To celebrate their arrival on the french label Les Acteurs De L’Ombre, the release of their album » Mystical Future » and the EP » Levitate « , we had the chance to ask some questions to this young South African band, the mysterious WILDERNESSKING, to introduce themselves and learn more about this promising band that takes us off the beaten track with its very personal « post-rock-black » .
Could you make us a short presentation of WILDERNESSKING ? What’s the concept behind the band?
WILDERNESSKING is four friends from the suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa making music together. Formed from the black ‘n roll project, HEATHENS, WILDERNESSKING was born in May/June 2011, and the debut album was released in February 2012, which showed a stark contrast in sound from our former days. The name hints at a reverence towards the natural world, but also could suggest the wilderness inside you, and about conquering it. It’s an uplifting and cathartic moniker for us.
How do you work? What is the process of composition? Who brings the ideas?
We all write together. Someone will bring in an idea, sometimes it’s not a fully-fledged part, just a couple of chords etc. We then expand on whatever the foundation is, a drum beat, a riff, even a lyrical theme or song title. We tend to do that over two rehearsals, and that’s pretty much how a WK song comes into the world. Just to get a taste of our different styles; Jason (drums) wrote the bulk of The « Devil Within », Keenan (vocals/bass) wrote the bulk of « Discovery », Jesse (guitar) wrote the bulk of « Birth », and Dylan (guitar) wrote the bulk of « To Transcend ». But as we mentioned, we all write together. For a good example of expanding on one person’s idea, see « With Arms Like Wands », » I Will Go To Your Tomb », and « Soundless Longing ».
What are your main influences?
Movies, literature, art, music and our life experiences.
I feel that the sound of Mystical Future is very post-rock, very aerial…. Was that a will to distinguish yourself from black metal bands, I’d say, more classical? How and where did you record?
Not at all. We don’t see ourselves as a black metal band. We’re a metal/rock band with black metal influences, to us anyway. We write the music we’re passionate about, where our hearts lead us. We recorded drums and vocals in a professional studio, while guitars and bass were tracked at Jesse’s house in Rondebosch, and then reamped in the States by Jack Shirley ( DEAFHEAVEN, LOMO PRIETA ), who also mixed and mastered the record.
What are the lyrics of Mystical Future about? What is the story of it if there is one?
It’s ultimately talking about the mystery of one’s future, what lies ahead… When writing the album we were at big developing stages in our lives, so lyrically (to some extent), that part in our personal history was captured.
You signed under the “Les Acteurs de L’Ombre” French label, it’s pretty surprising when we know you’re from South Africa… How did that happen? Are they the ones who came to you first? What kind of relationship do you have with them? How is the agreement doing?
They approached us after being big fans of our previous work. We have a good relationship with them and everything is going well. They’ve put a lot of effort into getting our name out there, and we appreciate working with them. LADLO are putting out our first two EPs on a single vinyl release in the middle of the year, so we’re excited about that. We haven’t actually signed a deal with any label to be honest. We enjoy being able to work with as many people and labels as possible, as to not be tied to anyone in particular. We’re a very collaborative band.
Like I was saying before, you’re from South Africa. Your country is not especially known for being a metal scene country. So what is the current state of the metal scene in South Africa?
It’s good, it’s growing. There are shows happening nearly every weekend now. And we have bands from pretty much the entire metal spectrum, it’s exciting.
Is that complicated for you to play that style of music and find dates over there?
Sure, in a way. We just do our own thing, and for those who listen, they enjoy it. It’s easy to play shows, but unfortunately we don’t have a lot of venues, so options are limited in that regard, and you end up playing to the same crowd (or lack thereof) over and over again. So we choose not to play often, and make each event a unique experience for the audience.
Now that the album came out, what are your projects for 2016? Can we expect a tour or at least some dates in Europe?
Our new EP, « Levitate », is being released this week. And then we’re writing new music and planning for a Euro tour at some point. So there’s quite a bit happening…
Thank you and I leave you the last word…
Thank you. We appreciate the support and coverage, and look forward to visiting you in France soon. Cheers
