You Talkin To Me!!! - An Interview with Sara Twinn (Co-Owner of Taxi Driver Records)

Today's guest is a virtuoso within the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal scene. Saxophonist, Vocalist, Artist and Record Label and Record Store owner. She's becoming one of the best known sources of promoting Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal from the Italian Music Scene.

She's co-owner of the fantastic record label – Taxi Driver Records – who've provided me with some awesome albums and EP's to review recently. She's part of Italian Atmospheric Doom Metal Instrumentalists – MOPE – who released a stunning debut album back in 2014 which we rated quite highly.

I'm of course referring to Sara Twinn. A hugely talented individual who I wanted to interview for a while. And Sara has kindly agreed to answer my questions.

Let's see what Sara has to say to us at Sludgelord HQ.

Hi Sara. How's it going. Thanks for doing this interview. Much appreciated.

Hi Steve! Hi readers! I really hope you'll enjoy the interview!

I don't know where to begin with this interview as you've had quite a musical career so far. Well I think we should start with Taxi Driver Records. What a fantastic label that is. When did you start Taxi Driver Records and what were your reasons for starting the label. Plus I just recently found out it's actually a record store as well. Awesome.

Thank you! Taxi Driver Records started in 2009 with the aim of documenting and promoting the local underground music scene. Here in Genova, Italy, where I live and my independent record store is located, we have great bands that deserve to be discovered! Recently the label opened also to other awesome underground bands within the Italian territory, and I like the idea very much! It's cool and certainly helpful to put in connection different artists and underground music scenes.

Was it hard experience starting the label and opening a record store. Would you do anything differently if you could.

I run both record store and label with my partner Massimo (ISAAK's bass player). Opening the two activities was hard, and it still is, but so gratifying! A risk indeed, expecially because we decided to start it in the worst period referring to the global economic crisis, and yes, there are things I would do differently from the beginning if I could go back in time. Anyway we both love our job and we strongly hope and believe that the passion we put in it every day will keep giving increasing results!

What came first. The Record Store or The Record Label. And was it a hard transition to go from record label to record store or record store to record label.

The independent record store came first. The idea grew up in a couple of months in late 2008. Massimo was working as usual on his music webmagazine www.taxi-driver.it he founded in year 2000, and after I graduated I actually realized I really wanted to live and independent life very close to the music scene I was starting to be involved into. The decision came immediately after we both went to the ATP festival curated by The Melvins and Mike Patton in UK that December: three full days of concerts living in the same resort together with the artists, awesome lineup (Fantomas, Melvins, Mastodon, Isis, Torche, Bohren Und The Club Of Gore, Big Business, Porn, Butthole Surfers, Meat Puppets, Joe Lally, Zu.. just to name a few!). 

I definitively felt this had to be my world, and thanks to Massimo's competence and ability we soon opened Taxi Driver Record Store, in 2009. The label came very naturally a few months after, when a local band called Cartavetro asked us to co-produce their first EP titled “We Need Time”, featuring Mike Watt on vocals in one track. So exciting to start this adventure with one of the greatest “do it yourself” icon ever!

Focusing on the Record Store side of things. How hard is it operating a record store in today's environment. Do you find it a hard challenge at times.

Very hard. Daily challenge. But being focused and specialized on particular genres (stoner, doom, heavy psych, metal, post metal, drone, ambient, hardcore, punk, alternative.. above all) and related independent labels helps a lot. We're always in contact with a nice community of this kind of music lovers, not only locals: Italian and foreign people, and also some tourists who come and visit the amazing Genoese historical centre where the record store is located. Our catalogue is appreciated online too (www.taxidriverstore.com), vinyl records expecially. With the store, the label and also an independent lab where I screenprint our merch, and thanks to the social networks, we promote Taxi Driver as much as we can every day.

And when you host for example Nick Oliveri for an unplanned acoustic miniset (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8tngkYqmv8) or when one of the greatest poster artists worldwide, Chuck Sperry, comes twice for an expo and a workshop (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoahheEIPBc), or when you meet your personal idols at gigs and they really enjoy the albums you have, and so on, you really forget about all your daily efforts and feel how lucky you are!

Do you have a set or rules and ideals when signing to a band to your label. Or wanting to work with bands and artists.

We promote the bands we like and that are related to our world. As you can understand, Taxi Driver is a kind of expanded concept and we actually prefer to have a feeling with the artists we work with. Within the label, Massimo decides the bands and I'm the one who takes care of packaging and format and schedules the releases.

Why did you choose the name Taxi Driver Records. Any particular reason for this.

“Taxi Driver” is referred to 1976 Martin Scorsese's masterpiece, a movie that means very much to Massimo. This is why he gave this name to his webmagazine, and we thought the record store and the label should be called the same.

Taxi Driver Records (Label) only releases music by Italian bands and artists. Would you ever release an album or record by a band from a different country or is primarily focusing on the Italian music scene.

We're now documenting part of the the cool Italian underground scene, focused on the Genoese area (where we live) and expanded to other great Italian bands whose attitude and music we like so much. This doesn't mean that I exclude to release bands from a different country in the future, but they'll have to be connected in some way with Taxi Driver.

Right. Enough about the label. Time to move onto your musical career. People may know you from MOPE and you've done work with FOLAGRA and Eremite. How did you become involved with music. When did your musical journey start.

I actually started when I was very young, studying classical and jazzy music on piano. Beautiful, but I always felt it not properly mine. When I started going to gigs, and met friends rocking around, I preferred to stop playing for a while and going to listen to their music: live shows but also rehearsals. That was my first approach to the underground scene. Anyway, the first time I ever saw a saxophone live matching heavy sonorities was with Zu, I think it was ten years ago. I was shocked, I went backwards in their discography, then more backwards discovering John Zorn and other avant-garde and multi-instrumentalist composers. I was too curious: when I had the opportunity I bought a very old saxophone and started to playing it alone. Going to live shows helps meeting a lot of musicians and new friends with same music interests: this is how I met my mates.

