Interview with Tom, Jéjé and Benj | By Ryan Ogle
“Either people are socially successful and thus egocentric or they’re social slaves at the bottom of the ladder, waiting for a miracle to change their lives,” says Mumakil bassist Benj Droz. “Either way the result is general apathy, so I would say we’re pretty doomed. And so are flies. And the rest…”
Droz’s outlook on society’s current state, while bleak, is not unfounded if you take a good look around. Day in and day out, the soft glow of our television set beams an array of human depravities straight into our sponge-like brains. Like hogs from a trough, we suck down every last drop until our bellies are so full; we vomit the aforementioned apathy back onto our own plates, only to dig right back in and wash it all down with a Super-Sized glass of Kool-Aid. For many, the cycle remains unbroken. Others, however, avert their gaze from the glow and ingest the constant stream of man’s inhumanity to man not as sustenance, but as a source of inspiration. The four grind-minded musicians of the Swiss warbeast known as Mumakil are among those “others.” The band’s newest full-length assault, Flies Will Starve, shoves the jagged-edges of a broken mirror in the faces of the indifferent and screams warnings of an ominous fate in their ears. On some levels, this is more a prophecy than an album. “It’s very pessimistic,” adds Droz.
The band’s first long-player since 2009’s Behold the Failure, which saw Mumakil become a recognized and respected member of the global grindcore community, Flies Will Starve is the sonic equivalent to the six-o’clock world news report. Twenty-four tracks of relentless intensity leave bricks and bones crumbled into dust. Faces melt and flesh chars as the band launches a nuclear assault of punked-out, blastbeat-riddled, anarchic grind. You might want to turn away from the bloodied mess of twisted steel and severed limbs, but like any good scene of devastation, the wreckage commands your full attention span. For 35 minutes, Mumakil owns you and their message, according to Droz, is clear, “let all these assholes know that we hate them.”
Did you hear that assholes? You undoubtedly did given the tinnitus-inducing production, courtesy of guitarist and co-founder Jéjé who recorded and mixed the album in the band’s home studio. Anything but a traditional studio, Mumakil headquarters, which features “no aeration, shitty lights, no WC (bottled urine everywhere),” provides all of the creature comforts a group of young, pissed-off DIY lads need to work their magic. That ‘at-home’ feeling was particularly important for Flies Will Starve given the amount of obstacles the band had to overcome during the album’s creation. Vocalist Tom elaborates, “Originally we intended to record Flies Will Starve much earlier but we had to deal with several unexpected issues. First of all, Mumakil’s original bass player Taverne left the band by the end of 2010 because of personal motivations.”
While the boys quickly found a suitable replacement in Benj Droz, founding drummer Seb was taken out of action due to persisting problems from a wrist injury. Periods of rest and even surgery were ultimately ineffective and the drummer eventually took his leave. Much of the material on the album was written with a drum machine while Seb rested and rehabbed his injuries, but the drummer was able to hold on long enough to be a part of the recording. “We had just finished the recording,” recalls Jéjé. “The European tour with Afgrund was already planned and everything was crumbling down.” Making the decision to step down in the interest of his health, Seb recommended Benighted basher Kevin Foley, who stepped in and learned over 30 tunes in three sessions before hitting the road as Mumakil’s new blast-master.
With this new lineup intact and on point, Mumakil 2013 threatens to be a more ferocious beast than anyone could have imagined. Over the coming months, the band is looking forward to spreading the hate across the globe via their frenzied live performance. That is, of course, if any of us live long enough to make the show. Jéjé has his doubts… “When everything’s dead and dry, even the flies will end up starving to death. And our future doesn’t look bright…”
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Purchase Flies Will Starve here:
Physical | iTunes
