BeatRoute Magazine AB print e-edition - April 2017

EDMONTON EXTRA
I HATE SEX
screamo quartet enjoying their meteoric rise
I Hate Sex release World of Grief in April.
There were no topics left off the table when
BeatRoute interviewed I Hate Sex vocalist
Nicole Boychuk at the Art Gallery of Alberta.
We sat on the brightly lit third floor during
Boychuk’s lunch break one afternoon, enjoying an
honest and frank conversation.
Since 2014, the socio-politically inclined
screamo/powerviolence band has thrived on a
fast paced and DIY work ethic that’s allowed for
multiple updates and changes based on what has
(and hasn’t) worked. Boychuk admitted she hadn’t
attempted her unique growl until the very first
photo: Chantal Piat
band practice.
“I thought I could do it and I just went for it,”
she explained casually. “I went to a voice workshop
led by Not Enough Fest and it was awesome to
learn breathing techniques and how to warm up
from people I admired like [bassist] Stacy [Burnett]
and [vocalist] Corby [Burnett] of Mahria. I
can’t sing. That’s why I scream. I’m awful at singing.
I can’t hit notes and I sound like a dying whale.
People ask me questions about screaming and I
have no answers. It’s weird. I just know I can do it.”
The group’s 2015 release Circle Thinking set the
tone for their characteristically abrasive, angular
sound. On the new record, World of Grief, the
shrieked vocals still cut like knives and it’s clear
the band has had time to think about what they
were laying down. The result is a tighter and more
empowering sound.
“When we first released Circle Thinking, we
didn’t think anyone was going to listen to it,”
offered Boychuk, smiling bashfully.
“We just wanted the experience of being a local
band and playing a few shows. I guess now, having
two new band members, it gave us a chance to be
more self-conscious about our sound. There was a
lot more thought about the album as a whole. The
first album we made songs and put them together,
but World of Grief we spent more time talking
about the songs and how we wanted the album to
be. It’s also more me. It’s about my life and immediate
feelings.”
Between Circle Thinking and World of Grief, I
Hate Sex added Matt Wayne on bass and Byron
Mayor on drums. As he has since their inception,
Ashton Burns plays guitar. The line-up change
came swiftly last spring, shortly before the band
set out on a nine-day tour of Japan planned by a
super fan.
“We got a message from someone saying he
loved our band and he set it all up! He drove us
around and we stayed at his house,” explains
Boychuk.
She adds, “It was just the best experience!”
Despite already touring Japan and soon
embarking on a tour of Europe, Boychuk remains
by Brittany Rudyck
somewhat skeptical of the attention I Hate Sex has
received. The band is metaphorically exploding in
popularity, and it’s left the members somewhat
stunned.
“I don’t know why we became so successful. It’s
weird. It’s wild,” she says.
“I like it, but I just don’t get it.”
With the support of U.K. based Dog Knights
Productions, the all-ages and safe space advocating
band will be picking up 500 vinyl copies of the new
album just in time for their tour in Europe, which
begins in late April and continues into early May.
“We’re gunna pick them up at a festival we’re
playing so we have to pack around the records and
we’re hoping for the best!”
Massive supporters of the scene as both showgoers
and band members, Boychuk believes in
inclusivity, advocating for the safety and involvement
of all. She seemed optimistic about the hardcore
and heavier scenes moving in that direction,
which perhaps explains why she stepped into a
mosh pit for the first time this past December.
“It was Cold Lungs’ final show. It was such a
beautiful moment,” she reminisced.
“I think it’s a chain reaction of feeling welcome,
feeling comfortable and making friends. I’ve been
going to these shows for a few years now and in
December I was finally brave enough to get in
there. I was wearing a dress, too!”
The new I Hate Sex album World of Grief will be
released April 20th. The band will have vinyl, cassette,
and digital versions for sale soon.
SUICIDE HELP LINE
classic punk transmitted through a veil of Pink Jazz
It was in 2013 that vocalist Logan Turner noticed there was a lack
of an older punk sound in the Edmonton music scene. In response,
he created the band Suicide Helpline that year as a recorded solo
project, releasing his first album Ready To Die on December 25, 2013.
“It got a lot of people interested in that ’77 punk sound, as opposed to
that modern punk sound that we largely see in the city,” says Turner.
Fast-forward four years and Suicide Helpline has transitioned into a
high energy, four-piece group. Kevin Maimann, Stu Chell, Adam Orange,
and Turner all knew each other through Edmonton’s music scene, but
it wasn’t until a year ago that the boys decided to turn Suicide Helpline
into a live project. Due to their unique sound, Suicide Helpline has
been able to play at least once a month at a variety of different shows
in Edmonton. Time between performances has been spent working on
Suicide Helpline’s debut full-length Pink Jazz, out April 29.
Pink Jazz was recorded in Turner’s basement studio and put together
almost entirely independently. The title reflects the juxtaposition of
gritty punk and the smooth, neon lights of glam that Turner has always
been fascinated by. It’s the diverse musical backgrounds of each band
member that helps give Pink Jazz its unique sound.
“We all bring our own influences in some small way and it gives [the
album] this strange flavour that you can’t quite put your finger on,” says
guitarist Maimann.
Despite their varied musical history, it was the immediate energy and
rawness of punk music that attracted the group to the genre.
“I comically know very little about punk. But rather than getting into
it through listening to other people’s music, I really got into it by writing,”
says Turner.
The inspiration behind many of the songs holds a deeper meaning
for Turner. With the lyrical focus centering on suicide and depression,
Suicide Hotline releases their debut full-length April 29th.
they reflect on what music has become for him both psychologically
and creatively.
“Music is very much like a crisis line: something that you turn to in
times of internal struggle and it has been that for me throughout my
youth and hard times,” explains Turner. He adds, “The name Suicide
Helpline means a lot to me.”
Since the release of their self-titled EP last year, the group has worked
on expanding their sound and musicianship. The year has been full of
live shows and testing their boundaries, a process full of musical surprises
that has resulted in songs they originally never thought would work.
“Playing together for the past year has helped us figure out where we
by Jessica Robb
all should be,” reflects drummer Chell. “It’s cool ‘cause we’ve just grown
organically.”
All told, Pink Jazz contains 14 tracks of catchy pop hooks run through
a punk filter, which sums up Suicide Helpline as a band.
“It’s full of songs that you can share with your parents, but still be
offensive to teenagers,” says Turner.
“Take everything you just heard with the title Pink Jazz and let’s
start over.”
Suicide Helpline will perform at the release show for Pink Jazz on April
29th in Edmonton with Fashionism.
26 | APRIL 2017 • BEATROUTE ROCKPILE