Interviews: Talking all things 'Rotten' with Abraxas Reflux

Toronto-based hardcore punk band Abraxas Reflux are just days away from releasing their outstanding second EP Rotten. Throughout four tracks the band tackles identity, examines relationships, and explores isolation with lyrics that are both poetic and visceral backed by killer riffs and excellent drum fills. Rotten will be out everywhere on October 19 via Tarantula Tapes. Abraxas Reflux will be playing Tarantula Tapes' fourth-anniversary show this weekend.
Through the magic of the internet, Punknews editor Em Moore caught up with vocalists and drummers Krista and Chase, guitarist Al, and bassist Felis to talk about the new EP, working with Tarantula Tapes, songwriting, incorporating movie clips into songs, and so much more. Read the interview below!

Rotten will be your first release with Tarantula Tapes. How did you decide who to work with? What has working with them been like?

Krista: I knew Core and Casey from going to shows in Barrie. They have an amazing independent label that was and is doing great things for the scene and we thought it would be a good fit. I thought it would be cool to do it with friends and collaborate on ideas. Working with them is amazing, and I really hope to do it again and again!
Chase: It was a pleasure working with Tarantula Tapes. It was all very laid back, it felt like recording an album in your friend’s basement, which is exactly what it turned into.

What was something that you learned from recording your debut self-titled EP that you brought into this recording session?

Al: I think one of the key things we learned from our first recording was how much time it takes to get the recordings to a place where you’re happy with the performance and sound. We gave ourselves a lot more time for this EP, not just because Core was extremely flexible, but because we wanted to ensure that we had time and space to reflect and make adjustments.
Krista: How to be more productive and get more out of the time we have.

How do you feel you’ve grown as a band and as people since you formed in 2022?

Krista: I think we've grown In terms of writing better material and the guys have put lots of work into all the other things that go along with it.
Al: The writing process has evolved a lot since the early days, initially a lot of the early riffs and song structures came from ideas Chase and I had while working together previously or practicing together during the pandemic. More recently, the band has started to become more diverse with lead song crafting coming from Krista and Felis. This EP has a much more balanced sound, reflective of our different writing styles. “Constant” was entirely written by Krista, the music for “Rope Bunny” came from Felis, “Abort the Court” was a holdover from our earlier process, and “Locust” was a collaboration where we all contributed to piecing it together.
Chase: My frequent depression can have a way of bumming out the jam space, so I’m learning how to better manage how much my energy is affecting the people around me and putting better boundaries in place for myself.

How would you describe your songwriting process?

Krista: The guys usually come up with the base track, and I try to make edits and add lyrics to make it all come together.
Al: It’s really all over the place, and depends on who's bringing the meat and potatoes of the song to the table. Krista and Felis craft well thought-out songs and have the ideas close to complete before they bring them to the group. Chase’s songs can start with the lyrics, a drum beat, or an idea in his head. The songs that I create on the other hand are really just a series of half-baked riffs that I bounce off of everyone, which can be a very painful process sometimes.
We’ll work through the riffs I have, create new riffs and parts together, cut out riffs, throw the structure into a blender, and really beat the hell out of it. Felis and I tend to go off the rails occasionally, we like prog and doom, so a key part of the process for these songs is Chase and Krista stripping down the excess and making them more focused. I always like the end result but sometimes finishing them is a real grind.
Chase: I tend to be a little hard-nosed about what I like and what I don’t so I think with Al and I it’s more of a throw some shit out there and see what sticks kind of a thing. We’ve instituted a “try all ideas” policy that can be a bit chaotic and unproductive sometimes, but it pushes us into areas musically where I wouldn’t have traversed myself and forces me to try some new things. The only real limit is our skill sets, I think. Luckily Felis can play pretty much anything we can conceive of, so I tend to rely on his rhythm a lot to kinda show me what to do if I’m stuck somewhere.

Which song was the most cathartic to write?

Krista: “Rope Bunny”. I wrote It while the situation was still happening so it was a fresh wound.

On “Abort the Court” you talk about the negative impact that the alt-right is having on legislation. What can be done to combat the rising tide of fascism?

Krista: Speak up and don't let people get away with being racist assholes. There are many other ways, but for me, this works.
Chase: I agree. People who set policy don’t tend to be open-minded thinkers, but you can try to change people’s perceptions in your communities just by being an ally and speaking up.

You incorporate part of the “something borrowed, something blue” wedding rhyme into the lyrics for “Constant”. Why did you include a reference to this in particular?

