The split record is one of the most unique formats in the record industry and something that doesn't translate to the digital realm the same way it hits when you flip the wax.
Splits take a number of forms, from 2-song 7" records to full-lengths where each band takes a side. Sometimes the bands cover each other, sometimes they collaborate on a song and, sometimes, it feels like they'd never talked or even listened to each other. The recent split between Negative Blast and Sweat features two songs from each each group on a 7" available from Vitriol Records.
We asked the bands to write about the art of the split record, giving them a blank slate on how to approach the column -- just like (we imagine) most bands approach their own split records.
Justin Smith (Sweat/Graf Orlock/Vitriol Records)
The split is a strange bastard of the record world. Sometimes a carryover from a previous LP and sometimes a soft opening of current ideas for another LP, the split has traditionally allowed a lot of latitude in stylistic decision and direction. In punk and hardcore this format has a unique place in the discographies of many bands and begs a very real question of why they exist. To me splits have always been based on who, first. It makes no sense to do a split with a band that you have no connection to or have been forced into an unhappy split matrimony by a label. The cool part is being able to put out a weird release with your friends, people you have toured with, or some other uniting commonality. Even at their worst, they are a snapshot of where a band was and what they were doing outside of recording, creating an opportunity to expose new people to new bands and stress about more releases. This was best quoted by my asshole friend Jack who summed it up quite well as “synergy,” attempting to build something more than the sum of our requisite parts and creating music because we have to.
Over the last twenty years, splits I have been involved with have been 12”, 10” and 7” formats. As the 7” becomes less viable as a thing anyone wants to sell or buy, the physical split might be facing oblivion. There is something about the tangibility of flipping over a record and hearing a new band that is a special experience, and never really knowing what to expect exists in a wormhole of time when you would find bands from thank you lists and “see alsos” in record stores. There is also the draw of having little to no real responsibility to your overall sound as a band. The split can even be the weirder sibling of the experimental EP, where a band tries out something they would never dare put on a full-length for fear of “messing up the flow” or “confusing the (probably sad) listener.”
This split between Sweat & Negative Blast came from a long history of past bands, tours and involvement between LA and San Diego people. Alex Jacobelli of Negative Blast recorded it, has toured playing bass with Sweat in the past, and by way of crappy bartering, I played a solo on one of their songs. It all meshes into gradients of something different than anything we would have produced alone, and in that way solidifies that snapshot in time as a tactile, playable, artifact to occupy future landfills.
Rain Pesebre (Negative Blast)
The songs we chose for the Sweat/Negative Blast split were originally intended to be on our Echo Planet LP, but we felt were strong enough to stand alone on another release. We’ve been toying with the idea of a split with bands we really resonate with stylistically and Sweat was definitely the band to do one with. We both have sounds that embrace the roots of rock ‘n’ roll music but still embody the intensity and imminence of hardcore that I just can’t get enough of. I like the idea of splits being a representation of “two peas in the same pod” kind of feel. Some of my favorite splits growing up were the Faith/Void split, the ALL/Descendents “Live Plus One” split, and the 88 Fingers Louie/Kid Dynamite split. They all have that cohesiveness of being their own standalone release while outlining the strengths and uniqueness that each band’s sound brings to the table.
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Check out the Sweat/Negative Blast Split EP here!