You play Saxophones on MOPE. WOW. When I heard MOPE's debut album. That was one of my fave parts. The Saxophones as you don't really hear Doom Metal bands especially with Saxophones on the album. Did you purposely try to be different to other bands.

Yes indeed. Even if saxophone is sometimes used in experimental, avant-garde metal or jazzcore music genres, in our band we loved the idea to combine heavy riffs with floating melodies and evocative atmospheres of a reverberate sax instead of vocals and we didn't know other doom bands doing it. I have to say that arrangements are not easy at all.. it took a while before we were all convinced to release the first album.. and we're still studying (in a very doomish attitude!) the right formula for the new one.

How did MOPE start. And will there be any future records from MOPE.

I was playing saxophone at home in that period. Once I went to visit my new friends Jessica (guitar) and Fabio (drums) rehearsing, and I don't really remember how we started to talk about introducing saxophone in the project but the week after I started to play with them. Stefano (bass) who once came to hear us, joined the band in a very natural way. Fabio and Stefano used to play music together since they were young, and in that period Fabio was starting also his blackened sludge project Eremite, and Stefano was still involved with his heavy shoegaze post-rock band Vanessa Van Basten. We really enjoyed the music we were composing together, so we recorded it in 2013 and gave birth to our first album in early 2014. 

We had an awesome year, our music had been much appreciated worldwide and we played live in not many but cool events. And even if now our guitarist is quite busy with her artistic lab (she's a painter, engraver and screenprinter) and the other members are differently involved in side projects, MOPE are working on new stuff!

Are you involved with any other bands currently at the moment.

I like collaborations: live, or recording saxophone lines in some tracks of other artist's records, as I did in the first Eremite's album. I also started to play a MS-20 Korg synthesizer. I actually used it while playing with Morgengruss, which is a new spiritual folk/drone solo project led by Marco Paddeu (from Demetra Sine Die, dark post metal local band) I found very interesting: I put some sax in his upcoming first album and supported him live with synth and saxophone.

Playing synth is actually amazing and gives me the opportunity to experimenting a lot, as I did for example a few months ago in an extemporary drone/industrial project for a live show. And Folagra duo (with Massimo) is still an open project, for when we're not busy with our respective bands.

Let's see what happens in the future!

You've also done some artwork in the past for other bands. Gandhi's Gunn (now known as ISAAK) according to Metal Encyclopedia. Are you still involved with artwork or are you too busy with other things at the moment.

I'm actually not an illustrator, but I curated layouts for album covers, expecially for some Taxi Driver Records releases. The one Metal Encyclopedia refers to is probably the cassette version of both Gandhi's Gunn albums Thirtyeahs and The Longer The Beard The Harder The Sound. They were both very limited editions which went sold out very soon, and me and Jessica (Mope's guitarist) curated the handmade printed artwork (chalcographic and screenprinting techniques). It was the first period of an amazing collaboration between me and her, studying and putting together our own abilities, focused on album covers. 

We started with limited edition cassettes, and during the years we curated the artwork of many Taxi Driver Records albums from Jessica's illustrations: starting from Mope and Eremite, to L'Inverno Della Civetta project and both Vanessa Van Basten's “Disintegration EP” different covers. But also the LP screenprinted cover we did for Goblin's “Amo Non Amo” soundtrack reissue, for another label, was great fun! So interesting! I really hope this collaboration will keep on through the years. And I'm also proud about our Gandhi's Gunn: a few months after the release of their second full-length, they signed for Small Stone Records, changing name, as you said, into Isaak!

In some ways I am always indirectly involved with artwork, from album covers to screenprinted merchandise for our bands or for the record store. And I really enjoy it, looking forward to creating my own artwork too.

Photo by Serena Bodratto

How do you find the time to do this all. Band Member, Record Store Owner. Record Label Owner amongst other things. Does this intrude on your personal life. How do you relax away from it all. Or is this how you relax. 

I try not to sleep! And yes, it 100% involves my personal life. And it is obviously not easy to work and live with your partner, sometimes private life and job are all mixed up creating tensions as you can imagine. Being strong is not that easy, but I really do it because I truly believe in it. And I like to think that if I'm a bit chained in it now, it's because I'm actually working for my freedom, away from the rest of the oppressive world. Anyway when I really need a break and I don't have much time, I relax escaping on the hills just behind Genova: you can enjoy nature and beautiful landscapes of the sea surrounded by mountains. A place where all problems and thoughts seem so far away and little!

We have to talk about the Italian Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal scene. It's very highly thought of through out the world thanks to awesome bands such as Ufomammut, Zippo, ISAAK, Doomraiser, MOPE, Satori Junk, Bantoriak and NIBIRU and a ton more that I may of forgotten to mention. What is the scene actually like in Italy. Is the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal scene on the rise in Italy. Or is it still firmly in the underground.

We have awesome underground bands, you're right! It's still hard for them to rise and be more acclaimed in Italy because here I think we still have huge cultural problems from that point of view.. which is weird! But Italian underground music scene still has less followers than it deserves here in our country.. even if the community is actually increasing I have to say. The attitude abroad is completely different, and curiosity, attention and music competence are still much higher than here... Hard work, but one of my goals is to contribute as much as possible in spreading the word. Not only with my label's records I mean. My way to do it, that I learnt from my partner Massimo's attitude, is promoting what's going on here, which is really cool, with Taxi Driver and records from other independent labels and by importing in the record store what's awesome from abroad.

If you could provide any advice to someone wanting to open a record store or create a record label. What would it be and why.

Do it only if you intend it as a way of living. It could actually ruin your life if you're not well motivated and completely in love with it. And please, sell good music!

What future plans are in store for yourself and Taxi Driver Records. Any gossip you can share with us about future releases. 

