Some bands chase the dream. Mass Hallucination would rather be tucked up in bed by half eleven with an Alan Partridge podcast on. The Leeds four-piece deal in noisy hardcore, short and feral, and their self-titled EP arrived on tape cassette in March via Makeshift Swahili. We caught up with vocalist Chris to talk influences, the Leeds scene, and the unglamorous reality of being in a band when everyone’s the wrong side of 30.
For anyone who hasn’t come across you yet, who are you?
We are Tom on drums, Tom on bass, Will on guitar and Chris on vocals, and we’re from Leeds.
How did the band come together?
We all met through music. Myself and the drummer, Tom, are in a post-punk band called Coded Marking, which was recorded by Tom the bass player, and we met Will through his band Self-Immolation Music.
And the sound, in your own words?
Noisy hardcore.
You’ve cited Negative Approach, Killing Joke and Cold Sweat. What pulled you toward those bands in particular?
We wanted to do something with short songs like Negative Approach, but with a noisier slant, bands like The Repos, and with hookier elements like Killing Joke. I like the really cooked, feral-sounding vocals of Cold Sweat.
The EP came out on tape via Makeshift Swahili. What drew you to cassette, and how did the label link-up happen?
Tapes are a great way of releasing music now. They’re low cost, so you won’t end up with 300 unsold copies sat in your cellar, as has happened to me with vinyl and previous bands. We knew Fionn through playing a show for him in Glasgow, and he seemed like a nice, trustworthy person who’d done a good job of other bands’ releases.
Tell us the story behind one of the tracks.
‘Human Figures’ is about someone in my life with some real problems, who seems to be doing anything they can not to address those issues and blames them on anything but the actual causes.
Where should a new listener start?
Everything we’ve recorded totals around seven minutes, so I’d say play everything we’ve ever recorded.
What’s the Leeds scene like right now?
There’s tons going on. You can go and see a massive variety of stuff in Leeds any night of the week. The other night I went to see Acid Mothers Temple, and in a week or so I’ll be going to see The Handsome Family, who I absolutely love. I’m not sure we’re carving a corner, but it’s a nice hobby. Seeing my friends, practising, recording a bit and playing the odd show is great, and about all I aspire to.
Best gig so far?
The Mother Nature and Pleasure release show in 2026. Great lineup, and it was rammed.
Give us a funny, deep or tragic band story.
A funny and tragic one: everyone in the band is over 30. Recently we played Newcastle and we were all tucked up in bed by 11.30pm listening to the Alan Partridge ‘Oasthouse’ podcast.
What’s next?
A few gigs hopefully, but not too many, as staying up late is awful. I think we’ll just stick to short releases, so most likely an EP.
Where can people find you?
We don’t have social media, so through Bandcamp.
Anything else you want people to know?
If you’re under the age of 25 and you don’t own at least one piece of camo clothing, you should be in jail.
The Mass Hallucination EP is out now on tape via Makeshift Swahili. Find it at masshallucination.bandcamp.com.
