Since forming in Bogotá back in 2016, Raw Brigade has carried the torch for Colombian hardcore with an unmistakable mix of urgency, conviction, and pride. What started as a one-off Youth of Today cover band quickly evolved into one of Latin America's most recognized hardcore exports, spreading their message from South America to stages across Europe, Japan, and beyond.
Now, the straight edge outfit is back with their most ambitious release yet — a new full-length presented in both English and Spanish. Entitled 100%, the album will first be supported by a U.S. tour with Agnostic Front and Violent Way that kicks off next month in Massachusetts. Raw Brigade also teamed up with director Derek Rathbun on a brand-new documentary about 100% and the band's origins in Bogotá. Check that out at the bottom of this article.
I caught up with Raw Brigade vocalist Carlos Chavarriaga to talk about the new album, the state of Colombia’s hardcore scene, and what it means to speak to fans in two languages without losing an ounce of power.
The last time I saw you was at Midnight Hour in San Fernando, California. From my viewpoint, Raw Brigade have put in a ton of road work in the last few years. How tough has that been in terms of balancing with work/family commitments?
If I am not wrong, that show was in 2022/2023? I am really bad with timelines, but those years were when we were hitting the road hard. Balancing that with work and responsibilities wasn’t an issue for me back then, I was more than happy and grateful to be able to play and tour with my friends, but I know for some of the members in the band it was kind of hard to do!
Touring is always going to be more fun than playing shows. The part that I enjoy the most is hanging with the guys.
How did the relationship with Flatspot Records develop? How much guidance have the offered?
I met [Flatspot Records co-owner] Che [Figueroa] in Philly back in 2019. He has always shown love to Raw Brigade since then, also because he’s Puerto Rican, and our conversations always end up talking about old school reggaeton and salsa, so he knows the vibes.
When the band started playing a lot, I met [Flatspot Records co-owner] Ricky [Singh], and we started talking about putting our records on Flatspot and most definitely working with them.
I'm sure having them in your corner has been a huge help.
It’s been sick and something completely different for us. The fact of being able to record this LP at a sick studio or make a music video, and it’s all thanks to FSR, and we're always gonna be grateful for that… but you know guidance wise, everything is still the same.
We’re just an old-school hardcore-style band.
Tell me what Avery Field from Cutdown, and Connor Jones of Ekulu, brought to the recording sessions. Did they get involved on the writing side at all?
Avery Field and I write the songs, I got the songs/riffs in my head, but I don’t know how to play guitar. So and Avery meet at my house for a few months writing demos of the songs.
I basically play the riffs, doing the classic “mouth riffs” and Avery was there making them actual music notes and music [laughs]. He also recorded the guitars on the record.
Connor Jones (Ekulu, Illusion) was the lead guitarist on the record. He’s one of my favorite guitarists and he’s also a Raw Brigade member. So basically, it feels right to have Connor recording with us. Also, Jeff Caffey from Odd Man Out / GAG recorded some guitar on a few songs of the record.
What we tried to do with this record is get all the friends who have been playing and filling at shows and tours with us for the last few years, but we make them part of the record and include them somehow. They are all Raw Brigade members at the end.
Shoutout to all of them, Avery, Jeff, Connor, Mike Botti, Harry Corrigan, Sebastian Paba, Alex Samayoa … it's a longer list, but that’s the homies who are on this record!
The choice to record both English and Spanish versions of the vocals should be commended. As someone who can speak Spanish but has difficulty writing it, and articulating my thoughts elegantly in the language, I'm curious about your command of that. Was it tough translating things so that their potency and meaning weren't lost?
I write the words in English first and then translate them into Spanish, even though Spanish is my first language I think I do that because it feels easier to express thoughts and shorter in a simple way. That’s why I started with the English version.
I wrote and recorded the English versions, and a few weeks after, I went back to the studio and recorded the Spanish version, translating them into Spanish. And the way that fits the song becomes an easier task because, of course, Spanish is my first language. I literally did it the night before I went to the studio.
So all I did was stay loyal to the rhythm of the song and then come up with Spanish words. That’s sort of say the same thing without having to be a direct translation, because usually the direct translation of the words are too long or doesn’t sound strong or right in a way. But I would say that we’ve got a pretty good, like a pretty accurate translation, even if it’s not like a direct word-for-word translation. You say I feel like that and capture the intention of each song line by line!
Listening to the advance of 100%, "Broken Teeth" is probably my favorite track so far. Tell me a bit about that song. I hear someone else's vocals come in during one part, but I could be wrong?
"Broken Teeth" is a song we wrote a few years back while I was living in Colombia for a split we made with our brothers from Revival… a straight edge band from Bogotá. Back then we were trying to find a more aggressive sound of the classic kind of Youth Crew style that our demo has.
So when we wrote that song, we decided to re-record it for this LP because it still fits the style of the band now. We also love playing it live, the little “guest” part was Jeff, he has a spot in "Another Struggle"!
Speaking as the son of a Colombian immigrant, I have to admit that I know very little about the hardcore community there. I grew up with a lot of other kids with Colombian parents in Queens, New York in the '80s and '90s, but we weren't in tune with what was happening over there on the hardcore music front. Would you say the Colombian hardcore scene right now is the strongest it's ever been? Who should we be checking out? Any useful resources we can refer to?
I would say yes, the Colombian scene is the strongest it’s ever been, at least every time we play Bogotá, it’s always amazing! Plus, the festival we've been putting on for the last few years was a really big door that opens for a lot of hardcore kids and bands from the states to make that connection and start the cool scene. That’s going on right now in Bogotá and Colombia in general.
I've noticed that for some reason emo is having a revival in Bogotá with a bunch of DIY shows and bands going on all the time, which I think is sick [laughs]. My two favorite bands from Colombia right now are xCriteriox from Bogotá and Real House of Hate from Medellin.
As for resources, keep your eye peeled for the 100% BOGOTÁ HARDCORE FEST lineup in 2026!
***
Both the English and Spanish versions of 100% will be out November 14th via Flatspot Records.
Raw Brigade on social media: Instagram
Tour dates w/ Agnostic Front and Violent Way:
12/04 Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East
12/05 Atlantic City, NJ @ Anchor Rock Club
12/06 New York City, NY @ Irving Plaza
12/09 Richmond, VA @ The Canal Club
12/10 Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern
12/11 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade (Hell)
12/12 Melbourne, FL @ Pineapples (Moon Room)
12/13 Miami, FL @ Gramps
12/14 Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
12/15 Jacksonville, FL @ The Albatross
12/16 Greenville, SC @ Radio Room
12/17 Wilmington, NC @ Reggie's 42nd Street Tavern
12/18 Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House
12/19 Lynchburg, VA @ Super Rad Arcade
12/20 Altoona, PA @ McGarvey's Bar & Grill
12/21 Allentown, PA @ Archer Music Hall (Arrow)
Tagged: raw brigade
