Strength thru Concrete: The Foundations of Béton Armé

If you haven’t heard Béton Armé yet, you’re really missing out. I may be late to the party, but I’m fully on board now. Their sound combines melodic, classic Oi with prime Chaos en France-style vocals and the odd dash of hardcore. Everything stripped down to the essentials – a wall of sound like huge slabs of… well, reinforced concrete, which is what the band’s name means. Big singalong choruses and that raw, lo-fi sound we all crave. I saw them at Beach, Beer, Chaos in Badalona this year, and they absolutely floored me. Curious to know more, I sent a few questions to Oli (guitar) and Dan (vocals), and they didn’t disappoint.

Girth

First of all, how did Beton Arme come about? What’s the history?

Oli: The band formed in 2018, but the story starts earlier. In 2016–17, I was living in Paris, hanging out with the Bastille Skinhead Crew, and was inspired by Rixe’s success in the Oi and punk scenes, especially with their French lyrics. After returning home in 2017, I told Pouel from LSC Records (who produced my demo) about my plans, and he mentioned that Dan and Fabio had a similar idea and were looking for a guitarist.

We still needed a drummer, and the way we found Remi is pretty funny. Dan and Fabio meant to contact Matt (formerly of Ultrarat, now in Puffer), but accidentally messaged Remi instead. His response? “I’m not Matt, but I’m down.” A few days later, we had our first practice, and within that session, we had most of what would become our demo. Remi was the perfect fit, and we knew we were onto something good.

As a relatively new fan, you really came to my attention at Beach Beer Chaos in Badalona, where you stole the show. How was that experience for you? For me, it’s the best festival going by far.

Oli: It was awesome! We’d all been eyeing that festival for years, hoping to play at some point. I lived in France for much of the past 15 years, bouncing between Paris and Montreal, but would always return to Paris in September just after my friends had come back from Beach Beer Chaos, still talking about it. I was frustrated that I’d never been able to go, so finally attending was unreal. Everything – the organization, the crowd – was perfect. We treated it like a vacation, taking time to hang out in Barcelona since the guys had never been there. It was honestly the best!

Speaking to friends after Badalona, your performance was etched into their brains. So lively and different too. For you, what goes into a live performance compared to recording in the studio? Do you have a different approach for each?

Oli: Not much difference, really. We try to give it our all every time, haha. A lot of our sound comes from the energy – Remi’s precise yet hard drumming, the downstroke guitar, Dan’s antics, and Fabio’s riffs. We make sure to keep the energy high throughout the set. People can feel it, and it contributes to the overall experience. We try to craft sets so there’s not low point where it falls a bit flat. We waste no time between songs to try to keep that rhythm going. Most importantly, we just try to have fun out there and never look like we take this for granted. 

As for the studio, we’ve only done EPs so far, so we’ve managed to carry that high-energy approach into our recordings. Our next project will be a full LP, though, so things might be a bit different. We’re recording it in December and are excited to see how it turns out. But we want to take the time to think things through and create an album with rhythm and flow in a more deliberate and purposeful way.

Canada seems to have always been a hotbed of Oi music, especially your city of Montreal. Why do you think that is?

Oli: I’m not sure. I think there’s been a steady skinhead presence since the 90s, and that crew always played music, started record labels, wrote zines – so that obviously helps. I also think that, unlike many other cities, SHARP, RASH/antifa, and traditional skins all get along, and a lot of the skins are also tight with punks. This creates a climate where shows are bigger, making the scene more attractive and drawing more people in.

I actually have no idea what I’m talking about, but yeah, the scene’s been good, especially recently. When we started the band, Karl had just come back to Montreal and started a bunch of bands, most notoriously Force Majeure, and Ultra Razzia were blowing up. So a lot of attention was geared towards Montreal at the time. We also all collaborated with Bertel at Primator Crew Records who has been great for all of us and helped us gain recognition outside Canada. So, I guess it’s a combination of factors that came together to make our scene pretty cool and interesting, both historically and more recently. 

