ZAGORO MOJA
Ante Tešija
Hrvoje Bubić; Interview with Throe
Hrvoje Bubić
Photo by Anna Bogaciovas
Throe je glazbeni projekt iza kojeg stoji brazilski glazbenik Vinicius Castro. Za Solin Live govori o sebi, kao i o svome projektu
To begin with, please tell us what exactly Throe is.
Thanks for your interest in Throe’s music. It’s curious that you use the word “exactly” because for me, Throe isn’t something exact, you know. The term “throe” represents a pain so unique and intense that it’s impossible to put into words. I think that explains many things… haha. The idea of the band was born from the need to take these pains, anxiety and anger out of me and try to transform all of that into something and share it with whoever listens to it. I think it’s a way of turning what’s bad into something that gives meaning to these feelings. All of this appears in the sound, in the visual identity, in the album covers, in the song titles… I think that’s it. It’s something personal but shared collectively and that goes beyond the reasons why these songs are born. That’s why I don’t think it’s something exact. It’s something that relates to everyone who listens, it’s music for whoever wants it, and that’s why it has subjectivities, because each person who listens to them can give these songs the meaning they want.
How did the Throe project come about? What are the influences on Throe?
Musically, Throe incorporates some things of shoegaze, extreme metal, industrial metal, and electronic music from bands such as Sepultura, Jesu, Ministry, My Bloody Valentine, Darkthrone, The Cure among others. The idea of bringing Throe to life has been around for a while, but I never had found the right moment to make it happen. I have another band, Huey, and my dedication has always been to Huey. But in 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic, I felt that it was the moment to make Throe happen. Things took shape when I talked to João K. from a band called Test about doing something together. Something that sounded like Ministry, Pailhead, and things like that. I had some riffs and I put them all together and sent them to him and that’s how we recorded the “Odium” EP. I think this EP was somewhat responsible, in a positive way, for me to distance myself from everything I understood as the “rules” for being in a band: recording, playing shows, touring… you know? I don’t know… I think I started to see music and what it represents in a different way, maybe. Even though I had released two singles before, recording the EP was important to show me these many other possibilities for new things with Throe.
Could you tell us about the people who collaborated on Throe? One of them is Marco Nunes, who is a frequent guest on albums.
Sure! Brazil is full of talented people, and I feel lucky to have talented musician friends around. João from Test was the first to record with me. I had some riffs, and he had some others… Then he recorded vocals, bass, and some beats. Marco is also a old friend and an incredible producer! He mixed and mastered Throematism. It was also on this record that he recorded with me for the first time, on the title track. Things worked out so well and… So, I invited him to record bass on the O Enterro das Marés EP. The album covers were also collaborations with Alisson Louback, Thiago Minoru, Claudia Tavares, Rafa Nascimento, and the photos are by Anna Bogaciovas and Régis Bezerra. The artistic insight of everyone of them brought new layers of meaning to the music, crafting diverse and stunning sonic landscapes.
Throe has released approximately seven albums so far, so I would like to ask you to tell us about the discography.
There have been four singles, two EPs, and one album so far. Death feels like an embrace that’s not allowed and Praise/Breathe were the first single releases. These tracks have a unique feeling. So, that’s why I couldn’t see them fitting into an album or EP but rather as singles. I think they stand alone for what they are. Then came the Odium EP, which follows a different path… It’s more industrial/experimental. The following year, I released a redux version of Praise/Breathe, which is a remix by NoiseSys-T, and the single for the track “Último Céu”, as a preview of Throematism, the first full album, released the same year. Then, in 2023, the O Enterro das Marés EP was released, which has a landscape more similar to Throematism, but it sounds more, how can I say… optimist if it is possible… hehe.
Throe is under the auspices of the record company Abraxas. Could you tell us about Abraxas?
Abraxas is an independent label from Brazil. In addition to releasing great bands, like Weedevil, Pesta, among so many others, the label has brought incredible bands to play in Brazil…
The last album Thoe released was “O Enterro das Marés”. Could you tell us more about that album?
