๐ SEVENYEARWAITINGLIST talk trans/queer criminalisation, uplifting the scene & getting high AF & watching Trailer Park Boys ๐
๐ธ : @somerstownglen
๐ How did you all start?
F: I met Sienna about 10 years ago at this point online & we have been very close friends ever since. I have always been madly impressed with her production skills & musicianship & we just have the same attitude about art/life in general. It was inevitable we would make something together but I donโt think either of us originally thought itโd be this.
S: Sevenyear was a stroke of luck. Me & Fili had been knocking about ideas for collaborative projects for a while. There was a good period where this was nearly a hyperpop/digicore deal, but then I started up my currently dormant Panic Clause project & talked her into learning to scream - everything just fell into place after that.
๐ How did you land on the name sevenyearwaitinglist?
F: Sienna suggested it when we were chatting about hypothetical skramz band names. I felt it was pretty perfect. Itโs pretty obvious the meaning but I like hearing peopleโs interpretations of it if they donโt get it.
S: The name came from the gender identity clinic waiting list times when I originally started DIY HRT. Itโs probably a lot longer now, but the name still carries the intended weight.
๐ Whatโs the project about?
F: Trans & queer joy through extremity. Being truly ourselves.
S: That varies by album. At its core, itโll always be built on the basis of coping with being loudly queer in a world that is becoming increasingly comfortable with fucking with us, but as the project developed it just became an excuse to hang out with my best friend & do cool shit.
๐ธ : @somerstownglen
โItโll always be built on the basis of coping with being loudly queer in a world that is becoming increasingly comfortable with fucking with usโ
๐ What does one do for seven years while waiting to have their existence authorized?
F: Noise, debating on what season of The Simpsons is the best, go to shows. Not much else makes sense.
S: Get on SSRIs, realise they suck, get into weed, get high as fuck & watch Trailer Park Boys. Thatโs what Iโve been doing so far, at least.
๐ What are your fears around the rise of fascism in the UK?
F: That we will end up truly like America is currently, Gov-authorised fear squads parading around enforcing imagined new laws. Even more unnecessary deaths. Trans/Queer people becoming criminalised.
S: The complete stripping of the Equalities act. Being at a state societally where that could even be proposed by a party is fucking horrifying.
๐ What should we be doing to fight it?
F: Find whatever yr furthest comfortable boundary of defiance is & stick to it. Get organised. Help out yr friends & people who arenโt yr friends. Use the internet less. Vote. Take part in direct action if you can. Never stop putting pressure on those with power. Stay alive. Iโm glad people are fighting back. We need more of it.
S: Organize, get in the streets, protest in any fashion possible, but stop restricting yourself to internet activism immediately. The second you get in the headspace that putting your opinion on your socials is enough, you just become another pawn for the system that you believe youโre working against.
โThe second you get in the headspace that putting your opinion on your socials is enough, you just become another pawn for the system that you believe youโre working againstโ
Weโve got massive groups of people trying to pressure artists into making statements in support of social movements, but why the fuck should we want them to say Free Palestine on Instagram when META was letting their platform be used to fundraise drones for the IDF? If the fuckinโ hardcore scene can get some benefit gigs together, Billie Eilish can drop a few grand in the pockets of the PCRF.
๐ธ : @somerstownglen
โIf the fuckinโ hardcore scene can get some benefit gigs together, Billie Eilish can drop a few grand in the pockets of the PCRFโ
๐ What inspires you to play music?
F: Music is the one thing that just envelopes me. Sound is soo megalithic & can explain anything. It just appeals and makes sense. I got thrown into playing quite young & gravitated to it. As a trans/queer/neurodivergent person it's very appealing & affirming to be able to produce something truer to yrself as we often feel small/unseen. Being a natively communal thing as well, It cures a void in my life & I wouldnโt be here without it. Itโs a form of connection that I need.
S: My deep desire to be on the soundtrack to some Charles Band-ass horror films.
๐ธ : @somerstownglen
โAs a trans/queer/neurodivergent person itโs very appealing & affirming to be able to produce something truer to yrself as we often feel small/unseenโ
๐ Whatโs your writing process?
F: Sienna does bleep bloop magic & I usually edit or record some noise. Engage in ideas with her. My main job is the screaming & writing tho, she combines it into what 7year truly is.
S: I tend to start with a drum pattern or breakbeat Iโm really fucking with & go from there. Structure comes first, noise is usually the last thing I think about. I always wanted to be a drummer so itโs the easiest place for me to start. Usually I find myself digging through 90s sample cds for textural elements & loops to bolster things, but everything begins with percussion. We usually just stockpile these instrumentals & improvise everything else, although our unreleased โArms Gameโฆโ record that makes up a good chunk of the live sets was written in a more traditional fashion.
