A few questions – interview with KANDAR
Ave, can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play , etc. ?
Kubýk: The band started around spring 2015 during an alcoholic assault with drummer Denis (Mincing Fury, Space Hamster). That happened after I joined Space Hamster as an guitarist. We found out that we love similar extreme music approach and started jamming. Our first songs were created and we found out, that this project has some more potential, than we thought before. So we decided to work on that and make a band (it had some different name before). After few songs we decided to find a singer, then legendary Topi (ex-Pigsty) came into our minds and we decided to ask him. We had to put there some effort (shots, wine, beer) but then our music did it‘s magic and he said yes!:-) Topi was the one, who gave the band it‘s name. That was somewhere around may or june 2015. We worked hard and after some concerts (starting July) we felt the absence of the 4th member. After some tries of different bass players, we had a party night with slovakian guy Martin. At 2 in the morning, I liked this guy so much, that I offered him to play in the band. Rehearsal next day and things were decided. Then we became Kandar at it‘s best :-)
Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?
Kubýk: We recorded in March 2016 Studio Davos in Vyškov (near our home Brno). The producer was Otyn (well known as ex-drummer of Pigsty), who is big professional and I enjoyed every second that I could spent together with him and the band working on our debut album :-) Otyn also did mastering and the sound is the real killer! And the cooperation was really great there, no stress, just fun and grind. And beer, of course.
How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
Kubýk: Album „Groovy“ went out only on CD format (but I hope for vinyl one day) in stocking 300 Cds. The selling goes well, so I think there will be some reprint in the future :-)
Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with ?
Kubýk: As me and Denis were mainly authors of the music, Topi is the singer and thus lyrics are fully his job. It‘s inspired by horror movies, because we love this genre of movies. Topi has chose movies based on atmosphere of the song and wrote lyrics, which (I believe) can recognise every lover of such cult horror movies, which are chosen on „Groovy“. We are not political nor social, we‘re more funny guys and there is a lot of bands, which we love, that are serious about what they want to say. Our approach is a bit differnet, but this is grindcore – no boundaries.
Who created the logo of the band, and who took care of the graphics and the website? What about you and social networks? Do you consider these things important?
Kubýk: Logo and the artwork for our first album was created by our good friend Miroslav Zapletal (www.art-zapletal.cz/en) and we are very thankful for his talent. We do not have website, we operate with social networks. These are very important for propagation of bands, whether you like it or don‘t. To have one pretty website, this is my dream for the future :-)
Anyway, the unusual and pretty art is important for sure. If you have interesting logo and artwork, it helps in sharing/buying the music or merchandise. Lot of people tell you „It‘s just music“. But how do you get intersted in something you don‘t know? Like it or not, visual IS important. So do live gigs.
Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takés care about you?
Kubýk: I could more say, that Bizarre Leprous took us :-) And I was very happy for that, because I knew that this label can do something good for Kandar, and this also happened. Roma Polacek is great person and I am very glad that he is presenting us into whole world, if we stood as band alone (or without supporting label), it would be much harder to achieve something. Thank Bizarre for everything!
Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?
Kubýk: I am not 11 to idolise someone like gods :-) We love a lot of music and lot of bands, especially me, I can go through all genres in one day and I don‘t feel weird about it at all. Grindcore is also inspirational, but for me, it‘s not the main source you know. This is one of the reason, what makes our music variable, I think. I love melodic music, emotional, raw, agressive, loud, silent. I like a lot of persons on czech/worldwide musical scene, but I can‘t say that someone is my God or idol anymore. They‘re all people. But very talented.
Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?
Kubýk: To be honest we didn‘t try that. When we did promo in Summer 2015 we just spread it over the internet and to our friends. We wanted them to know that we are going out with some music. We knew that Bizarre will do it even before we went to studio.
How many gigs have you played? Which type of gigs do you prefer, whether it's (clubs or festivals) and which of your performances would you consider as the best?
Kubýk: Well I think we player around 12-13 concerts since our beginning. I don‘t make differences between club/festival. Every gig is good, when there is good atmosphere and good technical background. Festival are good that you can be seen by a lots of people who don‘t even know you. I love playing clubs, when you are close to people, but when I stood on the stage at Obscene Extreme Festival 2016, it was like living a dream. This is gret. I love live playing – inside/outside does not matter, simply love it. Best concerts – our definite first one – which never happened – because Denis had some fecal problem :-) But honestly, most important and pretty good were release party at Antitrend Fest in Žabčice and OEF 2016 of course.
What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
Kubýk: Well, we start working on our second album, the wheels are unstoppable :-) We want to do more gigs out of our home town and get also into Europe and rest of the world, as far, as we can go! :-) It‘s my dream to see foreign countries and do some smashing grind there :-) Well and we would like to improve our skills as composers, players and as a band in general. We want to stay interesting.
How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?
Kubýk: Sure, it‘s no problem to leave us message on our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/kandarsicknhorrorgrindcore/ we usually answer within minutes. Then there is our band email: kandargrindcore@gmail.com. We access that email on daily basis, so there‘s a big chance to get answer within the day. You can also check http://bizarreleprousproduction.bandcamp.com/album/groovy to listen to our music. Thanks very much for support!
Thanx for the interview.
https://www.facebook.com/kandarsicknhorrorgrindcore/
https://kandarsicknhorror.bandcamp.com/
Full album k poslechu (here):
