The HIRS Collective have been a group for over a decade and have generated a massive amount of following for their unabashed, accepting, and remarkably diverse blend of grindcore, powerviolence, and hardcore. Their newest record, We’re Still Here, is chock full of their traditional unrelenting queerness, abrasive sound, and absolutely stacked with features. We had the pleasure of interviewing the Collective about all the things that went into it and what they’ve still got ahead.
The HIRS Collective has been making music steadily for over a decade now and have been able to reach new heights with every release. Do you usually have a mentality for trying to one-up yourselves as you move onto the next release?
We’re happy to have each release show how we have grown or can grow, whether it’s in the writing of the songs, production of the record, artwork, the flow, story telling, etc. Maybe less of a “one-up” but more of us learning and challenging ourselves to put what is in our brain to paper. It’s nice to surprise people and not stay stagnant. To not be predictable.
As you’ve grown, you have made more friends and allies with bigger and bigger acts, which has lead to a lot more collaboration on your releases. We got a taste of it with Friends. Lovers. Favorites.; however We’re Still Here is stacked beyond belief with ridiculous features. What was it like working with so many other artists for this album? And were there any features on this record that particularly meant a lot to you?
While it has been one of the most rewarding moments to finally share these collaborations and additions to the already massive list of Collective members, It was also an exhausting task to have. Many of us love hip-hop and have always wanted to do a record that had a feature on ever track similar to some of the records we grew up listening to. Yet being a DIY group means doing all of the communication ourselves. It is amazing to have so many new friends and a reason to talk to old ones(and we were very lucky to have basically no deadline for the LP with Get Better Records so we could really take our time and use all we needed) but it was pretty intense figuring out all of the logistics and communicating with over 30 contributing folks over the few years it took us to finally finish.
Every band and person we worked with is so sick, and we would do it 100 times over One collab that had massive meaning was to work with Melt-Banana! They have been such a massive inspiration, and when we got a response back from them that they’d be happy to join the roster, it had some of us literally shaking with happiness.
There are several tracks with full-band features on them as well; what consisted of a full-band feature versus just a featured member? How did the process for writing those songs go?
Some stories are better as secrets and lore.
One of the songs that stood out the most to me for obvious reasons is “Judgement Night (feat. Ghösh and Jessica Joy Mills).” That back half is ridiculously cool; where did the inspiration for that hip-hop production style come about?
The first time we heard Ghösh, we knew we wanted to collab. We were demoing tracks and had the initial idea/riff for the end and sent it their way. We were blown away with what they added! Listening to it over and over and really excited to share with the world. It was nice to have 808 drops that weren’t just a bass drop for a hardcore breakdown. honestly we can’t wait to have more genre-bending tracks like this more often. Pushing 400 songs means you gotta get creative.
As an artist and collective who have clearly communicated value in community, love, and life, what does that collaborative aspect mean to you?
More friends and more exposer for everyone involved to get whatever messages and art we all have to share out into the world.
You also announced a massive tour in support of the new record. Your live performances have always been a rotating cast of members and arrangements; what makes you do so many different setups for the project? What is the upcoming tour going to be like in terms of members?
Really it’s just whatever needs to happen and whoever wants to hang and what excuses we can use to visit new places and make new friends while being able to do something we love so so much. Come to a show and see what, who, how we’re gonna survive this time around.
You have made a name for yourselves as figureheads of the underground scene, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation. How does it feel to embody that for so many people? And how important do you think representation like that is?
It feels incredible and keeps us alive. A reason we have started this Collective has been to be able to invite the folks that feel empowered by us because they are actually the ones fueling this love and we are honored to share what we can. Our bodies aren’t eternal, but The Collective can be. We look forward to doing this as long as possible and being able to pass the torch whenever needed.
And finally, are there any other cool things on the HIRS horizon you would like to share?
Hopefully more friends, more fun, and a collaboration LP with our close friends and incredible band, Fed Ash.
—
We want to thank The HIRS Collective for talking with us. Their new album, We’re Still Here, is out today via Get Better Records, and you can check it all out here.
You can also check out The HIRS Collective on their absolutely massive release tour starting today at the following locations:
March 24 – Washington, DC – Pie Shop
March 25 – Harrisonburg, VA – Crayola House
March 26 – Richmond, VA – Fallout
March 27 – TBA – TBA
March 28 – Winston-Salem, NC – Monstercade
March 29 – Asheville, NC – The Odd
March 30 – Athens, GA – Flicker Bar
March 31 – Savannah, GA – Lodge of Sorrows
April 1 – Orlando, FL – Will’s Pub
April 2 – Miami, FL – Gramps
April 3 – Tampa, FL – Crowbar
April 4 – Pensacola, FL – The Handlebar
April 5 – Birmingham, AL – Spring Street Firehouse
April 6 – Nashville, TN – DRKMTTR
April 7 – Memphis, TN – The Hi Tone / 412 Room
April 8 – New Orleans, LA – The Goat
April 9 – Houston, TX – TBA
April 10 – Dallas, TX – Three Links
April 11 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Sanctuary
April 12 – Tulsa, OK – Whittler Bar
April 13 – TBA – TBA
April 14 – Albuquerque, NM – Moonlight Lounge
April 15 – Tempe, AZ – Yucca Tap Room
April 16 – San Diego, CA – Til-Two Club
April 17 – Los Angeles, CA – Slipper Clutch
April 18 – Las Vegas, NV – The Griffin
April 19 – Fresno, CA – TBA
April 20 – Oakland, CA – Stork Club
April 21 – Eureka, CA – Siren’s Song Tavern
April 22 – Eugene, OR – Sam Bond’s Garage
April 23 – Portland, OR – The High Water Mark
April 24 – Seattle, WA – The Funhouse
April 25 – Spokane, WA – The Big Dipper
April 26 – Boise, ID – The Shredder
April 27 – Salt Lake CIty, UT – The DLC
April 28 – Denver, CO – Seventh Circle
April 29 – Kansas City, MO – Stray Cat Film Center
April 30 – Des Moines, IA – Teehee’s Comedy Club
May 1 – Minneapolis, MN – TBA
May 2 – Madison, WI – Communicatiton
May 3 – Milwaukee, WI- X-Ray Arcade
May 4 – Chicago, IL – Reggies / Music Joint
May 5 – Columbus, OH – Big Room Bar
May 6 – Detroit, MI – Southwest VooDoo House
May 7 – Cleveland, OH – No Class
May 8 – Pittsburgh, PA – Preserving Underground
May 9 – Rochester, NY – The Bug Jar
May 10 – Providence, RI – Mayday
May 11 – Portland, ME – Sun Tiki Studios
May 12 – Boston, MA – O’Briens
May 13 – Brooklyn, NY – TV Eye
Photo courtesy of HIRS Collective
