Their excellent new EP, 'Make Them Pay', is out now!
It’s been a while since we heard hardcore that combines brawn and brains as well as London-based quartet Emergency Broadcast do on new EP ‘Make Them Pay’, so how could we turn down the chance to find out what they’re all about? We recently caught up with vocalist Mel Dirikoc for a chat.
So first of all, how have you all been over the last year or so?
We’ve been good, but we’ve also been quite busy with the new EP, and we are also preparing for another single! So yeah, it’s been busy, but it feels good, especially considering that when we moved to London in 2023, we hardly knew anyone. Since then, we’ve been getting to know people and the hardcore scene itself, and London is starting to feel more like home!
Ah, glad you’re feeling more comfortable in this crazy city!
Yes! London is quite like Istanbul [where Mel and drummer Yigit are from] in some ways, in that they’re both quite chaotic. But, you know, you have to find your own circle and get to know people, and that’s what we’ve been doing, so it’s going well!
How did you originally get into hardcore – were there any particular bands or influences for you?
I guess there were different bands for all four of us, but it was Yigit who established Emergency Broadcast in 2016, and he was the one who was most involved in hardcore and metal in general. I was a metalhead too, but I’d say Yigit knew the bands and the genre better than any of us, and he wanted to start taking on political issues via music. So he decided to start a hardcore band, because hardcore is generally more political than other metal-related genres,
And now the band’s able to celebrate its 10th anniversary – congratulations!
Thank you! I actually joined the band in 2020, after the previous vocalist left, during the Covid lockdown – it was all a bit chaotic! Yigit was thinking of just putting the band on hold, and then he said that maybe I could be the new vocalist. I’d thought of being a vocalist during my high school years, but I wasn’t as into music as he was, so I was a bit sceptical. But he really encouraged me and then I joined the band in 2020.
Even back then, in Turkey, it was a bit different, because nowadays I see a lot more bands being formed, including with queer or female vocalists. I’m happy to see it all growing!
I was going to ask what Istanbul is like for music – how do you rate it in terms of bands, venues, etc?
Well, when we started out, the hardcore scene was much smaller, and the venues were mostly into bringing big-name bands from Europe. So it was quite Eurocentric, with people just wanting to see those big bands, but nowadays, people have started to form more local bands and smaller scenes have come together. In contrast, here in London, I immediately saw that there was a good local scene, but we just didn’t really have that in Istanbul. So yes, it’s changed a lot, and it’s getting better and better, in my opinion.
Also, bigger name bands can’t come to Turkey as much these days, because the economy is really bad. But people still need that kind of resistance and support and release for themselves, so it’s great that the local bands are there. Plus, in Turkey – like in so many other places – there is more and more oppression, so people can’t speak up as much, and they turn to this kind of music as a way to express themselves.
Can you tell us more about your new EP, ‘Make Them Pay’, and the inspiration behind it?
Sure! Our previous album, ‘Bloody Books’, was a bit darker, so we wanted to say something more encouraging this time around, and we wanted to point out the real problem in society – this small group of people who do the most harm. So that’s where the concept came from, and we wanted to have something strong and empowering at this time in our lives, when we too often felt hopeless and powerless.
In particular, my favourite track is ‘Countdown To Extinction’ – was that conceived as a warning of what the future might hold?
Definitely – while I was writing the lyrics, I was watching the atrocities on TV every day, and it was clear to me that we are headed for extinction if we don’t do something soon. We (not us personally, but humanity as a whole) constantly fight each other and kill each other, and that simply shouldn’t happen, so the song is like a scream for change.
Just a couple more questions – first, are there any particular highlights from your time as a band that you’d like to mention?
I guess a good example would be when we realised we all four of us were together on the same page! It’s not easy being a vegan straight-edge band, so it was great that we could agree on that and then progress from there. And every opportunity that we get, and every positive comment about our work makes a difference – for example, we’re starting to get some offers for festivals, which is exciting!
And finally, how’s the rest of this year looking for you?
For now, apart from the two London shows, we have Last Breath Festival in Southampton on 5th April, so we’re excited about that too! We played in Southampton last year, and it was a good show. We’re also in talks about doing a show in France, as well as some other shows in mainland Europe, plus a couple of shows in Turkey in September. We’re also working on a new single that will hopefully be released in June – we’ll see!
‘Make Them Pay’ is out now – check it out HERE. Emergency Broadcast will play in London at the Camden Eye (see above – tickets available HERE) on March 21st and at the Blue Monk – f.k.a. Moor Beer Vaults – in Bermondsey (see below – tickets available HERE) on April 4th.
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