Tranzine | Zumbi do Mato

ZUMBI DO MATO is one of the few rock bands in the world that has no guitar in its lineup! The band has two albums (the first, "Menorme," and the most recent, "Pesadelo na Discoteca" - this interview was conducted during the "Menorme" era), and the lyrics are, let's say, super profound... Read this interview with the vocalist Löis Lancaster and learn a little more about the most alternative band from Rio de Janeiro!

TAGS: bands, interview, music, rock, underground, videos

“DKANDLE weaves swirling multi-colored vibrant unearthly soundscapes, blending fuzzy and reverberating Shoegaze textures, mesmerizing Dream Pop meditations, sludgy Grungey tones and moody Post-punk strains, heightened with soul-stirring lyricism and pensive emotive vocalizations.”

TRANZINE - Yesterday I was watching Underclip on NET and saw a clip of yours, it was full of carnage! What the fuck was that???

LÖIS - It's the clip for the song "Zumbi do Mato," in which we wanted to pay homage to trash horror movies, and I think we ended up making something even more trashy! The production was done by Christian, our official clipmaker, with the help of the Cinema students from UFF, where he (and I) studied, and where Cid, the former drummer of Gangrena Gasosa, who took care of the special effects, also studied. Fun fact: the assistant director, Clarissa, was later photographed by me and is the girl who releases the bat-fairy on the CD cover :)

TRANZINE - Who writes the lyrics? Where does the inspiration come from?
LÖIS - We all write the lyrics, some in collaboration, others come from each one's poetic impressionism! Who's never had a Zombie thought in life, like... "uh, if I fart while pooping in this studio apartment bathroom, the girl eating dulce de leche outside will vomit and it will drip here, so let me lift my pants a little so I don't touch the floor..."? Well... the difference is that we seize that, recycle it, and put it on the CD, where anyone who comes into contact at least keeps their hands clean!

TRANZINE - Lois, what's your relationship with Renato Russo? You remind me of him! (lol)
LÖIS - I don't know, but someone already told me that I have part of the family from Brasília, my great-grandfather was from there, so there's a chance of a relationship indeed. I hope I have some right to inheritance, who knows, maybe the position of vocalist when Legurb returns...

TRANZINE - And about your first CD, was it hard to record, did it take long to come out? Tell us how it happened:
LÖIS - Yes, we owe everything to the only people who had the courage to release us, Formigão and BNegão. They created a record label with the goal of giving a chance to those who would NEVER be accepted by other labels, and who was the first group they thought of? BINGO! The recording was quick, 2 days. We recorded all the bases at the same time (although one song at a time), the mixing (handled by Alex Frias, who knows EVERYTHING about effects and even played the Bouzouki - a Greek string instrument that Zappa plays while Jean-Luc Ponty plays a five-string violin on "Canard Du Jour" from the album "Shut Up'n Play Yer Guitar") and mastering were fast, but we had to wait for some money for pressing, which ended up happening only a year later.

TRANZINE - Tell us about the history of the band, when it started, how you met each other, and so on.
LÖIS - Zé Felipe founded the band, which stemmed from the unsuccessful idea of making a horror movie with the same name. So they started putting music to unfunny jokes, people laughed, went to the shows, I joined as the vocalist, then I left, and Fumê came in. I met Zé through Tullio, a drummer who mimicked Neil Peart on an imaginary drum kit since he didn't have one. Marlos met Zé through me; we were going to start a band called "Ugly Guys Who Play Badly." Henrique already played with me in another band, which is still active, the Terrifying Elephants. I met Johnny, the Troublemaker, through the Garotos Podres. Ah, bad company!!

TRANZINE - What does "Menorme," the name of the CD, mean?
LÖIS - It's a fusion of the words "menor" (smaller) and "enorme" (enormous). Smaller because the songs (except one) are short, and enormous because there are many short songs! It's also a tribute to Leminski, who has a poem in which this word appears repeatedly: "I'm a poet that is menormenormenormenorme..."

TRANZINE - Has anyone ever been offended by the band's literary content?
LÖIS - Several people. And the worst part is that usually those who are offended have something to hide. We only hide, on the contrary, the part of smart motifs amidst the kidding, the puns with ideas from Heidegger and Nietzsche... these are a prize for those who would already enjoy the songs without knowing about this equally pointless intellectual part (yes, because what's the use of mentioning Being and Time to explain the mold on the back of your old pants?). It's even a counterpoint, suddenly people who would like the pure brainless stuff realize that sometimes there's a nugget there - it takes longer to digest when you swallow, but it still comes out the same shit in the toilet - And on top of that, we mess with Jabor, showing that he does the same thing, only to lick the ass of the national pederast who controls us.

TRANZINE - Have you won any awards, in any category?
LÖIS - I don't think so, just the title of worst band for several consecutive years, which gratifies us a lot :) The problem with awarding us in any category is knowing which category we would compete in!

ZUMBI DO MATO @ BANDCAMP:

zumbidomato.bandcamp.com