Exclusive Interview: Reawacan talk writing and recording “Pandemic Coverage & Old Schooling”!

Returning with a sophomore EP “Pandemic Coverage & Old Schooling” comprising two new songs and two classic covers, German Avant-garde Death Metal duo Reawacan have not only paid tribute to past masters but also delivered a message of their own. We had the pleasure of a chat with them about what went in behind the scenes of that very EP and it went something like this…

What did you learn from your time in Lacrima Christi that you took into recording material for Reawacan to get the best results? “Nowadays it is a lot easier and much more convenient to record songs. Without the digital era we just couldn’t do it at all… With Lacrima Christi as a full band we could play everything live – with all its advantages and disadvantages. Today it is kind of natural to play everything in a grid right from the beginning that makes the whole production very precise. In the former times we learned a lot about songwriting, arrangements and keep the timing by playing to the metronome… It is like now everything comes to live in order to play out the whole potential!”

How does the writing process of a new Reawacan track start? Melody, riff or rhythm first? “Actually the last unreleased song was made by doing the whole drum structure first – and it surprisingly worked! Mostly the origin of a song is a theme – riff or tune”

How did you find working with German producer Andy Classen? What made you choose him to work with originally? “It’s kind of a charm to work with Andy. Just give him your material – and he knows what to do! One or two things to fine calibrate – and that’s it… In the 90s and early 2000s Andy was called the “German Scott Burns”. At that time Marco always dreamed of once being produced by this man from Stage One Studio… And again – a dream came true”

For some reason the horn section of “Sad Serenade” made us think of Chuck Schuldiner and Death. Your original works are what we’d call Avant-garde so how did the idea to include that come about? “Chuck was and is always a great inspiration (for all death metal bands!?). Thanks to point it out! As mentioned before there was not a conscious intention in it. The melody just came to my inner ear…”

For us gear nerds out there, can you tell us what you’re using gear wise (pedals, strings, drums etc) to get your sound? “Marco uses a half-acoustic E-drum set to create a combination of all his favorite drum parts (like Bassdrum and snare). He uses a special double-bass-pedal which spins the on- and off-foot likewise… I am using a custom made 5-string fretless bass by the German manufacturer Basslab. The guitar is a cheap copy of a Les Paul with only 11s strings from Elixir. Tuned down 5 halftones. So it is intended to be very sloppy in tightness”

What difference would it make to you as a band if you could land an endorsement from a gear manufacturer? “I think none!”

“Pandemic Coverage & Old Schooling” by Reawacan is out now and available over at bandcamp