We just experienced our first sold out with Psychedelic Witchcraft's “Black Magic Man” 10inch EP in the bicolored version limited to 100 copies, that will be out at the end of July and whose preorder online was announced only a few weeks ago. I actually think that album is amazing, and I'm so proud of this first result! We've also just released a free sampler compilation titled “Taxi Driver 100” with tracks from our recent releases, outtakes and a few previews.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming doom/sludge Sator and Kröwnn's limited edition vinyl records, already available in preorder on our webstore and bandcamp, that will be out in more or less a month! Then, next on Taxi Driver Records will be Morgengruss full length and Fabio Cuomo's (Eremite and Mope drummer) amazing kraut/ambient solo project.

Those albums and the vinyl version of Vanessa Van Basten's masterpiece “La Stanza Di Swedenborg” will be out in Fall. But before all this we're very busy in organizing the first Taxi Driver Summer Fest, which will take place on Saturday the 18th July in Genova. We're so excited to have Elder and Mos Generator as headliners, and we will also have stands and showcases of some of our bands.. can't wait for it! After that, I think I will need to concentrate a bit on my next projects. We'll see what happens!

Well Sara thanks for doing this. Before you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.

Thank you so much Steve for this interview, and for supporting me. This means a lot. And thanks so much to everyone who keeps following Taxi Driver, buying from the store, the label, who will discover it after this interview or in the future, and who's supporting my projects! You're so important!

Thanks for doing this Sara. Really appreciate this. Keep up the brilliant work that you do.

I want to thank Sara for taking the time out to talk to us here at Sludgelord HQ. Visit Taxi Driver Records as they're a brilliant label doing a fantastic job.

Words by Steve Howe and Sara Twinn

For More Information

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Sensory Overload - Interview with Andrew Elstner of TORCHE and TILTS

Today's guest is part of Sludge/Doom-Popsters – Torche who recently completed a in-depth tour of Europe where I witnessed Torche play a stunning gig in Leeds, United Kingdom, to an appreciative sell-out audience.

Promoting their acclaimed new album – Restarter – which sees Torche perform some of their heaviest material to date. It's been a busy time for The Sensory Overlord aka Andrew E, who is also part of Hard Rock/Stoner Rock Party Riffsters – TILTS.

Andrew is one of the nicest guys I've met during my time on Sludgelord. Charming and funny as hell. If you get the chance to meet him. Say hello. Or any of the Torche guys as they are one of the friendliest dudes you can meet. I originally did a face-to-face interview with Andrew in Leeds before the gig but unfortunately I suffered from technical issues with my mobile phone which lost the interview.

With Andrew being the awesome dude that he is. He kindly agreed to do this email interview which I'm very grateful for. So lets gets started with The Sensory Overlord himself – Andrew Elstner.

1. Hi Andrew. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today.

A: Awesome. Just returned from a fishing trip in Missouri. Enjoying some time off.

2. Seems you’ve had an action packed 12 months or so. New albums with Torche and Tilts being released. Plus an action packed tour with Torche. Has this been the busiest period in your musical career so far.

A: Y'know, I'm not sure if it's the busiest of my career, but it's definitely BUSY. I love it. We've all worked hard to have this much work to do! Haha.

3. You’ve just returned from your European Tour with Torche. How was that experience for you and the guys. As it was quite an in-depth tour from you guys.

A: It was great man. It was my fifth European tour and my third with Torche. I love it every time even if we are basically seeing Europe from the inside of a van. The shows were killer over all, we averaged about five hours of sleep a night, a big blur!

4. What was your highs and lows from the recent European Tour.

A: My favorite high was opening for Pentagram in Belgium. I mean, holy shit. Lowest point? All of the fucking dehydrated coffee. Monstrous!

5. We have to talk about Restarter. This is your 2nd album you’ve recorded with Torche. Was it easier recording this album compared to Harmonicraft. Did you do anything different this time.

A: Well, I've done a split 12", two 7" singles and two full lengths so far with Torche and I'd say... Though we didn't do anything different this time process wise, it did take an unfortunately long time to finish with the mixing/mastering process. But, all's well that ends well. Tracking happened fairly fast, as did the writing process. Lots of long hours for poor Jon!

6. It’s possibly Torche’s loudest and angriest so far. Did you expect that when recording the album that it was going to be that heavy.

A: I'd say yeah, by the time we began tracking, we knew it was going to be a darker, heavier record. But, when we were writing, it wasn't done on purpose. It's just where our heads were at the time.

7. Are Torche as a band pleased with the responses that Restarter has received from fans and critics alike.

A: I'd say so yeah. Not that album reviews mean a whole lot to us artistically, I mean, we're gonna do what we want regardless. That fans are digging it super hard is a huge bonus.

8. I noticed that some people were expecting – Harmonicraft Part 2 – and I glad you guys went down a different route. Have you noticed that yourselves.

A: Oh man, it's the same on every release. You basically have two camps, first, the people who go, "Man, they changed too much! This doesn't sound like their last one." And then you have, "Man, they didn't do anything new. This sounds like their last record." Haha. Can't please everyone, so again, we'll do as we always do and please ourselves first as anything other than that would be bullshit.

9. Torche released a brilliant video for Annihilation Affair created by Phil Mucci. Did you have much input to that video and what were your thoughts when you seen the video for the first time.
A: Yeah, we're all beyond pleased with how it turned out. Extremely proud of that one, and honored to have worked with Phil Mucci and co. Steve and Phil discussed some basic themes, all based more or less around the art work that Santos did for the record. Phil Mucci then took those ideas and ran with em, sent us a treatment of his vision - which we loved - and went to work. The final product completely smoked us all.

10. You’ve also been made into a playable character in a video game - Torche vs Robots. How cool is that. What did your family and friends think of that. And have you played that video game. Very difficult in places.

A: Haha! Yeah, it's harder than I thought it would be, but worth it. When we all saw the 8-bit versions of ourselves, we freaked the fuck out. I grew up on the original NES and old arcade games and continue to game, though more mildly than many, so to have this game done for us was a total high point. Hilarious and awesome. Friends and family were all equally thrilled I'd say. Relapse really knocked that one outta the park.

11. You’re about to embark on a joint US tour with crazed Japanese Noise Sonic Riffsters – Melt Banana. You looking forward to that tour. What can people expect from the tour.

