrington gave a music showcase on the history of punk at the infoshop and played tonnes of excellent stuff that we can’t get a hold of here! Stephen Mosel was visiting and showed us some great bass playing – he’s a professional jazz bassist totally into punk/hardcore, living in a squat in Sheffield. Ryan Mauk has been teaching some kids break dancing!! (This was not an official workshop, I’m just jokin). -Sareena Rai Ko Ris PARTYING WITH ACTION!! |
| BAND MEMBERS: Sareena, born in 1973, plays bass/guitar – Nepali. Previous bands ‘Skinhead Barbie' 1990 / ‘Bruce Lee' 1994-97, ‘Jutoh' pre 2000. Olivier, born in 1964, plays drums – born in France and has been living in Nepal for fifteen years, been involved with humanitarian related work. Previous bands in the 80's include ‘Eutexie', ‘Divergence', and in the 90's ‘Cheparo' and ‘Jutoh'. BAND ACTIVITIES: We've had at least four line up changes since we began Rai Ko Ris in 2000. Presently, the band comprises of just the two of us however, we collaborated with a friend (Bodh Ghale from Knife) the past year after our previous guitarist went abroad. We did a mini tour of France in July 2001. During the tour, we not only had a good excuse to holiday with our kids but we had the opportunity to meet people who really inspired and encouraged us to continue socio-politico activities here in Nepal , with punk/hardcore as a vehicle, and giving respect to D.I.Y. ethics. Chris Luppi (Arise zine and Elephant Eye Records) in Thailand was also extremely encouraging as we fumbled through the beginnings. Rai Ko Ris then toured Malaysia in March 2002. The incredible experience of meeting and learning from fellow Asian punks added more fuel to our fire. The collectives and individuals we met allowed us to rock ourselves to a heatstroke in the name of active punk punk punk. We visited Sri Lanka & South India (travelled by road/train) at the end of last year. Played our acoustic set to some mafia who owned bars and kept guns in their kitchen – and who recorded us on their mobile phones! We didn't find any d.i.y. hc/punk scenes in either Sri Lanka or South India , but there was a mass of metal/rock genres, pretty high-fi events, & not much on the socio-politico front (even though we were not just looking for that). We couldn't afford the live gigs advertised on posters! The fun of watching Angus Young on a big screen at a metal bar in Bangalore & students headbanging along wore off as fast as our cash did. A lot like Nepal , the most pro-active people we met were local musicians who live in villages and come begging to the city centres, or human rights activists. But rock is for sure alive and kicking in both these countries we visited! Present Activities: The band organises benefit gigs with a purpose to hold interactions about political and social causes that are pertinent to us here, in Nepal . Speakers are invited to gigs, e.g. anarchist/anti-war activist Milan Rai (from ARROW, Justice Not Vengence, Voices in the Wilderness) and coming to the next gig, Amnesty International, Reason To Believe. Food not bums! We have a little ambition that is just seeing its beginnings: from the small amount of money raised from gigs we pay a tiny bit to those participating (at least enuff for half a drink and a ride home!), some goes towards transporting the gig equipment, and the rest goes towards free food and medical for the homeless. We have done this activity ourselves, a couple of times already, sometimes with doctors. We don't make promises to eradicate poverty like some idiots have been doing for the last twenty years with their programs in Nepal and fat salaries. Instead, we hope to continue this activity just to make sure those on the street (especially with HIV) get visits from friendly nobodies like us at the dead of the night, in case they didn't eat that day and have emergencies that need tending to. P.S. Drivers, wanted! Home distro & zines Rai Ko Ris have now accumulated a nice collection of D.I.Y released hardcore/punk/emo/grind/crust/ska music and zines that we would be glad to distribute to anyone who cannot access such material. Write to us, and come visit to see what we have, to trade, to tape stuff off us, photocopy, or whatever. If you happen to come, you're always welcome to jam with us too. CONTACT: Sareena Rai , c/o NK Rai, PO Box 21778, Kathmandu, Nepal. Email: raikoris@wlink.com.np |
