United with their community in Perpignan in the pure DIY spirit, adhering to the solidarity and unity at the heart of Hardcore culture, the band South Side Fury has been around for over eight years in France. Ness, County, Bastien, and Hélio were kind enough to discuss with us the band's future plans, their recording experiences, their inspirations, and many other topics to read about right now.
1. Did you form in December 2019 in Perpignan, in the southwest of France, just a few minutes from Spain?
Ness : Actually we’ve all been in bands before , especially Couty and I, both guitarists. We've been playing together since 2010 in a hardcore/metal band, which separated in 2015 after the singer decided to move to California. We decided to continue and after a few line-up changes, South Side Fury was created in 2016.
Bastien : That’s right, we are from Perpignan, 15 minutes from the Spanish border. We met within an association called “l’Art Ou Cochon" which is the meeting point for many underground bands on the Perpignan scene since the 90s. We have our own rehearsal’s studio over there which is quite comfortable because we can either play and record.
Ness : Barcelona is a two hours drive from Perpignan. For example, last week Judge, Integrity and Slapshot were playing there, and the day before I drove an hour to see Death Before Dishonor at a free show for « la Fête de la Musique », a world music day. See how lucky we are ? And by the way, Perpignan is not « southwest », it’s SOUTH.
2. It seems there are many alternative rock bands in Perpignan. Is it difficult to organize Hardcore shows, or is there just as much space for bands like yours?
Bastien : It is true that in regard to the size, the city of Perpignan has many alternative bands, the garage/rock scene in particular, which has long occupied a large place in the cultural environment.
Hélio : It’s becoming easier nowadays to perform in the city, because we are getting more« popular »and the venues have to admit that hardcore shows interest more and more.
Ness : For years, We have helped to beat prejudices about the hardcore audience and their behaviour with our positive mentality and attitude. Now the venues know what is going on in the pit, violence is allowed but no disrespect. Our community (the South Side Family) is also very respectful and always supports us when we are playing somewhere, buying drinks, merch… But let's be honest, it is not quite as popular as it should be, but we are working on it, baby steps… or should I say baby 2 steps !
3. "This Is Our Legacy" is your only recording released since 2022, but it seems you started recording in 2020. Is COVID responsible for this gap in the publication of this record?
Couty : Indeed, we started recording drums for a demo, our set was ready, we did our first concert straight away, then COVID stopped us in our tracks! We have all been confined.
Bastien : Also, We made a small line-up change within the group. I replaced Galdric on drums, so we re-recorded the drum parts and made some modifications to the songs in order to release something more coherent.
Hélio : At the time I lived in Toulouse, I had to drive 2 hours every weekend to work on it, then I moved back to Perpignan. That also makes things easier with the recording.
Bastien : We make music for pleasure, we all work alongside the band. Some of us have children so at times it's a little complicated to find time for the group, so we move forward slowly, keeping in mind that we're doing this to have fun and have a good time, time with friends.
4. Can you share an interesting anecdote about the recording of this record?
Bastien : We recorded everything by ourselves, in our rehearsal studio with our guitarist Couty who is very familiar and talented with recording stuff. We then have sent the mix to our friend Rémi Orts who is a cubase certified trainer and owns the Nevada Studio, based in Toulouges-5 minutes from Perpignan.
Ness : Rémi taught Couty how to masterize tracks using our record to practice, we should have called it the "Guinea Pig". It's a DIY, we are proud that we did all that. We pulled out the old CD burner, and we printed CDs with a DIY stencil, cutted and folded the cover… It's a lot of work, but it’s worth it. The first press is sold out, so is the whole merch for "This is our Legacy".
5. What was the main inspiration behind the creation of the track "Break The Rules" released on your 2022 record?
Hélio : "Break the Rules" was my first track with the crew. I came from the Deathcore scene and the period of adaptation with hardcore style was rough. So I was thinking, why do I have to follow the rules and the codes of the metal. Why do I have to listen to all the demands? I have my own rules and my determination to go ahead. So we just… "Break the Rules".
Ness : "Breaking the Rules" is a way of life. As long as we respect each, we don’t need that many rules in our lives, I have a secret to tell about breaking the rules. We did an unauthorized show with 4 other bands while covid breakdown was still on. With a hundred people, close friends, and all of them doing back vocals on "Break The Rules"… It was a true moment of hardcore ! We all needed it at that moment.
6. Which song from this EP does the band consider to be the most daring or the furthest from your usual style?
Couty : Without hesitation, Resilience! This is the title where our guitarist Hélio pushed us to compose solos!