A: Yes! Coming up soon and should be crazy fun. What can people expect? Us trying desperately to keep up with Melt Banana. Haha!

12. Later in the year you’re coming back to Europe for another extensive tour. Are you playing to places and countries that you missed first time round on the previous European Tour.

A: Yeah, that's the idea. We'll be doing a swath through Scandinavia then heading east. Lots of Eastern Europe and then stopping in Greece at the tail end.

13. OK, now TILTS. You guys released a great album with Cuatro Hombres – which leaves your debut album in the dust. Fantastic record. Was that an easy or hard album to write and record for.

A: Thanks a million! Y'know, it was trickier in a way, as the first record was a remixed/mastered collection of our first three ep's, Cassingle, Sidepipin' and Contractors To Her Majesty's Forces. Writing and tracking a four song ep can be done insanely fast. With Cuatro Hombres, we wrote and tracked it basically as a whole album, even if tracking was done over different sessions. So yeah, it felt like a bigger undertaking.

14. What are the future plans for TILTS. Any forthcoming EP’s or tours showing up. Though I know all members are busy with other projects as well.

A: Man, I wish we had all kinds of stuff planned, to be honest. But my Torche schedule aside, we're all super busy dudes, Ken needs to look after his health AND we live in different cities so... yeah, unfortunately nothing on the agenda at the moment. Maybe some writing in the Fall? Fingers crossed!

15. I’ve been asked to ask this question regarding Riddle Of Steel. Are there any plans for Riddle Of Steel to reform as quite a few bands are reforming. Would you ever consider reforming Riddle Of Steel for a one-off performance or festival if asked to do so.

A: It's always flattering when people ask but there are no plans to do so. Between Torche and Tilts, I'm pretty much left with zero free time. It's also a matter of what we get stoked on musically, y'know? I'm proud of all that we did, but the stuff I want to write, play and sing now seems farther and farther removed from those days. We weren't a big band in any sense, but people do have their favorite songs/records and it'd be a mess if we got back together to write or perform and things weren't the same.

16. Andrew, Thanks for doing this. Best of luck with both TILTS and Torche, Before you go, Do you have anything to say to your fans.

A: Man, thank you as always for the love. It means the world that anyone gives a shit about what we do. Now come hi-five me at a show.

My bro Dave, Jonathan from Torche, Steve (myself) and some Joker at the back.

You heard the man. If you ever do meet Andrew or the rest of the Torche gang. Go say hello as they are some of the nicest dudes you can meet.

Thanks to Andrew for doing this interview. Much appreciated

Words by Steve Howe and Andrew Elstner

For More Information

Torche: Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Twitter
Tilts: Facebook | BandCamp | Twitter
Riddle Of Steel: Facebook | BandCamp

Stoner Rock Reflections - Interview with Seb from Abrahma

It's been a long time since we caught up with today's guests. 3 years by my reckoning since Aaron aka DOUBLEADOOM77 interviewed them back in 2012.

With a stunning new record - Reflections In The Bowels of the Bird – that's just been released and it's an album that's starting to win major praise within the Stoner Rock community. Though this is a different band to their 2012 album – Through The Dusty Paths Of Our Lives – as the new album is more direct and gets straight down to the point of rocking out.

I've been asked to interview one of France's best Stoner Rock/Metal bands – ABRAHMA. I'm happy to report that Seb (Lead Vox/Guitar) is going to talk to us.

So lets get started and see what has happened over the last few years or so.

1. Hi guys. How's it going? Thanks for doing this interview. Much appreciated.

We're fine. Just back from an awesome tour with our mates from LO-PAN. Thank you for doing this interview.

2. For people not in the know can you give a brief history of how the band came together and where it is today.

So, ABRAHMA was born in 2011 on the ashes of another band we had with Guillaume and Ben before. We decided in 2011 to change our name with the arriving of Nicolas, and the fact that the sound was a little bit different. Then we recorded T.T.D.P.O.O.L and had the chance to sign a deal with SMALL STONE RECORDS in 2012.

3. You first came to our attention with your 2012 album – Through The Dusty Paths Of Our Lives. That was a great album. Looking back, were you pleased with the responses the album received from fans and critics alike?

Totally, this first album has really opened the road to a lot of cool opportunities and also been a way to better know where we wanted to go.

4. Looking back would you change anything about it.

No, not really. Many people say that it was too long, but personally I love it like this. And it's a first album with a story… I think its running time makes sense.

5. Now we have to talk about your new album – Reflections In The Bowels Of The Bird. WOW what a title. Why did you choose that title for the album.

You know, I'm such a huge philosophy and mythology fan. When we were writing the album, I already had the idea of doing another trilogy on the album, but about the omens. I read a lot about Haruspicy, and its different uses in the old times. From the Viking traditions to the antic Greece, this tradition has been popular for a long time. I personally loved naming the album after this tradition, as it's also a kind of journey in “the entrails of a bird”, haha! :)

Anyway, I submitted this title to my bandmates and it seemed like everybody in the band loved the idea too, so here's the reason why we entitled it this way.

6. Your new album is very different to your last album. It's more direct and it's more grungier and psychedelic. Was that the plan to make something different to Through The Dusty Paths Of Our Lives.

To be honest I don't really think this album is so different from the first one. We only have strengthened the points we loved on our first album. Take some songs like “Headless Horse”, “The Maze” or “Honkin Water Roof” on our first record: I think they have the same vibe than the new songs, and these are the songs we enjoy the most from our first album. So, it's been really natural as we also wanted to be more cohesive. For the grunge influences, I think it surely comes from the fact that we're all big SOUNDGARDEN, ALICE IN CHAINS, FAILURE fans.

7. Was it an easy decision to write/record something different to the album.

For this second album we really wanted to affirm our personality. With all the touring we've done to promote the first album, we have learned so much, and especially where we wanted to go musically in the future. So yes, it was an easy decision, even more as we all wanted the same thing.

8. Did you do anything differently recording this album compared to the last album.

No, we recorded it live again at our drummer's studio. We just changed some technical things like microphones, but drums, bass and lead guitar were all recorded live in the same studio.