๐ How long does it take to make 7 minutes of noisegrind & why arenโt we getting more?
F: For that particular 7, about 55 minutes. It mostly takes so long because we seem to like recording or finalising stuff in person - which between shows & life-stuff hasnโt been ultra common recently.
S: Our process doesnโt take us too long but we like to make sure our material is something weโd listen to. When we donโt, we end up with albums like Transition Goals, & nobody wants that.
๐ What led to the Christmas album?
F: A love of tropes & The Gerogerigegege & novelty singles & East17 & as a small tribute to How I Quit Ketamine (RIP.) Covers are always a feature of 7year. We thought itโd be fun to do around Christmas time.
S: Weโd been talking about doing a cover of East 17โs Stay Another Day & sending out a holiday card with it on a CD but left it a bit late & wanted to pay homage the only way we could deem acceptable - pretending to cover songs that we couldnโt even remember most of the lyrics to.
๐ Were you hoping to make it to #1?
F: Maybeโฆthough idk if we can compete with such generational talents as Mud & Bob the Builder.
S: Of course. That would ensure that weโd be mentioned in the same breath as our holiday music idols, the St Winifredโs School Choir.
๐ What wouldโve gone into your Kweens Speech?
F: โPlease bring back Turbo Tango itโs been 15 fucking yearsโ
S: A plea for the reunion of Lawson.
๐ Who are your main influences in music & life?
F: Tonnes of friends & contemporaries. My main performance idols are David Thomas Broughton & Mariko Gotล.
The UK Noise scene, Chris Burden & John Waters & Dennis Cooper & Jordaan Mason & Terry Zwigoff & They Might Be Giants & Mike Doughty & My Mum & Pauline Oliverios & Nina Conti & Yoni Wolf & Apichatpong Weerasethakul & itoldyouiwouldeatyou & far to many others. Anyone who decides to be themselves & cares deeply about it, yโknow.
S: Anyone who has made their way by sticking to their guns & not bowing down to the expectations of the systems laid out for us. People like Tony Bontana & the whole Everything Is Perfect crew, Charles Band, Lloyd Kaufman, Rob Zombie, Company Flow & Hannah Bannanah. True warriors of art.
๐ Who do you want to tour with?
F: Alien Ant Farm, 300skullsandcounting, BOI TOI, Ultra Deluxe, Horsebastard & of course Lawson.
S: Lawson.
๐ Tell us about your aesthetic:
F: Nu-Metal, transgression, dead scenes, 90โs Americanoise but queerer, Bizarro cinema. Cringe Compilations but as inspiration. Putting a Gabber kick over the Doom riff.
S: Weโre the result of rejecting the societal idea of cringe & consuming every bit of off-kilter, even slightly disturbing or odd media we could get our hands on growing up. A steady stream of VHS era B-Movies, serial killer documentaries, 90s & 2000s music culture & video games being presented through the lens of angry faggots wishing for the return of the analog world we saw the tail end of.
๐ธ : @somerstownglen
๐ When youโre not doing band stuff what do you get up to?
F: Watching media with my partner, replaying the same four games, probably being on call with Sienna & other friends, wanting to do band stuff...
S: I play PS2 a& listen to Mortician.
๐ What one thing could everyone do to make the scene a better place?
F: Uplift friends & projects you believe in. Support marginalised people. Go to less samey shows. Mask up more. Protect DIY venues.
S: Talking from a strictly musical perspective - mixed bills. Throw hardcore acts on bills with Psytrance DJs & rappers. That kinda crossover is what leads to advancement in the music but also bigger connections being between communities. The opportunities to learn & advance are endless once the genre barrier is broken.
๐ธ : @somerstownglen
โUplift friends & projects you believe in. Support marginalised people. Mask up more. โ
๐ Whatโs next for Sevenyear?
F: At least one album this year & our long-due split with the homies, McMansion. Bunch of shows & making some merch & staying alive :3
S: Weโve prided ourselves on not sticking to the confines of genre, so weโve currently got a few records in the works. There's a split with McMansion on the way which isn't straying too far from what we're known for, but our next mainline record is on the way & itโs a complete switch up from what yโall are expecting. Itโll have more in line with White Zombie & the shit that was coming from the 90s Nu-Metal scene than anything you've heard from us before.
Thatโs not all thatโs in the pipeline but be patient - we promise itโll be worth it. ๐
๐ธ : @somerstownglen
Catch sevenyearwaitinglist at our upcoming show on May 6th for their East 17 cover tour
๐ Yapper: ethereal.void.404
๐ธ : Glen Pearson of Somerstown Film