Is Montreal worth a visit or should I brush up on my ‘pub level’ French first?

I definitely think you should. You’ll get around fine in English, but making an effort to speak some French will always be appreciated. Montreal is a great city and has a lot to offer beyond the music scenes. It is a shame, though, that what made the city great was its status as probably the cheapest ‘big city’ in North America for years. It bred artists, weirdos, all types of punks and ‘alternative’ people. I remember moving here about 15 years ago, and you could share a place with people for about $250, all included. Now a one-bedroom apartment can be anywhere between $1500–2000. This uncontrolled gentrification and the housing crisis it created are literally killing the essence of the city, and it’s a real shame. Get here before it’s all tech bros and crypto morons. 

Montreal has a strong scene, but as Oi is quite a niche thing, do you ever have run-ins with nearby Quebec City Stompers? 

Oli: Nah.

As a non-French speaker, what inspires your songwriting and what topics do you songs cover? On a side note, I love the ‘wohhhhs’ you use – proper old school. Are you Oi Misfits?

Dan: We start by putting together the riffs and building momentum through the songs, then Fabio and Dan bring them to rehearsal where we define what works. Oli and Remi add their parts to complete the puzzle. As for the ‘whooos’ and lyrics, Dan has a clear idea of the chants and works with Fabio to match melodies to the riffs, then layers lyrics to flow with the music. Most of the lyrics focus on striving to be the best version of ourselves and fighting for it, with a message of positivity and unity in a world that doesn’t fit us. It might sound cheesy, but we aim to bring people together, offering a positive influence amidst all the shitty, meaningless lyrics out there. We want to bring people together, not divide them.

As a French speaking band, when will you be introducing some saxophone into your tunes? We need the sax!

Oli: No plans to add a saxophone anytime soon, haha. We’ll leave that to the French. Alex from Bromure is the undisputed champ. He can keep the crown on that side of the pond. 

Skinhead is a very style-conscious subculture – what’s your style? How often do you iron your trousers each week and how many Fred Perries do you own? People need to know!

Dan: We don’t have any stereotypical style, but we embrace skin and punk cultures through our style. Some of us wear trousers, DMs, Sambas and Fred Perries. We don’t need to wear what everyone is wearing to feel accepted or cool or a uniform to fit in. Why be something you’re not?

Can we expect a UK tour please? I know bands are often not treated well in the UK, but going to Europe costs me loads of money.

Oli: Probably! We’re working on coming back to Europe in June. Nothing solid yet but we’ll definitely try to hit the UK. We only played one show in London and it was a blast.

For you, what does this scene mean? When did you fall in love with it?

Oli: For me, and for all of us, it’s been a huge part of our lives. I’m about to turn 40, and I’ve been in bands since I was 12, so that’s almost three decades of punk, hardcore, and Oi. It’s shaped how I see and interact with the world. This outsider perspective gives purpose to everything I do and makes me feel part of something bigger than the ordinary world most people live in. It’s cliche, but still true. I’m from a small town where everyone was into death metal – Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation shirts were the norm at my high school – but it never did much for me. I briefly dabbled in skate punk, but it wasn’t until an older guy lent me a tape with Demonstrating My Style by Madball and Urban Discipline by Biohazard that I truly felt at home.

I mostly listened to NYHC, a bit of the early 2000 youth crew revival, the usual straight-edge stuff from that era, and some heavier hardcore/metalcore bands for a while, before diving into rawer punk. Ironically, and contrary to most of my European friends (who were probably right, since skinhead is inherently a youth subculture), I discovered Oi a bit later and never really looked back. I also think this punk/hardcore upbringing is shared with all the other bandmates, and it influences how we write songs and the energy we try to infuse into them. 

Finding a scene like this, and meeting tons of like-minded people is a gift a wish upon every kid who feels like they don’t fit in or can’t relate with more traditional lifestyles. As I said, I’m about to turn 40, and I’ve been thinking on how I feel about my life so far. Honestly, I wouldn’t change much.

