Infected Brain

Present yourself to the readers

Hello Hugues, thanks for having me! Hertz Kankarok is my nickname, as well as the name of an unconventional extreme metal solo project which I started about six years ago. At that time I had a couple of riffs and ideas that were waiting to take the shape of songs. Finding the right people to start a band with can be hard, so I opted for a solo project. Since I can only sing, and can’t play any instrument, I asked my close friend Dario Laletta to arrange, record and produce Hertz Kankarok’s first EP, 2015’s “Livores.” In a similar way we worked on our second release, “Make Madder Music,” a 4-song EP we published a couple of weeks ago on Bandcamp. Once again, Dario took care of the production and the mixing, and arranged one of the songs as well, while the other three songs were arranged by the talented Andrea Cavallaro.

Your texts and your compositions?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?

Inspiration can hit me any moment and basically any way. It normally starts with a single musical idea I have in mind – it can be a melody, a rhythmic pattern, a riff. Then, working on my laptop, I develop this initial input adding other elements and further ideas, making changes and corrections, eventually giving shape to a whole song. While the song structure grows, I think about a lyrical topic that may fit with the music’s atmosphere. When I write lyrics I take inspiration from a pretty wide range of sources, mainly books I read, and I usually talk about the human condition, life and death, our common fears, our doubts, trying to use a poetic and somehow philosophic language. This is just my part of the job, but of course the extraordinary work Dario and Andrea did on top of my ideas was as crucial and important as the ideas themselves.

Are you day or night ?

I believe everybody has both a diurnal and a nocturnal side. I am from Sicily, Southern Italy; I am in love with the sun. Nevertheless, my music is dark and nocturnal, so my answer is night – night with some gleams of daylight.

What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?

To make it short, I am a metalhead who grew up in the 90s. My main influences are all the incredible metal bands, especially European, that thrived from the late 80s to the early 2000s. Just to name a few, bands such as Tiamat, Moonspell, Emperor, Satyricon, Meshuggah, Cradle of Filth, and American bands such as Slayer, Type O Negative, Fear Factory, Cannibal Corpse, etc. However, I listen to lot of different stuff, from Nick Cave to Fields of the Nephilim, from Björk to Devil Doll, from Mr. Bungle to Diamanda Galás… I love dark, odd and melancholic music.

What's your top 5 albums of all time ?

This is a tough question! I should name at least twenty… I will try to mention only albums that have had a really big impact on my life and the music I write. In no particular order: Metallica’s self-titled album, known as The Black Album (had it not been for this one, I would have never started listening to heavy metal in the first place); Moonspell’s Irreligious; Meshuggah’s Destroy Erase Improve; Arcturus’ La Masquerade Infernale; Celtic Frost’s To Mega Therion.

In studio, what was the ambiance for the album MAKE MADDER MUSIC ?...etc.…

We recorded the instruments in different places, not in the same studio. However, during the arrangements and the pre-production the atmosphere was great, and so was the understanding between the three of us. Dario and Andrea are amazing musicians, it is a pleasure to work with people like them. Also, when I recorded vocals with Dario, in his studio, I can tell you there were plenty of hilarious moments.

How does it work for the design of the CD (It’s very great) ? and why this title ?

The cover is an impressive work of art that a close friend of mine and great artist, Gianlorenzo Di Mauro, created on purpose for the album. The layout, instead, has been designed by the incredibly talented Azmeroth Szandor, founder and guitarist of the black metal band Heretical. The title comes from one of Aleister Crowley’s poems. As soon as I stumbled upon these three words I realised they were the perfect match for the title. They embody and summarise the goal I tried to pursue with this release: making madder music.

Did you find a label ? If yes, how do you made the research ?

No, we haven’t found a label yet. It could be useful to collaborate with someone who could take care of the promotion, but today it is complicated to find good and fair conditions.

With Management and booking, how do you work ? And with whom ?

No management and no booking agency. We are a very underground project. Furthermore, for the time being we cannot play live due to the fact I live abroad and I travel quite a lot because of my job. I hope playing live will be part of Hertz Kankarok’s future, anyway.

What do you expect from the future ?

I don’t have that many projects or expectations. First of all, I wish to find a little audience that could appreciate our weird stuff. Then, I would also like to find a label, as I was telling before, in order to get some promotion and maybe print some physical copies of “Make Madder Music.” Whatever happens, my main goal is to go on writing, recording and releasing my music. The next step will probably be our first full-length album, on which I have already started to work.

What's your motto ?

Being who we are, we have not other solution to life than making madder music.

Website to remember

You can find Hertz Kankarok on Bandcamp and Facebook:
https://hertzkankarok.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/hertzkankarokofficial

What would you like to say to the readers ?

If you are a fan of experimental metal and you like dark, horror and melancholic atmospheres, check our music out! After all the effort we have made, it would be great to know somebody is enjoying our stuff. Thanks for the interview, Hugues, and rock on!