Interview Hacktivist

Artiest: Hacktivist

Geïnterviewden: J. Hurley, Ben Marvin, Timfy James, Josh Gurner, Rich Hawking

Interview afgenomen op: Fortarock 2013

Label: Hold Tight! PR

Op 1 juni 2013 stond de experimentele band Hacktivist op het programma. Voor een band die nog maar anderhalf jaar bestaat, stonden ze voor de eerste keer op het podium van het grote festival Fortarock, dat in Nijmegen plaatsvond.

First of all, I really want to thank you for doing this interview with Festivalblog. It’s a great honor to interview a band like yours. Well, is this your first time in The Netherlands?

Ben: yes, but we did a show in Luxemburg a few weeks ago. And it was really fun.

Far away from where we are now. But let’s get started! Who and what is Hacktivist? Can you introduce yourself for the public?

J. Hurley: Yeah, I’m J. Hurley. I do vocals in Hacktivist.

Rich: I’m Rich. I play drums.

Ben: Ben. Vocals.

Tim: Tim. I play guitar and I sing.

Josh: Josh and I play bass.

Well, how did Hacktivist start? I know that you started like two years from now, haven’t you?

Tim: We are a band for like a year and half now, yeah.

And how did you come up with the combination of ‘djent’ with rap, experimental, groove, etc.?

Ben: Euhm, Tim..?

Tim: Well, basically...

Ben: Tim started Hacktivist as a solo-project and we came up with J. when he was in a studio one day. We did the music as an experiment and it worked! So we putted a band together and went pretty far with it.

Yeah, Hacktivist is a band that started 2 years ago now. How does that feel for you all?

Ben: Crazy!

Tim: I’m not settled in yet. I think that, if I may speak for all of us, we don’t realize and we don’t even know for trying to keep up with it. It is really going fast! I think maybe at the end of the year if we’ve done all the festivals and shows, that we think like: ‘Oh my God... Did we do that show?’ It is amazing and hard to progress so quickly in what we are doing.

Rich: Our first gig was this time last year.

Josh: Yes, we did our very first show!

Ben: Yeah, yeah!

Is this the biggest festival that you ever did?

Tim: So far, yes! Next week is going to be a different story... Don’t you know how many people are here today?

On this moment (early in the day) I think 5000 or 10.000?

Tim: So, that’s really many people!

Ben: Is that for the whole festival?

For now, yes!

Tim: Yeah, definitely the biggest show we ever did!

You will also play on Graspop in Belgium in a few weeks.

J. Hurley: Yeah, I’m very excited!

What do you expect from that show?

Tim: I have really no idea! Every day that we turn on these festivals, it’s like: "Wow, am I really here?". We never know how it’s gonna be like. Today is wicked, like we have herbs, clean toilets and stuff like that.

Ben: (laughter)

Tim: We are really happy to be here, but it’s like crazy and we don’t know what to expect. We just kinda look forward to it.

Ben: All of that, all of the fun, yeah!

Rich: Yeah!

Tim: All time of different experiences and different people and stuff. It’s nice to see different areas of Europe as well, as we don’t usually see that!

Hmmm, okay! Good answer!

Ben: Ha. Yeah!

What is the inspiration for the lyrics? What is the hidden message in these songs?

Ben: Yeah, it’s kinda like a mixture, stuff that usually make us tough. Euhm, not really pissing someone off or anything, but it’s just general life issues: stuff that we see, stuff that we hear about... Euhm, that’s for the lyrical message. The rest of what we play in our songs is getting a balance of entertainment and having a good time. Basically, every tune that you hear about is how we feel about something that is going on in the world.

Can you explain me how you came up with the combination of ‘djent’ with rap, experimental, music, groove, etc.?

Ben: Passion. Yeah?

Ben: It was literally: playing in the studio and putting up with the other.

J. Hurley: Yeah. That’s right!

Josh: We listen to metal, but we also listen to drum ‘n bass.

J. Hurley: And jazz.

Josh: Yeah, we were just getting together and we all play something different.

J. Hurley: With a touch of hiphop stuff. I recorded something with Tim in the studio and then it’s how we kinda started.

What is the thing that people attract in your music?