Krista: I wish I had some prolific answer for this, but honestly, I just really like “Every Me and Every You” by Placebo.

“Rope Bunny” is one of my favourite tracks on the EP. What is the story behind this song?

Krista: While this is still a fresh wound, I'm not going to go much into it, but it's about loving someone or something so much, you end up smothering them. I had a friend growing up that killed his bunny because he hugged it too hard one time. That always stuck with me. I took that and used it to describe the feelings I was having towards someone. I loved them so much that they retreated whilst still manipulating and lying to me. “Rather die in your heat / than live in your cold” is like I'd rather go out in a blaze than be shut out.
Felis: As far as the music goes, I wanted to write a riff in 5/4 and had a bit of the main riff written already. One Saturday morning I put my son down for a nap, picked up my bass, and knew I only had about 45 minutes until he woke up. After dialing in the main riff the rest of the song came together quickly enough that the song was done before he woke up and I had to return to being a dad.
Chase: Felis showed up to practice with this fully formed, kinda insectile, buzzy riff that just builds this beautiful tension and dumps this heavy riff on you, and I immediately fell in love with it. Then we spent the next 3 months convincing Al that 2 mins was the perfect length, and it didn’t need to be twice as long. [laughs]

“Constant” opens with a clip from The Onion Movie and “Locust” opens with a sample from Synecdoche, New York. What do these movies mean to you? Why did you include these samples on these songs in particular?

Krista: Chase was the one who came up with this idea. It seemed fitting.
Chase: I’m always keeping an ear out for cool samples when I’m watching TV, and this one just made me laugh. The talking head style of that sample is just too perfect.
Al: For “Locust”, the idea for the song was about the systemic ways that modern society and culture are designed to isolate us. How social media has devolved from a platform to improve communication within your circle of family and friends to a blight on the human race that's breaking shared notions of reality through clickbait and misinformation. Synecdoche, New York was a really good allegory for this theme as the main character disintegrates before your eyes, building an imaginary world to exert some level of control over their life and insulate themself from facing reality.

You’ll be playing your EP release show at SeeScape in Toronto on October 10 and will be playing Tarantula Tapes’ 4th birthday show in Barrie on October 19. What are you looking forward to the most about these shows? Do you have a song you’re looking forward to playing live the most?

Krista: The people and the energy that brings, that’s what I look forward to.
Chase: There are some excellent bands on both of those bills, so I’m most looking forward to playing some solid gigs with our buds. I’m particularly excited to see Gomer.

How would you describe the punk scene in Toronto/Southern Ontario?

Krista: There are some parts that are absolutely amazing! There are parts that are still lacking in my eyes, but I'm just one opinion on the matter. I love all the queer and trans folks that are finding their home here, because if I would have seen that when I was 16, things may have been a lot different.
Chase: The scene here can be a bit cliquish and hard to break into. You don’t always get put on the right bills, but we’ve never cared about that, my goal is always to come into a gig confident and crush. Leave it all on stage and let the songs speak for themselves.

Which part of Rotten are you proudest of?

Krista: For me, it's the connection it's making with people.
Al: “Locust”, the writing and recording process for that song was really refreshing. I had a couple of riffs I was messing around with and one day Felis and I developed this interesting bridge/interlude part kind of out of nowhere. We had practice with all 4 of us, which is pretty rare because we live in different cities, and we took this really raw shell and completely overhauled the song and the structure. It’s a piece of music that, to me, is a full representation of what it sounds like when we’re all on the same page musically and collaborating well together. We have another unreleased song that was extremely collaborative, like this one, but that one had a really long incubation period. This was fluid, quick, and came together in essentially one really focused practice.
Additionally, when we were recording it, Core had all these really cool ideas for effects pedals and guitar tone. He and I spent an entire day just double-tracking guitars with different fuzz pedals, adding layers with wah, phaser, delay, and reverb. We went full guitar nerd on it. I’m just really happy with it from start to finish.
Chase: Personally I’m most proud of the artwork surrounding the release. I do everything by hand myself so it’s really gratifying to start seeing it on physical media. Seeing an Abraxas Reflux t-shirt out in the wild always makes my day.

Is there anything that I didn’t ask you that you’d like to add?

Krista: I'm not really sure what to say, I'm too awkward. [laughs]
Chase: I’m very proud to play with these people, and I hope folks dig the record. Renounce your Gods and Worship your Kitties.