SELFINFLICTED (UK)
160 plays
5,198 views
5,198 views
SELFINFLICTED grew up together in the 90s UK hardcore punk scene. But we also love stuff with hip-hop and a bit of groove to it. We listen to a lot of new music and like smoking, drinking, getting high, ladies of the night (if properley attired) and football (the real kind without girly shoulder pads).
Blah, blah, blah. Are you actually reading this?
If you want to know what we really sound like then download the mp3 and decide for yourself, because that's the only way you're going to find out.
Most of all we love music.Band/artist history
Nu-metal, metal, rock, hardcore, punk, funk, hip-hop and broken beats all cut through a tight, intense, sometimes brutal soundscape, but underlined by a distinct sense of song, a love of melody and a need for a rocking chorus. That’s SELFINFLICTED. But who the hell are they?
They formed
Hailing from the cold Northern city of Sheffield in the UK, SELFINFLICTED were spawned in the early 90s hardcore scene. To be exact, they formed at a Bad Brains gig in 1993 at the Leadmill. Mike (bass and 2nd vocalist) got chatting to Jon (lead vocals) about music in the queue on the way in. They found their tastes were similar and they didn’t end up fighting, despite consuming vast amounts of Wards, so decided to see if a band could be formed. Jon already knew Brad (guitars) and Kirk Wells (drums) who was a long-term friend of Jon’s from college.
They wrote music
The bands first attempts at song writing took on the form of fast, fun, and sometimes funky punk rock with tinges of Biohazard, the Chilli Peppers and Downset.
Jon was (and still is) a big Rage fan, and this style of rapping continues to filter through into his style. Initially the band were called Primal Core (we know how bad that sounds) but after a while the name felt too cheesy, so they came up with Self-Inflicted. It was Jon’s idea, and was stolen from a Biohazard lyric.
They got a DJ and released a CD
SI continued in the guise of a hardcore band with punk tendencies for about 5 years. They appeared on a UK hardcore compilation and did a couple of half-decent demos. A small but loyal following developed, based around the Hallamshire venue in the center of student land in Sheffield. They played numerous gigs, including a few with Bleeding Principle, another band of Sheffield origin, and a few ‘hardcore scene’ gigs at Bar Abbey on Abbeydale road, Sheffield.
However, the hardcore scene was becoming increasingly puritanical, with a lot of straightedgers causing trouble and generally slagging off things that SI hold dear (like beer and weed). So eventually, the lads decided to turn their backs on the scene altogether to go along a more rap-metal/punk crossover type route.
They knew that initially they would lose their straightedge audience, but hoped to gain a new one based on the music rather than one based on dodgy ripped off death metal riffs, and who had the largest black ‘x’ drawn on the back of their hand (yes, they really do do that at straightedge gigs).
That’s where Burt, a wicked DJ and graffiti artist, came onto the scene. The band played on, and started coming up with a new, more unique ‘street’ sound. They decided to record an album and release it on their own label ‘Inflicticon’. This took bloody ages, but eventually, after many mishaps and mess-ups, they got the thing off their PC s and onto 5oo CDs.
They sold the CD online and got a website
The band's debut album '44.1 khz' was made available to the , it has to be said, less than rapturous public. It is however selling fairly well in shops across Sheffield (they got shot of over 200 CDs in the first month and a half after releasing it) and is now available, at the bands new website
www.self-inflicted.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. This name is of course far too long, and selfinflicted.co.uk has been purchased. With a bit of luck, and a lot of nagging the new site will go live in the new year (January 2003).
The CD comes complete with 3 free remixes from prominent local drum-heads including Paul Sleaze and Bradsterfari (SELFINFLICTED'S techno mad guitarist).
A friend of Mike’s from his work - James Robinson (a.k.a. SLAVE) did the artwork, along with Burt’s help for the logo. A new, multimedia era in the SI story had began.
They lost the DJ, and got another one
Burt, being the innovative and all-round funky guy that he is, decided that Sheffield wasn’t good enough, and went down to London to forge a career with Warp records (they were initially based in Sheffield, but moved to the smoke and Burt had to follow). This could have been a bit of a blow, but luckily close friend and confident, Flumux stepped into Burt’s shoes, taking on the mantle of resident deck wizard with much aplomb.
They recorded a new ep
There could be no denying that musically SI were getting better. It had been nearly 10 years, and by now they should have been the best band on earth. This wasn’t quite true, but the tunes were starting to fall out much more easily, with better quality in all areas than ever before. The enthusiasm was still there, but now backed up by better playing and more conscientious song writing. Mike started to do more vocals, Jon started doing more singing and less screaming, Kirk started sounding like Dave Grohl and Brad’s production techniques and riffing became increasingly more formidable.
It was time to record again. The guys chose Seraphic in Sheffield, after hearing about producer Roo and his formidable engineering skills, as well as his ties with The Deep End, a top venue in Sheffield where SI frequently play. The result was a new 3 track ep called ‘Everything Must Break’
The artwork is currently being produced by James Robinson, and the ep should be released late December/early January 2003.
They lost another DJ
Unfortunately DJ Flumux, after having recorded the ep, has had to take a back seat due to unforeseen illness. This won’t stop him contributing to the recording process, but he is now officially a session musician only, and not a member of SI until he feels up to it again.
What they sound like now
Their sound is now a mixture of slap and plectrum bass, loud and proud drumming and chunky overdriven guitars, all beneath a rap and melody vocal combination, melded with scratching and deck wizardry of the highest order. 10 years in the making, SELFINFLICTED (UK) are only now making their best music. This kind of sound can't be designed with a mouse or theorised into creation. It takes a bit of steel, a lot of dedication, and a genuine love of hard punk rock.Have you performed in front of an audience?We play every now and then in Sheffield, and very rarely outside it because the UK is strange for gigging. There are a lot of venues but also a lot of people into handbag house. Rock rules, but unless you're on MTV there's a long way to go. Know the feeling?
Your musical influences
We love Queens of the Stone Age, Rage, The Cardiacs, The Stone Temple Pilots, The Misfits, The Damned, Orbital, Platipus, The Deftones, The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Cult, Aphex Twin and anything else decent.What equipment do you use?
We use guitars, and that makes us electro doesn't it? Maybe only in our tiny brains. We are into soft synths for our squelchy stuff like absynth and Reason. We also use Cubase, Sound Forge and plug-ins galore. Anything that can get low doen and dirty. Our amps are: Laney valve (gits), Peavey cabs and Trace Elliot head (bass) and Remo power kit (drums). We're getting into vdrums too because they rule if you live in a terrace house. Our live effects are Boss and Zoom.Anything else?
Click on www.self-inflicted.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
for more news, pics, merchandise and free mp3 downloads.All comments (2)
160 plays
5,199 views
5,199 views
Admin
Mike
@murderboy
