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Interview to TROMATIZER (France)

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1. Hello dear friends, pleasure to have you on Rotten Pages ´zine. How are you doing today? Let us set the scene first. Where do we find you right now? Please describe your surroundings.

Shatoncator : Thank you for your interest in us. To be honest with you, this is ou first interview and we are honored that South America is offering us this first opportunity.


Totone Mother Fucker : I’m currently working on new compositions for our first album.


Jason Choucroute : I drink beers while waiting for my sidekicks to finish the compositions so I can add my touch.


2. You started in 2019. When you think back to your beginnings today, what has changed since then?

Shatoncator : My voice. I worked hard to make it sound like what I had in mind. Because initially I’m a guitarist/bassist and not a singer. We can also add the line-up which has evolved a lot in 5 years. By the way we are welcoming a new member: Sam, as our bassist. Info in preview.


Totone Mother Fucker : We have acquired a certain band cohesion by playing together because we all have different musical backgrounds. I had to adapt my game, very influenced by Black Metal (I was the guitarist of Animius Herilis and Nefastt…), to our current style.


Jason Choucroute : Being more used to a punk/heavy game, I progressed in a more Thrash/Crossover game. And Tromatizer allowed me to improve myself in pure composition (Now I write my own scores).


3. As an independent artist, what challenges have you faced in bringing your unique vision to life and reaching a wider audience? And how have you overcome those challenges?

Shatoncator : Always the line-up; I think that the biggest challenge for a band that is forming, is to find members who share the same vision of the project. The difficulty also of finding band cohesion without there being a battle of egos. For me, a band must fonction in a democratic way and not just a frontman surrounded by musicians. In Tromatizer everyone has a say. This is also why in the credits we insisted that Tromatizer be the composing member and not a particular member.


Totone Mother Fucker : Being the oldest in the band, the biggest challenge is to hold on despite my canonical age. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to hold my neck and play without my glasses.


Jason Choucroute : For my part, I have great moments of doubt. Being very demanding of myself. Recording th E.P. allowed me to regain confidence in my playing. Beer may have something to do with it.


4. What prompted you to explore “50s-80s cinema”, and how do you feel it enhances the overall musical experience

Totone Mother Fucker : This films are the source of all my imagination. They accompanied me throughout my teen years. Plus I’m old enough to have seen a lot of them at the cinema.


Jason Choucroute : My first trauma was watching E.T. (thanks Steven Spielberg for your fucking children’s films), which my brother forced me to watch (thanks Shatoncator!!!!!). Later I came across Friday the 13th 3D, especially the scene where Jason takes off his mask after being hanged. I didn’t sleep all night (thanks again Shatoncator…). Then as I grew up I learned to love this very varied cinematographic genre.


Shatoncator : For my part, what pushed me into this concept comes from a simple observation, music is an important if not the essential element of any good horror movies. Furthermore, it can be noted that rock as a whole is a genre closely linked to horror cinema. Let’s take as an example Italien genre cinema such as Phenomena by Dario Argento wich includes in its soundtrack Mötorhead and Iron Maiden. On the other hand, we can quote the music of John Carpenter or the italian band The Goblins who in turn influenced many metal bands. For our part, we have simply decided to fully embrace this lineage without having the pretention of saying that we are the first to do so.


For me, the choice of film extracts that we finds in our music is as important as the composition of the music and the lyrics. I think with Tromatizer we have the opposite process of a Film director, we establish the atmosphere of our songs through film extracts.

5. Can you name some of the bands who you first really admired and helped shape your future in music?

Totone Mother Fucker : Big question. We’re very eclectic in terms of music.I began my musical adventure with genres as varied as punk and its derivatives, then came metal of all genres. If I have to name a few bands, I would say Mercyful Fate, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Sepultura, Kreator…Nothing very original…


I would also like to add the whole South American Thrash/Black scene with Sarcofago, Overdose...


Shatoncator : I would have a bit of the same answer as Totone Mother Fucker, with a few variations. But I can say that for Tromatizer my biggest influences are more to be found in American Hardcore Punk from the 80s such as Dead Kennedy’s, Genetic Control among many others. D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) and Anthrax are the bands that made me want to make music. I would like to add an honorable mention for traditional Native American music (from the North and South America).


Jason Choucroute : I wanted to make music because of, or thanks to The Offspring’s album Americana. The 80s Heavy/Speed metal scene influences my playing a lot. I also really like the English punk scene of the 80s. Finally, I would also like to mention my admiration for the new wave of Crossover groups (Municipal Waste, Cross Examination, etc.) and Street Punk (The Casualties, Acidez, etc.).


6. Your music has been described as thrash with elements of crossover. How do you balance these two different influences to create a cohesive sound?

Shatoncator : In my opinion it’s the opposite. For me, we play Crossover with Thrash influences. The nuance is subtle but it must be made. We’re not good enough to do Thrash metal. During the creative process, we don’t ask ourselves the question. We compose riffs free from all genre constraints. Then we talk about it together to make everything coherent.


Jason Choucroute : For my part, I compose the main elements of the track at home and then we see together during rehearsals to homogenize and diversify my playing.


7. Let´s talk about your debut EP “Sticky Wigs”. Were there any elements of the recording that proved particularly troublesome?

Shatoncator : For the recording of Sticky Wigs, we recorded at Subway Studio which is actually my basement, we had a few scares. We had finished all the instrumental parts, when a handling error caused us to erase "Hard Sleep on Elm Street". Fortunately, we were able to recover it. This is the most distressing event of this session for me.