A lot of US Oi! bands tend to fall into the lyrical hole of “USA! USA! USA!” Why do you think it isn’t the same with Canada? Is it due to your close relationship with Europe and the UK?

Oli: I think this feeling of patriotism isn’t really shared in Canada. I could get into how history is taught and the differences in how we respectively approach it, but that would be an entire essay. It’s important, though, to understand how colonialism and imperialism are perceived here, and how political dynamics have pushed patriotism towards the right wing. Then there’s the French-English divide that is still obvious around these parts, making pride in Canada feel awkward – it’s just not something we have.

As for Quebec, the liberation movement of the 60s, interestingly called the quiet revolution, evolved from a liberation movement to a rather close-minded nationalist ideology, much like what we’ve seen develop across the Western world in recent decades. So nothing to be proud of there either. I’d say we’re proud Montrealers, standing alongside every founding community and everyone else who came after and helped make it the city we live in every day.

What do you think the future holds for Oi, Canadian Oi, and for you in particular? The scene seems very strong in North America and Europe – more so than in the UK.

Oli: The future looks great. In North America, punk and Oi are blending more than in the UK, with many younger bands gaining attention and plenty of support. There’s a strong Canadian scene right now, and people are more open to mixing genres on bills, which is a positive. There’s been a huge explosion of bands and live music in general post-pandemic, and although the bubble starting to burst, it’s still a great time to start bands and get involved, as people are more receptive and curious than ever, and we support that 100%. 

On a more personal level, we’re gonna try to play as much as we can this year and take this band as far as possible. We’re ready for a lot of touring, and we just want to have as much fun as we can for as long as it lasts. 

Who are your all-time favourite bands and biggest influences? And who would be your dream band to play with live?

Oli: I think our first influences were Chaos en France bands and Italian Oi bands from the 80s. But from there, we’ve evolved and tried to bring in a myriad of other stuff we like. As I mentioned, we all come from hardcore, so we tried to bring that energy, and we even ripped off some 90s euro dance riffs, haha. It’s the philosophy we try to live by – just have fun and make the music you’d like to hear. 

But yeah, singing in French… the early French Oi bands will always be a major influence, especially in the vocals, both in the sound and in the vocal patterns. We’re also trying to include little nods to those bands that real heads will recognize, haha. 

What’s the football scene like in Canada? A mate of mine is in Calgary and has started supporting Cavalry. Is this the team I should be backing?

Oli: Well… allow me to be blunt here: football in North America kinda sucks. I tried my best to support Montreal Impact and went to most home games for years, but the MLS is like a McDonald’s franchise league. It’s “family-oriented,” and they allow very little from the supporter groups. I stopped going years ago when Didier Drogba joined, and ticket prices tripled just to watch him wander offside for 80 minutes of every game (no disrespect, I loved him since his Marseille days, but his legs were gone by the time he came here).

I think the problem lies in the lack of true football culture here. I vividly remember seeing a guy wearing a “Montreal Ultras” t-shirt at the stadium with his two toddlers buying a $12 hotdog, and thinking to myself, “This just isn’t it…” I’m not even going to get into how the team is managed and the constant disrespect to fans. To be fair, though, I see that there are new supporter groups at the stadium who are trying really hard to bring that culture into the city, and it looks like things are improving there. But personally, I’ve lost the energy to go to games after years of disappointment.

I’m an old man now and I have been a Liverpool fan for over two decades, so that’s where my allegiances lie. Respect to those who keep going to the stadium and shoutout to the 132 crew who keep it real but I think the MLS is rotten.

I don’t know much about the Canadian Premier league since we don’t have a club in Montreal, but I’m sure the lower leagues are a better place for true supporters, away from the corporate crap that comes with North American sports.  

Finally, any words of wisdom for our dear readers?

Oli: Well, thanks for having us! Also, this might be cliche, but this scene is in the best shape I’ve seen it in a long time. If any of y’all are into it, start bands, book shows, write zines, run a label, go to all the shows you can. Let’s make sure we keep this going. We’ve got a really good thing here.