Venezuelan grinding crustcore, not something we're exactly spoiled rotten with! Some damn fine music by some damn fine people.
It was done by email. I sent the first question at the 2nd of March, but I didn't receive the last answer until the 20th of October. My computer got infected with a major virus and broke down. So for a couple of months I hardly had access to the internet, and the interview had to go on holidays for some time.


Hey!
You know, I�m really curious about both Kolumpio and the rest of the Venezuelan scene. But first, let us start with a small introduction of the band. I usually never ask for a biography, as that is such a boring standard question that you can usually find the answer to in a lot of places. But since you�re pretty much completely unknown to me, I�d love a small bio, just when you started playing and which members the band consists of� So, let�s get it on!
We are KOLUMPIO From Caracas, Venezuela.
We are formed in the year 2003. At the beginning we had two female singers, but later one of them quit the group. Also our first drummer quit to become a singer in a reggae (yuck!) group. Well later our other drummer went to Germany to play with the crust band Apatia No (Venezuelan band who lives in Germany). Right now our band is formed like this by Helyn (Vox), Nuclear (Drums), �lvaro (guitar) and Miguel (bass). We play Noisecore-Crust- Power Violence and we are influenced by bands like Cripple Bastards, Los Crudos, Charles Bronson, Dios Hast�o, The Locust, Aus Rotten, NAPALM Death, Merzbow among others. We are one of the few groups in our country that combined those styles. Our material is raw, quick, fast and hard, and we love to perform live.
FUCK IDEOLOGYS FIRST OF ALL ARE THE PEOPLE

When I received your CD I was a bit surprised. It�s not often I get to hear of Venezuelan bands. In fact, I suppose, Apatia No and Kolumpio are now the only two I know. How�s the Venezuelan crust/grind scene? Are there any bands I�ve missed and really should check out?
Well the scene here is a bit small meanwhile there is a lot of crust bands but more sound like Los Crudos, Aus Rotten and things like that, and are few grindcore bands like 15weeks (a very good grind jazz band) and also Morbus a truly grind-gore band, but we usually play in the hardcore punk scene.

Do you get a lot of gigs and such? And also� Any labels over there releasing your country�s stuff?
Well we play like once a month, and in this country is a lot!!! There are too many bands of any kind and just a few places, also we travel round our country and we play in a lot of benefit and free concert. Well, here the labels are just thinking in the profit and here a salsa or latin group sells a lot, the few indy labels are runs by the bands and every band try to release first his cd, that�s why we didn't choose any label we just go by ourselves but without any record company.

The Venezuelan scene isn�t really known to the rest of the world, at least not to my knowledge. Has it been difficult getting recognition outside of Venezuela?
Well it depends on the group the problem here different from Europe is while here you have to travel in the same country like 10 hours to play in a city in Europe in 10 hours travel by car you can play in 20 or 30 cities (well I think). Well the recognition gets via friends and internet but is like everywhere real hard.

Hehehe� It would have to be really short gigs if you wanna do 30 cities in 10 hours.
So, what�s the response been like after the release of your CD? Have you sent it to different labels and fanzines across the world?
Well we play a very fast a short grindcore songs so we think we can make it :)
Well a lot of people like it and we get some interviews, but you know the record is just a step you have to continue playing and getting more experience. Well round the world we really dont know, just guilio the bastard (Cripple bastard singer) who said that he like our CB version and also you who like it the record, but well we are hoping in this european tour to talk with some indy labels, I think we prefer more face to face contact, I have send the record to you because I love your web page :)

Thanks for the nice words about my page, here :)
From what I understand it seems fairly difficult for small Venezuelan bands/labels (etc) to deal with the outside world. I�m not quite sure, and I�m not too familiar with the political stage of Venezuela, but I�ve heard it�s quite easy for your parcels filled with records to get lost on its way to you� Am I correct, does the government/political agenda cause problems for you as a band?
The political thing here is confused because some people thinks the government is socialist ( in the mood of romania, poland, etc) and some thinks is just a new wave dictator. He plays barely legal, and other people thinks he is a kind of good god, who helps poor people. But in an anarchist point of view we think he sucks because he only helps poor people for domination and to stay in power. The government also try to get part in everything, you know, economical things, environmental issues, and also private lives. We as a group didn't have any problem. But right now some bands are in good mood with the government and they organize concerts, but only with the pro-government groups, so we didnt play. We try to make things by ourselves, but is also difficult because all the public spaces (museums, publics parks, theatres) are in control of the government. But we try to create some TAZ (temporal autonomous zones) to play, maybe in some buildings or some houses. But well, it looks hard but I think it looks more interesting. Well and talking about the records who always got lost, is not because the government is because our postal service is crap, so we have to use some expensive delivery mails like DHL FeDex and you know it is very expensive.