At the time of Throematism, I was immersed in things like Jesu, The Cure, Paradise Lost, Doves… These are bands that I’ve always listened to, but at that time I think they influenced the outcome of the album. Throematism has a heavy feel… It has a kind of ochre feel, I think. Everything about it was intentional to try to convey the pain that the album carries. The funny thing is that the idea of using this color tone on the cover came from an “upbeat” album, Primal Scream’s Riot City Blues… haha. The songs on O Enterro das Marés were written in 2022, and initially, they seemed to me like a continuation of Throematism, but over time they showed a different mood, and I realized that the feel was not as “down” as Throematism. This made me discover the concept behind these songs, and I thought it was cool to think of them represented in white, and that’s where the idea for the cover came from. The fishing net was a photo I had taken and… I think that in some way it talks about repetitions and how our lives are crossed by these repetitions… the empty spaces between the weaves, the holes between the knots… It’s about being trapped or giving new meanings to these repetitions and thus freeing yourself. It’s an image that has something of Dorival Caymmi in it, maybe because he’s a Brazilian singer who talks about the sea and I really like a song called “O Bem do Mar”. Maybe it had some kind of unconscious influence, who knows…
Finally, what are your plans for the future? Will we have a chance to see Throe live in Split, Croatia?
Wow! I’d love to! It would be amazing to play in your country. But… This year my focus is on recording with Huey. But in the second half of the year I should start thinking about a new Throe’s album. Actually, it’s already composed. I should record it by the end of the year and release it in 2025, then I want to look for a record label that wants to release the album in physical format. So, that’s it… I really hope I can release it in 2025!
HRVATSKI PRIJEVOD
Za početak, recite nam što je točno Throe.
Hvala na vašem interesu za Throeovu glazbu. Zanimljivo je da koristiš riječ “točno” jer za mene Throe nije nešto egzaktno, znaš. Izraz “throe” (Muka, op.prev.) predstavlja bol toliko jedinstvenu i intenzivnu da ju je nemoguće opisati riječima. Mislim da to objašnjava mnoge stvari… haha. Ideja o bendu se rodila iz potrebe da iz sebe izbacim tu bol, tjeskobu i ljutnju i pokušam sve to pretočiti u nešto i podijeliti s onim tko to sluša. Mislim da je to način pretvaranja onoga što je loše u nešto što daje smisao tim osjećajima. Sve se to pojavljuje u zvuku, u vizualnom identitetu, u omotima albuma, u naslovima pjesama… Mislim da je to to. To je nešto osobno, ali zajedničko, što nadilazi razloge zašto su ove pjesme rođene. Zato ne mislim da je to nešto točno. To je nešto što se odnosi na svakoga tko sluša, to je glazba za onoga tko to želi i zato ima subjektiviteta, jer svatko tko ih sluša može tim pjesmama dati značenje koje želi.
Kako je nastao projekt Throe? Kakvi su utjecaji na Throea?
Glazbeno, Throe uključuje neke stvari shoegazea, extreme metala, industrial metala i elektronske glazbe bendova kao što su Sepultura, Jesu, Ministry, My Bloody Valentine, Darkthrone, The Cure među ostalima. Ideja o oživljavanju Throea postoji već neko vrijeme, ali nikad nisam našao pravi trenutak da to ostvarim. Imam još jedan bend, Huey, i moja je posvećenost uvijek bila Hueyu. Ali 2020., s pandemijom Covid-19, osjetio sam da je došao trenutak da se Throe dogodi. Stvari su dobile oblik kada sam razgovarao s João K. iz benda Test o tome da radimo nešto zajedno. Nešto što je zvučalo kao Ministarstvo, Pailhead i slične stvari. Imao sam neke rifove i sve sam ih spojio i poslao njemu i tako smo snimili “Odium” EP. Mislim da je ovaj EP bio donekle odgovoran, u pozitivnom smislu, za mene da se distanciram od svega što sam shvaćao kao “pravila” za rad u bendu: snimanje, sviranje koncerata, turneje… znaš? Ne znam… Mislim da sam glazbu i ono što ona predstavlja počeo doživljavati na drugačiji način, možda. Iako sam prije toga izdao dva singla, snimanje EP-a bilo je važno kako bi mi se pokazalo te mnoge druge mogućnosti za nove stvari s Throeom.