Tim: There’s something different to listen in our music. Once you get a mood, you could play our music. Like other bands stick up to their music, but we don’t do that. People just enjoy our music and the pureness about Hacktivist.

What’s the difference between the public in the UK and here?

Ben: Different, yeah!

Tim: It’s hard to tell, ‘cause we didn’t do a lot of shows in Europe yet. But through Internet and stuff, and by Youtube we got a lot of positive comments and feedback and this kicks on us! We don’t expect too much of these shows that we do in Europe, we just hope that people don’t runaway from us but come too us.

Does Hacktivist have any influences from other bands?

Rich: We are massive Deftones fans.

Ben: Limp Bizkit.

Rich: Yeah!

J. Hurley: If you combine us together, then you know why we love these bands and why we listen to them.

Rich: It’s just all about the music!

Will there be an album coming up?

Josh: Yesss!

Can you tell me something about it?

Josh: We were really busy. We are writing a new album, but at the minute we kinda enjoy playing lots and loads of live shows. We did a six week tour with Enter Shikari in the UK and we had such great fun with them! So we were a little bit busy.

Tim: We try to do all the things in like twelve months what a normal bands would do in 3 or 4 years. So, other bands would’ve had written an album in 6 months and not touring or doing shows in the world and we just do all of it together!

Ben: It’s hard to be in an studio, if you are doing something in a band! (laughter)

Tim: When we get back from all the shows, then there will be a album coming up!

J. Hurley: Yeah, it’s been really hectic.

Tim: So, yes, there is an album coming up!

Ben: Next year! (laughs)

If you had to do a split-album with a band, with which band would you like to do that and why?

Tim: Good question.

Josh: (sigh)

Josh: Lady Gaga! (laughter)

Ben: I thought Jay-Z..

Tim, Josh and J-Hurley: Yeah!

Tim: Hmmm. I want to do someone that is also fucking different like us. Not a band that is out for years like Iron Maiden or something like that, ‘cause not that they are not our sound, but we have a more experimental technique in our band.

Well, a difficult one: can you describe your band in 3 words?

Ben: Feel fallen ass-metal. (everyone laughs really hard!)

J. Hurley: Yeah, that would probably be good!

Tim: Scrab a hacker!

Josh: (laughs)

Tim: I don’t know...

Josh: Grunge grunge grunge...

Rich: Yeah! Hahaha.

Tim: Then it would be: clowns clowns clowns

Rich: I don’t know....

Tim: Let’s think it through.

Ben: I really don’t know.

Josh: A swamp of madness.

Rich: The beginning of change. There you go!

Okay. Maybe this is a personal question, but do you all have any tattoos on your body?

Josh and Ben: Yeah, yeah!

Well, what’s your favorite tattoo or the most important one?

Ben: Well, mine is right here (shows his neck)

(Tim and J. Hurley shows the same tattoos too)

You all got an ‘H’ on your body.

Ben: The ones that aren’t really in the band have nothing (laughs)

Are you scared for needles?

Ben: He came back for needles, yeah! (everyone laughs)

Rich: I’ve just found out that they were testing the band. (laughs)

Ben: In the past summer, he supposedly had to find out wether he would get a tattoo or not to become a full time member of the band (or not).

Tim: Yeah, there are enough bands that got a tattoo.

J. Hurley: Yeah, indeed!

Tim: Well, to answer your question, my favorite is the sign of Hacktivist on my body, yeah!

Ben: Yeah, for me as well, definitely!

The last question: Are they any other plans for Hacktivist in 2013?

Tim: Yes, but we can’t say a thing! We can’t mention what we are talking about.

Josh: We are not giving any details until the end of the year!

Ben: But we are coming back, yes!

Tim: Hopefully this winter.

Tim: No, we really can’t talk about it! Sorry.

Josh: More details will come soon.

Well, that’s no problem! Thank you for the interview and I wish the very best in the future in Hacktivist!

Ben: Thank you!

Tim: We aren’t really good at this, we suck in interviews!

No, you were just good enough, really, thank you!

Tim: No, no, thank you!

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