9. It's good to see you have Ed Mundell back on the new album. Was it easy convincing Ed to record with you guys again. What was it like recording with Ed again.

Since our first release, we've been in touch with Ed. And he was really interested in taking part in this new release. We shared the stage with THE ULTRA ELECTRIC MEGA GALACTIC last year, and we talked a little bit more about it. Ed was really motivated to make some guest appearance again. So it was a pleasure to have him again, even more, as I think that “A Shepherd's Grief” totally fits to his way of playing

10. Abrahma has such an awesome live reputation when playing gigs. I witnessed that for myself last year in Leeds in such a small intimate venue. (I don't really want to say shithole. But it kinda was). You guys won a lot of praise and fans for that UK Tour you did last year. Really impressed the hell out of me. Are there plans for more European Dates in the future to promote the album.

Thanks for the kind words. This gig in Leeds was a little bit crazy ahaha! We are already working on a new tour to promote the album, yes. This first tour with LO-PAN was a kind of warm-up, and we're now ready to make a longer one. UK will not be missed!

11. What is your setup when playing live and recording in the studio. Do you have a a basic setup or a more advanced setup.

We almost have the same setup. Our goal on album is to record something we'll be able to do also on stage. So we use the same setup, we only sometimes add a lot more guitar harmonies in the studio, but generally our live versions are not so different from the album version.

12. Which bands and artists have influenced you all as musicians. Any particular bands or albums that have made a lasting impression.

We're all listening to different things. Nicolas listens to a lot of Jazz, Guillaume too. But I think our main influences for ABRAHMA are surely BLACK SABBATH, SOUNDGARDEN, KING CRIMSON, PARADISE LOST, MONSTER MAGNET, ATOMIC ROOSTER, PINK FLOYD, TYPE O NEGATIVE, HAWKWIND, THE BEATLES, ACID KING, NEUROSIS, ALICE IN CHAINS, LEAF HOUND, ESOTERIC…

13. Which bands are you currently digging at the moment. Are there any bands/albums you would like to recommend to our readers.

The past few days, I've been listening to a lot of YOB, ELDER, GURT, MONOLORD, PET THE PREACHER, the new ACID KING's album, DOPETHRONE, DOMADORA… And I'm really looking forward to the new FAITH NO MORE's release. The last ELDER album is really awesome!

I also had the chance to listen to some new demos from ENOS, and believe me, their next release will kick some ass!

14. Is Reflections In The Bowels Of The Bird being released on Vinyl. Or is it just CD/DD at the moment.

Yes, the album will be released on Vinyl, but I do not have the release date yet.

15. What other plans do you have in store for you in 2015. Anything you like to share with our readers.

We gonna tour a lot to promote the album and also try to play live in countries where we've never
been yet. We'll also surely begin to work on some new songs.

16. Well guys thanks for doing this. Before you go, do you have anything to say to your fans.

Thank you for this interview and for your support. Thanks also to all the people supporting, we hope you'll like this new album, and we can't wait to play it live in a venue near you.

Thanks to Seb from ABRAHMA for talking to us at Sludgelord HQ. Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for arranging the interview. Reflections In The Bowels Of The Bird is now available to buy on CD/DD from Smallstone Records now.

Words by Steve Howe and Seb Bismuth

For More Information:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Twitter

Ritual Beginnings - An interview with NIBIRU

NIBIRU have been perfecting their self proclaimed – Ritual Psychedelic Sludge – for a few years now. We've featured them on the blog countless times now. I've reviewed every album they've released so far. Plus I've interviewed them twice before.

Today, NIBIRU are a different band to when they started. They have become something more progressive, experimental and one of the most out-there bands from the Italian Sludge/Doom Metal Scene. They're about to release their incredible new album – Padmalotus – via Argonauta Records (Some other good pals of ours doing a great job).

Padmalotus is a different beast to NIBIRU's past two albums. This one is more experimental, heavier, psychedelic and scarier at times. The sheer volume of noise and experimentation that the band have created on the album makes this an album of the year contender.

This is what I had to say about the album - “Padmalotus is a very dark album as Nibiru venture further into the Ritual Sludge part of their music. It can be very primal at times with the band trying to survive from their own musical landscapes.

I class Padmalotus as Nibiru's most defining work to date. It won't be for everyone as it's a complex and wonderfully strange experience that runs for 66 mins or so. Nibiru have proven once again they are one of the most daring and creative forces in Italian Sludge Metal next to Ufomammut. Padmalotus is a thrilling and bold album that will rank as one of my albums of the year. No Question.”

I've been asked to interview NIBIRU again though this interview will focus on the new album and their plans for the future. You can read the other interviews here and here.

Photo courtesy of Robert Longo

Hi guys. Thanks for doing this. How are things with you today. Been a while since we last spoke. Hope things are well.

Ardath: It is a pleasure to do a new interview with you. It seems that it is a regular date now. That means Nibiru is alive and throbbing, and it strikes. From the release of Netrayoni to the making of Padmalotus (from the second half of 2014 to the first months of 2015) we had an intense and stimulating year.

I can't believe we are here to talk about your new album – Padmalotus. Your 3^rd album overall. Did you think you would ever release your 3^rd album in 3 years.

Siatris: “Honestly I’d say no. In the last years we have only focused on playing. We left our music flowing and we recorded what came out from the amplifiers.

Ardath: After Netrayoni and its promotion, at the middle of last year, we got together in our temple. New riff and new ideas have begun to take shape without any calculations. They immediately struck us, we realized that something of extremely interesting was coming to light. It was exciting to see Padmalotus taking shape within just a few months.

You guys are very quick workers as you only released your last album. Sorry double album back in Jan 2014. Do you always think about the next album when you've released the new album. As I thought you guys would take a break from it all.

Ardath: Our music comes out instinctively without calculations. There is only that moment in which the energies drag us, making time impalpable. A band takes a break when you notice that the inspiration is totally missed, when you feel you have no more energy, but this is not the case of Nibiru. I’d say that you will be able to listen a new record from Nibiru in 4 years. We are very inspired. There are still 3 unreleased songs off Padmalotus sessions.