Možete li nam reći o ljudima koji su surađivali na Throeu? Jedan od njih je Marko
Nunes, koji je čest gost na albumima.
Naravno! Brazil je pun talentiranih ljudi i osjećam se sretnim što u blizini imam prijatelje, talentirane glazbenike. Sa mnom je prvi snimao João iz Testa. Ja sam imao neke rifove, a on ih je imao druge… Zatim je snimio vokale, bas i neke beatove. Marco je također stari prijatelj i nevjerojatan producent! Miksao je i masterirao Throematism. Na ovoj ploči je i prvi put snimio sa mnom, na naslovnoj pjesmi. Stvari su tako dobro funkcionirale i…
Pa sam ga pozvao da snimi bas na EP-u O Enterro das Marés (na portug. Ukop Plime I Oseke, op.prev.). Naslovnice albuma također su bile suradnje s Alisson Louback, Thiagom Minoruom, Claudijom Tavares, Rafom Nascimentom, a fotografije su od Anna Bogaciovas i Régis Bezerra. Umjetnički uvid svakoga od njih unio je nove slojeve značenja u glazbu, stvarajući raznolik i zadivljujući zvučne krajolike.
Throe je pod okriljem diskografske kuće Abraxas. Možete li nam reći o
Abraxas?
Abraxas je nezavisna diskografska kuća iz Brazila. Osim izdavanja sjajnih bendova, kao što su Weedevil, Pesta, među toliko ostalih, kuća je dovela nevjerojatne bendove da sviraju u Brazilu…
Posljednji album koji je Thoe izdao bio je “O Enterro das Marés”. Možete li nam reći nešto više o tom albumu?
U vrijeme Throematism-a bio sam uronjen u stvari kao što su Jesu, The Cure, Paradise Lost, Doves… To su bendovi koje sam uvijek slušao, ali u to vrijeme mislim da su utjecali na ishod albuma. Troematism ima težak dojam… Ima neku vrstu oker dojma, mislim. Sve je bilo s namjerom da se pokuša dočarati bol koju album nosi. Smiješno je to što je ideja o korištenju ovog tona boje na omotu došla s jednog “veselog” albuma, Primal Scream’s Riot City Blues… haha. Pjesme na O Enterro das Marés napisane su 2022. i u početku su mi se činile kao nastavak Throematism-a, no s vremenom su pokazale drugačije raspoloženje i shvatio sam da osjećaj nije tako “dolje” kao Throematism. To me je natjeralo da otkrijem koncept iza ovih pjesama, i mislio sam da je cool razmišljati o njima predstavljenim u bijeloj boji, i odatle je došla ideja za obradu. Ribarska mreža bila je fotografija koju sam snimio i… Mislim da na neki način govori o ponavljanjima i kako su naši životi ispresijecani tim ponavljanjima… prazni prostori između tkanja, rupe između čvorova… Radi se o tome da budete zarobljeni ili dajete nova značenja tim ponavljanjima i tako se oslobađate. To je slika koja ima nešto od Dorivala Caymmia u sebi, možda zato što je on brazilski pjevač koji govori o moru i jako mi se sviđa pjesma koja se zove “O Bem do Mar” (Dobrota mora, op.prev.). Možda je to imalo neki nesvjesni utjecaj, tko zna…
Za kraj, kakvi su vam planovi za budućnost? Hoćemo li imati priliku vidjeti Throea uživo u Splitu, u Hrvatskoj?
Wow! rado bih! Bilo bi nevjerojatno svirati u vašoj zemlji. Ali… Ove godine moj fokus je na snimanju s Hueyem. Ali u drugoj polovici godine trebao bih početi razmišljati o novom Throeovom albumu. Zapravo, već je sastavljeno. Trebao bih ga snimiti do kraja godine i objaviti ga 2025., zatim želim potražiti diskografsku kuću koja želi izdati album u fizičkom formatu. Dakle, to je to… Stvarno se nadam da ću ga moći objaviti 2025.!
