Snakes Don't Belong in Alaska
Five Questions to Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska

In the last two months, I've become very interested in this group from the northeast of England, particularly from the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. They are called Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska (I wrote about them here: https://www.debaser.it/snakes-dont-belong-in-alaska/mountain-rituals/recensione). This group is particularly prolific: their releases are largely "underground" and generally consist of what we can define as long jam sessions with no predefined shape and no planning, performed in the studio or live.

In an era where there's more and more talk of fluid music, this formula of theirs, which ultimately isn't truly innovative if we think about the avant-garde experimenters of the sixties and seventies, seems very interesting to me and makes me wonder if this might not be the next path to pursue in the development of neo-psychedelic music.

Inspired by groups like the legendary Swedish band Trad Gras och Stennar, Ash Ra Tempel, and Acid Mothers Temple, the sound of SDBIA is thus acidic, multifaceted, and full of vibrations and echoes.

Below is an email interview with the group in which we exchange some thoughts regarding their activity, their music, and the music scene in the northeast of England.

Happy reading.

1. Hi guys. Thanks for this interview. I've been very impressed by your music and I'm very pleased to have had this chance. Let's start from the beginning of your experience. When did you start the project? Did you already have a clear idea in mind of what direction it should take? And why did you choose the name "Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska"? It's a fantastic name!

SDBIA. The group was formed in 2015 with the current line-up and our friend Scott Payne who came from a previous experience with another Newcastle band, "Hot Sex For Boys".

At first, we didn't know exactly what direction we would take, we basically circled around any type of sound and created compositions by drawing on our various influences. At that time we were much more structured as a band and based our compositions on more regular riffs, but then after Scott left the band, we moved past this phase.

At this point, we really became a jam psychedelic band, every album and every live performance happens without any pre-established plan. The choice was to orient ourselves by being inspired by groups like Myrrors, Trad Gras och Stennar, Ash Ra Tempel, and Acid Mothers Temple.

The band name, "Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska", is a quote from the PlayStation game "Metal Gear Solid".

2. You come from a region that generally isn't considered central or particularly relevant when it comes to pop-rock music from the United Kingdom. I'm obviously talking about Newcastle upon Tyne in the Northeast of England. First of all, I wanted to ask you if it's true that there's a less lively and prolific music scene than in other cities like London (obviously), or Liverpool and Manchester. The second question is about what it's like being a psychedelic rock band in that part of England? Can it be said that in some way your music is an expression of the culture and society in which you live?

SDBIA. The northeast of England can appear to be a remote and somewhat forgotten location, and the psychedelic scene seems to actually thrive more south than Newcastle, which certainly can mean some distance from this movement.

But on the other hand, this also gives us a certain advantage and a different approach to this kind of sound.

The northeast of England is not devoid of quality bands and musicians. But since there isn't a dominant genre in the underground and experimental scene, there are bands playing different genres. I mean, we have played the same concerts as doom, death metal, hardcore, indie, noise, and electronic music bands.

I think this melting-pot has a huge influence on our music, and that's because at every concert we receive a lot of energy in return. So more than being influenced by the city or the historical culture of this part of England, we can say that we are much more positively influenced by the friends and people who surround us at these moments.

3. You release a lot of material. In short, I would say you are a particularly prolific band. Correct me if I'm wrong: in many cases, these are mostly bootlegs or, in any case, completely improvised jam session live recordings. Do you consider the live dimension the one where you best express yourselves? I find it very interesting that every live performance has its own unique and peculiar form and that it develops as a different story from all the others and forms something unique and unrepeatable. This is really fantastic. Do you think this might be a limitation if you want to record a more conventional album in the future? What would happen in this case? Are you prepared to engage in a more conventional studio work?

SDBIA. I would say that at this moment our music finds its right dimension in live performances. Occasionally, we record session recordings and we record practically every performance of ours. Even those that are not eventually released. So the live performance for us constitutes making real music, they are our most expressive moments.

Most of our releases have certainly been made during live performances or jam sessions in the studio, but we are not against studio work, but it requires a lot of time and money. At the moment this dimension is definitely the ideal one for us to continue making and spreading music completely.

However, we plan to write some compositions and record them, perhaps by the end of the year, and we'll see what happens.

At the moment we are content with improvisations and live collaborations.

We hope to give our dear old James Watts a lot of work this year as well, and finally manage to make him eat a lot of lettuce (Ndr. James Watt is the singer of Lovely Wife with whom the group has a special relationship, they tease him because every time they go out to eat, he never eats salad.) Let's say this is our main goal.

4. Living in Newcastle upon Tyne, do you in any case feel part of the psychedelic rock scene in the UK? Is there any artist or band you feel a special connection with? In any case, who can be considered your main references?

SDBIA. I think we do not have a particular connection with the rest of the British psychedelic rock scene.

We have never played outside the northeast of England, but we intend to do so this year. So I hope in this sense things will change soon.

As for our main influences, I would mention bands like Kungens Man, The Cosmic Dead, Mugstar, Sundays & Cybele, Dreamtine, and Junzo Suzuki.

