Interview with the well-liked Disliked

The Disliked are a Ska/Reggae band from Luxembourg. They recently released their debut album Hotel Numero 24 and will get things going on the Main Stage on Saturday at this year’s Rock-A-Field festival. Frontman Raph, took some time out to talk to Sam Steen about the formation of the band, their style and the difficulties they encountered getting their album out.

The Disliked’s debut album has not been out for very long but it has been a long time in the making, indeed the band themselves have been together for a very long time, but through various personal commitments they have been unable to work properly until recently.

“I’ve been in the band for 12 years”, Raph began explaining their sound, “we play a kind of Ska/Reggae music now, but it wasn’t like that in the beginning. We turned in to that over the years, we started as a punk rock band. All the members of the band don’t listen to the same kind of music, we listen to different styles of music. We listen to a lot of Hip Hop, Pop, The more heavy stuff and even classical music.”

“It wasn’t that kind of a decision it was just the mood of the Reggae and the Ska which was ours. The style really found us, we didn’t decide to do that style”, he added.

But if they’ve been together for twelve years then why did it take them so long to release their album? The answer is a very Luxembourgish problem that a lot of local bands face. In truth it’s impressive that they managed to stay committed to and interested in the project. “It took us a lot of time because everyone started to leave Luxembourg to study in different countries and it was always very hard to keep the band alive,” Raph said,“But we managed it and nearly everyone has come back to Luxembourg and we can finally play shows again.”

Given that long hiatus the band are clearly delighted to be back and playing again and on one of Luxembourg’s biggest stages in particular. “Over the last 12 years we’ve played in lots of different places and of course a lot in Luxembourg but there are a few festivals in Luxembourg we haven’t played yet so of course we’re very happy to play at Rock-A-Field” said Raph. So much so that the band are actually booked to play two concerts on the same day this weekend and will leave the festival site right after their set.

“In the evening we’ll be playing in Esch-sur-Alzette, it’s a pity because I really wanted to see Wu Tang Clan!”

Finally having the album finished and in their hands was a big step for the band and their appearance at this weekend’s festival and a full calendar over the next few months are the bands reward for their hard work and patience.

“It was big step to finish it” admitted Raph, ”sometimes you really have to finish it before you start something new and for us the something new now is to go ahead and be playing shows again because we haven’t been playing shows for the last few years but this year we’ll be doing a lot of shows.”

The band recorded it in a studio in Germany which is normally used to record metal bands but that suited the Disliked perfectly. “We just liked the sound of that studio because it was really heavy and we don’t do the sweet reggae, we do it sometimes, more, nasty so we thought it would be interesting to record a reggae album in a metal studio. We released it on our own label called Ash Can records so we don’t have anybody who tells us how and why and what we should do which is really the point of the band.” Raph explained.

If fans want to get their hands on the record it is available in various record stores around Luxembourg or it can be downloaded directly from their website along with a couple of free downloads but interestingly the band decided against using larger online stores or streaming services.

“We decided not to put it on iTunes because we wanted to show that we’re not fans of globalising everything. They’ve just gone so big. Even it could be an advantage for the artist to be on that platform or platforms like that, as an artist you don’t touch anything, you just get really sh*t money and that’s not correct.”

Joining a number of great local acts on Saturday’s bill, the Disliked get the day going on the Main Stage at 14.30.

Find out more about the band and download their debut album, Hotel Numero 24 through their website: www.thedisliked.com

Listen Sam Steen's full interview below..

Sam's Scene!

Read Sam's other articles in his very own dossier on wort.lu : Sam's Scene!_________________________________________________________

Sam Steen on ARA City Radio

You can catch Sam in his "Freshly Squeezed Breakfast Show" on ARA City Radio every weekday morning from 6-9:30am. For more info visit the website: www.aracityradio.com_________________________________________________________

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