Your new album is called Padmalotus. Why did you call the album this. Any specific meaning to this name.

Siatris: Padma means lotus in the Tibetan language. The concept of Padmalotus is linked to the chakras and the Kundalini Shakti, but the lotus is also the perfect representation of the illumination, because it is a flower that is born in the mud, grows in water and opens its blossom to the sky. So the enlightened keeps the feet firmly planted on the ground, but his mind is free from the constraints. I think that is highly zen, very relaxing. I think it creates a nice contrast inside our music.

What can people expect from the new album.

Ardath: Padmalotus features the psychedelic violence of Caosgon, the Netrayoni's uncontrolled insanity, and a new energy that takes shape in a destabilizing record.

What does the album mean to you as a band and individually.

Ardath: For Nibiru it is an important and fundamental point of transition. It concludes a three-years concept and it represents a new exciting beginning. Personally Padmalotus and the signing to Argonauta Records are satisfactions very difficult to explain. Lots of sweat, so much work, so many difficulties materialized in evident recognitions. We have a new energy to detonate in Nibiru.

Siatris: Personally it is a big step forward. This album was a challenge and I think it was exceeded, now other challenges come, and I am ready to accept them. As a band this is our third work, so it's a confirmation that we are not a meteor that passes through and disappears... We are Nibiru, when we pass through we leave the sign.

Was it an easy or hard album to write and record for.

Ardath: personally I did not find differences in the composition of the pieces of the new album, maybe in some parts, which have a more song form. We were more "controlled" but overall the songwriting style of Nibiru has not undergone upheavals, there are moments of improvisation. Mixing and recording, always made strictly live, were handled with more care but again without changing our sound.

Siatris: for me it was more difficult, especially the phase of the premix, because I want that all the sounds stood out before entering the studio to complete the work.

Did you do anything differently recording this album compared to your other two albums.

Siatris: the approach is always the same, we have worked all together: bass, drums and guitars are recorded at the same time. We overdubbed synth and others instruments like didgeridoo, but the difference is that we wanted a more powerful sound so I played a second guitar on all parts. I've played guitar because I have a different style compared to Ardath, I am still very attached to black metal, so you can hear two guitars that work in unison, but in a very different.

It seems your profile has gradually been growing over the last few years. The Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal community thinks very highly of you guys. Have you seen that yourselves or do you just let the music do the talking.

Ardath: our music brought something special in a genre that was becoming extremely repetitive in the music scene today, even more in Italy. It is not easy to stand out. If this has happened to Nibiru it means that something has been done. We start from Padmalotus and the forthcoming live shows.

Looking back on your last two albums. Would you change anything about them or you happy with the way things are.

Ardath: We would not change anything, we are absolutely satisfied with what has been done and the responses had proved it. Every past situation brought me more experience and knowledge, but the past must be overcome in order not repeat itself, never.

I've noticed you've changed your sound again on the new record compared to the other two albums. The album is more structured and songs have a direct approach compared to your other albums. Was that an easy or hard experience to go through. Is this how NIBIRU will sound like in the future.

Siatris: we always try to improve our sound and I believe that things have changed from Caosgon. The first album had a sort of punk spirit, the recording is very dirty, almost nothing was overdubbed, Netrayoni was the pinnacle of the improvised phase, the sound is born spontaneously, in Padmalotus we sought a more direct sound, we were not satisfied of the first results, and in the mixing, we worked meticulously.

Ardath: I was the most skeptical when I’ve listened to the songs as they had a different structure compared to the previous CD’s. But I have to admit I was wrong. Of course the most difficult step was to insert new sounds while maintaining the approach and the sound of Nibiru and vary some – as for some riffs or structures - the way I play guitars. It has been a valuable, stimulating and educational experience. Padmalotus is a new starting point, we do not care looking back. From here on, I'm curious to listen to the next Nibiru.

You've hooked up with Argonauta Records for the release of this album. How did you hook up with Gero. Who seems to be releasing some brilliant albums of late. Huge fans of his work here.

Ardath: Gero knew our previous records and we followed the work of Argonauta with great interest, and there was a mutual respect. We contacted Argonauta as soon as we had in our hands a first track of Padmalotus. We sent it to Gero to get his opinion, then we met to know each other personally. We had a mutual desire to work together. Finally we have a label that works hard in Italy. It’s good to consistently promote certain genres of music.

Did you have any other label interest other than Argonauta Records.

Ardath: Our first two albums were mainly self produced as our own choice. We respect Argonauta as said above, so we wanted to approach them and start an important collaboration. Other labels can approach Nibiru but right now the only thing very important for us is Argonauta. Gero is doing an impeccable job for us and with us.

Have you guys performed more gigs over the last couple of years or so. Are there any plans to do a more extensive European tour. Or is it too expensive to do.

Ardath: We have not played so much live shows but the few we played have showns a band that knows how to strike the crowd, and to stay in the damned souls of those who attend our gigs. Certainly we would like to do an European tour. Nothing is impossible.

We have to talk about the brilliant album cover for Padmalotus. Who designed that cover. As it perfectly matches the mood of the album. Did you have much input to the overall design of the album cover.

Siatris: The cover was designed by a good friend, a very good illustrator. We talked about the topics of the album and he has reached the target, giving us an incredible design, the androgynous Shiva / Shakti that opens the third eye, the spider weaving the universe, and the figures on the sides that cut the head waiving their own ego. All this represents the best of our ideas.

So what do the next 12 months have in store for NIBIRU. Anything you like to share with our readers.

Ardath: Now we want to enjoy Padmalotus. We are curious to get feedback from the listeners but we are also conscious of having done a job that people will talk about. We are planning live shows, and in particular we are waiting for the final confirmation in the next edition of a major rock festival. You can also read an interview with Nibiru on the next issue of Metal Hammer UK.

Well guys thanks for doing this. Always great to feature you guys. All the best with the new album.