But as already mentioned, our main points of reference are the bands we play with here in Newcastle: Loveli Wife, Fret!, Star Cult, Platemaker, Massa Confusa, Luna Del Caçador, and Waheela.

5. Are you currently working on new material? What should we expect from Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska in 2018? Last question: how much has Brexit influenced your creative process and your activity as musicians, and in general, your perspectives on the society you live in and relationships with the rest of Europe and the world?

SDBIA. We're always working and always making new music. So expect a lot of new music soon.

We also have a split with Lovely Wife planned soon.

We'll see what happens.

As for Brexit and the effects it could have on our music, I would define our music as escapism. Our possibilities to change the hate and what's wrong in the world are very limited of course, but we hope that people who come in contact with our music can at least find important content in everything we do.

READ IT IN ENGLISH.

1. Hi guys. Thank you for this interview. I find your project really interesting, so I'm very happy to have this chance. Let's start from the beginning of your experience. When did you start the project and what were your main proposals at the time? Did you have from the start a main idea about what you were going to do? And why did you choose to name your project "Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska"? That's very brilliant.

SDBIA. We began the project in 2015 with our current line-up and our friend Scott Payne from another Newcastle-based band 'Hot Sex For Boys'.

To begin with, we didn't have a focused direction for the music, we just rolled with whatever we created drawn from our various influences. Back then we were far more structured and riff-orientated but eventually, we drifted away from this after we parted ways with Scott.

At this point, we became a fully improvisational band, every recording and live performance being unplanned. This direction was heavily influenced by bands such as The Myrrors, Trad Gras och Stennar, Ash Ra Tempel, and The Acid Mothers Temple.

The band name 'Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska' is a quote from the Playstation game Metal Gear Solid.

2. You're from a region that's not generally so central and/or mainly mentioned when we usually discuss pop-rock music in the United Kingdom. I'm talking about the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. First of all, is it true that there is a musical scene less influential than, for example, what does it happen in London or other cities like Liverpool or Manchester, or is this just a false myth? What is it like to be part of a psychedelic-rock group in that part of England? Do you consider your music also as an expression of the culture and of the society of the place you actually live in?

SDBIA. The North East of England can feel a bit forgotten about at times.

The psychedelic scene in the UK seems to thrive further south than Newcastle which can cause a bit of a disconnect.

But as a result, I think it gives us a different edge and approach to this style.

The North East of England is far from lacking in quality bands and musicians. But since there isn't a dominant genre in the underground/experimental scene here, everybody plays mixed bills. I mean, we've played on the same gigs as Doom bands, Death Metal bands, Hardcore bands, Indie bands, Noise musicians, Electronic music.

I think this melting pot has a huge influence on our music in particular because we draw from the energies at each gig we perform.

So instead of being influenced by the city or culture where we are based, we vibe more off the friends and people around us at that time.

3. You are used to releasing a lot of material. Effectively we could also say that you are a group that's actually very prolific. Correct me if I'm wrong: in many cases, they're bootlegs and live recordings of improvised jam sessions. Do you consider the live dimension actually as the one in which you better express yourselves? It's interesting that every live exhibition has got apparently its own peculiar form and a different story, and at the same time the fact they do consist into a unique long session. That's cool. Do you think this could be a limit in case you want to eventually release a more conventional album? What will happen if you eventually get into a different form of composition? Are you prepared to dedicate yourselves to working on a much more recording work in the studio?

SDBIA. I'd say at this current time our music is almost an entirely live entity. We have occasional practice room sessions where we jam and record (not always for release) and we record every live performance. So the live performance is very much the purest expressive moments from us.

Most of our releases so far have been captured live or in the practice space but we are not adverse to studio recordings, it comes down to time and money for us. This is currently the most affordable and practical means for us to keep releasing music completely.

We do plan to write some compositions and record them hopefully this year, but we will have to see what happens.

At the moment we are content with live improvisations and collaborations.

Hopefully we can convince James Watts to eat lettuce this year. That's our real main goal.

4. Living in Newcastle upon Tyne, do you feel in any case connected to what could be defined as a British psychedelic rock scene? Do you feel a particular connection to some particular bands that are actually around? In any case, what are basically your main inspirations?

SDBIA. I think we're fairly disconnected from the British psychedelic scene.

We haven't played outside of the North East yet but we plan to do so this year, so hopefully, this will change soon.

As for influences, we have our individual ones from bands like Kungens Män, The Cosmic Dead, Mugstar, Sundays & Cybele, Dreamtime, and Junzo Suzuki.

But I think our main influences are the bands we play with here in Newcastle like Lovely Wife, Fret!, Star Cult, Platemaker, Massa Confusa, Luna Del Cazador, and Waheela.

5. So, you're actually working on new materials? What do we have to expect from the band in the year 2018? Final question: how much has Brexit influenced your activity as a musician and generally speaking your perspectives about the whole society in which you live in and your relations with the rest of Europe/the world?

SDBIA. We're constantly collaborating and creating new music so expect more music very soon.

We also have plans to release a split with Lovely Wife in the near future.

Who knows what else.

As for things like Brexit having an effect on our music, our music is escapism. Our capabilities to change the hate and wrong in the world is limited, so we hope people who vibe on our music can find at least temporary solace in what we do.