A tour in the Punk and DIY Marseille

A guided tour in the punk and underground Marseille among bands, clubs, distros and DIY labels

Francesco, owner of the DIY label xMalammòrex and vocalist for the fastcore band xInquisitionx and the crust punk band The Butcher Project (you can find both projects on Facebook and Bandcamp) will try to explain what are the dynamics that regulate political, social, and musical relationships in the city, Marseille, where he has been living in for 10 years.

So, Marseille, a door to the Mediterranean and a proper container for all ethnicities, cultures, religions, musical influences, tastes, colours, differences, and social contrasts that make this city a straight-up unique case in Europe. Marseille is Naples, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Athens, Abidjian, Tunis, Oran, Istanbul, Buenos Aires and L.A. mixed up with olive oil and turmeric. Here, everything feels so damn close but also pretty far at the same time and space. In the same district, the city center one, which is the one true emblem of the city, paraded everywhere, we all live squeezed, crushed, and teetering by the old dock, (the Mediterranean sea, Mare Nostrum) surrounded by humidity, sun, and mistral wind, that moves around the ever-present trash in the streets and makes some of the old buildings collapse, “inexplicably”.

I’ve been making this my home for about 10 years at this point and honestly, I really feel like a Marseillaise, (way more than I feel like I’m from Turin) because I love this city so much, maybe even because of its flaws. 10 years ago, here, there was a place called “Enthropy”, managed by two guys called Dave and Lionhell, the historic core of the band Filthy Charity, a band that went through styles and eras, touring all over Europe to the sound of riffs, blast beats, and punk attitude.

The Enthropy wasn’t just a venue where extreme bands all over the world would take turns on stage, but instead, a full-fledged social lab where everyone could meet up and exchange ideas, concepts, books, food, and alcohol. Everything for me started in that beautiful place. When it sadly shut its doors, other realities started to take its place, I’m thinking about “Machine à coudre”, an underground concert hall built inside an old textile factory, also situated in the city center near the dock (Noailles district), that doesn’t exist anymore.

The Machine à coudre venue crumbled alongside other buildings during the strong storms that took place in autumn 2018. This is just an example of how the housing market is handled in Marseille. In the working-class neighborhoods, buildings are left to rot and crumble, whilst the wannabe-WASP higher class districts houses are always shiny and new… weirdly enough, the rent costs the same… who knows why.

Nowadays, the main epicenters for music in Marseille, in part thanks to the terrible lack of occupied places even though abandoned homes are still thankfully pretty resilient, are the Molotov, a full-blown concert hall that houses a great number of events, from dance nights (like cumbia, reggae or trip-hop) to well-known bands from all around the world, like Los Fastidios, Iron Reagan, Nashville Pussy, Dirty Fences, Alborosie… just to name a few. It also has a great structure with local bands known to the wider public (Wake The Dead, Happy Fist, Nebraska, Dirty Wheels, Cheat x Death) as opening acts.

In Marseille, commonly nicknamed Massilia, Planète Mars (translating to planet mars, alluding to the remoteness, the unique traits, customs and traditions hosted within it), some shops selling vinyl and other stuff are still resisting, kind of like they were Asterix’ villages still battling with Amazon and other e-commerce giants. I’m thinking about Sabre Tooth, of the good old Stryker (a living, breathing underground local legend), a huge seasoned Motorhead fan, and about the Lollipop, which, in addition to selling vintage rarities, often put on unique showcases both because of the bands it housed, and the atmosphere filled with sound and enthusiasm.

Another one-of-a-kind place is the Cat’s Commodities, which is a books and records store that holds a lot of events, cocktails, and is home to a tattoo shop. The Cat Commodities is managed by Tchoupi and his Punk-Garage band The Dirteez. Good stuff.
Another bar that offers live music is the Intermediare, which is straight-up just a small hole, but with a cozy and easy-going atmosphere, in the summer the shows are especially nice due to the place being a sort of corridor leading to the town square. I swear it’s really unique and enjoyable. 

We’ve come to my favourite place, the Salle Guele, an associative bar, led by people who know what they’re doing, and they do it for free and voluntarily. An example above all is Audrey, a fantastic girl I adore and can never thank enough for all the good she’s bringing to this place. Two floors, the bar sells beer and drinks from all over the world, “illegal” drinks, and homemade ambience. The concert hall is in the basement, sweating and losing your ability to hear are part of the deal. It’s always a hell of a time, someone must either be too high on himself or too lobotomized by the internet not to enjoy a place like this. You can always equip for miracles.

I want to spend a few words to those who are very much the upholders of the varied realities in Marseille, to give praise and merit to those that help this city resist gentrification and the over-exhausting modernism. Here’s therefore a list of names with which to identify people who make up bands, distros, labels, and groups. A well-earned moment of silence for the bands that led the way, because it’s thanks to them if Marseille became such an enjoyable stop for bands on tour. I want to shout out: None Shall Be Saved, Odissey, Hate in Front, Horned, Apes Brigade, A Different Day, Our Roots, 13Fight, Hobo Erectus. Word on the street is that, between 99 and 2009, Marseille was a sort of Mini Los Angeles in terms of music.

On the following days, the ones when I settled into this place, I didn’t have a chance to catch these bands live and I’m pretty sorry about it, but time is a straight line that keeps on looking forward. So, with that spirit, I want to say hi and thank Fab and Hazem that keep the aforementioned Molotov up and running. Olivier Crapoulet, owner of Crapoulet Records, the guy that brings in town bands such as Reproach, Anticorpos, or Gerks, Antidogmatiks, or the great Crippled Fox.

Giz from Bus Stop Press, an anarchic label that distributes tapes, as well as bass player for the ever-so-important Yarostan, post-punk at its finest. Bruno from Counteract Records, Monastr (DoomCrust)’s guitar player and radio speaker for Discorde, a radio podcast filled to the brim with extreme music from which you can always extract some diamonds, co-hosted by Brice, the voice of Grusterror, a sublime black-grindcore trio that also features Lionhell (Filthy Charity founder and former owner of the Enthropy) on drums and Juan on guitar, a genius always capable of bringing his sounds live even in places where by all means it shouldn’t be possible. 

Another really important band is Sobers, a historic punk rock local band that always played a lot of shows, and features Tom (who runs the Old Tree Studio where I always record with my bands) and Polo. Adrien’s Canine, fantastic emo-punk band highly regarded through all the continent. Alex and Pokem’s Rats don’t Sink (Punk Rock) and their really fun mates in Odd Beast. Geiatrie from the wonderful Cookie, a genius, and fresh noise band. The really young Cheap Entertainment, bleeding new blood onto the local punk scene. Skapagnie Creole and their carnival-sounding ska-punk. The mighty Woest, a black/industrial metal band, really heavy sounding with Guibz on vocals and Dave taking care of guitars (the other half of the late great Enthropy and Filthy Charity). Hundred Eyes, devastating and dark emo punk.

As you can see there are a lot of bands gravitating around this little planet and there’s a lot of people who, to put it bluntly, bust their asses to keep it alive and well. Another huge shout out to Lara Pain, who brought her macabre art straight from Florence. We’re all waiting for better days to start living again, because, even if it sounds rhetorical, for me and all those who gravitate around planet mars, this is life.

Article by Francesco Ciko xMALAMMÒREx
Cover photo: Carreer Suicide at La Salle Gueule 2017
Credit photo: Crapoulet Records

Translation by Teo

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