Ardath: thanks, Nibiru will not disappoint you.

Words by Steve Howe and NIBIRU

Thanks to Barbara at NeeCee Agency for arranging this interview. Padmalotus will be available to buy on CD/DD from May 14th 2015 from Argonauta Records.

For More Information

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

The Fourth Round - Desert Storm Returns (New Interview)

It's been a while since we featured UK Blues/Hard Rock/Stoner Metallers – Desert Storm. Well about 7 or months or so when they were about to embark on a massive UK Tour with Stoner Rock Legends – Karma To Burn – and to provide details of their eagerly awaited 3rd album Omniscient

Omniscient is about to be released upon to the world and what an album Desert Storm have created here. It's a stunning mix of Blues Rock, Hard Rock, Stoner Rock, Sludge Rock and a hint of Psychedelic Folk. This maybe the album that will turn Desert Storm into one of the UK's best Hard Rock/Stoner Metal bands. These guys deserve a shot at the big time as they have toured extensively over the last 5 years or so. Tours with Karma To Burn and Honky. Plus supporting Red Fang shows you how talented these guys are.

I described Omniscient as:

“Their third full length record sees Desert Storm blending Hard Rock, Blues, Psychedelia, Folk with hard-riffing Sludge tinged grooves. Desert Storm have excelled themselves here while Horizontal Life was a great album for the guys, it was a little bloated at times. Though that is not the case here as Desert Storm have released an album that builds upon what came before it and only enhances their well deserved reputation.

I don't know what more I can say about the album. I think I have covered all the bases here. The album does sound incredible from start to finish. Legendary Producer - Billy Anderson - has mastered this bad-boy so you know it's gonna sound fresh, loud and crisp. He gives Desert Storm sound such a dynamic feel that makes you feel you're seeing the band perform live in the comfort of your own home.

My final thoughts on the album - Well, what do you think? - Omniscient is a testament to Desert Storm's talents for delivering another great album to impress people with. It sees the band turning into one the UK's finest Hard Rock/Stoner Metal Bands we currently have to offer at the moment. On this form, who is going to stop them? Omniscient is a must have album. Plain and simple.”

Desert Storm have kindly agreed to another interview with me. Can you believe my 4th interview with them over the years. You can read the previous interviews below.

Interview1, Interview 2, Interview 3

So if you want to find out about the history of the band then please read the other interviews. As this interview will be focusing on the last 8 months or so of life with this hard-rocking band. Matt (Vocals), Chris White (Guitar) and Ryan Cole (Guitar) are back to talk to us here at Sludgelord HQ.

Q1 – Hi guys. How are things with you all today.

Good thanks!

Q2 – So you're new album Omniscient is about to be released. So are you excited, nervous or thrilled what people are going to make of it.

Matt R - Bloody relieved to be honest. We've been sitting on this for too long.

Chris W - A mixture of all of them. Every new release is a bit of a jump into the unknown, a lot of people say that they don’t care about reviews or what people think, but really everyone does, you want to know that people enjoy what you produce!

Q3 – Was it a hard or easy album to write and record for. As you have a lot of different sounds going on with the album.

Chris W - We have taken that approach with all of the releases so far, so it’s something that we are constantly trying to tweak and refine to get the right balance, in some ways it gets easier as your experience grows, however you are constantly being exposed to new influences so there are always new things to work on!

Q4 – It's very different to your last album – Horizontal Life. It seems more focused and more driven. Though I still love Horizontal Life. It seems this album is where every song has a purpose with a beginning, middle and end. Was that your intentions before recording the album.

Chris W - We have to make sure every song has a purpose, really that has to be the aim before every release. It’s very difficult because different people will respond and identify with different tracks, you can only hope that find the album as a whole pleasing to listen to and that they find something of value in the whole piece.

Matt R - A small criticism with Horizontal Life was that it was too long, so before hitting the studio we decided on the best songs to feature on Omniscient. We have loads of material and in the past we might have recorded whatever was most ready, this time we thought about the cohesiveness and what we wanted to present. The track ordering is more clean-cut on Omniscient too.

Q5 – What things did you do differently when recording the album. It has a more sombre and heartfelt feel compared to your previous albums.

Chris W - We recorded it all in one go in the period of about a week, on previous releases the process had been stretched over several months depending on our various other commitments. I think doing it in one period has given more coherency to the sound and feel, plus we were considerably more road worn by that point so plenty more real life experiences to draw on!

Q6 – What influenced you when writing and recording the album.

Matt R - There are so many different subject matters coming across in Omniscient, some are bluntly put ideologies and some are lore-ish tales. We have an appreciation for so much that it's difficult to list.

Ryan C - We all listen to lots of music, a lot a bands from the 70's...the classic rock stuff to the sludge/doom/stoner stuff.

Q7 – This is a question for Matt. Matt – your vocals are very different compared to your other albums. On Home – your vocals are more sombre and heartfelt. Whilst on Queen Reefer and Horizon I felt you were venturing into more extreme vocal territory compared to your earlier releases. Did you want to something different on this album. What preparation did you put yourself through when recording the vocals for the album.

Matt R - To be honest I wanted something new and old for Omniscient. Recently I've been thinking what else can be done with my vocals. After spending so long twisting and contorting them to produce the low end gravelly barks, it's been interesting to experiment with new techniques. We'll leave it up to the listeners to decide what works! I actually had a stinking cold during our time in the studio which worked really well for some of the more guttural sections. For the most part we started with getting the cleaner stuff down so I didn't ruin my voice too early before moving on to the throat shredding vocals. In terms of prep, it was practising thoroughly and warming up. Vocal pastels, water and proper food. I smoked whilst recording Horizontal Life too which didn't make it easy. All lyrics to hand in the studio for reference and generally a cleaner or more professional approach to being in the booth.

Q8 – Why did you choose the name Omniscient for the title of your album.

Matt R - I didn't. Can't even pronounce it.

