Featuring a vocal sample from a video that the Australian government intended to show refugees detained offshore, Trust Punks’ "Paradise/Angel-wire" is a powerful song about a suicide in an immigration detention center.The opening track from the Auckland band’s upcoming album Double Bind sets the tone for an angry but intricate set of songs that look at suburban nationalists, incarceration and death.Take a listen to the track below and read a short interview with the band's Joe Thomas.NOISEY:What is the vocal sample towards the end of the song?
Joe Thomas: It's from a video the Australian government intended to show refugees detained offshore in which former minister for Immigration and Border Protection Scott Morrison kinda sneeringly tells them they will never be allowed into Australia and if they don't return home they will never leave detention. It was never meant to be heard by the general public, but I think someone leaked it to the Guardian or something. Honestly, I've had second thoughts about including it since the song's release, because it might come off as exploitative of a situation we aren't directly involved in. But it was something about the situation of asylum seekers that struck me as particularly fucked and something we thought people overseas especially wouldn't be aware of, so we left it buried in the mix.As a New Zealander how do you view Australia’s ‘border security’ laws?
I actually moved to Sydney from Auckland last year which has given me a different take. I used to see Australia as a lot more progressive than New Zealand and the rest of the world but the way refugees are treated here is one thing that's changed that.Is New Zealand's immigration laws more humane and just?
Yeah, I'd say so, but our refugee quota is still pretty pathetic.Australian and New Zealand love talking about sporting rivalry but do you think they could do more in working together in processing and settling migrants?
Yes, definitely. New Zealand's mainstream media is pretty much in the government's pocket though, and John Key and Malcom Turnbull are literally best mates, so I wouldn't hold my breath.We last spoke to you back in 2014. What has been happening since then?
With regard to Trust Punks we've pretty much just been sporadically recording and mixing this album with our friend Lawree. We are split between Auckland and Sydney these days so getting this album out has taken precedent over touring or whatever.How did you hook up with Trip at Wharf Cat?
I kept on seeing their tunes pop up in our related tracks on Soundcloud so I checked them out and it turned out they had released a couple things I was real into, so we chucked them an email to see if they were interested in our record and they were!With a US label now is touring and making a mark in the US high on your priorities?
I think it's more a case of us being much happier to stand behind this record than anything we've done previously so we had more of an interest in getting it out a bit further out there. We have a great label called Faux Discx putting it out in the UK/EU as well. Ideally we'd like to play some shows all over! But we'll have to see what happens.
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Joe Thomas: It's from a video the Australian government intended to show refugees detained offshore in which former minister for Immigration and Border Protection Scott Morrison kinda sneeringly tells them they will never be allowed into Australia and if they don't return home they will never leave detention. It was never meant to be heard by the general public, but I think someone leaked it to the Guardian or something. Honestly, I've had second thoughts about including it since the song's release, because it might come off as exploitative of a situation we aren't directly involved in. But it was something about the situation of asylum seekers that struck me as particularly fucked and something we thought people overseas especially wouldn't be aware of, so we left it buried in the mix.As a New Zealander how do you view Australia’s ‘border security’ laws?
I actually moved to Sydney from Auckland last year which has given me a different take. I used to see Australia as a lot more progressive than New Zealand and the rest of the world but the way refugees are treated here is one thing that's changed that.Is New Zealand's immigration laws more humane and just?
Yeah, I'd say so, but our refugee quota is still pretty pathetic.Australian and New Zealand love talking about sporting rivalry but do you think they could do more in working together in processing and settling migrants?
Yes, definitely. New Zealand's mainstream media is pretty much in the government's pocket though, and John Key and Malcom Turnbull are literally best mates, so I wouldn't hold my breath.
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With regard to Trust Punks we've pretty much just been sporadically recording and mixing this album with our friend Lawree. We are split between Auckland and Sydney these days so getting this album out has taken precedent over touring or whatever.How did you hook up with Trip at Wharf Cat?
I kept on seeing their tunes pop up in our related tracks on Soundcloud so I checked them out and it turned out they had released a couple things I was real into, so we chucked them an email to see if they were interested in our record and they were!With a US label now is touring and making a mark in the US high on your priorities?
I think it's more a case of us being much happier to stand behind this record than anything we've done previously so we had more of an interest in getting it out a bit further out there. We have a great label called Faux Discx putting it out in the UK/EU as well. Ideally we'd like to play some shows all over! But we'll have to see what happens.
'Double Bind' will be available in July through Wharf Cat, Spunk and Faux Discx and Spunk.