JANUARY 21st 2022
WAZZARA EXCLUSIVE

MetalTitans very own Metal Mom had the opportunity to chat with Barbara of Wazzara, a post metal sound, mixed with psychedelic and doom rock, when Barbara parted ways with her previous project, she created Wazzara in 2015 as a new solo venture inspired by enchanting forests and draping twilight. Check out our exclusive below for more:

Interview By: Metal Mom

MT: You have a total of 4 members in the band, how did each of you come to join the band?

Barbara Brawand: vocals, plucked guitars, composing
Mäsi Stettler: lead & rhythm guitars
George Necola: bass, composing, producing
Deniz Lebovci: drums

I started Wazzara in 2015 as a solo project. But it was always clear to me that one day it should be a full band performing live. So I asked my close friends George and Mäsi to join. George produced both albums by my former band Caladmor and is the brains behind our side project Between Giants, and Mäsi and I were both in Caladmor together at the time. Therefore I already knew it would be great to have them in Wazzara. Deniz joined Wazzara last year when we were desperately looking for a drummer to replace Julia, who had quit due to time constraints. Deniz is as well clearly an asset to the band.

MT: How did you come to name the band Wazzara, and what does it mean?

The band name is derived from Old High German and means "the one born of water". Water and ancient languages are very close to my heart, and since the project was my personal solo project in the early days, the name had to have a close connection to my person.

MT: Tell us a little bit about each of your members.

Mäsi is a brilliant and very dedicated guitarist who, by the way, also produces his own guitars called "Singularity Guitars" in which he combines the most proven techniques in one guitar. I am truly fascinated by his craftsmanship. George plays bass in Wazzara, but he's also a great engineer, especially when it comes to mixing metal, and a fantastic producer – he also helped me a lot with the Wazzara songs on our last album. Deniz is an excellent drummer who can do wonders behind the drum kit and has a unique, solid groove. I love how he always understands new ideas and the concept of Wazzara's music right away. Also, they are all wonderful, understanding people with a good heart. That's probably the most important point for me when choosing my musical partners. And there's me. Besides Wazzara, I have a few loose musical projects that I haven't had enough time for in the last few months, but that I still enjoy. One of them is the Celtic/folk duo isôt estrange, for which I teamed up with the brilliant harpist Karen van Rekum.

MT: What made you choose Post-Metal, Doom and Psychedelic Rock together ?

It was just something that happened naturally and not intentionally. It is very important to me that the music of Wazzara is both heavy and light, both fierce and fragile at the same time, so this seems to be the result of trying to combine these elements.

MT: In 2019 Barbara collaborated with an Icelandic composer/musician Árni Bergur Zoëga, how did that come about ?

I always admired his work and his skills in writing and arranging songs. When we met again at a concert, I simply asked him if he wanted to get the best out of my compositions, which were purely acoustic recordings at the time. To my great happiness, he said yes.

MT: How do you manage to incorporate doomy riffs, melodic, dreamy and celestial into your songs, that sounds like a real task?

That's also something that just comes naturally, and I think it also has to do with my musical influences. They're rooted in metal and goth rock and a lot of folk, especially medieval and Celtic music, and artists like Tori Amos or The Smashing Pumpkins. All that dreamy stuff. (smile)

MT: Where does the inspiration come from, is it a way of life, or something that comes together to inspire you?

For me, it is clearly a way of life to be inspired by nature and by everything that is honest and true, as well as by everything that has to do with ancient stories and mystical beings from the other world.

MT: You have a new album out called "Cycles", was it tough to do considering all the covid restrictions in place?

For the most part, we fortunately didn't have any problems, because we were able to record everything at home, or the drums were recorded by Andrei Jumugă in his studio in Romania. Only at the end of 2021 we had to postpone the gig that was supposed to be our release show. Let's hope that it can take place in May 2022.

MT: Tell us what we need to know about this new album?

The songs - or the loose concept, if you will - were inspired by the reflection of nature’s infinite wandering in cycles. The moment something is born, its death begins; with each death, a new birth. As I began to integrate this cyclical truth into my life, I also began to undergo a transformation that forced me to confront past traumas. Out of this came all seven of our own songs; the eighth song is a tribute to Type O Negative, a band that has greatly influenced me and whose compositions I admire.

MT: Do you yourself have a favourite song ?

They are all my children, and I am proud of each one of them. Some of them are born more from my head, others more from the heart; but I would not distinguish between them as to whether they are therefore better or worse. Some, however, were more difficult to finish than others, for example mænic: since the song moves between keys that at first glance you probably wouldn't combine, it took a bit of finesse to get the transitions right. So, let's say it was a bit of a more difficult "birth" and others were easier.

MT: I think it must be hard to get out and promote your new album with covid among us, so how do you manage to get the word out?  Do  you have any plans to tour to promote it?

Yes, unfortunately it's not easy and I have some dark moments when I think about giving up. But then a “lighter” part of me just tries to go with the flow, with the cycle, to just accept things as they are at the moment – and wait for better days to come.

MT: Did you have any influences when you were young to lead you to this path?

I remember seeing Tina Turner on TV when I was about 3 years old. I saw her glow and her magical charisma, and I knew immediately that I wanted to be a singer, too. So she was obviously my earliest role model (smile). In my childhood, I was lucky enough to have piano lessons, so I started composing and improvising my own songs. The piano teacher I had was very open to the fact that I wasn't just playing classical sheet music (in which I sucked anyways), and she encouraged me to keep composing and passed on helpful techniques and knowledge.

MT: What music do you enjoy listening to?

Besides the already mentioned styles I right now enjoy listening to everything by Paradise Lost, Ulver, Cân Bardd, pg.lost and E-L-R.

MT: What plans do you have now for Wazzara?

I'm in the process of writing new songs for a second album! It will take some time until they are in shape, but I enjoy this process very much. Also, we are trying to plan more gigs.

MT: Many probably have not heard of your band, so tell us something we should know.

Since I struggle with self-promotion, let me put it in the words of schwermetall.ch: "When Dool meets Avatarium and stages an Anathema piece with Alcest, it comes pretty close to wazzara."

MT: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, we wish you much success with 'Cycles'.

Thank you very much for taking the time for preparing the questions. I hope to see you someday on tour!

NOTE: Views and opinions expressed in answers are those of the authors and do not reflect necessarily the official position, attitude or position of 𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗚𝗘 ᴳᴸᴼᴮᴬᴸ