Totone Mother Fucker : For me, it was the choice of mixes that was the most difficult.


8. Are there any kind of particular points of inspiration for these 08 tracks that you would like to discuss?

Shatoncator : In Tromatizer, each song corresponds to a film or film series. We try to transcribe the particularity of these and insert a social critic when it’s possible. But I must admit that when dealing with slasher movies it's not always easy unless you have reactionary ideas from another time such as « no sex before marriage» or «it's not good to drinking alcohol and smoking drugs». Things we absolutely disagree with.


9. When you write music, is it a group thing or is there someone who writes all the music and someone writing the lyrics individually.

Shatoncator : A bit of both. Overall, it's Totone Mother Fucker and I who compose all of the music each on our own, then later we come together so that everyone can give their opinion or even add their touch to the tracks. We must still mention the contribution of our former bassist and guitarist, Scotch (Senons, Nefastt) and Alexis (Singer of Death Decline) on the tracks "Massacre", "Sticky Wigs" and "Hard Sleep..." on the E.P.


Regarding the lyrics, they only come from my troubled brain.


10. How has the reception been for your music so far? Have there been any standout moments or memorable experiences you'd like to share?

Shatoncator : Overall since the release of the EP we have had pretty positive reviews. It's quite encouraging to see the people who follow us and listen to us on various social networks. It makes you want to continue and progress.


The most memorable moments are when people come up to me at the end of shows to give me the list of movies our songs are about.


Jason Choucroute : My most memorable moment was during a concert in Switzerland where we arrived late. We had to do the installation and the balance very quickly. So I didn't have time to smoke a last cigarette and drink my pre-concert beer. I had to do the whole show with a dry mouth, not great!!!


Totone Mother Fucker : I really like the contact with the public at the end of each concert.

11. How does the band's live performance translate the intensity and energy of your music to the stage?

Shatoncator : I don't think (or at least I hope) that there is a real difference between rehearsals and live performances. We try to give the best of ourselves every time. Under no circumstances do we like to do things half-heartedly.


To be honest, we haven't had the opportunity to have a very substantial live experience yet. We still certainly have things to improve.


12. How do you define “underground” and where do you see yourself and your band in it?

Shatoncator : The term underground is used a bit loosely these days. It has lost a lot of its meaning because it has almost become a marketing argument.


Regarding Tromatizer, we record our misdeeds in my basement. Difficult to do more underground.


Totone Mother Fucker : I don't ask myself the question. It's more up to the people who listen to our music to decide if we're underground or not. In the end it doesn't matter much as long as I am satisfied with my work within the group.


Jason Choucroute : I associate the term underground with the term old school. History has shown us that the more popularity a group gains, the further they move from the underground. But that's just my opinion.


13. The French metal scene is quite varied and strongly represented throughout several genres. How would you explain this large creative output and in such a variety of styles?

Shatoncator : At first glance, France is not really a land of metal, strictly speaking. When we look at the greatest French hits, we are more likely to be talking about variety or rap. Despite this, France hosts one of the biggest metal festivals, Hellfest. But I will say that metal is tending to become more popular, Gojira at the opening of this year's Olympics is proof of that.


It is difficult for us French to grasp this variety, even if we tend to agree with you. But I'm not sure it's not the same in other countries.


I think everyone plays the music they like while adding their personal touch, which can explain this variety of styles.


14. How is the mood in France these days concerning cooperation between musicians and the relationship between musicians and audience?

Jason Choucroute : I think we still lack the perspective to have a global vision. But from what I've seen, the relationships between musicians are pretty good. The public is quite receptive to our performances. It's all good.


Shatoncator : I tend to agree with Jason Choucroute. But I still feel a certain stupid rivalry between bands. What a pity, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. We don't care, the important thing is to make music.


Concerning the French public, they can be quite demanding , and some might be a little dishonest sometimes. (this is a bit characteristic of french people). But they are also loyal and caring.


15. In your humblest opinion, do you favor streaming music digitally or prefer buying physical copies of cd’s, tapes and vinyls?

Totone Mother Fucker : In my opinion, both are important. Digital media allows you to distribute your music on a larger scale without the constraints of money. But as an old collector I remain very attached to the physical medium, because besides the music the object also allows you to immerse yourself in the univer sof the band.


Shatoncator : Totally agree with Totone Mother Fucker. I remain very attached to vinyl and tapes. Same thing for cinema, I still watch my films on V.H.S.


Jason Choucroute : I’ll be a little more nuanced because for a few years now I have tended to consume my music digitally. It takes up less space.


16. Last but not least, what are your biggest hopes for the upcoming year? What do we need more of, and what do we need less of?

Shatoncator : We hope to continue to progress, in order to offer the best possible album. Continue the live performances to introduce our music to as many people as possible. And why not come and cause trouble in your regions.


As for our needs, nothing special; Drinking beer, listening to music, watching movies about people slaughtering stupid teenagers. The best way of life...


On the other hand, we no longer need bankers, politicians and, in all, people who think they know better than us. Fuck them all !!!


17. Thank you all so much for taking the time to chat with us. Honestly, it means a lot! Your last words.

Shatoncator : Thank you too, it was a real pleasure for us to answer your questions. Once again, we are particulary sensitive to the South America public. We have many friends who come from your contries and we know that you are a passionate public.


Totone Mother Fucker : Thank you very sincerely for being sensitive to our work. I hope that listening to Sticky Wigs brings you as much satisfaction as we had producing it.


Jason Choucroute : Thank you, hoping that you like our music. We hope to be able to come to your region to inject you with a dose of Tromatizer.



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