International News International Spotlight
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Fokofpolisiekar (South Africa)

South Africa Month continues… Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

Another excellent South African band lined up for this week, and this one is exceptional because they are a rare case of a band singing in Afrikaans, the other official language of South Africa of European origin. The band is Fokofpolisiekar, out of Cape Town. Their debut album Lugsteuring is out now on Rhythm Records, but you'd never be able to tell it's a debut because the quality of songwriting and production is top notch. These guys boast a pretty unique sound as well, ruggedly melodic in a Hot Water Music vein, but not heavily influenced by Western music. They admit the idea of an Afrikaans punk band started off as a joke, but they're now one of the fastest-rising bands in South Africa. I highly recommend it.

Fokofpolisiekar - Sporadies Nomadies (MP3) Visitors in South Africa are welcome to contact Tim about other good bands in their country. Drop him a line at tim@punkinternational.com. Recent Spotlights: Tonight We Die (South Africa), Fuzigish (South Africa).

International News International Spotlight
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Tonight We Die (South Africa)

Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

Week two of South Africa Month brings us to Tonight We Die, an unsigned Cape Town band that impressed the hell out of me with their 4-song EP Look for Us Beneath the Lights. They're working on a full-length that will be released sometime this year; meanwhile, the EP is soon to go out of print. I dare say they have a pretty unique sound and I'll be excited to hear their first album.

Tonight We Die - FFF (MP3) Visitors in South Africa are welcome to contact Tim about other good bands in their country. Drop him a line at tim@punkinternational.com. Recent Spotlights: Fuzigish (South Africa), Japanische Kampfhoerspiele (Germany).

International News International Spotlight
37

Fuzigish (South Africa)

Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

I'm going to try a little experiment this week; for the first time in International Spotlight history I'm going to devote a month to a specific country. February 2005 is South Africa Month. Four weeks won't be enough to do this fine country justice, but bear with me and check out some of the highlights. To start with, I have a band I first heard in 1999. Last summer they put out their third album, "Exploited & Distorted", and they also boast a split CD with Frenzal Rhomb, who toured the country in 2003. Give it up for Johannesburg's Fuzigish.

Fuzigish - Shoot Up Shot Down (MP3) Visitors in South Africa are welcome to contact Tim about other good bands in their country. Drop him a line at tim@punkinternational.com. Recent Spotlights: Japanische Kampfhoerspiele (Germany), BBS Paranoicos (Chile).

International News International Spotlight
12

Japanische Kampfhoerspiele (Germany)

Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

2004 was the year of Japanische Kampfhoerspiele in my books. The band had two amazing releases on Germany's Bastardized Recordings, an EP and this brand new album Hardcore Aus Der Ersten Welt. I'm posting the song "Verpackt In Plastik", also available in video form. Want some insight into what their bizarre band name is all about? Read this interview.

Japanische Kampfhoerspiele - Verpackt In Plastik (MP3) Recent Spotlights: BBS Paranoicos (Chile), Nyia (Poland).

International News International Spotlight
28

BBS Paranoicos (Chile)

Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

BBS Paranoicos formed in Santiago, Chile in 1991, shortly after the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet came to an end. Fourteen years later, they've matured and evolved into a top-tier melodic hardcore band, somewhere between Bad Religion and No Use For A Name in style, with socio-political Spanish-language lyrics. For more insight into the history of BBS Paranoicos, the development of the Chilean punk scene, and the meaning behind the band's new album "Capital", read this Punk International interview.

BBS Paranoicos - Cristales (MP3) Recent Spotlights: Nyia (Poland), Blind Pigs (Brazil).

International News International Spotlight
33

Nyia (Poland)

Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

Mike, Nyia's vocalist got pretty annoyed with me when I referred to them as a metal band, so here I'll just say that Poland's Nyia is very loud, fast, and heavy. And their guitarist was in Vader. Other members were in other Polish bands I haven't heard before (Kobong, Prophecy). Now Nyia is signed to Candlelight Records in the UK, and put out a pretty awesome debut called Head Held High.

Nyia - Pails Of Blood (MP3) Check out a recent interview with the band. Recent Spotlights: Blind Pigs (Brazil), Hitch (Belgium).

International News International Spotlight
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Blind Pigs (Brazil)

Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

In recognition of the two new releases 2004 brought from Sao Paulo's Blind Pigs, I present the biggest international spotlight ever. To begin with, there's the new Blind Pigs EP Porcos Segos, from which I took the song "Legiao De Inconformados". Then there's the brand new Blind Pigs Live CD Suor, Cerveja e Sangue, and I took two tracks from that one, "O Idiota" and (my favorite Blind Pigs song) "Sete de Setembro". I'm also including the album version of "Sete de Setembro" from their 2002 self-titled album. And just 'cause I have it, I'm throwing in the still-unreleased track "Swingin' Bombs". So have fun sucking up all my bandwidth, and check out their CDs at Interpunk if you like what you hear.

Blind Pigs - Legiao De Inconformados (mp3)
Blind Pigs - O Idiota Live (mp3)
Blind Pigs - Sete De Setembro Live (mp3)
Blind Pigs - Sete De Setembro (mp3)
Blind Pigs - Swingin Bombs (unreleased) (mp3) Check out Brazil's country profile. Recent Spotlights: The Geeks (Korea), Hitch (Belgium).

International News International Spotlight
33

The Geeks (Korea)

Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

The South Korean punk and hardcore scene is still pretty small relative to its potential as an industrialized country with a population just a few notches below England. So it may sound surprising that the hardcore band known as the Geeks are tagged as Korea's only straight-edge band. They've got an album called "From the Start" on Seoul's Townhall Records, full of minute-or-so tracks influenced by youth crew bands, like this one, "Still I Stay the Same".

Geeks - Still I Stay The Same (MP3) Check out Korea's country profile. Recent Spotlights: Hitch (Belgium), Shaila (Argentina).

International News International Spotlight
9

Hitch (Belgium)

Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

The featured band on Punk International right now is Belgium's Hitch. A couple years ago Hitch put out an album called Monolith on Divot Records in Chicago, home of their good friends Haymarket Riot. 2004 saw the release of the band's newest album, Trails Are Ablaze [review] on Belgian label Kinky Star. This December the band is celebrating its ten-year anniversary; details can be found in the interview.

Hitch - Opposites Direct (MP3) Check out Belgium's country profile. Recent Spotlights: Shaila (Argentina), Canon To A Whisper (South Africa).

International News International Spotlight
4

Shaila (Argentina)

Here's Tim Krysko with our International Spotlight:

A new arrival to my mailbox this week comes all the way from Argentina. Buenos Aires' Shaila has been together since 1994 and this year released their fourth full-length CD, Mañanas. Of the fourteen Spanish-language melodically-charged tracks, here's one called "Te vi (dos)". At the end of this month, they're heading east for a tour of Chile.

Shaila -Te vi (dos) (MP3) Check out Argentina's country profile. Recent Spotlights: Canon To A Whisper (South Africa), Tripped And Falling (Trinidad).