Lipona is an experimental melodic hardcore band from Florida. They will be their new full length “Networks” in July: we decided to have a chat with Yamil, the lead singer, to find out more about their music for the ones who already checked the band out and to make the ones who didn’t curious about them.
Hi! Would you like to introduce yourself to the readers on skatepunkers.net?
Hi everyone, my name is Yamil and I am the singer of Lipona. I've leaked nearly every one of our releases and I lurk the site on occasion.
The band is going to release a new album entitled “Networks” this July. Can you speak us a bit about it?
The album is incredibly diverse in style. Much like our previous releases, it's fast and aggressive but I would say this record is much more experimental than anything we've ever released. For every song, we really focused on creating an environment for the listener; playing around with effects, harmonies, and space in general.
It’s been a long time since “Pigeonholed”. Did you feel like you needed more time to work on “Networks”? Do you consider this as what is going to be your best work? Did you put more efforts in it than your previous albums?
Since it was our first full-length since Atlas, we definitely thought more time should be invested in the record. Though we were happy with Pigeonholed, it was time to write a big album showcasing our talents as a band. Networks is probably our best work. For years, we have been experimenting with creating large soundscapes while still working within the context of skatepunk and melodic hardcore. This album is the culmination of that approach.
Speaking about your discography, your sound is quite unique and characteristic: what is the story behind it? What are your main influences?
Much of our unique sound is driven by our guitarist Sean's broad musical influences, which range from speed metal to ambient rock. He's a very versatile musician and has no trouble melding disparate genres into something unique. Some of our rhythmic complexity can be explained by Roy and Danny's music tastes, post-hardcore and melodic hardcore are big influences on them. As for me, I'm heavily influenced by bands like Bad Religion and Propagandhi. They've always motivated me to write about topics that matter, rather than the uninspired crap that passes for music nowadays.
And most of all, do you feel like your sound can be labeled under a specific genre?
This is a difficult question... I don't know if our music can easily be described as belonging to one genre. However, if I had to describe our sound, I'd say we're an experimental melodic hardcore band with heavy skatepunk influences. The only reason I would use the melodic hardcore designation is because we also have a slower side that's influenced by groups like Defeater and Modern Life is War. Skatepunk is very much in our blood though.
Did you get the chance to tour a lot in the States in the last years? And what aboutoutside?
Unfortunately, we do not get the chance to tour a lot since we all have full-time jobs. However, we are working on getting a small regional tour together this summer to promote the record. We would love to tour outside of the US, but right now our first priority is to release the record and get back into playing shows again.
As a last question, I would like to know what you think of the nowadays melodic hardcore / skatepunk scene and its development.
I definitely think our scene is making a comeback. You have great bands like Half Hearted Hero, Heartsounds, and Mute that are putting out solid albums with serious skatepunk influences. We consider ourselves a member of this community and we are happy to represent it. The skatepunk genre allows for melodic experimentation while still retaining the speed and intensity of traditional punk rock. Because of this, it's a genre that is here to stay.
Would you like to add something for the readers on skatepunkers?
We are very appreciative of the support we have gotten on Skatepunkers and we want to thank everyone who has given us a shot. This summer we will start writing our next EP so prepare yourselves! As a side note, everyone should check out Disconnect Disconnect Records. John, the owner of the label, is a huge advocate of the band and has helped us tremendously throughout the process. He works with great bands so please support him!
Thanks Yamil!
Thank you all! Hope you enjoy Networks!
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Thanks Francesca for the interview.
