Although punk is not a mainstream genre, it represents the down-to-earth and it is a kind of rebellious music. If you want to really explore the origin of punk style, you have to start from the sixties to the seventies. At that time, the music of Disco was the most popular in the neighbourhoods. As the saying goes ‘water and fire are incompatible’, with glamorous music of course there are also genres with more spicy lyrics.
LIFE, the British punk band, has been loved by straight talking young people since their inception. They have released two albums "Popular Music" and "A Picture of Good Health" in the UK. The 24 songs in these two studio albums can't help but shout out the young people's feelings about life and indirectly express the voice that this generation should roar.
"Creative people are very resilient, and more often than not we thrive and make our best work during extreme situations."
Although music knows no borders, there are of course problems in the life of a band without a place to perform. Especially for a punk band that sang social voices, the impact was even more severe. But will this affect future music creation? Stewart, the drummer of LIFE, said: "I think as creative people we will always be able to create in whatever form that takes. When we have nothing we are still making music and art, so that will never change. Creative people are very resilient, and more often than not we thrive and make our best work during extreme situations."
But without contact with people and society, creative thinking will always change, right? After all, if you can't make exciting work, how can you survive in this highly competitive market? Stewart added, "It’s important to embrace change and become adaptable to new ways of working. You can learn a lot about yourself this way and it has just brought us closer as a unit."
Therefore, LIFE held its first online concert The Moon Factory this year. For them, this performance is a turning point when the music industry is in crisis, and only change can lead to the next step in life. "Although we are experiencing a lot of damage to our industry, I think this is an opportunity for the industry to reflect and adapt for the better.. it isn’t all good, so I’m not sure if I want it to go back to ‘normal." LIFE said.
"fashion and music go hand in hand.
It helps shape the culture you are living through from decade to decade."
Reading history carefully, you will find that punk actually has a great relationship with fashion. For example, British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood is the best example. And Mez, of LIFE Band, interpreted fashion in this way: "I think fashion is a form and representation of identity. Punk, in its original form, was a way of expressing yourself regardless of status and money. I also think, irrelevant of musical genre, fashion and music go hand in hand. It helps shape the culture you are living through from decade to decade."
"Life is too short, this pandemic has confirmed that so let's embrace the raw passion of the world and learn to respect each other and love one another so going forward we can all survive in harmony." Maz, LIFE
TEXT Dylan Tang
PHOTOS Stewart Baxter, Charles Engelken, Fran McConnell, Pavla Dolanska, Sinead Ferguson
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