{"id":85508,"date":"2018-10-11T13:00:18","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T18:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/?p=85508"},"modified":"2018-10-11T14:16:56","modified_gmt":"2018-10-11T19:16:56","slug":"fresh-starts-an-interview-with-azusa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/fresh-starts-an-interview-with-azusa\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh Starts: An Interview with Azusa"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It’s the perfect combination of bands you didn’t know you desperately needed until now.
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In early August, Extol hinted at some new activity in their otherwise dormant camp (cue my ravenous excitement). It was later revealed, however, that it would not be new Extol music (cue my dismal sadness). These stirrings were to be in the form of a new project called Azusa<\/strong>, featuring Christer Espevoll and David Husvik of Extol, Liam Wilson of\u00a0The Dillinger Escape Plan<\/strong>, and\u00a0Eleni Zafiriadou of\u00a0Sea + Air<\/strong> (cue my wild, reckless elation). What a ride.<\/p>\n

As a massive Extol fan for nearly two decades and a big Dillinger fan, I didn’t need to be familiar with Sea + Air to be unreasonably excited for this. When Extol and TDEP were active, every release had the feeling of being fresh, truly new, and full of surprises. Upon learning more about indie duo Sea + Air and Eleni’s past as the vocalist in the raucous punk band\u00a0Jumbo Jet<\/a><\/strong>, I was beyond convinced that there was no way Azusa would disappoint. The first single, “Interstellar Islands,” cemented that with a wild ride of aggressive yet melodic thrash, full progressive twists and turns through ugly shadows and brilliant light. That fresh, new anticipation is absolutely there with this new band. Christer (guitar) and David (drums) were kind enough to answer some questions for me as they prepare to release their debut album\u00a0Heavy Yoke<\/em> on November 16th.<\/p>\n

Hey guys! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I, along with a whole lot of other people, were really excited and surprised with the emergence of Azusa. On paper it makes perfect sense: Extol and Dillinger Escape Plan never restrained themselves from a genre standpoint, so a new band featuring members of both should be a great creative match. However, I don’t think many people were aware of a link or relationship between the members, much less to Eleni Zafiriadou of indie duo Sea + Air. Can you walk us through how Azusa came to be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christer: Back in the winter of 2014 I met David at a Benea Reach<\/strong> show in Oslo, and it had been a long time since we met. I had not given the idea of playing in a band again much thought, but something that night inspired me to start playing music once more. I think David and I briefly talked about the possibility of doing something, but it wasn\u2019t until 6 months later that we decided to start jamming. After that show, I gradually became more and more motivated to start writing music again. I had left Extol back in 2004 and then Benea Reach in 2006, so it had been while.<\/span><\/p>\n

David: In Extol, we were always fascinated with TDEP and their unique musical expression. When we discovered that Liam was into Extol I curiously started envisioning ways we could do something creative together in the future. I simply needed the right project, and with Christer and Azusa it made perfect sense to get in touch with Liam. And he was into it right away!<\/span><\/p>\n

In regards to finding a vocalist, our ambitions were high. We wanted something that few other bands have. After some failed attempts at getting some top-notch male hardcore\/thrash vocalists to join, we shifted our focus to female vocalists. Quite early Eleni came to my mind. I had seen her screaming in the hardcore act Jumbo Jet back in the early 2000s and it was hard not to notice her crude voice and stage presence. After doing a couple of demos there was no doubt in our minds, we were convinced that she was the ideal singer for Azusa.<\/span><\/p>\n

I must admit to not being familiar with her before this, but I did read about her time in Jumbo Jet with her Sea + Air partner. Was she really itching to return to something more aggressive with Azusa?<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

David: I think she had been missing fronting a band again. In Azusa, she has a more prominent role than in the Sea & Air duo. Eleni has a lot of energy and a bit of latent craziness inside that the world needs to experience. Just listen to what she does in our songs!<\/span><\/p>\n