I first encountered Hugo Skavez playing in Latin Skacore band Los Mal Hablados. Los Mal Hablados is one of the heavier new ska-core bands leaning very heavy into the hardcore sound. When I saw Hugo Skavez had a solo acoustic band I was a little caught off guard, and heading that it was almost a folk ska sound, I was even more surprised. What didn’t catch me off guard was the incredibly potent and direct lyrics that make these songs stand out.
Ska-lidarity was released to streaming on Apple music on June 29th and Bandcamp on the 28th. The guitar is a catchy upstroke ska rhythm with a second, more intricate rhythm layered into it, and more aggressive guitard over the chorus as the song demands up-ending and overthrowing the corrupt capitalist and police state systems.
From evicting landlords, arresting cops, and deporting ICE (or locking them in cages) the song is a call for action that demands people taking power and flipping the script on those that exercise power over people- wishing peace, love, and anarchy to the people.
In February, Hugo Skavez released a Bandcamp exclusive EP they called the Recovery EP that detailed their journey to sobriety from alcohol. It’s definitely their least political and most personal music. 7 songs that sound pretty poppy, but are incredibly personal. I know it’s not particularly relevant to the single I’m covering right now, but if you are into this music and want to hear more and explore the person who is making this music, it’s a great listen, and also, it’s just really good personal music. While it’s important (to me) that music has a purpose and a message, the message of your own journey is every bit as important as a message about politics, and also helps others that are going through a similar process. You should definitely check out that EP as well.
The final song I want to cover by Hugo Skavez is “Free Palestine (Ceasefire now!)”. Free Palestine was released in two versions, both electric and acoustic. Back in January, Hugo Skavez released these two tracks on streaming services, but also on Bandcamp. While I don’t really need to go into the lyrics to explain what the song is about, as it is obvious that it demands a ceasefire. However, I do want to make everyone aware that this incredible anti-genocide song is available on bandcamp for $1 and a portion of the proceeds are still being donated to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. If this music or this message speaks to you, please, go visit his bandcamp page here and pay for the song. Be sure to check out his other incredible music while you are there.
Written by Gimpleg