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| RECORDS: BatAttaK Records blurb The first full release by a punk rock band from Nepal is now officially out!! The Raï Ko Ris release is finally done and, if I can say so, it turned out really, really nice. This is the first full release by a punk rock band from Nepal . You know you want this!! Chuck Loose from The Heatseekers/The Crumbs/Chickenhead fame did the artwork. Walter from No Fraud did the printing. Bob Suren (Sound Idea store and distro) provided all of the invaluable guidance. I printed 500 copies with 150 on mixed swirled vinyl. The mixed comes in baby blue or baby shit green. I also have randomly included lyric sheets with a special free CD offer. I made 50 CDs for the band, cuz most people in Nepal do not have record players, and I have 4 or 5 left over. Whoever gets the special lyric sheets will get a free CD with an extra track. Woohoo!! Order directly from http://www.batattak-records.us PayPal to jcudney@hotmail.com or check/M.O. to Justin Cudney ^'^BatAttaK^'^ Records P.O. Box 153073 Tampa , FL 33684, USA http://www.batattak-records.us >> First album, Rai Ko Ris-dec 2001 with 3 bonus track from a now defunct Nepali punk rock band Guy Goru. Released as well on tape by Ronin Distro in Malaysia,contact Fazri: drsa76@yahoo.com >> Tian An Men 89 records, France, 7"split vinyl, 2001. Contact: darbouka@netcourrier.com >> No Label Records, Indonesia, CD 17 songs from a demo made in early 2001. Contact: fitrah@nolabelrecords.net >> Todo ES #3 compil, CD 2001 (live 2 days HC/Punk festival in Luzy/France). Contact : maldororpunx@tiscali.fr >> Split tape of 6 songs from Rai Ko Ris in 2001, with Jazilla, a Russian band. Contact Sharapov: szarapow@yahoo.com >> NoFront Teeth zine compil CD 2002, UK. Contact: nftzine@hotmail.com >> Wave magazine, Kathmandu compil CD, 2001, 1 song. >> Second album, Guerrilla, 16 songs tape, March 2003 >> Turkey Compil - ats2distro@yahoo.com >> Israel re-release of Dec 2001 album, cd - emac_hq@yahoo.com >> Split cassette with the band Relationsheep from Malaysia - drsa76@yahoo.com >> Ep on BatAttaK Records, USA, 2004. 4 songs - jcudney@hotmail.com |
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| ARTICLES: WHAT IS A D.I.Y. COLLECTIVE? MALOKA provides an example: Maloka is a collective that was started in 1988 to put out a 7" record by the French anarchopunk band Psychosquat. Since then, they have grown into a full label and one of the biggest D.I.Y. mailorder distributions in this part of the world. But music is only a vehicle for their activities, and they also run an infoshop, a squat, they organize shows, demonstrations and are part of tons of "liberation" organizations. At their meeting place Rue Jeanin, you can find an "infoshop", a vegan restaurant, a bar, and art gallery, various information. Debates and meetings are regularly organized and several organizations meet there: Critical Mass, Anti-sexist collective, Anarchist Black Cross (political prisoners), C.N.T. (work union), No Pasaran (anti-fascist group). Members of the Maloka collective also do radios shows, and organize tours for international bands with a message. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "…there are lots of stupid people in punk…how to fight non-politicism? Explaining to people who these people are; don't make positive advertising about them…don't buy albums released by non-political labels". - Greg. (This is Greg (Ravachol distro, Future Noir zine). Article taken from Contre Culture #1, letters/opinions on "Punk and Politics" (This zine is compiled by diy/anarchist friends in France. The article has been translated. This particular issue also had an extensive report on the diy punk scene in Indonesia).) Some people have joined the "anarchist move" through UNIONS, others through PUNK. When I started to discover punk, I thought there shouldn't be many problems in this, but I quickly realised the contrary: among the non political, the fascists and other fuckers are all on the same side - meaning that there are lots of stupid people in punk. Most of the time non political and fascism are one and the same; go to talk about politics to a fascist, I think that you won't get any answers! The only activity the fascists are interested in is drink and beating up people in gigs. One can wonder if punk is not becoming a joke…or maybe it is already? Let's take 2 examples: if you talk about "a punk threat" to a state, I think it is going to laugh…with reasons!! Some people might laugh when I associate the word punk with threat, but look back: Crass, Conflict, BXN…these bands would have had all the problems they got if they hadn't developed a "thinking spirit" or "the will to revolt". Second example, 80% of police controlling the streets exist because of the "look" of an individual instead of the anarchist ideology 'vehicled' by the punk movement. Will a person without "a look", only wearing a simple t-shirt with punk written on it face all these problems (that the bands above faced)? I don't think so! And it's proof that punk doesn't scare our enemies anymore - the "non-politics" contribute to make punk look like nothing else but a simple look of fashion and musical style. To these non-political folks I ask 2 questions: what are you looking for in punk? Why did you come to punk? Is it for beer or for music? In this case you'd better play hard rock or any other shit like that. I cannot and will never understand how one can be non political in a movement whose moto is "anarchism". To be against politicians doesn't mean not to have interest in politics. Don't these people want to contribute to making a better