Ona Snop hail from Leeds (UK) and conjure the youthful energy of punk and the rawness of powerviolence, mixed with a brand of unique sense of witty dark humor. The band cares a whole lot about having a positive yet aware attitude about societal issues without taking themselves way too seriously.
The band members also play in a variety of other music projects and there is a fresh approach in Ona Snop that results in a charismatic release, Intermittent Damnation, which packs 17 songs that are unrelenting in its frenzied and refreshing attack.
Ona Snop is an irreverent ensemble. How did the band start and what other bands did you play in or are still playing?
Hello, thanks for getting in touch and asking us these questions! The band started in spring of 2015. George and Henry had too much free time on their hands so decided to start a ‘side project’ with the sole focus being to write some songs that were in worship of LA hardcore kings Lack Of Interest.. and to get stoned. We had no intention of ever even really playing a gig! Since then we have had a few minor line up changes but the current and final iteration of Ona Snop consists of George on drums, Joe on lead bass, Warren on vocal duties and Henry on guitar.
At the minute we are all still busy playing in a number of different projects. George, Henry and Warren are currently part of the live ensemble of the one-man mangel experience Rat Cage. Joe plays in a new thrash outfit called ‘Pest Control’. George and Joe play in a death metal band called Mortuary Spawn (Demo soon?). George and Henry have just recently started an extreme metal band called "Vomitorium" (first tape also soon) and Henry also plays in noise rock band The Shits. We are all rocking fucking all the time and we absolutely love it.
How did you come up with the band’s peculiar name?
The answer to this question is attainable in some far reaches of the Internet, but I am not at liberty to tell you right now, please accept my deepest and most sincere apologies.
Leeds seems to be a birthplace for powerviolence, grindcore bands that subvert the genre with a more quirky, adventurous and fun attitude. How is the scene in Leeds and how do you feel Ona Snop fits into it?
Obviously at the minute it is quite hard to gage how "the scene" is doing as there are no shows and we aren’t allowed to hang out with each other. But over the last ten years or so Leeds has produced some good fastcore/grind/powerviolence. The Afternoon Gentlemen being the primary export. I also feel their take on the genre has inspired that more quirky sound that Leeds bands are known for and Ona Snop has definitely been inspired by that! As a band we have always tried to play all types of different shows not just grind etc. We have played raves, noise rock gigs, metal shows and so on. The only shows we aren’t allowed to play in Leeds are the ‘punk’ scene ones, as apparently our less than incredibly serious take on hardcore/punk is quite simply too much to bear for the local 80s cosplayer punk scene, their loss!
In your debut record, Geezer, there is a playful take on aggression, mashed with a mind-blowing sense of humour. What themes were you most keen on exploring in the song’s lyrics?
There are a range of themes explored on Geezer, from dreams about Black Sabbath melting, to attacking your boss with medieval weapons and as you have probably seen there are some mild references to times we may or may not have been experimenting with controlled substances. But yes as a band our main motive is to still sound intense, at times aggressive and always insane, but in a ‘we don’t take ourselves so seriously’ kind of way. We like having fun and don’t take ourselves too seriously as people so the band is a reflection of that. We are cross about all the things all the other punks claim to be cross about, but that doesn’t mean our songs need to be about that! Well at least not all the time!
For the cover itself no, we just sent the title to the very talented ‘Ghastly Castle’ (Eddie Ramirez) and they came back with a few initial ideas and we worked out the finishing touches with them. The LP comes with a lyric zine where Eddie painstakingly wrote out all of the lyrics and added more illustrations. It looks amazing and we are very excited for people to get their hands on it.
Please check out Eddies art here!! www.instagram.com/ghastlycastle/
How was the composition process for the latest record? What usually comes first, the lyrics, or the melodies?
So the general way we compose Ona Snop songs is that George and Henry will either have some riffs or structural ideas and then they flesh out the bones of the song together. Joe will then triumphantly enter and add some insane lead bass lines onto the tunes. The lyrics are absolutely the last part of the process, the lion share being written by George with other members chipping in here and there if and when they muster up the courage.
What themes did you wanted to explore in Intermittent Damnation?
I think on Intermittent Damnation we wanted to maybe move away somewhat from heavily referencing our own "in jokes" we have as friends and as a band. How well we managed that remains to be seen though!! Some topics we covered this time were, beheading politicians, the feeling of sheer joy leaving work on a Friday, being driven by dangerous and sometimes drunk people on tour and how it fills us with regret, lambasting the self aggrandising UKHC scene, having a fear of flying and how we don’t like the Rozzers!! It is safe to assume the rest of the songs are somewhat referential to other mind-altering experiences we may or may not have had over the years.
What plans do you have for 2021 that you can share.
In 2021 we would like to believe that at the very least we will get to play a gig in our hometown Leeds. Whether that is an unattainable dream remains to be seen. Beyond that, not even a pandemic can stop us from jamming every week. We have already written another 7 inch and most the songs for a split with Victoria BC, Canada’s newest and finest export, CON ARTIST. You quite simply cannot stop Ona Snop!!
Text and Interview: Cláudia Zafre
Band: Ona Snop
onasnipsnop.bandcamp.com