Body betrayal / Disparate split (2012)
This is a cool split cassette in the good underground tradition.
Body betrayal is based in Seattle and
Disparate is based in Olympia. both bands plays a music that can be described as crust punk. like any good crust music it's really agressive and raw punk, but there also a well dosed touch of melody and emotion. the two side of the cassette have a sound that feels really live, but not messy (we can hear the good punk basslines and everything), and it fits really well the music of the bands. I'd say that the main difference between the music of the two bands is that Body betrayal is fastest, crust with blastbeats or powerviolence / grind crust whereas Disparate is more D-beat crust.
the music is good but what I like also is that they joined the lyrics to the cassette and for each song there's a few words or a text of explanations about the lyrics, and that's interesting since the lyrics are quite personnal (but at the same time really concerned with the social problems) and deeper than the usual punk clichés.
the tapes are limited to 300 copies but you can check it on Bancamp :
Body betrayal BC page
Disparate BC page
Body betrayal members kindly answered to a few questions I sent them, so you can read it below :
-can you present quickly the band, why called it Body betrayal?
Body betrayal : Body Betrayal is a term that is used in multiple contexts: a lot of people use it to describe gender dysphoria, or feeling triggered after safety has been established from an abusive situation; it is also about the ways in which capitalism makes us feel disconnected from our bodies in order to serve as workers alienated from our labor in an exploitative economic system.
-on your webpages you present yourself as a queercore / queer punk band, I suppose it's because you think your queer identity has a major influence on your music or on the global message the band is transmitting to the listeners, can you tell us about it?
Body betrayal : Queercore is an important signifier as it is a part of our identities, but we are also trying to make space away from the tough guy hardcore scene; many of us love faster music but cannot stomach shows where people become punching bags for broskis. Mainstream hardcore is also teeming with homophobia and sexism and unchecked privilege. Labels definitely have their limitations, and “queer” as a label is not exempt from racism, classism, or anything else, but we’re hoping to move forward making space with folks who are more marginalized in a scene that we’re excited to help create.
-how would you describe your music?
Body betrayal : Loosely as grind or punk.
-which song is your favourite on the split and why?
Eli: “Desperation,” because the lyrics are so brutal and resonate with me.
Matthew: “Desert,” because there’s mad riffage in it.
-how the lyrics are written and what are the main subjects dealt with?
Frances: I write the lyrics; I bring them to practice when new music is written and whittle them down to fit the song structure. The main subjects dealt with tend to be about my experiences as a survivor, depression, and resistance.
-I think it's great that in the cassette both bands made the effort of joining the lyrics but also writing a few words about each song, a few words about that, maybe giving a song in exemple to explain why it was important to give some more explanations to the listener?
Eli: Having zines accompany records are one of the things I miss the most about punk culture; it was a part of the art of punk and personalizes it. Punk is multifaceted and not just about angry music.
Frances: Context is a huge piece of art for me. I also think per-zines have been substantially influential in my growth as a person. They are a way to create some kind of connection with the person listening to your work, instead of leaving it as a mindless piece of music to be consumed. In some ways it creates the beginnings of a dialogue.
As far as a specific song, it was important for me to talk more explicitly about “My Gender Is Queer” in terms of being a genderqueer person. It is so tempting to see a coercively assigned female at birth (CAFAB) person on stage and try to lump their project into a female-fronted band because there are so few of them out there, but I discovered that even when I was standing in front of a room full of people and saying “This song is about being genderqueer,” a lot of people didn’t get it. Having a little more intention about that was important to me.
-I like how the song called Desert end with these words
"When active disillusionment is liberatory
wild hearts break themselves
wild hearts clean themselves
wild hearts avenge themselves
wild hearts take care
wild hearts take care"
some comments about what does it means to you?
Frances: Well, part of the pamphlet I stole a lot of the lyrics from, “Desert,” addresses the idea that revolutions are infinite; challenging power is not defeatist just because there is no one moment or rupture that leads to total collapse. Work with what you have, make revolutionary friendships, challenge the normative values taught and the limited future presented as predetermined. That said, undergoing a personal project on that scale is constantly heart breaking; it can be alienating and lonely, and that places more weight on the ways in which people take care of each other and themselves.
-on the page about this song you mention "the spectacle", are you influenced by situationnists ideas? if so, how in your opinion is it relevant for today's fight for emancipation?
Frances: I would say that Situationist ideas have influenced the way I look at things. I like the way they engage with dialectics, and parts of their unapologetic attitude regarding their ideas. On the other hand, I am somewhat put off by the level of self-importance they emanate, and I perceive Guy Debord to be a self-serving patriarchal figure. Everything is kind of a mixed bag though. It seems clear to me that they have had a substantial impact on the language and aesthetics of revolt and continues to pop up in numerous pop-culture pieces as well as anarchist texts.
-how did you get into the kind of music you play?
Body betrayal : For me, Rape Revenge has been a pretty big inspiration over the past year and a half. Punk music has definitely been consistently playing in my ears since I was like 12, but I took a very long break and kind of dropped out of playing music a few years, stopped going to shows, and focused on other aspects of my life that felt like they needed more nurturing. None the less, I've very much enjoyed a lot of the faster and louder forms of punk music, but an extremely small percentage of them actually sang or stood for anything that actually connected with me besides having good music. Anyways, when I heard Rape Revenge for the first time I wanted to start playing fast music again with folks who shared similar views on oppression, patriarchy, gender, racism, and anarchism. Frances was the one who introduced me to RR and that’s what shortly led to Body Betrayal coming alive.
Eli: Dude, it’s in my gut.
-what does punk means to you? do you that it is still a subversive movement or has it now completely been turned into another marketing label?
Body betrayal : Like anything, labels are only useful up until a point before they become recuperated or appropriated to make people money. Punk is not inherently radical, being queer is not inherently radical, even being an anarchist is not necessarily radical. You have to look at what people are doing and how they are acting before you can determine whether you want to align yourself with any signifier (or person, for that matter).
The aspects of punk that many of us still find useful or comforting have to do with challenging authority while creating alternative options, and DIY culture.
-to you does DIY a way to oppose capitalist dominant values or is it more a practical necessity?
Body betrayal : We would say both. It is a practical necessity to oppose capitalist dominant values.
-a few words about Disparate that shares the split with you?
Body betrayal : We’re sad to say that Disparate broke up, but they are all in other rad projects (Ragana and Prank War) and the original lineup sans Maria is trying to salvage some of their old songs on the split to continue to play live. They’re solid folks who will make you pee your pants laughing.
-seems to me there's a lot of good underground bands from the state of Washington, how would you explain that? which ones would you recommend?
Body betrayal : I’m not sure, there’s definitely a cultural history here rich with punk and diy bands. Our favorites are: Ragana, Agatha, FDB, Ire Adrift, Kohosh, Dogjaw, Alda, My Parade, Hysterics, the Chain, Cloudbustrr, Hot Tears, White Wards, Dick Binge, Murmurs, Snuggle, Dreamdecay…we could go on and on but those are just a few.
-what is the next step for Body betrayal, what have you planned for the coming months?
Body betrayal : We’re talking about recording at the end of summer and putting a 7” out on a newer indie label based in Berlin. Hopefully we’ll get to a longer tour sometime around the end of the year, and we’re talking about bouncing around out of state between now and then. Big Dreams involve a European tour in the next year or so.
