Paris on Oi!

French Oi has always had a special quality, hasn’t it? I first learned this when visiting family in my birth town Warsaw many moons ago and randomly buying a bootleg tape titled Son de la rue from a street market stall outside the Palace of Culture. It was the days of a flourishing black market, and on every street corner you’d find 4-Skins and Blitz pirate tapes democratically displayed alongside Metallica and Madonna ones. Son de la rue compiled some of the best cuts from the Chaos en France series – Komintern Sect, Snix, Camera Silens, you name it – and I’ve remained a fan of frog Oi ever since.

January 7, 2023January 8, 2023 by Crombieboy Categories: MusicTags: Chaos en France, French Oi, French skinheads, Paris on Oi!, Paris skinheads, Skins de France, Tchernobyl Oi Leave a comment

Classic albums: ‘L’âge de glace’ by Paris Violence

Paris Violence has never exactly played standard-issue Oi, but 20 years ago, Flav took things to the next level when releasing L’âge de glace – an album informed by his earlier ‘Chaos en France on a rainy Monday’ sound, but also by the eminently continental ‘cold wave’ genre and NWOBEM (New Wave of British ‘Eavy Metal). The result was arguably one of the coldest and strangest albums linked to the Oi genre, fully living up to its title: ice age.

L’âge de glace has just been rereleased by Common People Records. Matt Crombieboy sat Flav down for a song-by-song account. For an older interview we did with Flav, click HERE. Or else, just read on.

February 28, 2021March 1, 2021 by Crombieboy Categories: Music, Oi!Tags: classic albums, Flav Paris Violence, French Oi, Paris Violence Leave a comment

Skinkorps story: an interview with Philippe Nicolas

Skinkorps – what’s your take on them? Asking Creases Like Knives contributors and friends, I get a broad range of views. “They had a bad reputation”, says one of them, “and some provocative attitudes too, but probably no interest in politics”. – “Ultimately, they were just a regular Oi band, no different to The Last Resort or 4-Skins”, argues another. – “They were one of the dodgier French 80s bands”, counters a friend. And a French acquaintance adds, “We pretty much take for granted that Skinkorps was a right-wing band”.

Whatever truth – or untruth – to each of these statements, it’s beyond dispute that Skinkorps from Rouen played some of the most bone-crushing Oi of the 80s. A typical Skinkorps song was mid-tempo to sluggish, featured a loud bassline that carried the tune along and a rough vocal with that arrogant, domineering intonation so characteristic of French bands from the period. The lyrics were often humorous, sarcastic, even cynical – too ambiguously so for some tastes.

April 9, 2020April 11, 2020 by Crombieboy Categories: Music, Skinhead historyTags: Acide Vicieux, Chaos en France, French Oi, French skinheads, Philippe Nicolas, Skin-korps, Skinkorps Leave a comment

The Brest syndrome: a chat with Syndrome 81

Scientists agree that some of the best Oi and punk music is coming from France nowadays, and that’s increasingly becomibrng common knowledge on our shores too: just ask any man, woman or child on a London bus. If you follow the French scene closely, Syndrome 81 will not have escaped you. Hailing from the chilly and wet seaside town of Brest, the band’s first outing was their self-titled demo of 2013, followed by the monumental Désert Urbain EP, a split-EP, and a 7’ single.

January 13, 2017April 11, 2020 by Crombieboy Categories: MusicTags: Brest, French Oi, French punk, hardcore, Syndrome 81, Un vie pour rien 4 Comments

Komintern Sect: D’un meme voix

With their new album, the first in almost 30 years, Komintern Sect prove they’ve still got it. It’s like they’ve never been away. Powerful, fist in the air Oi anthems that will have all the skins and punks singing along…

Ah, fuck it. Contra Records ignored my request for a review copy, probably because they consider my blog too unimportant. That’s ok – this way, I don’t feel tempted to churn out a bland promo text in the hope of earning myself more freebies. Less industry ties equal healthier critical faculties.

March 10, 2016March 11, 2017 by Crombieboy Categories: Music, Oi!Tags: D'Une meme voix, French Oi, Komintern Sect Leave a comment