Sycamore network
Sycamore is a network that wants to change the traditional image of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. An ambition that awakes strong feelings in some camps but also a discussion about previously unspoken hierarchies. Hinsides contacted Sycamore to find out if identity politics will destroy the ”edge” of this traditionally male dominated music buisness or if such a fear might be a little bit excessive?
Read further and make up your own mind over matter....
Where and when did the idea of starting a network appear and how did you proceed from there to where you are today?
L: - Well it all started with R. and me meeting in Berlin one day. It turned out we had both been longterm heavy metal fans, queerfeminists and felt quite alienated within the metal scene. And then this evening we finally met somebody likeminded. I think meeting her changed a lot for me, because it meant I was no longer alone. This was so empowering. It turned out both of us had been thinking about founding a network/publishing a fanzine for quite a while, but never found the right people to do this with. And there we were. R: - Once the idea had taken shape we wrote a Call For Participation to gather like-minded people, spread it on our personal social media and got in touch with friends. We created a Facebook group and watched it grow week by week, until a smaller, active group of 7 people stood out that was eager to make Sycamore zine no.1 happen. Simultaneously to its publication in May 2018 we went online with an official Facebook as well as Instagram page that has been growing ever since.
Tell us why you decided to do a physical zine? Is it to be considered as a homage to the good old days of D.I.Y culture or are there any other arguments behind? Do you think there is a future for this kind of efforts or is the zine making business reduced to an act of nostalgia today?
L: - I think fanzines are the perfect answer to our digital world. Nobody can comment on your fanzine. If you only have 200 copies of your zine, like us, and you only sell it to distros you know, it is very unlikely that it will get in wrong hands unlike everything that happens on the internet.
R: - On top of that also comes a shared preference for physical items that can be hold in the hands, turning the pages, seeing the effort that has been put into it. For our first zine we cropped, folded and glued the red cover ourselves, hand-stamped and numbered all 200 copies. There was also a pretty rad Kill The King poster included which would not come with a digital copy only. I think there will always be people appreciating those kind of extras and looking at nowadays vinyl revival I don’t think the zine making culture will die out at some point. Plus there is plently of zine festivals popping out, for example Squeezie Queer Zine Fest in Leipzig as well as there is the Berlin-based fanzine distro & library Schikkimikki, just to name two examples.
Sycamore #1 was released in 2018 and the first pressing of 200 units are now sold out. Did you expect to get rid of them so fast and how did you manage to make that happen?
L: - Considering we sold zines to so many places around the world thanks to the help of our friends from Teratology Sound & Vision, who were our main distro, actually 200 zines is not that many! I think we were probably the first zine (that we know of) talking about metal from a queerfeminist perspective and what we learned is that there definitely is a need for this kind of content. There are metalheads out there hungry to hear the voices of likeminded queers and feminists.
R: - We released our first fanzine at Wolf City Fest in Berlin in May 2018. Apart from sales in online distros we were also present at several European metal festivals, zine fests and vinyl fairs which sold extremely well, too.
Sycamore zine #1
Are there any other contemporary underground publications that you recommend? What zines of the past has been of importance for how Sycamore looks and is written?
Sycamore: Before we decided on a layout for Sycamore issue no.1 some of us got together face-to-face in Berlin. We brought fanzines, brainstormed and discussed. Looking at how different zines are made and can take shape was definitely one source of inspiration for us, as well as we are also quite influenced by D.I.Y. aesthetics and copy-and-paste style. Some cool gems that should be mentioned are “Okapi Riot”, a German non-profit D.I.Y. fanzine about subcultures, music and zeitgeist from a queer-feminist perspective. Another one to mention is “Shotgun Seamstress” which is a US black punk fanzine by Osa Atoe. Apart from those there are also some historical zines that are important to us because they have initiated change in the past: The “Bikini Kill” and “Girl Germs” zines rooted in the Riot Girl movement, as well as the “Homocore” and “JD’s” zines from the Queercore movement.
Do you separate the network from the zine or are they to be seen as an inseparable unit?
H: - I personally see the zine as the tangible representation of the network and it’s core principles. The artifact. That one physical object we get to hurl at your faces. It’s beautiful.
R: - Sycamore Network is meant to be the head of the beast. And the fanzine is one of the ways in which it manifests itself, next to other projects that we’ve been having on our minds under the banner of Sycamore Network.
The concept of Sycamore is based on a distinct formula which makes the starting point of your work different from most other communities that are engaged in the metal culture. What do you gain from this transparency and are there any disadvantages connected to this kind of outspoken agenda?
