Band: Lokka
From: Perth, Australia
Their formation story:
(Amin Refulus, vocals): "The band started with Glenn (drums) and Shah (guitar). Mainly, I think Glenn just wanted to do something a little more punk-leaning than his previous bands. The two of them had been writing and demoing for about six months before Shah reached out to ask if I wanted to jump on vocals.
"I had never been in a band before, but I'd always wanted to. Despite attending a lot of shows, I was a pretty busy lad in my younger years, so I never really had the chance to pursue it. I'm glad I'm doing it now, though!
"We tried jamming with a couple of different guitarists, which didn't work out, so we reached out to longtime friends Charlie (guitar) and Alex (bass), and that was the lineup.
"We've all known each other through attending local shows and playing in previous bands together. Charlie is the vocalist of Perth's resident Lockin' Out Records-style band No Brainer; Glenn was a formative member of Cursed Earth, who did quite a bit in the 2010s; Shah and Alex were in the heartthrob melodic hardcore band Idle Eyes; and I was the guy who moshed for everyone!
"Ironically, the concept of the band had come about years prior. Glenn and Charlie had come up with the name and talked about doing a punkier band as a side project during their time together in No Brainer, so it's funny how it came full circle and finally manifested with Charlie involved."
Their sound in their own words:
"Late-'80s NYHC, Boston Hardcore, and Lockin' Out Records. FFO: The Rival Mob, SPY, GEL, Hard Stripes, and early Angel Du$t."
Latest release info:
"Livin' La Vida Lokka is kind of Glenn's brainchild. He wrote the majority of the music and had a vision of what he wanted to do from the start. Because Lokka is my first band, Shah and Glenn helped me with the lyrics and cadences.
"We tracked guitars, bass, and vocals at Glenn's home studio to try to keep costs down. Drum tracking, reamping, and mixing took place at Matchless Music with our good friend and audio wizard James Langlands (Concrete Bomb), and we sent the mixes to Brad Boatright in Chicago for mastering.
"The one thing we regret is how long it took for us to put it out. The music was finished in the middle of 2025, but with everyone being so busy, we kept putting off the release until February 2026. Moving forward, we want to try to be better about not sitting on music for too long."
Future plans:
"We have been working on a bunch of new music and have a handful of shows lined up over the next couple of months, including Rapid Dye at Seasonal Brewing Co. on July 10 with Gaoled, No Future, and Gunner — all absolutely incredible Perth bands.
"We've been itching to play as many shows as we can and are hoping to hit the East Coast of Australia sometime soon."
What other bands from their region should we check out?
"Everybody everywhere needs to tear this place down and listen to: Day of Demise, Concrete Bomb, Tomcat, Iron Eater, Dream Speed, Gaoled, No Future, and Warden."
Livin' La Vida Lokka is available on cassette via Reckless Release.
Lokka on social media: Instagram
Tagged: lokka