Bastien : The intro of the song "Legacy" could sound like a Metalcore band, even though we don't do that style at all... maybe the riff was created at a time when we listened to a bit of that kind of shit.
Ness : I'd say "We Rise", because it’s a mid-tempo song, with back-vocals all along. We used to play a lot faster on the other tracks, but this one is very « Primitive ».
7. Three months ago, you released a new video for the track "Time To Change." After a message on Facebook, you confided that you created it yourself last March with a very small budget. Can you tell us about this shooting?
Bastien : We filmed this with Lionel Faliu who is a friend of ours, who works in a communication agency and who is passionate about music. Then it was me taking care of the rest (editing, calibration, etc.), so we were quite happy to have been able to do this ourselves. Then it was cool to have managed to bring together lots of friends, and some we hadn't seen for a very long time.
Ness : We found that place called The Morgue, it’s an abandoned place used by skaters who have built quarter pipes and a ledge. As middle-aged skateboarders or BMX riders, we thought it could be cool to have a few shots of riding. We gave everybody the exact location 1 hour before the shooting because there were lots of houses around, and we would have made noise and smoke. It was a mission to park every vehicules discreetly. But actually nobody has disturbed us during the shooting. About the smoke… Even if it looks great on the video, we’ve all lost clothes or even skin… anyway. We had a great time and everybody looks great on it.
Special thanks to Ben Bridge from the band Fall For Rising (Annecy) who drove straight from Switzerland to join us on the video.
8. "Time To Change" is a new single. Will it be featured on an album or EP, possibly before the end of 2024?
Couty : Yes absolutely, "Time To Change" will appear in a new EP of 5 tracks, recorded by ourselves once again. We plan to release it at the end of summer, so stay tuned !
9. How important do you consider the Hardcore motto "Stay United"? Does it hold a significant place, like with all the bands in the scene?
Bastien : I would even say that it is one of the bases of Hardcore culture, mutual aid, sharing and open-mindedness are among the values that we wish to transmit to our audience, our friends, our families etc…
Couty : For me, “Stay United” is a humanist slogan, it is in our hearts so yes, it is very important, especially at the moment when we see the electoral trends in France.
Ness : As a small city, we need to stay united to make One scene. Every time we are trying to book shows, we try to invite other bands from our place, like our brothers from Blood & Sweat a Beatdown Hardcore band. We try to support each other when a local band is playing. This is our way to represent the Perpignan Hardcore.
10. According to some snapshots on your social media, you seem to have had a lot of fun at the Stage Dive Festival last April. Are there too many photographers at all the festivals, or on the contrary, are there too few considering the importance of their role in immortalizing these moments in 2024, when photography has become too accessible with cell phones?
Ness : The Stage Dive Fest was a blast ! It’s a double success for us, as Bastien is the organizer of the festival, and we all are volunteers. We had our friend Léna Filliastre, who is a wonderful photographer (known as @La.dame.aux.lapins) working on the fest to immortalize bands. Photography has become accessible but what she did is beyond compare to a smartphone, it’s Art.
Couty : Hell yeah, what a fun we had! I think there can never be too many photographers. Everyone has their own style, point of view and sensitivity. For the same festival, each photographer has their own emotion, so the more there are, the better. As for cell phones, it's cool to take a few photos and videos for souvenirs, but I advise everyone to put your phones away and experience the shows to the fullest!
Bastien : We are “lucky” that the stage dive festival is a small festival, there was no human tide of photographers with their smartphones. Afterwards, I think it's important that some people take photos and film so that they can then share images of the concerts, but if we can avoid seeing the entire audience with their smartphones in hand, it's still much better. Especially for a Hardcore concert which is experienced more from the inside than through a screen.
11. What's your future plans before the ends of 2024?
Couty : Finishing the next EP by the end of the summer, writing new songs, and playing in places we don't know ! We have so much fun playing on stage and meeting people.
Ness : There is still a lot of work to be done with the design and pressing the new merch because as you already know we do it all by ourselves.
Couty : a new video clip, maybe ?!
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It's interesting to see the band's resourcefulness in producing great stuff with such small budgets, like this video, but it's nothing compared to their immense solidarity value in their culture and in the scene in general, which extends even to the photographer. We assume that the future of these guys from the south of France should resonate even louder. At least, only their next EP should be part of the answer to what we are suggesting. In the meantime, we sharpen our patience and wait for their news. South Side Fury, we've enjoyed talking with you.
