A few questions - interview with TESTOSTERUINS - FEMALE FRONTED AFRICAN DEATH METAL
Ave, can you introduce your band to our readers? – When was it founded and what style of music do you play etc.?
Testosteruins is a death metal duo from both edges of the African continent (Tunisia & South Africa).
We mainly play the genre mentioned above but we keep exploring other territories.
Where and under what conditions were you recording the new album? Who was in charge of sound, production and mastering?
The new EP was recorded in 2 takes; first the instrumentals then the vocals. One year separated producing both parts. Sound and production are being taken care of by Heny Maatar (a k a Fusam), vocals were recorded by Jethro Harris at his home studio in Cape Town while mastering landed between the hands of Marius Krämer (a k a Bassinfected). This EP has been recorded in Tunisia and South Africa, mixed in Sweden and mastered in Germany, very collaborative indeed!
How many copies were released and which medium was used for this new edition (CD, digital, vinyl, cassette)?
This EP has a lot of untold secrets, one of them is that most material was written by Heny and his ex-band (ShallIShine) members in the years 2005, 2007 and 2008. So, initially it is considered to be more of a demo.
Due to the fact, we are intending to keep it digital (Bandcamp) only, with a handful of physical copies for close circles and promoters.
Who is the author of the lyrics and how were they created and about what do the lyrics deal with?
At first Heny opted for an original and collaborative way of writing lyrics (before Jo joins the project). Here is the form that was published to involve collaborators on the lyrical theme of the band.
Later on and due to the lack of feedback on the subject, Heny went on writing the lyrics himself while trying to get inspired by his different readings and observations.
The band´s name and its lyrical engagement are at the very core of universal anti-patriarchy.
Lazy limited minds would jump on simply sticking the label “feminist” on it, yet we are too busy to educate the masses (notably one of the most macho communities in music history).
The EPs tracklist songs successively tackles the subjects of: 01- Ira Sherman Injector (anti-rape device) 02- Child marriage 03- Homophobia 04- Toxic unsecure masculinity and machoism.
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?
All digital, graphic content and creation is made by Tunisian collective www.khorda.net
We are very aware of this digital age and the direction in which music and communication have been heading. We are very humble in our promotional ambitions and we opt for keeping a small community close enough to us and sharing the passion for this music as well as the intellectual humanistic endeavour behind it. Social networks and digital distribution are the rules with which the game is being played today, we compromise by partially adhering to the game, but we are mostly doing it our way.
Which label did you choose for releasing your album and why this label? Are you satisfied by how your label represents you and takes care about you?
I am sure that the readers of this interview are very aware of the titanic amount of bands in the world today, I would presume there are more bands than fans of most metal genres. In the other hand, the very notion and function of music labels is being questioned. For this simple beginning we chose to release things independently as we didn´t even bother soliciting any so-called label. At a later stage we might remain open for any added value a label could give.
Which bands do you idolise and where do you get your inspiration?
A whole universe of accumulated years of love for this music among many other genres.
Films, books and people play a great role inspiring us also.
Did you send your record to some Labels - which are the labels? How was the response?
No, we didn’t send anything to no label.
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?
We barely joined forces for a distance studio collaboration. We have no visibility in that direction. More than 14239 kilometers distances Heny (based now in Sweden) from Jo (South Africa). We keep producing and creating what we love at home for now.
What about your plans for the future? What do you want to achieve with the band?
More music, more fun, more broken skulls…
How and where can your fans contact you? Can you provide some contact information?
Through the contact form at the bottom of our website: www.testosteruins.com
We really love receiving personal feedback and communicating with the world.
Thanx for the interview.
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