Recently I had chat with Helder vocalist for Portuguese Industrial death metal Band Uivo Bastardo they recently released “Clepsydra” a really great debut album which we briefly mentioned in our May release article (https://crannk.com/crannks-mayhem-metal-release-picks/ ).And have also just released a new lyric video for their Refugio track, check out the interview and go Crannk up some Uivo Bastardo.
Helder Raposo vocal powerhouse for Portuguese Industrial/death metal band Uivo Bastardo thank you so much for making the time to go through a few questions for Crannk and myself Jai “That Aussie Metal Guy” I really do appreciate it.
Jai Q:First off the name Uivo Bastardo correct me if I am wrong the english translation is Howl Bastard how’d ya come up with the name?
Helder A:Hi, and thank you for this opportunity. Well the translation is not exactly that, actually it is Bastard Howl. The name kind of built itself with time, but when we got to this final decision, it made all the sense because I believe it is a good metaphor for the way we understand our own music and the lyrical ideal on its own. “Howl” because it is a kind of an urgent scream that comes from the guts, from within, and “bastard” because what propels that howl is a feeling of abandonment towards a human world to which it seems odd to belong to, as it is so paradoxical and hostile.
Jai Q: Can you tell me a little about yourselves Who are Uivo Bastardo and how would you describe your sound?
Helder A: We are a band of five elements, connected by the same goal of developing a sound that is not reduced nor confined to stylistic labels. For us it is interesting to assume an eclectic posture within the plot of hard rock and metal, because there so many borders worth exploring.
Concerning our sound’s description, we summarize it as harsh and visceral rock, clamorously sung in Portuguese. It has industrial and electronic elements, but these elements are an adornment because our sound is, above all, intense and organic.
Jai Q:How did Uivo Bastardo form?
Helder A: Actually, the concept comes from a little far behind, because we had already tried to make things happen with other people and other musical approach. However, due to different circumstances it ended up not being completely achieved. André and I have been the remaining survivors of that first experience and after being the last two standing, we decided that we didn’t want to rebuild the band. Instead we opted for contacting David to be the producer of the record, since we already had the sketches of the songs. He produced, recorded, arranged and composed together with us and only later did David end up joining the band as a drummer. Also, later Paulo and João joined the formation of our band as bass and guitar players. During the recording process, we also counted with other session musicians.
Jai Q: How and when did you get into playing music?
Helder A: In my case, it goes back to 1993, when my interest in metal (mainly trash metal) had just begun. At a certain point I had the opportunity to be the lead vocalist of a band’s friend from school. I enjoyed the experience and for three years I had some garage bands, but none had any continuity. Then, I stopped for about 8 years and I only returned in 2004, when I joined the industrial rock band Kronos. We split up in 2010 and only in 2014 did I come back with the wish of achieving something much more serious, more powerful and with more quality.
Jai Q: How’d you first get into heavy metal?
Helder A: When I was a teenager, I didn’t even have any special taste for metal. I listened to some random things, but I had other interests. Only when I turned 17 some enthusiasm for Metallica started to grow and from that time on, I got curious to know more things, specially more heavier ones. I started with trash and then my taste for death metal, doom, gothic and industrial got spread.
Jai Q: Clepsydra is the debut release for Uivo Bastardo how did you approach the song writing and song creation on this album?
Helder A: It was a process with different speeds and transformations. First, it was meant to be a follow up of Kronos, but at a certain moment we wanted it to sound less electronic and heavier and that led us to various experiments, some by curiosity and others by necessity. By necessity, because some elements, and mainly the guitar player left, which drive us to try and build a sound without guitar. But after many experiments of try and error a certain sound unit was built and with conditions to thrive. As I told you the band was somehow splitting up and we opted to find the person that would know how to interpret the path of transformation we wanted to reach. We had the ideas, the basic structures and the concepts, but we needed to achieve all this with competence and clarity. Because we had found the right person, everything worked as we ambitioned. It meant hard work and it took a while, but the objective was fully achieved.
Jai Q:The album is in Portuguese and I feel it cuts across language barriers and is an absolute great listen do you feel the same way?
Helder A: Yes. I believe the language barrier it’s not an absolute obstacle. The way you interpret and the intention of what you are saying being coherent with the sound, guarantees the essential for those who want to feel the music as an experience of emotional impact.
For that precise reason I don’t think that a language which is not known by a lot of people would be a hindrance or a reason for less quality, even because there are phonetic and metric aspects that are very interesting in other languages and are inexistent in English. Now… it is obvious that the most subtle aspects of the most “poetic” messages can be lost for those who are not natives of the language. Portuguese is an extremely beautiful, rich and powerful language and personally, I do not intend to abdicate the virtues and possibilities it offers.
Jai Q: Ignífero is one of my favourite tracks can you tell me a little about that track?
Helder A: It is also a song that I relate a lot to. It started from a simple “loop”, but it didn’t take time to grow and develop into other possibilities. I wrote the lyrics’ essential very quickly, but I only finished it as the song’s structure gained some ground. It is a piece that speaks about lust and voraciousness, based on the combustion’s imaginary and the fusion of matter and bodies.
Jai Q: If you had to pick one track off the album which one would it be and why?
Helder A: I always hesitate between the two last tracks, but maybe I feel more tempted to choose Fuga Mundi. It has a doom cadence that gives it a lot of structure and the electronic/industrial arrangements are very good. Lyrically, it is probably the track that best embraces the record’s transversal message: the need to flee from the world because it has disappointed us with its oppressive and smothering reality.
Jai Q:Can you tell us a little about the recording and production process on the album?
Helder A: We did all the work in the Malwaresoundstudios and the whole process was excellent, mainly because David is a great producer, a very enlightened and competent musician and above all, a drummer of excellence, an elite one. And I am not exaggerating as I already knew the work he develops with his other band, Concealment. Because he is very versatile, he knows how to handle the technical quality with the music requirements and this way developing the best solutions to the sound in question and favoring the final result. Besides all this, his personal commitment and dedication are not easy to find. We took the time we were meant to. The spirit of partaking was excellent and the competence to build the best musical solutions was exemplary.
Jai Q:What have Uivo Bastardo got going on at the moment and into the rest of 2019 any shows coming up or anything like that?
Helder A: Our ultimate and more defined goal is woking together to stand our ground and make a stand. We want to play and record other records. We are now getting ready to start playing from the last trimester of this year on. Our national circuit is unfortunately small, but we want to seize the good opportunities that will surge (probably in some relevant musical festivals) to show our work and our performance in a way that is totally faithful to the quality standards we want to see associated with our name.
Helder thank you so much mate.
“Clepsydra” released on May 13th via Etherealsoundworks Bandcamp Link
https://www.facebook.com/Uivo-Bastardo-299850960710972
https://www.facebook.com/etherealsoundworks
http://www.etherealsoundworks.com
Check out some of the other great interviews by the Crannk team at Interviews.
