Usch! Is a new and young group which plays hardcore as if they never have done anything else. They have released their debut record Mardrömmen på Flyksoda/Halvfabrikat and it ́s a real slap in the face. I wondered where the interview answers was and then they said that they will arrive before twelve o'clock but 00.11 today (11/10-23) they came... There they tell us, among other things, that they probably put down think but we hope that they will think that over again!

Please tell me a little about how you met and came up with the idea that you would play this sort of hard music?

- It all started with Lilja wanting to start a punkband. They asked two friends that they have known since kindergarten/elementary school, Tomas and David (Guitar in Dogfight) to come with them to the rehearsal room at Kålltorp's youth center to try to play a little together. It wasn ́t any great songs that were written there but it was fun. Robban was in Lilja's parallel class and as soon as he jumped on the train, David dropped out. Then we found Sten through her rehearsal at the youth center with another band and Elvira(Sigge) through an advertisement on social media. The two-beat was replaced by D-Takt and we found our sound. The guitarist who had to take Elvira's place when she left was Joel, whom Lilja had known since middle school.

Please tell me a little about every member, if you have bands on the side, what you do in your spare time and age?

- Lilja: I turned 17 this year and music is pretty much all my free time, I play in Dogfight and the newly started band Förpassad.

Bobby: I'm 18 years old and in high school. Plays in Dogfight, cry bby and Try Me.

Tomas: 16 years old, in high school, playing in Bound 2 Break just now.

Sten: I don ́t have any bands right now but I play music in school. I am 16 years old.

Joel: Born 2006, other bands - Dogfight

You ́re really young from what I understand, is it an obstacle or is it an advantage?

- Yes, we are born between 2007 and 2005 and that we would think is an advantage because we have a lot of free time to put on the music

When you play out, do you only have a young audience or do the older punks/crustpunks come too?

-It's usually very mixed, but it also depends on where we play. When we play at Fängelset, for example, there aren't as many older crustpunks. Maybe it's because of the lack of alcohol.

When I listen to your record it feels like if you have got foreword a really compact sound, do you sound the same live?

-We sound very different depending on what kind of backline is in place. At first we didn't even have our own pedals, but our sound is a bit more consistent now that we have some gear.

How was it to record a record, how did it feel?

-It's so much fun to be in the studio and see all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. We are very pleased with the result.

To release a physical record, was it obvious? Or are you who are younger not so careful that it comes physically?

- We always wanted to get it released physically, but our idea was cassette at first. Then some labels got in touch about releasing vinyl and we went for that instead.

Do you buy records yourself?

- Bobby still has a collection but doesn't buy very often. Lilja collects some cassettes and Joel/Sten buys records if the music is good enough. Tomas doesn ́t do that but he still likes to go to record stores

Are you called Usch with ! or how is it. You know that there was a band earlier which was called Usch I understand? How did the name come forewardt?

-Yes, the exclamation mark is part of the name. Usch! Is short, simple and recognizable. There wasn't much discussion about the choice of name, it just kind of happened. We ́re aware of the old punk band Usch from 78 but we don ́t remember if we had heard of the band before we actually chose the name.

You get help from three record labels, how is the deal, how many records do you get? How many copies is the record pressed in?

-50 of the 350 that were pressed we got ourselves. The labels have been responsible for the entire cost and without them there would not have been any vinyl release.

Why was it only a one-sided LP?

- We came to the conclusion that it would have been badly distributed with playing time on the two sides if we had done an EP so we chose to put everything on one LP side instead. Cooler with twelves too.

How many songs do you have all in all?

- We have our EP Mardrömmen with 6 songs and then it comes 4 more songs on a split with Brute Force Trauma. We have a bunch more written but it won't be anything with them because we quit the band. (what the hell!)

Do you play any covers on stage too? If so, which ones?

-Certainly. We've played some Doom, Shitlickers and Skitsystem. We mainly did covers in the beginning when we had fewer songs.

To play live, which ́s the best?

- That you can interact with and see the audience's reactions to what's happening in the music is so damn fun. All the professional pictures you get for free are nice too haha.

Have you been out a lot and played, where is best?

- A lot. The best stage and the organizers is Moral Panic who arranges at Fängelset. The funniest gigs we have done was probably the times we did at Fragile Mountain though. The first time we were surprised and happy about the amount of people who were excited to see us and how well we were treated. The second time was probably the first gig we actually sounded really nice on haha.

What ́s the most peculiar which have happened during a gig with you?

- I don't think that much strange has happened?

What do you think about living in Sweden today... politically etc?

- Unfortunate political developments. We are fast approaching a full police state. But the world around us doesn't look much more promising. Crappy.

There are many young punkbands coming now and do you have any favourites of all the new bands which plays punk/hardcore in Sweden?

- Lilja: I think Size Up is hard.

Bobby: In 2 Deep, XXL, Bound 2 Break

Tomas: Dogfight Stone: BOUND 2 BREAK

Joel: Not super new but Blood Sermon is extremely good.

What is the most strange(embarrassing) that you like musically that no one thought you listened to?

- Lilja: Japanese Jazz-Fusion

Bobby: Elvis

Tomas: Weezer

Sten: Like post-punk if it counts?

You sing in swedish, is it never any thoughts of singing in English(I hope not)?

- Two of the four songs that are on the go are actually in English.

You have some warsongs and seems to be politically in general, is it important to get out opinions in the music?

- Above all, it is important to write texts that you care about. So if you have a lot to say about politics, it's cool to write political lyrics.

Are you politically active yourself?

- Nope. Elvira, who was with us before, is active in RKU.

What´s  the futureplans for the band now?

- Unfortunately, the plan is to disband the band with Robban and Tomas leaving. We'd rather be working on new projects. However, there is still a split coming with Brute Force Trauma.

For yourself?

-For all of us, it's a good idea to keep going. Finish studying, play music.

Wisdomword?

- The only thing we can think of is to encourage you to get involved in your local scenes. Start bands, go to gigs. And if there are no gigs, start arranging. We see it in several places in Sweden right now. Hardcore is on its way up, jump on the wave.

Something to add?

- Nope, it's great that you wanted to interview us.