Oh, I see� So, do you sometimes get in trouble with the law when trying to create these TAZ? Or maybe just otherwise, trying to express your political issues?
Well we didnt get in a lot of troubles because the scene here is very short. But one day we were playing and some guy came to the gig disguised as a military. Well I thought so, so I started to yell things at him. Later some friend told me that this man was really a military so they called some others military�s but the trouble didnt get too much, but I was a lil bit scared

Hahaha� I would�ve been scared shitless if it happened to me, I can tell you that :)
Hey, man� I�m sorry about the long delay. Anything that�s happened since the last time we spoke?
We are in a short hiatus because we are with a new drummer and I (Alvaro) am in really deep involved with my noise project called ie ursache (the origin) is an unipersonal band with collaborations

Oh yeah� But do you plan to get things going again with Kolumpio? Do you have anything planned for the future? Had any offers for records or such?
Well, we are going to continue kolumpio. We are looking for another drummer, in the future we are planning to travel to europe and also do another record. But we dont have any offer to do. Well, to be sincere we right now are more interested in looking for a drummer or a drum machine to compose more songs than search for a record.

I see� Well, if you could pick any band, dead or alive, to do a split with, which would be the ultimate and coolest band?
Hard question, but I think cripple bastards and sunn 0)))

And how has the search for a new drummer gone? Why did the old drummer quit?
The search is though because we are searching not just for a normal drummer she/he has to have a particular way of thinking. You know what I mean, we dont want to become rockstars or any thing like that, so if the drummer wants to play , I dont know in metallica or megadeath, she or he will have a lot of problems fitting in our band. Well the old man quit, because we have opposite points of view, so he choose the stardom, I hope he makes his choice.

What do you think/hope will come out of Kolumpio in the future? Do you think you�ll come to Europe for some gigs? I�d love to see you here in Sweden, of course!
Hell yeah, we would be pleased to play in europe, the next future we are reforming the band, keeping the same raw sound but playing song a lil bit short hehehe

Oh, and what other projects do you guys have, except your noise project? Is Kolumpio the main band for you all, or more of a side-project?
Well kolumpio is our main band, but the bassist also play in and anarco crust band called malos y malditos (bads and cursed) and our singer is a photographer

And, what does Kolumpio really mean? Hehe�
well if I tell you you maybe laugh a lot, kolumpio means swings, you know in the playgrounds, The name we choose it because life is like that some times you are up and some times you are down, but always you are moving.

Well, time for some questions that doesn�t really concern you as a band, but that I just like asking!
Latest record you bought?
since soulseek exist I dont buy any records, just download it and the last one was sunn 0))) ' s black one
Latest record you listened to?
A band called jesus philbin, is a side project of one of the spazz members
Latest book you read?
It is not the latest but I liked a lot, is call the prairie in flames, by juan rulfo a mexican writer he only wrote two short books but the short stories about deads and ghost are amazing.
Latest show you went to?
some crappy festival with a lot of n�metal wannabes
Crappiest record you've bought?
fuck there is a lot but the crappiest was a poison record, (its true hehe)

If you ever committed suicide, how would you do it?
I�ll do it with an OD of magic mushrooms, but I dont know if its possible, well ill take the chance.

That�s the last of the questions really. Anything I should have asked?
Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer them, and my deepest apologies for the delays, I hope it�s ok. I wish you all the best with Kolumpio and your other projects. It�s up to you to finish this interview with whatever words you find suitable. Take care!
You should ask if here we have electricity, dont laugh at me , but in 1998 I was in london and some people asked that also in spain some one asked me if here we eat ham, I told him, that here we only eat alive human corpses, end of the talking with the bloody spaniard. Well see ya and many thanx for the interview.




Related links:
Kolumpio