Ryan C - well we had a few ideas, I personally think the best idea was 'Shield' but Benoist was was like 'oh people will think it's a gulf war reference'...we get that a lot anyway, so I don't know why he was so bothered really....in the end the other album names were pretty shit, so we all thought this was the best we had, and the meaning of the word is pretty cool too.

Q9 – So the album is being released on DD/CD via Blindsight Records. Was it an easy decision to go with Blindsight once again to release the album. Did you have any other offers from labels to release your album.

Matt R - Blindsight worked really hard for us on Horizontal Life so we decided to work with them again. We have a good working relationship and we're pleased that they've taken on Omniscient.

Ryan C - Yeah Umair at Blindsight is a good guy!

Q10 – Though the album will be released on Vinyl through Secret Law Records later in 2015. Can you give us more details about the Vinyl release.

Ryan C - The Vinyl will be a limited run of 300 and will be released on Secret Law Records on Sun 28th April which is when we perform at Desertfest!

Q11 - How important is a physical product to your band being either CD or Vinyl. As some bands are relying on Digital Downloads for their first release(s).

Ryan C - Very important, a lot of people still really like to buy a physical copy be it CD or Vinyl or tape cassette! Also very good for touring as bands rely on selling merch! I love to have a physical copy of my music.

Q12 – You recently completed a mega 2014 UK Tour with Karma To Burn. How did that go. Any funny or exciting stories you can tell us all. It was cool meeting up with you guys in Byker, Newcastle Upon Tyne. Awesome show you put on there.

Ryan C - Thanks, glad you liked it! It was a great tour!

Matt R - Thanks man! That was a slug of a tour as it was 18 dates back to back without a break. Afterwards we all agreed that it could be done again. Once you've survived a couple of weeks on it non stop, you know that you're ready for those longer stints. There were a couple of messy after party nights which were good fun! We almost left Chris W behind on the ferry coming back from the last show in Belfast, I think we were all fairly braindead by that point.. Was great seeing our extended families all around the UK too.

Q13. It seems you have a great friendship with Karma To Burn as you have done previous tours with them over the years. And another short UK tour coming up in April 2015. Have they provided you with any advice or words of wisdom.

Chris W - We have a good friendship with them apart from me and Will. Will hates me and reminded me on a daily basis, it was so relentless I still can’t used to walking into a room and not have him stood there ready to tell me to fuck off. I miss it in a weird way.

Q14 – I know you all have day jobs away from Desert Storm. How hard is it combining the two. It must be hard especially when you have to tour and promote your new album.

Chris W - Touring is our holiday! Every spare minutes we have goes into the band in some way, be it writing, organising, promoting, gigging, rehearsing.

Matt R - It's all down to time management and knowing what we can realistically accomplish in our time off. All our holidays go on the band, weekend shows are no problem, midweek shows are possible but a little more difficult etc. Again, we've pushed it to the extremity before by doing UK tours while working (RE: Nashville Pussy, Honky...) It just results in brief sleep deprivation and exhaustion. We're in agreement that you only live once and we should make the most of being able to while we're still in our 20s.

Q15 – The UK Hard Rock/Stoner/Doom/Sludge Metal Scene is probably more vibrant than ever with tons of great bands starting to appear. Have you noticed this yourselves or do you just focus doing your own thing.

Matt R - Totally, there's such a community for this kinda music in the UK now. It's here in a big way and there's no denying it.

Q16 – Which bands/artists are currently rocking your world. Any bands would you like to recommend to our readers.

Ryan C - I think there are some awesome bands coming out of south Wales - Suns of thunder, Vails, Prosperina, Sigiriya, Hark. Our mates in Mother Corona rock too! Bands like Conan & Bast seem to be getting a lot of recognition too, both great!

Q15 – What is your musical setup when playing live or recording new material. Do you have an advanced setup or basic setup.

Chris W - Live is very basic, usually just guitars straight into amps with very few if no effects. It’s a direct hard hitting sound that’s also practical, there’s just less to go wrong! In the studio there is quite a bit more experimentation as you have time and space to do things there that you could really do live, unless you are playing really large venues.

Q16 – What is the song-writing dynamic in the band. Is it down to one individual or a group collective.

Ryan C - It usually starts around a riff that Chris or myself will write, and we kind of take it from there, jamming and seeing what else happens, and Matt usually writes lyrics to the music....he used to write lyrics in his own time before the music was written, I also felt this worked well lyrically.

Chris W - We will each bring pieces that we have written, then as a group arrange it into a song structure. It remains a very open process so that we don’t have one person walk in and say “This is how it’s going to be”.

Q17 – A question for Ryan. You are involved with Buried In Smoke Promotions. How is that going at the moment. I see you are promoting the tour with Dutch Space Rockers – Monomyth and the forthcoming UK Tour with Karma To Burn. Do you have any other exciting tours coming up. Plus how hard is it running the promotions company in today's UK musical scene.

Ryan C - Yeah got some real cool stuff coming up, we have tours for Karma To Burn, Monomyth (NL), WhiskeyDick and shows booked for Electric Eel Shock (JPN) and Conan! Lots of good stuff in the pipeline, going very well this year it seems. I don't think it's too difficult, but there is always a risk financially! I can be frustrating when bands agents don't reply too. But me and Elliot both really enjoy booking bands we love to listen to and see play ourselves. Find us on facebook to keep on top of the gigs/tours - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Buried-In-Smoke-Promotions/152851731433057

Q18 – Before you go do you have anything to say to your fans.

Ryan C - Cheers for the support, see you at a show!

Matt R - Thanks for all your support and for coming out to the shows, you make it all the more meaningful.

Well guys thanks for this. All the best with your new album, vinyl release and forthcoming tours. I am hoping to see you guys on the tour. Thanks again.

Desert Storm – Thank You!

I want to thank Matt, Chris and Ryan for taking the time out to talk to us again at Sludgelord HQ. We are huge fans of these guys. Their new album Omniscient is available to buy now from Blindsight Records and all good stockists. The Vinyl of Omniscient will be available to buy from Secret Law Records from April 2015.

Words by Steve Howe and Desert Storm.

For More Information

Official

Facebook

BandCamp