PUNK ROCK and hard left politics go hand in hand - look at Crass, Conflict, or The Clash - but Punk’s lingua franca has long been English, yet one band begs to differ.
Scottish anarchist punk band Oi Polloi perform in Scots Gaelic and they play Club Árus na nGael, Dominick Street, on Wednesday March 14 at 8pm as part of Seachtain new Gaeilge.
By performing in Scots Gaelic, the band make an important point - if punk is about giving voice to ordinary people, criticising the establishment, and supporting minorities, then why should the music only be sung in the language of international business, finance, and politics? Why should regional, minority, and endangered languages not be included?
The Dùn Èideann/Edinburgh quartet - Ruairidh (vocals ), Cameron Tongs (drums ), Òigridh (bass ), and Olssen (guitar ) - describe themselves thus: “Rocking hard against the system is what we do - if you like anti-fascist post-oi and progressive anarcho-street-crust then you've come to the right place.”
Oi Polloi released their debut album Ar Ceòl Ar Cànan Ar-A-Mach in 2006 and use Scots Gaelic in day-to-day communications. They see the use of Gaelic and other endangered languages as important to “maintaining the biocultural diversity of life”. The band are currently finishing their second full-length Gaelic LP Duisg!, to be released on May Day 2012.
For more information on the show and for other Seachtain na Gaeilge events see www.snag.ie
