'Hardcore? Here, you say?'. Why, of course! When SinZine's brief is to showcase all shades of the alternative we could hardly overlook journalist Tom Barry and photographer Sophia Schorr-Kon's book 'Balance', which documents their journey through Europe's hardcore punk subculture and into the lives of those at its heart . During their travels the pair found strangers chosen as subjects swiftly turned Samaritan, providing food and a place to stay - something they say shows the unique sense of community and culture of sharing resources in the hardcore scene and which, in any case, is so far removed from the suspicion and selfishness of mainstream society caught between austerity and aspirational indulgence it could barely be denied a place on the pages of an alternative arts and lifestyle zine.
Sinzine goes HARDCORE... now stop bashing the keyboard in panic, it's not that, but it very well could be. You should know better that to read this at work!
Hardcore, or hardcore punk if we are being technical, is a genre of music that was spawned from the punk movement in the 1970s. Basically, it's punk with bigger balls. When music journalist and drummer for hardcore band Kartel, one Mr Tom Barry, and professional photographer Sophia Schorr-Kon (a then hardcore virgin) joined forces to create 'Balance: European Hardcore' - beautiful coffee table hardback documenting the lives of the people behind the current scene away from the music - they had only a small budget and a scrap of a plan that relied heavily on the trust of an international community, and could only imagine where the journey would take them.
For someone not previously involved in the hardcore scene, Sophia really jumped in at the deep end, going to about a year's worth of gigs in two months, and waking up on a variety of couches in several foreign lands. "The inspiration for me to take on this project was looking at a raw, very under documented sub-culture that was supporting expression", she says. "In our society, rage and anger are emotions that are rarely expressed in a positive way, but within hardcore here were men and women letting rip, connecting with a rhythm and using it to release their frustrations with the world, I was inspired by their passion and honesty".
The hardcore movement is clearly that – a movement, a group, a faction, if you will. Much more than just a bunch of people who happen to enjoy the same music, and as an 'outsider' paging through Balance, this fact was painfully obvious from the stolen moments the book managed to capture, that I could see, but what I couldn't work out was why. What's the special ingredient I seemed to be overlooking? "The main thing would be community", explains Tom, who himself has been drawn to all things hardcore since he was 16.
"The word ‘unity’ has been bandied about in the scene for years and a lot of people make fun of the whole idea because they’re so involved in hardcore that they seem to forget that being fed and housed by strangers in other countries is not a given in most music scenes. Fundamentally hardcore is a DIY movement allowing people with something to ‘get off their chest’ to form a band and play loud, honest, heavy music alongside like-minded souls. It is music by ‘the people’ for ‘the people’ and so is able to exist outside of the mainstream music industry because of its DIY model. Of course – ‘a people’s music’ means keeping ticket prices down and not trying to make a profit out of another individual. This leads on to the book’s title, Balance, as people still need to eat and pay rent so there is a continuous balancing act between day jobs and music.
The honesty that is expected from hardcore’s participants is also the reason for its aggressive sound – the shouted vocals are present because, honestly, there is a lot to be angry about. It is not stylised in the way other genres are and so, for many, packs a bigger punch when it comes to the combination of raw vocals – whether they be motivational or just plain nihilistic – and heavy music. People have different takes on the scene and I’m no spokesperson but I think most would agree roughly with what I’ve picked out."
And the book itself is tangible proof that the spirit of hardcore is a creature like no other. How many of you goth's, cybers and metalheads are about to invite a friend of a friend onto your couch so they can document your lives?
"The book would not have been possible without it", confirms Tom. "We were given a very short period of time to put the project together and had no financial backing so we had to do it hardcore style which, although harder, was the way it should’ve been if it was going to represent this music honestly!
A number of the book’s subjects housed and fed us and many came forward with information and help in order for us to meet people in other countries. We were asking a lot from people that had never met us – they needed to be honest, open, let us into their lives, and trust our motives. It helped that I was part of the scene but I was not there playing with a hardcore band – we were in people’s workplaces and homes, photographing and interviewing them and then rushing off to the airport. In unequal societies, trust is extremely low and hardcore is somewhat of a haven but is not immune from the world outside it. Plus I have a beard – remember when they made the evil version of Spock? Whip on a simple beard. I probably should have shaved it off".
For Sophia, it was the mosh pits that showed the unwritten rules of hardcore are nothing to do with having slicked-back hair and tattoos. "I was interested in the very fine line between chaos and organised chaos in the pits. There is a structure that people fall in to around getting involved in the mosh. Fists fly and spinning kicks whirl without a thought behind them, but people are rarely badly injured, I think people don’t want to hurt they just want to move through something physically and it is up to the mosh pit as a whole to be aware of itself. The one rule I respected the most was that as soon as anyone was down or looked like they may have injured themselves, people are surrounding them and helping them up instantly".
"I guess a lot of stuff is a reaction to what people don’t like about what’s offered to them in a mainstream capitalist society", muses Tom. "When you really value community, friendship, loyalty, and ‘keeping it real’ then you will defend that in your local scene, and, ultimately, the scene as a whole. Many of the people would be considered low status males by ‘the system’ – they work low-paid jobs and are uninterested in the latest commodities and aspirational bullshit. Hardcore allows them to fulfil the potential society doesn't. There are people in the book that have done full US tours, South American tours, all off their own back – no label money just merchandise and support from those country’s respective hardcore communities".
Blown up images from Balance were recently exhibited in an East London location, and the photos of heavily tattooed men and tumultuous mosh pits drew in quite a mixed crowd.
"It was a really positive reaction", says Tom,"which is what I expected because they’re incredible photographs! A couple of people were slightly freaked out by the aggression in some of the pit shots but they’ve obviously had very sheltered lives! For the hardcore crowd it was strange seeing these sights rendered so professionally and hanging in a gallery. There were a lot of smiles on normally stern faces! It was great to open this scene to photography fans that could not only appreciate the amazing work but also see something new".
"Knowing more about what it takes to put together a project of this scale has taken the fear out of doing it all over again". says Sophia on the experience. "The journey of making Balance has taught me a lot and I think the main thing is that anything is possible".
If you want to get your hands on the book, you can do so here: Amazon
Check out more of Sophia's work here: www.sophiaschorr-kon.com
And listen to Kartel here: www.myspace.com/kartellbu