Sycamore: One main reason we are having clear outspoken stances are that it makes it so much easier to find like-minded people and establish and grow the Sycamore community. We can be pretty much certain that our values and positioning puts people off that we would not want to be involved with anyway, so you could see it as a quite useful “bullshit filter”. On another note we want to empower our community and create a safe space for them to make their voices heard, and make visible that WE ARE THERE (if you like it or not!). Being out there and open about what we stand for makes it possible to enter a dialoge with people and create change.
Blasphemous collage by Sycamore
Do you consider the fundament of your network as an authority when it comes to how to achieve an inclusive approach in the metal scene or are your position more of a curious and exploring kind?
Sycamore: Recognize no authority!
R: - Throughout my years of being involved in the metal scene I’ve rarely felt honestly included and welcome amongst a crowd of largely white cis-men at concerts and festivals. I know I am not the only one feeling this way, and I want to state an example with Sycamore Network, make things different. We strive for an inclusive approach, which means that everybody that considers themselves a minority in the metal scene and that identifies with our values is welcome to get in touch and participate. The whole process should be as transparent and open as possible. Since we want to grow and try out things, we are also open for new ideas on how to strenghten the bonds of the Sycamore community and make it known to even more people. Everybody’s experiences and opinions are valid and should be heard.
Do you sense that there are different kinds of attitudes towards inclusion in different sub genres of metal or does the same kind of problems appear everywhere? If you have experienced some kind of discrepancy between different genres I’m curious to know how you would explain those differences?
T: - I personally haven’t experienced any differences between subgenres besides the imagery/aesthetics of the subgenres themselves - their tradition, so to speak. Most metal is grounded on some kind of nostalgia, a nostalgia that even goes beyond the music itself, and that makes it hard to evolve in some aspects. On another note subgenres like for instance Grindcore have always had a strong social message, but nowadays it is sometimes hard to gasp if that social criticism is part of an act of nostalgia (sticking with the traditional topics and style) or if the bands are actually singing about something they can firmly stand behind and that’s currently relevant. In any case, lack of representation (not only on stage, but also in other roles) is pretty much the same in all subgenres: a recurring problem, as it is having to fight against complaisance, infantilization, sexualization, and much more.
The position of not to mix art with politics are often held high in the metal underground. What’s your view on this topic?
H: - It is something that’s, well, not possible. I find it kind of naive (at best) to think there’s such a thing as “apolitical” or “neutral”. Obviously, this doesn’t mean that as an artist you have to create a body of work that’s explicitly political in its use of language, imaginery or concepts. We’re not all Crass, and that’s great. But any individual or group is inseparable of its environment and the power dynamics that be. Remaining aloof in the face of injustice or inequality is a choice in itself. Maybe the easiest one. Or the most convenient, depending on who you are. What I mean is that not taking sides often means agreeing with or being complicit in the way things work (in a specific scene or in society at large). Apolitical, my ass!
Völva /Photo by Peter Rosvik
I’m sure that your work has led you to a lot of interesting but overlooked bands and artists? Tell us what there is to know of your favorite findings!
R: -I am currently enjoying the first demo by Swedish heavy metal band “Nightmärr”, as well as Dresden-based rock band “Wucan” which have an incredibly talented singer as well as multi-instrumentalist. Check out their song and video “Night to Fall”. Other all-time favourites would be the debut record by Gothenburg’s Rock’n’Roll outlet Honeymoon Disease - “The Transcendence”. They are killing it live, too! And last but not least, a bit more laid back and hailing from the U.S. : L.A. Witch and their s/t record. I could go on forever though.
T: - I got to know about the feminist band Völva from Sweden, a band playing Black/Thrash with a very punkish/Rock’n’Roll flavour à la dirtier Aura Noir, also I’m loving the new Devil Master, probably one of the best releases of 2019. On a more Death Metal note, Fetid are crushingly heavy and I love that. Sölicitör, from the US, just put out a killer EP and I’m looking forward to their debut album. On a more Heavy Metal side, Tanith sound fantastic, very 70’s/early 80’s. Also, Chevalier are probably one of my favourite new-ish bands, and I was happy to listen to Molasses and Farida’s voice again, can’t wait to see what’s coming up next from them.
You´ve just read an excerpt from a longer interview with Sycamore Network made by Hinsides Magazine earlier this year. The conversation as a whole are soon to be published in the first issue of this Magazine together with a lot of other exclusive content connected to the fields of Art, Music and Literature.
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