world? Build another future than the one awaiting us? Struggle against the discriminations that rot this life of certain people (racism, sexism, homophobia), fight against the social injustices generated by the Capitalist System? We can say "No" because when we hear bands like PRIAPIX singing "the whores and the dirty girls, we'll fuck 'em all" - instead of singing this they'd better shut their dirty mouths… But maybe these people think that we are living the best of the worlds? Guess yourself! We cannot let them - no way can we let these people diffuse their cheap version of punk!! How to fight non-politicism? Explaining to people who these people are; don't make positive advertising about them and instead make totally negative ones! Don't buy albums released by non-political labels, even though there might be sincere bands on these labels, sorry, they should think twice before being released on these labels. So punks, drink a little less, think, inform yourself, do a little more - don't limit "the punk" to a dress/fashion or beers. Hate music, love (a) political (stand) and making punk a threat again!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Joe Peacott (individual anarchist, co-founder of the notorious Boston Anarchist Drinking Brigade) is of the opinion that when anarchists act like assholes, others who disagree should make it clear they don't approve" - Misfire zine, #1, Sweden. The following extracts are from a little booklet published by London's Anarchist Communist Federation who take extracts from Anarchism and Violence by Errico Malatesta (1920). (Intro by the Anarchist Communist Federation): The small anarchist "movement"….is very much a diverse mish-mash of often contradictory ideas and "scenes" with certain tendencies more akin to liberalism then libertarian socialism. Part of this liberal trend is "anarcho-pacifism" and in the broader alternative scene, the view that action should always be kept "fluffy" (ie passive/non confronting). Anarchist Communists would not dispute that non-violent direct action can at times be a useful tactic. Sometimes it is not necessary to use physical force and canny tactics can often get results. It must not be forgotten however, that the state is not pacifist, capitalism is not a peaceful system, there are few, if any, pacifist politicians, the police and the army are not there for fun. To make a principle out of non-violence ultimately means that when it comes to the crunch, we will have to rely on this oppressive system to be nice to us. (Extracts from Anarchism and Violence by Errico Malatesta written in 1920. Published by Stormy Petrel/London ACF and taken from Vernon Richards (Ed.) Malatesta: Life and Ideas, Freedom Press): I have repeated a thousand times that I believe that not to "actively" resist evil, adequately and by every possible way is, in theory absurd, because it is in contradiction with the aim of avoiding and destroying evil, and in practice immoral because it is a denial of human solidarity and the duty that stems from it to defend the weak and the oppressed. For us the oppressed are always in a state of legitimate defence and are fully justified in rising without waiting to be actually fired on; and we are fully aware of the fact that attack is often the best means of defense… An error, the opposite of the one which the terrorists make, threatens the anarchist movement. Partly as a reaction to the abuse of violence during recent years…anarchists are beginning to pay serious attention to the party of passive resistance, whose basic principle is that the individual must allow himself and others to be persecuted and despised rather than harm the aggressor. It is what has been called passive anarchy. A man may, if he is a very good….Christian (or Hindu/Buddhist - HFB!), suffer every kind of provocation without defending himself with every weapon at his disposal, and still remain a moral man. But would he not, in practice, even unconsciously, be a supreme egoist were he to allow others to be persecuted without making any effort to defend them? …More often than not, to profess passive resistance only serves to reassure the oppressors against their fear of rebellion, and thus it betrays the cause of the oppressed. It is interesting to observe how both the terrorists and the tolstoyans (passivists)…arrive at practical results which are more or less similar. The former would not hesitate to destroy half mankind so long as the idea triumphed; the latter would be prepared to let all mankind reamin under the yoke of great suffering rather than violate a principle (or make his parents angry! - HFB). For myself, I would violate every principle in the world in order to save a man: which would in fact be a question of respecting principle, since, in my opinion, all moral and sociological principals are reduced to this one principle: the good of mankind, the good of all mankind. |
| LINKS: Tank girl | Field tape demo | Justice Not Vengeance |
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